In My Mailbox {Week 10}

The only thing I got in the mail this week was a Barnes & Noble gift card I won from Lucienne Diver for the Fangtastic Get Caught Reading contest.

I picked up A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare and Cinder by Marissa Meyer from Sam's Club, and Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton from B&N.

2012 #50BookPledge

The #50BookPledge is to 'make an effort to make reading a bigger part of our lives.' I'm am going to make this sort of like a challenge for myself, because that will motivate me more than just saying I will read more. I took this pledge because, while I read a lot last year, I felt like I was only ever reading at school, and occupied my free time with other things. I want to, as I quoted earlier, 'make an effort to make reading a bigger part of my life.'

NOTE: There will be a list of books for this challenge, and it will be updated whenever I finish a book. The list won't be on this post, but under the 2012 Challenges page of the blog.

You might notice that my Goodreads progress bar and my #50BookPledge progress bar are off by a couple books, and that is because Goodreads count the little outtakes and extras that I've marked as read. I personally don't count those, which is why the bars don't match. Just thought I should tell you that.

Break and Other Blog Updates

     Okay, I'm going out of the country for winter break, so I won't be able to post anything until New Year's, when I get back. I've set this weeks In My Mailbox and next weeks Waiting On Wednesday posts to publish, but I can't post reviews or next weeks Cover Combat until I get back. 
     Also, I'm sorry I haven't posted any reviews lately, but since I'm bringing lots of books with me, I should have 8-9 reviews for you by the time I arrive back home.

Hope you guys have a great time over break, too!

Cover Combat {Week 5}

Cover Combat is where I'll put up a US cover and a foreign cover of the same book and you vote on your favorite. Most of the time it will probably US versus UK, but there may be other countries thrown in.


Last week the US & UK covers of Bleeding Hearts by Alyxandra Harvey battled it out. And the winner is. . .

UK Edition!

This week the US and Italian covers of Paranormalcy by Kiersten White will go to battle.

US edition:

Italian edition:

In My Mailbox {Week 6}

Title: Clockwork Prince
Series: Infernal Devices ⋯ Book 2
Author: Cassandra Clare
Pages: 502
Format: B&N exclusive First Edition


Summary: In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa's powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister's war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will; the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

Pre-ordered this, and the two days between the release on Dec. 6 and when it arrived were pure torture. Reading it now, and it's amazing.

Title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone ⋯ Book 1
Author: Laini Taylor
Pages: 418
Format: Hardcover


Summary: 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 grown 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?

Have been wanting to read this since it came out and was gonna wait for the paperback, but I was fortunate to win it in a giveaway I entered a few weeks ago, so I'm am gonna read it after I finish Clockwork Prince & Crossed.

I also picked up Crave by Melissa Darnell (review is here), The Secret of Ka by Christopher Pike, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver, the Walmart exclusive edition of Clockwork Prince (for a friend's Christmas present), and If I Die by Rachel Vincent.

In My Mailbox {Week 5}

Title: Wither
Series: Chemical Garden ⋯ Book 1
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Pages: 358
Format: Hardcover


Summary: Obviously, something went terribly wrong. Genetic mutations have festered, reducing human longevity to twenty-five, even less for most women. To prevent extinction, young girls are kidnapped, mated in polygamous marriages with men eager to procreate. Sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery, a recent victim of this breeding farm mentality, has vowed to break loose from its fetters; but finding allies and a safe way out is a challenge she can only hope she will survive.

Really looking forward to reading this book.

2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Alright, so Bookish is hosting the 2012 TBR(To Be Read) Pile Reading Challenge, and you can sign up here. Below is most of the info that you would find if you clicked on the sign up link.

Welcome to 2012 TBR PILE Reading Challenge!!!

We all have those books. We buy them, win them, they're gifted to us...Then we put them up on a bookshelf and there they stay, collecting dust, waiting for the time when we'll finally decide to pick them up...

Join us on a quest to dust off your TBR Pile and read all the books you've been telling yourself you'll read next time you'll get a chance.. This is your chance! And we've got PRIZES!!! :D

Levels:

1-10 - A Firm Handshake

11-20 - A Friendly Hug

21-30 - A Sweet Kiss

41-50 - Married With Children

31-40 - Love At First Sight

Hosts:

Evie from Bookish - http://www.evie-bookish.blogspot.com @SeoEvie

Nicole from All I Ever Read - http://www.nicoleabouttown.com/ @Nicoleabouttown

Bonnie from Hands and Home - http://www.handsandhome.ca/ @HandsHomeBlog

Caitlin from WatchYA Reading - http://whatchyareading.net @caitlingss

Donna from Book Passion For Life - http://bookpassionforlife.blogspot.com/ @BookPforLife 

