Saturday, December 26, 2009

In My Mailbox - 12/26/09

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and got lots of great books!

Credit goes to The Story Siren for creating and hosting the In My Mailbox feature.

Ashes by Kathryn Lasky

Thirteen-year-old Gabriella Schramm’s favorite pastime is reading. With Adolf Hitler slowly but unstoppably rising to power, Gaby turns to her books for comfort while the world around her changes dramatically: The streets become filled with soldiers, Gaby’s sister’s boyfriend raises his arm in a heil Hitler salute, and the Schramms’ family friend Albert Einstein flees the country. When Gaby’s beloved books come under attack, she fears she may have to leave behind the fiction—and the life—she has always cherished.


Good Fortune by Noni Carter

Ayanna Bahati lives in a small African village when she is brutally kidnapped, along with her mother and brother, and forced onto a slave ship to America. As Ayanna, renamed Anna, rises from the cotton fields to the master’s house, she finds the familial love she’s been yearning for—but she is also faced with more threats to her survival. Risking everything to escape the plantation, Anna makes it to the North and to freedom, eventually settling in the free black community of Hadson, Ohio, and educating herself to become a teacher.


The Mark by Jen Nadol

Cassandra Renfield has always seen the mark—a glow around certain people reminiscent of candlelight. But the one time she mentioned it, it was dismissed as a trick of the light. Until the day she watches a man awash in the mark die. After searching her memories, Cassie realizes she can see a person’s imminent death. Not how or where, only when: today.
Armed with a vague understanding of the light, Cassie begins to explore her “gift,” seeking those marked for death and probing the line between decision and destiny. Though she’s careful to hide her secret—even from her new philosophy-obsessed boyfriend—with each impending death comes the temptation to test fate. But so many questions remain. How does the mark work? Why is she the only one who sees it? And finally, the most important of all: If you know today is someone’s last, should you tell them?


Poisoned Honey by Beatrice Gormely

This story begins with Mariamne, a vulnerable girl who knows little of the ways of the world. Much as she wants to be in control of her own destiny, she soon learns she has no such power. She must do as her father and brother see fit, and when tragedy strikes, Mari must marry a man she does not love and enter a household where she is not welcome, for the good of her family.
But she finds a small way to comfort herself when she meets an Egyptian wisewoman who instructs her in the ways of the occult arts. In the spirit world, Mari finds she has power. Here, she really is in control of her fate. But is she? Or is the magic controlling her?
This gripping portrait of one of the most misunderstood and controversial Biblical figures is the story of a young girl’s path through manipulation and possession, madness and healing, to a man who will change the world forever.


Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore (Hardcover copy, reviewed the ARC here)

Nimira is a foreign music-hall girl forced to dance for mere pennies. When wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to sing with a piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it is the start of a new and better life. In Parry's world, however, buried secrets are beginning to stir. Unsettling below-stairs rumors swirl about ghosts, a madwoman roaming the halls, and Parry's involvement with a league of sorcerers who torture fairies for sport. Then Nimira discovers the spirit of a fairy gentleman named Erris is trapped inside the clockwork automaton, waiting for someone to break his curse. The two fall into a love that seems hopeless, and breaking the curse becomes a race against time, as not just their love, but the fate of the entire magical world may be in peril.

13 comments:

Bookalicious Ramblings said...

Wow, The Mark and Magic under Glass, you lucky girl! Happy reading! :)

Anonymous said...

I would love to read a review of Poisioned Honey. It looks great. Enjoy!!

Unknown said...

Cool great new books this week. I'm really looking forward to your review of The Mark.

MarjoleinBookBlog said...

great books, I am going to check out the two first one you mentioned for sure!

Milka said...

Cool books!
I really want to read Ashes! I love history and in that book history and fiction seem to be collapsed. Can't wait to read your review of it!

Jenn (Books At Midnight) said...

Ohh, awesome books! Poisoned Honey and The Mark sound awesome. Happy reading! :)

Sherrie said...

Hi!
Great bunch of books. I really like the cover of Good Fortune! I'll be putting this one on my TBR list. Have a great day!

Sherrie
Just Books
http://sherriesbooks.blogspot.com/2009/12/in-my-mailbox_27.html

Kathy Martin said...

Great collection of books. I didn't know about the one by Lasky. I haven't read her for a while. I'll have to look for it. The Mark and Magic Under Glass sound terrific too. Happy reading!

Stephanie said...

These look excellent. Ashes and Good Fortune are new to me, and they look terrific. And I have been very intrigued with The Mark. I'm adding myself as a follower so I won't miss your reviews. Happy reading!

Mine is here

Laura (The Bookie Bunch) said...

Holy crow...those books look amazing. I must have Ashes and Good Fortune but man all of them look darn good!

Here's what I got: http://bookielaura.blogspot.com/2009/12/book-haul-christmas-edition.html

Have a great New Year!

prophecygirl said...

I love anything set in WWII, so I've ordered Ashes. Thanks to you & Kristi for bringing it to my attention!

Enjoy your books :)

The Book Explorer said...

The Mark looks awesome and sounds amazing.

I hope you enjoy it!

~Shayla

Sheila (Bookjourney) said...

Good Fortune sounds wonderful. Have a great week!

 
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