In My Mailbox *22*

Created by The Story Siren who was inspired by Alea.

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This week was a pretty slow week, but I did get two books! So YAY! And I got back on track this week blog wise! So double YAY! I got the memes going again, and a review for The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove up (see here)! I also finally got that post about the Million Dollar Book Sale up, including a list of the books I got (see here)! I am also about to schedule a giveaway post for Monday! So make sure to come back Monday and enter!

For Review:
Windwhyst by Christine O'Neill
Candor by Pam Bachorz (for 1 ARC Tours)

Bought:
NOTHING! Since we're about to move, I'm not allowed to buy anymore books. But I've found a way around that by winning them, and making my Christmas list mostly books :)

That's what was in my mailbox this week. What was in yours?

Book List! (Finally)

So I've been promising for like a month to post a list of the books I received at the Million Dollar Book Sale, and I have finally done it (with some help from my sister)! But first, I want to tell you a little about this book sale.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley has paired up with American Book Company to do a book sale a couple of times a year. The Boys & Girls Clubs is a fantastic organization that focuses on children and teens. They have facilities for kids to go after school during the school year and all day during the summer. They help teach different skills and help with homework, the have activities and fitness/sports, they give attention to the arts, life skills, health, leadership and character building, career development, and that's just some of what they help with. As a kid I went to one of the local clubs and it was one of the best times I had. American Book Company has decided to help them each year by sponsoring this event.

The event itself is basically a huge room filled with tables and boxes of books, and for $40 you can go through and fill the box with as many books as you can fit. The only catch is the flaps have to close! Either way the boxes can hold anywhere from 30+ books! I went this past February, I spent about 3 hours there and came home with about 40 or so books (you can see that list here), so when I went this time I knew I'd do well.

This time though, the building was about twice the size as the last one and aside from the ares of kids books had no real sense of organization, so me and my best friend who agreed to go as long as I let him get a few books, set out in search of whatever we might find. So onto what we did find!

• A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (paperback)
• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (paperback) [Somewhere around here I have a copy of The Kite Runner, so I figured I should go ahead and get it]
• Before I Die by Jenny Downham (hardcover)
• Blood Roses by Francesca Lia Block (hardcover)
• Cathy’s Book by Sean Stewart/Jason Weisman (hardcover) [I thought I'd check the first two out before I decided if getting the third book was worth it, plus they didn't have it :P]
• Cathy’s Key by Sean Stewart/Jason Weisman (hardcover)
• Cheating at Solitaire by Ally Carter (paperback) [Never read one of her's before!]
• Good Girls by Laura Ruby (hardcover) [I've read Play Me and I wanted to check out more of her stuff. Anyone read it?]
• Heat of the Night by Emma Holly (paperback)
• House of Dance by Beth Kephart (hardcover)
• If Andy Warhol Had a Girlfriend by Alison Pace (paperback)
• Likely Story by David Van Etten (hardcover) [He's a writer for One Life to Live, and I'm a sucker for it, so I had to check out at least the first book.]
• Manhattan Noir: The Classics 2 by Various authors (paperback)
• Marley and Me by John Grogan (hardcover) [It's also the Collectors one with the pretty cloth cover and ribbon bookmark, plus pictures of Marley. It's adorable!]
• Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (hardcover) [I bought a paperback way back when it first came out as one, and I loved it so much! So I just had to get the hardcover when I saw it!]
• Playing by Melanie Abrams (paperback)
• Pledged by Alexandra Robbins (paperback) [I actually got a hardcover of this last time, but I forgot!]
• Rebel Angels by Libba Bray (hardcover)
• Rumors: A Luxe Novel by Anna Godbersen (hardcover) [I've got a paperback already, but my copy of The Luxe is in hardcover and I like to be consistent.]
• Sisters in Sanity by Gayle Forman (hardcover)
• The Book of Atrix Wolfe by Patricia A. McKillip (paperback) [I have a couple of her books, and I've heard they're great, so we'll see!]
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (hardcover) [Another book that I have a paperback copy of already]
• The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler (paperback)
• The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance by Various Authors (paperback)
• The Scent of Your Breath by Melissa P. (paperback)
• Thursday Next by Jasper Fforde (paperback) [I have one of these Thursday novels already]
• Undead and Uneasy by Mary Janice Davidson (hardcover)
• Undead and Unpopular by Mary Janice Davidson (hardcover) [Last time I got one of these, so I'm collecting until I can get them all! So three down, five to go!]
• Violet and Claire by Francesca Lia Block (paperback)

