In My Mailbox #27

In My Mailbox brought to you by The Story Siren

For Review:

The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove - Lauren Kate (Around the World Tours)
A steamy Southern beauty makes one fatal mistakeNatalie Hargrove would kill to be her high school’s Palmetto Princess. But her boyfriend Mike King doesn’t share her dream and risks losing the honor of Palmetto Prince to Natalie’s nemesis, Justin Balmer. So she convinces Mike to help play a prank on Justin. . . one that goes terribly wrong. They tie him to the front of the church after a party—when they arrive the next morning, Justin is dead.From blackmail to buried desire, dark secrets to darker deeds, Natalie unravels. She never should’ve messed with fate. Fate is the one thing more twisted than Natalie Hargrove.Cruel Intentions meets Macbeth in this seductive, riveting tale of conscience and consequence.

Beryl: A Pig's Tale - Jane Simmons
When Beryl decides to look for a family that will love her just the way she is, from her pig nose to her curly tail, she bravely sets off on a journey that will ultimately change her life forever.
Away from the cruel and ill-tempered pigs on the farm where she grew up, Beryl finds her preconceived notions of wild pigs-- and everything else--put to the test. And with the help of the many unlikely friends she meets, Beryl discovers, at the cost of some heartache, that there just might be a place she could call home after all. If she could only get there . . .

13 Treasures - Michelle Harrison
While visiting her grandmother's house, an old photograph leads Tanya to an unsolved mystery. Fifty years ago a girl vanished in the woods nearby - a girl Tanya's grandmother will not speak of. Fabian, the caretaker's son, is tormented by the girl's disappearance. His grandfather was the last person to see her alive, and has lived under suspicion ever since. Together, Tanya and Fabian decide to find the truth. But Tanya has her own secret: the ability to see fairies. Can it help them to unravel the mystery? Soon they are facing terrible danger. Could the manor's sinister history be about to repeat itself?

Guardian of the Dead - Karen Healey
In less than a day I had been harassed, enchanted, shouted at, cried on, and clawed. I’d been cold, scared, dirty, exhausted, hungry, and miserable. And up until now, I’d been mildly impressed with my ability to cope.
At her boarding school in New Zealand, Ellie Spencer is like any ordinary teen: she hangs out with her best friend, Kevin; obsesses over her crush on a mysterious boy; and her biggest worry is her paper deadline. Then everything changes: In the foggy woods near the school, something ancient and deadly is waiting.

Sorta Like A Rockstar - Matthew Quick

Amber Appleton lives in a bus. Ever since her mom’s boyfriend kicked them out, Amber, her mom, and her totally loyal dog, Bobby Big Boy (aka Thrice B) have been camped out in the back of Hello Yellow (the school bus her mom drives). But Amber, the self-proclaimed princess of hope and girl of unyielding optimism, refuses to sweat the bad stuff. Instead, she focuses on bettering the lives of her alcoholic mother and her quirky circle of friends: a glass-ceiling-breaking single mother raising a son diagnosed with autism; Father Chee and The Korean Divas for Christ (soul-singing ESL students); a nihilist octogenarian; a video-game-playing gang of outcasts; and a haiku-writing war vet. But then a fatal tragedy threatens Amber’s optimism—and her way of life. Can Amber continue to be the princess of hope?

Ship Breaker - Paolo Bacigalupi
Set initially in a future shanty town in America's Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being dissembled for parts by a rag tag group of workers, we meet Nailer, a teenage boy working the light crew, searching for copper wiring to make quota and live another day. The harsh realities of this life, from his abusive father, to his hand to mouth existence, echo the worst poverty in the present day third world. When an accident leads Nailer to discover an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, and the lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl, Nailer finds himself at a crossroads. Should he strip the ship and live a life of relative wealth, or rescue the girl, Nita, at great risk to himself and hope she'll lead him to a better life. This is a novel that illuminates a world where oil has been replaced by necessity, and where the gap between the haves and have-nots is now an abyss. Yet amidst the shadows of degradation, hope lies ahead.

The Prince of Mist - Carlos Ruiz Zafón
A mysterious house harbors an unimaginable secret . . .
It’s wartime, and the Carver family decides to leave the capital where they live and move to a small coastal village where they’ve recently bought a home. But from the minute they cross the threshold, strange things begin to happen. In that mysterious house there still lurks the spirit of Jacob, the previous owners’ son, who died by drowning.
With the help of their new friend Roland, Max and Alicia Carver begin to explore the suspicious circumstances of that death and discover the existence of a mysterious being called The Prince of Mist— a diabolical character who has returned from the shadows to collect on a debt from the past. Soon the three friends will find themselves caught up in an adventure of sunken ships and an enchanted stone garden, which will change their lives forever.

Smells Like Dog - Suzanne Selfors

Smells Like Dog is another fun, well-written, and funny middle grade novel from Suzanne Selfors. It is the story of Homer Pudding, an ordinary farm boy who dreams of going on grand adventures like his uncle, the famous explorer Drake Pudding,and the dog he inherits when his beloved uncle mysteriously vanishes.
Homer doesn't understand why Drake would call a droopy dog with no sense of smell "his most treasured possession" , until he discovers a mysterious coin hidden on Dog's collar. Soon Homer, his sister Gwendolyn, and Dog are off to The City, a dangerous metropolis where they meet the conniving Madame La Directeur, Head of the Natural History Museum.
Homer soon realizes that Madame wishes to steal the coin and take Homer's place in a secret society of adventurers known as L.O.S.T. Along the way, Dog is stolen, just as Homer learns that Dog has a hidden talent- he can smell treasure. Homer must go deep into the heart of the Museum to defeat Madame, rescue Dog, and take his uncle's place in L.O.S.T.

Sisters Red - Jackson Pearce
Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris-- the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.
Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts fiercely alongside her. Now Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves and finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax-- but loving him means betraying her sister and has the potential to destroy all they've worked for.
Twenty-five-year-old Jackson Pearce delivers a dark, taut fairy tale with heart-pounding action, fierce sisterly love, and a romance that will leave readers breathless.

Ninth Ward - Jewell Parker Rhodes
Abandoned by her peers because of her ability to see spirits, Lanesha longs for connection despite the strong love of her adopted grandmother, Mama Ya-Ya. As hurricane Katrina approaches and her neighbors flee, Lanesha must stay and brace for a storm of epic proportions. As the levees break, Lanches must find a way to survive the floods on her own...

The Thin Executioner - Darren Shan
When Jebel Rum sets out on an eight-month journey to petition the fir god for invincibility, he wants nothing more than to return and claim the post of executioner from his father. But the quest he and his slave embark on will set him off on the bloodiest fight of his life, and by the end of the journey, Tel Hesani is more than just a slave -- he is Jebel's friend. Will Jebel sacrifice Tel Hesani to appease his brutal god, or will he find the strength to reject his violent upbringing to save his friend.

So what did you all get?

(All reviews taken from Amazon, author websites or goodreads, save for the last one which is from the back cover of the ARC)