In My Mailbox (17)

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren in which you share the books you added to your collection in the past week.

Hi friends! This week I totally busted my self-imposed library embargo in the attempt to secure reads that would satisfy my current reading cravings.  Plus I got a couple of bookish non-book related things!

First up was my Farenheit 451 shirt from Threadless.  This shirt first came out really early in Threadless history, something like 7 years ago.  I really wanted it at the time, but missed out.  Well, they finally reprinted it, so I had to splurge! 

With it is the start to my Margaret Dashwood Shawl, a pattern I’m working on from the new Jane Austen Knits magazine!  I don’t usually share my knitting on the blog, but since I picked up a whole slough of Jane Austen inspired patterns this week, I thought some of you Austen fans might like to see!  I think that at some point (like after I finish the 4 projects I’m currently working on), I’ll have to make the gorgeous Marianne’s Romantic Bookmark, and give it away on the blog!  I actually have the yarn for it on hand, but want to dye it first.

---

For Review from NetGalley:

Dead Reckoning by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edgehill
So one of my all-time favorite authors writing alternate history old west with a girl who dresses as a boy, zombies, and steampunk?  How could I not sign up for that?! Actually finished this one already.  I had some issues, but still enjoyed the read, my review will be up tomorrow.  Thanks, Bloomsbury!

Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone
As many people probably know, girls dressing up as boys is only one of the things that’ll make me pick up a book.  One of the others?  Time travel!  This one sounds interesting, and potentially cute, and I’m excited to check it out!  Thanks Disney-Hyperion.  I’m thankful that as a librarian I have the opportunity to preview Hyperion books.

Shameful Library Binge:

Cinderella: Fables Are Forever by Chris Roberson
I have been waiting for this one for months to satiate my Fables craving. I’m a bit wary since Patrick Rothfuss was pretty meh about it, but I’m trying to go in without expectations. I did very much like the first installment, From Fabletown With Love.

The Return Man by V.M. Zito
This one sounded like a potentially good zombie read, featuring the man who returns to the lands abandoned after the zombie apocalypse in order to provide families with the opportunity to have closure and bury their loved ones.  I’ll be honest though, I likely won’t get to this one atm.  The hold came in at an awkward time, and I’m not sure I can do 3 zombie reads in a row, which I would have to do to fit this one in!  I can always pick it up again later though, if anyone’s read this and has thoughts, let me know!

Hexed by Ilona Andrews (and others)
Hexed is a collection of 4 novellas, but we all know why I got it—to read Magic Dreams by Ilona Andrews!  Totally excited for some Jim and Dali story. 

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
I decided that even though I’m busy this summer, I’d sign up for the Outlander Read-a-long! Again…time travel. Not only time travel, but time travel involving Scotland and cute red headed boys.  Yes, please!

Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn
I really don’t know much about this one other than it’s come highly recommended by Holly and Angie, and when it comes to this sort of thing, I take their word for it!  Think that this might be the perfect grown-up read to help me out of my YA funk.

Gifted

The Swan Kingdom by Zoë Marriott
Ever since I fell for her newest book, Shadows on the Moon, I’ve been dying to read Zoë Marriott’s backlog.  Debz, who loves fairy tale retellings quite possibly even more than I do, hosted a recent giveaway in which she offered a copy of one of the fairy tales she’s reviewed!  When I found out I won, it didn’t take me long to decide The Swan Kingdoms would be it for me.  Thanks so much again, Debz!

Two weeks of Bunburying

Magic Mourns by Ilona Andrews
Railsea by China Miéville
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
White Cat by Holly Black
Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty
The Prince Who Fell From the Sky by John Claude Bemis
The Fault in our Stars by John Green
Road to Avonlea

That’s it for me this week, what new reads have you picked up?  Who’s going to be at BEA? Find me and say hi!

In My Mailbox (16)

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren in which you share the books you added to your collection in the past week.

