Sunday, March 18, 2012

In My Mailbox (18)



In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. To see this weeks list of participants go here.

I had a great week, here is what I received in the mail and through Netgalley:

Just Down the Road by Jodi Thomas
Berkley Publishing
Harmony, Texas, is a place where dreams are born. As the townspeople face unexpected endings and new beginnings, they also come face to face with themselves—and what’s most important in life...

When Tinch Turner lost his wife, he gave up on living. Now he spends his nights brooding, boozing, and brawling. When one of his escapades lands him in the ER, he finds himself staring up at the beautiful new doctor in town. For the first time in years, he feels a spark, but Addison Spencer wants nothing to do with the unruly rancher—or any man for that matter. She’s only in Harmony four months, long enough for the trouble she left behind to be over. But then a vulnerable little boy barrels into both their lives, forcing them out of the past—and into a future where love is just down the road...

In the meantime, as Reagan Truman grieves her beloved uncle, she finds comfort in the makeshift family she’s made in Harmony—and in a new baby, the first born in the Wright Funeral Home in 45 years, proving to everyone that life does go on…
Since Tinch Turner lost his wife, he's spent his nights brooding, boozing, and brawling. When one of his escapades lands him in the ER, he finds himself staring up at the beautiful new doctor in town, Addison Spencer-and for the first time in years, he feels a spark. Meanwhile, Reagan Truman finds comfort in the makeshift family she's made in Harmony-and in a new baby, the first born in the Wright Funeral Home in 45 years, proving to everyone that life does go on


Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper
Pocket Star, Jane Jameson #1
Maybe it was the Shenanigans gift certificate that put her over the edge. When children's librarian and self-professed nice girl Jane Jameson is fired by her beastly boss and handed twenty-five dollars in potato skins instead of a severance check, she goes on a bender that's sure to become Half Moon Hollow legend. On her way home, she's mistaken for a deer, shot, and left for dead. And thanks to the mysterious stranger she met while chugging neon-colored cocktails, she wakes up with a decidedly unladylike thirst for blood.
Jane is now the latest recipient of a gift basket from the Newly Undead Welcoming Committee, and her life-after-lifestyle is taking some getting used to. Her recently deceased favorite aunt is now her ghostly roommate. She has to fake breathing and endure daytime hours to avoid coming out of the coffin to her family. She's forced to forgo her favorite down-home Southern cooking for bags of O negative. Her relationship with her sexy, mercurial vampire sire keeps running hot and cold. And if all that wasn't enough, it looks like someone in Half Moon Hollow is trying to frame her for a series of vampire murders. What's a nice undead girl to do?

 Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men by Molly Harper
Pocket Star, Jane Jameson #2
Following Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs, the second in a hilarious, smart, sexy romantic series about an out-of-work librarian who is turned into a vampire.

With her best friend Zeb’s Titanic-themed wedding looming ahead, new vampire Jane Jameson struggles to develop her budding relationship with her enigmatic sire, Gabriel. It seems unfair that she’s expected to master undead dating while dealing with a groom heading for a nuptial nervous breakdown, his hostile werewolf in-laws, and the ugliest bridesmaid dress in the history of marriage. Meanwhile, the passing of Jane’s future step-grandpa puts Grandma Ruthie back on the market. Her new fiancÉ, Wilbur, has his own history of suspiciously dead spouses, and he may or may not have died ten years ago. Half-Moon Hollow’s own Black Widow has finally met her match. Should Jane warn her grandmother of Wilbur’s marital habits or let things run their course? Will Jane always be an undead bridesmaid, never the undead bride? Combining Mary Janice Davidson’s sass and the charm of Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse novels, this is an incredibly satisfying read for fans of paranormal romantic comedy.

 Nice Girls Don't Live Forever by Molly Harper
Pocket Star, Jane Jameson #3
Nothing sucks the romance out of world travel like a boyfriend who may or may not have broken up with you in a hotel room in Brussels. Jane Jameson’s sexy sire, Gabriel, has always been unpredictable. But the seductive, anonymous notes that await him at each stop of their international vacation, coupled with his evasive behavior over the past few months, finally push Jane onto the next flight home to Half Moon Hollow — alone, upset, and unsure whether Gabriel just ended their relationship without actually telling her.
Now the children’s-librarian-turned-vampire is reviving with plenty of Faux Type O, some TLC from her colorful friends and family, and her plans for a Brave New Jane. Step One: Get her newly-renovated occult bookstore off the ground. Step Two: Support her best friend, Zeb, and his werewolf bride as they prepare for the impending birth of their baby . . . or litter. Step Three: Figure out who’s been sending her threatening letters, and how her hostile pen pal is tied to Gabriel. Because for this nice girl, surviving a broken heart is becoming a matter of life and undeath...




