In my mailbox (30)

In my mailbox is hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren

For Review:

Dreaming of Amelia by Jaclyn Moriarty (Yay!!!)
From Goodreads: Amelia and Riley have transferred to Ashbury for their final year of school, and everyone is completely obsessed with them. Glamorous, talented and totally devoted to one another, the two of them drift through school in their own world. But there's more to the couple than meets the eye - they have secrets. And some of them are dangerous to share. As Riley starts to lose his grip on Amelia, the repercussions affect everyone around them. It is a spellbinding story about ghosts, secrets, madness, passion, locked doors, femme fatales, and that terrifying moment in the final year of high school when you realise that the future's coming to get you.

Blue Moon by Alyson Noel SYNOPSIS CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR EVERMORE
From Goodreads: Things have changed for Ever since she met her beloved Damen - not least because she's got a whole new set of powers, courtesy of her new Immortal status. Just as she's getting stronger, though, Damen seems to be weakening. Panicked at the thought of losing him, Ever finds a path to the in-between world known as Summerland, where she learns the secrets of Damen's tortured past. But in searching for a cure for him, Ever accidentally discovers a way to twist time so she can save her family from the accident that killed them. It's all she's ever wanted - but so is Damen. And Ever must choose between them...

In My Sky at Twilight - chosen by Gaby Morgan
From Goodreads: This swooningly gorgeous collection of poems celebrates love in all its guises from silent admiration through heart-stopping passion to tearful resignation. Whether you are star-crossed lovers, kindred spirits or smitten by the boy next door these exquisite verses speak of the universal experiences of the heart and prove that love transcends time itself. From "In My Sky At Twilight": 'In my sky at twilight you are like a cloud And your form and colour are the way I love them. You are mine, mine, woman with sweet lips And in your life my infinite dreams live' - 'Pablo Neruda'.

Many thanks to Nicola @ Macmillan for sending me these for review:)

I bought:

Breathing Underwater by Julia Green
From Goodreads: Freya has come to visit her grandparents who live on a remote island. Last year she visited them with her brother - but last year her brother died alone in a boating accident. Whilst back on the island, Freya finds a way, with the calming presence of her grandparents and the gentle care and attention of the people around her, to adjust to the fact that her brother has gone, and that life - and love - are still vibrantly in the air. A perfect coming of age for any young girl just tipping into teenhood.

Walk of the Spirits by Richie Tankersley Cusick
From Goodreads: When Miranda Barnes first sees the sleepy town of St. Yvette, Louisiana, with its moss-draped trees, above-ground cemeteries, and her grandfather's creepy historic home, she realizes that life as she knew it is officially over. Almost immediately, there seems to be something cloying at her. Something lonely and sad and . . . very pressing. Even at school and in the group project she's been thrown into, she can't escape it. Whispers when she's alone, shadows when no one is there to make them, and a distant pleading voice that wakes her from sleep. The other members in Miranda's group project, especially handsome Etienne, can see that Miranda is in distress. She is beginning to understand that, like her grandfather before her, she has a special gift of communicating with spirits who still walk the town of St. Yvette. And no matter where she turns, Miranda feels bound by their whispered pleas for help . . . unless she can somehow find a way to bring them peace.

How did you all do?

Cover Wars: Generation Dead Series by Dan Waters

I really like both the US and the UK designs for these books but there is just something really quirky about the US ones that I really love! I find them really eye catching and original.

US Covers:




UK Covers:



What do you think?

Drawing With Light by Julia Green

Review Copy: Bloomsbury. Published 1 March
From Amazon: Kat and Emily have grown up without their mother for almost as long as they can remember. And now Dad is with Cassy and they all muddle along together well enough - even though they are living in a cramped caravan while their new house is being renovated. Then Cassy and Dad tell them that Cassy is pregnant, and everything seems to shift. Emily feels a new urge to find her own mother. How could she have left them the way she did? Never writing to them? Not communicating with them? And as Emily begins her search, not knowing what she will find, she is at the same time embarking on a new relationship of her own, that of her romance with Seb. This is an evocative and finely drawn novel about family relationships, in particular that of mother and daughter, and the shifting emotions of a teenager trying to make sense of her family and her world.

