Showing posts with label deborah harkness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deborah harkness. Show all posts

Saturday, 21 July 2012

In My Mailbox #31

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Welcome to  In My Mailbox, a meme run by The Story Siren where each week over 200 bloggers post on their blogs the books they have bought, received to review or won in the past week. 

To find out more information, get involved yourself or see what's in other bloggers mailboxes this week head over to The Story Siren or to find out what is in my mailbox this week, keep reading.

Don't forget to comment and post your IMM link or just let me know what's in your mail box this week.

Another HUGE week!  Got heaps of awesome titles. Now I just need to sit down and read them all :-). All synopsis' via Goodreads

For Review (Print Books):


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Circle of Silence by Carol M Tanzman (thanks to HarlequinTEEN Australia)


THE BIGGEST STORY OF MY LIFE COULD BE HOW IT ENDS It's my turn to run a "Campus News" crew, and I've put together a team that can break stories wide open. And Washington Irving High has a truly great one to cover, if only we can find a lead.

A secret society has formed in our school. It announced its presence with pranks: underwear on the flagpole, a toilet in the hallway, cryptic notes. A circle of silence keeps the society a mystery. No one knows its members, agenda or initiation secrets-until a student lands in the hospital under "strange" circumstances.

I "will" blow this story wide open and stop others from being hurt...or worse. And while my ex, Jagger, might want to help, I don't trust him yet. (And, no, not because of our past together. That is "not" important to this story.)

But whether you find me, Valerie Gaines, reporting in front of the camera, or a victim in the top story of the newscast...be sure to watch "Campus News" at 9:00 a.m. this Friday.

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry (thanks to HarlequinTEEN Australia)


"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.

So wrong for each other...and yet so right.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

For Review (E-books):





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Stormdancer by Jay


Griffins are supposed to be extinct. So when Yukiko and her warrior father Masaru are sent to capture one for the Shogun, they fear that their lives are over. Everyone knows what happens to those who fail him, no matter how hopeless the task.

But the mission proves far less impossible, and far more deadly, than anyone expects – and soon Yukiko finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in her country's last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled griffin for company. But trapped together in the forest, Yukiko and Buruu soon discover a friendship that neither of them expected.

Meanwhile, the country around them verges on the brink of collapse. A toxic fuel is slowly choking the land; the omnipotent, machine-powered Lotus Guild is publicly burning those they deem Impure; and the Shogun cares about nothing but his own dominion. Yukiko has always been uneasy in the shadow of power, when she learns the awful truth of what the Shogun has done, both to her country and to her own family she's determined to do something about it.

Returning to the city, Yukiko and Buruu plan to make the Shogun pay for his crimes – but what can one girl and a flightless griffin do against the might of an empire?

Giveaways Won:


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Messy by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

Thanks so much to Lisa of Badass Bookie and Allen & Unwin for this awesome giveaway prize :-)


Now that Brooke Berlin’s caught a taste of fame and her movie star father’s attention, she wants to launch a blog that will position her as the ultimate Hollywood insider, but she hardly has the time to write it herself. . . .

Enter green-haired misanthrope Max McCormack. Max reluctantly agrees to play Brooke’s ghost-blogger for an impressive salary, and the site takes off, but how long can their lie last? Brooke can’t live up to the blog’s intellectual wit in person, and Max soon begins to resent hiding her genius behind a bandage-dress wearing blonde. Can the girls work together to stay on top or will the truth come out and ruin everything they’ve built?

Purchased:


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Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake


Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. 

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier


The people of Alban are afraid.

The tyrannical king and his masked Enforcers are scouring the land, burning villages and enslaving the canny.

Fifteen-year-old Neryn has fled her home in the wake of its destruction, and is alone and penniless, hiding her extraordinary magical power. She can rely on no one – not even the elusive Good Folk who challenge and bewilder her with their words.

When an enigmatic stranger saves her life, Neryn and the young man called Flint begin an uneasy journey together. She wants to trust Flint but how can she tell who is true in this land of evil?

For Neryn has heard whisper of a mysterious place far away: a place where rebels are amassing to free the land and end the King's reign.

A place called Shadowfell.

A story of courage, hope, danger and love from one of the most compelling fantasy storytellers.



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Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness


"Together we lifted our feet and stepped into the unknown"—the thrilling sequel to the New York Times bestseller A Discovery of Witches

Deborah Harkness exploded onto the literary scene with her debut novel, A Discovery of Witches, Book One of the magical All Souls Trilogy and an international publishing phenomenon. The novel introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and the handsome geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont; together they found themselves at the center of a supernatural battle over an enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782.

