#014 In My Mailbox Featuring Books For Review

In My Mailbox or IMM was originally inspired by Althea of Pop Culture Junkie and is now hosted by the lovely Kristi at The Story Siren where you talk about the books you received in the mail, via the stacks of your library, recent purchases, ARC's or any books that you might have received for review, etc.

This vlog is about a week and a half's worth of review books and ARC's for various tours and whatnot, so enjoy!

ARC'S & REVIEW BOOKS RECEIVED: Bewitching by Alex Flinn First Comes Love by Katie Kacvinsky My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick A Breath of Eyre by Eve Marie Mont Zero by Tom Leveen Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins Until I Die by Amy Plum Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins Special thanks to HarperTeen, Harlequin Teen, and ATW ARC Tours.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for THE IMMORTAL RULES by Julie Kagawa. You definitely will not want to miss out on this amazing novel. Just click the banner above to go to the post and fill out the Rafflecopter for a chance to win. You never, you might just get lucky. GOOD LUCK!!! :D :D :D

#032 Waiting On Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday (or ya know WoW!) is a nifty little weekly event, hosted by the ever so lovely Jill at Breaking The Spine that puts the spotlight on various new and upcoming book releases that have become the"ohmigod! i gotta have this or i'll just die," eagerly anticipated novels to adorn your shelves.

The Selection
By Kiera Cass
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publish Date: April 24, 2012
Format: Hardback, pp 352
Age Demographic: Young Adult
b&n // amazon

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

*Summary taken from Goodreads.

I am already in love with this book just from reading the summary alone. Never mind, how amazingly gorgeous the cover is. I kind of love the story of "what you thought you wanted, really wasn't as grand as what you could have" and that's what it seems like part of this story is. Plus, I love that America is secretly in love with a handsome guy named Aspen and then is able to be showed a completely different side of Prince Maxon. Yes, this will go up on my shelf immediately.

Book Review: Carrier Of The Mark by Leigh Fallon

Carrier Of The Mark
By Leigh Fallon
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publish Date: October 4 , 2011
Format: Hardback, pp 352
Age Demographic: Young Adult
b&n // amazon

“They all looked at me with serious faces. Then they burst out laughing.” (pp 31)

A move to Ireland is about to introduce Megan to her destiny, her real destiny, can she embrace it and will she survive it?

A tragedy in Megan’s past set her on a predetermined course. A chain of events has been set in motion that brings Megan to Kinsale, a small town in the south of Ireland where her destiny awaits her. Her life starts to fall into place as she makes new friends and settles into her new school. However, the reclusive and distant Adam DeRís calls to her body and soul.

She finds herself increasingly drawn to Adam and his strange family. Adam knows a secret from her past and he and his family hold the key to her future. A future that binds her to Adam and his world, a world of power, mystery and ancient orders. A world that unbeknownst to her, she very much belongs in.

*Summary taken from Goodreads.

❝My Thoughts❞

Carrier of the Mark is not a novel that I will be forgetting about anytime soon, as I have many questions regarding certain aspects of it. I believe that it has a wealth of potential that it quite possibly taps into, as you follow along with the story it has to tell, whether or not some of it is confusing in some ways is left to the reader to decide for themselves. It is a bit different and unique, but that in and of itself, and I applaud Leigh Fallon for that.

There was so much to the story, that needed to be told and sometimes it felt as if it were a bit too much, in a way it was a touch overwhelming with everything being given to the reader all at once. Then the relationship aspect of it, that occurs between Adam and Megan, seemed quite intense and almost rushed in a sense. I think I would have liked to have seen that slowed down just a bit and pulled back on. I have always been one for slow build up's to a romantic interest, it makes it more realistic in a sense. Although, I will have to say, that I found these two quite adorable. Fallon also gets bonus points for not writing in a love triangle, as fun and interesting as those can sometimes be, sometimes it's much nicer without them hanging about and mucking things up in the process.

The scenery was gorgeous and very well depicted in the novel. With every flourish of Fallon's beautiful words, I felt like I was right there with the character's and was experiencing everything they were. Reading this novel, felt like reading beautiful poetry set to real life motion. It was undeniably beautiful. There is just no other way to describe it. And the thing is, as confusing as the prophecy and the Carrier's were to me, I very much enjoyed that aspect of the novel. I felt like there was so much more to the story and that it would be revealed with the next book, if I could just wait long enough for it. I have this strong desire to know more about them, like more on the history of how the legend came about and why the Carrier's function as they do, and what makes that prophecy so important?

As confused as I am with some aspects, I find myself captivated and driven by a natural desire to know more. I want to see other stories given the chance to unfold, such as Rian's, Adam's older brother whom I was quite taken with. The supporting character's are just as interesting as the main protagonists, few of them I think I may have ended up liking a bit more. The only flaw, that I keep inherantly coming back to, is that it seems as if Fallon has this desire to tell everyone's story all at once to get them out there, but I do feel it muddles up the plot and again becomes a bit overwhelming to the reader with everything being given to them all at once, instead of built up over a period of time and then revealed.

The plot line was well developed, I do feel, with some room for improvement and a little less clutter or confusion. Carrier of the Mark does provide an interesting and unique story, with some pretty memorable supporting character's as well as the two main protragonists that accompany them. I found myself deeply invested in this story and all that it had to offer, it's almost as if you're leaving normal and you're headed out into the great unknown. It's just that strong feeling of wanting to know more, even if it is dangerous to know and you do have a strong keen sense of power to keep the balance in the world from shifting. All of this and so much more, is what Megan now has to deal with and it's probably one of the most interesting and confusing things that I have ever read in a long time.

