Letterbox Love #1

Letterbox Love is hosted by Narritvely Speaking, and gives UK bloggers a chance to share & talk about what has arrived in our post boxes, virtual inboxes and what we have bought.  Here's mine for this week:

Hidden by Marianne Curley, Publishes March 2013 from Bloomsbury.

First off, this is a new author to me.  This is the first book in the Avena series and looks set to be an epic story of eternal love.

When I received this I was very moved as I read the letter from the author as she explains her 7 year absence from writing – not caused by writer’s block, but caused by her fight against bone marrow cancer.   Like many, I have had those close to me both survive and loose their battle over cancer, and I have great respect for those who have had to fight that battle.

Hidden - Ebony has always known that she is different. Her violet eyes mark her out, and her protective parents have kept her in a gorgeous valley, home-schooled, safe from everything - almost as if she's being hidden. But she's changing: glowing, getting more and more beautiful, and stronger than anyone knows. Ebony can't stay hidden for ever, and when she meets complicated, intense Jordan, something explodes inside her - something that can be seen from the heavens; something that changes everything. Ebony is a stolen angel, concealed on Earth. Now the heavens have found her, they want her back.

Fuse by Julianna Baggott, Publishes February 2013 from Headline

Really looking forward to reading this, which is the follow up to Pure and the second in the dystopian trilogy.  I know this is the ARC/review copy…but I really detest the cover, which is a murky grey with embossed title and author credit in the same colour which makes it hard to see…but don’t sweat it; as it’ll no doubt change on release if the cover of Pure is anything to go by :)

Fuse - After a young Wretch is abducted by the Dome and "cleansed" of her fusings and imperfections, she is only able to repeat the Dome's latest message: "We want our son returned. This girl is proof that we can save you all. If you ignore our plea, we will kill our hostages one at a time." Willux will go to any lengths to get his son Partridge back, including murder. Partridge sacrifices himself and returns, in the hope of taking over the Dome from within, only to uncover more of his father's chilling, dark secrets. Outside the Dome, Pressia, Bradwell, and El Capitan are decoding the secrets from the past - tucked away in one of the Black Boxes - to uncover the truth that might set the wretches free of their fusings forever. Those fighting Willux will be pushed over boundaries, both land and sea, heart and mind, in their quest - further than they ever imagined.

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, published August 2012 from Headline

The lovely Sam over at Headline decided to help Santa for a day and here’s my pressie from her, thank you :)

The Snow Child has left readers spellbound.  A bewitching tale of heartbreak and hope set in 1920s Alaska, The Snow Child was a bestseller on hardback publication, and went on to establish itself as one of the key literary debuts of 2012, and was a Richard and Judy Bookclub pick. Alaska, the 1920s. Jack and Mabel have staked everything on a fresh start in a remote homestead, but the wilderness is a stark place, and Mabel is haunted by the baby she lost many years before. When a little girl appears mysteriously on their land, each is filled with wonder, but also foreboding: is she what she seems, and can they find room in their hearts for her? Written with the clarity and vividness of the Russian fairy tale from which it takes its inspiration, The Snow Child is an instant classic.

Finn at Clee Point by Richard Knight from Barefoot Books

I thought the cover on this would attract our eldest reader, sadly I was wrong…we are currently reading this but his first impressions of the illustrations aren’t uplifting although he seems to be enjoying the storyline.

Finn's whole village is buzzing about the school fishing competition, and ten-year-old Finn is determined to win. But when he goes out to Clee Point to set his lines and befriends the Finer family, he learns a difficult lesson about loyalty, friendship and long-hidden secrets. Set at Spurn Point, on the River Humber, this coming-of-age story vividly evokes life in a small fishing community in the 1930s.

The Feathered Ogre by Fran Parnell from Barefoot Books

The cover on this looks quite quirky.  Even though it says its for early readers I was very surprised by the content as there are more sentences and longer words than what I’d have thought of for an early reader book…I read this to our youngest although he did try to read it, he was getting to frustrated with it as it’s a jump from the Oxford Learning Tree books we are currently using. A rendition of “Row Row Row Your Boat” burst forth from our youngest once we’d finished, which was really sweet.  Review to follow.

This Italian tale tells how Pírolo, the King’s youngest gardener, sets out on an impossible quest which frightens even the bravest of the King’s knights. Can he steal a magic feather from the back of the terrifying feathered ogre who eats tasty boys and girls for his supper?

Bought - Matched by Ally Condie.