In My Mailbox is a weekly Meme hosted by Kristi the Story Siren. This is where us bloggers get a chance to show you what we got this week! Bookish related of course!

Hello my Lovelies! I hope you all had a fantastic week/weekend! I came home from ALA sick. BOO! But I got some fabulous stuff in the mail, and it totally made up for how crappy I was feeling. I can't wait to show it to you! So let's get started...

 

 

 

For Review

The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting

The Savage Grace by Bree Despain

The Rock by Daniel O'Malley

Don't Breathe A Word by Holly Cupala

 

HUGE thank you to Holly Cupala and Harper Teen! As well as Bree Despain and Egmont! And thank you to Little Brown! You guy's made my week! <3

 

Leave me a comment and let me know what you go in your mailbox this week. Hope you all had a fantastic weekend and I will see you back here next week.

XOXO

Wither

Wither by Lauren DeStefano
Release Date: March 22, 2011
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 368
Format: Hardback
Source: Own
Interest : Dystopian
Challenge: 2012 Reading Challenge
Buy The Book: Amazon

By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males born with a lifespan of 25 years, and females a lifespan of 20 years--leaving the world in a state of panic. Geneticists seek a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

 

When Rhine is sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Yet her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement; her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next; and Rhine has no way to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive.

 
Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?

I have heard amazing things about Wither since it hit the YA scene a year ago. The gorgeous cover has been sitting on my shelf, collecting dust, and beckoning me to read it since I brought it home last April. Aquiring an ARC of it's sequel, Fever, was just the push I needed to finally dust this book off, and take it for a spin!

Wither isn't just another book with a pretty cover. It's a dark, yet rich and powerful dystopian, full of love, loss, and bitter conflict. I won't rehash the plot, because I'm sure most of you already know it by heart. What I will say is that Wither is definately a wonderfully written dystopain novel that I couldn't tear myself away from!

After reading the book,I can see why so many people are fans, and I am now lucky enough to join in their ranks. I was emersed into the the story and the world that Lauren DeStefano so expertly created. The story was so vividly described that I felt like I was right there in the middle of it all! I wanted to feed Rhine invisability pills and give her a map so she could run away! I wanted to reunite Jenna with her sisters, and I so desperately wanted to give Cecily back her childhood. No child should ever have to go through the things that she did, even though at times I wanted to give her a stern spanking!

Perhaps because the author so vividly painted a picture of the story, I at times felt a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach. I really felt for these girls who had been plucked from their lives, and were sent to become sister wives and baby-making machines at such an early age. I felt horribely for Rhine being seperated from her twin, and for Jenna after knowing what fate all of her sisters faced. It bothered me how young Cecily was saught out, to marry and bear children for a 20 year old man! I wanted to cry out "she is just a CHILD! Barely a teenager!!!" but even if I had, I'm not sure anyone would've listened, or cared. There were times when I forgot how young Cecily was, and others when I couldn't seem to forget.

I loved the character development throughout the story, and I look forward to watching these girls lives grow in the next book! I'm dying to find out what young and foolish Cecily is up to, and what the beautiful Rhine has in store for her.

As much as I love dystopians, I can't help but wonder, why didn't I read this book sooner? Whatever the reason is, I am glad this situation has been remedied.

The Butterfly Clues

location: home

mood:  sleepy

watching: Scarecrow and Mrs. King Season 1 ( mom has me hooked now!)

music: none

The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison

Release Date:  Febuary 14,2012

Publisher: Egmont

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 336

Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Intrest: Young Adult
Challenge: 2011 Reading Challenge, Debut Author Challenge, Stand Alone Challenge
Buy the Book: Amazon

Penelope (Lo) Marin has always loved to collect beautiful things. Her dad's consulting job means she's grown up moving from one rundown city to the next, and she's learned to cope by collecting (sometimes even stealing) quirky trinkets and souvenirs in each new place--possessions that allow her to feel at least some semblance of home.

But in the year since her brother Oren's death, Lo's hoarding has blossomed into a full-blown, potentially dangerous obsession. She discovers a beautiful, antique butterfly pendant during a routine scour at a weekend flea market, and recognizes it as having been stolen from the home of a recently murdered girl known only as "Sapphire"--a girl just a few years older than Lo. As usual when Lo begins to obsess over something, she can't get the murder out of her mind.

