Mailbox Madness (April 18 - 25)

In My Mailbox is hosted at The Story Siren. 

Mailbox Monday is hosted at The Printed Page . Please visit Kristi and Marcia  and take a look at what packages everybody else got this week!

The Secret Speech

by Tom Rob Smith

Stalin is dead, and the brutal Soviet regime once held together by fear is beginning to unravel, leaving behind a society where the police are the bloodiest criminals of all.  Former Secret Police Officer Leo Demidov is struggling to put his former career behind him, to make a life for himself, his wife, Raisa, and the two young sisters they adopted. But will the mistrust and betrayals from Leo's own past shatter his family's ability to love and forgive -- or destroy them in ways unimaginable?

Unseen

by Nancy Bush

She woke up with no memories. . .

She wakes up in a hospital room. . .bruised. . .bloody. . .confused.  She knows her name is Gemma La Porte-- but that's all.  She doesn't remember smashing her car. She doesn't remember anything from the last three days. But a policeman, Deputy Will Tanninger, is waiting for answers and wants to know if she's responsible for a fatal hit-and-run. . .

But remembering her past could kill her. . .

Hoping to restore her shattered memory, Gemma has no choice but to put her trust in Will. But if it turns out she's guilty of murder, he has no choice but to arrest her.  Torn by her growing feelings for Will, and haunted by her shadowy past, Gemma is determined to learn the truth.  But, in this case, the darkest truths are unknowable-- and the deadliest enemies are unseen. . .

This Fine Life

by Eva Marie Everson

It is the summer of 1959 and Mariette Puttnam has just graduated from boarding school.  When she returns to her privileged life at home, she isn't sure where life will take her.  More schooling? A job? Marriage? Nothing feels right.  How could she know that she would find the answer waiting for her in the narrow stairwell of her father's apparel factory, exactly between the third and fourth floors.

In this unique and tender romance, popular author Eva Marie Everson takes you on a journey through the heart of a young woman bound for the unknown.  Discover the joys of new love, the perseverance of deep friendship, and the gift of forgiveness that comes from a truly fine life.

It Had to Be You (Weddings by Bella, Book 3)

by Janice Thompson

Bella couldn't be happier that two of her long-feuding relatives have finally admitted their love for one another and are getting married. Their forties-style wedding is sure to be a night to remember. But when the Rossi house begins to fill up with family from Italy -- and an old mobster from New Jersey -- life starts to get complicated.  Will a friend from the past drive the happy couple apart once more?  And will Bella ever have time to think of her own rapidly approaching wedding amid the chaos?

Full of humor, plenty of Italian passion, and a bit of Texas gumption, It Had to Be You will have you laughing out loud and wiping a tear from your eye.

The Host

by Stephenie Meyer

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away.

Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy that takes over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. But Wanderer, the invading "soul" who occupies Melanie's body, finds its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who has avoided invasion and lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met.  Soon Wanderer and Melanie -- reluctant allies -- set off to search for the man they both love.

Featuring one of the most unusual love triangles in literature, The Host is a riveting and unforgettable novel about the persistence of love and the essence of what it means to be human.

Deadly Fear

by Cynthia Eden

Two Brilliant Agents

FBI Special Agent Monica Davenport has made a career out of profiling serial killers. But getting inside the twisted minds of the cruel and the sadistic has taken its toll: She's walled herself off from the world. Yet Monica can't ignore fellow agent Luke Dante, the only man who ever broke through her defenses.

One Dream Team.

Luke has the unique ability to put victims at ease. . .professionally, he and Monica made a perfect team.  Now they're reunited to catch a murderer who uses his victims' deepest, darkest fears for sport -- but their investigative skills aren't enough.  Luke and Monica will have to face the secrets from their past, the ones that terrify them the most, if they are to have a future together.

Virginia

by Susan Hughes

I took hold of her hands, their bones tiny and birdlike, squeezed them gently. I felt like shaking them, shaking her into the panic I was feeling. "Virginia, I don't understand."

Virginia Donato has always had an indefinable quality that sets her apart from anyone else Ivy Morell has ever known.  But when this childhood friend and neighbor confides in her, confessing that she has been visited by an angel and asked to do something "momentous," Ivy begins to think Virginia has lost her mind. As Ivy struggles to make sense of her friend's bizarre claim, she notices other strange happenings in the Donato household. Determined to find out more, Ivy discovers that Virginia's older brother Paul may have a shocking secret of his own, one that could have dangerous consequences.  Can it be connected to Virginia? Should Ivy tell? and is there anyone she can turn to before it's too late?

