In My Mailbox (#32)

Goodreads Summary:

Only two weeks ago, life was all too predictable. But that was before I saw my first ghost. Now along with my supernatural friends Tori, Derek, and Simon, I’m on the run from the Edison Group, which genetically altered us as part of their sinister experiment. We’re hiding in a safe house that might not be as safe as it seems. We’ll be gone soon anyway, back to rescue those we’d left behind and take out the Edison Group… or so we hope.

May Contain Traces of Magic

Tom Holt (Orbit)

Publication Date: 8 April 2010

Paperback: 339 pages

Genre: Comic Fantasy

Amazon Summary:

There are all kinds of products. The good ones. The bad ones. The ones that stay in the garage mouldering for years until your garden gnome makes a home out of them. Most are harmless if handled properly, even if they do contain traces of peanuts. But some are not. Not the ones that contain traces of magic. Chris Popham wasn’t paying enough attention when he talked to his SatNav. Sure, she gave him directions, never backtalked him, and always led him to his next spot on the map with perfect accuracy. She was the best thing in his life. So was it really his fault that he didn’t start paying attention when she talked to him? In his defence, that was her job. But when ‘Take the next right’ turned into ‘Excuse me,’ that was when the real trouble started. Because sometimes a SatNav isn’t a SatNav. Sometimes it’s an imprisoned soul trapped inside a metal box that will do anything it can to get free. And some products you just can’t return.

Extras

Scott Westerfeld (Simon & Schuster)

Publication Date: 27 May 2010

Paperback: 417 pages

Genre: Science Fiction

Goodreads Summary:

It’s a few years after rebel Tally Youngblood took down the uglies/pretties/specials regime. Without those strict roles and rules, the world is in a complete cultural renaissance. “Tech-heads” flaunt their latest gadgets, “kickers” spread gossip and trends, and “surge monkeys” are hooked on extreme plastic surgery. And it’s all monitored on a bazillion different cameras. The world is like a gigantic game of American Idol. Whoever is getting the most buzz gets the most votes. Popularity rules.

As if being fifteen doesn’t suck enough, Aya Fuse’s rank of 451,369 is so low, she’s a total nobody. An extra. But that’s just until she gets to kick a good story for herself.

Then Aya meets a clique of girls who pull crazy tricks, yet are deeply secretive of it. Aya wants desperately to kick their story, to show everyone how intensely cool the Sly Girls are. But doing so would propel her out of extra-land and into the world of fame, celebrity…and extreme danger. A world she’s not prepared for.

Never Tell

Claire Seeber (Avon)

Publication Date: 15 April 2010

Paperback: 390 pages

Genre: Thriller

Amazon Summary:

Your past will always find you! With her three beautiful children, millionaire husband and Cotswolds mansion, former investigative journalist Rose Miller has an enviable life. But behind the domestic bliss lies a secret past! As Oxford students in the early nineties, Rose and James belonged to Society X, an elite clique that knew no boundaries. Led by the enigmatic Dalziel, the group were hell bent on breaking down society’s norms – until an unimaginable tragedy occurs. With the subsequent scandal covered up, Rose has settled into family life – but is afraid to admit her feelings of boredom. So when her ex-editor asks Rose to dig the dirt on a wealthy businessman new to the area, adrenaline enlivens her. But as Rose’s investigation begins to threaten her family she backs away – and then a tragedy at her home begins to widen the cracks in her domestic facade. As their world crumbles around them, is Rose about to atone for the sins of her past?

Watcher of the Dead

J. V. Jones (Orbit)

Publication Date: 15 April 2010

Hardback: 424 pages

Genre: Fantasy

Amazon Summary:

In the frigid wasteland of the north, Raif Sevrance, Watcher of the Dead, has endured many trials to lay claim to the renowned sword known as Loss. But the price of wielding the legendary weapon is high, and Raif is unsure if he is willing to pay it. Ash Marsh, Daughter of the Sull, still struggles to come to terms with her heritage, and the knowledge that the Watcher, armed with Loss, could be the one who will save the Sull ? or end them. Raina Blackhail, widow of a murdered ruler and wife of his brutal successor, has seen her clan disgraced and has, herself, taken up the mantle of chief. But there are enemies both beyond her gates and within. And in the murky swamps of the Stillwater, two children will learn the secrets of the Marsh clan. Secrets so old they threaten everything …

In the Dead of Winter

Abbey Pen Baker (Irregular Special Press)

Publication Date: 1 Jan 2010

Trade Paperback: 290 pages

Genre: Crime/Mystery

Press Release:

In 1918, while a student at Smith College, Faye first encountered Mryl, an enigmatic figure with an interesting past. When a local actress is found dead amid bizarre circumstances, Myrl takes an interest in the murder, and the two travel to Brattleboro, Vermont, to investigate. There they uncover a twisted conspiracy, one far more dangerous than simple murder – and learn the truth about Myrl’s real father, the world’s most famous consulting detective.

Viola in Real Life

Adriana Trigiani (Simon & Schuster)

Publication Date: 29 April 2010

Paperback: 282 pages

Genre: ‘Real Life’

Reading Level: Young Adult

Goodreads Summary:

Shipped off to boarding school in South Bend, Indiana, city girl and aspiring filmmaker Viola Chesterton feels out of place with her three new roommates. Missing her life back home, Viola is tempted to hide behind her video camera all year. But first impressions are often wrong, and soon Viola realizes she’s in for the most incredible year of her life—if only she can put the camera down and let the world in.

**As this book is not a genre I would review on BCC, it is now on it’s way to Floor to Ceiling Books for review!**

The Chosen One

Carol Lynch Williams (Simon & Schuster)

Publication Date: 5 August 2010

Paperback: 213 pages

Genre: ‘Real Life’

Reading Level: Young Adult