Letterbox Love #15

Letterbox Love came about after some drama with the American book haul memes, so the UKYA bloggers came together on Twitter to organise one of our own. Summaries are taken from the cover, or Amazon/NetGalley/Goodreads in the case of e-books, unless otherwise stated. Hosted by Narratively Speaking.

For Review:

The Name on Your Wrist – Helen Hiorns (e-proof)

It’s the first thing they tell you when you start school. But they don't need to; your parents tell you when you’re first learning to say your name. It’s drummed into you whilst you’re taking your first stumbling steps. It’s your lullaby. From the moment it first appears, you don't tell anyone the name on your wrist.

In Corin’s world, your carpinomen – the name of your soul mate, marked indelibly on your wrist from the age of two or three – is everything. It’s your most preciously guarded secret; a piece of knowledge that can give another person ultimate power over you. People spend years, even decades, searching for the one they’re supposed to be with.

But what if you never find that person? Or you do, but you just don’t love them? What if you fall for someone else – someone other than the name on your wrist?

And what if – like Corin – the last thing in the world you want is to be found?

This sounds so, so different and I’m really intrigued. Thanks NetGalley and RHCP Digital!

Resist – Sarah Crossan (e-proof)

Resistance to the Pod Leadership has come apart. The Grove has been destroyed but so had the Pod Minister. Quinn, Bea and Alina separately must embark on a perilous journey across the planet’s dead landscape in search of the rumoured resistance base Sequoia. They welcome they receive at Sequoia is not what they expect, and soon they are facing a situation that seems as threatening as that of the Pod inhabitants.

Meanwhile the Pod Minister’s son, Ronan, is beginning to have his doubts about the regime but as a member of an elite force he is sent out of the Pod to hunt down the Grove’s survivors. In a world in which the human race is adapting to survive with little air, the stakes are high. This action-packed sequel to Breathe is every bit as nail-biting and satisfying as its predecessor – visionary storytelling of the highest quality.

I don't really remember Breathe, but I’m pretty sure I loved it. Thanks NetGalley and Bloomsbury!

Wild Cards – Simone Elkeles (e-proof)

After getting kicked out of boarding school, bad boy Derek Fitzpatrick has no choice but to live with his ditzy stepmother while his military dad is deployed. Things quickly go from bad to worse when he finds out she plans to move them back to her childhood home in Illinois. Derek’s counting the days before he can be on his own, and the last thing he needs is to get involved with someone else’s family drama.

Ashtyn Parker knows one thing for certain – people you care about leave without a backward glance. A football scholarship would finally give her the chance to leave. So she puts everything into winning a state championship until her boyfriend and star quarterback betrays them all by joining their rival team. Ashtyn needs a new game plan, but it requires trusting Derek – someone she barely knows, someone born to break the rules. Is she willing to put her heart on the line to try and win it all?

*happy dances* Thanks NetGalley and Bloomsbury! So freaking excited for this!

I did actually get approved for Icons by Margaret Stohl but it’s already been archived and can’t be downloaded... Helpful.

Earthbound – Aprilynne Pike (e-proof)

Eighteen-year-old Tavia is the only survivor of a plane crash that killed her parents. Grieving and lonely, she starts having strange visions; of a boy she’s never met but feels compulsively drawn to. A boy who tells her to do things she’d never dream of.

Tavia begins to suspect that secrets are being kept from her, and that her kindly aunt and uncle know more than they are letting on. Was the plane crash really an accident? Or is Tavia part of something bigger than she ever imagined?

With only her instincts and long-time crush, Benson, to rely on, Tavia must decide where her destiny lies, and who with.

Thanks NetGalley and HarperCollins UK! I really loved Wings so I hope this’ll be just as good!

Darklord of Derkholm – Diana Wynne Jones (e-proof)

In a world next door to ours, the tourist industry is devastating the population by its desire to experience all the fantasy clichés – Dark Lords, impoverished villages, dragons etc.

The Head of the University resolves to shut the tours down; the only problem being the ruthless tour-master – and his all-powerful demons. To save them all, the incompetent wizard Derk is appointed as Dark Lord in the hope that he will ruin the tours, and sure enough proceeds fail at everything due to his general uselessness. But can failing at everything lead to a win this time?

After falling in love with Howl’s Moving Castle I’m super excited for this! Thanks NetGalley and HarperCollins UK!

Gifted:

To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee (paperback)

‘Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’

A lawyer’s advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of this enchanting classic – a black man charged with the rape of a white girl.

Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the thirties.

The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man’s struggle for justice.

But the weight of history will only tolerate so much...

A massive thanks to the lovely Lucy of ChooseYA for sending me her spare copy. I’m finally going to read this!

Bought:

The Bane Chronicles: The Rise of Hotel Dumort – Cassandra Clare and Maureen Johnson

In 1920s Manhattan, Magnus Bane hobnobs with the elite at a glamorous Jazz Age hotspot.

The immortal Magnus Bane is a making the most of his time in the Roaring Twenties: He’s settled into New York society and is thriving among the fashionable jazz set. And there is nowhere better to see and be seen than the glamorous Hotel Dumort, a glittering new addition to the Manhattan skyline. But a different type of glamour may be at play...

Yay! I do love this series.

Pantomime – Laura Lam (e-book)

R.H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass – remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone – are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic of the vanished Chimeras is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide.

Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star. But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, a secret in their blood that could unlock the mysteries of Ellada.

I’ve heard such amazing things about this so it was a complete bargain for 99p on Kindle!

Sophie