Crazy for Books is having a Blog Hop! I'm sure many of you have seen this post on other blogs, and I thought I'd take part in it as well!

You can find out more info about it by following the link HERE

The Hop runs from April 2nd to the 8th, 2010.

Here's another week of In My Mailbox. This marks week 17 of a peek into the various books that I've picked up, ordered or had arrive on my doorstep for review. It's hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. Thanks again for hosting it Kristi! So here's what I got this week.....

Since I didn't post one of these last week... I'm combining it in with this weeks books. So here goes....

For Review:

By: P.C Cast - The Partholon Series - These are from the UK. Look at the pretty UK covers!
(but not from P.C. Cast)

Divine by Mistake (Partholon, #1)

Elphame's Choice (Partholon, #2)

Brighid's Quest (Partholon, #3)

Divine by Choice (Partholon, #4)

Divine by Blood (Partholon, #5)

Purchased from Amazon or the publisher directly:

Seers of Light By: Jennifer DeLucy

Silver Borne By: Patricia Briggs

The Clearing By: Heather Davis

Taken By Storm By: Angela Morrison

Love is Hell By: Scott Westerfeld & Others

Look Both Ways (The Midnight Twins Book 2) By: Jacquelyn Mitchard

Thirteen Days to Midnight By: Patrick Carman

Sorry that I didn't post an IMM last week. I really didn't get many books and was busy, so I'm combining both weeks. I'm sure I'm missing a book or two, but eh... oh well. I had a great week this week. My TBR pile is just out of control crazy! So, what did you guys all get this week? Great stuff I hope. Happy Easter, Spring Break and Weekend to everyone... oh and Happy Reading!

With the help of Random.org three winners have been picked for my Numbers contest! I've emailed you all, so please be sure to check your Junk mail folders for the email.

The winners are........

Brittany J.

Travis P.

Erin D.

I have the mailing addresses for 2 of the 3 winners and since this is being shipped from a third party, I need you to read the email I sent to you. The one who didn't give me your address I need to hear back from you within 72 hours or I'll have to choose another winner.

Thanks to all who entered and don't forget about my other contest that's still running for a chance to win an ARC copy of Perchance to Dream. It ends on 4/19. Follow this link to Enter!

Title: Sweethearts
Author: Sara Zarr
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 224 Pages (January 1, 2009)
From: Borders

Synopsis: As children, Jennifer Harris and Cameron Quick were both social outcasts. They were also one another's only friend. So when Cameron disappears without warning, Jennifer thinks she's lost the only person who will ever understand her. Now in high school, Jennifer has been transformed. Known as Jenna, she's popular, happy, and dating, everything "Jennifer" couldn't be---but she still can't shake the memory of her long-lost friend.

When Cameron suddenly reappears, they are both confronted with memories of their shared past and the drastically different paths their lives have taken.

From the National Book Award nominated author of Story of a Girl, Sweethearts is a story about the power of memory, the bond of friendship, and the quiet resilience of our childhood hearts.

Review: 3.5 Stars - While reading this book I didn’t know what to feel. I was confused throughout and maybe that was partially from the fact that our main character Jennifer – now Jenna was confused and troubled from beginning to almost the end.

We see her and her best friend Cameron at nine years old struggling with bullies and their home lives. It was hard to see both struggle, but the bond they had just was something that people are lucky to find once in a lifetime. When Cameron moves away she’s left alone to fend for herself. She’s told some tragic news and her life becomes even more depressing. I felt that even at that young age Cameron and Jennifer were somewhat of soul mates and they needed each other more then even their parents understood.

A few years later Jennifer’s mother gets married and they move. She takes this time to reinvent herself. She changes everything about her, even her name to Jenna to make sure she never has to live the way she did during her grade school years, but Cameron is always there in her memories.

Now in high school she has great friends, a boyfriend, and lives in a nice house. Everything she could ever want. No matter how much she changes in others eyes, she can’t keep herself but thinking about that little 9 year old boy, Cameron and just what that friendship meant to her, what he meant to her. He was really the only person in the world who knew, understood and loved her for who she was inside and out.

