In My Mailbox -36- and the Smart Chicks Kick It in Brampton!

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren every Sunday. In My Mailbox is a weekly meme that lets everyone see what books you have received or bought that week.

For Review

1. Dust City - Robert Paul Weston

2. Virals - Kathy Reichs

3. Knight Angels: Book of Revenge - Abra Ebner

4. Freefall - Anna Levine

Many thanks goes to Vimala from Penguin Canada, Abra Ebner, Anna Levine, and The Teen Book Scene for the books I received for review this (and last) week. 

Bought

1. Take Me There - Carolee Dean (signed)*

2. Rogue Angel: The Dragon's Mark - Alex Archer

3. As Lie the Dead - Kelly Meding

4. Ransom - Lois Duncan

5. Shadow Hills - Anastasia Hopcus (signed)*

6. Split - Swati Avasthi* (ARC given to me by Kari from A Good Addiction, did not buy it.)

7. The Van Alen Legacy - Melissa de la Cruz (signed)

8. Girl Stays in the Picture - Melissa de la Cruz (signed)

9. Radiant Shadows - Melissa Marr (signed)

10. Nevermore - Kelly Creagh

11. Whisper - Phoebe Kitanidis (signed)*

12. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins*

13. Sleepless - Cyn Balog*

14. Stranded - J.T. Dutton*

15. Immortal Beloved - Cate Tiernan

*All books denoted with an asterisk were given or purchased from Kari of A Good Addiction. She was kind enough to get a few books signed for me. In that regard, thank you very much Kari! I can't wait to read the books, thank you for mailing them out! (Isn't she awesome??) :D

Swag

Firelight swag courtesy of Sophie Jordan for her street team. I'll be handing these out around here and giving some away on the blog. :) 

Speaking of Firelight, Sophie Jordan has a contest up and running on her website. She has a TON of books up for grabs, so you should definitely check it out! You can find the contest here.

Smart Chicks Kick It in Brampton!

I was super happy that I could go to this event! I brought my bag o' books, my camera, and my fiance. He helped hold the books, and also took some pictures! Thank you Duane, you were a very patient man during that looong wait in line. :D I would LOVE to thank all of the authors for being there! It was a pleasure to meet you all! In order of appearance, Margaret Stohl, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Melissa de la Cruz, Jeri Smith-Ready, Melissa Marr, Kelley Armstrong, and Alyson Noel. Kami was listed on the roster of attending authors, but unfortunately she wasn't able to be there. I hope you are feeling better soon Kami! :) 

Chatting with Margie.

Chatting with Jen, Melissa and Jeri. Spent too much time chatting with them so I couldn't say too much to Melissa Marr. Especially didn't get to say that I LOVE Seth (and all of her books!) :(

Yes, the books you see on the table are all mine. :) I was bad, Kelley signed 4 of my books instead of the limit of 3. ;) Thank you Kelley!

Didn't get a chance to talk to Alyson either, though she signed Radiance for me. They were pushing us through quickly so the authors wouldn't be late to the Teen Read Awards ceremony! Duane also mentioned that he didn't get a good picture of Alyson... I didn't realize that meant I didn't have any other pictures of her! :( I like her hair though! :)

Other news?

Anyway, I think that is it for me this week... all of the current contests on the blog are listed on the sidebar. The Wind Warrior giveaway names will be drawn in the next few days and passed along to Cynthia. (I will be getting mailing addresses at that time in the event that any of the people who entered on my blog win one of her grand prizes.) She will then compile the 5 names picked from each blog and will announce the grand prize winners. Good luck everyone! :) 

That's what I received in my mailbox this week, what did you get in yours? 

Shadowland - Alyson Noel

Ever and Damon have traveled through countless past lives--and fought off the world's darkest enemies--so they could be together forever. But just when their long-awaited destiny is finally within reach, a powerful curse falls upon Damen. . . one that could destroy everything. Now a single touch of their hands or a soft brush of their lips could mean sudden death--plunging Damen into the Shadowland. Desperate to break the curse and save Damen, Ever immerses herself in magick--and gets help from an unexpected source--a surfer named Jude.

Although she and Jude have only just met, he feels startlingly familiar. Despite her fierce loyalty to Damen, Ever is drawn to Jude, a green-eyed golden boy with magical talents and a mysterious past. She's always believed Damen to be her soul mate and one true love--and she still believes it to be true. But as Damen pulls away to save them, Ever's connection with Jude grows stronger--and tests her love for Damen like never before. . .

Title: Shadowland (The Immortals #3)

Author: Alyson Noel

Genre: Young Adult

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

My Rating: 4/5

These books continually get better throughout the series. I had reservations about Evermore, and found Blue Moon surpassed Evermore; but this book is better than both of them combined. I quite enjoyed the plot twists that Noel threw at Ever and Damen, and I particularily liked Jude and the twins. I wish we could have seen more of Haven and Miles, but alas it wasn't meant to be (at least not in this installment). I did not like how Ever constantly made the same mistake over and over and over again. She repeatedly went her own way, completely disregarding anything Damen had ever told her and she ended up paying for it dearly each time. (You'd think she'd realize at some point that maybe she doesn't have all of the answers...) That was the major drawback to this installment in the series. Her character seemed to remain in stasis, there just wasn't any "good" character development. I was quite drawn into the book though, especially when Jude was thrown into the mix. He at least shakes things up for Ever and Damen and makes it intriguing! I found the story was primarily engaging, however Ever's incessant need to dash headlong into areas she had no understanding of was quite grating. All in all, if you can disregard how petulant Ever is, it does make for a good read. There are plenty of plot twists that will keep you engaged in the outcome of the story. Does Ever find the "antidote for the antidote" for Damen? Read on, and find out.

This book counts toward the 2010 100+ Reading Challenge hosted over at J. Kaye's now known as Home Girl's book blog.