In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren, which allows bloggers to share what books they’ve received in the past week. They can be from stores, contests, tours or publishers!

• Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith (library)
• Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith (library)
• Blessed by Cynthia Leitich Smith (library)
• Solitary by Alexander Gordon Smith (library)
• Death Sentence by Alexander Gordon Smith (library)
• The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill by Heather Brewer (purchased)
• Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey (purchased)
• Carrier Of The Mark by Leigh Fallon (purchased)
• Torchwood: Miracle Day (purchased)

Sorry for the blurry pic. I had to resort to iPod photography while my camera was on holiday. I turned 22 last week. My parents got me a kindle, which I was especially excited about as I finally have an ereader. I also grabbed that copy of the new series of Torchwood during a 20% off sale which happened to be going on, on my birthday – so can’t wait to get back to Captain Jack. Okay, onto the books… I stopped by the city library and picked up the first three in the Tantalize series. I’m not expecting a lot from them, but I thought give them a shot. I also read the first in the Escape From Furnace series last Monday and picked up the following two. It was kind of like Prison Break for teens, and kind of violent… so obviously I want to read more of it. With the purchased books, I’ve only read the first in the Vladimir Tod series, so I probably won’t get around to this spin-off series for a while… that didn’t stop me buying it though. Witch Eyes and Carrier Of The Mark are ones I’ve been wanting to check out in the near future, so if I can make it through my increasing library pile with any kind of haste, I’ll slot time in for them.

Here is my latest review if you want to check it out:
Smith, Alexander Gordon Escape From Furnace #1, Lockdown

Link up to your mailbox and I’ll be sure to check it out!

Title: Lockdown (Escape From Furnace #1)
Author: Alexander Gordon Smith
Published: October, 2009 by Farrar Straus Giroux
Pages: 273
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Furnace Penitentiary: the world’s most secure prison for young offenders, buried a mile beneath the earth’s surface. Convicted of a murder he didn’t commit, sentenced to life without parole, “new fish” Alex Sawyer knows he has two choices: find a way out, or resign himself to a death behind bars, in the darkness at the bottom of the world. Except in Furnace, death is the least of his worries.

Soon Alex discovers that the prison is a place of pure evil, where inhuman creatures in gas masks stalk the corridors at night, where giants in black suits drag screaming inmates into the shadows, where deformed beasts can be heard howling from the blood-drenched tunnels below. And behind everything is the mysterious, all-powerful warden, a man as cruel and dangerous as the devil himself, whose unthinkable acts have consequences that stretch far beyond the walls of the prison.

Together with a bunch of inmates—some innocent kids who have been framed, others cold-blooded killers—Alex plans an escape. But as he starts to uncover the truth about Furnace’s deeper, darker purpose, Alex’s actions grow ever more dangerous, and he must risk everything to expose this nightmare that’s hidden from the eyes of the world.

Final Thoughts:
It took me almost a week to read this. I was initially turned off by the first few chapters that I put it down and ended up reading three vampire books in the process. I came back to it, determined to finish it, and after the first hundred pages, surprisingly it wormed its way into my subconscious. I didn’t love the book, but it got addictive. It’s essentially Prison Break for early to mid-teens. It plays heavily on the male friendship aspect as the wrongly imprisoned try to deal with, and find a way out of, their new gritty, despair-filled futures.

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren, which allows bloggers to share what books they’ve received in the past week. They can be from stores, contests, tours or publishers!

• Soul Screamers: Vol 1 by Rachel Vincent (purchased)
• Reckoning by Lili St. Crow (purchased)
• Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi (purchased)
• Unleashed by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie (purchased)
• The Return: Nightfall by L.J. Smith (library)
• The Return: Shadow Souls by L.J. Smith (purchased)
• The Return: Midnight by L.J. Smith (purchased)
• Stefan’s Diaries: The Ripper by Kevin Williamson & Julie Plec (purchased)

Lots of The Vampire Diaries this week. I read books two to four of the original series after getting a random craving and ended up getting sucked back in. I had to get more so that’s how I ended up with the next three L.J. Smith books and the fourth book in the Stefan spinoff. I double dipped and bought the Soul Screamers omnibus because I wanted the My Soul To Lose prequel in print. I’m guessing that’s their selling strategy. I still haven’t started the Strange Angels series but at least I have them all now for whenever I get around to it. I wasn’t intending on purchasing this cover for Under The Never Sky, I was going to get the pink and white one, but when I saw it instore early here in Australia I couldn’t wait. Finally, Unleashed was one I ordered a couple weeks ago. I haven’t read a lot of werewolf books, I’m more into vampires myself, but the cover intrigued me. It reminds me a bit of Fallen.

Here are my latest reviews if you want to check them out:
Barnes, Jennifer Lynn, Every Other Day
Smith, L.J. The Vampire Diaries #2, The Struggle
Smith, L.J. The Vampire Diaries #3, The Fury
Smith, L.J. The Vampire Diaries #4, Dark Reunion

Link up to your mailbox and I’ll be sure to check it out!

Title: Dark Reunion (The Vampire Diaries #4)
Author: L.J. Smith
Published: May, 1992 by HarperCollins
Pages: 274
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

The Final Conflict… The Last Deadly Kiss

Elena: Now she rises from the dead to recreate the powerful vampire trio.

Stefan: Summoned by Elena, he keeps a promise to her and fights the most terrifying evil he’s ever faced.

Damon: Joining the brother he once called an enemy, Damon battles this new horror with strength, cunning, and deadly charm.

Final Thoughts:
I’m surprised and impressed by how much L.J. puts her characters through. I can’t say that things ever felt stable or boring. While a lot has changed since the previous book, it still holds the romantic vibe laced with an air of imminent doom. There’s a lot of action this time around, originally being the final book in the series. Personally I liked book three better, but still enjoyed this one for all of its mystery, danger and emotional growth.
Just a warning, there are spoilers for the previous book ahead.

Title: The Fury (The Vampire Diaries #3)
Author: L.J. Smith
Published: November, 1991 by HarperCollins
Pages: 245
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Love can kill

Elena: with Damon at her side, and wild with her craving for blood, the changed Elena struggles to control her desires.

Damon: his hunger for the golden girl wars with his hunger for revenge against Stefan.

Stefan: tormented after losing Elena, he will do anything to get her back. Even if it means becoming what he once despised. . . .

Getting what they want may come at a deadly cost.

Final Thoughts:
Just about everything I had a problem with last time around was addressed in this third instalment. The characters evolved, there was real tension, and basically the plot just got better. The last book served its purpose in advancing the overall direction of the series, but in terms of my own personal enjoyment, there was no contest, I couldn’t put down the The Fury. A lot of the teen angst that had plagued Elena faded with the advent of greater problems. Damon’s gradual change also played a part in my enjoyment. While I love evil Damon, semi-good but snarky Damon is just as fun.
Just a warning, there are spoilers for the previous book ahead.