Mailbox Monday-- March 29th

Thanks to host Marcia at The Printed Page I'm participating in the Mailbox Monday round up. This week I received the following advance review copies:

1) Flirting with Forever by Gwyn Cready. Amazon Product Description. In RITA® Award–winning author Gwyn Cready’s fun and sexy new time-travel adventure, an ambitious writer discovers that bad-boy painters are as timeless—and irresistible—as their art. . . .Art historian Campbell Stratford is about to make a name for herself with her scandalously sexy tell-all “fictographies” of famous seventeenth-century artists, but she’s more iintimately familiar with her subjects than her eager readers can imagine. Thanks to a time portal she accidentally discovered, she has caused quite a stir in the Great Beyond. To save their reputations, the Guild protecting dead artists convinces playboy Peter Lely, portraitist to the king, to sabotage Cam’s latest project. A few hours posing on Sir Peter’s modeling chaise leads to a night of seductive passion—then Cam returns home and discovers his betrayal. But before she can turn her angry pen on her lover, Sir Peter makes a surprise visit to the future and transforms Cam’s twenty-first-century life into chaos of classic proportions. . . .

Thanks to Pocket Books at Simon and Schuster.

2) Kissing Frogs in Cyberspace by Dianne Sweeney. Amazon Product Description. In today's age of virtual hook-ups and online encounters, it is no surprise that there are thousands of web sites devoted to Internet dating. Told in a series of vignettes, Kissing Frogs in Cyberspace, Dianne Sweeney's revealing account of dating in the 21st century takes you on a hilarious, often poignant journey of online dates, dumps, and disasters. As she discovers the world of Internet dating is blessed by those seeking true love and plagued by those just seeking. Kissing Frogs in Cyberspace uncovers the reality of online dating--its pleasures, its horrors, and all the quirky stuff in between.

Thanks to Pump Up Your Books.

3) The November Criminals by Sam Munson. Publisher's Summary. or a high school senior, Addison Schacht has a lot of preoccupations. Like getting into college. Selling drugs to his classmates. His complicated relationship with his best friend (NOT his girlfriend) Digger. And he's just added another to the list: the murder of his classmate Kevin Broadus, and his own absurd, obsessive plan to investigate the death. When presented with an essay question on his application to the University of Chicago—What are your best and worst qualities?—Addison finds himself provoked into giving his final, unapologetic say about all of the above and more.

Addison Schacht finds good company among American literature's cadre of unsettled, restless youth, from Huck Finn to Holden Caulfield. The November Criminals takes on the terrain of the classic adolescent truth-telling novel and—with nerve and erudition—carves out its own unique territory.

4) The Swimming Pool by Holly Lecraw. Publisher's Summary. Seven summers ago, Marcella Atkinson fell in love with Cecil McClatchey, a married father of two. But on the same night their romance abruptly ended, Cecil's wife was found murdered—and their lives changed forever. The case was never solved, and Cecil died soon after, an uncharged suspect.

Now divorced and estranged from her only daughter, Marcella lives alone, mired in grief and guilt. Meanwhile, Cecil's grown son, Jed, returns to the Cape with his sister for the first time in years. One day he finds a woman's bathing suit buried in a closet—a relic, unbeknownst to him, of his father's affair—and, on a hunch, confronts Marcella. When they fall into an affair of their own, their passion temporarily masks the pain of the past, but also leads to crises and revelations they never could have imagined.

In what is sure to be the debut of the season, The Swimming Pool delivers a sensuous narrative of such force and depth that you won't be able to put it down.

Thanks to Random House.

5)The 3-Day Cleanse by Zoe Sakoutis and Erica Huss. Amazon Product Description. Celebrities, foodies and media people rely on the Blueprint Cleanse for relief from the excess, overindulgence and toxins we are all exposed to every day. Now, the founders of the cleanse praised in Elle, Vogue and Every Day with Rachel Ray, offer THE 3-DAY CLEANSE, an at-home juice cleansing program for everyone. Cleansing allows the digestive system to rid itself of the toxins everyone accumulates from unhealthy eating or from the environment. This is a customized program based on your own personal health and lifestyle. Unlike other programmes the Blueprint Cleanse includes enough calories and natural fats for an easier yet incredibly effective cleanse. This books guides readers through step-by-step guidelines for a 1-day, 3-day and 14-day cleanse, as well as a long-term maintenance plan. There are sidebars with quick tips, secrets and advice from people who have done the cleanse and in addition to the juice, raw and part-raw recipes the authors include advice on battling the urge to cheat and working the cleanse into a busy lifestyle. It will boost your immune system, alleviate allergies and PMS, improve your mood and sex drive and clear up your skin. Finally.

6) Worst Case by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge. Amazon Product Description. Product Description
Best case: survival

The son of one of New York's wealthiest families is snatched off the street and held hostage. His parents can't save him, because this kidnapper isn't demanding money. Instead, he quizzes his prisoner on the price others pay for his life of luxury. In this exam, wrong answers are fatal.

Worst case: death

Detective Michael Bennett leads the investigation. With ten kids of his own, he can't begin to understand what could lead someone to target anyone's children. As another student disappears, one powerful family after another uses their leverage and connections to turn the heat up on the mayor, the press--anyone who will listen--to stop this killer. Their reach extends all the way to the FBI, who send their top Abduction Specialist, Agent Emily Parker. Bennett's life--and love life--suddenly get even more complicated.

This case: Detective Michael Bennett is on it

Before Bennett has a chance to protest the FBI's intrusion on his case, the mastermind changes his routine. His plan leads up to the most devastating demonstration yet--one that could bring cataclysmic devastation to every inch of New York. From the shocking first page to the last exhilarating scene, Worst Case is a non-stop thriller from "America's #1 storyteller" (Forbes).

Thanks to Hachette Book Group.