A gripping story of an ordinary teenage girl drawn into an extraordinary chain of events, Virginia will have readers questioning their own beliefs and contemplating the secrets that we all carry.

Dangerous Desires

by Dee Davis

As the extractions expert for A-Tac, an elite CIA black ops unit masquerading as faculty at an Ivy League college, Drake Flynn knows how to survive behind enemy lines. But he's about to meet one adversary he can't subdue. . .or resist.

A Race For Survival

Stranded in the Colombian jungle after a mission goes bad, Drake has only one objective: evade the mercenaries hot on his trail and deliver "the package" to U.S. officials. But "the package" has a mind of her own, and she has no intention of trading one set of captors for another. Madeline Reynard is beautiful, headstrong, and hell-bent on escape after years as a crime lord's pawn.  She'll risk everything for freedom, even if it means deceiving the dark, handsome operative who now holds her life in his hands.

Drake has been burned too many times to let a woman manipulate him, especially a secretive one like Madeline.  Even so, they cannot deny the attraction between them.  Now as enemy forces close in, Drake and Madeline must trust each other with their lives -- or face certain death.

Barely a Lady (Drake's Rakes Series - Book 1)

by Eileen Dreyer

He can't remember. . .

Olivia Grace has every reason to despise Jack Wyndham, Earl of Gracechurch, who scandalously married and then divorced her, ruining her completely.  Yet when she finds an injured Jack on a battlefield wearing the enemy's uniform, she can't resist saving him. He might have broken her heart, but can he truly be a traitor?

What she'll never forget. . .

When Jack awakes he is shocked to discover that he has lost Olivia's love -- and much of his memory. Did he really destroy their marriage?  And what do his dreams of blood-soaked French uniforms and revenge mean?  As the noose of danger tightens around them, Jack and Olivia must determine which is most frightening: the threat of the hangman, their own tempestuous history, or the passion that flares between them once again.

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County

by Tiffany Baker

Meet Truly Plaice -- part behemoth, part witch, part Cinderella. Born larger than life into a small-minded town, Truly breaks her family into smithereens.  Her mother dies during Truly's birth, and when her father follows shortly afterward, Truly and her dainty sister, Serena Jane, are destined for very different fates.  As Truly grows larger and larger on a rundown farm, she watches lovely Serena Jane become the town's adored May Queen and the obsession of a local boy Bob Bob Morgan -- the youngest in a line of Aberdeen's doctors, who for generations wove their influence among the town's citizens.  Yet no matter how far apart life propels them, Truly and her sister are forever linked. And Truly will find her future shaped by Serena Jane's relationships, a centuries-old antique of Dr. Morgan's, and the reality that love cannot be ordered to size.

Tempted by a Warrior

by Amanda Scott

Before her marriage, it was whispered that Lady Fiona Jardine was  a young woman no man could control.  Now the rumors are more threatening.  Her cruel and womanizing husband has vanished into the battle-scarred Scottish borderlands without a trace, and everyone thinks Fiona is to blame.

Sir Richard Seyton, Laird of Kirkhill and a powerful knight and baron, is honor-bound to be Fiona's guardian until her husband is found.  Kirkhill strives to keep her safe -- while her enemies plot to prevent her from ever being the mistress of the Jardine lands. But can he protect her from the desire that ignites at their slightest touch?  For with suspicions mounting and tensions along the Borders rising, surrendering to their passion could cost Fiona and Kirkhill their very lives.

Wicked Intentions (Maiden Lane Series - Book 1)

by Elizabeth Hoyt

A man controlled by his desires.

Infamous for his wild, sensual needs, Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire, is searching for a savage killer in St. Giles, London's most notorious slum.  Widowed Temperance Dews knows the area like the back of her hand -- she cares for its children at the foundling home her family established.  Now that home is at risk. . .

A Woman haunted by her past.

Caire makes a simple offer -- in return for Temperance's help navigating the perilous alleys of St. Giles, he will introduce her to high society so that she can find a benefactor for the home. But Temperance may not be the innocent she seems, and what begins as a cold bargain soon falls prey to a passion neither can control -- a passion that may well destroy them both.

