In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox lets you peek into the contents of my mailbox on a weekly basis and see what books I've acquired this week. This all started on the Story Siren's blog, and was inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie, two really great blogs you should check out.

And this week I was very very excited. Because the first book I got (and am nearly finished - already) was
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater.
I loved loved loved Lament, interviewed Maggie soon after I finished Lament. And have been eagerly awaiting Ballad - and Shiver. So just couldn't wait to start (thank you Antonia)
Product description: For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again. Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

What can I say? So far, it's hard to put down, it's made me cry, and it's beautiful. Review to follow.

The Devil's Kiss by Sarwat Chadda
Already out in the UK it's due out in the US in September.
Product description: Bilquis SanGreal grew up knowing she would have to make sacrifices to be in the Knights Templar. Sacrifices like losing her mother to the Templar's ongoing battle against the Unholy; sacrifices like trading her childhood in for relentless training; sacrifices that keep her completely isolated from the world of a normal teen girl. Billi's lone wolf status is challenged when her childhood friend, Kay, returns from his psychic training in Jerusalem. Kay manages to stir things up quickly - he's gorgeous, arrogant, and wants slide right back into his old place in Billi's life. Billi is skeptical, but interested, until she meets Michael - an ethereally handsome guy who seems to understand her like no one before him, and effortlessly stakes a claim in her heart.

But in a moment of bravado, Kay uses the last of the Templar's treasures, King Solomon's cursed mirror, and drawing the attention of one of the most dangerous of the Templars' enemies-The Angel of Death. Only with the mirror can the dark angel unleash his full powers, and now that he's heard the call of the mirror, he'll stop at nothing to get it. To save London from catastrophe, Billi will have to make sacrifices greater than she'd ever imagined.

Fire: Tales of Elemental Spirits by Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson
From the back cover: This collection tells five tales of creatures who live and die by fire, tales of the present day and the prehistoric past; a tale of a confrontation in a haunted graveyard, and of the firespace where only dragons can survive, of a boy who is claimed by fire, of a young man who chases the fireworm through dark tunnels of dream, and of the long history of the Phoenix.

Violet Wings by Victoria Hanley
From the back cover: In Feyland, all fairies with born with unique magical abilities. Zaria, at 12, became one of the most powerful fairies ever. But she is earth-struck when sneaking through a secret doorway to the human world. But when she is seen her exposire puts all of Feyland at risk. And Zaria must then try to fix the mess she's made on earth. Will she use her new powers wisely?

All sound great. Must get back to Shiver!