In My Mailbox (Nov. 19th)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme created by Kristi over at The Story Siren where we all post the fabulous book related things we received this week. And have I ever had a week. I had quite a few surprises arrive in the mail and I am very eager to share them with you all. As always, I hope that the week has been good for you, too. :)

For Review:

The Scarlet Dagger

by Krystle Jones

The strength of Sloane’s heart is about to be put to the ultimate test.

After the Eclipse – the night vampires began openly slaughtering human victims – everything changed. Out of fear, the government salvaged what remained of the human population and enclosed them in massive, security-laden cities called White Sectors, while marking the vampire infested territory as Red Sectors.

When seventeen-year-old Sloane McAllister’s twin brother disappears, she seems to be the only one who thinks he isn’t dead, and vows to stop at nothing to find him. Gathering her courage, she braves the Red Sector to search for clues to his whereabouts. By chance, she encounters Aden, a handsome, charismatic vampire with a hidden agenda. He turns Sloane against her will, and whisks her away to his underground city. Enemies quickly become friends as Sloane struggles against her attraction to Aden, and resists her growing loyalties to the creatures that ruined her life. But the vampires themselves are the least of her problems. The city is harboring a devastating secret, one that could change the tide of the war and threaten to destroy everything Sloane has come to believe in.

Heart-stopping action and scorching romance collide in this dystopian, urban fantasy thriller.

I couldn't resist giving this one a "yes". The summary grabbed me right away and the sample that I read held me interest to the point where my thoughts were "Aw, crap. That's the end of it?" when I finished reading it. I'm looking forward to reading this from start to finish. 

A Little Charity Work:

As I'm sure some of you know, Karaoke is another of my passions and I am often very busy this time of year helping with fundraisers to support various causes. This year, one of fundraisers that I took part in, at two different locations, was Walk On The Wild Side. The goal of this fundraiser was to help raise money for the local Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. 

At the latter event that I took part in, I was fortunate enough to get two signed copies of the book that the Rehabilitation Center published, On The Wild Side. I'm keeping one and am planning to give one away to one of you guys. I normally don't post about a lot of non-fiction here at I Write, I Read, I Review but this book is here on behalf of a totally fantastic cause that I am very proud to support. 

Books I Won: 

I won this from Wendy at A Cupcake and a Latte. As someone who is completely indecisive and who blogs, this one definitely intrigues me. Hopefully my review pile will settle down a little so that I can get to enjoy it soon. 

I've said it a thousand times: I'm a huge fan of the House of Night series. So I was pretty excited when I won a copy of Nyx in the House of Night from Trinity Faegen. This is a book of essays that examine various aspects of the House of Night books by a variety of different authors. I love books like this and I've been reading a piece here and there and have been really enjoying it.

Trinity wrote one of the essays and she signed the book in the table of contents where her essay appears.

When I opened the book not only did I see it was signed, this slipped out onto the table. I've mentioned wanting to read The Mephisto Covenant about 80 times by this point, so receiving a bookmark for it was pretty exciting. There are a couple other things that I think are really cool about this. First up is the fact that it's the first time I've received anything like this. Now I'll definitely be getting The Mephisto Covenant as an actual book when I do pick it up because they'll end up a set. The other thing I noticed about this that I really liked is that the book is praised by two of my favorite authors, P.C. Cast and Sherrilyn Kenyon. Someone remind me why I haven't gotten this yet? :p 

I won this from Dani over at Refracted Light and I am so excited to sit down and read it. I love stories about what might happen if something went really wrong with our world, and Eve looks very ready to deliver a story that will hold my interest. Thanks. :)

Oh, look! It's another book you guys have heard me ramble on about a lot here. I've wanted to read Die For Me for a while now and I've had some really weird and crazy things happen as I have tried to acquire it. So when I won it from Jodie over at Books For Company I was absolutely thrilled. Imagine my surprise when two copies of the book showed up here. I didn't think I'd be getting this one for a while. It came really fast.

Fortunately it looks like the accident was on the part of Book Depository (I'd feel awful if a fellow blogger got charged twice sending me something.) So it looks like I'll be having a Die For Me giveaway soon as well. Hmm... Perhaps I'll put this and the book from Walk On The Wild Side together since it's tiny? We'll see. :) Anyway, thanks once again to Jodi for sending me the totally fabulous book.

Between
by Cyndi Tefft

It just figures that the love of Lindsey Water's life isn't alive at all, but the grim reaper, complete with a dimpled smile and Scottish accent.

After transporting souls to heaven for the last 300 years, Aiden MacRae has all but given up on finding the one whose love will redeem him and allow him entry through the pearly gates.

Torn between her growing attraction to Aiden and heaven's siren song, Lindsey must learn the hard way whether love really can transcend all boundaries.

