In my Mailbox (15): An Accumulation of Two Weeks!

"In my Mailbox" is a weekly meme hosted by the fantastic Kristi "the Story Siren". Bloggers are able to post what new books they've received either by buying, borrowing, or on loan from the library throughout the past week (or two in this case!)

So these past two weeks have been so hectic! The Holiday Seasons, Exams, moving etc. So this weeks "In my Mailbox" post is an accumulation of two weeks worth of books. It is a lot of books tust me! lol. We have some new releases, some ARC, and some eBooks as well (I've just discovered NetGalley, so I've been requesting like mad! lol)

Publisher Sent:

"The Future of Us" by Jay Asher & Carolyn Macker

"It's 1996, and Josh and Emma have been neighbours their whole lives. They've been best friends almost as long - at least, up until last November, when Josh did something that changed everything. Things have been weird between them ever since, but when Josh's family gets a free AOL CD in the mail,his mom makes him bring it over so that Emma can install it on her new computer. When they sign on, they're automatically logged onto their Facebook pages. But Facebook hasn't been invented yet. And they're looking at themselves fifteen years in the future."
"By refreshing their pages, they learn that making different decisions now will affect the outcome of their lives later. And as they grapple with the ups and downs of what their futures hold, they're forced to confront what they're doing right - and wrong - in the present."

"Dust City" by Robert Paul Weston

"Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? ... His son, that's who."

"Ever since his father's arrest for the murder of Little Red Riding Hood, teen wolf Henry Whelp has kept a low profile in a Home for Wayward Wolves . . . until a murder at the Home leads Henry to believe his father may have been framed."

"Now, with the help of his kleptomaniac roommate, Jack, and a daring she-wolf named Fiona, Henry will have to venture deep into the heart of Dust City: a rundown, gritty metropolis where fairydust is craved by everyone-and controlled by a dangerous mob of Water Nixies and their crime boss leader, Skinner. Can Henry solve the mystery of his family's sinister past? Or, like his father before him, is he destined for life as a big bad wolf?"

"A Million Suns" by Beth Revis

"Godspeed was fuelled by lies. Now it is ruled by chaos."
"It's been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. And everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceship Godspeed. But there may just be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to enact his vision - no more Phydus, no more lies."

"But when Elder discovers shocking news about the ship, he and Amy race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed. They must work together to unlock a puzzle that was set in motion hundreds of years earlier, unable to fight the romance that's growing between them and the chaos that threatens to tear them apart."

"In book two of the Across the Universe trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis mesmerizes us again with a brilliantly crafted mystery filled with action, suspense, romance, and deep philosophical questions. And this time it all builds to one mind-bending conclusion: They have to get off this ship."

"The Word Gang" by Mark McKenna

"The Word Gang" is the story of three kids in school who start using 'big' words to be disruptive. It is also the story of the transformational friendship between a troubled young girl, Kalisha Jackson, and a lonely old polyglot, Albrecht Spinoza. Other characters have to deal with assimilation into America (Sahmbaht Chan) and living with an alcoholic parent (BD Delbene). Lastly, "The Word Gang" is a very sneaky inquiry into the nature of language itself"

"Legend" by Marie Lu

"What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem."

"From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets."

Bought:

"The Pledge" by Kimberly Derting

"In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed."

"Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime."

"Shatter Me" by Tahereh Mafi

"Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days."

"The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color." 

"The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now."

"Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior. "

eBooks (NetGalley)

Kiss of Twilight by Loribelle Hunt

Blood Rights by Kristen Painter
Pure by Julianna Baggott
Halflings by Heather Burch
The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark
The Taming by Teresa Toten & Eric Walters

Dusty Reads (2)

Dusty Reads is a weekly post featuring a book that has been sitting unread on your bookshelves for some time! Hosted by the wonderful Giselle @ .Xpresso Reads. takes place Tuesday to Tuesday of each week. To participate, add your name to the linky below her posts and try to visit a few of the others.
Note: Books don't have to be 'x' years old. If you've had the book for a few months without reading it, it's dusty! ;)

Obviously it is not Tuesday but seeing as it is Saturday and I feel like posting, my Dusty Reads will be posted on Saturdays. This week I got around to cleaning out my bookshelves and re-organise it all and I found SO many reads that I haven't read and have been on my bookshelf forever - I feel like a horrible bookie! So this weeks choice is an oldie but still worth a definite read!

