In My Mailbox (21)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

Christmas Presents:
Rampant - Diana Peterfreund

From book cover: Forget everything you ever knew about unicorns...

Real unicorns are venomous, man-eating monsters with huge fangs and razor-sharp horns. Fortunately, they've been extinct for a hundred and fifty years.

Or not.

I've been looking forward to this one ever since I first heard about it. I'd always thought of myself as a Team Zombie kinda person, but Rampant might just be the book to change that. I mean, killer unicorns? I'm so there.

Perfect: A Pretty Little Liars Novel - Sara Shepard

Summary from Goodreads: In a town where gossip thrives like the ivy that clings to its mansions, where mysteries lie behind manicured hedges and skeletons hide in every walk-in closet, four perfect-looking girls aren't nearly as perfect as they seem.

Three years ago, Spencer, Aria, Emily, Hanna, and their best friend Alison were the girls at Rosewood Day School. They clicked through the halls in their Miu Miu flats, tanned in their matching Pucci bikinis, and laughed behind their freshly manicured fingernails. They were the girls everyone loved but secretly hated—especially Alison.

So when Alison mysteriously vanished one night, Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna's grief was tinged with . . . relief. And when Alison's body was later discovered in her own backyard, the girls were forced to unearth some ugly memories of their old friend, too. Could there be more to Alison's death than anyone realizes?

Now someone named A, someone who seems to know everything, is pointing the finger at one of them for Ali's murder. As their secrets get darker and their scandals turn deadly, A is poised to ruin their perfect little lives forever.

I've read the first two books in the Pretty Little Liars series, and was pleasantly surprised to find that they are incredibly addictive. I'm planning a reread of the last two before I get stuck into this one, though. And yay! for the fact I received the US cover. It bothers me when my series books don't match.

The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove - Lauren Kate

Summary from Goodreads: A steamy Southern beauty makes one fatal mistake.

Natalie 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.

I really liked Fallen (review here), so the premise of The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove had me intrigued - mostly because it sounded so different to Lauren Kate's fallen angel series. Plus, the promise of a modern-day, YA, American take on 'the Scottish play' is basically irresistible to me.

Bought:

My Loves Lies Bleeding - Alyxandra Harvey

From book cover: Solange has always known she is a vampire. And as the only female vampire ever born, not initiated, she is surrounded by danger on all sides - from other vampire tribes who want to take her blood into their lineage, and from the bounty hunters who are set on destroying her and her family.

When she is kidnapped, it's up to her elder brother, Nicholas, and best friend, Lucy, to save her. But can Lucy save herself from Nicholas, who tempts her with every look - what will be her own fate if she surrenders her heart to a vampire?

So, I went to the bookstore to buy a present for my sister, and picked up this one for myself as well. They say 'tis better to give than to receive - but what I say is, it's not like the two are mutually exclusive.

Non-Christmas gift:

Ondine - Ebony McKenna

Ondine is starting to hear voices... Or is that her pet ferret talking? It is indeed - Shambles, a cheeky ferret with a wicked sense of humour and a broad Scottish accent.

If all that wasn't strange enough, Ondine soon discovers that Shambles is a man under a witch's spell. What on earth would he look like as a man? Her heart starts to flutter - love is blind after all...

Recently, my blogger friend Becky did an awesome review of this one over at her blog The Bookette. It sounds enchanting and quirky, and Becky was sweet enough to send me a spare copy she had. I've had a quick peek inside, and it has footnotes. Which are of the hilarious variety.

In other news this week, Lauren Kate's Fallen is getting some very special publicity here in the UK. Check out Random House's video footage of their Fallen angel roaming the streets of London below - I'm thinking he must seriously have some supernatural genes, because as anyone who actually lives in the UK will know, it's not exactly been get-your-kit-off weather.



Also, I hit 200 followers. This makes me very happy! I am of course planning a celebratory contest... just as soon as I work out how to use that form thing that everybody's contests run on nowadays. Seriously, thank you to each and every person who stops by here to read my ramblings about books.