August 5, 2012

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. It’s awesome. Every week, we all get a chance to tell everyone what new books we’ve gotten so that we can tell you guys and we can all drool and squee together! Huzzah for squees!

Guys, I had a bit of a craptastic week last week, so I decided to soothe my weary self by going on a spree. Hence the mini-splosion of books courtesy of my wallet. I’ve been meaning to buy finished copies of lots of these books and I finally did it. Plus, I got some pretty sweet gems from NetGalley, too! Bad week is instantly BETTER!

NETGALLEY

Stormdancer: The Lotus War #1 by Jay Kristoff (September 18, 2012 from Thomas Dunne Books). Guys. I’ve been excited about this book for a long while now. I cannot wait to read the story of Yukiko and her dangerous quest and her crumbling world–a Japanese-based fantasy-punk kind of place. Also: CHECK THAT SLEEVE TATTOO. Dying.

The Lost Prince: Call of the Forgotten #1 by Julie Kagawa (October 23, 2012 from Harlequin Teen). Obviously I would be right on top of this one, guys. It’s the first book in the companion series to The Iron Fey, my favorite fairy series of ever. This one is about Meghan’s brother, Ethan. Who, if you’ve read those books, was a basically a toddler the last time we saw him. Ahem. Not a toddler anymore. And now he’s getting into some fae shenanigans himself. I can’t wait to read this one.

The Unfailing Light: The Katerina Trilogy #2 by Robin Bridges (October 9, 2012 from Random House Children’s). Guys, I enjoyed THE GATHERING STORM, the first book in this historical paranormal set in tsarist Russia because, one, I love historical paranormals. Two, the Romanovs are one of my many geek-gasm topics. I was a little confused by the story, but I’m looking forward to the second book nonetheless. I need to know what happens to Katiya and George!

(THANKS MUCHLY to St. Martin’s Griffin/Thomas Dunne, Harlequin Teen, and Random House for these awesome books!)

BOUGHT

The Demon King: Seven Realms #1 by Cinda Williams Chima. Friends, Cinda Williams Chima’s fantasy series is LEGIT. I have copies of the other two books in this series–THE EXILED QUEEN and THE GRAY WOLF THRONE–but I read this first one after checking it out of my library. I need it, though. And now I have it. HUZZAH! (PS. Read these. They’re super.)

Cinder: The Lunar Chronicles #1 by Marissa Meyer. Another book that I loved to bits and pieces, but didn’t have a finished copy of. CINDER was outstanding. One of my favorite books of this year. I love the world and the characters and EVERYTHING. I can’t wait for SCARLET!

Legend: Legend #1 by Marie Lu. It seems a crime that I didn’t have a finished copy of LEGEND, right? I mean, I’ve sung its praises far and wide, and was salivating at the prospect of getting a copy of PRODIGY, book 2, at BEA this year. Alas, when you are broke, some things have to take a back seat, and so I was never able to buy a copy of LEGEND for myself until now. Woot!

The Waiting Sky by Lara Zielin. I’m sorry, did you say storm chasers? I’m in. I’m in! And what’s that? Tornadoes, did you say? Alright, alright, I SAID I was in!! No need to try to convince me any more! Oh, plus there’s brother/sister drama and a little romance on the side? Wow. That’s a lot of awesome in one book.

The Luxe, Envy, Rumors: The Luxe #1-3 by Anna Godbersen. So here’s the deal: These books are just soapy, dramatic fun. I liked them quite a bit, and I have the fourth one, SPLENDOR, but I didn’t have the first three. I love historical fiction books, and this series, set in turn-of-the-century (that would be the 20th century) New York, is a good time.

I’m so excited for the books I got this week! Hope you guys love what you got in your mailboxes, too!

July 29, 2012

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. It’s awesome. Every week, we all get a chance to tell everyone what new books we’ve gotten so that we can tell you guys and we can all drool and squee together! Huzzah for squees!

In which I am feeling bingey for New Adult books and buy a load of them. 

