In My Mailbox - 1/8/11

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

I haven't been doing IMM every week recently because I haven't been getting a lot of books and I forget to do it. However since I got some books from Strand I remembered to post an IMM for this week. I will try to do better and remember to do it every week from now on.

For review:


The Charmed Return by Frewin Jones

The thrilling conclusion to the Faerie Path series, in which Tania, the long-lost princess of Faerie, ultimately must choose between her two worlds.
She was once a princess of Faerie, the seventh daughter of King Oberon. But sixteen-year-old Anita Palmer wakes up in London with no memory of the Faerie Realm; her princess identity; her true love, Edric; or her quest to save Faerie from a deadly plague that ravaged it. Anita must reawaken Tania, her Faerie self…but how? And who can she trust when not even her memories are safe? Her quest leads to a thrilling final battle, with her own destiny—as well as the fate of both Faerie and the Mortal World—at stake.


From Strand bookstore:


In the Shadow of the Lamp by Susanne Dunlap

It's 1854 and sixteen-year-old Molly would give anything to change her circumstances as a lowly servant in a posh London house. So when she hears of an opportunity to join the nurses who will be traveling with Florence Nightingale to the Crimea, she jumps at the chance. The work is grueling, the hospital conditions deplorable, and Miss Nightingale a demanding teacher. Before long, the plight of British soldiers becomes more than just a mission of mercy as Molly finds that she's falling in love with both a dashing young doctor and a soldier who has joined the army to be near her. But with the battle raging ever nearer, can Molly keep the two men she cares for from harm? A love story to savor, and a fascinating behind-the-scenes imagining of the woman who became known as "the lady with the lamp."


A Templar's Gifts by Kat Black

The second book in Kat Black's historical fantasy trilogy full of intrigue, mystery, and adventure!
Something's wrong with Tormod MacLeod. Ever since returning home his visions have become more intense and disorienting, making him increasingly ill and constantly on the verge of collapse. But then he meets Aine, a fiery, no-nonsense Scottish lass who has powers of her own and a special supernatural connection with Tormod--when they're actually getting along. Together they must find the healer who can save Tormod's life, all the while dodging King Philippe le Bel's ruthless soldiers, who will stop at nothing to find Tormod and information about the secret he keeps.


The Silver Bowl by Diane Stanley

Unwanted at home, Molly goes to work for the king of Westria as a humble scullery maid. She arrives at the castle with no education, no manners, and a very disturbing secret: She sees visions, and those visions always come true.
One day, while she’s working in the king’s great hall, young Prince Alaric passes by. Molly finds him unbearably handsome—but also unbearably rude. But what does it really matter? She’ll probably never see him again.
In time Molly is promoted to polishing silver and is given a priceless royal treasure to work on: the king’s great ceremonial hand basin. But there’s something odd about it. The silver warms to her touch, a voice commands her to watch and listen, and then the visions appear. They tell the story of a dreaded curse that has stalked the royal family for years. There have already been deaths; soon there will be more.
As tragedy after tragedy strikes the royal family, Molly can’t help but wonder: Will the beautiful Alaric be next? Together with her friends Tobias and Winifred, Molly must protect the prince and destroy the curse. Could a less likely champion be found to save the kingdom of Westria?


Eliza's Freedom Road by Jerdine Nolan

It is 1852 in Alexandria, Virginia. Eliza's mother has been sent away and it is Abbey, the cook, who looks after Eliza, when Eliza isn't taking care of the Mistress. Eliza has the quilt her mother left her and the memory of the stories she told to keep her close. When her Mistress's health begins to fail and Eliza overhears the Master talk of Eliza being traded, Eliza takes to the night. She follows the path and the words of the farmhand Old Joe, " … travel the night … sleep the day. Go East. Your back to the set of the sun until you come to the safe house where the candlelight lights the window." All the while, Eliza recites the stories her mother taught her along her Freedom Road from Maryland to St. Catherine's, Canada.


Dear America: Like the Willow Tree by Lois Lowry

Suddenly orphaned by the Spanish flu epidemic in the fall of 1918, eleven-year-old Lydia Pierce and her fourteen-year-old brother, Daniel, of Portland, Maine, are taken by their grieving uncle to be raised in the Shaker community at Sabbathday Lake. Thrust into the spartan lifestyle of this isolated religious sect, which practices celibacy and pacifism, Lydia, a fiercely independent girl, must grapple with a new life that is nothing like the one she used to know.
Since she is separated from her beloved brother -- for males and females do not live together in this communal village -- Lydia is forced to adjust to the restrictions placed upon her once carefree, creative spirit all on her own. (reviewed here)


Dear America: A Picture of Freedom by Patricia C. McKissack

Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honor author Patricia McKissack's inspiring A PICTURE OF FREEDOM is now back in print with a gorgeous new cover!
It's 1859 and Clotee, a twelve-year-old slave, has the most wonderful, terrible secret. She knows that if she shares it with the wrong person, she will face unimaginable consequences. What is her secret? While doing her job of fanning her master's son during his daily lessons, Clotee has taught herself to read and write. However, she soon learns that the tutor, Ely Harms, has a secret of his own.
In a time when literacy is one of the most valuable skills to have, Clotee is determined to use her secret to save herself, and her family.
Patricia C. McKissack weaves the pages of Clotee's diary with the intrigue and disloyalty of spies and traitors, the celebrations of life, and the anguish of death. (reviewed here)


Other books I bought:


The Damascus Way by Davis Bunn & Janette Oke

Julia has everything money can buy...except for acceptance by either the Gentiles or the Jews. Her Greek father already has a wife and family, leaving Julia and her Hebrew mother second-class citizens. But when they are introduced to followers of the Way, they become part of that community of believers. Abigail's brother, Jacob, now a young man, is attempting to discover his own place as a Christian. He is concerned that being more serious about his faith means trading away the exhilaration of his current profession as a caravan guard. Hired by Julia's father to protect the wealthy merchant's caravans on the secretive "Frankincense Trail"--undercover transport of this highly valuable commodity--Jacob also passes letters and messages between various communities of believers. He is alarmed to find out that Julia, hardly more than a girl, is also a messenger. Can their immediate mistrust be put aside to finally bring their hearts together?