This is the first Julia Green novel I have read and I really enjoyed it. She has a lovely writing style and I found myself gripped by Emily’s story. Many things happen in the course of the book but it is really about Emily and her journey to find out who she really is.

There were so many aspects that I loved. Being really interested in Photography I loved that Emily had a passion for this and that it played such a large part in the story. I loved her relationship with Seb - It was really sweet and touching and you could really see how he gave her the strength to do what she needed to do. I also just enjoyed watching Emily blossom from a young girl into a strong, independent adult. I found it all really engaging and told with wonderful insight.

My only quibble would be that there were a few things left unanswered that I really wanted to know. I felt that Emily’s journey was complete but would have loved that little bit extra to see what happened to the other characters. Otherwise this is a great novel. I have already ordered Breathing Underwater and can’t wait to read it.

I want to read that...

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

From Goodreads: After climate change, on the north shore of Unlake Superior, a dystopian world is divided between those who live inside the wall, and those, like sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone, who live outside. It’s Gaia’s job to “advance” a quota of infants from poverty into the walled Enclave, until the night one agonized mother objects, and Gaia’s parents are arrested.

Badly scarred since childhood, Gaia is a strong, resourceful loner who begins to question her society. As Gaia’s efforts to save her parents take her within the wall, she herself is arrested and imprisoned.

Fraught with difficult moral choices and rich with intricate layers of codes, BIRTHMARKED explores a colorful, cruel, eerily familiar world where one girl can make all the difference, and a real hero makes her own moral code.

Oooh I really like the sound of this one! It is published March 30th 2010 by Roaring Brook Press (US)

The Splendour Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore

From Amazon: Can love last beyond the grave?

Sylvie Davis is a ballerina who can’t dance. A broken leg ended her career, but Sylvie’s pain runs deeper. What broke her heart was her father’s death, and what’s breaking her spirit is her mother’s remarriage—a union that’s only driven an even deeper wedge into their already tenuous relationship.

Uprooting her from her Manhattan apartment and shipping her to Alabama is her mother’s solution for Sylvie’s unhappiness. Her father’s cousin is restoring a family home in a town rich with her family’s history. And that’s where things start to get shady. As it turns out, her family has a lot more history than Sylvie ever knew. More unnerving, though, are the two guys that she can’t stop thinking about. Shawn Maddox, the resident golden boy, seems to be perfect in every way. But Rhys—a handsome, mysterious foreign guest of her cousin’s—has a hold on her that she doesn’t quite understand.

Then she starts seeing things. Sylvie’s lost nearly everything—is she starting to lose her mind as well?



I found myself immersed in this story from the first page. I really enjoyed the character Sylvie and found myself connecting to her straight away. I really liked her voice - she came across as strong yet vulnerable and I loved the fact she questioned everything that happening, including her sanity! I also found myself really drawn to Rhys - I even missed him when he wasn't in the story And I completely adored her dog Gigi!

The story itself is an intriguing one. There was a lot of detail included - at times it felt every conversation and action was documented - but I really liked this. It felt as if I were putting all the pieces of the puzzle together to solve what was going on at the same time as the characters. I did find myself getting impatient toward the end - I really needed to know what was happening. The ending was really good - very exciting and I wasn't sure what direction the story would take. I really liked that I found it completely unpredictable and I loved the way all the information collected throughout the story made perfect sense by the end.

I appreciate though, that at over 500 pages, this is a long book. And although I found it a refreshing change to some of the really quick and fast paced books I've read recently, it is slow paced. If you are after a rollercoaster ride of action this probably isn't going to be the book for you. But, if you fancy a really well written mystery with a supernatural edge this is a great story. I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more books by the author.