Letterbox Love #1

'Letterbox Love' is a new meme created by a group of UK book bloggers and hosted by Lynsey at Narratively Speaking. It's a way to share the books you've got through the post each week, aimed more at British bloggers.

I got one book this week, which is actually quite a good thing because I've put all my partially-read and to-be-read books on one shelf, and there are quite a lot of them! I'm trying to get through some of them before the next adventure, which is approaching fast.

The book I got this week was a review copy of 'Divinely Ruined' by Diane Alberts. Diane will be stopping by on the 24th May as part of her blog tour, and doing an interview and giveaway.

Published April 26th by Entangled Publishing, you can learn more about it at Goodreads.

Thanks Entangled!

What books did you get this week? Leave your links in the comments and I'll check them out :-)

~Ailsa

Mini Review: The Luxe, by Anna Godbersen

Title: The Luxe
Author: Anna Godbersen
Publisher: Penguin (UK)/Harper Collins (US)
Release date: 2008
Genre: YA historical
Source: BookMooch

Description (from back cover): Imagine, if you will, New York City, 1899... 
Society's elite: the glamour, the grandeur, the glittering parties, the most handsome beaux, the most beautiful debutantes... the rich girl, the humble boy, the forbidden love, the stolen glances, the whispers, the scandal, the mystery, the revenge. 
You are cordially invited to step into The Luxe, where the secrets are dark and the sins are delicious... 

My thoughts: A sort of turn of the century Gossip Girl, 'The Luxe' introduces us to a cast of young men and women coming of age in 1899 Manhattan. Beginning with a newspaper obituary and then the start of a funeral for one miss Diana, readers get a quick who's who of the young elite. It was a bit of an info-dump, but it made it very easy to flick back and forth later and find out more about characters from their names. The story then jumps back a few weeks, to where Diana is alive. I enjoyed reading about the pretty dresses and fancy parties - I'm still a girly-girl at heart ;-) Of course behind the parties there are other problems and a lot of rivalries. The story gets to that part quickly, and I was keen to find out what happened to cause the funeral just a few weeks later.
There were a few pages where I skipped forward because it was clear what was happening and I wanted to get to the good bits. I thought it was a good story overall, and I would like to read the sequel when I can get hold of it.
 6/10

~Ailsa

Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe by Shelley Coriell

Also posted on my blog. 

We need her. 

When you've been out in an ocean, stung by jellyfish, battered by waves, and circled by sharks in frosty pink lipstick, you grab the first life preserver tossed your way.

We need her. 

I faced every member of KDRS radio staff. I wasn't naked. I wasn't alone. And according to Duncan, I was needed.

Before school let out for winter break, Chloe was on top of the world. She and her two best friends were inseparable--and ultra popular--and she'd been crowned Mistletoe Ball Queen. Her Junior Independent Study Project (JISP) had been approved on the lives of soap opera villenesses and she could always make her friends laugh. But then, for no apparent reason, everything completely falls apart. Her best friends hate her and start spreading vicious lies through the school, the old guidance counselor retires and the new one un-approves Chloe's JISP, and her beloved Grams starts to succumb to her Parkinsons disease. Desperate for a new JISP--because it's the only problem she seems able to fix--Chloe ends up at the school-run radio station, KDRS. The only problem? No one wants her there. These kids, all outsiders of the school's social order, have formed their own little family and newcomers aren't exactly welcomed with open arms. But Chloe doesn't have any other options and the KDRS kids can't say no. The only one who doesn't seem to hate her is the radio's fix-it guy Duncan who is incredibly cute, but about as taciturn as Chloe is talkative. Can Chloe work her magic and put all the pieces of her life back together or do some things that break stay broken forever?

Before I start, I'm just going to say I love this cover. Is it the best cover ever designed? No, but it fits the book perfectly. The designers paid attention to things like the color of the main character's hair and her love of vintage fashion and added those details into this layout. It's colorful, glittery, and totally Chloe. Kudos to the team behind this. When I get published, I hope I have a team who really gets my book and can pull together a cover just as representative of the story. Now, for the actual contents...

