In My Mailbox (58)

Hi everyone! I still don't have internet at home (it will be another week before I get it back), and we're still in unpacking/organizing mode at the new house, so I apologize for the lack of reviews/posts. Hopefully I'll get back in the swing of things soon. For now, here's an IMM post since I haven't done one of these in awhile, and I received some great new books recently!

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It's a time for everyone to share what books they acquired over the course of the week. I'll share what I received in the mail, bought at bookstores, downloaded to my Nook/iPad, or picked up from the library.

In the mail (for review from VOYA): 

Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am by Harry Mazer and Peter Lerangis

Croak by Gina Damico


From the library (eBooks): 

Other Words for Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

From the library (audiobooks): 

The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning (re-read)

Blue Like Jazz by Don Miller (re-read)

Searching for God Knows What by Don Miller (re-read)

unChristian by David Kinnaman

The Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson

Purchased Books: 


The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Purchased eBooks:

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins (You can get all 3 books for less than $5 right now from Amazon or Barnes and Noble!)

Every You, Every Me by David Levithan

What's in your mailbox this week? 

Forever Yound Adult Book Club - Indianapolis Style

My husband and I are almost all moved in to our new house - the next few days will be spent unpacking/organizing and going back over to the old apartment to clean (blah!). Since I haven't had time to write any reviews, I thought I'd post a little about one of my book clubs which met last week. 

The newly formed Indianapolis chapter of the Forever Young Adult Book Club (FYABC) met for the first time last Friday night at Creation Cafe in Indianapolis. We had 7 people attend and discuss Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride. (To see if there's an FYABC in your area, click here. We didn't see one already formed in Indiana, so we just started our own!)

Here is the CliffNotes version of our discussion (we decided to discuss the book using the "book report grading" format that the Forever YA girls use on their blog):

Cover Story - We think the guy on the cover is cute. We also think the bird is oddly placed...he's just sitting there like a parrot...we thought maybe the bird would play a larger role in the story since it looks like they are sidekicks or something based on the cover.

BFF Charm - Most said nay.

Swoonworthy Scale - 4

Talky Talk - Dialogue was realistic and well-written

Bonus Factors - Talking head; hybrid paranormal creatures; song lyrics as chapter titles

Casting Call - We think a young Reese Witherspoon would be perfect for Brooke. (I don't remember who we chose for the other characters...I think I was distracted by my food at this point). 

Relationship Status - We LIKE like this book. Definitely a stand out in the paranormal genre because of the humor.

Creation Cafe is a fun restaurant on the canal in Indy. They serve BEER FLOATS. This is mainly the reason we chose to go there for the first official meeting. I've included some photographic evidence of this awesomeness. Also they have live music on the weekends - a dude that looks like Santa Claus played mostly country cover songs (but he also played "Puff the Magic Dragon" at one point which was random and very amusing). We had the hostess take our group's picture, and then she was curious about the book so we did some YAngelizing (in Forever YA lexicon, this means spreading the gospel of YA) . We had a great time and really look forward to next month! We're also looking forward to reading the re-cap on Forever YA and finding out how this month's meeting went in other cities. :)

Beer + sorbet = the best idea ever

I'm officially a homeowner!

Posts may be a little slow on the blog for the next week or two. Today my husband and I closed on our very first house! We'll be moving in as soon as the sellers finish moving out. We still have quite a bit of packing to do, and moving will be tricky since we have opposite work schedules this week. I think I will be moving some of the smaller items over the weekend (including all of my books!) and he will be enlisting some buddies to help him move the bigger furniture early next week. I can't take any time off work because we have a few upcoming teen programs and computer classes we planned a long time ago and my supervisor, the only other librarian in the teen department at the library, is out of the office. I also signed up for some Overdrive webinars a long time ago, AND we have a portable device show and tell for staff members to get them more comfortable with downloading eBooks and audiobooks onto Nooks, Kindles, iPads, smartphones, etc...I need to be there to demonstrate how it works on the iPad/iPhone and Nook. So it will be an exciting and busy week for me! (We're launching our Geek the Library campaign soon too - so fun!)


Unfortunately the cable/internet dude can't come to our new house until October 7, so I'll have to visit the local library or Starbucks if I want to post at all. I won't get much reading done this week, but I have a few books I've finished lately that need to be reviewed. 


I bet my Pottermore e-mail will come after I lose internet access at home...how nerdy is it that I'm worried about that? hehe. I just want in! 


I'll post some pics of our house when we get all settled in. I'm hoping I can get a few new bookshelves since we'll have space for them now. :)

Happy reading!

Overbite by Meg Cabot

** spoiler alert ** Overbite is the sequel to Insatiable, so be warned that there will be spoilers for book 1 in this review!

Overbite begins about six months after the events of Insatiable end. Meena Harper’s ex-boyfriend, Lucien Antonescu, turned out to be the son of Dracula and the prince of darkness. Meena has decided to swear off dating vampires, but she just can’t shake her feelings for Lucien. She’s convinced that there is some good within him and that he’s not 100% evil. Even though he doesn’t have a soul, Meena believes Lucien is capable of love.

