Mailbox Monday (Aug 13, 2012)

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, the weekly meme created by Marcia from A girl and her books.  This is where I share the titles I have received for review or purchased during the past week.  Mailbox Monday will be hosted in August  byJennifer D at 5 Minutes for Books.

False Memory

by Dan Krokos

The most dangerous thing Miranda North can do is remember who she is.

Miranda North wakes up alone on a park bench with no memory.  In her panic, she releases a mysterious energy that incites pure terror in everyone around her. Except for Peter, a boy who isn't at all surprised by Miranda's shocking ability.

Left with no choice but to trust this stranger, Miranda discovers that she was trained to be a weapon and is part of an elite force of genetically altered teens who possess flawless combat skills and powers strong enough to destroy a city. But readjusting to her old life isn't easy -- especially with Noah, the boyfriend she can't remember loving.

Then Miranda uncovers a dark truth that sets her team on the run.  Suddenly her past doesn't seem to matter. . . when there may not be a future.

Dan Krokos's tour-de-force debut is a pulse-pounding action thriller in which one girl's discovery of her past provides enough high-octane drama to ignite an unforgettable and bold new series.

The Fine Color of Rust

by P.A. O'Reilly

Set in the Australian bush, a wryly funny, beautifully observed novel about friendship, motherhood, love, and the importance of fighting for things that matter.

Loretta Boskovic never dreamed she would end up a single mother with two kids in a dusty Australian country town.  She never imagined she'd have to campaign to save the local primary school.  She certainly had no idea her best friend would turn out to be the crusty old junk man.  All in all, she's starting to wonder if she took a wrong turn somewhere.  If only she could drop the kids at the orphanage and start over. . .

But now, thanks to her protest letters, the education minister is coming to Gunapan, and she has to convince him to change his mind about the school closure.  And as if facing down the government isn't enough, it soon becomes clear that the school isn't the only local spot in trouble.  In the drought-stricken bushland on the outskirts of town, a luxury resort development is about to siphon off a newly discovered springwater supply.  No one seems to know anything, no one seems to care.

With a dream lover on a Harley unlikely to appear to save the day, Loretta needs to stir the citizens of Gunapan to action.  She may be short of money, influence, and a fully functioning car, but she has good friends.  Together they can organize chocolate drives, supermarket sausage sizzles, a tour of the local slaughterhouse -- whatever it takes to hold on to the scrap of world that is home.

The Sisters Montclair

by Cathy Holton

The last thing twenty-one-year-old Stella Nightingale wants is a job as a caregiver for wealthy Alice Montclair Whittington.  Alice, a ninety-four-year-old Southern grande dame with a dry sense of humor and a wicked tongue, has already run off a long line of caregivers.  But Stella, a former runaway from a broken home who's only recently begun to put her life back together, is desperate for work.  And she figures she can handle Alice.

But strange things are happening at Alice's rambling mountaintop estate.  As an unlikely friendship develops between the two women, Alice, whose memory comes and goes, begins to reveal long-ago tales of her illustrious past, tales that pose more questions than they answer.  Who is her mysterious sister, Laura? Why won't Alice and her sister, Adeline, ever speak of her?  And why are the other caregivers afraid to go down in the basement?

As Stella tries to separate fact from fiction in Alice's life, she struggles to overcome her own devastating family secret, compelled by a deepening friendship that will change the lives of both women forever.

 

Postcards from the Dead

by Laura Childs

New Orleans is in the throes of another fantastic Mardi Gras celebration when the party gets crashed by a murderer.  Now a scrapbooking sleuth is going to have to stop the partying to catch the killer. . .

There's a parade rolling through the historic French Quarter, with gigantic floats, silver beads, and dizzying lights -- and Kimber Breeze of KBEZ-TV is broadcasting live from a small balcony on the fourth floor of the Hotel Tremain, interviewing locals and capturing the spectacle down below.  Her next subject will be Carmela Bertrand, owner of Memory Mine scrapbooking shop.  Carmela has never been a fan of Kimber, but she isn't about to turn down the chance of good publicity for her shop. 