BOUGHT

Flat Out Love by Jessica Park. So friends, I’m really loving these New/Mature YA books that are around. I’ve always wished there were more books out there featuring ACTUAL LITERAL young adults, as opposed to high schoolers who aren’t quite adults yet. FLAT OUT LOVE is about a girl from Ohio who’s going to college in Boston and winds up living in a house with two MIT professors and their kids. And wouldn’t you know it? There’s brothers there. I’m super excited for this one.

Between the Lines: Between the Lines #1 by Tammara Webber. GUYS. I read Tammara Webber‘s book EASY in, like, a few hours last week after it had been lingering on my kindle for months. My review will be up later this week, but let me give you a preview: FREAKING AWESOME. I immediately went and discovered that Tammara has a whole series of New Adult/Mature YA books, starting with this one about a bunch of young hot kids shooting a movie together on location. Yes please.

Where You Are: Between the Lines #2 by Tammara Weber. A continuation of the dramz from book 1. There are four young people in that book and they are all still around. To be honest, it sounds like people are getting with each other/forming attachments all over the place. JUICY!

Good For You: Between the Lines #3 by Tammara Webber. So the first two books seem to be about a group of young people, but this one looks like it focuses on Reid Alexander, this Hollywood hotshot guy who’s gotten into some trouble with the LAW. Seriously, I love the sound of all of these books.

I’m so excited for the books I got this week! Hope you guys love what you got in your mailboxes, too!

July 22, 2012

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. It’s awesome. Every week, we all get a chance to tell everyone what new books we’ve gotten so that we can tell you guys and we can all drool and squee together! Huzzah for squees!

Couple of good ones this week, friends. They sound cute/awesome/fun. Or, in the case of one of them, already ARE awesome. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. 

NETGALLEY

The Demon Catchers of Milan by Kat Beyer (August 28, 2012 from EgmontUSA). So this one sounds like it has the potential to be LEGIT. Italian demon hunters? Ancient evils? A young American girl who must travel to her ancestral home in Milan to learn the tricks of the family trade? LOTS of potential, I’d say.

Rockoholic by C.J. Skuse (November 1, 2012 from Scholastic). So I’m not entirely sure that this book is actually new. But it IS new to me, so I guess that counts. Plus it sounds like BOATLOADS of good times: a young girl goes to a concert of her favorite band and “accidentally” (I can’t wait to see how THAT works) kidnaps the lead singer, and now he won’t leave her house. The Goodreads summary quotes “Paparazzi” by Lady Gaga, which could be…not flattering. But also hilarious. I’ll take a flyer on it.

(Tackle hugs to EgmontUSA and Scholastic for these puppies!)

BOUGHT

Small Damages by Beth Kephart. I’ve been totally enthralled by the sound of this book for awhile now, and when I heard some people whose opinions I trust completely REALLY loving it, I knew that SMALL DAMAGES would be great. I LOVE Spain, and so when this book came in the mail this week, I really couldn’t hold off reading it. So far, it’s poignant and bittersweet and lovely. PLUS! Guys! It’s a really cute, little trim size, and I just die for those little books!

That’s it for me this week, guys! I hope you all got some super goodies in your mailboxes this week!

July 15, 2012

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. It’s awesome. Every week, we all get a chance to tell everyone what new books we’ve gotten so that we can tell you guys and we can all drool and squee together! Huzzah for squees!

This week’s mailbox is brought to you by Amy’s Amazon Visa! (And one from NetGalley.) Seriously, it’s getting a smidge out of hand over here. Although let’s be serious: the day I stop buying books is one of the signs of the apocalypse; keep your fingers crossed that this never happens, friends. 

NETGALLEY

The Assassin’s Curse: The Assassin’s Curse # 1 by Cassandra Rose Clarke (October 2, 2012 from Ctrange Chemistry). WHOA. Assassins? Check. Pirates? Check. Magic? Check. Middle Eastern-like setting? Check. THREE IMPOSSIBLE TASKS TO COMPLETE TO SAVE THE LIFE OF THE ASSASSIN MEANT TO KILL YOU (WHO INEVITABLY BECOMES THE LOVE INTEREST, RIGHT?)? CHECK! If I hadn’t seen this one on Heidi’s IMM last week, I might have missed it. But I didn’t. THANKFULLY.