Hi friends! This post is covering the past couple of weeks as I’ve been being good and not collecting quite so many books as of late.  I’m invoking a library moratorium on myself until I get a good chunk of these lovelies that I actually own read.  We’ll see how that goes…

From the Library:
Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath [Amazon|GoodReads]
I know I just said library moratorium, right?  Well, there are still some books I need.  I plan to keep getting the series I’m in the middle of (Kate Daniels and Jessica Darling), and this!  A while back I picked up an ARC of the companion novel to Everything on a Waffle, One Year in Coal Harbor, and of course I wanted to read the first one first!  Particularly because this is also a Newberry award winner.  Plus, isn’t the paperback cover adorable?  She looks so much like my little redheaded niece, I love it…also it makes me hungry.

For review:
Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill [Amazon|GoodReads]
I am loving this dreamy cover people, and since it involves London, sounds super cute, and I’ve heard wonderful things from those who’ve already read it, I’m excited to check it out!  Requested via NetGalley, thanks Delacorte!

Borrowed:
White Horse by Alex Adams [Amazon|GoodReads]
The lovely Janice from Janicu’s Book Blog and I had a weird meet cute on Twitter where we realized we had a mutual friend in real life who happens to live about halfway between the two of us.  After finishing White Horse (you can read her review here), she offered to let me borrow it and we used our mutual friend as a book mule and halfway house.  Thanks to both of you!

Won…I’ve been super lucky lately. I’d better be careful or people will want to start taking me on dangerous adventures:
Touch by Jus Accardo [Amazon|GoodReads]
So does everyone remember back to the YA March Madness tournament?  Touch was this book I’d never heard of, and yet it kept trouncing other books.  Jacinda from The Reading Housewives of Indiana had such enthusiasm for Touch (read her review here) that it was catching.  She, and the lovely people at Entangled Publishing offered up a copy of Touch, and I was lucky enough to snag it!  After the tournament, and this awesome interview with Jus where she and the cast of Touch took on My Little Pony, I can’t wait to read it.  Thanks to all those involved!

Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral  [Amazon|GoodReads]
I’ve been fascinated with the concept of this book ever since I first heard of this book through the author, Gayle Forman, who cited it as an example of where she thought the future of YA might be headed.  I read this one in about an hour one evening this past week, and thought it was awesomely innovative (though quite frankly the ending will have me ‘wtf’ing for days.  Thanks so much to the charming Anna from Anna Reads for hosting the giveaway, and to Razorbill for the book!

The False Prince by Jennifer Nielson [Amazon|GoodReads]
What’s that you say?  Didn’t you get The False Prince from the library in your last IMM?  Why yes, yes I did.  I got it from the library, read it, loved it, and was ecstatic about winning Jennifer Nielson’s Twitter contest for a signed copy of the book!  As someone who rereads a lot, especially as series come out, I love owning books I enjoy.  I was so happy to put this one on my shelf, especially since Jennifer was kind enough to sign it for me!

My bunburying as of late

Neversink by Barry Wolverton
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
Fracture by Megan Miranda
The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy
Struck by Jennifer Bosworth
Faery Tales and Nightmares by Melissa Marr
How to Flirt With a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper
Fever Crumb by Philip Reeves
Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews

That’s it for me these days, let me know what’s up around your corner of the world these days!

In My Mailbox (15): A personal statement and then some fun!

So this past week the book blogging community had a pretty caustic atmosphere.  And I stayed out of it.  But then, the weekend rolls around, and I’m faced with a decision that will put me into the argument whether I want to be or not: In My Mailbox: to participate, or not to participate, that is the question.  And here is my answer:

Yes!  I am going to continue to participate in this meme, but I want to clarify why.  First off, I need to say that plagiarism isn’t a ‘little mistake’, it is a crime.  It’s stealing.  The same way walking into a store and taking a shirt off the rack without paying is stealing.  I do not think that we need to forgive and forget this serious issue, I think we need to remember and learn from it.  HOWEVER I also do not think that it is productive to make personal attacks towards those involved, and especially not towards the victims.  I have been embarrassed for quite a few people on both sides of this argument this week, and as someone who is also friendly with people on both sides of this argument (not the embarrassing ones ), it’s been very uncomfortable.  I do not know Kristi, but I get the impression that she is a lovely, kind, friendly, and caring individual.  Honestly, I haven’t ever reached out to or spoken to her at all, nor has she reached out and spoken to me—and that’s fine!  Yes, these events, which were handled poorly, will affect my opinion of her, but as someone who has no personal experience with Kristi it honestly doesn’t affect me or our relationship in any way. 

