Hi, everyone *Waves hands and then fans self* Is it seriously the middle of May and 90 degrees in the South Chicago Suburbs already? I have plenty to read this week from the comfort of my house with the central air conditioner running to keep me content until my son pulls me outside so he can run through the sprinklers again. (All links are to Goodreads, click the book covers to go to the Amazon.com page for the book)
First up, I downloaded Breakers by Edward W. Robertson yesterday in preparation for my post, Resources for Free Kindle Books. I got it for free yesterday on Amazon, but it’s back up to $3.99 today.
In New York, Walt Lawson is about to lose his girlfriend Vanessa. In Los Angeles, Raymond and Mia James are about to lose their house. Within days, none of it will matter.
When Vanessa dies of the flu, Walt is devastated. But she isn’t the last. The virus quickly kills billions, reducing New York to an open grave and LA to a chaotic wilderness of violence and fires. As Raymond and Mia hole up in an abandoned mansion, where they learn to function without electricity, running water, or neighbors, Walt begins an existential walk to LA, where Vanessa had planned to move when she left him. He expects to die along the way.
Months later, a massive vessel appears above Santa Monica Bay. Walt is attacked by a crablike monstrosity in a mountain stream. The virus that ended humanity wasn’t created by humans. It was inflicted from outside. The colonists who sent it are ready to finish the job–and Earth’s survivors may be too few and too weak to resist.
I normally don’t pay much attention to book covers, but this one caught my eye with the disintegrating guy and the post-apocolyptic world on one half of the picture. Interesting premise, and the reviews didn’t mention horrific grammar, so I’m giving this one a shot.
I got an Advanced Reader’s Edition of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn for my spot on TLC Book Tours’ upcoming tour for the author. 
“‘What are you thinking, Amy? The question I’ve asked most often during our marriage, if not out loud, if not to the person who could answer. I suppose these questions stormcloud over every marriage: What are you thinking? How are you feeling? Who are you? What have we done to each other? What will we do?'”
Just how well can you ever know the person you love? This is the question that Nick Dunne must ask himself on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police immediately suspect Nick. Amy’s friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn’t true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they aren’t his. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone. So what did really did happen to Nick’s beautiful wife? And what was left in that half-wrapped box left so casually on their marital bed? In this novel, marriage truly is the art of war…
I loved Gillian Flynn’s first novel,Sharp Objects, and I can’t wait to dig into this one for my tour stop on June 7, 2012.
Finally, I preordered three books that I’ve been waiting for in series that I read.
Deadlocked, the twelfth novel in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris.
With Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), in town, it’s the worst possible time for a body to show up in Eric Northman’s front yard—especially the body of a woman whose blood he just drank.
Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.
I’ve been a faithful reader of this series for a long time now, and it’s bittersweet that it’s coming to an end next year. But thirteen books is more than enough for this series, in my opinion, and it’s time for Sookie to finally settle down with someone and get her happily ever after. Hopefully this book brings us one step closer to that end, and I also hope that this next to last installment doesn’t disappoint.
City of Lost Souls (Book Five – The Mortal Instruments Series) by Cassandra Clare (I’m saving all of these books up before I start the series. Only one more to go!)
The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing–but so is the boy she hates, Sebastian, the son of her father Valentine: a son determined to succeed where their father failed, and bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.
No magic the Clave can summon can locate either boy, but Jace cannot stay away—not from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s dying magic has wrought—Jace is no longer the boy she loved. He and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become what he most feared: a true servant of Valentine’s evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. Will the Shadowhunters hesitate to kill one of their own?
Only a small band of Clary and Jace’s friends and family believe that Jace can still be saved — and that the fate of the Shadowhunters’ future may hinge on that salvation. They must defy the Clave and strike out on their own. Alec, Magnus, Simon and Isabelle must work together to save Jace: bargaining with the sinister Faerie Queen, contemplating deals with demons, and turning at last to the Iron Sisters, the reclusive and merciless weapons makers for the Shadowhunters, who tell them that no weapon on this earth can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. Their only chance of cutting Jace free is to challenge Heaven and Hell — a risk that could claim any, or all, of their lives.
And they must do it without Clary. For Clary has gone into the heart of darkness, to play a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing the game is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she even still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?
Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.
Did you check out our post about Cassandra Clare’s only North American signing for the launch of this book? Well, head on over because Pushy and I were there, and it was a ton of fun!
In Such a Pretty Fat, Jen Lancaster learned how to come to terms with her body. In My Fair Lazy, she expanded her mind. Now the New York Times bestselling author gives herself—and her generation—a kick in the X, by facing her greatest challenge to date: acting her age.
Jen is finally ready to put away childish things (except her Barbie Styling Head, of course) and embrace the investment-making, mortgage-carrying, life-insurance-having adult she’s become. From getting a mammogram to volunteering at a halfway house, she tackles the grown-up activities she’s resisted for years, and with each rite of passage she completes, she’ll uncover a valuable—and probably humiliating—life lesson that will ease her path to full-fledged, if reluctant, adulthood.
Jen Lancaster is my favorite author of nonfiction. Her autobiographies are hilarious and snark filled fun fests. Plus, she is one of the nicest people to meet in person. She even drew a birthday cake inside the cover when she signed the latest book for my best friend’s birthday (which is an annual tradition). If you’re new to Jen, definitely start with her first book, Bitter is the New Black, and go from there.