BOUGHT

Sorry for the craptastic picture…used my phone.

Seraphina: Seraphina #1 by Rachel Hartman. Guys, I have been looking forward to this debut fantasy for a long time. First of all, the cover is so gorgeous, I can’t even deal. It’s a WOODBLOCK engraving. I mean…. Plus, there’s dragons in this book. I can’t wait to dive in.

Insignia: Insignia #1 by S.J. Kincaid. This one has been getting all kinds of mad love lately. It’s not something that would usually immediately grab my attention, but it’s definitely been on my radar: gaming, virtual reality, a military academy, and World War Three. I’m thinking that this one is going to be LEGIT.

That’s it for me this week, guys! Small but still AWESOME, right?! Hope you guys got some super stuff this week, too!

July 8, 2012

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. It’s awesome. Every week, we all get a chance to tell everyone what new books we’ve gotten so that we can tell you guys and we can all drool and squee together! Huzzah for squees!

Small mailbox again, guys, but I’m REALLY excited for these books. HOLLA!

NETGALLEY

Send Me a Sign by Tiffany Schmidt (October 2, 2012 from Walker Children’s). Cancer book, guys. I’m drawn to these like a moth to a flame. Plus, it’s a debut! A debut about a young girl who keeps her cancer a secret from everyone except her bff, who I think is a guy. I’m in.

The Sweetest Spell by Suzanne Selfors (August 21, 2012 from Walker & Co). This is a fantasy about a girl who can turn milk into CHOCOLATE, which is super rare in this world, which makes her a big ol’ target for bad guys. But chocolate, guys. I mean….

BOUGHT

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson. Guys, I have been looking forward to this Peter Pan retelling via Tiger Lily, the Indian princess, for AGES. I’ve been hearing that it’s awesome but kind of dark, but I am STILL dying to read it. I love the Peter Pan story, and I’m so excited to read it from a different perspective.

That’s it for me this week, guys! Small but still AWESOME, right?! Hope you guys got some super stuff this week, too!

June 24, 2012

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. It’s awesome. Every week, we all get a chance to tell everyone what new books we’ve gotten so that we can tell you guys and we can all drool and squee together! Huzzah for squees!

Whew! Guys, I got lots of packages this week. Some of them were gifts from exceedingly awesome folks. Others were gifts from my exceedingly awesome wallet. (And by awesome I mean simply that I love it and am sorry for constantly abusing it, not that it’s, like, BURSTING with ca$h.) Plus a few NetGalley books, because I’m a NG whore. No secrets there. 

NETGALLEY

League of Strays  by L.B. Schulman (October 1, 2012 from Amulet Books). This one has been on my radar forever, and surprisingly, it has nothing to do with superheroes, which, I must admit, is my first thought whenever I see the word “league.” Nope, this book is about a group of outcasts at a high school who take some revenge on bullies, and a girl who starts to have some misgivings about vengeance. It sounds SUPER.

Dualed: Dualed #1 by Elise Chapman (February 26, 2013 from Random House). Guys, I have a feeling we’re going to be hearing LOTS about this book, a dystopian about a society where two copies of each person exists–an alt–and coming of age consists of those two clones doing battle to the death. FOR REALZ.

Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rossett (August 28, 2012 from Harlequin). A contemp about a young girl who’s dad has just died who also has some EPIC anger issues. This one sounds great, mostly because Rose sounds like a girl who is kind of living without any care for much, and THAT makes for some great drama, friends.

(Thanks to Amulet, Random House, and Harlequin for these lovelies!)

BOUGHT & GIFTED

The Wise Man’s Fear: Kingkiller Chronicle #2 by Patrick Rothfuss. Because OBVIOUSLY. I finished the first book, THE NAME OF THE WIND, last week and started listening to this audiobook that same afternoon. But since I have a hardcopy of the first book, I needed a hardcopy of the second, hence this gorgeous hardcover on my list. Kvothe is the studliest stud there is. 