I choose to continue to participate in In My Mailbox not as a statement for or against The Story Siren, but because—get this—I do it for me!  In My Mailbox is fun.  It allows me to fangirl, and get oh so excited when I finally get a certain book in my hands, and I love sharing that enthusiasm.  In My Mailbox is the #1 way I am introduced to books I hadn’t seen before, whether they be forthcoming or a hidden gem that’s been around for a lifetime.  In My Mailbox is how I’ve found some new blogs to follow, blogs I love, and bloggers who are wonderful.  It’s how some people have found me.  Yes, I am grateful and happy for the blog traffic I receive each week as a result of IMM.  Maybe the bulk of people only visit in hopes that I will visit their own blogs and bump up their stats, but you know what?  That’s just how some relationships start, and having someone tell me they’re a new follower?  That makes my day. Every. Time. 

So yes, I will continue to participate in In My Mailbox.  No, I do not think plagiarism is a minor issue or okay, but nor do I think Kristi is a horrible or malicious person.  So now that that’s all out there, let’s move on to the fun part, shall we?  Because, quite frankly, my mailbox this week was stuffed full of AWESOME.

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren in which you share the books you added to your collection in the past week.

Do you love Middle Grade?  I certainly do!  And really, If your answer is no, I feel you may not enjoy life quite well enough.  This week I picked up THREE awesome new and coming MG titles:

From NetGalley:
The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy by Nikki Loften [Amazon|GoodReads]
If you haven’t seen this one yet, go check it out, because it sounds, well, splendid.  Mysterious Middle Grade boarding school fun, I love the cover, and I want to do a back to back reading of this and The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls.  Thanks Razorbill!

From the library:
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen [Amazon|GoodReads]
I’ve been pining for this one for some time.  It just sounds so adventurous.  That said, I’m a little wary.  Reviews, from reviewers I trust, have been all over the map on this one.  Some pledged their undying love, some said ‘meh’.  I’m excited to see where I fall, after all, I cannot resist a book when the hero has been frequently compared to Eugenides of The Queen’s Thief.
Storybound by Marissa Burt [Amazon|GoodReads]
Unlike The False Prince, I’ve heard only positive things about Storybound.  Sounds kind of like The Neverending Story gone fairy tale to me, and who could resist that?

But wait! That’s not all.  I also got these lovelies to have and to hold:

Won (because sometimes, even I get lucky):
Awkward by Marni Bates [Amazon|GoodReads]
WHY AM I SO AWKWARD?!  The world may never know.  But I’m about to find out why this chick is so awkward, and I’m totally excited for this hilarious, fun YA.  Thanks to the lovely Amy of Tripping Over Books and everyone else involved in this blog tour, I was lucky enough to win a finished copy of Awkward.  YAY!  Awkward happy dancing abounds.
Of Poseidon by Anna Banks [Amazon|GoodReads]
Who wants to take bets on whether or not I can correctly spell Poseidon by the end of reading this book and typing my review?  Anyone?  I won an ARC of this one courtesy of the lovely people at Feiwel and Friends and Erica of The Book Cellar, and I want to thank them both!

Purchased:
Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews [Amazon|GoodReads]
I’ve had this one on hold at the library for about two months, but it was just not happening.  At least not fast enough.  I had to have it.  I mean, a girl’s gotta get her some Beast Lord when she wants her some Beast Lord.  Amirite or amirite? So I finally broke down and bought this one. So. Worth it.

A Week of Bunburying

I wrapped up my participation in Dewey’s Readathon.
I reviewed the audiobook of Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
I listed my Top Ten Favorite Chicks in Books
I saluted my shorts with a review of Faery Tales and Nightmares by Melissa Mar
I announced that I’m waiting on Envy by Elizabeth Miles
I reviewed the graphic novel Kill Shakespeare Vol. 1
I reviewed *cough* bemoaned The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa
I reviewed/fangirled over Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

So let’s have some hugs and love all around, and let me know what you got in your mailbox this week—whether or not you’re still participating in the meme!

In My Mailbox (14): There’s nuffin like a Puffin!

