Letterbox Love #76

Letterbox Love is a way to show you all of the lovely, lovely books I’ve gotten in the post, bought and everything else over the last week. 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:

All the Rage, Courtney Summers (e-proof)

The sheriff’s son, Kellan Turner, is not the golden boy everyone thinks he is, and Romy Grey knows that for a fact. Because no one wants to believe a girl from the wrong side of town, the truth about him has cost her everything – friends, family, and her community. Branded a liar and bullied relentlessly by a group of kids she used to hang out with, Romy’s only refuge is the diner where she works outside of town. No one knows her name or her past there; she can finally be anonymous. But when a girl with ties to both Romy and Kellan goes missing after a party, and news of his assaulting another girl in a town close by gets out, Romy must decide whether she wants to fight or carry the burden of knowing more girls could get hurt if she doesn’t speak up. Nobody believed her the first time – and they certainly won’t now – but the cost of her silence might be more than she can bear.

With a shocking conclusion and writing that will absolutely knock you out, All the Rage examines the shame and silence inflicted upon young women after an act of sexual violence, forcing us to ask ourselves: In a culture that refuses to protect its young girls, how can they survive?

I love Courtney Summers’ books – they are brutally awesome. Thanks NetGalley and St Martin’s Griffin.

Suzy P, Forever Me, Karen Saunders (paperbacks)

Suzy P’s made a promise that she can’t keep. Kind of a big promise. To her entire school!

Why, oh why, did she say The Drifting would be performing at the Collinsbrooke fundraiser? As if trying to sort out that mess wasn’t enough, she also needs to make sure Dad’s birthday bash isn’t a total disaster – especially as he’s already showing signs of a mid-life crisis...

Suzy has her best mates helping out, but will she be able to pull off TWO parties of a lifetime?

I’m a little behind on this series, but I really want to catch up! Look out for my stop on the Suzy P blog tour next week. Thanks Templar!

Zom B Bride, Darren Shan (hardback)

B Smith has cut a pact with Mr Dowling and is living in his filthy, blood-smeared underground lair...What sick plans does the psychotic clown have for her now?

‘What’s so different about me?’ I whisper. ‘Why does the clown care? Why has he been shadowing me for long?’

Mr Dowling shakes his head softly and his eyes start rolling madly again. He reaches up and runs a blood-drenched finger across my left cheek, drawing some sort of a pattern on it. Then he runs the fingertip across the tops of my severed years. I wince but he doesn’t withdraw. Instead he gurgles something.

‘It’s time,’ translates Kinslow.

‘Time for what?’ I squint.

Kinslow grins with sadistic relish. ‘Time to build a new Becky Smith.’

I love this series – thanks S&S!

The Accident Season, Moira Fowley-Doyle (proof)

It’s the accident season, the same time every year. Bones break, skin tears, bruises bloom.

The accident season has been part of seventeen-year-old Cara’s life for as long as she can remember. Towards the end of October, foreshadowed by the deaths of many relatives before them, Cara’s family becomes inexplicably accident-prone. They banish knives to locked drawers, cover sharp table edges with padding, switch off electrical items – but injuries follow wherever they go, and the accident season becomes an ever-growing obsession and fear.

But why are they cursed? And how can they break free?

This sounds super intriguing and it came all mysteriously packaged. Thanks RHCP!

The Bell Between Worlds, Ian Johnstone (paperback)

Half of your soul is missing.

And unless Sylas Tate fulfils his destiny, you will never be whole again.

Sylas leads a lonely existence since his mother died. But then the tolling of a giant bell draws him into another world, where he discovers not only that he has an inborn talent for magic, but also that his mother might have come from this strange parallel place.

As violence looms and the stakes get higher, Sylas embarks on an extraordinary adventure to uncover the greatest mystery of all – who he is. If he fails, the entire universe may fall...

Not usually my thing, but this sounds intriguing... Thanks Harper Collins!

From the Scholastic Blogger Feast

The Sin Eater’s Daughter, Melinda Salisbury (proof)

Seventeen-year-old Twylla lives in a castle. But although she’s engaged to the prince. Twylla isn’t exactly a member of the court. She’s the executioner. As the Goddess embodied, Twylla instantly kills anyone she touches. Each month she’s taken to the prison and forced to lay her hands on those accused of treason. No one will ever love a girl with murder in her veins. Even the prince, whose royal blood supposedly makes him immune to Twylla’s fatal touch, avoids her company.

But then a new guard arrives, a boy whose easy smile belies his deadly swordsmanship. And unlike the others, he’s able to look past Twylla’s executioner robes and see the girl, not the Goddess. Yet Twylla’s been promised to the prince, and knows what happens to people who cross the queen. However, a treasonous secret is the least of Twylla’s problems. The queen has a plan to destroy her enemies, a plan that requires a stomach-churning, unthinkable sacrifice.

Will Twylla do what it takes to prtect her kingdom? Or will she abandon her duty in favour of a doomed love?

I CANNOT WAIT to read this!

7 Days, Eve Ainsworth (paperback)

A week can change everything.

Beautiful and popular, Kez is a bully who doesn’t care who she hurts.

Overweight and awkward, Jess is an easy target.

But then Jess discovers someone who will stand up for her.

The problem?

He’s Kez’s boyfriend.

Things are about to get nasty.

This sounds like it’s going to pack a punch.

An Island of Our Own, Sally Nicholls (proof)

Siblings Jonathan, Holly and Davy have been struggling to survive since the death of her mother, and are determined to avoid being taken into care. When the family’s wealthy but eccentric Great-Aunt Irene has a stroke, they go to visit her. Unable to speak or write, she give Holly some photographs that might lead them to an inheritance that could solve all their problems. But they’re not the only ones after the treasure...

I really like Sally Nicholls’ books so I’m looking forward to this.

Thank you for a lovely event and these great books!

Sophie