In My Mailbox (07.13-18.09)

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I had a great week, with a big order of bargain books from Books-A-Million (7 books for about $30!) and a couple of ARC's for review as well. One of which I am VERY excited about to the point of being giddy:

Fire by Kristin Cashore. Pub date: October 5, 2009. Synopsis (as this is an ARC, this is subject to change):

It is not a peaceful time in the Dells.

Young King Nash clings to the throne, while rebel lords, in the north and south, build armies to unseat him. War is coming. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves.

This is where Fire lives, a girl whose startling appearance is impossibly irresistible and who can control the minds of everyone around her.

Everyone... except Prince Brigan.

And another ARC that sounds intriguing...

A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi. Pub Date: June 2009. Synopsis:

The sleepy town of Newbury, Connecticut, is shocked when a little girl is found brutally murdered. The town's top detective, perplexed by a complete lack of leads, calls in FBI agent Leia Bines, an expert in cases involving children.

Meanwhile, Dr. Peter Gram, a psychiatrist at Newbury's hospital, searches desperately for the cause of seven-year-old Naya Hastings's devastating nightmares. Afraid that she might hurt herself in the midst of a torturous episode, Naya's parents have turned to the bright young doctor as their only hope.

The situations confronting Leia and Peter converge when Naya begins drawing chilling images of murder after being bombarded by the disturbing images in her dreams. Amazingly, her sketches are the only clues to the crime that has panicked Newbury residents. Against her better judgment, Leia explores the clues in Naya's crude drawings, only to set off an alarming chain of events.

And now from Books-A-Million:

The Lost Years of Merlin by T. A. Barron. Synopsis:

Winter's longest night is rapidly approaching as Merlin faces the most difficult challenge of his life—to unite all the peoples of Fincayra against an invasion by the evil warlord Rhita Gawr. But how can one man, in two weeks' time, gather them all—the dwarves, the canyon eagles, the walking trees, the living stones, and more—when none of them will listen? And now, in the midst of this seemingly insurmountable task, comes the mysterious Sword Arms, who is hunting down Fincayra's children.

Only if Merlin can unite the battling forces deep within himself can he save the children, unify the Fincayrans, and regain the long lost wings that will enable him—and his people—to choose their true destiny.

Storm Born by Richelle Mead. Synopsis:

Eugenie Markham is a powerful shaman who does a brisk trade banishing spirits and fey who cross into the mortal world. Mercenary, yes, but a girl's got to eat. Her most recent case, however, is enough to ruin her appetite. Hired to find a teenager who has been taken to the Otherworld, Eugenie comes face to face with a startling prophecy-one that uncovers dark secrets about her past and claims that Eugenie's first-born will threaten the future of the world as she knows it.

Now Eugenie is a hot target for every ambitious demon and Otherworldy ne'er-do-well, and the ones who don't want to knock her up want her dead. Eugenie handles a Glock as smoothly as she wields a wand, but she needs some formidable allies for a job like this. She finds them in Dorian, a seductive fairy king with a taste for bondage, and Kiyo, a gorgeous shape-shifter who redefines animal attraction. But with enemies growing bolder and time running out, Eugenie realizes that the greatest danger is yet to come, and it lies in the dark powers that are stirring to life within her.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Synopsis:

Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. This extraordinary first novel has captured the imaginations of teenagers and adults across the country.

Fringe Girl by Valerie Frankel. Synopsis:

Adora's place in the pecking order of her posh high school is decidedly on the fringe: Pretty but not beautiful, comfortable but not rich, popular but not the ruling class. But for her latest social studies project (and to exact a little old-fashioned revenge), she decides to put what she's learned about political revolutions to good use.With the help of her friends, Adora stages her very own uprising. And guess what? Victory is hers! Before she knows it, the snotty cool kids have been overthrown-and suddenly Adora is the leader, reveling in her newfound power and popularity. But a few unexpected events are about to trip up the new order-and Adora's noticing that sometimes it can be lonely at the top.

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen. Synopsis:

Ever since she started going out with Rogerson Biscoe, Caitlin seems to have fallen into a semiconscious dreamland where nothing is quite real. Rogerson is different from anyone Caitlin has ever known. He's magnetic. He's compelling. He's dangerous. Being with him makes Caitlin forget about everything else--her missing sister, her withdrawn mother, her lackluster life. But what happens when being with Rogerson becomes a larger problem than being without him?

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen. Synopsis:

Remy always knows when to give a guy "the speech"--right after the initial romantic rush, but before anything gets too serious. She's had her fair share of boyfriends, and she's learned all there is to learn from her mother, who's currently working on husband number five. So why is it that Remy can't seem to dump Dexter? It can't be his name. It can't be that he's messy and disorganized. And it certainly isn't that he's a musician, just like Remy's father, a man she never knew because he left before she was born. could it be that Remy's romantic rules to live by don't apply anymore?

I also got a copy of Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, but it turns out it was an illustrated version for children, silly me. Sadly, it's also falling a part, but I may try to donate it if I can glue it back together.

What was in YOUR mailbox?