Mundie Moms

Saturday, July 30, 2011

In My Mailbox #83

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren and is a post for bloggers to share what books they've received to review, bought, borrowed or were gifted.

All highlighted review links go to the books' link on Amazon & the bought links go to the place where the book was purchased.

For Review:

* Betrayed by Edna Walters, published by Firetrail, released on July 14th, 2011
* Circle of Fire by Michelle Zink, published by Little Brown, to be released on August 3rd, 2011
* Memory's Wake by Selina Fenech, published by Fairies & Fantasy, released on July 3rd, 2011, received two signed copies, one of which we'll be giving away
* Dreams of Significant Girls by Cristina Garcia, published by Simon & Schuster, released on July 12th, 2011
* Isle of Night: The Watchers by Veronica Wolff, published by NAL, to be released on September 6th, 2011

Bought:

* Undercurrent by Tricia Rayburn
* Sirensong by Jenna Black (it FINALLY arrived)
* Love Story by Jennifer Echols
* Circle of Fire by Michelle Zink, I'll be giving this extra copy away

Gifted:

* Always a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough, thank you S!


For Review *not pictured:
- Lady Bug Girl at the Beach by Jacky Davis, published by Dial, released on May 18th, 2010
- Lady Bug Girl and the Bug Squad by Jacky Davis, published by Dial, released on March 22nd, 2011
- Whooo Loves You? by Sandra Magsamen, published by Little Brown, to be released on August 3rd, 2011
- Love You Back! by Umesh Shukla, self published, released June 28th, 2011
- Goddess Girls, Aphrodite The Diva by Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams, published by Aladdin, to be released on August 9th, 2011
- The Odd Job Squad by Karl Fields, self published, released on June 14th, 2011
- My Beastly Book of Hilarilus Heros & The Beastly Book of Twisted Tales by Vincent Boudgourd, published by Owlkids Books, to be released on August 2nd, 2011

Bought: *not pictured*
- Wiener Wolf by Jeff Crosby
- Seekers, Smoke Mountain by Erin Hunter

Thank you to Ednah Walters, Little Brown, Simon & Schuster, Dial, Sophie, Selina Fenech, Veronica Wolff, Karl Fields, Suzanne Williams and Vincent Boudgourd. What goodies did you receive this week?

Giveaway Winners!

CONGRATULATIONS to our recent giveaway winners:

#147- Michele Luker

#46- Delana Campbell

#285- Angela Sanders

#9- Tiffany Dall
#131- Amy Cokenour

#18- Sera Rivers

Congratulations to all of our winners. Each winner has been notified via email and has 48 hrs to reply or new winners will be drawn.

We still have some fabulous giveaways going on, which are listed in our right hand side bar.

Book Review: Shift


Written by: Jeri Smith-Ready
Published by: Simon Pulse
Release Date: May 3, 2011
Source: Purchased
4 stars - I really enjoyed it!
Synopsis: Aura's life is anything but easy. Her boyfriend, Logan, died, and his slides between ghost and shade have left her reeling. Aura knows he needs her now more than ever. She loves Logan, but she can't deny her connection with the totally supportive, totally gorgeous Zachary. And she's not sure that she wants to.

Logan and Zachary will fight to be the one by her side, but Aura needs them both to uncover the mystery of her past—the mystery of the Shift.

As Aura's search uncovers new truths, she must decide whom to trust with her secrets…and her heart.

In Shift, we find out more about the origins of The Shift and Aura’s and Zachary’s roles in it. Jeri’s well established world-building skills are showcased in the how she weaves her ghostly mythology in and out of key points in their lives. As a reader, I delighted in turning a page only to discover a key element that made everything before it make even more sense.

And Jeri brings us not only a Love Triangle but a Love Square (of sorts). Without bringing in any spoilers, Aura’s decisions on prom dates set into a place a very believable, sometimes humorous and very heart- aching chain of events. This subplot made me happy and sad, at the same time. I understood the reasons behind Aura’s decisions but oh man, did they frustrate me. I kept thinking about my 16-year-old self and I think even she would find these decisions frustrating. But hey, that’s exactly what makes for a good read. My disagreements with Aura created enough of a conflict inside me that I had to finish the book as quickly as possible only to find out what-the-heck-happens-next.

Let me take a moment to talk about the fictional hotness of Zachary. Okay, yes, he wears a kilt to prom but that’s not what made him swoon-worthy to me (let’s not kid ourselves that part helped). It’s his poor decisions and recovery from them that made him a romantic hero. Aren’t those boys the best? They make awful mistakes but stay true to themselves. Yes, yes, I can hear the collective sighs of Mundie Moms everywhere.

If you love a ghostly world where one solved mystery only leads to another and a Hot Boy in a Kilt (okay, you knew I’d mention it again) who is frustrating, right and yet oh-so-very-very-wrong, then be sure to pick up the Shade series.

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