Mailbox Monday - 4/5

 Mailbox Monday can be found at: The Printed Page

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists. 

Again this week my vow to acquire less books went down the drain.  I feel like at paperbackswap.com I always get a whole bunch of wishes granted over a couple weeks and then nothing for a bit.

Anyway I got the following books through paperbackswap.com: "The Amaranth Enchantment" by Julie Berry, "Monster Hunter International" by Larry Correia, and "Midnight's Daughter" by Karen Chance.

Then I got two more books through the Amazon Vine program.  Those were: "Perchance to Dream" by Lisa Mantchev, and "The Boneshaker" by Kate Milford.

Then I got a couple of books from author Jim Bernheimer.  Those two were "Horror, Humor, and Heroes" and "Dead Eye: Pennies for the Ferryman".  I just finished "Horror, Humor, and Heroes" and really enjoyed it.  It was a fun and well-written collection of short-stories.  Thanks to Jim for sending these out.  I plan to do an interview and giveaway with his books as soon as I finish reading the second one.

Lastly I got two books from the Library: "Succubus Shadows" by Richelle Mead and Incarceron by Catherine Fisher.

Definitely a great bunch of books.   I look forward to reading them all :-)

I should also mention I finally purchased a Kindle.  Soooo....that will be an interesting shift for me.

Hope that you all got great books too and have a great week of reading!

The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry
  
First Sentence: "I sit on a velvet stool at Mama's feet, watching her brush her hair."
From Amazon.com:"When Lucinda Chapdelaine was a small child, her parents left for the royal ball and never returned. Ever since, Lucinda has been stuck in perpetual servitude at her evil aunt’s jewelry store. Then, on the very same day, a mysterious visitor and an even more bizarre piece of jewelry both enter the shop, setting in motion a string of twists and turns that will forever alter Lucinda’s path. In this magical story filled with delightful surprises, Lucinda will dance at the royal ball, fall under the Amaranth Witch’s spell, avenge her parents’ death, and maybe—just maybe—capture the heart of a prince."

Perchance to Dream (Theatre Illuminata, Book 2) by Lisa Mantchev
  
First Sentence: "It is a truth universally acknowledged," Mustardseed said, flying in lazy loops like an intoxicated bumblebee, "that a fairy in possession of a good appetite must be in want of pie."
From Amazon.com:"We are such stuff as dreams are made on.
Act Two, Scene One
Growing up in the enchanted Thèâtre Illuminata, Beatrice Shakespeare Smith learned everything about every play ever written. She knew the Players and their parts, but she didn’t know that she, too, had magic. Now, she is the Mistress of Revels, the Teller of Tales, and determined to follow her stars. She is ready for the outside world.
Enter BERTIE AND COMPANY
But the outside world soon proves more topsy-turvy than any stage production. Bertie can make things happen by writing them, but outside the protective walls of the Thèâtre, nothing goes as planned. And her magic cannot help her make a decision between—
 Nate: Her suave and swashbuckling pirate, now in mortal peril.
 Ariel: A brooding, yet seductive, air spirit whose true motives remain unclear.
When Nate is kidnapped and taken prisoner by the Sea Goddess, only Bertie can free him. She and her fairy sidekicks embark on a journey aboard the Thèâtre’s caravan, using Bertie’s word magic to guide them. Along the way, they collect a sneak-thief, who has in his possession something most valuable, and meet The Mysterious Stranger, Bertie’s father—and the creator of the scrimshaw medallion. Bertie’s dreams are haunted by Nate, whose love for Bertie is keeping him alive, but in the daytime, it’s Ariel who is tantalizingly close, and the one she is falling for. Who does Bertie love the most? And will her magic be powerful enough to save her once she enters the Sea Goddess’s lair?"

Horror, Humor, and Heroes by Jim Bernheimer
 
First Sentence: "Nal was a lean, fast, brown hunter."
From Amazon.com: "Horror, Humor, and Heroes is a collection of twelve short stories, one novella, and a preview for my next novel that should contain enough variety to entertain you readers. Sample some of my finest offerings, such as - a guardian wolf fearing the coming of man, a producer willing to do anything to bring the first pay per view live werewolf hunt to the world, a zombie running for congress, a vampire trying to get his life insurance company to pay up, a six year old girl, who makes a cookie people will do anything for, the story of the first child born on the Moon, or a draftee in a war against science gone awry. This collection includes the novella, Confessions of a D-List Supervillain. It is one of my favorite endeavors and anyone who has ever cracked open a comic book will appreciate this story about a down on his luck bad guy forced into the reluctant role of world savior. Also inside is a preview of my forthcoming series Battle Maidens."


