In My Mailbox

This is a weekly meme hosted by the awesome Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives us a chance to showcase the books we got during the week.

Here is what I got this week -

I only got one book this week, but it's insanely awesome.



Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel (goodreads)

Thank you Random House for the nice surprise! I wasn't expecting this at all.

What books did you get this week? Leave me a comment and I will check it out.

Happy reading everyone!

Follow Friday/Blog Hops

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee. It's a great way to meet new blogger friends. This weeks question is:

Q. Let's step away from books for a second and get personal. What T-Shirt slogan best describes you?



Being 5'0 makes this t-shirt really apply to me. I actually love being short though, except when I have to get something from the top shelf. haha




Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Crazy For Books. It's a great way to meet new people and friends around the blogworld!

Q “Highlight one book you have received this week (for review, from the library, purchased at the store, etc.) that you can’t wait to dig into!”



Random House recently sent me Dearly Departed by Lia Habel. I am so excited to start this one!

Happy weekend and Happy reading!

Why I Love Books..

I recently finished reading a book for my book club. My club had selected ‘The Other Wes Moore’ by Wes Moore. It was one of those books that for some people could be life changing. I saw the potential for this book to really make a huge difference in some people’s lives. It got me thinking about novels, and the impact they have on people. As I talked to other people about this book I realize that everyone has one, and everyone has a story that goes with it. I am talking about that one book….the book that changed you.

There are many different ways that books change us. They can change the way we think, they can teach us things we never knew, and can even make us fall in love with reading again. The amazing this is that one book can mean so many things to different readers.

My “changed me” book is Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I had been in a reading slump and had even stopped reading for awhile. I decided to pick up JK Rowling’s book on the suggestion of a friend. She knew how much I used to love reading, and that I was upset to not really feel the same way about it anymore. She convinced me to give it a try, and I am so glad she did. I devoured it in one sitting and immediately went to get book 2. It made me remember what exactly I loved about reading - the ability books have to take you and completely immerse you into a different world. I fell in love with reading again and have happily immersed myself into my love affair with books ever since. I will be forever thankful for this series and the fact that I started to read it when I did.

I love that novels have the power to make you feel, make you care and maybe even speak to you in a way that you never expected. The fact that they can touch you in anyway speaks to the power of words.

I want to thank authors everywhere. Somewhere out there is a reader that was changed because of YOUR words so for that you deserve a round of applause.

So what is your book? What book made a difference in your life?

Waiting on Wednesday - Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick this week is Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, but her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

I believe the reason for my DYING to read this is self explanatory. Cassandra Clare is an amazing author, and I love both The Mortal Instruments and the Infernal Devices series. Can December hurry up please? Also, how hot is Jem??!!

Expected release date - December 6, 2011

Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later by Francine Pascal

Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later by Francine Pascal
Release Date – March 29, 2011
Publisher – St Martin’s Press
Pages - 293
My Rating- 6/10
Nostalgia rating - 8/10
Obtained - from the library

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Now with this striking new adult novel from author and creator Francine Pascal, millions of devoted fans can finally return to the idyllic Sweet Valley, home of the phenomenally successful book series and franchise. Iconic and beloved identical twins Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield are back and all grown up, dealing with the complicated adult world of love, careers, betrayal, and sisterhood.

Flashback to when I was 14 years old. I went to yard sale with my mother and saw a large box of books that had pretty blonde twins on the cover. Curious, I picked one up, read the back and turned to my mother to beg for the ENTIRE box. Luckily my mother was a big fan of me reading and forked over the money to purchase the entire box of books. I had just purchased the entire Sweet Valley High series (up until that point anyways, this was when they were still be published). I devoured them. I purchased the new ones as they came out and in fact still own this large box of books until this day (it’s in storage at my mother’s house). The point I am trying to make is that I have a HISTORY with these characters. I grew up with them in other words.

I found out that Francine Pascal was releasing a more “adult” book with Jessica and Elizabeth as almost 30 somethings. I was BEYOND excited. I always wondered what happened to some of my favourite characters. It would be like meeting up with an old friend to catch up.

