In My Mailbox

I've been reading Story Siren's In My Mailbox post for a while, which explores the contents of her mailbox on a weekly basis and thought it was a great way to share what we are about to read. And this has been a simply wonderful week in my own mailbox. As you can see from the photo I got

1. Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr, for which I've been waiting and pining. I saw this and did a happy dance. Thank you Antonia.

In this seductive sequel to Wicked Lovely, Seth and Aislinn struggle to stay true to themselves - and each other - in a milieu of shadow rules and shifting allegiances, where old friends become new enemies and one wrong move could plunge the Earth into chaos.

I, of course, am going to read this first. In fact, have already started it. My friend Stacey is ready to pull it out of my hands. Soon...

2. Rampant by Diana Peterfreund. I've wanted to read this ever since Justine Larbalestier mentioned it in her interview. And here it is! Yes, another happy dance.

Forget everything you ever knew about unicorns...Real unicorns are man-eating beasts with cloven hooves, bulletproof hides, and horns full of deadly poison. They can outrun a sports car and smell human prey from a mile away. And they can only be killed by virgin warriors descended from Alexander the Great. Fortunately unicorns have been extinct for more than a hundred years. Or not. And it is up to 16-year-p;d Astrid Llewelyn to hunt them down.

Doesn't that sound brilliant?

3. Immortal by Gillian Shields

Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies, housed in a Gothic mansion on the bleak northern moors, is elite, expensive, and unwelcoming. When Evie Johnson is torn away from her home by the sea to become the newest scholarship student, she is more isolated than she could have dreamed. Strict teachers, snobbish students, and the oppressive atmosphere of Wyldcliffe leave Evie drowning in loneliness. Evie's only lifeline is Sebastian, a rebellious, mocking, dangerously attractive young man she meets by chance. As Evie's feelings for Sebastian grow with each secret meeting, she starts to fear that he is hiding something about his past. And she is haunted by glimpses of a strange, ghostly girl—a girl who is so eerily like Evie, she could be a sister. Evie is slowly drawn into a tangled web of past and present that she cannot control. And as the extraordinary, elemental forces of Wyldcliffe rise up like the mighty sea, Evie is faced with an astounding truth about Sebastian, and her own incredible fate.

Can't wait to read it.

4. Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner

The war between humanity and Faerie devastated both sides. Or so 15-year-old Liza has been told. Nothing has been seen or heard from Faerie since, and Liza’s world bears the scars of its encounter with magic. Trees move with sinister intention, and the town Liza calls home is surrounded by a forest that threatens to harm all those who wander into it. Then Liza discovers she has the Faerie ability to see—into the past, into the future—and she has no choice but to flee her town. Liza’s quest will take her into Faerie and back again, and what she finds along the way may be the key to healing both worlds.

Can't read fast enough this week.

5. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare Brought this back from London with me (so a different cover) as I thoroughly enjoyed City of Bones and I noticed City of Ashes on many, many people's best of 2008 lists.

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go -- especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil -- and also her father. To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings -- and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

Now I'll be ready for City of Glass when it comes out.

5. Malorie Blackman, Checkmate I brought this back from London with me too as it's not yet published here. The third in the very fine Noughts and Crosses trilogy, I just couldn't wait for this.

Can the future ever erase the past? Rose has a Cross mother and a Nought father in a society where the pale-skinned Noughts are treated as inferiors and those with dual heritage face a life-long battle against deep-rooted prejudices. Sephy, her mother, has told Rose virtually nothing about her father, but as Rose grows up she becomes determined to find out more about her parentage. As Rose takes her first steps away from Sephy and into her father’s world, she finds herself drawn inexorably into danger.

What a wonderful week for books. Am still doing that happy dance in my head.