Sunday 23 September 2012

Letterbox Love (#21)

As always, Letterbox Love is a weekly feature that I'm hosting on the blog and basically, the idea came out of a discussion with other UK book bloggers about the need to do a weekly meme with more of a British feel to it.  Therefore, Letterbox Love was born and the logo was lovingly designed by Dark Readers.  Letterbox Love is a way for us to share the books that come through our letterbox, galleys and e books (through our electronic letterbox) and any other bookish goodies that we want to tell you about.  Letterbox Love is intended to showcase upcoming books and build up some excitement for them as well as let you know what is available out there.  It is not about competing with other bloggers or boasting of any kind (c'mon, we're British and we don't do drama!)

All I can say is that it's a good job Chris had Wednesday off otherwise he wouldn't have been home to receive the TEN parcels I got, all in the same day!!

Review Books


Leaving Poppy by Kate Cann
This sounds a little creepy if I'm being honest and I don't know if I'm brave enough to read it LOL.

Possessed by Kate Cann
This is another creepy, paranormal book that apparently is a fast paced read.  The cover reminds me of a haunted house. 

Fire by Kate Cann
I believe this is the sequel to Possessed (see above)
 
Witch Crag by Kate Cann
This is Kate Cann's latest book and all I really know about it is that it's about witches.  I think the title really stands out because of how strange it is. 
 
Mystic City by Theo Lawrence
This is a fantasy novel and I think it sounds awesome, for some reason I'm really getting into fantasy at the moment (I think it's got something to do with the book I'm working on).

On the Day I Died by Candace Fleming (Unsolicited)
This looks like a creepy little book which has been sent in plenty of time for Halloween.



Review Books



The Palladin Prophecy by Mark Frost
The synopsis of this sounds a little bit like Insignia (minus the computer games aspect) and I believe the writer is the co-creator for TV series, Twin Peaks.   I also understand that the movie rights have already been sold and this book is part of a trilogy.  It's quite a thick book but I have a feeling I'm going to love this one if I get stuck in.

Thank you Publishers!!!




Books Bought



Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon
This is a dystopian novel featuring hackers and I think it sounds really good!  There is a free short story entitled No Escape (which I featured in last week's Letterbox Love) for kindle if you want to sample the story world.  

Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst
I remember some drama from a while back about the cover for Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon and how the gorgeous cover (featuring an Asian character) was changed for the paperbacks.  I want to go on record as saying I LOVE THIS COVER so much (which also features an Asian character) and I would hate to see this changed! This is an epic fantasy novel and I think it sounds amazing so I hope it lives up to my expectations.  If not, I will just sit and drool over the cover ;)
 
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
It's no secret that I'm a HUGE fan of Maggie's and I would buy any novel she wrote.  Naturally, I had to get a US hardback for my collection and I really must get round to reading this!  I was tempted to buy a signed copy from an independent bookstore in the US (they were offering special bookplates designed by Maggie which are BEAUTIFUL) but it was going to cost too much in the end and I thought I might end up seeing her again in the UK soon anyway. 

The Truth about Faking It by Leigh Talbert Moore
OK, so I randomly saw someone raving about this book on Goodreads and I was all "SOLD!" and went on Amazon to order it.  I *think* it's self published but I'm going to give it a go.  It's a contemporary and I've just seen that the kindle version has gone live after I paid for the paperback (DAMN IT) but never mind!

The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman by Louise Plummer
I can't remember who I heard talking about this book but I liked the sound of it so I tracked it down and ended up finding a used copy that was actually a library book (it still has all the library labels on it!).  I believe it's Young Adult and it's definitely a romance so I'm in.

 
Books Won


Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
Timing is everything and I just happened to turn on Twitter when Saundra Mitchell was running a contest to win Unspoken and I WON!!!  I'm ecstatic to have a US hardback which is BEAUTIFUL although I'm a little nervous about reading the story now as I've heard people say that they loved it but Sarah ripped their heart out.  Eeek.

E-Books

Aftermath by Andrea Cremer (Bought)
I *JUST* found out from another book blogger about this novella which is set after Bloodrose!  'Nuff said.

The Siren by Keira Cass (Bought)
I was tempted to buy the paperback of this after hearing such good reviews but I chickened out and bought the kindle version because it was cheaper and I started to panic about shelf space considering how many books I'm buying lately!  Kiera Cass also wrote The Selection which is hopefully being made into a TV series and I will be reviewing this soon (I loved it). 

On Dublin Street by Samantha Young (Bought)
This is an adult contemporary romance and was recommended to me by a friend who swore she could not put it down and started recommending it before she had even finished it!! 
 
Beyond Shame by Kit Rocha (Bought)  
This was a recommendation posted on Twitter by Ann Aguirre (author of  Enclave) who said it was hot, hot, hot.  This is a dystopian erotica novel and I think it sounds interesting.