I also got three or four cook books (a couple of which were diabetic cookbooks, because my dad was diagnosed as diabetic a few months ago and so we're trying to come up with stuff. So if anyone has any recommendations or recipes they would like to share, I would greatly appreciate it!). I got this really cute Art of Belly Dancing thingy that has the little finger cymbals in it (I wanted those darn cymbals!). And my best friend ended up with five or six books.

So all in all, I did about the same, give or take a couple. Either way, $40 is a steal for all the books I got! Now if I can just get my review pile down to a reasonable level, I can read a few! So when that happens, any suggestions on where to start? If you've read any of them, what are your thoughts?

And by the way, some of these will be for giveaways down the line, and some were intentionally bought to be given away, so there's an incentive to giving me your thoughts!

And now I think I'm just babbling...so I'm done!

♥♥♥

The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate

The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate
Release: November 12, 2009
Publisher: Razorbill
Category: YA-General
Overall:

There are a few things that Natalie Hargrove wants out of her time at Palmetto High School, but the big one is becoming Palmetto Princess and her boyfriend, Mike, to be Palmetto Prince. And Natalie Hargrove will do anything she has to do to make sure this happens.

When Natalie finds that Mike is at major risk of losing the battle for the crown to the one person Natalie hates, Justin Balmer, we find out just what she will do to make sure that her dreams come true. But what’s the cost of fame within the high school setting? And what’s that cost when the person she’s battling is the one person who has the power to take her down?

Now, when I got this book I hadn’t actually read the synopsis about it, all I knew is it was Lauren Kate’s debut novel, I loved the cover, and I wanted to read it before I read Fallen (out now). But I’m glad. I was totally shocked and surprised at the twists and turns in The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove and I loved it!

It was a shocking and fun ride to take with Natalie, and let’s just say the ending shocked me even more. This is a very Cruel Intentions (1999 Reese Witherspoon/Ryan Phillippe/Sarah Michelle Gellar movie that was totally awesome, which ironically contained a character with the last name Hargrove) kind of story and that made it even more enjoyable.

The main thing I fault this novel for is that it seemed like some of the characters were just around to move the story along, and then once their job was done you didn’t really see them again, or they just got a side mention. But this being a quick read, I can understand why it was like that, so I don’t hold that too much against it.

It seems like with all the talk surrounding Fallen, that The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove has been lost in the shuffle or will be, but I hope that doesn’t happen. I really enjoyed Natalie, Mike, the Bambies, and even JB, and the journey they took me on, and I think other people will too. It’s a story of blackmail, desire, darkness, and deeds that are so dark it would make Nyx shiver.

Natalie messed with the Fates’ and you just don’t mess with the Fates’.

All in all, I say read it. It’s good, quick, and a nice escape for a couple of hours. Another plus that I don’t think I’ve mentioned is the fact that it has a totally sexy, dangerous cover, which fits well with what’s written on the pages within.


Plot:
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Ending:
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I received this book as part of Around the World Tours.

Booking Through Thursday *6*

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme, that is mostly about books and reading! Find out more here!

Today's question is:

Do you think any current author is of the same caliber as Dickens, Austen, Bronte, or any of the classic authors? If so, who, and why do you think so? If not, why not? What books from this era might be read 100 years from now?