This Weeks Dusty Read:

The Nine Lives of Chloe King (Omnibus) by Liz Braswell
Published: June 7th, 2011
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Chloe King is a normal girl. She goes to class (most of the time), fights with her mom, and crushes on a boy…or two. But around her sixteenth birthday, Chloe finds that perhaps she isn’t so normal after all. There’s the heightened night vision, the super fast reflexes – oh, and the claws.

As she discovers who she is – and where she comes from – it is clear she is not alone. And someone is trying to get her.

Chloe has nine lives. But will nine be enough?

Thoughts: So like most people who over the summer discovered that the Nine Lives of Chloe King had been turned into a TV show by ABC television, I ran to the nearest Chapters and picked up the entire collection of the series. I have yet to dive into this giant 700 page book due to two main reasons. One being around the time I had bought this book, I had also picked up Divergent and the Hunger Games which then took up most of my spare time reading for an entire week, and then I forgot about this monstrosity. And secondly, I enjoyed the TV series so much I did not want to ruin anything for myself so I held off reading the series until the TV series had reached it climatic season finale! With all that in mind we are well into December, and yet I have just re-established my excitement to pick this up in the near future. Although some bloggers I've read do not necessarily like this collection, I am sure I will find it up to some of my expectations. 

Follow Friday (2): Must Reads

Rules:

• {Required} Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
• {Required} Follow our Featured Bloggers - THIS WEEK: Books and Beyond & The Book Addict.
• Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. 
• Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.
• Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
• If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
• If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

the Question:

Keeping with the Spirit of Giving this season, what book do you think EVERYONE should read and if you could, you would buy it for all of your family and friends?

Oh the Christmas Season! How my family dreads my lists, usually it just says "Books - Please see wishlist on blog!" but most of my family members don't even know I have a blog, nor do they know how to access it (yes I know they aren't the most tech savvy individuals! lol). BUT! I can finally say I have done a post that will benefit other bookies on their Christmas List with these publications that are definite MUST READS! 

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place her in mortal danger. Veronica Roth's young adult Divergent trilogy launches with a captivating adventure about love and loyalty playing out under most extreme circumstances.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger ... Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever...

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon--when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach--an "outlander"--in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord...1743. Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life...and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens. When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae ... As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane–an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book–because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands…

Waiting on Wednesday (17)

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by "Breaking the Spine" were bloggers can post their anticipated upcoming publications!

This weeks WoW is a little late on posting but still none the less is a book I will be pre-ordering when it becomes available to do so! I haven't picked up a book by Meg Cabot in quite sometime, and this series has been intrigued. The Abandon trilogy is a new urban fantasy by Meg Cabot about Pierce Oliviera who isn't your average teenage girl.

Underworld by Meg Cabot

Publisher: Scholastic Point

Expected Publication Date: May 28th, 2012

Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back. Seventeen-year-old Pierce Oliviera isn’t dead. 

Not this time. 

But she is being held against her will in the dim, twilit world between heaven and hell, where the spirits of the deceased wait before embarking upon their final journey. Her captor, John Hayden, claims it’s for her own safety. Because not all the departed are dear. Some are so unhappy with where they ended up after leaving the Underworld, they’ve come back as Furies, intent on vengeance…on the one who sent them there and on the one whom he loves. But while Pierce might be safe from the Furies in the Underworld, far worse dangers could be lurking for her there…and they might have more to do with its ruler than with his enemies. 

And unless Pierce is careful, this time there’ll be no escape.

Thoughts: Well we can now officially say I am a sucker for gorgeous cover designs! If some of you out there were unsure now it is finalized; the last 4 weeks all I have chosen were books based on some sort of mythological story AND how amazingly beautiful the covers were. This time we are diving into the world of Meg Cabot's Abandon Trilogy which follows the teenager Pierce as she is trapped in the place between heave and hell, in this case called the Underworld. Now I haven't read the first book and I have heard good and bad things about it but I still think because I am a long long time fan of Meg Cabot I am going to give it a try. I think the storyline sounds familiar of Young Adult Paranormal these days but I always find that Meg Cabot really can make the story her own. So unique and the characters with so much realty to them. I am definitely looking forward to jumping into this trilogy once I get a chance!

Teaser Tuesday (12)

Teaser Tuesdays is a bookish meme hosted by Should Be Reading.

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share 2 "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author too, so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

the Teaser:

“My God, Sage. Your eyes. How have I never noticed them?" 

That uncomfortable feeling was spreading over again. "What about them?" 

"The color," he breathed. "When you stand in the light. They're amazing...like molten gold. I could paint those..." He reached toward me but then pulled back. "They're beautiful. You're beautiful.” 

"Bloodlines" by Richelle Mead

Page: Unknown (I forgot)

Waiting on Wednesday (16)

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by "Breaking the Spine" were bloggers can post their anticipated upcoming publications!

This weeks WoW was a little more difficult due to the recent break up with my significant other. I wanted something fun and light hearted - something everyone would like. But all I kept finding was a constant theme of sad and depressed books. Soooo I think I found a good mixture of excitement and breakup sadness as I like to say. 

Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey

Publication Date: December 8th, 2011

Publisher: Philomel/Penguin

A thrilling debut story of death, love, destiny and danger

"Lenzi hears voices and has visions - gravestones, floods, a boy with steel gray eyes. Her boyfriend, Zak, can't help, and everything keeps getting louder and more intense. Then Lenzi meets Alden, the boy from her dreams, who reveals that she's a reincarnated Speaker - someone who can talk to and help lost souls - and that he has been her Protector for centuries."

"Now Lenzi must choose between her life with Zak and the life she is destined to lead with Alden. But time is running out: a malevolent spirit is out to destroy Lenzi, and he will kill her if she doesn't make a decision soon."

Thoughts: the best thing about this book is that it is not a long wait till it is published in Canada, only 8 short days away! I absolutely love the cover as well ... the flow of the petals, the coloration of the entire cover the red and greens, very earthly, and of course how the girl is positioned on the cover - almost free falling, I love every little bit of the cover! The description at first through me off, reminding me a lot of Rachel Vincent's novels "Soul Screamers" but then the whole guardian part of it is very intriguing to me. I also really enjoy the uniqueness of the name used of the characters, Lenzi and Alden. So this is my "Waiting on Wednesday", a little bit of excitement for a new release with a mixture of romance, fantasy, and death.

Dusty Reads (1)

Dusty Reads is a weekly post featuring a book that has been sitting unread on your bookshelves for some time! Hosted by the wonderful Giselle @ .Xpresso Reads. takes place Tuesday to Tuesday of each week. To participate, add your name to the linky below her posts and try to visit a few of the others.
Note: Books don't have to be 'x' years old. If you've had the book for a few months without reading it, it's dusty! ;)

This week I decided to participate in Dusty Reads! I know it is hosted on Tuesday but seeing as I am trying to catch up on some reviews and reading today I wanted to post something on the blog for a Saturday Post! I think this is a great idea for a weekly meme because we really get to know the types of styles and different types of books we all have on our shelves waiting to be read. And if those books haven't been read yet due to bad reviews or bad comments we could always encourage that person with positive feed back if the book is in fact wonderful!

This Weeks Dusty Read:

"Delirium" by Lauren Oliver

Published: February 2011

Publisher: HarperTeen

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy. But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

Thoughts: I have had "Delirium" by Lauren Oliver on my book shelf ever since I received it in September in a book order. I was going to dive right into it but I was in the middle of Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead and I couldn't put it down. Then I had asked a couple of my blogger friends and they said it wasn't as good as they thought it was going to be, and that really disappointed me because usually we all have the same taste in books and usually the same opinions so I put it aside, and I haven't gone back to it yet. I think over the Christmas Holidays I will pick it up and give it a good shot and see what I think but for now it will remain on my to-read shelf.