As she attempts to piece together the mysterious "butterfly clues," with the unlikely help of a street artist named Flynt, Lo quickly finds herself caught up in a seedy, violent underworld much closer to home than she ever imagined--a world, she'll ultimately discover, that could hold the key to her brother's tragic death.

I love a good murder mystery! For some reason in the YA genre this is something that is very much lacking. If you like paranormal, witches, vampires, and the like then you'll be entertained for years to come. Some of the very first books I ever read, that totally got me hooked on reading, were mysteries. So needless to say, I was thrilled about this book!

Kate Ellison delivered a stunning and intricately woven debut novel that had me biting my nails, gritting my teeth, and anxious to turn the page and find out what was going to happen next! She so cleverly wove together murder, mystery, suspense, family drama, the loss of life, and mental disorders. I was completely hooked from the first page!

I love how The Butterfly Clues isn't just your standard mystery. Kate Ellison expertely tackles the topics of death, and how it affects the entire family. Some family members pull away and others fall into a deep depression and a fog that never seems to lift. The patterns of someone who has OCD and how it affects their family and others around them. This part I especially found to be entertaining and true to form, as I personally live with 2 very OCD people in my house! Their strange quirks, and the inner struggles they fight within their own mind was so expertly depicted.

The Butterfly Clues is a great murder mystery, but its so much more! It is the story of Lo, who suffers from severe OCD. Think Mr. Monk ( my favorite dective!) but so much worse! Lo buys a necklace at a flea market, and soon discovers that it belonged to recently murdered Sapphire. Like many things in her life, that Lo can't seem to control, she is drawn in an inexplainable way to Sapphire and is determined to find out what happened to her, and why. During her search Lo discovers things about her own family, the death of her brother,and more that she never knew! Can Lo cope with the news surrounding her family,the loss of her brother, her mother's deep dression, and her own uncontrolable quirks? Or will her obsession get the better of her? Can she find the murderer before he finds her?

Well, you'll have to read this stunningly captivating, and gritting debut novel to find out!

Kate Ellison did an incredible job delivering her debut novel The Butterfly Clues. I can't wait to see what else she has in store for us. Trust me, this is one book you won't want to miss!

Chopsticks

Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral
Release Date: February 2, 2012
Publisher: Razorbill
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 272
Format: Paperback
Source: OWN
Interest : YA Contemporay
Challenge: 2012 Reading Challenge, 2012 YA Contemporary Challenge
Buy The Book: Amazon

After her mother died, Glory retreated into herself and her music. Her single father raised her as a piano prodigy, with a rigid schedule and the goal of playing sold-out shows across the globe. Now, as a teenager, Glory has disappeared. As we flash back to the events leading up to her disappearance, we see a girl on the precipice of disaster. Brilliant and lonely, Glory is drawn to an artistic new boy, Frank, who moves in next door. The farther she falls, the deeper she spirals into madness. Before long, Glory is unable to play anything but the song "Chopsticks."

But nothing is what it seems, and Glory's reality is not reality at all. In this stunningly moving novel told in photographs, pictures, and words, it's up to the reader to decide what is real, what is imagined, and what has been madness all along....

 

I first heard about this book over the summer, and I have been dying to read it ever since. As most of you know, I am a huge fan of books where the author uses other, non-traditional means to weave their tale. The bulk of Chopsticks is told through the use of photography, along with the aid of instant messages, notes, drawings and doodles to tell the tale.

I was pleasantly surprised at how the story itself, sucked me within the first 5 pages and I couldn't tear myself away! Literally! I began readiang this as my family and I headed home from ALA, it went from the car with me, straight into the resturant where we ate our lunch, and right back into the car as we finished our journey home. Yep, I couldn't even put it down to eat! It was that amazing!

Chopsticks is the story of young piano prodigy Glory. In the first few pages we learn that she has mysteriously gone missing, and we are then thrown into a flashback of her life. Between loosing her mother, her father's obsession with her gift of playing the piano, and her whirlwind career which takes her traveling around the globe, it's of no wonder this poor girl went a little mad! I'd probably bang out chopsticks endlessly too if I were forced to play the piano all day! So who can blame her for seeking solice in the arms of the super cute boy next door? But what exactly did happen to Glory?

