In My Mailbox 29

For review:
My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent - I've been really looking forward to this one. Thanks MiraInk.
Hector & The Secrets of Love by François Lelord - I just finished reading this yesterday, it's a really fun story. Thanks to Gallic.

From BookMooch 
Damsel in Distress and Requiem for a Mezzo by Carola Dunn
The Rilloby Fair Mystery by Enid Blyton
Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery
The Gravedigger's Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates
Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James

It's been a pretty good week for me! What did you get?


In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

Monday Memories 1

I'd like to introduce you to my new weekly blog feature, "Monday Memories". Every Monday I'll be taking a look back at one of my favourite books or series from when I was younger. I hope you enjoy this feature, and feel free to join in with your own Monday Memories post too if you want to!

I thought it would be fitting to kick off with my all time favourite book series, The Famous Five by Enid Blyton. I absolutely loved these books, I had the whole series and I used to read them constantly. My brother and I even used to make up our own adventures and pretend to be two of the Famous Five (I was always George because she was my favourite).

I don't really remember how or when I first got into these books, I assume my parents thought they were the sort of books they wanted me to read and decided to buy me some. I remember having about half of the series that were old second hand copies, then I would save up my pocket money to buy new hardback copies of the books I was missing. I remember they were about £2-3 and because I only used to get £5 a month pocket money I could only buy one a month so it took me a while to get the full set.

I loved all of Enid Blyton's books, but the Famous Five were always a firm favourite. I loved the relationship between the characters, I loved that George was a tomboy and she had her own island, and I loved Timmy the dog. They used to have the coolest adventures, and I think that reading these stories probably made me more adventurous too.

In My Mailbox

I haven't done much reading this week, but I have got lots of books. I bought Bimbo and Topsy by Enid Blyton because it's a childhood favourite that I wanted to re-read. The rest of the books this week are from swaps.

Gillian and Imogen's lives are very ordinary until Bimbo the Siamese kitten and Topsy the fox terrier come to live at their house. Suddenly, nothing is boring or quiet again as the animals rush around causing chaos wherever they go.

 Someone is killing Catholic priests. FBI profiler Maggie O'Dell is brought in to investigate the killing spree and it soon becomes clear to her that more than one perpetrator is responsible. The gruesome murders leave the public reeling. Then O'Dell gets a lead that leaves her stunned.

For years she has been hunting Father Keller, the monster whose acts of brutality continue to haunt her. When he offers to help Maggie solve the crimes, she has no choice but to ally herself with the elusive child killer, crossing a dangerous line into a world from which she may not return unscathed.
Maggie knows the bargain is a necessary evil... one that may be made in blood...

Cat Cleary has escaped the Irish slums and is looking for work in Liverpool. She's full of hope, determined to make her fortune and be someone. Joe Calligan, a deckhand who saves Cat's life, can't bring himself to tell her, the most beautiful girl he's ever set eyes upon, that Liverpool is full of people walking the streets, looking for work.

As soon as Cat sees the luxury liner the White Empress her heart is set on becoming Chief Stewardess. Despite her lack of money or education, Cat sets about achieving her incredible dream. Whilst doing so, she discovers that having a good man by her side will bring her more happiness than she could ever have hoped for.

When father-of-two Sam loses his job, he reluctantly agrees to stay at home while his wife returns to work. Secretly thinking this whole parenthood thing a breeze of leisurely jaunts to the park and occasionally attending a civilised play date or two, Sam quickly realises just what exactly it means to be a stay-at-home parent.

Inevitably, domestic mayhem ensues. Just trying to get out of the house without going to A&E is a feat, as is managing the children's complicated play date schedule while fending off the unwelcome advances of Jodhpur Mum at the playground. And Sam's foolproof 72-step Childcare Programme doesn't seem remotely up to the task.
Desperate to get his life back on track, Sam seizes upon a variety of mad schemes, but just as things look like they're beginning to fall into place, he makes a very surprising discovery...

Sir Charles Berkeley comes from humble roots, but through a humiliating war with Scotland, he is able to make a name for himself and attract the patronage of the influential Earl of Holland.

Moving to London, his new marriage is soon interrupted by the spiralling events of the 1640's where the struggle between King and Parliament begins to escalate beyond any control.
He struggles to live in the hub of all this discord and during the overlooked, but pivotal year of 1641, he finds himself determined to remain above the fray.
Life will never be the same as the country lurches ever closer to civil war. Sir Charles agonizes over the decision that many of our ancestors would have grappled with - King or Parliament?
Very soon, Sir Charles is thrust into the dispute and is at the forefront of the crisis, experiencing the battle for power from both sides.
Enter the world of the 17th century!

One summer's day in 1957, nineteen-year-old Lewis Aldridge stands alone at Waterford railway station. The only person awaiting his return is a fifteen-year-old girl called Kit Carmichael. Like him, she endured a childhood spent in the stifling atmosphere of an English village recovering from the ravages of the Second World War.

A decade earlier it was Lewis who waited for his father's homecoming from the war. His mother, a free-spirited and glamorous woman, holds husband and son in her thrall. But when tragedy strikes, Lewis and his father, unable to console one another, are torn apart by their grief.
Now, from the fractured remains of their old lives, Kit and Lewis must forge their own futures. As menacing as it is beautiful, The Outcast is a devastating portrait of transgression and redemption from an astonishing new voice.

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.