Now, picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies, subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the mysterious School of Night that includes Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh. Here, Diana must locate a witch to tutor her in magic, Matthew is forced to confront a past he thought he had put to rest, and the mystery of Ashmole 782 deepens.

Deborah Harkness has crafted a gripping journey through a world of alchemy, time travel, and magical discoveries, delivering one of the most hotly anticipated novels of the season.

Purchased (For my daughter):


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That's not my... Box set Fiona Watts & Rachel Wells


Library:


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Night Embrace by Sherrilyn Kenyon


Dear Reader, 

Life is great for me. I have my chicory coffee, my warm beignets, and my best friend on the cell phone. Once the sun goes down, I am the baddest thing prowling the night: I command the elements, and I know no fear. For centuries, I've protected the innocent and watched over mankind, making sure they are safe in a world where nothing is ever certain. All I want in return is a hot babe in a red dress, who wants nothing more from me then one night.

Instead, I get a runaway Mardi Gras float that tries to turn me into roadkill and a beautiful woman who saves my life but can't remember where she put my pants. Flamboyant and extravagant, Sunshine Runningwolf should be the perfect woman for me. She wants nothing past tonight, no ties, no long-term commitments.

But every time I look at her, I start yearning for dreams that I buried centuries ago. With her unconventional ways and ability to baffle me, Sunshine is the one person I find myself needing. But for me to love her would mean her death. I am cursed never to know peace or happiness-not so long as my enemy waits in the night to destroy us both.

Talon of the Morrigantes

Invincible by Sherrilyn Kenyon


Nick Gautier’s day just keeps getting better and better. Yeah, he survived the zombie attacks, only to wake up and find himself enslaved to a world of shapeshifters and demons out to claim his soul.

His new principal thinks he’s even more of a hoodlum than the last one, his coach is trying to recruit him to things he can’t even mention and the girl he’s not seeing, but is, has secrets that terrify him.

But more than that, he’s being groomed by the darkest of powers and if he doesn’t learn how to raise the dead by the end of the week, he will become one of them...

Infamous by Sherrilyn Kenyon


Go to school. Get good grades. Stay out of trouble. That’s the mandate for most kids. But Nick Gautier isn’t the average teenager. He’s a boy with a destiny not even he fully understands. And his first mandate is to stay alive while everyone, even his own father, tries to kill him.

He’s learned to annihilate zombies and raise the dead, divination and clairvoyance, so why is learning to drive and keep a girlfriend so dang hard? But that isn’t the primary skill he has to master. Survival is.

And in order to survive, his next lesson makes all the others pale in comparison. He is on the brink of becoming either the greatest hero mankind has ever known, or he’ll be the one who ends the world. With enemies new and old gathering forces, he will have to call on every part of himself to fight or he’ll lose everyone he cares about. Even himself.


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Secret Lives by Gabriella Poole


The first in a new series about an exclusive school with a terrible secret—you'll be dying to join the chosen Few

The Darke Academy is a school like no other. An elite establishment that moves to a new exotic city every term, its students are impossibly beautiful, sophisticated. and rich, and the more the new scholarship girl Cassie Bell learns about the Academy, the more curious she becomes. What sinister secrets are guarded by the Few—the select group of students who keep outsiders away? Who is the dark stranger prowling the corridors at night? And what really happened a year earlier, when the last scholarship girl died in mysterious circumstances? Cassie quickly discovers that a little knowledge may be a dangerous thing, but knowing too much can be deadly.

Blood Ties by Gabriella Poole


Suspense builds in the second tale of the Darke Academy, where true graduates take life by the throat

This term the secretive Darke Academy has moved to New York, and Cassie Bell is no longer the innocent new girl. Now she is strong, determined, and hiding secrets of her own. Cassie has been introduced to the world of the Few and is struggling to come to terms with her astonishing powers, a dangerous romance, and the malevolent spirit inside her, demanding to be fed. When an old enemy returns, bent on revenge, Cassie is tested to the limit. Can she rescue her friends from a horrific fate, or will she end up destroying them to save herself?

What was in your mailbox this week?

Wednesday, 4 July 2012

WWW Wednesday #5



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WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you will read next?

What are you currently reading?



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Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness


The second book in the All Souls Trilogy which started with A Discovery of Witches, one of my favourite books of 2011. Only 7% in to this one ( digital arc) and already loving it :-)

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository | Galaxy Bookshop

What did you recently finish reading?