Jennifer and Rodrigo did such an amazing job with this novel! The story captivates you in just a few short pages, and has you in a  hypnotc trance until the very last page! I loved how they weaved the story and used the aid of so many different forms of communication in such a way that I felt like I was seeing everything through Glory's eyes. I felt like I was a part of this story, and couldn't tear myself away from it. Chopsticks is very artisistically, well thought out, and cleverly done!

Embrace

Embrace by Cheri Colyer

Release Date: December 20, 2011

Publisher: Omnific

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 220

Format: eARC

Challenge: 2012 Reading Challenge, 2012 Debut Author Challenge

Buy The Book: Amazon

Madison is familiar enough with change, and she hates everything about it. Change took her long-term boyfriend away from her. It caused one of her friends to suddenly hate her. It's responsible for the death of a local along with a host of other mysterious happenings. But when Madison meets a hot new guy, she thinks her luck is about to improve. Madison is instantly drawn to the handsome and intriguing Isaac Addington. She quickly realizes he's a guy harboring a secret, but she's willing to risk the unknown to be with him. Her world really spins out of control, however, when her best friend becomes delusional, seeing things that aren't there and desperately trying to escape their evil. When the doctors can't find the answers, Madison seeks her own. Nothing can prepare her for what she is about to discover. Dangerous, intoxicating, and darkly romantic, Embrace is a thriller that will leave you spellbound.

I am so excited to be a part of this blog tour! I was initially drawn to Embrace by the gorgeous cover and the plot. It sounded amazing, and I was curious to see if this book would deliver. Well, let me tell you, deliver it DID!

Embrace is the story of Madison who is going through quite a few changes in her life. Her boyfriend, that she's been dating for 2 years has moved away. As if her life wasn't shaken up enough already, a new guy moves into town. Isaac is gorgeous, and quite mysterious, and definitely turning heads around school. There is something different about Isaac that has Madison immediately attracted to him. While Madison is desperately trying to sort her feelings out strange things begin happening around town. Then Madison's own best friend is hospitalized for having crazy delusions and Madison is desperate to get to the bottom of things before they get any worse. Will she be able to figure out what's causing all of these strange things before her best friend is committed permenantly? Or will she be too late?

Embrace really shocked me by how amazing it was! I was not expecting to like it so much, and I was very pleasantly surprised when I did. I read the whole thing in one day, which for me doesn't happen too often. It was an intoxicating story that sucked me in and had me guessing the entire time!

I don't want to give too much away, because it was amazing and you should definitely check it out for yourself. It had elements of mystery, suspense and intrigue coupled with true love, and friendship. I really enjoyed reading this novel and hope you decide to check it out for yourself. 

If your a fan of mystery, suspense, or paranormal you won't want to miss this one!

Waiting On Wednesday (8)

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill atBreaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Growing up in Africa and Latin America as the children of missionaries, London and Zach were as close as could be. And then Zach dies, and the family is gutted. London’s father is distant. Her mother won’t speak. The days are filled with what-ifs and whispers: Did Zach take his own life? Was it London’s fault? 


Alone and adrift, London finds herself torn between her brother’s best friend and the handsome new boy in town as she struggles to find herself—and ultimately redemption—in this authentic and affecting novel from award-winning novelist Carol Lynch Williams. 

Waiting by Carol Lynch Williams will be out May 1, 2012. What books are you eagerly awaiting? 

ALA Day 3! The last and final day!

Hello lovelies!

Are your eyes bugging out from all the pictures from yesterday? Don't worry if they are, mine are doing the exact same thing! But, like, times a million! haha

The 4th day of ALA finally arrived, and it was my most anticipated day I had been waiting and waiting for! Why you ask? The last day is when the publishers give EVERYTHING away! They bring arc's to give out, but they always have a finished copy for display. Example, if a book is coming out in March, they have arcs to give out to the public and a finished copy to show. Which you can snag on the last day! :)

Instead of carting them all back, they gave them all away! Who can blame them? I personally would NOT want to take them all back either! Fortunately for me, they don't either!