This is kind of a hard question and I think there are a few books that might end up on bookshelves and in hands 100 years from now, but for the most part I don't really think many books now have been to the caliber and degree that the Classics of our era have been. Jane Austen has been spun off of and continued on so many times that it's impossible to keep up. How many Mr. Darcy books do you see just in the book aisle at your local Walmart or Target? I know I saw at least 6 last week and those are just the ones that come to mind. I can't think of anything that would be continued on like that 100 years from now. There are a ton of fabulous books out there that I would hope 100 years from now will still be appreciated are adored, but realistically I don't know that they will.

What about you guys? You guys have any ideas?

Waiting On Wednesday *17*

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It's a weekly look at upcoming releases that we're excited about!

Guess what? It's not a Tenner book this week! So HA! But it is by an author that I am dying to read. I've heard fantastic things about her previous novel, The Musician's Daughter, and I'm dying to read it as well, but this week's WoW post is about Anastasia's Secret. Which as you can tell by the title is about Anastasia, as is the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of the Romanov family. And I have a slight fascination with Anastasia, so this tends to interest me very much. So anyways, onto the book!

Anastasia's Secret by Susanne Dunlap
Release: March 2, 2009
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books

From Susanne's website:
The youngest grand duchess in the Russian imperial family comes of age during the revolution. Her family is imprisoned, conditions become worse and worse.

But Anastasia has a secret that she keeps from her family, a love that endures through the horrors of war and the privation of imprisonment and deprivation.

Will her love save her from the fate her family seems destined for? Or is she a creation of a rarefied atmosphere, unable to survive without her loved ones?

In My Mailbox *21* (LATE)

Created by The Story Siren who was inspired by Alea.

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This week I got one book, (which I have already managed to read, not I just need to get the review written!) so I didn't do a picture or anything, I just decided to got back to the old fashioned way :) And to be totally honest, I am exhausted from working today so it's just quick and lucky I even got it done, lol. I know that I've been slacking a bit the past week or so, and I really sorry about that. I've been working more this week because of the holidays and haven't really has a lot of free time at all. But I only work one more day this week so things should get better, and I have a couple more reviews coming up AND a couple of contests coming up, so keep an eye out for those!

The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott
Release: April 6, 2010
Publisher: Simon Pulse

From the back of the book:

Everyone knows the unwritten rule:
You don't like your best friend's boyfriend.

Sarah has had a crush on Ryan for years. He's easy to talk to, supersmart, and totally gets her. Lately it even seems like he's paying extra attention to her. Everything would be perfect, except for two tiny details: Ryan is Brianna's boyfriend, and Brianna is Sarah's best friend.

Sarah forces herself to avoid Ryan and tries to convince herself not to like him. She feels so guilty for wanting him, and the last thing she wants to do is hurt her best friend. But when she is thrown together with Ryan one night, something happens between them. It's wonderful...and awful. Sarah is torn apart by guilt, but what she feels is nothing short of addiction, and she can't stop herself from wanting more...

Waiting On Wednesday *16* (LATE)

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It's a weekly look at upcoming releases that we're excited about!

Yes, it really is another Tenner book. I just can't help it, so you may as well get used to it, there is going to be a lot of them over the next few weeks, er months...but on with it...This is one of those stories that just sounds so heartbreakingly beautiful that it's got me itching to get my hands on it.

Dirty Little Secrets
by C.J.Omololu
Release Date: February 2, 2010
From Amazon:
Everyone has a secret. But Lucy’s is bigger and dirtier than most. It’s one she’s been hiding for years—that her mom’s out-of-control hoarding has turned their lives into a world of garbage and shame. She’s managed to keep her home life hidden from her best friend and her crush, knowing they’d be disgusted by the truth. So, when her mom dies suddenly in their home, Lucy hesitates to call 911 because revealing their way of life would make her future unbearable—and she begins her two-day plan to set her life right.
With details that are as fascinating as they are disturbing, C. J. Omololu weaves an hour-by-hour account of Lucy’s desperate attempt at normalcy. Her fear and isolation are palpable as readers are pulled down a path from which there is no return, and the impact of hoarding on one teen’s life will have readers completely hooked.