Rie from Mission To Read - http://missiontoread.com/ @missiontoread

Vicky from Books, Biscuits & Tea -http://booksbiscuitsandtea.blogspot.com/ @alouetteuette 

Christa from Hooked On Books - http://christashookedonbooks.blogspot.com @ChristasBooks

Jenna from Fans Of Fiction - http://fansoffiction.blogspot.com/ @fansoffiction

Angel from Mermaids Vision - http://mermaidvision.wordpress.com @mermaidvisions

Right now, I think I'm just going to be an unofficial participant, mostly because the place to link up so I can join isn't loading for me. Maybe later, if the linky thing works I'll join for real but for now, I'm unofficial.
I'm gonna try for the A Sweet Kiss level, and the books I plan to read are:❥ Crusade by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguié❥ Evernight by Claudia Gray❥ Stargazer by Claudia Gray❥ Hourglass by Claudia Gray❥ The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan❥ The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan❥ Wuthering Bites by Sarah Gray❥ The Iron King by Julie Kagawa❥ The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa❥ The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa❥ The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa❥ Vampires: The Recent Undead edited by Paula Guran❥ Need by Carrie Jones❥ Captivate by Carrie Jones❥ Entice by Carrie Jones❥ The Frenzy by Francesca Lia Block❥ My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent❥ My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent❥ My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent❥ If I Die by Rachel Vincent❥ A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray❥ Rebel Angels by Libba Bray❥ The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray❥ Wondrous Strange by Leslie Livingston❥ Darklight by Leslie Livingston❥ Tempestuous by Leslie Livingston

Cover Combat {Week 2}

Cover Combat is where I'll put up a US cover and a foreign cover of the same book and you vote on your favorite. Most of the time it will probably US versus UK, but there may be other countries thrown in.

Last week the US and UK covers of City of Bones by Cassandra Clare battled it out and the winner was...

The US edition!! 

This week the US and UK covers of My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent!

US Edition:

UK Edition:

In My Mailbox {Week 4}

Title: Switched
Series: Trylle ⋯ Book 1
Author: Amanda Hocking
Pages: 293
Format: Advanced Readers' Edition
Release Date: January 3, 2012


Summary: When Wendy Everly was six-years-old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. It isn't until eleven years later that Wendy discovers her mother might have been right. With the help of Finn Holmes, Wendy finds herself in a world she never knew existed - a world both beautiful and frightening, and Wendy's not sure she wants to be a part of it.

I received this book Tuesday, and I have already finished it. I loved it, and will be posting a full review soon.

Title: Ciudad de hueso (City of Bones)
Series: Cazadores De Sombras (The Mortal Instruments) ⋯ Book 1
Author: Cassandra Clare
Pages: 505
Format: Paperback


Summary: En el Pandemonium, la discoteca de moda de Nueva York, Clary sigue a un atractivo chico de pelo azul hasta que presencia su muerte a manos de tres jóvenes cubiertos de extraños tatuajes. Desde esa noche, su destino se une al de esos tres cazadores de sombras, guerreros dedicados a liberar a la tierra de demonios y, sobre todo, al de Jace, un chico con aspecto de ángel y tendencia a actuar como un idiota. (When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare’s ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.*) 

I ordered this because I'm learning Spanish and figured reading my favorite book in Spanish might help. My review of City of Bones is here. *This is the English summary, not a translation of the Spanish summary.

Title: Magic in the Mirrorstone: Tales of Fantasy

Series: Anthology

Editor: Steve Berman

Pages: 295

Format: Hardcover

Summary: In this anthology for teen readers, fifteen best-selling and acclaimed authors--including Holly Black, Cecil Castellucci, Cassandra Clare, Eugie Foster, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, and Gregory Frost--weave all-new stories filled with magic. Comic and dark, epic and entertaining, these stories will introduce readers to the new voices of Mirrorstone beside the treasured favorites of Young Adult fantasy.

Ordered this because I ordered So Fey last week, and was looking through Steve Berman's other works.

Title: The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm
Series: Anthology
Editors: Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling
Pages: 528
Format: Paperback


Summary: Faeries, or creatures like them, can be found in almost every culture the world over—benevolent and terrifying, charming and exasperating, shifting shape from country to country, story to story, and moment to moment. In The Faery Reel, acclaimed anthologists Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling have asked some of today’s finest writers of fantastic fiction for short stories and poems that draw on the great wealth of world faery lore and classic faery literature. This companion to the World Fantasy Award–winner and Locus bestseller The Green Man is edgy, provocative, and thoroughly magical. Like the faeries themselves.

Ordered this because I read Teeth: Vampire Tales, which was also edited by Ellen & Terri.


I also picked up Fury by Elizabeth Miles and Crossed by Ally Condie from Barnes & Noble over Black Friday, but they didn't come in the mail, so I decided not to included them fully in this post.