Well, I loved those too! The characters were all unique with easy to differentiate voices and I found myself smiling a lot as I read. Shelley did a great job working in a lot of common high-school-age issues without treating them in the same way. Chloe is lambasted by her ex-best friends, but never seeks vengeance. She also doesn't go out looking to get her popularity back. Because of who she is, though, it comes anyway. The love interest between Chloe and Duncan is adorable and develops naturally. Throughout the book you see Chloe not only coming out of her comfort zone, but helping pull others out of theirs. She's funny, outgoing, intelligent, and kind. She may end up being a trifle self-absorbed at times, but, honestly, who isn't? Overall, I found her and the rest of the cast delightful and the book was a quick, fun read.


In the end, I was only left with a couple of questions: 1) What is Clem's story? The girl who runs the radio station is prickly as hell, but we never really get any background on her. 2) The shoes Chloe is always talking about sound expensive! Where in the world is she getting the money for those? How much does her side job as a promo girl at a Mexican restaurant pay exactly? Still, if those were the only biting, unanswered questions left at the end of the book, I have to say the author did a bang-up job of tying the loose ends together. I can't tell for sure, but I feel as though there might be a sequel buried in these characters. Maybe with Chloe taking the lead again, maybe not. All I know is I wouldn't mind taking a trip back into Chloe's universe one day.

Sera's Rating: 10/10

Almost by Anne Elliot

Cross posted from my blog.

Almost. Almost.

How I hate that word and the way it defines me.

Almost raped. Almost over it. Almost normal.

I can almost forget. Way worse, I can almost remember.

I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. Even though everyone says it wasn't my fault, I feel responsible. How can this messed up life not be partly my deal? I did wrong. I broke all the rules that night. And I'm paying the consequences for my 'bad choices' in this endless time-out. Nightmare. Punishment. Endless time-out.

It's been three years and Jess Jordan still isn't over something that technically didn't happen. She barely even remembers that night, but what she does remember is just enough to give her nightmares every time she falls asleep in the dark. Her solution? Don't sleep at night. Instead, she uses her Jeep to catch catnaps whenever she has some spare time. The silence in the house at night helps convince her parents everything is getting back to "normal," but they're not ready to let her move out at the end of her senior year unless she can prove it. Her sister's solution? Get a job, get some friends, get a boyfriend. So that's what Jess is trying to do--land an internship at the headquarters of Geekstuff.com. The only problem? She's not the only one they're considering.

Three years ago, Gray Porter promised Jess Jordan's parents he'd stay away from her even though that's the last thing he wants to do. Come senior year, though, he is getting a little desperate for money since his chances at a hockey scholarship are out the window. When he hears Geekstuff.com is going to pay their intern $8,000 for a few weeks work, he's determined that intern is going to be him... until he realizes Jess Jordan is the only other candidate left. He's been keeping a secret that's been slowly eating away at him for a long time and Jess is at the heart of it.

It's the last thing she expected when she arrived for the second interview, but when Jess goes home that day she has everything her sister thought she needed to qualify as a "normal" teen: a job, friends, and a boyfriend. So what if she had to offer to work for free just to get the job? So what if her new friends just happened to come with her boyfriend? And so what if her boyfriend--her very cute boyfriend--only agreed because she's paying him $8,000 to play the part for a few weeks? It still counts, right? But Jess doesn't know she's spending time with the one person outside her family who knows what keeps her up at night. What will she do if hearing his voice every day starts to bring back the memory of that night so long ago? Do they even stand a chance or will their relationship me one more almost to add to her list?

That summary was a lot longer than I usually do, but the story is complicated. This is partially because it's told from both perspectives: Jess and Gray. I loved that. I always want to know what the characters are thinking and this format allows us to see exactly that. There were a lot of adorable moments between Jess and Gray, but I think the strongest part of this book is that it revolves around an "almost." A lot of people forget that even something that almost happened can destroy a life; almost getting raped definitely falls into that category.

Honestly, I enjoyed reading this and would recommend it to pretty much anyone who like contemporary YA. Despite the subject matter, there's actually little to no cursing, sex, violence, or any other graphic material, so even giving it to younger readers as a conversation starter would probably be okay. My only complaints? 1) At times Gray came off a tiny (tiny) bit girlish, especially in the wording when he started gushing over Jess, and 2) through the beginning of the book I sometimes felt Jess' reactions and her level of trauma were a tad overblown... until she finally remembered what happened. Then, I realized, not so much. I'm not sure if this reaction is because I haven't suffered through something like this and can't relate or because that actual horror of the circumstances don't come through until the night finally comes back to her... Overall I thought Anne's story and her characters were strong. She's got a new book coming out soon and I'll definitely be buying it when it hits Amazon!

