Mailbox Monday-- Even Steven

I think this might be the first week that I received the same number of books as I sent out. I sent 4 books to new Paperback Swap foster homes, and received 4 from other PBS members. Here's the scoop:

--Pagan's Crusade by Catherine Jinks. Book One of the Pagan Chronicles: "Pagan, a streetwise teenager in muddy, medieval Jerusalem, tries to escape his criminal past by joining the Templar Knights. He becomes a squire to Lord Roland de Bram, a rigid, proper Knight, and together they uncover a plot to invade the Holy City."

--The Birth of Blue Satan, Introducing Blue Satan and Mrs. Kean by Patricia Wynn. "Patricia Wynn's The Birth of Blue Satan introduces a new historical series featuring vigilante duo Blue Satan, aka Gideon Fitzsimmons Viscount St. Mars, and his friend Hester Kean. Gideon, wrongly accused of murdering his father in the midst of political unrest, goes underground to seek the real killer."

--Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. This ARC was a freebie from Cheryl who stuck it in the package with Blue Satan. Thanks, Cheryl! "May and Pearl, two sisters living in Shanghai in the mid-1930s, are beautiful, sophisticated, and well-educated, but their family is on the verge of bankruptcy. Hoping to improve their social standing, May and Pearl’s parents arrange for their daughters to marry “Gold Mountain men” who have come from Los Angeles to find brides. But when the sisters leave China and arrive at Angel’s Island (the Ellis Island of the West)--where they are detained, interrogated, and humiliated for months--they feel the harsh reality of leaving home. And when May discovers she’s pregnant the situation becomes even more desperate. The sisters make a pact that no one can ever know." I've enjoyed other books by See, and I'm really looking forward to this one.

--Dog On It by Spencer Quinn. "Chet the Jet is a dog who failed K-9 school (cats in the open country played a role in his demise), but now he is a dedicated PI and works with Bernie, owner of the Little Detective Agency. The story is told entirely from Chet’s point of view, but the book is also an excellent PI tale, dogs aside, as Chet and Bernie investigate the disappearance of a teenage girl whose developer dad may be up to no good." This is next up on my reading list, and I have to say that my tail wags just thinking about cracking it open!

Thanks to Marcia of The Printed Page for hosting this meme. If you'd like to see what others received in their mailboxes last week, just click on that hungry-looking mailbox at the top of this post!