In My Mailbox is a weekly Meme sponsored by The Story Siren where you share all the lovely new books you get each week to read or review.
I have recently decided to give some short stories a try. (I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed by my very long TBR list - even though I am excited by the titles! The short stories are giving me the very satisfying feeling of checking things off while still not taking much time.) So, I downloaded a whole slew of them to my Nook this week. (I won't lie, interesting covers/titles were my primary deciding factor.)
Any Red-Blooded Girl by Maggie Bloom - The last thing fifteen-year-old Flora Fontain wants to do is spend her summer vacation stuck in a tent with her overprotective parents and angst-ridden brother, especially when she should be in Europe with her best friend Jessie—sipping espresso, posing for cutesy tourist pics, and hunting for hot Italian (or French, or maybe even English) stud-muffins.
But since her parents trust her about as much as they trust a cat burglar at the moment, Flora has no choice but to suffer through the boyfriend-less summer of her discontent from the back of a rented SUV, until…Fate tosses a sexy, sophisticated gypsy boy into her path, making Flora wonder if destiny might know best after all. That is until destiny screws up, big time. Because just as Flora falls head over heels, an unexpected turn of events threatens to land her in the slammer—or worse, separate her from the man of her dreams.
Linger by Kodilynn Calhoun - When a Taker takes her best friend’s soul, 16-year-old Evee refuses to let Jaeger become just another Void. She wants to help him, but she has no idea how. After an accident gives her a concussion, she starts hearing voices in her head-–well, one voice, loud, clear, and overly peppy and it belongs to Jaeger’s little sister. And Mercy has a plan to get his soul back, once and for all...as long as they can outwit the Taker hunting them first.
The White Tower by Jaanlala - A prince and a dragon. Both try to keep a princess to themselves. Who would win the beautiful princess? Or would there be a winner at all? Okay, honestly? I'm not sure what to expect here, but the cover was so pretty in a bubblegum pink sort of way. I was totally suckered in by the cover.
The Strange Case of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross - this is a prequel to the Steampunk Chronicles Series. I've been meaning to read them, but at around $12 each for a nook book, I've been leary of making the plunge. It will be nice to get a taste of Cross's writing style and world without spoiling anything. Finley Jayne knows she's not 'normal'. Normal girls don't lose time, or have something inside them that makes them capable of remarkably violent things. Her behavior has already cost her one job, so when she's offered the lofty position of companion to Phoebe, a debutante recently engaged to Lord Vincent, she accepts, despite having no experience. Lord Vincent is a man of science with his automatons and inventions, but Finley is suspicious of his motives where Phoebe is concerned. She will do anything to protect her new friend, but what she discovers is even more monstrous than anything she could have imagined.
Speaking of tie-ins with full length novels, I also got a few Necromancer-inspired short stories to go along with Hold Me Closer Necromancer.
The Necromancer's Couple by Mortimer Jackson - There is absolutely no description for this short story - I got it purely for its title.
Necromancer: A Novella by Lish McBride - DEATH AND WAFFLES: A Short Story by author of HOLD ME CLOSER, NECROMANCER Matt’s childhood friend, Ashley, has been stopping by a lot lately. That might seem pretty normal, but Ashley died years ago and now she’s Death. And tonight she wants waffles and fries.
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride - I've been waiting on this novel for a while now, and really can't wait to start reading it! Sam leads a pretty normal life. He may not have the most exciting job in the world, but he’s doing all right—until a fast food prank brings him to the attention of Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak. Turns out Douglas is a necromancer who raises the dead for cash and sees potential in Sam. Then Sam discovers he’s a necromancer too, but with strangely latent powers. And his worst nightmare wants to join forces . . . or else. With only a week to figure things out, Sam needs all the help he can get. Luckily he lives in Seattle, which has nearly as many paranormal types as it does coffee places. But even with newfound friends, will Sam be able to save his skin?
Now, admit it, you're singing Elton John! Perhaps you'd prefer some Killers...
I've also finally got Gabrielle Zevin's All These Things I've Done! - In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.
Now we'll see which earworm wins out: "hold me closer tiny dancer..." or "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier..."