Wow, my mailbox was a bit stuffed in the last three weeks. I’m really excited about these books, and I’d like to hear your thoughts on these books and what you got in your mailbox this week. Happy reading and stay cool!
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Yay for CoLS! Can’t wait to read it! Awesome haul! 😀
Fara @ Tumbling In Books recently posted..Shadows by Jennifer L. Armentrout Review
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Since I’ve heard the cliffhangers are brutal in Cassie Clare’s series and I have a ton of series I’m waiting for right now, I’m waiting for this one to be complete before I start it. I must have awesome restraint since I’ve heard how great these books are! LOL. Anyway, hope you enjoy CoLS and thanks for stopping by!
Heather recently posted..In My Mailbox – Heather’s Beat the Heat Edition
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I haven’t bought City of Lost Souls yet. I want to re-read the first four books and then get it.
Alison (AlisonCanRead) recently posted..Bookish Recap
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I always preorder these Mortal Instruments books since I loan them out to a few girls at work even though I haven’t read them yet. But they are all lined up on my book shelf at home, just waiting for me to get to them next year when the last one comes out. Hope the re-read is as magical as the first time through!
Heather recently posted..In My Mailbox – Heather’s Beat the Heat Edition
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Yay, City of Lost Souls! But gosh, I am seriously freaking out over it. I’m too scared to read it. x) But I will. Soon! I have to. o: Butbutbut… Lol. I’m also seriously curious about what’s going on with Sookie! I haven’t read further than book 2 and am still not sure if I want to continue the series or not. Hmmmm.
I hope you’ll enjoy your new books. :DD
Rebecca (Kindle Fever) recently posted..Mailbox Madness #3
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I started peaking through some of the reviews for Sookie on Goodreads when I grabbed the image and synopsis for this and I was getting a tad scared, but these books tend to be a love ’em or hate ’em kind of thing with fans. I still have high hopes, and I’ve never completely hated any of these books yet. I can’t believe there’s only one more to go, but I think it’s time to end this series.
But you’re only on book 2? Oh my God, you have to get to book 4. I think that one is still my favorite out of all of them. I really like this series, and I think I read all seven that were out at the time in two weeks. Then I started right over from book one. They are great! Keep reading!
Heather recently posted..In My Mailbox – Heather’s Beat the Heat Edition
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[…] book on Friday, 5/18/2012, it was free, but when I went to Amazon.com to get the weblink for my In My Mailbox post on Saturday, 5/19/2012, the price was $3.99. Free books aren’t always zero dollars for […]
Saving up the Mortal Instruments series is a good idea. The cliffhangers kill me every time! You’ll be a while waiting though since according to Goodreads, book 6 isn’t out until 2014! I got COLS this week too, I love the series!
Happy reading 😀
Nicola recently posted..Stacking The Shelves #4
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2014? Good thing my to be read pile is huge! Thanks for stopping by, Nicola!
Heather recently posted..In My Mailbox – Heather’s Beat the Heat Edition
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It looks like a great mailbox, happy reading!
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Enjoy all your books 🙂
The Muggle
-Giveaways + Kindle Deals
-Your Book Boyfriend – Round 1
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I’m so jealous that you got Gone Girl! I first heard about it through my sister’s friend, who works at Random House. Check this out: photo of Gone Girl
I could probably ask her to snag me a copy but I feel bad doing that 😛
Anyway, awesome books!
Ashley recently posted..In My Mailbox (6)
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I’m about a third of the way through Gone Girl, and it is so good. Buy this when it comes out in June. It is a must read.
And as for that pic–those poor mangled books!!!!
Heather recently posted..Review Storm by Brigid Kemmerer Book 1 in the Elementals Series
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Deadlocked was nice but less interesting than the others for me. I hope you’ll enjoy all your new books!
here is mine
melliane recently posted..Stacking the Shelves #4
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That’s some seriously great reads, Heather! That cover of Breakers caught my attention too, it’s so nicely done. Enjoy all your reads! 🙂
kara-karina recently posted..IMM#36
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Awesome haul Heather 🙂 !!
I got a copy of CoLS too and I can’t wait to start reading it !! I love the cover of Breakers and I look forward to know what you think of it !Happy reading 😉
Elodie @ Once Upon a Quote recently posted..Stacking the Shelves #4 :
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I bought COLS last week. Only read City of Bones but hope to catch up on the series now that I own all the books. Awesome haul. Happy Reading 🙂
Jennifer @ Dream Reads
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Great haul this week! That’s smart of you to save all of the Mortal Instrument books until they’re all out. I still haven’t gotten started on the first one, so maybe I’ll do that too. Happy reading!
My IMM
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Ooh, you’re saving all the books first (Mortal Instrument series)! It must be so tempting to start the series already! Well I hope you enjoy all your other books and happy reading 🙂 Hope you enjoy this great summer day!
Justine H. recently posted..In My Mailbox
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Great mailbox! I’m on the Gone Girl blog tour too. Wasn’t Sharp Objects super creepy? That was book was super haunting, especially the protagonist being a cutter. Hope you enjoy your books!
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I love the cover for The Breakers! And I have to get a copy of CoLS soon but I’m not in a big hurry I wasn’t that impressed by book 4. I feel she’s beating a dead horse at this point with that series. Never heard of stop while you’re ahead!!
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ohhh my.. I’ve been waiting for this book—-Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris. I can’t wait read this.. weeew!
Teresa Tran recently posted..Plantation Dentists
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