Among the Nameless Stars by Diana Peterfreund (Free)
This is a prequel to the novel For Darkness Shows the Stars which I ordered recently. 


Second Chance by Katie Kacvinsky(Free)
I didn't realise at the time but this is actually a sequel to a book called First Comes Love which is a little more expensive on kindle than I would like and I'm tempted to wait to see if the price comes down first before starting these books.  Note that this book is no longer free on Amazon but the price is still lower than the first book.

Blood Like Poison: For the Love of a Vampire (Book 1, Blood Like Poison Series) by M. Leighton (Free) 
I recently read The Wild Ones (which I reviewed over at Wastepaperprose) and although it had some negatives, overall the story was wildly entertaining and I still want to read more from this author.  I'm actually waiting for Down to You which is not out yet so I thought I could give this a go as it's had some good reviews and it was free. 


I've got to try not to buy so many books and am really considering culling my bookshelves (and being brutal) and/or buying kindle books only as I'm seriously running out of shelf space.  How do you buy books?  Hope you had a great week and as always, please leave me your links :)

19 comments:

  1. I've not heard of Kate Cann before, will have to look her up.The Raven Boys is on my wishlist, and I enjoyed For Darkness Shows the Stars, I've got the free prequel on my PC, but haven't read it yet. Happy reading :)
    Katja @ YA's the Word

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    1. I've not read any Kate Cann before either. Thanks for commenting :)

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    2. OMG! you haven't read Kate Cann?! Her books are EPIC! I've read Fire, Possessed (the sequel to fire, NOT vice versa!) and Leaving Poppy and they're all scary yet lovey-dovey! MUST READ!

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  2. Whoa, ten parcels in one day? Awesome! I haven't read any of these and feel so out of the loop as I haven't even heard of half of them either! Trying to avoid temptation and work on my TBR pile, but now my wishlist has grown even bigger! Ha! Enjoy all of your lovely new books!

    My books.

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    1. Yeah, I know, it was like Christmas!! Haha, I'm an enabler, don't you know ;) Thanks for commenting!

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  3. You will LOVE The Truth About Faking It!!!! It's so good. I loved it. It is self pubbed, but totally great. Squee! Enjoy it! Can't wait to hear what you think!!

    Great books as well, I always find something new to read on your LLs. :D

    My LL - http://thegirlinacafe.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/letterbox-love-10.html

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    1. See, I don't mind self published books AS LONG AS THEY ARE GOOD. Looking forward to reading it and thanks for your lovely comments. I'm glad that you find something new on my posts :)

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  4. Firstly, what a haul!!! (Slaps head and faints) I hope that you get the opportunity to enjoy them all.

    On your point of book formats, I predominantly buy them on Kindle for a couple of reasons - partly, down to the reason that you mention of space and partly down to the fact that I use e-books to maintain some discipline in my reading by not having to look at page numbers and think, "I've got all that to read!!!"

    Have fun.

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    1. I may have gone slightly overboard? I can't help it, I'm addicted to books! Thanks for your insight about kindle vs actual book :)

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  5. Great haul, Lynsey! I received The Paladin too, I am sooo excited to read it! And the US cover for Unspoken looks so much better in an in-the-flesh photo than it does as an image. I wasn't a fan originally, but after seeing your photo - wow! It's gorgeous! Enjoy your spooky reads! Intrigued by Witch Crag!

    First Class Post.

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    1. Me too, it looks so interesting and I'm well into fantasy at the moment. Thanks Jo.

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  6. Unspoken is amazing and I'm dying to get my hand son Vessel. I'm really looking forward to reading Mystic City - I have a good feeling about it.

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    1. Isn't the cover for Vessel just beautiful? Thanks Soph :)

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  7. Wow- so many great books this week! I would love to read Vessel- it sounds amazing, and I'm really curious about Mystic City too- I've seen it about a lot today.
    Enjoy them all!
    :)

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  8. Eeee! Such an awesome pile of books to read! Unspoken is phenomenal, truly, truly awesome. I can't wait to get my copy of Mystic City, it looks awesome! And I'm reading the Raven Boys at the moment, and for me it is on a par with The Scorpio Races - pure perfection and beautiful prose! Can't wait to see what you make of them!

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    1. I've heard so much about Unspoken (although today, I heard some negatives) but I'm looking forward to reading it!

      CAN'T WAIT to start The Raven Boys, Maggie is one of my very favourite authors :)

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  9. so many awesome books! I cant wait to read Witch Crag and Mystic City! Enjoy :)

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  10. Kate Cann is new to me, and I sincerely hope she writes awesome books or your haul would turn out to be a sad thing. :-p

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