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!

• The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman (purchased)
• A Witch In Winter by Ruth Warburton (purchased)
• Twisted Heart by Eden Maguire (purchased)
• Stefan’s Diaries: The Asylum by Kevin Williamson & Julie Plec (purchased)
• The Fallen: End of Days by Thomas E. Sniegoski (purchased)
• In Darkness by Nick Lake (thanks to Publishers)
• Nana V7 by Ai Yazawa (purchased)
• Nana V8 by Ai Yazawa (purchased)

I went shopping last Friday and probably spent too much. I went through the YA aisle and stacked my arms full of books and went in search of the price scanner. I decided to be good, and put four back…but I’ll probably go back and get them later, anyway. I keep buying more volumes of the Nana manga, yet I still haven’t finished V1, still, I’ll probably buy more next time I go shopping again. I loved the anime, so I can’t wait to read these. The Blood and Shadow book sounds really cool, so I’m hoping to be able to slot it in sometime soon. I haven’t read any of Robin’s other books yet, but I will check those out too eventually. Basically everything I got this week was an impulse buy, the only book I was actually looking for was the Stefan’s Diaries one, but that’s the way it goes, isn’t it. Shopping in person is so much more fun than browsing online.

Here are my latest reviews if you want to check them out:
Armentrout, Jennifer L. Lux #1, Obsidian
Logsted, Gred, The Stuttering Tattoo
Malthea, Vlad The Paler
York, Kelley, Hushed

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

Title: Hushed
Author: Kelley York
Published: December, 2011 by Entangled Publishing
Pages: 229
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

He’s saved her. He’s loved her. He’s killed for her.

Eighteen-year-old Archer couldn’t protect his best friend, Vivian, from what happened when they were kids, so he’s never stopped trying to protect her from everything else. It doesn’t matter that Vivian only uses him when hopping from one toxic relationship to another—Archer is always there, waiting to be noticed.

Then along comes Evan, the only person who’s ever cared about Archer without a single string attached. The harder he falls for Evan, the more Archer sees Vivian for the manipulative hot-mess she really is.

But Viv has her hooks in deep, and when she finds out about the murders Archer’s committed and his relationship with Evan, she threatens to turn him in if she doesn’t get what she wants… And what she wants is Evan’s death, and for Archer to forfeit his last chance at redemption.

Final Thoughts:
I love broken boys—they tear you up inside, but you can’t help but want to see them happy. Archer, faced with a horrible upbringing, is quiet, withdrawn, basically living only to please his childhood friend, turned obsession–Vivian. Beyond frustrating, she’s the kind of person you don’t need in your life anymore, but can’t seem to get rid of—a heavily one sided relationship. Setting it apart from the other contemporary romances, Hushed takes on a surprisingly gripping serial killer plot, where Archer—the protagonist—is the one knocking people off. While it could be compared to Dexter, I think Archer comes across more likeable, with a desire to protect the ones he cares for, rather than getting off on killing people.

Title: Obsidian (Lux #1)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Published: by December, 2011 by Entangled Publishing
Pages: 268
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…. until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don’t kill him first, that is.

Final Thoughts:
Full of sexual Tension—and yes, that is with a capital T—Obsidian drew me in, right from the start. Any scene with Daemon was almost certain to plaster a grin to my cheeks. Total douche—but I loved it. As for Katy, she was pretty much your standard YA main character—dead parent, insecure over her appearance, and a carrying a bit of an attitude. She also repeatedly got herself into some dangerous situations against the better judgement of others. Still, like I said, the sexy alien premise hooked me, and I did end up enjoying the book—especially since Katy had a heap of obsessive book blogger tendencies. I cracked up over her freak out at missing a Waiting on Wednesday.

Title: The Stuttering Tattoo
Author: Greg Logsted
Published: December, 2011 by TKA Distribution
Thanks: Greg Logsted via NetGalley
Pages: 202
Rating:  
Purchase: Amazon

Steven Bishop is extraordinarily ordinary. He goes to school. He rides his motorcycle. He stutters. His best friend is a former Colombian cartel hit man turned cook/construction worker. You know, ordinary. All that changes the day Becky Moore walks into his classroom. Becky is dazzling, enigmatic.

One day Steven gives Becky a ride home on his motorcycle. There, they discover a severed arm, one of the fingers of which still has an unusual ring attached: a circle, in the middle of which is a heart, at the center of which is a bold number 37. While comforting Becky, Steven discovers a tattoo at the base of her neck: it is the same symbol. And so begins a thrilling descent into a world of crime and murder, a ride wilder than any Steven has taken before.

Final Thoughts:
This managed to go off in a direction I wasn’t expecting, but I found it surprisingly enjoyable. The romantic pairing wasn’t as prominent as I’d originally thought it would be, but the whole mob-family aspect took things on a fun ride. Bodies dropping, split personalities, motorbike chases—there was never really a lull. The stuttering, while apparent in Steven’s dialogue, blended into the narrative and was used effectively throughout. He was picked on very minimally, which was nice to see, with the majority of his speech issues overlooked by those around him. I’m enjoying seeing more of these conspiracy-filled books popping up in the upper YA market. I’ve read plenty that were middle grade focussed, so I was thankful to find this one.