In My Mailbox 135

This meme was started by Kristi of The Story Siren who was inspired by Alea from Pop Culture Junkie. Check out their blogs for more information. All summaries are from the book jackets unless otherwise stated.

My lovely housemate discovered a tucked-away book stall in the Guildhall Market here in Bath with her parents and decided to show me. There were so many pretties! Then we went on a charity shop mooch and I found a book I’ve been dying to read for ages! The  two pre-orders I've been dying for arrived!

For review:

Undone – Cat Clarke

How far would you fall for the truth?

Jem Halliday is in love with her gay best friend. Not exactly ideal, but she’s learning to live with it.

Then the unspeakable happens.

Kai is outed online...and he kills himself.

Jem knows nothing she can say or do will bring him back.

But she wants to know who was responsible.

And she wants to take them down...

A searing story of love, revenge and betrayal.

YESYESYES. Rather excited for this one!! Thanks, Quercus.

I also got a shiny hardback of The Wolf Princess and proofs of How to Fall by Jane Casey and Silent Saturday by Helen Grant.

Bought:

Water for Elephants – Sara Gruen

A story of impossible love and a way of life lost forever.

Orphaned, penniless, Jacob Jankowski jumps a freight train in the dark, and in that instant, transforms his future.

By morning, he’s landed a job with the Flying Squadron of the Benzi Brothers Most Spectacluar Show on Earth. By nightfall, he’s in love.

In an America made colourless by prohibition and the Depression, the circus is a refuge of sequins and sensuality. But behind the glamour lies a darker world, where both animals and men are dispensible. Where falling in love is the most dangerous act of all...

I adored the film so I can’t wait to get stuck in to this!

How to Be a Woman – Caitlin Moran

“It’s a good time to be a woman; we have the vote and the Pill, and we haven’t been burnt as witches since 1727. However, a few nagging questions do remain...

Why are we supposed to get Brazilians? Should we use Botox? Do men secretly hate us? And why does everyoen ask when you’re going to have a baby?”

Part memoir, part rant, Caitlin Moran answers the questions that every woman is asking.

I’ve been told to read this so many times, that I squeaked when I spotted it in a charity shop. I can’t wait.

Bitter Blood: The Morganville Vampires – Rachel Caine

Now that the threat the the vampires of Morganville has been defeated, the gravest danger to the human residents is the enemy within...

For years, the human and vampire residents of Morganville have managed to coexist in peace. But thanks to the eradication of the parasitic creatures known as the draug, the vampires of Morganville have now been freed of their usual constraints. With the vampires indulging their every whim, the town’s human population is determined to hold on to their lives by taking up arms. College student Claire Danvers, with ties to both humans and vampires, isn’t about to take sides.

To make matters worse, a television show comes to Morganville searching for ghosts, just as vampire and human politics collide. Now, Claire and her friends have to figure out how to keep the peace without ending up on the nightly news...or worse.

YAY! I’m such a Morganville fangirl.

The Lost Prince – Julie Kagawa

Done look at Them.

Never let Them know you can see Them.

That is Ethan Chase’s unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs – including his reputation – begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. to save a girl he never thought he’d  dare to fall for.

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister’s  world – the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.

My name is Ethan Chase.

And I may not live to see my eighteenth birthday.

I adore Julie Kagawa’s books and the world of Faery so I can’t wait to get stuck in to this.

Sophie

Zom-B - Darren Shan

Zom-B – Darren Shan

Pages: 271

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Release Date: 27^th September 2012

Edition: UK proof, review copy

Other Titles by this Author: Saga of Darren Shan series, Demonata trilogy, Saga of Larten Crepsley series

Can you love a bullying, racist thug if he’s your father?

Where do you hide when killer babies invade your dreams?

How do you react when confronted with your inner darkest demons?

What do you do when zombies attack?

B Smith is about to find out!

I went in to Zom-B not really having any idea what I was in for. You see, I’ve never read anything by Darren Shan before. But it still managed t completely surprise me.

My first impressions of Zom-B was rather blah. The writing seemed nothing special and hated B. I’ve rarely read such an unlikable protagonist. B is a racist bully and didn’t even become vaguely amiable until the last fifty or so pages of the novel. Characters are usual the be all and end all for me. If I don’t like the main character, or at least care about them, I don’t like the book. That wasn’t quite the case with Zom-B.

The pace was relentless and the action was constant and I flew through the novel in about two hours. It was just so easy to read! The gore was fantastic and as the story settled in, there were some extremely intriguing moments and fascinating characters that lead to some pretty dramatic plot twists later in the novel. Even B’s digusting excuse for a dad came to play a part, and I had to respect what a brilliantly crafted character he is.

But the real point of this whole novel, for me anyway, was THAT PLOT TWIST. I was seriously not expecting it and those you’ve read it know exactly what I mean. It changed my feelings for Zom-B and before that and the cliffhanger ending, I wasn’t too mfussed about reading any more of the series. Now, I definitely am.

Zom-B thoroughly surprised me and I’m looking forward to seeing how much more Darren Shan will shock and surprise me in Zom-B: Underground.

Thank you to S&S for sending me a copy to review.

Sophie

Breathe - Sarah Crossan

Breathe – Sarah Crossan

Pages: 371

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Release Date: 11^th October 2012

Edition: UK proof, review copy

When oxygen levels plunge in a treeless world, a state lottery decides which lucky few will live inside the Pod. Everyone else will slowly suffocate.

