In my Mailbox #7

It's really great for you guys that I have another, fairly large post for In my Mailbox this week, but not so great for my storage space - I think after this week I'm going to have to cool it down on the books (until Christmas anyway).
For this week though, I have a wonderful post for you all!
So, I'll post about the physical books first, and then we'll move onto the eBooks.

Top two
The Still Point by Amy Sackville
and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Middle two
Total Eclipse by Rachel Caine and My S*** Life So Far by Frankie Boyle

Bottom two
This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost and Spy Glass by Maria V. Snyder

The Still Point Goodreads synopsis:
At the turn of the twentieth century, Arctic explorer Edward Mackley sets out to reach the North Pole and vanishes into the icy landscape without a trace. He leaves behind a young wife, Emily, who awaits his return for decades, her dreams and devotion gradually freezing into rigid widowhood. A hundred years later, on a sweltering mid-summer's day, Edward's great-grand-niece Julia moves through the old family house, attempting to impose some order on the clutter of inherited belongings and memories from that ill-fated expedition, and taking care to ignore the deepening cracks within her own marriage. But as afternoon turns into evening, Julia makes a discovery that splinters her long-held image of Edward and Emily's romance, and her husband Simon faces a precipitous choice that will decide the future of their relationship. Sharply observed and deeply engaging, The Still Point is a powerful literary debut, and a moving meditation on the distances - geographical and emotional - that can exist between two people.

I've wanted this one for quite a while now, and although I have it to read on my Kindle, I found this paperback in the clearance section of WH Smith yesterday for £1.25 (down from £12.99), so I went for it. It's quite a beautiful book, so it'll take pride of place in my collection.

The Secret Garden Waterstone's synopsis:
When Mary Lennox is sent home an orphan from India to live with her hunchbacked uncle at Misselthwaite Manor, she can have little idea of the new life that awaits her there. She arrives a sour-faced, sickly little madam with a furious temper, but through her friendship with local Yorkshire lad, Dickon, and their discovery of a secret garden, soon becomes a happy and healthy girl. She shares her newfound love of life with her poorly cousin, Colin, and together the three children restore the garden to its former glory. Between them they work their magic on the garden, and in turn the garden works its magic on the children and everyone around them.

I already have an annotated edition of this for university, but I found this collector's edition for 75p in the same clearance section that I got The Still Point from, so thought I'd bring it home. It has gold leaf, which is really beautiful, and matches my copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

Total Eclipse Goodreads synopsis:
UNNATURAL DISASTER

Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin has defeated her longtime enemy and saved the world—again. But at what cost? Standing at the ground zero for the last attack, Joanne, the Djinn David, and the Earth herself have been poisoned by a substance that is destroying the magic that keeps the world alive.

Joanne and David have already lost their powers, but that's just the beginning. The poison that has seeped into the planet is destablizing the entire balance of power, bestowing magic on those who have never had it and taking it at critical moments from those who need it. It's just a matter of time before the delicate balance of nature explodes into chaos, destroying mankind—and every living thing on Earth—with it.

I already have the first eight of this series, which I've been buying mostly from The Works as they've been coming out. I bought and read the first one at the beginning of the summer and really loved it, so as they sell for a really good price at The Works, I've been keeping my eye out for more since. Found this one there yesterday, so naturally I pounced on it!

My S*** Life So Far Goodreads synopsis:
Frankie's outrageous, laugh-out loud, cynical rant on life as he knows it is presented here in all its outrageous glory. From growing up in Pollockshaws, Glasgow—“it was an aching cement void, a slap in the face to childhood, and for the family it was a step up”—to his rampant teenage sex drive—“in those days if you glimpsed a nipple on T.V. it was like p*** Christmas”—and first job working in a mental hospital, nothing is out of bounds. Outspoken, cynical, and always outrageous, Frankie Boyle, the dark heart of Mock the Week, says the unsayable as only he can. From the TV programs he would like to see made (“Celebrities On Acid On Ice—just like Celebrities Dancing On Ice, but with an opening sequence where Graham Norton hoses the celebrities down with liquid LSD”), to his native Scotland and the Mayor of London, nothing and no one is safe from Frankie's fearless, sharp-tongued assault. Sharply observed and full of taboo-busting, we-really-shouldn't-be-laughing-at-this humor, My Sh** Life So Far shows why Frankie Boyle really is the blackest man in show business.

