Inspiring Book Envy

Usually I receive books from publishers and other sources on a fairly irregular basis, so I don't bother with a 'Books Received This Week' type post - but this week has been deeply unusual and unbelievably fantastic in terms of books received, so I have decided to share. Let me know if you have any of these; have read any of them; are looking forward to them! Do you have an opinion on which I should tackle first?!



The Prince of Mist - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Received from publisher (Orion Publishing Co)
Release Date: 27 May 2010

Excited? Hell yeah! I have loved each and every one of the books I've read by this author. It has extra appeal because it is a slender volume and should be a nice quick read. I have a feeling I'll be getting to this one very quickly!




The Alchemist and The Angel - Joanne Owen
Received from publisher (Orion Publishing Co)
Release Date: 6 May 2010

This one looks like a good read, from the publisher's blurb: Everything changes for orphaned Jan when his beloved uncle, Gustav - anatomist, natural scientist and aspiring alchemist - enlists his help in a quest to create a life-generating serum. To test the serum, they must follow a set of ancient instructions and play a dangerous game of bringing the inanimate to life...When Gustav dies suddenly, it's up to Jan to continue his work - little does he know that his beautiful, calculating aunt dreams of using the serum for her own purposes - eternal life. Under the facade of her grief, she convinces Jan they must move from Vienna to Prague, and when she mysteriously disappears, Jan searches for her. In the plague-ridden ghettos and the court of the mad Emperor Rudolf, he must pit his wits against an extraordinary cast of characters and events. His only ally is Zuzana, a girl with secrets of her own.



White Is For Witching - Helen Oyeyemi
Received from publisher (Pan Macmillan)
Release Date: 1 May 2010

I love nothing better than review copies that I am not aware of before they drop through the front door - they're almost more exciting in some ways because you have the joy of checking out the information and realising that this book could be pretty special. And I definitely got that feeling with this book!



The Eleventh Plague - Darren Craske
Received from author! Signed copy!
Release date: Already released (4 March 2010)

I followed Darren Craske on Twitter and, after sharing a bit of chitchat, he offered me a signed copy of his novel - and I am NOT one to turn down a kind offer like that! It is a sequel to his first, which I shall be picking up myself in order to fully enjoy the read - for this reason only I shall probably be reading other books ahead of it, because the book sounds very cool!



The Affinity Bridge - George Mann
Received from Neil Ford via Twitter
Already released!

I tend to natter away on Twitter quite a bit. To a shocking extent actually. But on more than a few occasions, it has paid off in spades. In this case, Neil saw my comments about not having tried any steampunk fiction to date and wanting to rectify this with good examples of the genre. So he very kindly sent this book through and the next books, which is...



Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Received from Neil Ford
Already released!

I've heard nothing but good things about this book, so I'm thrilled to dip my toe into steampunk with these two books!

Finally....





















I Am Not A Serial Killer - Dan Wells (Headline)
Nefertiti - Nick Drake (Transworld)
Red-Headed Stepchild - Jaye Wells(Orbit)

Received from Play.com!
Already released!

These three books were purchased by me since, in all three cases I have received the second book in the series from review from the publisher, so I wanted to catch up on the series.

Phew! What a haul!

Drop me a comment - even if it's just to tell me how much you hate me because of how many great books I have on my imminent reading list!