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Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent


Absolutely loved this! Review to come.


20120704-105415.jpg My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent

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20120704-105913.jpg My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent

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You get the picture. A busy week for reading and I read the entire Soul Screamers series :-). It wasn't hard though as it was a great series to read. 

What do you think you will read next??





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YA Title: Temptation by Karen Ann Hopkins


Synopsis (via Goodreads): Your heart misleads you.  That's what my friends and family say.  But I love Noah. And he loves me.  We met and fell in love in the sleepy farming community of Meadowview, while we rode our horses together through the grassy fields and in those moments in each other's arms. It should be  ROSE & NOAH forever, easy. But it won't be. Because he's Amish. And I'm not.




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Adult Title: Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon


Synopsis (via Goodreads): The Dark-Hunters are ancient warriors who have sworn to protect mankind and the fate of the world is in their hands. . .

He is solitude. He is darkness. He is the ruler of the night. Yet Kyrian of Thrace has just woken up handcuffed to his worst nightmare: An accountant. Worse, she's being hunted by one of the most lethal vampires out there. And if Amanda Devereaux goes down, then he does too. But it's not just their lives that are hanging in the balance.  Kyrian and Amanda are all that stands between humanity and oblivion. Let's hope they win.

What are you reading this week?

Tuesday, 3 July 2012

Teaser Tuesday #29



Welcome to Teaser Tuesdays.


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:


1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too muchaway! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

4. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


My current read is Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness and my two lines are from location 657 of 8886:


Matthew hadn't needed to see time unwinding in the corner to sense that something was out of joint. If he already suspected that there was more going on with my magic than I was willing to reveal, there would be no way to conceal my secrets from any witch that might come to call.




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Synopsis (via Goodreads): Deborah Harkness exploded onto the literary scene with her debut novel, A Discovery of Witches, Book One of the magical All Souls Trilogy and an international publishing phenomenon. The novel introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and the handsome geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont; together they found themselves at the center of a supernatural battle over an enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782.

Now, picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies, subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the mysterious School of Night that includes Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh. Here, Diana must locate a witch to tutor her in magic, Matthew is forced to confront a past he thought he had put to rest, and the mystery of Ashmole 782 deepens.

Deborah Harkness has crafted a gripping journey through a world of alchemy, time travel, and magical discoveries, delivering one of the most hotly anticipated novels of the season.

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository | Galaxy Bookshop

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link  to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

Thursday, 14 June 2012

On my Wishlist #4

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Welcome to On My Wishlist! 

On My Wishlist is a meme that was originally created by Book Chick City and is now hosted by Cosy Books where we can showcase (and squee about) books that are on our individual wish lists whether already or still awaiting publication.

For more information or to get involved yourself, head over to Cosy Books and check it out!

Lastly, don't forget to comment and let me know what books are on your Wishlist this week.

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Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor


Publish Date: 6 November 2012

Synopsis (via Goodreads ): In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed "Daughter of Smoke and Bone," Karou must come to terms with who and what she is, and how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, mysteries and secrets, new characters and old favorites, Days of Blood and Starlight brings the richness, color and intensity of the first book to a brand new canvas.

Comment: This book is the second in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series. And let me tell you, Daughter of Smoke and Bone was awesome and the way it ended... Let's just say that this title cannot come soon enough. Bring on November!

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Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor


Publication Date: 27 September 2011

Synopsis (via Goodreads ): Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. 

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grows dangerously low. 

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war. 

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Comment: So why is this on my Wishlist when I have just been giving it all kinds of praise just a few lines above this? Well, the copy I read was actually from the library so I would really love my own copy so I can read it again, preferably just a little before Days of Blood and Starlight is released :-)

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Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness


Publish Date: 10 July 2012

Synopsis (via Goodreads ):"Together we lifted our feet and stepped into the unknown"—the thrilling sequel to the New York Times bestseller A Discovery of Witches

Deborah Harkness exploded onto the literary scene with her debut novel, A Discovery of Witches, Book One of the magical All Souls Trilogy and an international publishing phenomenon. The novel introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and the handsome geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont; together they found themselves at the center of a supernatural battle over an enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782.

Now, picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies, subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the mysterious School of Night that includes Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh. Here, Diana must locate a witch to tutor her in magic, Matthew is forced to confront a past he thought he had put to rest, and the mystery of Ashmole 782 deepens.