I bought this one less for myself and more for my boyfriend, who tends to read more humour/autobiography and non-fiction that I do, but I probably will read this one. Although Frankie Boyle is a bit of a controversial comedian (and perhaps 'a bit' is an understatement), he can actually be very funny, so I think this one will make a good read. I've tried my best to censor the synopsis!!

This Side of the Grave Synopsis:
Danger waits on both sides of the grave.

Half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her vampire husband Bones have fought for their lives, as well as for their relationship. But just when they've triumphed over the latest battle, Cat's new and unexpected abilities threaten to upset a long-standing balance . . .

With the mysterious disappearance of vampires, rumors abound that a species war is brewing. A zealot is inciting tensions between the vampires and ghouls, and if these two powerful groups clash, innocent mortals could become collateral damage. Now Cat and Bones are forced to seek help from a dangerous "ally"—the ghoul queen of New Orleans herself. But the price of her assistance may prove more treacherous than even the threat of a supernatural war . . . to say nothing of the repercussions Cat never imagined.

I didn't realise that this one was so far in the series when I bought it while out shopping yesterday, but it does give me a fantastic excuse to buy the four that come before it in the series, and this one does look like a fantastic read, so I'll definitely be keeping hold of it.

Spy Glass synopsis:
After siphoning her own blood magic in the showdown at Hubal, Opal Cowan has lost her powers. She can no longer create glass magic. More, she's immune to the effects of magic. Opal is now an outsider looking in, spying through the glass on those with the powers she once had, powers that make a difference in the world.

Until spying through the glass becomes her new power. Suddenly, the beautiful pieces she makes flash in the presence of magic. And then she discovers that someone has stolen some of her blood—and that finding it might let her regain her powers. Or learn if they're lost forever…

I have the other two that come before this one in the trilogy, and although I haven't read them yet, I'm certain that they are exactly my kind of thing, having had a friend recommend them to me whose opinion I trust. I wasn't going to get this one until I'd read the other two before it, but the smaller format paperback is being discontinued and reprinted in a larger format, and (it's sad I know) I wanted my entire trilogy to match. I'm really looking forward to reading these - hopefully I'll be able to fit them in soon!

Not only have I been getting physical books, but I have also been lucky enough to acquire some eBooks too. The first is a review copy from author Barbara Forte Abate, which I will be reading and reviewing in the near future:

The Secret of Lies Goodreads Synopsis:

Propelled by an insurmountable sense of desperation, Stevie Burke is recklessly abandoning home, husband, and outwardly contented life under cover of night; at last resigned to defeat in her long battle against the tortured memories of her past.

Days later, lost and floundering in a dreary motel room without plan or destination, it is a long ago song playing on the radio that gently tugs Stevie back through the dust of remembrance. 1957 - The last summer spent at the ancient house overlooking the North Atlantic. A season which had unfolded with abundant promise, but then spiralled horribly out of control - torn apart by a shattering tragedy that remains splintered in fragments upon her soul. And it is only now, when Stevie at last lifts her eyes to stare deep into the heart of her long sequestered memories, that the long held secrets of past and future are at last unveiled.

I'm very grateful to Barbara for contacting me and asking me if I would read and review this book - it sounds like a very compelling read and I'm very much looking forward to reading it soon! Keep your eyes peeled for a review and author interview sometime around the new year!

Halfway to the Grave Goodreads synopsis:
Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance, hoping that one of these deadbeats is her father—the one responsible for ruining her mother's life. Then she's captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unholy partnership.

In exchange for finding her father, Cat agrees to train with the sexy night stalker until her battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs. She's amazed she doesn't end up as his dinner—are there actually good vampires? Pretty soon Bones will have her convinced that being half-dead doesn't have to be all bad. But before she can enjoy her newfound status as kick-ass demon hunter, Cat and Bones are pursued by a group of killers. Now Cat will have to choose a side . . . and Bones is turning out to be as tempting as any man with a heartbeat.

I bought this one when I discovered that the other Jeaniene Frost novel I bought yesterday was a later one in the series. I got it for my Kindle because it was only 99p for my Kindle for a limited time and I even got the edition with extra features like deleted scenes. I'm anticipating that this will be a good one. Hopefully I'll be able to read it when I've managed to get through my pile of review copies :)