In My Mailbox (51)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, inspired by Alea and explores the contents of our mailbox on a weekly basis.

For Review:

• Exiled Queen!!! by Cinda Williams Chima (OMG, this book was too awesome!! I think I just found a new favorite series. I need the next book right NOW, I keep daydreaming about what will happen, and that hasn't happened to me in forever-- since I read Catching Fire, actually)
• Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James

Library:

• Tweet Heart by Elizabeth Rudnick
• Sleepless by Cyn Balog
• The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Borrowed (from the Awesome Emilee!):

• Delirium by Lauren Oliver
• Matched by Ally Condie
• Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
• Dangerous Neighbors by Beth Kephart

Gifts (Thank you, Emilee!!!):

• Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel
• The Ghosts of Ashbury High by Jaclyn Moriarty
• Rose Sees Red by Cecil Castellucci
• Kiss Me Deadly by Various Authors
• Wereling by Steve Feasy

And as a special treat I have a little video of the hilarious Maggie Stiefvater on her Linger tour, in her stop at Blue Willow Bookshop here in Houston, TX. Enjoy!

White Cat - Holly Black

Young Adult
Pages: 320
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Release Date: May 4, 2010

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail -- he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the con-men.

I'm not quite sure why this book has so many bad reviews. My only thought would be that it's Holly Black so everyone expected more. I did enjoy this book. Black has a unique aptitude for creating her own realistic fantasy world. It was interesting to explore this creative world she created.

Forget the faeries, now there's curseworkers. They live and breathe for the con. Except for Cassel Sharp (how cool is that name!?), who's the only one in his family who's not a curseworker. Cassel killed his best friend, who was a dreamworker-- curseworkers that work on dreams. And now he's sleep-walking again. And dreaming of a white cat.

I wasn't bored at all with this book, which is a very good thing since I normally can't tolerate slow pace on action books. So I will make this clear: it is NOT an action-filled novel. That much is true. Yet, I enjoyed this mystery world so much, and I really liked Cassel (and his name) that I fully enjoyed the book. I loved the whole dangerous Russian-mafia twist to it. The plot unfolds quite predictably but still satisfying. The writing is, of course, wonderful. The ending was kind of bizarre though, but I'm hoping the second book will mend that.

Overall, I agree it is not the best we've seen from Holly Black but it is a very promising start to a series. I still can wait for Red Glove. If you enjoy male points of view and cool new mythologies, I'm sure you will enjoy this book.

Goodreads / Amazon

Waiting on Wednesday (53)

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Wither by Lauren Destefano

What if you knew exactly when you would die?

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant she trusts, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limted time she has left.

Book 1 in the Chemical Garden Trilogy

Release Date: March 22, 2011

Goodreads / Amazon

YA Releases

This is a weekly post to spotlight (some) YA books that will be releasing during this week.

• Love Sucks! by Melissa Francis
• Jealousy by Lili St. Crow
• Echoes by Melinda Metz

• Fat Vampire: A Never Coming of Age Story by Adam Rex
• Come Fall by A.C.E Bauer (MG)
• Two the Hard Way by Travis Hunter

Radiant Shadows - Melissa Marr

Young Adult
Pages: 352
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: April 20, 2010
Source: book provided by publisher

Hunger for nourishment.
Hunger for touch.
Hunger to belong.

Half-human and half-faery, Ani is driven by her hungers.
Those same appetites also attract powerful enemies and uncertain allies, including Devlin. He was created as an assassin and is brother to the faeries' coolly logical High Queen and to her chaotic twin, the embodiment of War. Devlin wants to keep Ani safe from his sisters, knowing that if he fails, he will be the instrument of Ani's death.
Ani isn't one to be guarded while others fight battles for her, though. She has the courage to protect herself and the ability to alter Devlin's plans—and his life. The two are drawn together, each with reason to fear the other and to fear for one another. But as they grow closer, a larger threat imperils the whole of Faerie. Will saving the faery realm mean losing each other?

I'll start off by saying that as much as we try not to, the real life around us and the moment in which we read a book has much to do with our enjoyment of said book. When I read Fragile Eternity, I was in a fast pace kind of mood, and of course it was less than satisfying. When I read Radiant Shadows, I was in need of some great writing, so boy was I satisfied.

As a fan of Ink Exchange and Marr's darker moments, this novel was delightful. I prefer reading about the Dark Court than about Summer/Winter dilemma. I took my time reading this book, because incredibly enough, as majestic as her other books have been, this is the best one yet. Unbelievably, Marr's writing and enchantment seem to have bloomed to a higher level. I might be biased though, because I drool over Irial. I had no idea he would be in the book until I suddenly read his name, and I swear my breath stopped. However, fans of the Summer Court triangle (with Seth as a new fairy) will be disappointed because they'll have to wait for the final book. Throughout the whole book you can sense something big is coming; she did a wonderful job building the setting for the resolution in book 5.

The book feels like paranormal poetry. The smooth way she enchants the reader with her words is mesmerizing. I normally read for the pull of it, I like things to happen fast, no page-wasting. Except when it comes to Marr, to her natural and magical storytelling that pull us into her unique faerie world of danger and revenge. This is a book to lay back and savor it's wonders.

Overall, I cant be more excited about the final book! I cant wait to see where all this is going. Highly recommended if you've enjoyed her other books and it can very well stand on it's own too.

Goodreads / Amazon