In My Mailbox - September 10, 2011

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. To see this weeks list of participants go here.

My in-the-mail books seem to be slowing down - I've been moderating myself and choosing fewer books, planning on playing catchup on the books I have.  But the ones I have gotten are great.  I'm also choosing more from netgalley and accepting more from indie authors that query me when their stories intrigue me - I love reading on my Kindle and the books don't clutter my house.  Now I still love to hold a book in my hand and love to get a coveted ARC as well, but it's nice to read on the Kindle now and then too.

Lethal by Sandra Brown

Grand Central Publishing, Hardcover

Expected Pub Date: September 20, 2011

I think I probably squeeled when I opened this one - I had seen it on Amazon and really wanted it and then it came in the mail - I may have requested it, can't remember, but I was thrilled to get it.  Received it Friday the 2nd, cracked it open Sunday night the 4th, finished it Monday evening the 5th and it's good!

When her four year old daughter informs her a sick man is in their yard, Honor Gillette rushes out to help him. But that "sick" man turns out to be Lee Coburn, the man accused of murdering seven people the night before. Dangerous, desperate, and armed, he promises Honor that she and her daughter won't be hurt as long as she does everything he asks. She has no choice but to accept him at his word.

But Honor soon discovers that even those close to her can't be trusted. Coburn claims that her beloved late husband possessed something extremely valuable that places Honor and her daughter in grave danger. Coburn is there to retrieve it -- at any cost. From FBI offices in Washington, D.C., to a rundown shrimp boat in coastal Louisiana, Coburn and Honor run for their lives from the very people sworn to protect them, and unravel a web of corruption and depravity that threatens not only them, but the fabric of our society.

 Hades by Alexandra Adornetto (Halo #2)

Feiwel and Friends, Hardcover

Pub Date: August 30, 2011

Another one I squeeled over, I loved Halo so I was excited to get this one!

Heaven Help Her.
Bethany Church is an angel sent to Earth to keep dark forces at bay. Falling in love was never part of her mission, but the bond between Beth and her mortal boyfriend, Xavier Woods, is undeniably strong. But even Xavier’s love, and the care of her archangel siblings, Gabriel and Ivy, can’t keep Beth from being tricked into a motorcycle ride that ends up in Hell. There, the demon Jake Thorn bargains for Beth’s release back to Earth. But what he asks of her will destroy her, and quite possibly, her loved ones, as well.
The story that Alexandra Adornetto built in her New York Times-bestselling debut, Halo, comes alive in action-packed and unexpected ways, as angels battle demons, and the power of love is put to the test.

The Hard-to-Get Cowboy by Crystal Green

Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2011

received from the author

What Seriously Single Cowboy Is Getting Serious About Thunder Canyon's Most Eligible Bachelorette?

The marriage proposals are flying -- and Laila Cates is saying "I won't" to every eligible cowboy from Montana to Texas! The independent beauty has sworn off romance. But we hear she's been changing her tune ever since the new man in town set his sights on her....

Settling down is the last thing on Jackson Traub's mind. The oilman-turned-rancher is here to take care of family business, but the minute he sees Laila, he knows she's got to be his. And soon, the sparks between them have the whole town ablaze! Maybe the good-time cowboy and Thunder Canyon's most eligible bachelorette are having second thoughts about this whole happily-ever-after business. Stay tuned, devoted readers, to see if love can change these two willful hearts!

 The Poison Diaries: Nightshade by Maryrose Wood

Pub Date: October 25

Received through Once Upon a Twilight Tours

A dark, gothic tale of romance… and murder.
The latest book in the grippingly dark series, The Poison Diaries.

Our heroine, Jessamine, has lost her faith in the men she loved, and her innocence as well. She turns to the dark side and plots to kill her father, using his own poisons, before becoming an assassin, a poisoner for hire. Can she recover from her heartache and reunite with her true love, Weed? Find out in this thrilling story where poisons, darkness and horror are a part of everyday life, and love is the only cure.

Some ebooks I have received from authors this week are:

An Uncommon Family by Christa Polkinhorn

Bookworm Press, May 27, 2011

I reviewed and loved Love of a Stonemason so I can't wait to read this prequel to Love of a Stonemason.

A chance meeting between a middle-aged woman, a widower, and a semi-orphaned child in the city of Zurich, Switzerland, brings together three people who grapple with a past of loss and betrayal. Six-year-old Karla, whose mother died in a car crash, has a hard time accepting the loss. Anna, her aunt and guardian, struggles with her former husband’s deception and her shattered confidence in men, and Jonas, artist and teacher, mourns the death of his wife.

While trying to help Karla, a talented but troubled child, Anna and Jonas develop feelings for each other that go beyond friendship. The budding romance, however, hits a snag when Anna discovers a sinister secret in Jonas’s past. While the two adults have come to an impasse, young Karla takes matters into her own hands. Together with a friend, she develops a plan to bring the two uncooperative adults back together. The plan, however, creates havoc and as it begins to unravel, Karla is forced to learn some difficult lessons.

An Uncommon Family is a story about loss, lies, and betrayal but also about the healing power of love and forgiveness. It takes places in Switzerland, New York City, and Guadalajara, Mexico.

