In My Mailbox #3

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren, as a way to share recently purchased/won/or borrowed books.  I really hadn’t planned on participating this week, but I did happen to receive a huge box of books from Amazon a few days ago ♥.  Most of them are YA reads that I wanted to add to my TBR pile, so here they are:

Partials by Dan Wells.  With a comparison to Battlestar Galactica, how can I not read this book? Although the plot has been over-used, this one feels like a different kind of dystopian novel.  From Goodreads:

Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the world’s population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. The threat of the partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to the disease in over a decade. Humanity’s time is running out.

When sixteen-year-old Kira learns of her best friend’s pregnancy, she’s determined to find a solution. Then one rash decision forces Kira to flee her community with the unlikeliest of allies. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that the survival of both humans and partials rests in her attempts to answer questions of the war’s origin that she never knew to ask.

Pure by Julianna Baggott. I’m so excited to read Pure, especially since Justin Cronin, one of my favorite writers, has a blurb on the cover. And with a character who has a doll’s head fused to her hand, how can you not want to read this?  Here are some reviews:

“Baggott’s highly anticipated postapocalyptic horror novel…is a fascinating mix of stark, oppressive authoritarianism and grotesque anarchy…Baggott mixes brutality, occasional wry humor, and strong dialogue into an exemplar of the subgenre.” (Publisher’s Weekly (STARRED review) )

“A great gorgeous whirlwind of a novel, boundless in its imagination. You will be swept away.” (Justin Cronin, New York Times bestselling author of The Passage )

“PURE is a dark adventure that is both startling and addictive at once. Pressia Belze is one part manga heroine and one part post-apocalyptic Alice, stranded in a surreal Wonderland where everyone and everything resonates with what has been lost. Breathtaking and frightening. I couldn’t stop reading PURE.” (Danielle Trussoni, bestselling author of Angelology )

“From the first page on, there are no brakes on this book. It’s nearly impossible to stop reading as Baggott delves fearlessly into a grotesque and fascinating future populated by strangely endearing victims (and perpetrators) of a wholly unique apocalypse. And trust me, PURE packs one hell of an apocalypse.” (Daniel H. Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Robopocalypse )

“A boiling and roiling glorious mosh-pit of a book, full of wonderful weirdness, tenderness, and wild suspense. If Katniss could jump out of her own book and pick a great friend, I think she’d find an excellent candidate in Pressia.”
(Aimee Bender, author of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake)

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood. I love the cover of this book, and I think it will sell well because of it. And it’s about witches, which I love to read about.  And the girl on the cover doesn’t look like a witch, does she? So you know it’s going to be good.  Here’s Goodread’s description:

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship–or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with six months to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word… especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate stars scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood — not even from each other.

Scarlet by A. C. Gaughen.  A story about Robin Hood’s girlfriend?? Yes! At least I think that’s what she is. Any story about a girl who poses as a boy to avoid being caught by an evil Lord is the story for me. Here’s what Goodreads has to say:

Many readers know the tale of Robin Hood, but they will be swept away by this new version full of action, secrets, and romance.

Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in.

It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for.

Arcadia by Lauren Groff. I’ve mentioned this book in several other posts, and now I have my own copy. It’s been getting great reviews.  Here are a few:

“Richly peopled and ambitious and oh, so lovely, Lauren Groff’s Arcadia is one of the most moving and satisfying novels I’ve read in a long time. It’s not possible to write any better without showing off.”
—Richard Russo, author of the novel That Old Cape Magic and the Pulitzer Prize–winning Empire Falls

“Part Stone Diaries, part Lord of the Flies, part something out of a Shakespearean tragedy, Lauren Groff’s Arcadia is so uniquely absorbing that you finish it as if waking from a dream. Groff is one of our most talented writers, and Arcadia one of the most revelatory, magical, and ambitious novels I’ve read in years.”
—Kate Walbert, author of the New York Times bestselling novel A Short History of Women

“Arcadia feels true, as do the characters who populate this extraordinary novel, which lingers on passing moments in time and highlights the importance of place in preserving not only our memories, but also ourselves.”
—Hannah Tinti, author of the bestselling and award-winning novel The Good Thief

Notice how four out of five of these are one word titles? So, what’s in your mailbox this week?