The Last Christian

by David Gregory

In the future, it's possible to live forever - - but at what cost?

A.D. 2088. Missionary daughter Abigail Caldwell emerges from the jungle for the first time in her thirty-four years, the sole survivor of a mysterious disease that killed her village.  Abby goes to America, only to discover a nation where Christianity has completely died out.  A curious message from her grandfather assigns her a surprising mission: re-introduce the Christian  faith in America, no matter how insurmountable the odds.

But a larger threat looms. The world's leading artificial intelligence industrialist has perfected a technique for downloading the human brain into a silicon form.  Brain transplants have begun, and with them comes the potential of eliminating physical death altogether -- but at what expense?

As Abby navigates a society grown more addicted to stimulating the body than nurturing the soul, she and Creighton Daniels, a historian troubled by his father's unexpected death, become unwitting targets of powerful men who will stop at nothing to further their nefarious goals. Hanging in the balance -- the spiritual future of all humanity.

In this fast-paced thriller, startling near-future science collides with thought-provoking religious themes to create a spell-binding "what-if?" novel.

Desperate Deeds

by Dee Davis

As the demolitions expert for A-Tac, a black-ops CIA unit masquerading as Ivy League faculty, Tyler Hanson has two great loves: literature and explosives. She lives by the motto "Duty First" and doesn't have time for personal attachments. . .until a steamy one-night stand turns into a professional partnership.

Burned By Betrayal

When Tyler meets Owen Wakefield, a handsome British operative, she seduces him with no intention of ever seeing him again.  But then the sexy Brit is brought into A-Tac, and despite Tyler's efforts to keep her distance, she finds herself falling for him. Trusting him.

Owen seems too good to be true -- and he is. He's hiding his true motives and identity, and no matter how he feels about Tyler, he can't keep her secrets.  One of A-Tac's members has turned traitor and helped terrorists to hijack a shipment of nuclear weapons.  As witnesses start dying and evidence starts disappearing, Owen and Tyler must race to find the mole -- and prevent a final, cataclysmic act of destruction.

Captured by Desire

by Kira Morgan

A Woman on the Run

Florie Gilder is a beautiful and celebrated goldsmith -- and a fugitive from the law.  Thought to have stolen a precious heirloom that is the key to her true heritage, she seeks sanctuary in a church. . .only to be discovered by Rane MacAllister.  Chivalrous and charming, this broad-shouldered archer is bound by oath to prevent this feisty "thief" from escaping into the countryside.  He does, but at a price.

A Man on the Hunt

Florie chafes at being anyone's prisoner, let alone that of a man sent by her accuser. But Rane, alone with Florie in this abandoned cloister, begins to conquer her guarded heart -- and ignites a fiery passion.  Now as their enemies gather to bring about their ruin, Florie and Rane will need courage, wits, and, most of all, love, to survive being. . . Captured By Desire.

Put on Your Crown:

Life Changing Moments on the Path to Queendom.

by Queen Latifah

Put on Your Crown: Life Changing Moments on the Path to Queendom . . . is a wake-up call to empowerment!

Oscar-nominated actress, Grammy-winning entertainer, entrepreneur -- Queen Latifah has done it all.  Through everything she has encountered, she has come to love herself, including her flaws.  But this transformation didn't happen overnight: The Queen had to overcome a series of challenges -- difficult moments -- before she knew she was going to emerge triumphant.  we all have moments like these.  The question is: How can we learn from such experiences and use them to turn ourselves into strong, confident women?  Queen Latifah provides the often surprising answers in this rewarding and inspiring book.

What to Wear for the Rest of Your Life:

 Ageless Secrets of Style

by Kim Johnson Gross

Every woman's closet -- no matter the size -- is "a room of her own."

In that space, side by side, hang clothes for the special occasions and the everyday, both wardrobe triumphs and disasters, together with memories we should cherish and those we should jettison.  Kim Johnson Gross helps us to discover our "closet identity" -- the clothes that define us -- and use it to reimagine who we want to be.  She shares her personal journey and the intimate, poignant, and often humorous accounts of the dozens of women she interviewed across the country for this book.

Along with calming fashion advice about how to choose flattering clothes that will fit your shape and style, Gross's engaging stories will help you evolve gracefully -- from wife and mother to empty-nester and globe-trotting adventurer, whatever role you choose -- while letting your style express your inner beauty.

What great things did you find in your mailbox this week?