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen. I love me some Dessen, guys, but there are still quite a few of her books I haven’t read. This is one of them. Now that the paperbacks are so GORGEOUS, I figured I’d give this one a go. Because it’s got music in it. And it’s purple.

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen. Now THIS book is one of the Dessen’s I HAVE read, and it’s just as good as everyone says it is. PLUS, this is, BY FAR, my favorite of the new covers. I LOVE turquoise, as a color and as a stone, so my eye goes right to this cover. Also, WES.

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller. So first of all, this book is amazing. Travis and Harper are damaged and smoldery and awesome. Plus, it’s got that military angle that just GETS ME. Second of all, the actual hardcopy of this book is kind of tiny in a totally adorable way (it’s  a smaller trim size than the Dessen paperbacks). So that’s two good reasons you should both buy and read this book.

Tokyo Heist by Diana Renn. This gem came from the always fabulous Lisa from Lisa is Busy Nerding and the Debut Author Challenge ARC Tours. HOLLA to Lisa, and to Diana Renn, who wrote a book about Japan AND thievery. I just started this one today and it’s already got its hooks in me!

Jepp, Who Defied the Stars by Katherine Marsh (October 9, 2012 from Hyperion Childrens). GUYS. I have Heidi from Bunbury in the Stacks to thank for this, and THANK HER I DO. One, she’s awesome. Two, this book sounds awesome. It’s about a  young boy dwarf who is basically imprisoned in the court of the Spanish Infanta, and escapes only to be dragged around Europe as a prisoner of someone else. It’s a historical fiction…wait for it…BASED ON REAL HISTORICAL PEOPLE. I can’t even deal with that shizz. This book sounds so amazing.

  Thanks SO MUCH to Lisa and Heidi and my wallet for these killer books! I hope you guys got some awesome stuff in your mailboxes this week!

June 17, 2012

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. It’s awesome. Every week, we all get a chance to tell everyone what new books we’ve gotten so that we can tell you guys and we can all drool and squee together! Huzzah for squees!

Happy Father’s Day, guys! I’m hoping that, in honor of Father’s Day, these books feature some excellent dads/father figures, but we’ll have to see. At least I KNOW for a fact that one of them does, and isn’t that the best news? I love great dads, and sometimes we don’t see too many of them in the books we read. I’ve got my fingers crossed for this lot: Mostly middle grades, and one STELLAR 2012 YA debut. 

BOUGHT & GIFTED

 Kepler’s Dream by Juliet Bell. I got a package of MG AWESOME this week from Pam, and it made me soooo excited! All of these books sound so good, KEPLER’S DREAM included. It’s about a young girl with a sick mom who goes to live with her wackadoo grandmother. It sounds really touching and wonderful. Can’t wait to read it.

Tracing Stars by Erin E. Moulton. Another contemporary MG featuring two very different sisters, a pet lobster, The Sound of Music, and a boy named Owen (I LOVE that name).

Deadweather and Sunrise: The Chronicles of Egg #1 by Geoff Rodkey. HOLY EFFING CRAP, guys. This MG sounds off the chain. It’s got PIRATES, for crying out loud! And a young boy who’s had a crazy, adventurous life, which gets markedly WORSE when someone tries to kill him. WOW. Yes, please.

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick. Guys, I read this one just last week from NetGalley and honestly? It was awesome. There have been an INSANE number of excellent contemps so far this year, guys, and we’re only half-way through it! This was as good a debut as you’ll likely find, AND it features that awesome dad I mentioned up top there. My review for this one is coming up this week. Preview: both thumbs WAY UP.

 Thanks SO MUCH to Pam for these super middle-grade books! I hope you guys got some awesome stuff in your mailboxes this week!

June 10, 2012

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. It’s awesome. Every week, we all get a chance to tell everyone what new books we’ve gotten so that we can tell you guys and we can all drool and squee together! Huzzah for squees!

So, BEA happened this past week and I got some great stuff, guys. I’ll probably tell you more about it later this week. But don’t sleep on these books, either! They’re awesome, too!

