Mailbox Madness (Sept 6 - Sept 12)

In My Mailbox is hosted Sundays at The Story Siren.  Mailbox Monday's host for September is Bermuda Onion . Please visit these posts and take a look at what packages everybody else got this week!

Books Won:

Her Daughter's Dream

by Francine Rivers

In the dramatic conclusion to the New York Times best seller Her Mother's Hope, Francine Rivers delivers a rich and deeply moving story about the silent sorrows that can tear a family apart and the grace and forgiveness that can heal even the deepest wounds.

Growing up isn't easy for little Carolyn Arundel.  With her mother, Hildemara, quarantined to her room with tuberculosis, Carolyn forms a special bond with her oma Marta, who moves in to care for the household.  But as tensions between Hildie and Marta escalate, Carolyn believes she is to blame.  When Hildie returns to work and Marta leaves, Carolyn and her brother grow up as latchkey kids in a world gripped by the fear of the Cold War.

College offers Carolyn the chance to find herself, but a family tragedy shatters her newfound independence.  Rather than return home, she cuts all ties and disappears into the heady counterculture of San Francisco.

When she reemerges two years later, more lost than ever, she reluctantly turns to her family to help rebuild a life for her and her own daughter, May Flower Dawn.

Just like Carolyn, May Flower Dawn develops a closer bond with her grandmother, Hildie, than with her mother, causing yet another rift between generations.  But as Dawn struggles to avoid the mistakes of those who went before her, she vows that somehow she will be a bridge between the women in her family rather than the wall that separates them forever.

Spanning from the 1950s to present day, Her Daughter's Dream is the emotional final chapter of an unforgettable family saga about the sacrifices every mother makes for her daughter -- and the very nature of unconditional love.

Books Swapped:

Hunted

A House of Night  Novel

by P.C. and Kristin Cast

The door closed with a sickening thud of finality, shutting my friends out and leaving me alone with my enemy, a fallen angel, and the monstrous bird creature his ancient lust had created. Then I did something I'd only done twice before in my entire life.  I fainted.

It's all happening, though Zoey Redbird wishes it wasn't.  She has her friends back, which is great. But a dark angel has taken over the House of Night, supported by High Priestess Neferet.  Not so great.  This leaves Zoey hiding out with the (supposedly friendly) red fledglings in Tulsa's prohibition era tunnels.  The not greatness continues.

Naturally, Zoey also has boy issues to stress her out, with a chance to make up with super-hot-ex Eric.  But thoughts of the archer that died, semi-permanently, in her arms keep distracting her.  Then he shows up as Neferet's newest minion.  Well, hell.  Zoey and friends will need a plan to put things right, and soon, if she can just keep her head and her heart intact.

Books for Review:

Dark Road to Darjeeling

A Lady Julia Grey Novel

by Deanna Raybourn

For Lady Julia Grey and Nicholas Brisbane, the honeymoon has ended...but the adventure is just beginning.

After eight idyllic months in the Mediterranean, Lady Julia Grey and her detective husband are ready to put their investigative talents to work once more.  At the urging of Julia's eccentric family, they hurry to India to aid an old friend, the newly widowed Jane Cavendish.  Living on the Cavendish tea plantation with the remnants of her husband's family, Jane is consumed with the impending birth of her child--and with discovering the truth about her husband's death.  Was he murdered for his estate?  And if he was, could Jane and her unborn child be next?

Amid the lush foothills of the Himalayas, dark deeds are buried and malicious thoughts flourish.  The Brisbanes uncover secrets and scandal, illicit affairs and twisted legacies.  In this remote and exotic place, exploration is perilous and discovery, deadly.  The danger is palpable and, if they are not careful, Julia and Nicholas will not live to celebrate their first anniversary.

The Home for Broken Hearts

by Rowan Coleman

The door is open. . .

