I haven't done one of these posts for a while (I've been lazy) but I needed to try to post something using the new Blogger interface (which I hate with the fire of a thousand burning suns.....) so here's a Mailbox Monday post with everything I've gotten the last few weeks. It's actually Tuesday but the new Blogger interface (DID I MENTION I HATE IT?!) is giving me a lot of trouble with scheduled posts.
Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers
Sybella arrives at the convent’s doorstep half mad with grief and despair. Those that serve Death are only too happy to offer her refuge—but at a price. Naturally skilled in both the arts of death and seduction, the convent views Sybella as one of their most dangerous weapons.
But those assassin’s skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to a life that nearly drove her mad. Her father’s rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother’s love is equally monstrous. And while Sybella is a weapon of justice wrought by the god of Death himself, He must give her a reason to live. When she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons, will a daughter of Death find something other than vengeance to live for?
This heart-pounding sequel to Grave Mercy serves betrayal, treachery, and danger in equal measure, bringing readers back to fifteenth century Brittany and will keep them on the edge of their seats. (SQUEE! I am very excited about this one!)
The Unfailing Light by Robin Bridges
Lush and opulent,
romantic and sinister, "The Unfailing Light, " Volume II in The Katerina
Trilogy, reimagines the lives of Russia's aristocracy in a fabulously
intoxicating and page-turning fantasy.
Having had no choice but to
use her power has a necromancer to save Russia from dark forces,
Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, now wants to forget that
she ever used her special powers. She's about to set off to pursue her
lifelong dream of attending medical school when she discovers that
Russia's arch nemesis--who she thought she'd destroyed--is still alive.
So on imperial orders, Katerina remains at her old finishing school.
She'll be safe there, because the empress has cast a potent spell to
protect it against the vampires and revenants who are bent on toppling
the tsar and using Katerina for their own gains. But to Katerina's
horror, the spell unleashes a vengeful ghost within the school, a ghost
more dangerous than any creature trying to get in.
Dear Canada: A Sea of Sorrows by Norah McClintock
In the midst of the Irish famine, Johanna flees one disaster — only to land in another.
After a massive potato famine strikes Ireland, thirteen-year-old Johanna Leary flees to Canada with her family.
But typhus and other illnesses plague the "coffin ships," so named for the staggering number of immigrants who died enroute. One by one Johanna loses the members of her family — first her baby brother on the journey over, then her mother in the Grosse Isle fever sheds where sick passengers are quarantined when they reach the port of Québec, and her father soon after. Johanna has only her brother Michael left when she sets foot on Canadian soil.
When her brother is mistakenly told that she too has died, he sets off to find their uncle "somewhere in Canada," leaving Johanna to face a new life in a strange land... totally alone.
A Sea of Sorrows captures a dreadful time in history for those desperate, impoverished Irish families who hoped to make Canada their home. Johanna's incredible journey of survival is told with insight and sensitivity by master storyteller Norah McClintock.
I Am Canada: A Call to Battle by Gillian Chan
The War of 1812 comes to life through the eyes of a young Canadian boy.
It's 1812. War has begun, and thirteen-year-old Alexander (Sandy) MacKay is jealous when his older brother Angus goes off with their father to fight the Americans attacking the Niagara region. Too young to know the darker side of battle, he resents being left to shoulder the work on his family's farm.
Itching to get in on the action, he sneaks away from home and heads to Lundy's Lane to join up with the local militia. But battle is imminent, and now there's not much his father can do except try to shield him from the worst of the fighting.
Sandy's idealized notions of what battle will be like are shattered when the man standing before him is killed by a musket ball and Sandy's own brother is severely wounded. At the battle of Lundy's Lane, the united Canadian/British forces turn the tide against the American troops, but Sandy comes to know how chilling war can be.
Just in time for the bicentennial of the War of 1812, A Call to Battle is a sobering look at the realities of war. Author Gillian Chan skillfully depicts the transformation of an impetuous young boy, full of boyish enthusiasm, into a more realistic young man who emerges on the other side of war.
Caroline's Secret Message by Kathleen Ernst
Caroline and Mama make a dangerous trip across Lake Ontario to the British fort where Papa is a prisoner. When Mama isn’t allowed to see Papa, it’s up to Caroline to pass a secret message to him—right under the nose of a British guard. Caroline hopes desperately that Papa will be able to use the information to escape. But can she get the message to him? And even if she does, will Papa understand it? When Caroline and Mama return home, all they can do is wait and hope. On Caroline’s birthday, an unexpected gift lifts her heart.
A Surprise for Caroline by Kathleen Ernst
Caroline Abbott imagined it would be great fun to have two girls staying at her house for the winter. But her friend Rhonda Hathaway and cousin Lydia are both twelve, and sometimes they seem to be better friends with each other than with Caroline. Worse, they’d rather stay inside styling hair than go skating and sledding. Nothing Caroline tries seems to change things, not even the special Christmas gift she gives to Rhonda. Finally, hurt feelings lead Caroline to make a rash decision—one that puts all three girls on very thin ice.