I won this from Aeicha over at Word Splunking as part of her Let's Celebrate BIG Giveaway. I had my choice of a lot of different books but this one grabbed me immediately because of the totally fascinating summary. I love stories that are about people falling in love with the grim reaper or any other death related figure so this was an instant 'How have I not read this yet?' for me. (Yes, I know I am really really strange.) Anyway, thanks so much for sending this my way. I'm totally excited to read it!

For My Kindle: 

There are some very interesting books available for FREE right now over on Amazon. I highly suggest that you visit this post over at The Rest Is Still Unwritten if any of the following appeal to you: 

Fairytale

by Maggie Shayne

As a boy, Adam Reid stumbled into an enchanted forest-and met a magical lady who showed him his destiny. Now he is a sober and serious adult. And memories have faded of a childhood event that could not possibly have occurred...could it?

Brigit Malone is on a mission-a dangerous, larcenous quest that leads the mysterious lovely into Adam Reid's home...and heart. For sparks fly when her warm ebony gaze meets his sapphire stare--and a passionate enchantment binds them with invisible chains. But it would be insane for Adam to believe Brigit's arrival had been foretold--or that the sensuous minx is truly half-fairy--even as they travel together down an impossible path toward a dire peril only the magic of love could overcome.

I've read and enjoyed Maggie Shayne's work before, and I'm very interested in anything fairy / faery right now, so I could not resist downloading this. 

Hollowland

by Amanda Hocking

"This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door."

Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.

I've heard a lot of different opinions regarding Amanda Hocking's books. But for the low price of free? I think I can form my own. :) This looks interesting. 

A Touch of Greek

by Tina Folsom

Selfish and gorgeous Greek God Triton is cast out of Olympus after seducing Zeus’ mistress and can only gain reentry if he finds a woman who loves him for his kindness and selflessness, not his beauty. When the mortal Sophia – recovering from an eye operation and virtually blind – needs a home healthcare worker, he takes on the role, hoping she will be his ticket home.

While defending Sophia from an unknown adversary, Triton’s protective instinct emerges. At the same time rival Gods do everything to doom him to failure. And even if Triton can win Sophia’s love, will he throw it away to return home, or will he lose his own heart to the only woman who truly sees him?

A Touch of Greek is the first book in the humorous and sexy paranormal romance series Out of Olympus following the romantic adventures of four Gods: Triton, Dionysus, Eros, and Hermes.

The next book in the series (Dionysus) is planned for March 2011

Please let this be good. I absolutely adore Greek mythology, but when it comes to reading books based on it the results can be ... interesting. I'm very touchy on this subject and it can be hard for me to predict what I will think of a book until I'm a good chunk in. Fortunately, this is definitely a low risk, high reward investment. I would love to have a new series to follow. (Even as my TBR goes "No!" at the thought.) 

The Unfinished Song: Initiate

by Tara Maya

DEADLY INITIATION

A DETERMINED GIRL...
Dindi can't do anything right, maybe because she spends more time dancing with pixies than doing her chores. Her clan hopes to marry her off and settle her down, but she dreams of becoming a Tavaedi, one of the powerful warrior-dancers whose secret magics are revealed only to those who pass a mysterious Test during the Initiation ceremony. The problem? No-one in Dindi's clan has ever passed the Test. Her grandmother died trying. But Dindi has a plan.

AN EXILED WARRIOR...
Kavio is the most powerful warrior-dancer in Faearth, but when he is exiled from the tribehold for a crime he didn't commit, he decides to shed his old life. If roving cannibals and hexers don't kill him first, this is his chance to escape the shadow of his father's wars and his mother's curse. But when he rescues a young Initiate girl, he finds himself drawn into as deadly a plot as any he left behind. He must decide whether to walk away or fight for her... assuming she would even accept the help of an exile.

By this point I was sitting ther and thinking "Wow! I feel really greedy for grabbing all of these books!" And then I saw this one and had to have it, too. The premise was just too interesting for me to pass it up. I guess I shouldn't feel too guilty. If I love any of these books and they're from series then I will likely end up grabbing future releases. 

Thanks once again to Rachel at The Rest Is Still Unwritten for sharing this utterly fantastic list of free reads. I check this a lot and very rarely download anything, so to find this many books that interested me on one page was kind of a shock. 

This Week's Question:

I am considering getting a new header and possibly a new grab button made for my blog. Do you think I should hire someone or hold a contest? I'd love to hear your opinions! The header is the one aspect of my blog that people mentioned most often as something to improve when I asked for feedback. Thanks for your time! 

PollPub.com Vote

How should I get my new header and grab button made?

Hire someone to make them.
Hold a contest with a prize and use the best design.



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Anyway, as I'm sure you can clearly see, this week has been pretty awesome. I hope that it has been equally good to you as well and I would love to see all of the great new things that you received. Feel free to leave a link to your post and I'll drop by to say hi. Have a great day!