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren in which you share the books you added to your collection in the past week.

Hi friends!  This week was all about the puffin love!  So….here’s a little fact you may not know about me: I love puffins.  I adore them.  They are my all time favorite birds, and one of my overall favorite animals.  I make my boyfriend divert down the organic isle at the grocery store just so I can squee at the cartoon puffin on the Puffin brand cereal boxes (though I’ve been quite put out since they reduced the size and visibility of said puffin).  My dream vacation is to this island in Scotland where there are lots of puffins and otters (another of my favorite animals).  One of our first dates was to Sea World, where my boyfriend let me spend an inordinate amount of time in the puffin section.  I honestly don’t know why so many people are into penguins when there’s puffins in the world—they swim and fly which makes them far superior in my mind.

ANYWAY this week I get to express my puffin love in my mailbox!  First off, I got to pick up Neversink by Barry Wolverton from the library, a MG title I have been dying for as of course it has a puffin protagonist.  And then this evening I came home from dinner to find a Puffin post card from Chachic!  Chachic, of Chachic’s Book Nook, is one of the sweetest bloggers out there, and because I got so excited when I saw she’d picked up the Puffin Books postcard package, she was kind enough to send me one starring my beloved bird!

I also picked up two audiobooks:

American on Purpose: the Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot by Craig Ferguson
I’ve been wanting to read the memoirs of one of my favorite comedians, and absolutely favorite show host for some time.  Then, Jac of For Love and Books posted a review of the audiobook a couple weeks back, and I realized that since Craig Ferguson reads it himself, of course this was the format for me!  I’ve already started in on this one.

The Disreputable History of Franki Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
This is my book club’s selection for May.  I’ve never listened to an audiobook for book club instead of reading it, but I’m going to give it a go this time round.  This will be my first E. Lockhart.

This week of Bunburying

Review: Shadows on the Moon by Zoë Marriot
Top Ten Favorite Fairy Tales/Retellings
Salute Your Shorts: Winter’s Passage: An Iron Fey novella by Julie Kagawa
Waiting on Wednesday: The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente
Review: Ordinary Magic by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway
Audio Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Review: Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews
Oh, it’s on! Dewey’s Readathon

This week I’ve participated in two events that I’ve loved, including my first Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon and Fairy Tale Fortnight.  I encourage you to check out the fun, particularly Fairy Tale Fortnight which will continue through the end of the month!  What about you, are you participating in the Readathon?  Which books have you conquered?

In My Mailbox (13)

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren in which you share the books you added to your collection in the past week.

Hi friends!  I made the mistake of letting myself go into the MG section of the library this week, but was able to cut myself off after only three books.  Here’s the stack (clicky for GoodReads):

Library

The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf – Moly Harper: I finished this first book in this series, How to Flirt With a Naked Werewolf, about a week or so ago and had so much fun, I ran out to get the second.

I’ve Got Your Number – Sophie Kinsella: I haven’t read any Sophie Kinsella before, but this one sounds cute and has gotten good reviews from bloggers I heart like Angie (Angieville) and Holly (Book Harbinger).  Since I’ve recently jumped on the chick-lit train, I decided to check it out!

Girl in Blue – Ann Rinaldi: On Twitter, Tara (Hobbitsies) reminded me of the existence of Ann Rinaldi.  She was one of my favorite authors in middle school when I was on this massive historical fiction kick, and somehow I forgot about her!  I realized my library has a sizable stack of her books, including Girl in Blue, which involves a girl dressing as a boy to fight in the civil war, and we all know how I feel about that sort of thing!

Castle in the Air – Diana Wynne Jones: The first companion book to Howl’s Moving Castle, I had to have it immediately after finishing the former and loving it so much.

This Dark Endeavor – Kenneth Oppel: I’ve wanted to read this one since it came out, and when my eyes happened to glance over it on the shelf, I couldn’t stop myself from grabbing it (it was at the point I made myself exit the stacks)…

Audiobook

Black Heart – Holly Black: I listened to White Cat not too long ago, and dug it so much I picked up Red Glove before I was through.  I’ll be starting that one today!  I put myself on the wait list for Black Heart, and was second…guess whoever was in front of me failed to meet the ‘you have three days to check this book out’ requirement, and I got Black Heart on Friday!