FROM NETGALLEY

Spark: Elementals #2 by Brigid Kemmerer (August 28, 2012 from K Teen). So I haven’t actually read the first book, STORM, in this series yet. But I have it, and I am DYING to get to it because it sounds so good–brothers who can control the elements and get caught up in danger and conspiracies, etc. Also, Tara from Hobbitses assures me that there are MANY hot boys in it, so I can only imagine that this would still be the case in book #2.  

 BLOG TOUR

Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig (March 13, 2012 from Katherine Tegen Books). I’m so excited to be a part of Literary Logistics‘ blog tour for this book! A modern-day retelling of Robin Hood, with a girl as the thief, stealing from the rich kids at her high school? YES, PLEASE. My date for this tour is June 28th, so keep an eye out for my review then!

BOUGHT

Guys, I’ve recently started falling for audiobooks. Mostly I thank April from Good Books and Good Wine, who is always talking them up, and Asheley from Into the Hall of Books for LOVING UP my first purchase, THE NAME OF THE WIND by Patrick Rothfuss. They have inspired me to go audio, friends, and since Audible was having a sale yesterday, I snagged two more books.

The Wise Man’s Fear: The Kingkiller Chronicle #2 from Brilliance Audio. Narrated by Nick Podehl. GUYS, I’m in the middle of listening to THE NAME OF THE WIND right now and I’ve loved it almost from the instant it started. The world and the story are outstanding, Kvothe is STUDLY, and Nick Podehl’s voice is like butter/honey/magic/smoky hotness/PERFECTION.  I can’t wait to listen to book #2.

Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson from Brilliance Audio. Narrated by Suzy Jackson. It shouldn’t be any secret that this is one of my FAVE contemporaries. I love road trips. I love well-formed and well-told romances. And I love great writing and great characters. Amy & Roger has all of these things. April from Good Books and Good Wine always talks about how awesome this audiobook is, and how super Suzy Jackson is. I’m excited to listen to this one, too!!

I hope you guys got lots of fabulous things in your mailboxes this week!

June 3, 2012

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. It’s awesome. Every week, we all get a chance to tell everyone what new books we’ve gotten so that we can tell you guys and we can all drool and squee together! Huzzah for squees!

OMG GUYS!! It’s Book Expo week! Finally, Book Christmas is upon us, friends, and I’ll be there on Wednesday. I CANNOT WAIT. But, like I said, Wednesday. Today is only Sunday. So I have a couple extra days to fawn over these awesome books before I come back from BEA with tons of great stuff and stories to share with you guys. YAY!!

FROM NETGALLEY

Origin by Jessica Khoury (September 4, 2012 from Razorbill). Oh, guys. Quick confession: whenever I see or hear of a book that’s set in a jungle, all my bells go off. I LOVE that environment. Also, the blurb mentions “conspiracies” and Lost. I’M IN. Can’t wait to read about the immortal girl birthed by science who escapes out of her compound and into the jungle. Sweet!

 GIFTED

Tara from Hobbitses is one fabulous lady, guys. TRUST ME. But if you needed any proof, I offer you this: She has awesomely shared these books with me. Like I said. AWESOME. 

Keepin it with the Ss, y’all!

Tara is the HERCULES of packing an envelope with books.

Storybound: Storybound #1 by Marissa Burt. Been looking forward to this one–a MG about a girl who lives in the land of Story–for a loooong time. It sounds right up my alley. 

Storm: Elementals #1 by Brigid Kemmerer. Guys, THIS one sounds FUN. A bunch of hot brothers who can control the elements and get caught up in danger/conspiracy etc., while trying to juggle all the girls. I read the little prequel story to this and LOVED it. Can’t wait to dive in!

The Storm Makers by Jennifer E. Smith. So, Jennifer E. Smith–author of THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT, which was AMAZING–wrote a MG book about siblings who discover that one of them can control the weather (SERIOUSLY one of my favorite plot devices, ever since I saw Twister). BOOM. Sounds awesome. 

Dear Tara, you are wonderful. THANK YOU times infinity for being so generous and fantastic in general. xoxo, Amy.