Dead Eye: Pennies for the Ferryman by Jim Bernheimer
 
First Sentence: "I volunteered for Mr. Bush's war."
From Amazon.com:"My name is Mike Ross. I'm a Ferryman. I help people with ghost problems, or ghosts with people problems. Funny thing, no one ever helps me with my problems. Civil War ghosts bent on killing me, Skinwalkers who just want my body, and a vindictive spirit linked both to my bloodline and my destiny... It turns out the dead still hold a good deal of influence over the world, and they don't want to give it up. I'm in way over my head. Fortunately, I'm too stubborn to quit."

Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia
 
First Sentence: "On one otherwise normal Tuesday evening I had the chance to live the American dream.  I was able to throw my incopmetent jackass of a boss from a fourteenth-story window."
From Amazon.com: "Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a fourteenth story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer.
            It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Officially secret, some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. On the other side are the people who kill monsters for a living. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.
            It’s actually a pretty sweet gig, except for one little problem. An ancient entity known as the Cursed One has returned to settle a centuries old vendetta. Should the Cursed One succeed, it means the end of the world, and MHI is the only thing standing in his way. With the clock ticking towards Armageddon, Owen finds himself trapped between legions of undead minions, belligerent federal agents, a cryptic ghost who has taken up residence inside his head, and the cursed family of the woman he loves.
            Business is good . . .
            Welcome to Monster Hunter International."


Midnight's Daughter (Dorina Basarab, Book 1) by Karen Chance
 
First Sentence: "My least favorite dead guy had his feet up on my desk."
From Amazon.com: "Dorina Basarab is a dhampir—half-human, half-vampire. Unlike most dhampirs, though, Dory has managed to maintain her sanity. Now Dory’s vampire father has come to her for help— again. Her Uncle Dracula (yes, the Dracula), cruelest among vampires, has escaped his prison. And her father wants Dory to work with gorgeous master vampire Louis-Cesare to put him back there.

Although Dory prefers to work alone, Dracula is the only thing that truly scares her—and when she has to face him, she’ll take all the help she can get…"


Boneshaker by Kate Milford

First Sentence: "Strange things can happen at crossroads."
From Amazon.com: "Thirteen-year-old Natalie Minks loves machines, particularly automata—self-operating mechanical devices, usually powered by clockwork. When Jake Limberleg and his traveling medicine show arrive in her small Missouri town with a mysterious vehicle under a tarp and an uncanny ability to make Natalie’s half-built automaton move, she feels in her gut that something about this caravan of healers is a bit off. Her uneasiness leads her to investigate the intricate maze of the medicine show, where she discovers a horrible truth and realizes that only she has the power to set things right.

Set in 1914, The Boneshaker is a gripping, richly textured novel about family, community, courage, and looking evil directly in the face in order to conquer it."

From Library:

Succubus Shadows (Geordina Kincaid, Book 5) by Richelle Mead

First Sentence: "I was drunk."
From Amazon.com: "Georgina Kincaid has formidable powers. Immortality, seduction, shape-shifting into any human form she desires, walking in heels that would cripple mere mortals--all child's play to a succubus like her.
Helping to plan her ex-boyfriend's wedding is a different story. Georgina isn't sure which is worse--that Seth is marrying another woman, or that Georgina has to run all over Seattle trying on bridesmaid dresses. Still, there are distractions. Georgina's roommate, Roman, is cluttering her apartment with sexual tension. Then there's Simone, the new succubus in town, who's intent on corrupting Seth.
But the real danger lies in the mysterious force that's visiting her thoughts, trying to draw her into a dark, otherworldly realm. Sooner or later, Georgina knows she'll be too weak to resist. And when that happens, she'll discover who she can trust, who she can't--and that Hell is far from the worst place to spend eternity."

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
 
First Sentence: "Finn had been flung on his face and chained to the stone slabs of the transitway."
From Amazon.com: "Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells, but also metal forests, dilapidated cities, and vast wilderness. Finn, a seventeen-year-old prisoner, has no memory of his childhood and is sure that he came from Outside Incarceron. Very few prisoners believe that there is an Outside, however, which makes escape seems impossible. And then Finn finds a crystal key that allows him to communicate with a girl named Claudia. She claims to live Outside- she is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, and doomed to an arranged marriage. Finn is determined to escape the prison, and Claudia believes she can help him. But they don't realize that there is more to Incarceron than meets the eye. Escape will take their greatest courage and cost more than they know."