On her 17th birthday Jenna always remembers back to that birthday she can’t soon forget, one that would forever change her and Cameron for the rest of their lives. Later that night she shocked to find a note from Cameron, whom she hasn’t seen or talked to since they were 9.

The majority of this story is told in present day showing her feelings for her mom, step dad, friends, boyfriend and Cameron with flash backs to grade school and that birthday that changed everything. We see Jenna struggle to cope and figure out whom she is more so then who she’s transformed herself into.

This was a story that was layered by the relationship past and present between Jennifer/Jenna and Cameron and the fall out of the bullies and events from so long ago. Jenna has changed but she’s still the damaged person from the past and with Cameron there she’s bound to have to face some truths.

I haven’t read anything by Zarr before and I can say that I’m sure to pick something up by this author again. It was well written with unforgettable characters. If you haven’t read this book yet and are looking for something non paranormal… since I know many of us tend to read more of that these days, then you should look into this book. Enjoy!

FTC Disclaimer: I DID pay for this book and have NOT been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this review.

Title: Shade
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready
Publisher: Simon Pulse, 320 Pages (May 4th 2010)
From: Author/Publisher - Thanks Jeri and Simon Pulse!

Synopsis: When her boyfriend dies a most untimely death, Aura--who can see ghosts--is forced to reconsider her relationship with the living and dead in SHADE.

Review: 5 Stars - I’ve been trying to write this review for a couple days now and the words just don’t want to come to me. Not because this book was bad, it was far from it. It was amazing. It’s not often that I find a book that I love a much as this one – examples of books that fall in this same category for me would be Shiver, The Twilight Saga and handful of other books out there.

From the dark, beautiful and mysterious cover to the fact that anyone born post Shift can see and talk to ghosts…. To our main characters, Aura, Logan and Zachary everything just flowed and fit together like every great story should.

When Aura’s boyfriend Logan dies it’s hard not to feel for both of them as the emotions of what their each going through almost jump off the page. Seeing him come back as a ghost was a different kind of pain that only any post Shift born would understand. She’s a strong character with a strong voice, and watching her struggle and deal with the aftermath of Logan’s death was tough with all those emotions that come through on each page. My heart ached for her and Logan often throughout the story and I’m sure anyone who loved or will fall in love with this book as I have will understand.

Then we have Zachary, the new student at school who just moved from Scotland who is patient and kind and helps to take Aura’s mind off of things for a while. During their time together working on a school project about Megaliths, she’s able to find some peace from how painful life has become since Logan’s death. With this project, Aura is secretly trying to solve a mystery of just how or what or even who might have created the Shift in the first place. All she knows is that there has to be a reason and won’t stop until she finds the answers she’s looking for.

See, that’s where the mystery part of the story comes in. No one knows how it happened or why it happened, just that one day the world was normal and then the next POOF anyone born after said date and time can see and talk to Ghosts.

With a Ghost of the person you love the most trying to deal with his death at the same time you are, Aura was bound to have mixed emotions over Logan and Zachary. Which then finds them in the never prefect, often heartbreaking Love triangle. It was hard to pick or choose who Aura should end up with since I loved both boys… well as equally as you can love them both when ones a ghost.

The end left us with a HUGE cliffhanger on many different levels, and left me asking more questions. I had a feeling there was one around the corner since there was still so much to learn about when it comes to our characters and then I mean the Shift itself, but those last couple lines in the book… WOW, huge! For me even a little bit epic. I mean yeah, I loved this book THAT much.

Smith-Ready has made a fan out of me, I can’t wait to read her other books and then see what happens in this series from her when the sequel – Shift comes out…. But that’s not until May 2011. I have a long time to wait and wonder where she’ll lead us next in her characters lives. Now, I have to say that if this was one of those books for you that has caught your eye, don’t pass it up when it hits the bookshelves in May. I think after many read there will be much more love of this series found, looking forward to hearing what you guys all think, Happy Reading.

Keep an eye out here for a interview with the author and a give away!

FTC Disclaimer: I did not pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this review.