In My Mailbox (04)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren where bloggers showcase the books they received over the week.

My mailbox was quite lovely this week. I received an abundance of library books (of course), a couple of books from The Book Depository, and something that really surprised me.

Mail:

 From top to bottom:

- Geist by Philippa Ballantine; I love fantasy, and the cover is so amazing. It's done by the same guy who did the cover for the Theatre Illuminata series, Jason Chan

- The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey; I'd begun this book earlier in the year, but it was from the library, and I had to give it back half-read. But it was good enough for me to want to buy.

- Emblaze by Jessica Shirvington; This was a lovely gift from Hachette, as part of their reviewing program for Date a Book. I'd read and reviewed the first  book here on my blog, Embrace and have the second book waiting to have its review written up. Good series, and I'm so happy to have an early-release copy.

Library:

 From top to bottom:

- Seduced by Moonlight by Laurell K. Hamilton; Man, I've really been digging this series. I'm in a sort of smutty paranormal romance mood, so this is right up my alley.

- All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin; I've been hearing interesting things about this book, and the premise is intriguing. Can't wait to check it out.

- Beautiful Days by Anna Godbersen; I'd read the first book earlier this year as part of my ABC Challenge, and I'm really interested in historicals set in the 1920's.

- Act of Faith by Kelly Gardiner; I really really really love historicals. And the premise looks interesting.

-Possess by Gretchen McNeil; Man, I've been waiting impatiently for this book for ages. It looks so creepy and awesome. So can't wait to dig in to this.

- The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh; This book has been on my radar for ages. I'm so ecstatic to finally be able to have it in my hands. So so so can't wait to read this one.

- Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures Volume One by Laurell K. Hamilton &; Oooh, a graphic novel. I love graphic novels so much, and am ridiculously happy that popular urban fantasy series are getting turned into graphic novels.

- Fables: War and Pieces by Bill Willingham; This is the 11th volume of the Fables series, and man, I'm so excited to read this. The series has been a massive ride, and I totally recommend it to everyone.

So, that's it for my mailbox.
What did you get in you mailboxes this week? What do you think of the books I got? Feel free to leave your links in the comments.

Dark Angel Giveaway

So, I said I'd do a giveaway of Dark Angel by Eden Maguire, and here it is.

What's this book about?

Tania's heart belongs to Orlando. Nothing can rip them apart. Until the seduction begins in a flurry of glamour and magic, music and parties all orchestrated by the mysterious and mesmerising Zoran, an iconic rock star who has retired to a remote ranch in the nearby mountains. And there Tania meets the dark side. Can she resist temptation?
(Taken from Goodreads)

Sounds pretty neat huh? I also reviewed it last week, and rated it 3.5 stars.

So what do you have to do? It's easy, just fill out this form! :)
The contest closes at 12:01 am on the 8th of October. There'll be one winner. And yes, it is international. :)

In My Mailbox (03)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren where bloggers showcase the books they received over the week.

I know, I know, I haven't been too active lately. And I don't really have a reason. I guess I'm just really lazy.
But! I promise to be more active. In fact, I have several posts queued up for the next week and a bit.

I haven't been getting too many books in the last few weeks. I went to a Maggie Stiefvater signing a couple of weeks ago, and got some books signed. And I've been taking advantage of the new releases in my library.
So without further ado, here is my mailbox:

Bought:

- The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell; I love zombies, so I had to snatch this up.

- Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (signed!); I haven't read Linger yet, but I just can't have an unfinished series sitting on my shelves. Bonus: I got it signed! EEEEEeeeek!

- Lament and  Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater (signed as well); Well, I wasn't about to pass up a chance to get more books signed by Maggie. I also got my copies of Shiver and Linger signed, which makes me very happy.

In case anyone cares, here's a picture of myself with Maggie. Excuse my goofy smile. I get nervous when in the presence of anyone who manages to get published. Can I just say that Maggie is actually hilarious, and she should become a stand-up comedian? 

Library:

 From top to bottom:

- Supernaturally by Kiersten White; I really liked Paranormalcy, but I'm a bit hesitant in starting this.

- Alaska by Sue Saliba; I didn't quite like Sue's previous book, Something in the World Called Love, but I'm hoping this will be better. Plus, she's Aussie, so I want to check out all the talent.

