In My Mailbox 51

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For Review (From Amazon Vine/Publisher/Publicists):

Moonglass by Jessi Kirby

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

All You Desire by Kirsten Miller

Legend by Marie Lu (two copies)

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

Bought:

Siren by Tricia Rayburn (Review)

Heist Society by Ally Carter

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Divergent by Veronica Roth (Review)

It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

From Tera Lynn Childs:

Splash Team kit for Fins Are Forever

(bookmarks/tattoos/pin)

From ABC Family:

Game Box to play Nine Paths to Chloe King

Bastet Charm for the Third Path

Thanks to Lauren, Amazon Vine, Penguin Group USA, Ksenia, Tera, and ABC Family :)

What did you get this week? 

Waiting on Wednesday (times two)

WOW is hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Release: April 19th, 2011

Summary: 

It's always been just Kate and her mom--and now her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall. 

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld--and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests. 

Kate is sure he's crazy--until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess. 

If she fails...

Can we just fast-forward to April? Anyone got a time machine? ;)

And the other book I'm waiting on (but doesn't have a summary):

Undercurrent by Tricia Rayburn - due out in July. 

What are you waiting on?

PS: Sorry for the lack of posts this week - I've got Midterms (and I'm sick...gotta love the timing) from today until next Tuesday, but the blog should hopefully get a couple posts going before then!

Blog Tour: Siren by Tricia Rayburn

Today I have the wonderful Tricia Rayburn here to answer some questions about herself and her newest novel. Tricia Rayburn is the author of tween and teen books like the Maggie Bean series, Ruby's Slippers, and her YA novel that's the first part of a trilogy, Siren. 

Quick! Describe Siren in 7 words or less!

Quaint coastal town plagued by mysterious deaths!

What inspired you to write Siren?

Despite loving swimming and the beach, I now won’t go swimming AT the beach.  I’m too scared of sea creatures—sharks, jellyfish, crabs, you name it!  This recent fear made me think about what else might be lurking beneath the surface, and the idea for Siren grew from there.

Who is your favorite character (excluding Vanessa, the narrator) in Siren and why?

I love them all, but besides Vanessa, Simon’s probably my favorite—because he’s her favorite, too!

I've got admit, I'm a fan of Simon too! If you could live a day in any book and as any character, what book and character would you choose?

I’d love to see Hogwarts from Hermione’s perspective!

Ooh, nice answer! Anything else you'd like to say?

Thanks so much for having me!  I hope your readers enjoy Siren.  :)

Thank you for answering my questions, Tricia! 

Siren is in stores now. If you haven't read this one yet, you MUST go read it! This book rocks, so don't miss out! You can read my review of it here. 

Siren by Tricia Rayburn Review

Siren by Tricia Rayburn

Release date: July 13th, 2010

Publisher: Egmont USA

Pages: 352

Source: Publicist

My Summary: 

Vanessa has always lived in Justine's shadow. Brave, beautiful and daring, Justine lived life to the fullest, while Vanessa tried to hide from it. Whenever Vanessa looked at her sister, she saw everything she wished she could be.

Paperback cover

Then Justine dies in a terrible drowning accident, and Vanessa learns some secrets that she never knew about her sister. Looking for answers, Vanessa teams up with Simon to find his brother, Caleb - Justine's longtime summer fling - who might be the only one with answers. Together, they search for him, but they also start discovering some disturbing realizations about the mysterious string of deaths in Winter Harbor. The more they learn, the quicker they realize they need to get to the bottom of everything, because who knows who will be next to die...

Review: Everything I wanted and more - Siren is captivating. 

Vanessa is sweet, innocent, and a bit scared of things (okay, a lot of things). Yet, this novel showcases her growth as she gets past some of those fears. Simon is the sweet, kinda geeky guy that Vanessa has always known and liked. I loved how Simon was a smart likable guy - something that's a bit rare in YA - and protective. I could keep going, talking about the other realistic characters, but then I'd be writing an essay.

I may be a bit biased, because I've always loved mythology. Siren, however, blew my expectations out of the water. Rayburn infused this story with a bit of romance, plenty of mystery that kept me saying "no way!", and a killer conclusion that has me wishing for another book about Vanessa, and fast.

A fresh, enchanting novel, Siren will draw you in and never let go. 

Highlights: The character's seemed real, which is the highest compliment I can pay to Rayburn. It was nearly impossible for me to set this story aside, it was so compelling and addictive. And while Rayburn's sirens aren't quite the same as they are in mythology, I enjoyed her take on them it worked perfectly with the story. 

Lowlights: You can easily see some of the plot points coming, if you really think about it. The beginning was also a bit slow to get going, but once it did get going, WOW. I loved this book! 

Rating: