In My Mailbox (9)

Hello again my lovelies! So sorry I didn't have an IMM last week. I posted and apology earlier explaining my lack of posting and, well, pretty much everything because we had the dreaded sickness rock our house. Four year olds are no fun when sick and neither are hubbies! So this week I am back with a vengence!

In My Mailbox is a weekly post where I go through my mail and tell you all about the goodies that have come my way. I won't bore you with the junk mail or bills (unless you want to donate to pay off the student loans that is! )!! Thanks to Kristi at The Story Siren for this meme and make sure to check out her site and let us know what you got in your mailbox and see what others received too! Have a great week everyone!

Gifts and Giveaways:
Lisa Schroeder was gracious enough to send me a signed copy of her book I heart you, you haunt me as well as signed bookmarks for my students (and giveaways) and a copy of The Hollow by Jessica Verday (which you all know I LOVE!!!)

I heart you, you haunt me by Lisa Schroeder
Girl meets boy.

Girl loses boy.

Girl gets boy back...

...sort of.

Ava can't see him or touch him, unless she's dreaming. She can't hear hisvoice, except for the faint whispers in her mind. Most would think she'scrazy, but she knows he's here.

Jackson. The boy Ava thought she'd spend the rest of her life with. He's back from the dead, as proof that love truly knows no bounds.

The Hollow by Jessica Verday
Click here to read my review of The Hollow

When Abbey's best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead?and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. Then she meets Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen's funeral, and keeps reappearing in Abbey's life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he's the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again...but also special.

Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all this, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her death? As Abbey struggles to understand Kristen's betrayal, she uncovers a frightening truth that nearly unravels her—one that will challenge her emerging love for Caspian, as well as her own sanity.

Swapped (via Paperbackswap):

Jude by Kate Morgenroth

When fifteen-year-old Jude's father is brutally murdered, Jude is a witness. But to save his own life, he can't tell the police what he knows. Still, Jude is determined to clear his name and win the approval of his mother -- the district attorney he has not seen since he was an infant.

At the urging of his mother's longtime companion, Jude agrees to a crazy scheme to protect her political future. But what Jude doesn't know is that there are buried secrets that will require him to sacrifice more than he ever dreamed. And his search for approval will turn into one for revenge.

Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith

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Quincie Morris has never felt more alone. Her parents are dead, and her hybrid-werewolf first love is threatening to embark on a rite of passage that will separate them forever. Then, as she and her uncle are about to unveil their hot vampire-themed restaurant, a brutal murder leaves them scrambling for a chef. Can Quincie transform their new hire into a culinary Dark Lord before opening night? Can he wow the crowd in his fake fangs, cheap cape, and red contact lenses — or is there more to this earnest face than meets the eye? As human and preternatural forces clash, a deadly love triangle forms, and the line between predator and prey begins to blur. Who’s playing whom? And how long can Quincie play along before she loses everything? TANTALIZE marks Cynthia Leitich Smith’s delicious debut as a preeminent author of dark fantasy.

To Review:

The Crimson Thread: A Retelling of Rumpelstiltskin by Suzanne Weyn

"Once upon a Time" Is Timeless...

The year is 1880, and Bertie, having just arrived in New York with her family, is grateful to be given work as a seamstress in the home of textile tycoon J. P. Wellington. When the Wellington family fortune is threatened, Bertie's father boasts that Bertie will save the business, that she is so skillful she can "practically spin straw into gold."
Amazingly, in the course of one night, Bertie creates exquisite evening gowns -- with the help of Ray Stalls, a man from her tenement who uses an old spinning wheel to create dresses that are woven with crimson thread and look as though they are spun with real gold. Indebted to Ray, Bertie asks how she can repay him. When Ray asks for her firstborn child, Bertie agrees, never dreaming that he is serious....




Far from You by Lisa Schroeder (funny... got two of her books in one week! YEAH!!)

Lost and alone...down the rabbit hole

Years have passed since Alice lost her mother to cancer, but time hasn't quite healed the wound. Alice copes the best she can, by writing her music, losing herself in the love of her boyfriend, and distancing herself from her father and his new wife.

But when a deadly snowstorm traps Alice with her stepmother and newborn half-sister, she'll face issues she's been avoiding for too long. As Alice looks to the heavens for guidance, she discovers something wonderful.

Perhaps she's not so alone after all...

Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick

“You think he’s yours but he’s not, I thought. You think he’s yours but really he’s mine.”

When Holly loses her virginity to Paul, a guy she barely knows, she assumes their encounter is a one-night stand. After all, Paul is too popular to even be speaking to Holly, and he happens to have a long-term girlfriend, Saskia. But ever since Holly’s mom died six months ago, Holly has been numb to the world, and she’s getting desperate to feel something, anything—so when Paul keeps pursuing her, Holly relents. Paul’s kisses are a welcome diversion, and it’s nice to feel like the kind of girl that a guy like Paul would choose.

But things aren’t so simple with Saskia around. Paul’s real girlfriend is willowy and perfect… and nothing like Holly. To make matters worse, she and Holly are becoming friends. Suddenly the consequences of Holly’s choices are all too real, and Holly stands to lose more than she ever realized she had.



Bought:
This one is super special to me because I have followed it from a fanfic piece to now a published book! My wonderfully talented friend Morgan Kearns has written a story that is completely captivating and in which I feel as if I already know the characters. I loved getting emails from her saying, "What do you think sounds better?" or "Which cover do you like?" It was so much fun to be with her through this process and I am SO DANG PROUD of her (and she knows it)!! It isn't a YA novel but it is soooooooooooo good... of course I have already started it! Amazing!!!! (I'm not biased or anything, I swear!!)

Fade to Black by Morgan Kearns


Fade to Black is a tempestuous and witty love story, complete with dangerous twists and turns that keep the reader guessing until the very last page. Kate Callahan is a news reporter in Salt Lake City whose life seems to be perfect. Her attentive boyfriend, Jesse Vasquez, is determined to prove his love for her. But the day she steps through the doors of KHB as their newest reporter and meets photographer Rich Spencer, everything changes. There is something about the way he caresses her with his eyes, speaks to her without saying a word, and lights her skin aflame with a simple touch that makes her rethink everything she’s ever known. Ultimately, she is faced with an impossible choice—one that tears her heart in two—which becomes excruciating when fate steps in and decides for her. Walking along a mountain of heartache and regret, Kate struggles to find a world where love does conquer all.


Visit Morgan here and order your copy of Fade to Black!!

Happy reading everyone!! Have a great week!