Mailbox Monday – 1/11

 Mailbox Monday can be found at: The Printed Page

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

This week I got a lot of books.  Some of it is due to the after Christmas book splurging I end up doing every year.  But most of them are through paperbackswap.com.  


I broke down and finally bought “Into the Woods” and “The Book of Ballads”  I have been wanting these forever and got them really cheap on Amazon.  I also pre-ordered and just got “Blood Cross” because the first Jane Yellowstone book was one of my favorites of last year; so I figured I can pay full price for this series if I enjoy it sooo much.

The rest of the books I got off of my wishlist through paperbackswap.com.  Quite the haul!  Most of them will support my reading challenges in one way or another.  Check out the list and details below.  Hope you all have a happy week!  And I wish you excellent reading 🙂

“Silk” by Caitlin R. Kiernan

First Sentence: “Two nights before Halloween, as if it matters to anyone in the house, as if every day in this house isn’t Halloween.”
From Amazon.com: “To the residents of her small southern city, second-hand store owner Spyder Baxter is crazy. But her friends and followers know better. Something lives within Spyder’s brain. Something powerful. Something wonderful. Something dangerous. Pray it never escapes.”

“Blood Cross” (Jane Yellowrock, Book 2) by Faith Hunter

First Sentence: “Molly and the kids and I were eating lunch when the lightening hit.”
From Amazon.com: “Jane Yellowrock is back on the prowl against the children of the night…
The vampire council has hired skinwalker Jane Yellowrock to hunt and kill one of their own who has broken sacred ancient rules-but Jane quickly realizes that in a community that is thousands of years old, loyalties run deep… “

The Book of Ballads by Charles Vess

First Sentence: “I’m of to school, ma.  You don’t go near the well, our boy.”
From Amazon.com: “Illustrated and presented by one of the leading artists in modern fantasy, The Book of Ballads gives us some of the great songs and folktales of the English, Irish, and Scottish traditions, re-imagined in sequential-art form, in collaboration with some of today+s strongest fantasy writers.Here is New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman retelling -The False Knight on the Road+; popular mystery author Sharyn McCrumb reimagining -Thomas the Rhymer+; acclaimed children+s writer Jane Yolen with -King Henry+ and -The Great Selchie of Sule Skerrie+; popular novelist Charles de Lint+s contemporary reworking of -Twa Corbies+; comics superstar Jeff Smith with -The Galtee Farmer+; Emma Bull+s version of -The Black Fox,+ and much, much more. A finalist for 2005+s Eisner Award, Ballads is an event in the worlds of fantasy and graphic storytelling alike.”

Into the Woods by Lyn Gardner

First Sentence: “Storm Eden was forbidden to put a foot outside the high walls that surrounded the park at Eden End.”
From Amazon.com: “Storm, Aurora, and Anything Eden live in a decaying mansion on the edge of the wilds with their erstwhile father and indolent mother. When an accident leaves them orphaned and at the mercy of the sinister Dr. DeWilde, these three courageous and eccentric sisters are forced to flee into the woods, where they encounter kidnappers, sweets-filled orphanages, mountains of ice, diamond mines, and some ravenously hungry wolves.

Taking inspiration from numerous fairy tales and weaving them into a wholly original story, Into the Woods is a whirlwind of a novel, full of imaginative happenings and dastardly deeds.”

Devoured by Amanda Marrone

First Sentence: “Helena,” the large mirror beckoned from the east wall, “I have something fo the utmost importance to show you.”
From Amazon.com: “Megan’s twin sister Remy died in an accident nine years ago, and she’s been haunting her ever since. Knowing how crazy that sounds, Megan keeps this secret to herself and tries to lead a normal life. But when she takes a summer job at Land of Enchantment to keep an eye on her new boyfriend and his lovesick best friend, Samantha, she meets fellow employee Luke who can see Remy, too. Things get even twistier because Megan’s new friend Ari is sporting a massive crush on Luke, who seems to be developing a massive crush on Megan… making for a love triangle that’s positively possessed.
Megan wants to keep her distance from Luke, but when Remy’s visions get crazy violent, she knows she needs his help. Because someone’s definitely in danger… the only question is who?”

Scones and Sensitbility by Lindsay Eland

First Sentence: “It was upon turning the last delicate pages of my leather-bound copy of Pride and Prejudice” that my transformation into a delicate lady of quality was complete.
From Amazon.com: “Seek tirelessly and you shall not find a contemporary heroine of middle-grade literature as refined and romantic as Miss Polly Madassa. Still swooning over the romantic conclusions of Pride & Prejudice and Anne of Green Gables, twelve-year-old Polly decides her purpose in life: helping along lonely hearts in search of love. Polly’s only task this summer is to make deliveries for her parents’ bakery, leaving ample time for this young cupid to find hearts to mend–beginning with the kite-store owner, Mr. Nightquist, who will pair perfectly with Miss Wiskerton (the unfairly labeled town curmudgeon). Polly’s best friend Fran Fisk is in desperate need of a mother ever since hers ran off with a man she met on the Internet; Polly must find a match for Mr. Fisk. And while she’s at it, it wouldn’t hurt to find Clementine, Polly’s teenaged sister, a beau worthy of her (so she can shed that brute, Clint). Polly’s plans are in full swing, so she definitely cannot be bothered by the advances of classmate Brad Barker.

But maybe Polly should have turned her attention to Miss Austen’s Emma next, because she quickly learns the pitfalls of playing matchmaker. How will Polly patch up her own relationships, while ensuring that destined love can take its course?”

Darklight (Wondrous Strange, Book 2) by Lesley Livingston

First Sentence: “The old man lay crumpled on the flagstones in front of a Park Avenue brownstone, his lifeblood oozing from five small holes in his neatly buttoned tweed vest like sap from a maple tree tapped in spring.”
From Amazon.com: “Faerie can’t lie . . . or can they?
Much has changed since autumn, when Kelley Winslow learned she was a Faerie princess, fell in love with changeling guard Sonny Flannery, and saved the mortal realm from the ravages of the Wild Hunt. Now Kelley is stuck in New York City, rehearsing Romeo and Juliet and missing Sonny more with every stage kiss, while Sonny has been forced back to the Otherworld and into a deadly game of cat and mouse with the remaining Hunters and Queen Mabh herself.
When a terrifying encounter sends Kelley tumbling into the Otherworld, her reunion with Sonny is joyful but destined to be cut short. An ancient, hidden magick is stirring, and a dangerous new enemy is willing to risk everything to claim that power. Caught in a web of Faerie deception and shifting allegiances, Kelley and Sonny must tread carefully, for each next step could topple a kingdom . . . or tear them apart.
With breathtakingly high stakes, the talented Lesley Livingston delivers soaring romance and vividly magical characters in Darklight, the second novel in the trilogy that began with wondrous strange.”