Saturday I spent some time planning out my attak *coughs* I mean plan. I knew what time each publisher was going to start getting rid of everything and made my list of what I wanted. I dragged myself, and my roomies, out of bed promptly at 6! By 8:30 we were at the convention sight and in line waiting for the doors to open! Boy did we have an incredibly successful day! I can't wait to show you what I got. So let's get started!

First up are some arc's I was able to snag. I didn't think it was possible but I managed to get quite a few that I wasn't able to get on the other days!

I was most excited about Springsweet ( gorgeous cover!!! ) and slide!

These were gone FAST! I was bummed that I wasn't able to get a copy. I  met a sweet blogger named Rose who waited in line at the Harper Teen booth for the giveaway and gave me this! I was so excited I squealed and gave her a HUGE hug! 

Another beautiful arc that eluded me! It went fast and they were GONE by the time I arrived Saturday. One of the girls working there was so sweet, and told me they normally take the display of this one back with them but I could have it! Like a sweet heart she saved it for me! :)

These covers are both so gorgeous and I've been dying to read them both. I was able to get a finished copy of these! Eeek!

I was able to get the only finished copies of The Disenchantments and Born Wicked! Eeek! Look for these to hit the stores sometime next month. They are GORGEOUS!!!

I was so excited about the sequel to XVI and got the only finished copy! I also grabbed Unearthly, I meant to get a finished copy of Hallowed but I took the wrong one. haha I didn't have this one, and since it's the first in the series I think I made a really good mistake! haha

4 more finished copies!

So excited to finally get a finished copy of Ingenue to sit next to Vixen! I was suprised that they didn't have any of Diva, I was eager cover in person! But hopefully soon!

I snagged finished copies of Hourglass, Legend, Timeless and Shatter Me, as well as Born Wicked and The Disenchantments. But...you already knew that, didn't you?

I was so excited about getting a finished copy of this! There were no arcs made so this totally made my day! I started reading it on the ride home and it is AMAZING!!!

It comes out next month so make sure to check it out!

Since I was lucky enough to get an arc of The Savage Grace before I even left for ALA ( which I'm glad I did because they didn't have it there!) I wanted to get the first 2. I was able to get finished copies, so now they can sit and look beautiful on the shelf next to my signed copy of Savage Grace! :)

A couple more finished copies. I LOVED Stay and I have the first Siren book, so of course I needed the second!

As I was making this post I realized I am missing a couple of bags I got today. I didn't unpack everything, so it seems I left a few of today's bags in the car. lol So those are missing for now, but they will be in the ALA IMM, which will be later this week, and obviously, very, very long!

It was finally time to go home, after another long and extremely successful day at ALA! As much as I loved the convention, I was exhausted, and sore from head to toe, and to be honest, ready for my very own bed!

We made our way to the car with the day's loot, and desperately tried to make everything fit! Keep in mind there were 3 of us, so between us all we had a LOT of stuff! Needless to say most of my stuff had to ride in the car beside me!

My new backseat roadtrip buddies were amazing and kept me entertained for the 6 hour drive home!

As much fun as I had, I am so glad to FINALLY be back home. I had a BLAST at ALA Mid Winter 2012. I met some really great people, and had a fantastic time!

I hope you all had a fabulous Monday!

XOXO

ALA Day 1 and 2!

So for years I have been hearing about ALA. But let's be honest, I can't afford to travel across the country to go to it every year, much less one year! So this year I was very fortunate that it was coming to Texas. Eeek! So I hoped in the car with my posse, also known as my mother and sister! 

For TWO entire days before the convention, I did not sleep! I squealed like a child and generally got on EVERYONE'S nerves! No joke! 

I missed the first day of the convention, it was only open for 2 hours so I figured no biggie. Apparently quite a few arcs I was extremely looking forward to got wiped out in those measly 2 hours. ACK! Oh well, cest la vi! 

After sitting in the car for 6 hours,  Dallas bound, we finally arrived at the convention center. After 2 days of no sleep, being up sick all night the night before, and a 6 hour car drive I was ready to stretch my legs and hit some booths!