 

ARC For Review:

Blackwood – Gwenda Bond: A contemp that brings in the mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke—sounds potentially awesome to me!  Thanks to Strange Chemistry and NetGalley.

Thieftaker – D.B. Jackson: Historical fantasy set during the revolutionary war?  Yes please!  Thanks to Tor Books and NetGalley, I am SO excited for this one.

Shadowfell – Juliet Marillier: It haven been literally weeks since I’d requested this one, I’d pretty much given up hope and happily resigned myself to reading this one when it comes out.  But no, Random House came through for me, and I thank them and Edelweiss very much for this ARC!

This Week of Bunburying

Review: The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman
Top Ten Tuesday: I’ve Been Had!
Salute Your Shorts: Mouse Koan by Catherynne Valente
Audio Review: The Help by Katheryn Stockett
Waiting on Wednesday: Two and Twenty Dark Tales
Review: Tessa Masterson Will Go to Prom by Brendan Halpin and Emily Franklin
Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
Thoughts on Young Adult: The Movie

Thanks for stopping by!  What did you get in your mailbox this week?

In My Mailbox (12)

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren in which you share the books you added to your collection in the past week.

Hi friends!  I had another fantastic book week (is there a bad book week?), and picked up another stack of books I’m already worried about making time for.  Here’s what I picked up (as always, clicky for GoodReads):

Audiobook:

Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery:  I decided it was high time for a visit to Avonlea, it’s been too long, so I picked up an old book in a new format and am currently listening to Anne of Green Gables.  It’s absolutely lovely, I’m smiling more often than not while listening, and outright laughing a good deal as well.  Totally recommended for a re-read (or a first read!) of this book.

Library:

Faery Tales and Nightmares – Melissa Marr:  This hold finally came in for me, and I’m so excited to tear through this collection of short stories!  About half of them take place in the Wicked Lovely universe, so I’m planning to split of my Salute Your Shorts review between WL and non-WL stories.

Second Helpings – Megan McCafferty: This is the book I was most excited about getting my hands on this week.  I’m literally losing sleep over Jessica Darling and Marcus Flutie, and I cannot wait to crack this one open.

Saving Francesca – Melina Marchetta: About two weeks ago I mentioned Marchetta as one of the top authors on my TBR of Shame.  This week I picked up not one but two of her books, so soon I will be shameful no more!

Damned – Chuck Palahniuk: Palahniuk is one of my favorite adult authors.  He’s pretty much a must-read for me, and I was pumped when I saw Damned on Overdrive without a wait list.  Yoink!  And get this description from the author, YA readers, because if this doesn’t make you want to read this book, nothing will: "if The Shawshank Redemption had a baby by The Lovely Bones and it was raised by Judy Blume." And "it's kind of like The Breakfast Club set in Hell."

Gifted:

I was outrageously gleeful to hear from Wendy that I won The Midnight Garden’s blogoversary giveaway of $25 to spend at The Book Despository.  Happy happy blogoversary to The Midnight Garden, and thank you so so much for the books! <3

Jellicoe Road – Melina Marchetta: My second Marchetta of the week, and this one’s to keep!  I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about Jellicoe Road, maybe more so than any of her other books as this was the Printz book.  Very excited to read it!

Daughter of the Forest – Juliet Marillier: Another book from my TBR of Shame!  I’ve been wanting to read Marillier for a long time, and I’ve heard such wonderful things about this series I cannot believe I haven’t picked it up years ago.

Good Omens – Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett: One of my all-time favorites!  This is my second copy, as I loaned the first out years ago and am pretty sure at this point I’ll never see that again.  I like to own my favorite books since I tend to reread, so happy to have this in my hands again!  I owned the Neil Gaiman cover last time, so it’s fun to mix it up and have the Terry Pratchett cover now.

Bought:

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord – Sarah J. Mass:  So….who’s excited for Throne of Glass?  This girl, for one!  I saw on GoodReads that there are three prequel shorts, and as I lurv this sort of thing, I snatched the first one up (the first one’s free, the other two are 99 cents a piece).

