In My Mailbox (13)

Bought:

  

Withering Tights (Misadventures of Tallulah Casey) by Louise Rennison (I have been waiting for this book since I heard that Rennison had written a new series. I'm a few chapters in and I loved the reference to the Georgia Nicholson series. )

Firelight by Sophie Jordan (Also a few chapters into this book---it is SO GOOD)

Abandon by Meg Cabot (For a book signing this week! Ah!)

For Review:

Paired by Kate Sullivan (Kate contacted me about reading and possibly reviewing this book. I've been a fan of Kate's blog for a while and I can't wait to read this)

Borrowed:

  

Torment by Lauren Kate (Awesome co-worker #1 lent me book 2)

The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov (Awesome co-worker #2 told me to read this one)

The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis (And then read this one.)

What's in your mailbox this week?

Review: Anglefire

Angelfire
by Courtney Allison Moulton
Published Feb. 2011 by HarperCollins

(Thanks to Megs for letting me borrow this one!)

Goodreads Summary:

This debut, the first novel in a trilogy, is achingly romantic, terrifying, and filled with blistering action.

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.


My Thoughts: 
Moulton's debut novel is an example of why I continue to pick up YA literature again and again. A mixture of fantastic mythology, unexpected twists and one seriously hot boy=one perfect story.


By the second chapter of Angelfire I knew I was going to love Moulton's characters. Ellie's relationships with her best friend Kate made me laugh and reminded me of my own best friend. And once Will, Ellie's protector, entered the picture I was sold. Aside from his good looks, Will's chemistry with Ellie was well-written. They play off one another nicely and help balance each other's personalities out. 


The mythology in the story was wonderful. I'm new to angel books (Unearthly and The Mortal Instruments are the only angel books I've read) but I love the hierarchy and history behind Elli and Will's lives. There is a twist at the end that made me do a reread and still was left wondering, What just happened?!?!


There is romance and paranormal aspects of this novel, but it might appeal to contemporary genre lovers as well. Ellie works hard staying grounded and showing Will how her life really is. Yes, she's fighting monsters and is centuries old, but she's also always up for a movie night with Kate and hitting the parties with her friends.


I loved this book and I can't wait to read the second book Wings of the Wicked, due out sometime 2012. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Rebels in Literature

This week's Top Ten is Rebels in Literature, authors or characters, who stood up for what they believed in despite the cost of doing so. 

1. Author Maureen Johnson. This woman is like Batman for the YA community. I've seen her stand up for several causes and use her influence on Twitter to do such good things. 

2. Author Judy Blume. I believe this woman paved the way for modern YA. 

3. Author Laurie Halse Andersen. Writing about a topic that no one wanted to hear about.

4. Author Kate Chopin. Bringing up women's issues at a time where they were often swept under the table.

5. Howard Roark, the main character of Ayn Rand's The Fountianhead 

"But you see," said Roark quietly, "I have, let’s say, sixty years to live. Most of that time will be spent working. I’ve chosen the work I want to do. If I find no joy in it, then I’m only condemning myself to sixty years of torture. And I can find the joy only if I do my work in the best way possible to me. But the best is a matter of standards—and I set my own standards. I inherit nothing. I stand at the end of no tradition. I may, perhaps, stand at the beginning of one." 

Only five this week. Be sure to check out The Broke an The Bookish's site for more TTT!

Happy Fourth of July!

Hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday!

In My Mailbox (15)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren
This week I got some great older books and some fanastic new novels as well.

From the library/borrowed:



Going Bovine by Libba Bray (Reading this one for the Awards Challenge. I loved A Great and Terrible Beauty, so I'm hoping this one will be just as awesome)

Fallen by Lauren Kate (My friend Meghan is awesome and is letting me borrow this one. So close to finishing it)

Gifted:

    

A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet) by Madeleine L'Engle

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Standard Edition by J.K. Rowling

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

Everlost (The Skinjacker Trilogy) by Neal Shusterman (Thanks Nykki!)

Penguin Who Wanted to Fly by Catherine Vase (I have a deep love for penguins)

Bought:

 

Hereafter by Tara Hudson

The Revenant by Sonia Gensler

That's what was in my mailbox this week. What did you guys get this week?