Caroline Takes a Chance by Kathleen Ernst
Caroline, like everyone else in Sackets Harbor, is waiting anxiously for the first supply boats of the year to arrive. Without supplies, the shipyards can’t build boats to fight the British. When Caroline and her friends Rhonda and Seth go out fishing in Papa’s skiff, they’re excited to catch sight of a supply boat—until they realize that it’s being chased by a British warship. Desperate to save the supply boat, Caroline comes up with a daring idea. Will her plan work? Or is it a dangerous and foolish risk? Caroline has no time to think—she can only plunge ahead.
Caroline's Battle by Kathleen Ernst
Caroline’s Papa has barely returned before frightening news arrives—British warships are headed for Sackets Harbor, ready to attack. Every able-bodied man, including Papa, must go and fight. Mama and Caroline are left alone to guard Abbott’s Shipyard from the enemy. Caroline tells herself she would do anything to keep Papa’s shipyard safe. But when the battle seems to be lost, Mama gives her a terrible order. They must burn the shipyard to the ground to keep it from the enemy. It’s the one thing Caroline isn’t sure she can do.
Changes for Caroline by Kathleen Ernst
Caroline receives a letter asking her to come and help on Uncle Aaron’s new farm. Although she hates to leave her family, Caroline is pleased to see her cousin Lydia—and to meet Lydia’s pretty cow and sweet baby calf. Determined to help out in any way she can, Caroline keeps watch when a thief starts sneaking around the farm. Then she makes an unexpected discovery—and learns that some things are not as simple as they seem. When Caroline returns home at last for an Independence Day celebration, she is treated to a wonderful surprise.
Smuggler's Kiss by Marie-Louise Jensen
Smugglers are cut-throat rascals. At least that's what Isabelle's always been told. But when she's rescued from drowning at sea by the crew of a notorious smuggling ship, her principles are thrown into confusion. Outwitting the king's men fills her with excitement, especially when she's with one mysterious smuggler in particular...
The Prairie Thief by Melissa Wiley
Louisa Brody’s life on the Colorado prairie is not at all what she expected. Her dear Pa, accused of thievery, is locked thirty miles away in jail. She’s living with the awful Smirches, her closest neighbors and the very family that accused her Pa of the horrendous crime. And now she’s discovered one very cantankerous—and magical—secret beneath the hazel grove. With her life flipped upside-down, it’s up to Louisa, her sassy friend Jessamine, and that cranky secret to save Pa from a guilty verdict.
Ten bold illustrations from Erwin Madrid accompany seasoned storyteller Melissa Wiley’s vibrant and enchanting tale of life on the prairie—with one magical twist.
Our Australian Girl: Peacetime for Alice by Davina Bell
Alice's mother is sick, and everyone fears that she might have the dreaded Spanish Influenza. Alice begins to dance again to distract herself but soon becomes frustrated at how difficult she finds it. Meanwhile, the family plant a tree for Papa Sir on the Honour Avenue at King's Park and hold a celebration to remember his life, where Alice's brother, Teddy, makes a surprise announcement. But an even bigger shock awaits Alice when someone returns from the past & someone with the power to change her future and make her dreams come true.
Our Australian Girl: Nellie's Greatest Wish by Penny Matthews
It's 1850 . . . and Nellie is returning to Adelaide after searching for the Thompson family at the Burra. She's keen to get back to her best friend, Mary, who is ill in hospital. But she is in for a terrible shock . . . Even Nellie begins to feel that all is lost and that she might never achieve her dreams. Will her spirit be crushed, or can she turn her fate around?
Follow Nellie on her adventure in the final of four stories about an Irish girl with a big heart, in search of the freedom to be herself.
The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd
London, 1894. Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father’s gruesome experiments. But when she learns her father is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations were true.
Juliet is accompanied by the doctor’s handsome young assistant and an enigmatic castaway, who both attract Juliet for very different reasons. They travel to the island only to discover the depths of her father’s madness: he has created animals that have been vivisected to resemble, speak, and behave as humans. Worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island’s inhabitants. Juliet knows she must end her father’s dangerous experiments and escape the island, even though her horror is mixed with her own scientific curiosity. As the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father’s genius—and madness—in her own blood.
Prophecy by Ellen Oh
The greatest warrior in all of the Seven Kingdoms… is a girl with yellow eyes.
Kira’s the only female in the king’s army, and the prince’s bodyguard. She’s a demon slayer and an outcast, hated by nearly everyone in her home city of Hansong. And, she’s their only hope…
Murdered kings and discovered traitors point to a demon invasion, sending Kira on the run with the young prince. He may be the savior predicted in the Dragon King Prophecy, but the missing treasure of myth may be the true key. With only the guidance of the cryptic prophecy, Kira must battle demon soldiers, evil shaman, and the Demon Lord himself to find what was once lost and raise a prince into a king.
Intrigue and mystery, ancient lore and action-packed fantasy come together in this heart-stopping first book in a trilogy.