For Review:

Throne of Glass – Sarah J. Mass:  Omg you guys, this book sounds sooooooooo good!  After reading Grave Mercy I am all about female assassins, so I pretty much pounced all over this one on NetGalley.  Thanks Bloomsbury! 

The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories – Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton, and Brenna Yovanoff:  So for the third time today, I am a lover of short stories, so when I saw Maggie Stiefvater tweet about The Curiosities, it immediately jumped on my radar.  This is my favorite cover of any book I picked up this week too, love it!  Was so happy to see it on NetGalley this week.  Thanks Lerner!

Weekly Recap:

Review: I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
Top Ten Tuesday: Books to read in a day.
Salute Your Shorts: A Questionable Client by Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels #.5)
Waiting on Wednesday: Embers and Echoes by Karsten Knight (Wildefire #2)
Review: The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
Review: There Is No Dog by Meg Rosoff
Review: Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels #1)
Discussion: Dehumanization: Why people dying can be funny, and animals dying never is.

That’s it for me everyone!  Let me know what you got in your mailbox this week.  Cheers!

In My Mailbox (11)

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren in which you share the books you added to your collection in the past week.

Hi all!  This was a pretty fantastic week for me book-wise, marred only by the reality that I still don't have my hands on Magic Strikes, which means that having my hands on Magic Bleeds is slightly less exciting than it should be.  Here's what I picked up (as always, clicky for GoodReads):

For review: 

I Hunt Killers - Barry Lyga: Received as part of an ARC tour hosted by the lovely ladies over at The Midnight Garden.  Already read it, and loved it.  Was gruesomely awesome, and I'll be posting my review Monday!

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom - Christopher Healy: Digital gally received from Walden Pond Press via Edelweiss.  SO excited for this MG title, I've gotten to see a lot of the art popping up around blogs this past week, and it sounds super cute.

Audiobooks (all from library):

Fever Crumb - Philip Reeve: I actually got this one a few weeks ago and forgot to add it to my last IMM.  Already listened to it!  Review to come.

An Abundance of Katherines - John Green: Already finished this one as well!  Loved it, this was my first John Green and audio was the way to go.  Except that it made me laugh while running, which then made me have an asthma attack.  Worth it.

White Cat - Holly Black: Listening to this one now and it's pretty awesome.  My first full Holly Black novel, and Jesse Eisenberg is a fantastic narrator. 

Red Glove - Holly Black: Liking White Cat so much that I already picked up Red Glove to listen to next.

Library Goodies:

Spell Bound - Rachel Hawkins: The conclusion to the Hex Hall trilogy was my most anticipated read of the year.  I'll be reading this one asap!

Born Wicked - Jessica Spotswood: I've heard all sorts of good things about this historical fantasy, which finally came in for me from hold!

The Fault in Our Stars - John Green: Honestly I'm kind of dreading this one, even though I know I'll love it.  It's my book club read for April though, so glad I have something to force the issue!

Must Love Hellhounds - Ilona Andrews (et all): This anthology includes a Kate Daniels short story that takes place between the 3rd and 4th books of the series.

Magic Bleeds - Ilona Andrews: Like I said, I'd be more excited about this one if I'd gotten Magic Strikes as well.  I mean come on library that shall not be named!  They were sitting on the shelf right next to each other.  You really couldn't send me both?  If I don't get Magic Strikes in soon, I'll just have to buy it.  Such is my want for this book.

Gifted:

The Humming Room - Ellen Potter: Ellen and the lovely people over at Feiwel and Friends sent me a finished copy of The Humming Room for participating in the blog tour, and I was so excited!!  I loved this book, and Ellen is wonderful; she was so sweet to personalize it for me, and it meant a lot as this is the first book I've had personalized in about 15 years.

That's it for me!  This past week on the blog I reviewed Jill Hathaway's debut, Slide, Maggie Stiefvater's The Scorpio Races, Erin Saldin's The Girls of No Return, and Megan Whalen Turner's A Conspiracy of Kings.  Upcoming will be Barry Lyga's I Hunt Killers, Emily M. Danforth's debut, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Meg Rosoff's There Is No Dog, and I'll kick off Kate Daniels with the short story A Questionable Client, and the first installment, Magic Bites.

