In My Mailbox #32

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted every Sunday over at The Story Siren. A great meme which allows bloggers to share what they receive/buy/borrow each week.

Well this week has been more exciting than back to back episodes of Downton Abbey! Check out what we got!

Bungle's mailbox

This week Bungle has been working hard at keeping the book industry afloat all by herself! She bought Angel Fire by L.A Weatherly, Last Breath by Rachel Caine, Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon and my current fave Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

Bungle also received some proofs this week. She got Oliver Twisted By Jo Sharp, Au Revoir - Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber, Skin Deep by Laura Jarrett and Tigers Voyage by Colleen Houck.
















Sally's mailbox

So my week started fantastically when I was inundated with gifts from Bungle! I received this beautiful artwork which was created by Karen Hurd of Ollerina Art which I absolutely love. I also received two books; Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough and Delerium by Lauren Oliver both of which I'm really looking forward to reading.














I also received a copy of Blood by K.J Wignall which was a gift at the Cassandra Clare event mentioned below. I also received my copy of The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa which is I think one of the best releases this year.












So, this week was also very exciting as I got to go to see Cassandra Clare at a special event in Foyles book store in London. Cassandra was there with Sara Rees Brennan who was in charge of firing random questions which were written by the audience. Cassandra told us how she creates the plots for her stories and where she got her inspiration for the series. She also mentioed her next project The Dark Artifices and advises readers to look out for younger characters in City of Lost Souls and City of Heavenly fire as they may feature. It was also confirmed that a major character will die in one of the final Mortal Instruments books...

I was lucky enough to get my City of Fallen Angels book signed as well as receiving a copy of Magnus' Vow which ties the series together beautifully. Here's me with Cassandra below:












So, That's what we got up to this week - what did you get in your mailbox?

In My Mailbox #31

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted every Sunday over at The Story Siren. A great meme which allows bloggers to share what they receive/buy/borrow each week.

So this week Bungle and I have pretty much managed to keep ourselves under control with Bungle not buying any books at all (applause, applause, applause!) and me only bought two! (slow hand clap...). That said Bungle's shop will soon be taking part in the Waterstones Children's Book Prize so there are fifty titles floating around out there somewhere! I can't wait to find out what they are!

In other exciting Midnight Reads news - we're off to London! Bungle and I will be heading to the capital from opposite ends of the country on Wednesday to meet the fabulous Cassandra Clare and hopefully get a book or two signed. We'll let you know how we got on next week...

So, onto the business of the day. Popping into my mailbox this week was the much anticipated Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl and I also received Lover Awakened by J.R Ward (Adult reading)

















This week from netgalley for review I received Fractured Light by Rachel McClellan and On a Dark Wing by Jordan Dane (you know how I love my angels!)



















So that's what we got this week - What did you get?

Review ~ Shattered Dreams ~ Ellie james

Title: Shattered Dreams

Author: Ellie James

Published: 6th December 2011

By: Macmillan

Source: netgalley

First line: “I heard this place is like...haunted”

Last line: But the moment I put my hand to the dull white of her fur, the small, white cat started to purr.

Fave Line: Except for the presence that hummed like invisible blood through invisible veins.

Shattered Dreams could be best described as a YA paranormal thriller. Set in New Orleans post Katrina it tells the story of sixteen year old Trinity Monsour. Having lost her parents whilst very young Trinity has been raised by her grandmother and now after her recent death she finds herself moving to New Orleans to live with her aunt.

As the story begins we find Trinity trying to fit in with the kids in her new school as they play a game of truth or dare in an abandoned house. We get an insight into the personalities of the main characters fairly early on as we travel around the house. It’s clear that Chase likes Trinity and that she likes him too. It’s also clear that Jessica, his ex-girlfriend, is really not happy about it. It’s also during the truth or dare we first become aware that Trinity can see things that other can’t. As the night unfolds a prank is played on Trinity which triggers a sequence of events that leaves one of the group in danger and Trinity comes to realise that she is the one that has the ability to help.

There are many storylines running through this book which are typical of the YA genre, that is, a girl who is unaware of her past, the need to find acceptance, friendship, romance and the challenges one faces when trying to do the right thing. There are however other aspects that set this book apart from others in the same genre. This book is more of a thriller than your typical paranormal story and so in that respect makes a refreshing change.

I love the detail that Ellie James puts in when describing New Orleans and it’s very easy to imagine yourself in the places that she writes about. There are twists and turns that run through the story which continually throw you off track when it comes to figuring out exactly who the baddie is. I certainly had no idea of how the story would end. Whilst I liked the characters of both Trinity and Chase I did think that their behaviour in some circumstances was not typical of your average sixteen year old. The way that they react and talk to each other was far more mature than one would expect of children. There were also smaller plotlines within the story which seemed to take the story off at a tangent and did not appear to relate to the main plotline or contribute towards its conclusion. That said, James has an excellent ability to add a beautifully dark element of suspense through the tale and this only increases as the tale goes on. There are many characters I’d like to hear more about including Drew and I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to pick up the next book to find out what happens next.

Rating: 3 out of 5. This is a good read, particularly if you like a mystery, but you’ll need to keep your eye on the ball if you’re gonna solve it before you finish the book!