But before Carmela's shop gets its five minutes of fame, a killer slips onto the balcony and strangles Kimber with a cord, leaving her body dangling above the parade.  Carmela is horrified, but she quickly discovers the nightmare isn't over. Because someone is now leaving strange postcards at Carmela's shop -- signed by the dead Kimber.  Now Carmela and her friend Ava will have to risk their own necks to find out who's posing as a ghost -- and to expose a killer. . .

 

Barefoot in the Rain

by Roxanne St. Claire

They say you can never go home again. . .

When "Life Coach to the Stars" Jocelyn Bloom is embroiled in scandal, the only place she can hide is the one place she wishes she could forget. She left Barefoot Bay -- and the boy next door who knew all her secrets - years ago.  Now nothing about the tiny island off the coast of Florida is quite how she remembers it, especially Will Palmer.  He's even more gorgeous and tempting . . . and still capable of turning her world inside out.

But what if someone is waiting for you?

To Will Palmer, Guy Bloom is more than the elderly, senile neighbor he looks after -- he's the last connection to Jocelyn, the woman Will loved and lost.  But the reunion with Jocelyn doesn't go smoothly.  Shocked by the change in her father's personality, Jocelyn struggles to reconcile her dark childhood with the sweet, confused man who has grown close to Will.  Jocelyn has guided countless clients to happiness -- but can she escape the rainy days of her past for anew sunny future with Will?

Hunk for the Holidays

by Katie Lane

Always  putting business before pleasure, Cassie McPherson works hard for her family's construction business.  That might explain why she doesn't have a date for the company Christmas party.  But it doesn't quite explain why she's crazy enough to hire an escort for the event or -- crazier still -- why she's dying to unwrap him like a present. . .

With whiskey-colored eyes and a killer smile, James is one gorgeous hunk who really knows how to fill out a tuxedo.  He charms everyone -- including Cassie.  And when the night ends, the party doesn't stop.  As Cassie falls, literally, into his bed, James falls head over heels in love.  Now he has to figure out a way to tell her the truth: he's not an escort. He's her family's fiercest business rival.  But all he wants for Christmas is her. . .

 

War Stories

by Elisabeth Doyle

A wounded veteran seeks renewal through an imagined relationship with a neighborhood girl.  A grieving father finds peace and reconciliation at the site of a disastrous bus crash.  A young woman searches for identity and meaning in the wake of her husband's injury.  Teenagers embark on a fateful last joyride.

These are just a few of the characters and circumstances that comprise War Stories, the beautifully tragic collection of short fiction by Elisabeth Doyle.  Drawing upon both the literal and figurative meaning of her title, these diverse and deftly written stories are joined through Doyle's remarkable style and ease of creating a universe full of despair, hope, and dreams.

These nine tales tell of people young and old, male and female, who share two things:  humanity and resilience.  These are taut stories of unexpected loss, the enduring quest for transcendence, and heartbreaking love. At turns tender and harsh, tragic and yearning, these stories will leave you wanting more.

 

To Catch a Vampire

by Jennifer Harlow

Beatrice Alexander, telekinetic special agent, is still adjusting to life among the F.R.E.A.K.S. while wiping out zombies and other supernatural threats.  When Bea learns about her "special assignment" investigating a series of human disappearances with Oliver Montrose, her gorgeous but annoying vampire co-worker, she reluctantly agrees to go undercover.  Disguised as a married couple, they infiltrate the gothic vamp scene in Dallas.  While sniffing out clues, Oliver's convincing public -- and not so public -- displays of affection have Bea swooning in her bustier and fishnets.  Between contending with her fake husband's ex-lover Marianna and feeling guilty for hiding the mission from her werewolf crush Will, Bea discovers she's not the only F.R.E.A.K. keeping secrets.  Clubbing with the undead turns bloody when Oliver's old enemy, the Lord of Dallas, decides to seek his revenge.  Caught in the crossfire, Bea is up to her neck in blood-sucking trouble.

What books came home to you last week?