Thanks for stopping by, and let me know what you got in your mailbox this week!

In My Mailbox (10)

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren in which you share the books you added to your collection in the past week.

Hi friends!  So this week you get a rare real picture from me as I got LOTS of physical stuff.  This is pretty unusual for me as the bulk of my reading is done digitally these days.  Here's what I got, clicky for GoodReads:

From the library:

Dark and Stormy Knights - Edited by P.N. Elrod: I picked this up because it contains Ilona Andrews's short Kate Daniels story, A Questionable Client.  I've already read it, and don't really plan to read the rest of the stories in the collection.  If you've read any of them that I shouldn't skip, let me know!

How to Flirt With a Naked Werewolf - Molly Harper: So I've never done paranormal romance for adults, but Molly Harper was highly recommended by Melissa Marr, and I read what that woman recommends like it's my job.  Molly Harper's more famous Nice Girls series is about a children's librarian who's a vampire, and while that's hard to resist, I'm much more of a werewolf kinda girl.  Plus I think the cover's adorable and it looks like she either has a bra made of hair or a hairy chest...

Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones: This is one of those books I've always wanted to read, but just hadn't bothered to yet.  Well, now's the time!  I love this paperback cover.  Totally cute and fun, and reminds me of a non-scary Baba Yaga's house.

Scarlet - A.C. Gaughen: Ahhhh!!!  I cannot describe to you my reaction when I saw this one FINALLY came in for me.  This was one of my most anticipated reads on 2012, and I cannot wait to read it.  If only I didn't have obligations like book club books to get through before next weekend.  Ugh!

From Erica (The Book Cellar):

Sooo...I was lucky enough to win the January prize pack for Erica's MG/YA Fantasy challenge!  I finally got the package this week (not complaining at all, poor Erica just forgot to take prize books with her back to school after Christmas), and it's full of goodies!  I got...

Everlasting - Angie Frazier:  I honestly don't know much about this book other than that I adore the cover and it makes me think of Tuck Everlasting, which is enough reason to read anything if you ask me.

Cinder (ARC) - Marissa Meyer: I've already read (and loved) Cinder, but I borrowed my finished copy from the library, so it'll be nice to have this around for a re-read before Scarlet next year! 

Swag: A chapter sampler for The Wood Queen by Karen Mahoney.  A completely awesome Witch Eyes bookmark signed by Scott Tracy, bookmarks for Forgive My Fins, Breath of Angel, Sirenz, The Iron Queen (my favorite after Witch Eyes), and Sweet Venom/a Sweet Venom sticker.  I've never really been good at using actual bookmarks (I used to use gum wrappers, now I use library receipts), let's see if that changes.

For review from NetGalley:

Of course I did get some digital titles this week, here's what...

Railsea - China Mieville: You guys!  I am so excited for this book, and I don't know why everyone else doesn't seem to be.  China Mieville is one of the biggest names in sci fi/fantasy in the past few years with books like The City and The City and Kraken.  He's been on my TBR forever (well, I did read The Tain in college), but now that he's coming out with a book 'for all ages' (aka it's YA but they don't want to say 'YA') I just have to pick it up!  Railsea is a futuristic retelling of Moby Dick, where I'm pretty sure they go around on railways that are everywhere and hunt a giant white mole.  Sounds awesome to me.

Unspoken - Sarah Rees Brennan: This is one I expect to see on a lot of IMM lists this week.  Who isn't excited to read Sarah Rees Brennan's new series, especially with the gorgeous modern Gothic cover?

Seraphina - Rachel Hartman: So I honestly wasn't going to pick this one up (despite the amazing wood carving cover), but then my buddy Alyssa read it and raved about it to me, so I knew I had to check it out.

Thank you Del Ray and Random House!

So that's my haul this week...surprising considering as of Wednesday I was thinking of not doing an IMM post because I'd only received one book!  Please ignore my carpet that needs vacuuming.  Also fair warning, this week will be one of those weeks where I gush about books I loved like Grave Mercy, There Is No Dog, and The King of Attolia.  I swear I'm not becoming one of those reviewers that has only good things to say about every book, that's just how the dice fell this time!  Please stop by, and let me know what you got in your mailbox this week.