To complicate matters, Meena has been asked to join the Palatine Guard, which is a secret demon-hunting unit of the Vatican, because of her special gift (the ability to predict how people will die). Lucien has gone into hiding, and a new breed of vampires has emerged that not only drinks human blood but also feasts on human flesh. Meena’s co-worker, Alaric Wulf, is determined to protect her from Lucien, while at the same time, Lucien is trying to protect Meena from the new breed of vampires. Meena’s loyalties are tested, and she is torn between following her head and her heart.

I loved Insatiable, so I was eager to read Overbite. It was a fast-paced and suspenseful read with bits of humor and romance mixed in. Alaric was my favorite character—his personality reminded me a little of Booth from the TV series Bones. I have mixed feelings about the way the book ended. It seemed a little out of character for Meena to do what she did, and the abrupt ending surprised me. Overall, though, I would recommend Overbite to anyone looking for an entertaining read with humor, forbidden romance, a love triangle, and a lot of action! 

Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen

In 1929, Cordelia Grey and Letty Larkspur leave their small Midwestern town for the bright lights of New York City. Letty wants to be a star. Cordelia just wants to find her father, an infamous bootlegger she has never known. Astrid, the girlfriend of Cordelia’s brother Charlie, is home from boarding school and always ready to party.  These young, beautiful socialites all seek romance but find themselves going down very different paths.

Right from the start, the ominous prologue propelled me to keep reading to find out what fate each girl would meet:

“They were all marching toward their own secret fates, and long before the next decade rolled around, each would escape in her own way—one would be famous, one would be married, and one would be dead.” - Anna Godbersen

Who can resist a teaser like that?

This is the first in a series, so there is a lot of backstory provided for each of the three main characters. Letty, Cordelia, and Astrid were intriguing in their own unique ways. While I tired of the descriptions of the characters’ clothing, I did enjoy other historical details which made 1929 come alive. Bright Young Things may appeal to fans of Gossip Girl who love to follow the lives of young socialites in the city. The sequel, Beautiful Days, comes out later this year. 

The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder

Sophomore April Bowers is missing her best friend, Haley, who moved away before the beginning of the school year. With no friends and a non-existent social life, April is desperate to find a way to become one of the popular crowd. When queen bee Brittany Taylor mistakes April for a new girl in gym class, April does not correct her. Brittany invites April to sit with her inner circle at lunch, immediately propelling April into popularity by association. At first April is thrilled to be included, but she soon learns that friendship with Brittany comes at a high cost. She must pledge to follow The Lipstick Laws, a set of unattainable standards Brittany holds her friends to. But April soon tires of trying to follow The Lipstick Laws and decides to join forces with other  “Lipstick Lawbreakers” and teach Brittany a lesson. 


This book reminded me a little of Mean Girls (which is a compliment since I love that movie), but the plot was different enough to keep me interested throughout the story. At times I wanted to smack the main character, but she did show growth and appeared to have matured a bit at the end.  While I felt that the ending was a little rushed, The Lipstick Laws was a fun read about friendship, insecurity, and high school drama with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. 

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

This book contains five fascinating fairy tales from the wizarding world with commentary by Albus Dumbledore himself: “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot,” “The Fountain of Fair Fortune,” “The Warlock’s Hairy Heart,” “Babbity Rabbity and Her Cackling Stump,” and “The Tale of the Three Brothers.” Those who have read the Harry Potter series know that “The Tale of the Three Brothers” plays a very important role in the final book. The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a short and enjoyable read that would be perfect for reading aloud. Dumbledore’s humorous and insightful comments were fun to read, and the illustrations added to my enjoyment of the fairy tales. I highly recommend this book to those who can’t get enough of the wizarding world!

300 Followers Contest Winner!

It's time to announce the winner of two signed John Green books....


Congratulations to Kristen E.! 


I've sent you an e-mail, and your books will be in the mail soon. Enjoy!

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

The Waverly women of Bascom, North Carolina have special gifts and a unique legacy. Their garden grows herbs and edible flowers that have affect those who eat them in mysterious ways, and the apple tree that grows in the garden bears fruit with magical qualities. Claire Waverly has inherited the home which used to belong to her grandmother, and she lives alone, focusing on her successful catering business. Claire’s quiet, solitary life is turned upside down when her sister Sydney suddenly returns to Bascom with her daughter and an attractive man moves in next door and tries to win Claire’s heart. 

This was my first Sarah Addison Allen book, and it definitely will not be my last. We have a staff book club at the library, and this was our August selection. I probably would not have picked it up on my own, but I’m so glad my fellow book club members introduced me to this wonderful author! Garden Spells contains the perfect blend of southern charm, quirky characters, romance, humor, and magic. The characters felt real and their relationships were believable. My favorite character was the eccentric elderly aunt Evanelle. She brought a lot of humor into the story and reminded me a lot of a family friend. Garden Spells was a comforting and enchanting story, and a I recommend it to anyone looking for an entertaining read with a strong sense of place and fascinating characters. 

In My Mailbox (57)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It's a time for everyone to share what books they acquired over the course of the week. I'll share what I received in the mail, bought at bookstores, downloaded to my Nook/iPad, or picked up from the library.

From the library:

Feed by Mira Grant

Serendipity by Louise Shaffer

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride

Holiday Princess by Meg Cabot

Virals by Kathy Reich (audio)



Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent (audio)

What's in your mailbox this week?