- The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter; It's finally published in Australia, with a really weird new cover. I've been waiting to read this book for ages, and I'm not really expecting it to be good, since a lot of people whose opinions I trust seem to have ill opinions of it.

- Stravaganza: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman; Just something I picked up off the shelves in my poorly understocked library (all the other books had to be brought in from other branches)

- Blood Song by Rhiannon Hart; I've been hearing fantastic things about this book, but the poorly photoshopped cover is really putting me off.

- Bloodspell by Amalie Howard; I have no idea what to expect, but it looks and sounds really interesting. Hoping it's good.

- Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton; So, this is the third member of the Merry Sisters of Fate, and since I disliked Brenna Yovanoff's novel, and I wasn't much of a fan of Shiver, I'm hoping that third time's the charm. 

- The Mermaid's Mirror by L.K. Madigan; It's so sad that Madigan is no longer with us. I'm interested in reading this book. I love mermaids, and wish there were more of them in fiction.

What did you get in you mailboxes this week? What do you think of the books I got? Feel free to leave your links in the comments.

Review: Dark Angel

Dark Angel by Eden Maguire

Pages: 398, paperback

ISBN: 9781444901863

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books

Date Released: August 4th, 2011

Genre: YA / romance / paranormal / angels

Source: review copy sent by Hachette

Premise:

Tania's heart belongs to Orlando. Nothing can rip them apart. Until the seduction begins in a flurry of glamour and magic, music and parties all orchestrated by the mysterious and mesmerising Zoran, an iconic rock star who has retired to a remote ranch in the nearby mountains. And there Tania meets the dark side. Can she resist temptation?
(Taken from Goodreads)

Buy it From: Book Depository / Amazon

Dark Angel was nothing like I expected it to be. To sum it up in one word, it was intense.

From the beginning, we’re introduced to one of the most terrifying of enemies: fire. Tania lives in a town surrounded by dense forests, where fires can start with little to no warning. I think it’s really imaginative to make a natural disaster like forest fires to be a prevalent source of tension, fear, and hope in the book. Fire is the worst enemy: it doesn’t have a motive, it doesn’t care who gets in its path, and when it’s strong enough, it’s nearly impossible to fight. But, on the other hand, fire can also bring about new life. And I love how Dark Angel embraces all of these points. Tania rises from the ashes to become a completely new person, someone who is strong enough to fight an even scarier enemy.

Angels are usually seen as something pure, innocent. It’s where we get the word angelic from. But the angels in this book are anything but. These angels kept me on the edge of my seat, kept me biting my nails, and kept me up until 3 or 4 am each night to find out what happens next. They are evil beings, their only motive is to destroy.

When Tania’s best friend, Grace, has a complete personality about-face, Tania knows that it’s up to her to save her. Grace suddenly begins to hang out with the beautiful, ridiculously talented and rich folk at the ranch. She abandons her friends and family. She hurts everyone around her. I really hated how Grace acted, but at the same time, I was scared for her. You could tell that it wasn’t her acting the way she was. There was something sinister behind her, and it was terrifying finding out.

The best thing about this book was the relationships between the characters. The characters were all very real, but it was their relationships that defined them. Grace and Tania the best friends. Grace and Jude, the perfect couple, always in love. Holly and Tania, the friends-who-are-only-friends-because-they’re-neighbours. Holly and Aaron, the on-again, off-again couple. And finally, Tania and the sexy Orlando, the couple that no one can get between. I fell in love with Orlando from the very beginning, and I felt as if I was friends with everyone else.

I think the only downfall of the book was the writing. While it wasn't horrible, it still could have been better. It felt like it was a first draft at times. And since Maguire has had 4 previous book published, you'd think that she'd have honed her writing skills.

I can’t wait for the sequel, Twisted Heart (pre-order it now.). I’d give up my first born child to read it now.

This is a book that everyone should dig into.

Also, since I have an extra copy of Dark Angel, and I'm feeling particularly generous, I'll be hosting a giveaway in a few days. So keep your eyes peeled for that. (Note: as I'm new and lacking in followers, it'll be a follower only giveaway, so be sure to click the join this site button!)

Cover Art: 2
Plot: 3.5
Characters: 4
Writing: 2
Level of Interest: 3.5

Total Rating: 3.5 stars