In My Mailbox (Just Received) 5/2/11

In my mailbox is a weekly bookish meme hosted by the Story Siren.  Check out what I received this week and be sure to link up with the story siren too.  Don't forget to comment below with a link to your IMM or tell me what you received, bought. or borrowed this week.

I am working at the election polls Monday so this post has been pre-scheduled.  Here's what I'm excited about:

I won The Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead at Geeky Bloggers Book Blog.  Thank you Felicia!

Synopsis:  It All Comes Down to Now.  Murder. Love. Jealousy. And the ultimate sacrifice.

The Queen is dead and the Moroi world will never be the same.  Now, with Rose awaiting wrongful execution and Lissa in a deadly struggle for the royal throne, the girls find themselves forced to rely upon enemies and to question those they thought they could trust...

But what if true freedom means sacrificing the most important thing of all?

Each other.

From James Beverly, the author, and Bostick Communications, I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Synopsis:  From the Publisher:  As James Beverly’s publisher, it may seem somewhat impossible for me to be objective. However, the Seamus … stories …touch the heart, open the mind, and tickle the funny-bone of children and adults alike…The reader steps into a safe world, where things turn out well for the “good guys” and not so well for the “bad guys.” These stories weave tales filled with clear common sense and make everyone laugh while doing so. Refreshing in every way, healthy values and good-natured whimsy bring home the intended lesson to children without being preachy. Fun, poignant and filled with wisdom, all the Seamus books, including this newest one, SEAMUS TO THE RESCUE!, will be handed down from generation to generation.

-Valerie Connelly, Publisher, Nightengale Press

I received this book from Tyndale Press in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Synopsis:  From New  York Times bestselling author G.P. Taylor comes the highly anticipated second volume in The Dopple Ganger Chronicles.

Erik Morrissey Ganger, famed explorer and detective (well, in his dreams), and his mischief-making sidekicks, twins Sadie and Saskia Dopple, didn't go looking for a secret tunnel beneath the school.  They never intended to make the acquaintance of a shifty private eye with a nose for trouble.  It wasn't part of the plan to come face-to-face with an old enemy-one with an agenda of his own that could destroy them all.  And unraveling the secret of the mysterious "indigo moon" was the furthest thing from their minds.

At Isambard Dunstan's School for Wayward Children, theses things just seem to happen.  In this second installment of The Dopple Ganger Chronicles, confirmed troublemakers Erik, Sadie and Saskia plunge headlong into a new and perilous mystery-one that challenges everything they thought they knew about their lives, themselves, and who it's safe to trust.

I received a complimentary copy of Buddy's Tale by K. Anne Russelll from the author in conjuction with Bostick Communications. 

Synopsis:  Buddy Boutonniere, a big-hearted Standard Poodle, subsists in the bare backyard of a tract home in the desert city of Yucca Dunes. MacKenzie, a Border Collie, and Javier, a Chihuahua, provide Buddy with companionship and bring him food scraps when his neglectful owners forget to provide for him. 

When Buddy's owners decide to move, Buddy meets a wonderful lady who visits his house with prospective buyers. The poodle's humans try to sell their dog and Buddy goes through a series of unsuitable living situations. The final family returns Buddy to the tract home not realizing the owners are out of town. His only lifeline, MacKenzie, is killed by an evil Hummer driver while bringing him food. Tiny Javier tries to support Buddy with the aid of Dumb Derek, a Rottweiler whose brain is damaged from years of guarding a chemical dump. The two are unable to help the poodle.

Buddy dies, but is brought back to life by Sonny, the Good Shepherd. Sonny grants Buddy's wish to go live with the wonderful lady, in return for his promise to go with Sonny when he comes back for him. Buddy has a happy life with the lady and her dog, Skootch. Together they rescue abandoned Leroy and abused Roxanne. Years later, during Skootch's fifteenth birthday party, Sonny comes for Buddy. True to his word, he goes without complaint.

Sonny takes Buddy to Haven, the canine paradise, where he is reunited with MacKenzie. Sonny explains the rules in Haven; dogs acquire free will and give up their role of caring for humans. Their only responsibility is to help guide other dogs to Haven. Buddy excels at guiding, but on a mission to bring back a bomb dog from Afghanistan, Buddy breaks the rule and helps a human, the dog's Marine partner.

The residents of Haven are furious with the poodle and he is exiled to the perimeter of paradise. There he meets a young girl who has died of cancer and befriends her, another infraction of the rules. He is dragged before the communal tribunal, where MacKenzie defends him. With the help of the marine and the girl, MacKenzie convinces the judges that Buddy is not an offender, but a hero.

What's in your mailbox?  Be sure to leave a comment here and to link with The Story Siren too.