Sera's Rating: 9/10

Flash giveaway: Rules of Attraction, by Simone Elkeles

I'm clearing through my bookshelves again, trying to make space for all the shiny new ones I just brought home from uni. So, it's giveaway time!

Rules of Attraction, by Simone Elkeles (review here). 

To win, just leave me a comment on this post. Giveaway is open from now until midnight Tuesday (8th May). UK only, must be a follower, either on GFC or by email. 

~Ailsa

A little more British

Being a British book blogger, I'm quite interested in bringing some more British feeling to the blog. You'll have noticed that most of the time, it's the UK cover of a book that I post alongside my reviews, and I'm participating in the 'British Books Challenge' this year to read & review 12 books by British authors. At The Overflowing Library, Kirsty & some of her fellow bloggers have come up with a new feature to share new books we've received, which will be called 'Letterbox Love'. You see, we don't have 'mailboxes' or even 'mail' here - instead, it's post, which is delivered to a postbox or letterbox.
I think this sounds like a fun feature, something a little more British. You can read the post about it on The Overflowing Library here.

I don't have any new books this week to participate, but in future, you can expect to see my Letterbox Love posts sometime over the weekend when I have new books to talk about!

~Ailsa

Review: Dark Parties by Sara Grant

Title: Dark Parties
Author: Sara Grant
Publisher: Indigo (UK)
Release Date: December 2011 (UK)
Genre: YA Dystopian
Source: Review copy from publisher

Description from back cover: Every tiny act of defiance adds up. Maybe this one snowflake can start an avalanche.

Neva keeps a list of The Missing - people like her grandmother who have vanished. The people that everyone else pretends never existed. In a world isolated by the Protectosphere - a dome which protects, but also imprisons - Neva and her friends dream of freedom. But a forbidden party leads to complications. Suddenly, Neva's falling for her best friend's boyfriend, uncovering secrets and lies that threaten to destroy her world - and learning the horrifying truth about what happens to The Missing. 

My thoughts: I'm not normally very interested in dystopian novels. They just don't appeal to me for a variety of reasons. But when people started talking about 'Dark Parties' by Sara Grant I thought it sounded different, and I'm very glad I gave it a shot. I was lucky enough to get a copy for review, and it kept me entertained on a couple of long journeys.

The story starts with Neva and her friend Sanna holding a 'dark party' with their friends. In a city which never really gets totally dark, they get tape and cushions to block out every scrap of light in the room. Then the girls tell everyone their real plan: they want to do something to tell their oppressive government that they don't want to listen to it any more, and they are fed up of the constant propaganda praising the protectosphere. The first hitch: Neva's father works for the government, and all their employees must be beyond reproof. Any one of the people who are in on the plan could decide to snitch on them, and of course, someone does. Neva is questioned by the police, and only just escapes.

From then on, Neva walks a narrow line between passing the government's scrutiny, and continuing to search for the truth of what's going on, and what happens to the people who go missing. Of course, falling for Sanna's boyfriend, Braydon, is not helping things, and as you can guess, that leads to problems between the two girls. Sara Grant creates a believable new future where a couple of generations after people move in to the Protectosphere, problems of inbreeding, lack of resources, and food shortages are starting to plague the population. Neva and her friends are in the middle of it, declared adults now that they're 16, and being encouraged to take up government appointed jobs and start having children. I found it a very interesting situation to read about and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book.

Some of the plot twists were very unexpected, others not so much - I guessed what might be happening to the missing women a long time before Neva figures it out, and although she's kept ignorant to many things by the government, I think it should have occurred to her sooner what was going on. In the last few chapters though I could barely stand turning the page - just as I thought things were going to be ok, something went wrong, then it got better, then something worse happened! I really wasn't sure by the end how things were going to turn out.

This was a really enjoyable page-turner, and maybe I'll be brave enough to try some more dystopians soon. With 'Dark Parties' Sara Grant takes readers to a world where one person might just be able to start a revolution against an overly controlling government whose protectiveness is out of control. Can't wait to read the next book in this series and see what happens next! 8 out of 10.

~Ailsa