Nearly Departed in Deadwood by Ann Charles

Corvallis Press, January 15, 2011

This one is for this month's Bestseller for a day on September 29.

The first time I came to Deadwood, I got shot in the ass.--Violet Parker

Irony is having a big ol' fiesta and Violet Parker is the piñata.  Little girls are vanishing from Deadwood, South Dakota, and Violet's daughter could be next.  Short on time and long on worry, she's desperate to find the monster behind the abductions.  But with her jerkoff co-worker trying to get her fired, a secret admirer sending creepy love poems, and a sexy-as-hell stranger hiding skeletons in his closet, Violet just might end up as one of Deadwood's dearly departed.

Skulls by Armand Rosamilia

Rymfire ebooks, September 5, 2011

Six tales from author Armand Rosamilia, including "Memorial Site", "Vacation's End", "1920 Gallery Card #4", "Stairs To The Ocean", "Beastie", "Crow Mill Bridge" plus a preview of the urban horror novella "Death Metal"

 Aefle & Gisela by Libby Malin

Istoria Books, July 19, 2011

STOPPING A WEDDING: WHAT COULD GO WRONG? 

Medieval History Professor Thomas Charlemagne thinks he's finally slaying the dragon of his "Timid Tommy" reputation when he responds to an outlandish dare at a bachelor party and stops a wedding the very next morning. The only problem? He wanders into the wrong church. That doesn't matter to bride DeeDee McGowan, however, who was having second, third, and fourth thoughts about saying "I do" anyway. She grabs the chance to leave her groom at the altar, dragging Tom with her. DeeDee and Tom share a history, a fling more than ten years ago, before he went off to graduate school and started ascending the career ladder of academe and she took over her father's car dealership in sleepy Oyster Point, Maryland, building it into a coveted business treasure. Their reconnection sets sparks flying between them -- from the original passion that bonded them and the class differences that parted them. 

Meanwhile, what started as a prank leads to serious legal issues for both Tom and DeeDee as the groom sues them, DeeDee countersues, and Tom is caught in the middle. Concerned that this distraction will affect his quest for tenure, Tom encounters an unsympathetic department chair eager to replace him with a renaissance expert from the UK and a women's studies professor committed to challenging the "validity" of Thomas's signature research into an obscure poetry-writing medieval monk, Aefle, and his lady-love, Gisela. 

A comic romp blended with sharp satire, AEFLE AND GISELA delivers laughs and love as Thomas learns, along with his "little monk," that life outside the “scriptorium” requires him to find real courage at last

 The Dome by Nova Sparks

April 11, 2011

What if you knew the exact date and time the world will end, what would you do? Sam Tucker was faced with that dilemma when he began getting visions of the Earth's demise. Luckily for him, he was able to save his family and as many people as he could before the tragic event occurred, and he did so with the help of unknown visitors. With Earth now destroyed, Sam, his family and thousands of other lucky survivors must live the rest of their lives on a faraway planet in a Dome that simulates life on Earth. But Sam's mind can't seem to rest as a few questions arise. Why did the aliens save them? How did they know about Earth's sure fate? And exactly what are they hiding?

Emma Tucker begged for an escape from her boring life but never in a million years did she think it would come at the destruction of Earth. Living on a new planet and finding it difficult to get rid of her rebellious habits, Emma finds herself making friends with a member of the alien race and it soon develops into an unexplainable love; a love that is more dangerous than she could ever imagine. While her father is searching for his own truths, she has no idea that she is stumbling on a truth of her own.

Told from the point of view of both Sam and Emma, author Nova Sparks takes readers on a journey to discover love, fate, faith, truth and the mystery of the DOME!

Airel by Aaron Patterson
StoneHouse Ink, August 31, 2011


All Airel ever wanted to be was normal, to disappear into the crowd. But bloodlines can produce surprises, like sudden mysterious illness. Then there’s Michael Alexander, the new guy in school, who is impossibly gorgeous…and captivated by her. Somewhere in the back of her mind she can hear the sound of pages turning, and another, older story being written. It is the story of an ancient family, of great warriors, of the Sword of Light, and the struggle against an evil so terrible, so far-reaching, that it threatens everything she hopes for even now. Airel knew change would be inevitable as life went on. But can she hold on when murder and darkness begin to close in and take away everything she loves? Will she have what it takes when the truth is finally revealed?

 The Concert Killer by RJ McDonnell
Killeena Publishing, August 30, 2011

A religious fanatic serial killer, who hates rock music, tries to shut down the concert industry. A group of independent concert promoters hire private investigator Jason Duffy and his staff of former outpatient mental health clients to catch him. The killer believes that God rewards His favorites with the most money, and keeps score of his victims on the back of a dollar bill. Jason uses his background as a counselor and club musician to battle his cleverest and most twisted adversary ever.

The author of the 2010 Mystery/Thriller of the Year, Rock & Roll Rip-Off, once again adds LOL humor in between compelling action scenes. Besides offering readers a backstage pass to the music industry, The Concert Killer brings to light a potentially catastrophic danger that few have ever considered.