Years after the Switch, society is divided into Premiums and Auxilaries. Only Premiums can afford enough oxygen to live a normal life. Dissenters to the regime are ejected from the Pod.

Alina belongs to a rebel group. On the verge of capture, she is rescued by a Premium boy and together they escape from the Pod – with just two days worth of air.

Outside they unearth conspiracy on a breathtaking level. But can they survive long enough to tell anyone?

Breathe is the first book in Sarah Crossan’s dystopian trilogy and in a saturated market, it held its own.

The mythology behind this dystopia of Breathe is an interesting and entirely plausible one. The idea behind The Pod was only explained once and rather briefly so if you weren’t reading quickly or got distracted it would have been easy to miss as it wasn’t repeated or referred to again. I did think that the conspiracy around The Pod and their ‘perfect’ community was revealed too soon. There was no real shock or surprise when it was made known and I thought this took something out of the story.

Breathe is written in a three-way narrative, the chapters split between Alina, Bea and Quinn. All three characters are very different and their voices were clear and easily distinguishable. I loved kick-ass Alina who learnt to trust her friends and lovable Bea whose world was turned upside down, but I didn’t click with Quinn at first. He was just rather wet to begin with. Thankfully, he grew and changed in to the guy willing to risk his life for the cause and I admit that it’s entirely possible that I’ll fall for him as the series progresses.

Breathe was a quick and easy read that I flew through. I’ll be interested to read the sequel.

For my 2012 Dystopia Challenge

Thank you to Bloomsbury for providing me with a review copy.

Sophie

In My Mailbox 134

This meme was started by Kristi of The Story Siren who was inspired by Alea from Pop Culture Junkie. Check out their blogs for more information. All summaries are from the book jackets unless otherwise stated.

I actually received these two lovelies last week but internet issues got in the way of posting an IMM, so here they are!

For review:

Darcy Burdock – Laura Dockrill

My name is Darcy. I see the extraordinary in the everyday and the wonder in the world around me. This is my first book. One day, it wll be read by people like you.

Make way for a new, cool, all-conquering girl character for tweens.

And fall for Laura Dockrill – the bravest, freshest, funniest new voice in children’s books.

I’ve been dying to get my hands on this ever since Laura read us a snippet at the RHCB Blogger Brunch in the same. So excited!!

Through to You - Emily Hainsworth

Viv is the love of Camden’s life.

Viv is the only person who’s ever truly cared for him.

Viv makes Camden’s life better.

Viv is dead.

But what if, in another world, Viv’s death never happened?

What if Camden had a choice about letting Viv go, or being with a different version of her forever?

What if finding the love you thought you’d lost, meant giving up everything you’ve ever known? Would it be worth the risk?

I’m really looking forward to this. It’s a 2013 debut from the awesome S&S! Thanks, lovelies!

Sophie 

Raw Blue - Kirsty Eagar

I’d like to quickly apologise for the radio silence over the last week – our internet router died! As you can imagine, there was much distress and crying until it was back, but all is now fine and I’m very relieved to have access to the blog again! Normal service should resume from now...

Raw Blue – Kirsty Eagar

Pages: 280

Publisher: Catnip Books

Release Date: 1^st August 2012

Edition: UK paperback, purchased

Other Titles by this Author: Night Beach, Saltwater Vampires, Molasses

I have clear view of the surf and I feel an electric charge. It’s a glitter skin day. The ocean is a vivid emerald colour and the wind ruffles the waves faces so that they shatter the sunlight like glass.

Carly might be living but it’s not much of a life, working the late shifts in a kitchen in Manly, renting alone and trying to get by without being noticed. The only time she feels alive is when she’s out in the ocean, where she can forget about everything – forget her own dark secret – and enjoy the moment.

But Carly can’t surf forever.

I have heard some wonderful, wonderful things about Raw Blue, mostly from Carla’s review, and she was utterly right!

Kirsty Eagar has written some of the most gorgeously luminous descriptions of the ocean and surfing that I have ever read. They leaped off of the page and sent me straight to the choppy Australian coast and I didn’t want to leave. I developed a burning need to learn to surf despite my serious lack of sporting ability or co-ordination. To have a connection in the way that Carly does with the surf is something special and I hope I find something like that.

The pure happiness that surfing gives Carly is so genuine and intense. It is her escape from her mundane life and haunting past. The event that caused her to drop out of university, leave home and move to Manly, a suburb of Sydney, was heartbreaking. It had to be something serious and scarring enough for Carly to need to work herself around a daily surf. And it was. After the reveal, which was fairly early on, it wasn’t just forgotten. It had ramifications throughout the novel and it explained some of Carly’s actions and reactions perfectly.

Even with her desire to shut herself off from the world, Carly formed some surprisingly touching relationships. Possibly my favourite was her connection with fifteen-year-old fellow surfer Danny. The simplicity and honesty of it was exactly what she needed. And then Ryan came along. The relationship between him and Carly isn’t a traditional YA romance and I loved it for that. It’s a lot more grown-up, it’s real and there are problems and issues and nowhere near perfect. But it works. With this relationship came a sex scene that was more graphic than most in YA, but I think that Kirsty Eagar did it beautifully. It was tasteful and beautifully executed.

I really loved Raw Blue and I hope I can manage to get my hands on more by Kirsty Eagar!

For my 2012 Contemporary YA Challenge

Sophie