Title: If I Die (Soul Screamers #5)
Author: Rachel Vincent
Published: September, 2011 by Harlequin Teen
Pages: 342
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

The entire school’s talking about the gorgeous new math teacher, Mr. Beck. Everyone except Kaylee Cavanaugh. After all, Kaylee’s no ordinary high-school junior. She’s a banshee—she screams when someone dies.

But the next scream might be for Kaylee.

Yeah—it’s a shock to her, too. So to distract herself, Kaylee’s going to save every girl in school. Because that hot new teacher is really an incubus who feeds on the desire of unsuspecting students. The only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine, her boyfriend’s needy ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr. Beck…before he discovers they aren’t quite human, either.

But Kaylee’s borrowed lifeline is nearing its end. And those who care about her will do anything to save her life.

Anything.

Final Thoughts:
This is the book the series has needed. Soooo much romance. While I’ve really enjoyed the Soul Screamers so far, If I Die took it to a whole new level. It was possibly everything you could want and not want thrown together in a storm of emotions. It pained me to put it down once I realised 3am had caught up with me. I kept searching for a chapter to end things on comfortably for the night, but unfortunately Rachel has written a book that just won’t let go of you. But once I found page 204, I forced myself to seal the book and grinned myself to sleep.

Title: Stick
Author: Andrew Smith
Published: October, 2011 by Feiwel & Friends
Thanks: Macmillan via NetGalley
Pages: 292
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Fourteen-year-old Stark McClellan (nicknamed Stick because he’s tall and thin) is bullied for being “deformed” – he was born with only one ear. His older brother Bosten is always there to defend Stick. But the boys can’t defend one another from their abusive parents.

When Stick realizes Bosten is gay, he knows that to survive his father’s anger, Bosten must leave home. Stick has to find his brother, or he will never feel whole again. In his search, he will encounter good people, bad people, and people who are simply indifferent to kids from the wrong side of the tracks. But he never loses hope of finding love – and his brother.

Final Thoughts:
Stick shattered my expectations. I’m left in awe over it. It was a book I simply had to read in one session, there was no way to put it down. While the main character was thirteen and a boy, something different from my usual literary outings, I found Stark McClellan’s story incredibly heart wrenching. In a book reaching less than 300 pages, I still managed to care about these characters in a way a book hasn’t been able to make me feel in a while. There were actual tears in my eyes. If a book can make me cry – 5 stars.

Title: The Name of the Star (Shades of London #1)
Author: Maureen Johnson
Published: October, 2011 by HarperCollins
Thanks: HarperCollins, AU via NetGalley
Pages: 372
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it’s the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn’t notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

Final Thoughts:
I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one. I’ve never really followed the Jack the Ripper history, at least I hadn’t until a university assignment had me watching one of the movies. While this book does draw a lot of focus towards the murders, it bridles it with plenty of boarding school drama to keep things from getting too morbid. When you add in a dash of the paranormal and a heap of likeable characters, it makes for an enjoyable read.

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!

• Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick (purchased)
• The Cross Of Sins by Geoffrey Knight (purchased)
• The Name Of The Star by Maureen Johnson (purchased)
• Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (purchased)
• Sektion 20 by Paul Dowswell (thanks to Publishers)
• Out For Blood by Alyxandra Harvey (purchased)
• Bleeding Hearts by Alyxandra Harvey (thanks to Publishers)

I got the paperback of Silence last week, but I needed the UK foil hardcover to match Hush, Hush and Crescendo. I’m going to have to keep both though, since the paperback is the only one that has the bonus chapter from Patch’s POV. I read Silence a few days ago if you want to check out my review. Thanks to Bloomsbury for Sektion 20 and Bleeding Hearts, I love the shiny blue cover on the first one. I had to go pick up a copy of Out For Blood since I’ve only read the first two Drake Chroncicles books so far. I also stumbled upon the new movie edition of Breaking Dawn and had an urge to get it. Although, I don’t have any of the other movie editions, so it looks a bit random sitting on its lonesome on my shelf.

Here are my latest reviews if you want to check them out:
Fitzpatrick, Becca Hush, Hush #3, Silence

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

Title: Silence (Hush, Hush #3)
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Published: October, 2011 by Simon & Schuster
Thanks: Simon & Schuster, AU
Pages: 438
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They’ve overcome the secrets riddled in Patch’s dark past…bridged two irreconcilable worlds…faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust…and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they’ve worked for—and their love—forever.

Final Thoughts:
If you read the blurb and then go into this, you’ll probably be very confused. ‘The noise between Patch and Nora is gone.’ If by noise, they meant complete knowledge of Patch, then yes, the noise is gone. Nora has amnesia leading back to before the events of Hush, Hush, leaving her with no knowledge of fallen angels or her hot, but often bumpy, romance. While making Nora a clean slate was an interesting route to take the story down, I felt like it took up too much of the book. But with that said, I did love the rekindling experienced. Who gets to find their once-in-a-lifetime love twice?

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read and share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

This is from the prologue, so there’s no Nora in this scene. I had to include this teaser because I thought blood-hungry Patch was awesome! I’m liking where this is going, although because of a mound of textbook readings I have to get through, I’m only a couple chapters in so far.

“A mind trick?” the angel scorned. “Don’t bother. Make the call,” he commanded. “If she walks free in the next two minutes, I’ll kill you quickly. Anything longer than that, and I will rip you apart, one piece at a time. And trust me when I say I will enjoy every last scream you utter.”

– Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick, page 7.
Published in October, 2011 by Simon and Schuster.

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!

• Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick (thanks to Publishers)
• After Obsession by Carrie Jones & Steven E. Wedel (thanks to Publishers)
• If I Die by Rachel Vincent (purchased)
• Being Human by Patricia Lynne (thanks to Author)
• Nightshade by Andrea Cremer (purchased)
• Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer (purchased)
• Angel Fire by L.A. Weatherly (purchased)
• Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready (purchased)

Thanks to Simon and Schuster for Silence, I’m about to start that one today. I’m hoping to get into it tonight after Terra Nova and Ringer. A lot of my internet purchases arrived this week. Angel Fire is huge, I didn’t realise it was over 700 pages. It’s offputting, so I’ll be saving that one for when I’ve got plenty of time to spend a day on it. I’m not too fond of the UK Shift cover but I won a UK copy of Shade so I thought I’d stick to them so they’d match. I added Being Human on goodreads a while ago and Patricia emailed me to let me know I’d won her TBR giveaway, so that was a nice suprise. And finally, I’m super excited for If I Die, can’t wait to start this one.

Here’s my latest review if you want to check it out:
Duff, Hilary Elixir #2, Devoted

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