First off, pre trip. I had to prepare.Everything from clothes, shoes and makeup to something EXTREMELY important...NAILS! They had to be PERFECT! So in honor of ALA I did thiis!

They were a HUGE hit at the convention! Authors oohed and ahhed over them! I got stopped so many times about these. They were so fun! YouTube it people!

Next up, as soon as we stepped out of the car where we parked 2 streets over, I spotted this. A John Green Fault In Our Stars bus! That meant he had to be close right? *squints*

 Day 2 of ALA and MY first day at the convention. This is my haul my first day there. Not too bad if you ask me! A few books I was looking for escaped me. But I got loads of books I was really excited about!

 These are the ones I was most excited about! I know i know! It's sideways...but I'm tired! lol So sorry guys!

So now I'll show you a few books I got the first day. Just a few of the ones I was super excited about! ;) So let the Books With Pretty Covers officially BEGIN!

 Squeee!!!!

 More books with pretty covers!

 LOVE the cover for Of Poseidon and so excited about Thumped, the sequel to Bumped!

  LOVE the covers to both of these and I can't wait to read them both!

More pretty covers and books that sounds amazing!

Yay for a finished hardback of The Faerie Ring! I haven't read it so now I totally have the chance!

I think this is the one I am MOST excited about and I'm having a hard time not tearing into as I write this!

Last but not least I am a HUGE Lauren Myracle fan. So I squeed like a little girl when I found out she was coming. I stalked her booth and was the first person in line. I will pre warn you the picture is not right side up, again, I am exhausted. I also look like crap,  no sleep for 2 days, 6hr car ride, and being sick etc. So...forgive my face!

But I got a very pretty shiny, autographed hardback copy of Shine which is AMAZING! So go read it now if you haven't already!

So now I was finally making my way over to the hotel to check in. Yep folks, after 2 days of no sleep and a night of being sick, I drove 6 hours straight to the convention site w/o ever stopping to check in at the hotel or freshen up! So now, FINALLY, back at the hotel, staring at all my lovely books and ready for my second day at ALA! Are you ready to see more books? Here we go!

The day 2 stack is definately much smaller. But I am TOTALLY fine with that! I think I have more books than I will ever be able to read this year! And yes, that is a Legend button and TWO Matched/Crossed posters! Eeek!

 I also went to a YA panel which was wonderful! I listened to these 3 wonderful woman, and another author ( again, I'm tired and can't remember her name) Got all of these books as free complimentary gifts, and I got them all signed 2! The last one, Halflings I got signed to my friend Amy and I hope she loves it! :)

Don't get too excited folks! While I already have a copy of Born Wicked I was trying desperately to get ahold of extra's for Amy and Loretta, two good friends who have been DYING for a copy. Unfortunately the box of Born Wicked never made it to the confrence. And yes, Bitterblue was there. But blogger's started lining up at 9 am for it and they weren't giving it away until 5 pm! I personally was not about to sit there and wait on ONE book for that long and miss out on all the other wonderful things going on. So instead I snagged catalogs with the gorgeous book covers on them! I LOVE looking at catalogs with all the upcoming books, and these were so gorgeous I couldn't resist!

This is just various swag I picked up along the way!

Super cute books and matching bag. Couldn't help myself! Again, sorry its not right side up! I'm too tired to edit lol

My mother was lovely and managed to snag quite a few YA books I didn't get. This is just a small sampling of what she got for me. Have I ever mentioned how much I <3 my mom and how cool she is! I mean, the woman wears converse to work with her dress pants! Gotta love her!

I LOVE my Little Brown bag! My mom was totally jealous, but they didn't have many of these little babies to give away so I was quite lucky to get it!

I was really excited to get a copy of this one! I think I got one of the last 5 they had there!

I snagged these today and I'm really excited about them all. But probably mostly excited for a physical arc of Supergirl Mixtapesk, and not just a netgalley of it. And folks, its even CUTER in real life!

 Well that's it for me folks! I am tired, and sore. Every bone in my body aches,, from my neck and shoulders, to my toes and right back up to my ribs! Yep, even my RIBS hurt! ACK! So I am going to go pop an advil and hit the sack.

Stop back by mid week for a full IMM ALA style! I hope you all had a fantastic week and as always Happy Reading!

XOXO