In My Mailbox 34

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren and inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie.

Borrowed

The Dark Mystery of the Shadow Beasts by Gregory Janicke

Pub. date: June 2004

On planet Dulunae, a unique group of teenagers manage to escape from the ruthless dictator, CH'NOPS, and his brutal army of Antibodies. Together, Gyro, Marina, Lynai'seth and Jax form a group called The Outcasts and scout for safety from the Antibodies. Coming from different cultures and customs, each of The Outcasts faces the challenge of overcoming and understanding these differences as they struggle to survive the barbaric conditions into which they are thrown. The Outcasts also set out to search for the place that promises freedom and peace - a place called HayVen. On their journey, they discover even greater dangers and encounter the monstrous creature and killer - Shadow Beast.

I picked this up at the library while I was waiting for House of Dark Shadows to come in. It was short, sounded kind of interesting, but couldn't grab my attention enough for me to get through the first page. Needless to say, I'll be sending it back first chance I get.

House of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo

Pub. date: May 2008

When the Kings move from L.A. to a secluded small town, fifteen-year-old Xander is beyond disappointed. He and his friends loved to create amateur films . . . but the tiny town of Pinedale is the last place a movie buff and future filmmaker wants to land.

But he, David, and Toria are captivated by the many rooms in the old Victorian fixer-upper they moved into--as well as the heavy woods surrounding the house.

They soon discover there's something odd about the house. Sounds come from the wrong directions. Prints of giant, bare feet appear in the dust. And when David tries to hide in the linen closet, he winds up in locker 119 at his new school.

Then the really weird stuff kicks in: they find a hidden hallway with portals leading off to far-off places--in long-ago times. Xander is starting to wonder if this kind of travel is a teen's dream come true . . . or his worst nightmare.

I put this on hold at the library a while ago, and it finally came in a few days ago! Yay! I'm only a few chapters in (8 or 9, I think), and so far it's good, and creepy! I don't usually read scary stories, so this will be a nice change of pace (and maybe even a good warm-up for The Forest of Hands and Teeth, which I've been putting off reading for a long time).

That's all I got this week.

Eclectically yours,

Wish List Wednesday 23

What?

Dead Is Just a Rumor

by Marlene Perez

In My Mailbox 33, Birthday Edition!

In My Mailbox was started by The Story Siren and inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie.

I meant to post this a while ago, but I was having problems adding the pictures, then deleting them when I realized I was trying to put too many pictures of the same thing.

Gift

Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter

Pub. date: June 2010

"When Cammie Morgan enrolled at the Gallagher Academy, she knew she was preparing for the dangerous life of a spy. What she didn’t know was that the serious, real-life danger would start during her junior year of high school. But that’s exactly what happened two months ago when Cammie faced off against an ancient terrorist organization dead set on kidnapping her.

Now the danger follows her everywhere, and even Cammie “The Chameleon” can’t hide. When a terrifying encounter in London reveals that one of her most-trusted allies is actually a rogue double-agent, Cammie no longer knows if she can trust her classmates, her teachers—or even her own heart.
In this fourth installment of the New York Times best-selling series, the Gallagher Girls must hack, spy, steal, and lie their way to the truth.as they go searching for answers, recognizing that the key to Cammie’s future may lie deep in the past."

I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS BOOK!!! I LOVED Don't a Girl by Her Cover, and have been dying to read GG4 since I finished GG3! This series just gets better and better, so this one is sure to be AMAZING! BIG HUGE THANKS to my parents for getting it for me! Love you guys! ^_^

Okay, hyper fan-girl moment over.

This was actually the only book I asked for. I'm not that big on books as gifts (for myself, at least), because I hate hating gifts and sometimes books aren't as good as they sound. Anyone else like that, or am I the only person that will turn down a chance at getting books?

Anyway, onto the cake!

This year, I had a lot of trouble coming up with a theme. I wanted to go with another favorite book or show like I did last year and the year before, but I couldn't think of anything that would work. I started planning in February, and didn't have a design until the last week or two of July. Finally, I came up with...

The Alice in Wonderland inspired tea party cake!

It was really easy to make, and I'm very pleased with how it turned out. It actually looked better than I thought it would!

As usual, I have to thank Zombie Girrrl for helping me decorate it. Honestly, my cakes would be lame without her help!

Clock face cake.

More clock face (ZG drew the hands, much better than I could have)

Clock face with teacupcake and candles (with a bit of mushroom cupcake tower on the right).

Clock face with teacupcake.

Teacupcakes.

Only the Good Spy Young with cake (I love that the colors of the party and the book match!).

I had a great birthday! I'm really looking forward to reading Only the Good Spy Young, and I love all my other gifts! The cake turned out great, it couldn't have been better! ^_^

Eclectically yours,

I'm Now On...

Twitter and Goodreads!

Just joined Goodreads the other day, and Twitter yesterday. You can check them out here and here (or read my tweets on the right sidebar). I haven't really got the hang of Twitter yet (like all the tags... and what to post), but so far I'm loving Goodreads! I'm so glad I was able to import my books from Shelfari, it would have taken forever to add them all manually. Now all I have to do is find a few groups to join (never fun when you're new to a site. Any suggestions, fellow Goodreaders?).

Well, guess that's all for now.

Eclectically yours,

Thirteenth Chime Cover Re-Make Contest

I know I said I wouldn't be posting until Monday or Tuesday, but I had to enter the Thirteenth Chime cover re-make contest hosted by Khadija of Black Fingernailed Reviews. The Thirteenth Chime by Emma Michaels sounds really good, and as soon as I heard about the contest, I had an idea for a cover (at least, I knew of a clock image to use and that I would add in a hand, the rest took a little more time to work out).

Check out Khadija's blog to learn more about the contest.
Official cover.

My cover.

Eclectically yours,