NIV Boys Bible by Zondervans Bible
Zondervan for FIRST Wild Card Tour
A Bible just for boys! As part of the 2:52 series for boys, the 2:52 Boys' Bible, NIV, is the 'ultimate manual' for boys ages 8 to 12. Based on Luke 2:52: 'And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men,' this Bible helps boys become more like Jesus mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially-smarter, stronger, deeper, and cooler. The 2:52 Track takes boys through the Bible. Each reading highlights people, stories, and Scriptures that help boys grow toward maturity and manhood. Additional features include 'Make It Stick' - Special entry spaces for everything from fun doodles and sketches to quick responses to the text; 'Get a Load of This' - Interesting and sometimes humorous info about Bible facts, Bible times, and Bible characters; and 'Gross!' - Gross and gory facts in the Bible.

 Sacriledge by S.J. Parris
Doubleday
A gripping historical thriller set in sixteenth-century England and centered on the highly secretive cult of Saint Thomas Becket, the twelfth-century archbishop murdered in Canterbury Cathedral.

London, summer of 1584: Radical philosopher, ex-monk, and spy Giordano Bruno suspects he is being followed by an old enemy. He is shocked to discover that his pursuer is in fact Sophia Underhill, a young woman with whom he was once in love. When Bruno learns that Sophia has been accused of murdering her husband, a prominent magistrate in Canterbury, he agrees to do anything he can to help clear her name.
    
In the city that was once England's greatest center of pilgrimage, Bruno begins to uncover unsuspected secrets that point to the dead man being part of a larger and more dangerous plot in the making. He must turn his detective's eye on history—on Saint Thomas Becket, the twelfth-century archbishop murdered in Canterbury Cathedral, and on the legend surrounding the disappearance of his body—in order to solve the crime.
    
As Bruno's feelings for Sophia grow more intense, so does his fear that another murder is about to take place—perhaps his own. But more than Bruno's life is at stake in this vividly rendered, impeccably researched, and addictively page-turning whodunit—the stability of the kingdom hangs in the balance as Bruno hunts down a brutal murderer in the shadows of England's most ancient cathedral.

Monarch Beach by Anita Hughes
St. Martins Press, Netgalley
When Amanda Blick, a young mother and kindhearted San Francisco heiress, finds her gorgeous French chef husband wrapped around his sous-chef, she knows she must flee her life in order to rebuild it. The opportunity falls into her lap when her (very lovable) mother suggests Amanda and her young son, Max, spend the summer with her at the St. Regis Resort in Laguna Beach. With the waves right outside her windows and nothing more to worry about than finding the next relaxing thing to do, Amanda should be having the time of her life—and escaping the drama. But instead, she finds herself faced with a kind, older divorcee who showers her with attention… and she discovers that the road to healing is never simple. This is the sometimes funny, sometimes bitter, but always moving story about the mistakes and discoveries a woman makes when her perfect world is turned upside down.



The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge by Christine Nolfi
from the author
A savage rape on hallowed ground. Secrets buried for decades by the town’s most influential family.

Now Ourania D’Andre will learn the Great Oak’s secrets as construction begins at the Fagan mansion. She can’t afford to turn down a job that promises to stir up the long-buried guilt—and the passion—she shares with powerful Troy Fagan.

She’s already juggling the most important job of her career with her new responsibilities as a foster mother for young Walt and Emma Korchek. And there’s a hard, older man on the construction crew with eyes void of emotion—cold and killing. The secrets of his brutal past will pose a grave threat to the children in her care. Will she find the courage to face him?

 Hiding in Plain Sight by Amy Wallace
Netgalley, Harvest House Publishers
In a quiet town with a thriving Mennonite community, police officer Ashley Walters finds her threadbare faith and way of life challenged by the Plain people whose simple dress and welcoming manner open her eyes to a God she left behind. Peace eludes Ashley until she realizes the answers she seeks aren't found in starting over but in returning to the simple truth that it's God who overcomes the world, not her.
Written for women who desire action-packed suspense, romance, and an escape into the peaceful world of the Mennonites, Hiding in Plain Sight delves into the painful struggle to fit in and the search for peace that so often eludes our fast-paced lives.


The Joy of Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Baking by Denene Wallace and Peter Reinhart
Netgalley, Ten Speed Press
The first gluten-free baking book from legendary bread maker and James Beard Award-winning author Peter Reinhart, with 80 world-class recipes suitable for wheat sensitive, diabetic, and low-carb/low-sugar dieters.

Bestselling author and beloved baking instructor Peter Reinhart turns his attention to healthful breads, pastries, cookies, cakes, and more in The Joy of Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Baking, crafting baked goods that are suitable for special diets and taste just as good as the originals. The Joy of Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Baking is a comprehensive and long-term lifestyle prescription for the millions of Americans who are sensitive to gluten, diabetic, orneed to reduce carbs to prevent illness. Reinhart and Wallace teach readers how to make their own seed and nut flours; stock their pantries; make a gluten-free, low-carb sugar substitute; and more. By using nut and seed flours instead of starches, Reinhart and Wallace have crafted no-sacrifice, easy-to-bake recipes that revolutionize baking for special diets—and satisfy anyone’s craving for warm bread or decadent cake.

What did you get in your mailbox this week?  Make sure you leave me a link and I will be sure and stop by your blog.