I wish I could say this book as well written…it wasn’t. There were parts that were good, but if I didn’t have the history with these characters that I did I might have not finished. The positive side is that it’s a short novel, and you can easily polish it off in an afternoon.

We start the book with Elizabeth and Jessica not speaking to each other. We find out that something happened that caused Elizabeth to move to NYC and stop talking to Jessica. These Wakefield girls are not the Liz and Jess we remember. Liz drinks, swears, has casual sex. It was a little jarring to see them as adults and not the teenage girls I remember. Jessica was similar to her high school self. She has been married TWICE and is pretty much what I expected an adult Jessica to be.

Slight spoiler - Jessica is with Todd now. I was always more attached to Elizabeth than Jessica. I am more of an Elizabeth, so that might be the reason. I adored Elizabeth and Todd together so that part of the novel was not a big hit with me. I also have to admit that I would not have been able to forgive as easily as Elizabeth seems to. It just seemed that she didn’t really care at the end.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes. Was it because of my previous history? Totally. Would people who haven’t read the other books, or had no connection to the characters enjoy it? Probably not. If you loved Sweet Valley High though it’s nice to return to Sweet Valley and catch up…..just make sure you have a drink on hand.

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
Release Date – March 9, 2010
Publisher – Delacorte Books
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 407
My Rating- 8/10
Obtained - from the library

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one thing: she must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves.

This companion novel to Forest of Hands and Teeth could be looked at as a sequel. We are introduced to Mary’s daughter Gabry. They still live in the city by the ocean that Mary reaches at the end of Forest of Hands and Teeth.

I really do like Carrie Ryan’s writing style. Her words are so descriptive that you can easily picture what this world would be like. It’s part of what makes it so terrifying. She is also skilled at making you feel the emotions of the characters, and having them be very realistic. I must admit that I find the beginning of these books a little slower than the last half. As I get closer to the end I can’t get through the pages fast enough, but at the beginning it merely holds my interest.

Gabry is quite different than Mary. She has no desire to leave her village (named Vista). She is a rule follower and terrified of anything outside of what she knows. One thing she has in common with Mary, however, is the ability to drive me crazy. I am not sure what it is with the women in these novels. Gabry can not make a decision if her life dependant on it (and it often does). I get that she is young, and that Mary basically tried to protect her from everything but each decision seemed to be excruciating for her. Gabry, like her mother, has two wonderful men interested in her, and she spends most of the novel jumping back and forth in her decision on who to be with. I am not sure about you guys, but if zombies are chasing me the last thing I am concerned with is which cute boy I should be kissing. I did like Gabry more than Mary, if only because I could see how innocent and protected she really was. She did do some brave things and I hope she continues to grow in the next novel. I just would have liked her a little less self centered.

Carrie Ryan’s boys are amazing though. I adore both Catcher and Elias. Catcher won me over and I TOTALLY adore him. Elias is swoon worthy as well, but something about Catcher just floored me. I really hope he find a version of “happily ever after” when all is said and done.

There are so many questions I was hoping to have answered in this book, and I did get some of them. I still would love to know what exactly happened to Mary’s brother. It was nice to see some of the characters from The Forest of Hands and Teeth.

I really do love the world that Carrie Ryan created. I think that is what keeps me coming back. It’s complex, and very descriptive. It’s a world that is horrific in that you can see where it could be possible. If you like your zombies with some romance, and hope tossed in these are the novels for you.

My First Ever In My Mailbox....

This is a weekly meme hosted by the awesome Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives us a chance to showcase the books we got during the week.

So I am new to In My Mailbox, and this is my very first one.. I do enjoy checking out all the posts, but have never done one myself. I, sadly, don't often have much to share.

Here is what I got this week -



An e-galley of The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa. (Goodreads)

So beyond excited to dive into this one.

Thanks NetGalley/HarlequinTeen


From my local library -



Sweet Valley Confidential by Francine Pascal (Goodreads)



The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan (Goodreads)



The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan (Goodreads)

What books did you get this week? Leave me a comment and I will check it out.

Happy reading everyone!