Monday, May 9, 2011

Mailbox Monday -- May 9th!


The reason why I love Mondays -- Mailbox Monday hosted this month by MariReads. Below are the review copies I received this week:

1) The Little Women Letters by Gabrielle Donnelly. Publisher's Summary. Vibrant, fresh, and intelligent, The Little Women Letters explores the imagined lives of Jo March's descendants—three sisters who are both thoroughly modern and thoroughly March. As uplifting and essential as Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, Gabrielle Donnelly's novel will speak to anyone who's ever fought with a sister, fallen in love with a fabulous pair of shoes, or wondered what on earth life had in store for her.

With her older sister, Emma, planning a wedding and her younger sister, Sophie, preparing to launch a career on the London stage, Lulu can't help but feel like the failure of the Atwater family. Lulu loves her sisters dearly and wants nothing but the best for them, but she finds herself stuck in a rut, working dead-end jobs with no romantic prospects in sight. When her mother asks her to find a cache of old family recipes in the attic of her childhood home, Lulu stumbles across a collection of letters written by her great-great-grandmother Josephine March. In her letters, Jo writes in detail about every aspect of her life: her older sister, Meg's, new home and family; her younger sister Amy's many admirers; Beth's illness and the family's shared grief over losing her too soon; and the butterflies she feels when she meets a handsome young German. As Lulu delves deeper into the lives and secrets of the March sisters, she finds solace and guidance, but can the words of her great-great-grandmother help Lulu find a place for herself in a world so different from the one Jo knew? Vibrant, fresh, and intelligent, The Little Women Letters explores the imagined lives of Jo March's descendants—three sisters who are both thoroughly modern and thoroughly March. As uplifting and essential as Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, Gabrielle Donnelly's novel will speak to anyone who's ever fought with a sister, fallen in love with a fabulous pair of shoes, or wondered what on earth life had in store for her.

Some things, of course, remain unchanged: the stories and jokes that form a family's history, the laughter over tea in the afternoon, the desire to do the right thing in spite of obstacles. And above all, of course, the fierce, undying, and often infuriating bond of sisterhood that links the Atwater women every bit as firmly as it did the March sisters all those years ago. Both a loving tribute to Little Women and a wonderful contemporary family story, The Little Women Letters is a heartwarming, funny, and wise novel for today.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster!

2) Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens. Publisher's Summary. From the acclaimed author of Still Missing comes a psychological thriller about one woman’s search into her past and the deadly truth she uncovers.

All her life, Sara Gallagher has wondered about her birth parents. As an adopted child with two sisters who were born naturally to her parents, Sara did not have an ideal home life. The question of why she was given up for adoption has always haunted her. Finally, she is ready to take steps and to find closure.

But some questions are better left unanswered.

After months of research, Sara locates her birth mother---only to be met with horror and rejection. Then she discovers the devastating truth: Her mother was the only victim ever to escape a killer who has been hunting women every summer for decades. But Sara soon realizes the only thing worse than finding out about her father is him finding out about her.

What if murder is in your blood?

Never Knowing is a complex and compelling portrayal of one woman’s quest to understand herself, her origins, and her family. That is, if she can survive. . . .

Thanks to St. Martin's Press!

16 comments:

  1. Oh I so envy Never Knowing I simply loved Still Missing. Want this one so bad. Hope you enjoy it.

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  2. The Little Women Letter looks like a great books, hope you enjoy it!

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  3. Sounds like two good ones! I still haven't read Still Missing and it's been sitting on my shelf forever! Happy reading :)

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  4. The Little Women Letters is going on my wish list. It sounds like a great read. I also received a copy of Never Knowing which I hope will be every bit as good as Still Missing.

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  5. I hope you enjoy these, they do sound good!

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  6. Both of these sound really good! I thought Still Missing was pretty good, so I'm curious about Never Knowing. Looking forward to your thoughts.

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  7. I want to read both these books but I loved Still Missing so I am extremely jealous of Never Knowing. Enjoy!

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  8. They both sound like good reads, enjoy!

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  9. Those both sound fantastic! I hope you enjoy them.

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  10. Those look like they'll be a couple of good ones. Enjoy!

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  11. oooooooooooooohhhhhhh Never Knowing just gave me the chills. That's one heavy duty book to read with all the lights ON!

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  12. The Little Women Letters looks really cute. I'll be anxious to see how you like it!

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  13. I'm looking forward to your review of The LIttle Women Letters!

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  14. Aisle B is right...Never Knowing sounds chilling! Enjoy your books!

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  15. I read March by Geraldine Brooks a few years ago, which follows the father in the Civil War. I enjoyed that so I tried to read Little Women earlier this year, but I'm afraid it was a DNF (the first one of this year) - think I'm far too old now (and too cynical) to appreciate it - a more modern version would probably be more fun.

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