In My Mailbox - May 10, 2010

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

The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells (ARC)

June 1, 2010 - Received for review courtesy of Around the World Tours 

Sometimes I still wake up shivering in the early hours of the morning, drowning in dreams of being out there in the ocean that summer, of looking up at the moon and feeling as invisible and free as a fish. But I'm jumping ahead, and to tell the story right I have to go back to the very beginning. To a place called Indigo Beach. To a boy with pale skin that glowed against the dark waves. To the start of something neither of us could have predicted, and which would mark us forever, making everything that came after and before seem like it belonged to another life.

My name is Mia Gordon: I was sixteen years old, and I remember everything.

Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony (ARC)

May 13, 2010 - Received for review courtesy of Around the World Tours

The year is 2041, and sixteen-year-old Molly McClure has lived a relatively quiet life on an isolated farming island in Canada, but when her family fears the worst may have happened to her grandparents in the US, Molly must brave the dangerous, chaotic world left after global economic collapse—one of massive oil shortages, rampant crime, and abandoned cities.

Molly is relieved to find her grandparents alive in their Portland suburb, but they’re financially ruined and practically starving. What should’ve been a quick trip turns into a full-fledged rescue mission. And when Molly witnesses something the local crime bosses wishes she hadn’t, Molly’s only way home may be to beat them at their own game. Luckily, there’s a handsome stranger who’s willing to help.

 

Restoring Harmony is a riveting, fast-paced dystopian tale complete with adventure and romance that readers will devour.

The Galilean Secret by Evan Drake Howard (Hardcover)

May 1, 2010 - Fiance (so what?!)  received for review courtesy of Dechant-Hughes 

A crumbling scroll long lost in a forgotten cave offers a provocative and illuminating new interpretation of the man known as Jesus. An expertly plotted story based on the author's actual research in Israel, the novel entwines two stories: one set amidst the modern-day conflicts in the Middle East, the other set in ancient Palestine, yet both offer a perspective on the universal struggle for true freedom and love.

 

The relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene has long fascinated scholars and intrigued nearly all believers. What was the nature of their relationship and how has it influenced Christianity since the first millennium? With compelling storytelling in the style of Dan Brown coupled with years of exhaustive study, Evan Drake Howard has created a magisterial novel that asks, and attempts to illuminate, enduring questions on the nature of love. 

In first-century Jerusalem, the faithful Judith finds herself caught in a web of romantic betrayal and intrigue. She must reconcile her faith with her conflicting feelings for two brothers, one the Zealot Dismas and his brother, the sensitive merchant Gabriel. A letter written by an insightful Galilean rabbi changes their lives forever and sets each on a new path of discovery, humanity and love. 

In modern-day Israel, amidst the war-torn countryside, Karim Musalaha, a young Palestinian, finds himself with similar struggle. Caught between his brother's relentless ambition for martyrdom and his powerful love for a woman he cannot have, his life seems an endless journey of rage and despair. Until one day, while seeking refuge in a long forgotten cave in Qumran, he discovers a crumbling scroll with a mysterious text. Still legible after two millennia, Karim reads a message that indeed changes his life forever. But will the cost be worth his newfound knowledge? galileansecret.com

Bond of Blood by Diane Whiteside (Paperback)

October 2, 2010 - Received from Bookmooch

Once a medieval Spanish knight, Don Rafael Perez has been a vampire for seven centuries, clinging to his code of honor despite years of torture. He has risen to become the leader of the largest vampire territory in North America, spanning Texas and Oklahoma. But a cruel and seductively cunning rival is challenging his rule-fanning the flames of all-out war.

Adept at sending women into raptures of ecstasy while he feeds, Rafael has many willing lovers. But into his domain comes a woman he must deny himself: Grania O’Malley, a new veterinarian at the world-renowned Texas Hill Country Raptor Center. Rafael soon realizes he shares a bond with Grania he can’t explain and doesn’t trust. But neither can he stay away from her.

Grania, convinced that she can find a suitable husband through scientific research, has no explanation for why her body turns to molten fire at the mere sight of Rafael – or why her very existence tempts him into breaking every rule of both his body and his mind just when he needs to be stronger than ever…

A bit light this week, I guess after last week my mailbox needed a bit of a break!  What did you get in the mail?