For young widow Ellen Wood, her Victorian home is a refuge--a place to feel safe with her eleven-year-old son, Charlie.  But when money grows so tight that Ellen could lose the house, her sister, Hannah, makes a radical suggestion. . . Rent out some of the rooms.  Soon Ellen has three lodgers:  Sabine, a German coworker of Hannah's, recently separated from her husband; Allegra, an eccentric but wise novelist; and Matt, an up-and-coming young journalist in search of his voice, who has just landed a plum job in London.

Ellen thinks three strangers are the last complication she needs, but they make her realize just how isolated she has become.  Their presence exposes a secret she's been keeping hidden, as well as a conflict with her sister that is both shocking and revealing.  And while a love affair with a younger man seems like a fantasy powered by her imagination, Ellen can't deny her deep connection to Matt, or the changes he inspires in her and her relationship with Charlie.  Outside her home's sheltering walls lies a world of opportunity as well as danger.  Now that she's had the courage to open the door, does Ellen dare step through?

Witty, moving, and deeply insightful, The Home for Broken Hearts celebrates everything that makes life worth living, from an author who knows just how to speak to the heart.

The House on Malcolm Street

by Leisha Kelly

When tragedy steals her future, can Leah learn to trust again?

It is the autumn of 1920, and Leah Breckenridge is desperate to find a way to provide for her young daughter.  After losing her husband and infant son, she is angry at God and fearful about the days ahead.  Finding refuge in a boardinghouse run by her late husband's aunt, Leah begins the slow process of mending her heart.

Is it the people who surround her--or perhaps this very house--that reach into her heart with healing?  As Leah finds peace tending to an abandoned garden, can she find a way to trust God with her future?

A beautifully simple story about the complexities of life, The House on Malcolm Street is a treasure.

The Duck Song Book

by Bryant Oden

illustrations by Forrest Whaley

With the touch of a button on the cover, children will be singing The Duck Song as this musical book tells the comical story of a persistent duck that pleads for grapes at the most unlikely of places: a lemonade stand. A comical tale of persistence and compassion, adults and children alike will delight in listening to this one-of-a-kind singing book, and reading it again and again. Also included is a music CD, The Duck Song and More Fun Songs, with 12 original children's songs by Bryant Oden. Featured songs include the hits "I Got A Pea," "Honey Bear," "The Duck Song #2," and more! About the author: Bryant Oden is a well-loved composer of over 70 children's songs. The Duck Song has consistently remained near the top of Itune's charts for children's songs. About the illustrator: Forrest Whaley was only 14 years old when he animated the music to The Duck Song, turning the song into an international sensation. With over 15 million views, fans of the YouTube video can now own their own talking duck book and music CD.

Pirate Treasure

Traveling Trunk Adventure No. 1

by Benjamin Flinders

One magical trunk

Two curious brothers

Explore worlds without end!

Ahoy Maties!

Before ye embark on this reading adventure, be ye warned.  This here tale be for young lads and lasses who like pirate songs, swash-buckling, disgusting food, and a cursed treasure chest.

If ye ain't afraid of being thrown in the brig with Fish Breath Cookie, or walkin' the plank, then come and join Ethan and Dallin, two stout-hearted lads, who stumble onto me pirate ship in the middle of our getaway with the gold.  Blast me mother-in-law witch for sending them after me and me crew!

Captain Bartelmy

The Lost City of Atlantis

Traveling Trunk Adventure No. 2

by Benjamin Flinders

Hear ye, hear ye

Atlantis the great this day shall fall.

Poseidon is angry at one and all!

What has kindled the wrath of Poseidon?  Something of his has been stolen, and he will destroy all of ancient Atlantis to get it back.

Join Ethan and Dallin, two brothers who are transported back to the ancient city, as they make new friends, attempt to outwit a corrupt Magistrate, and seek to reunite an enslaved girl with her father.

Will Ethan and Dallin discover that they possess what Poseidon wants before it is too late?  Or will they be lost forever with the ancient City of Atlantis?

What books found a home with you this week?