Deborah Harkness has crafted a gripping journey through a world of alchemy, time travel, and magical discoveries, delivering one of the most hotly anticipated novels of the season.

Comment: Another book two in a series. I read book 1, A Discovery of Witches, in October last year and I loved it. A combination of magic, history, supernatural and time travel and beautifully written, it ticked all the right boxes for me for a great story and I expect no less from this, the second book. I have actually already received a digital copy to read and review ( which I will be reading and reviewing in the coming weeks so watch tis space) but I can't wait to also buy my own finished print copy as I have no doubt whatsoever it will be worth the wait. 

What is on your Wishlist this week?

Saturday, 9 June 2012

In My Mailbox #25

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Welcome to  In My Mailbox, a meme run by The Story Siren where each week over 200 bloggers post on their blogs the books they have bought, received to review or won in the past week. 

To find out more information, get involved yourself or see what's in other bloggers mailboxes this week head over to The Story Siren or to find out what is in my mailbox this week, keep reading.

Don't forget to comment and post your IMM link or just let me know what's in your mail box this week.

So this week kind of overtook me a little. Between the baby and lack of sleep, the last half of the week is a bit of blur and I didn't get all the posts out I wanted too northe reading donethat i wanted to. Hopefully. I will catch up this week. 

However I did manage to score a number of great titles this week and have great time participating armchair BEA - at least in the first part of the week anyway :-p 

For Review (via Netgalley)
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Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness (Penguin Group Viking)
Moonglow by Kristen Callihan (Grand Central Publishing, Forever)
Shadow Rising by Kendra Leigh Castle (Grand Central Publishing, Forever)
Monster in my Closet by R L Naquin (Carina Press)
Unearthed by Lara Stauffer (Cedar Fort Inc.)


Really excited about these titles this week especially Shadow of Night. I absolutely loved the first book in the series a Discovery of Witches and actually had this title slated for my next On My Wishlist post when I discovered it was available on Netgalley. I was in the middle of a night feed when I got the email that my request was approved and nearly woke the baby with my squeeing :-p. actually I think I will leave this title on my Wishlist as I plan to get a finished copy when its finally published to complete my set :-)

I also am particularly excited to read Moonglow by Kristen Callihan. It is book 2 of the Darkest London series and I read the first book Firelight earlier this year. You can find my review here

I also can't wait to read the other titles either as they all sound different and interesting :-)

Giveaways Won

This week I won a cookbook the Sweet Life by season 3 Masterchef Australia winner, Kate Bracks in a QBD Bookshop Twitter competition.  A book full of delicious desserts yum :-)
 


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Library:


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When Lightning Strikes by Meg Cabot
Missing You by Meg Cabot
Safehouse by Meg Cabot

I used to watch and enjoy the television series based of this Meg Cabot series so I decided I should see here it originally came from. 

So what did you get this week?

Monday, 3 October 2011

Teaser Tuesday #14





Welcome to Teaser Tuesdays.


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:


1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too muchaway! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
4. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


My current read is  A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness and my two lines are from page 484  :


"Vampires and witches are not spadefoot toads, Marcus," Matthew said coldly. "And not all of the changes that result are positive."








Purchase:  Amazon | Book Depository |





PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

Saturday, 11 June 2011

In My Mailbox #6



Welcome to  In My Mailbox, a meme run by The Story Siren where each week over 200 bloggers post on their blogs the books they have bought, received to review or won in the past week.
To find out more information, get involved yourself or see what's in other bloggers mailboxes this week head over to The Story Siren or to find out what is in my mailbox this week, keep reading.
Don't forget to comment and post your IMM link or just let me know what's in your mail box this week:

              

For Review



Department 19
Daphne and the Silver Ash
The Commander And The Den Asaan Rautu Vol 1
Tales from Frewyn: Short Stories from the Haanta Series Vol. 1

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Department 19 by Will Hill
Source: Boomerang Books Critics Club
Release Date: 31 March 2011
Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository

Daphne & the Silver Ash by Joss Llewelyn
Source: Library Thing Giveaway
Release Date: 26 May 2011
Goodreads | Amazon

The Commander And The Den Asaan Rautu Vol 1 (Haanta Series, #1) by Michelle Franklin
Source: Author
Release Date: 21 November 2010
Goodreads |Amazon | Book Depository 

 Tales From Frewen short stories from the Haanta series Vol. 1 by Michelle Franklin
Source: Author
Release Date: May 2011
Goodreads | Amazon



Purchased :


      
  

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Goodreads | |Amazon | Book Depository



So what was in your mailbox this week?