For me, personally, Carrier of the Mark was powerfully alluring, massively exciting, and filled with so many questions that I want the answers to. Which is why, I have no problem giving it four of five stars, I would have given it the full five if it hadn't been for some of the confusion and the feelings of being overwhelmed by all of the stories that were being told at once. These are minor flaws though, and they don't slow me down in recommending this book to all who enjoy great paranormal novels that provide unique stories being told.

In my opinion, Carrier of the Mark was a great debut novel for Fallon and I look forward to seeing more from her. It just simply possesses everything that I would want a new debut young adult paranormal romance complete with legend's, original storyline's, and star-crossed romance to entail.

{ This ARC was provided by HarperTeen, in exchange for an honest review which I have provided. No money exchanged hands, I review books for fun because I love to read. I am not interested in monetary gain. Any piece of this ARC that was quoted, is not part of the finished product and should not be perceived as such.}

Book Review: Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday

Deadly Cool
By: Gemma Halliday
ARC Provided by HarperTeen
b&n // amazon
Published Date: October 11, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Book Format: Paperback; pp 320
Age Demographic: Young Adult

Hartley Grace Featherstone is having a very bad day.

First she finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her with the president of the Herbert Hoover High School Chastity Club. Then he's pegged as the #1 suspect in a murder. And if that weren't enough, now he's depending on Hartley to clear his name.

Seriously? Not cool.

But as much as Hartley wouldn't mind seeing him squirm, she knows he's innocent, and she's the only one who can help him. Along with her best friend, Sam, and the school's resident Bad Boy, Chase, Hartley starts investigating on her own. But as the dead bodies begin to pile up, the mystery deepens, the suspects multiply, and Hartley begins to fear that she may be the killer's next victim.

*Summary taken from Goodreads.

❝My Thoughts❞

❝THERE ARE THREE THINGS YOU NEVER WANT TO FIND in your boyfriend's locker: a sweaty jock strap, a D minus on a last week's history test, and an empy condom wrapper.

Lucky me, I'd hit the trifecta.❞


Deadly Cool is an action packed, fun, witty, relatable, mystery that is slightly reminicent of Meg Cabot's writing style. It's been compared to the likes of Veronica Mars meets Pretty Little Liars. I adore both of those shows, so I was excited to get the opportunity to read this and it did not disappoint.

It was funny and smart in all the right ways, as it introduced character's that I enjoyed, amped up the mystery by proving me wrong every time I thought I had it figured out, and a hot mysterious bad boy that I nor the main protagonist (Hartley) could resist. I have a tendency to enjoy mysteries in general, so it was no surprise at all that I liked Deadly Cool as much as I did. It didn't take me long to read this book, I pratically devoured it within like a day and a half, because I just did not want to put it down once I started reading.

The ending was surprising, because I just didn't see it coming and I actually liked that. A good portion of the time, I find myself being able to figure out the mystery and solve it before I finish a book, but with Deadly Cool that wasn't the case at all. I liked how well Halliday did a fantastic job making the suspsects look like the suspects that they were supposed to represent, but still possessing enough innocence that you almost doubted whether or not they were culpable the better part of the time, while reading.

Halliday does a marvelous job at providing the right amount of supsense and intrigue, needed to fuel the mystery that Hartley has decided to solve, along with her best friend and the mysterious bad boy who turns out, is not so much "bad boy" after all once you get to know him. Hartley is a very likable and relatable character in so many ways. She is fun, witty, and super sweet even if she is hurt by the fact that her ex-boyfriend is pretty much a scum sucking sack of waste, who cheated on her with the president of the Chasity Club. She possesses a certain amount of strength and compassion, which is a driving force at getting to the truth of the mystery, even if she is somewhat hurt by that truth.

The secondary character's were just as essential to the plot of the novel, because they were there to serve a purpose as the suspects they were meant to be and Halliday successfully utilized them to the best of her ability, in a well thoughout plot driven novel. Personally, I think everyone should have a bff like Sam. She was super amazing, funny, a little over-the-top dramatic, and totally supportive of Hartley. You can't go wrong with a menagerie of character's as colorful as these.

One other thing the novel does, is point out the social status as far as high school and young adults go. For instance, the popular people consist of Color Gaurd Girls, Cheerleaders, the Footballer's along with the rest of the sports teams, and those who come from families that have money. Then there's the social outcasts, which is the category that Hartley, Sam, and so many other's seem to fall into. I liked that Halliday established early on, that Hartley chose not to be a part of the Color Gaurd or the Cheerleaders, setting hereslf apart from them on her own terms.

Deadly Cool, was a deadly cool fun read that I enjoyed quite a bit and I am looking forward to the sequel that follows, Social Suicide. I know, without a doubt, that it will definitely live up to it's title in a hip new way that will draw reader's in and keep them captivated until the end, the same way Deadly Cool will.

{ This ARC was received from HarperTeen, in exchange for an honest review which I have provided. No money exchanged hands, I review books for fun because I love to read. I am not interested in monetary gain. Any piece of this ARC that was quoted, is not part of the finished product and should not be perceived as such.}