Waiting on Wednesday (25)

"Waiting on Wednesday"  is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 


This week's WoW is . . .  

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken


When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something frightening enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have been cursed with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby has spent nearly half her life desperately trying to hide the fact that she’s outwitted the camp’s sorting system—that she isn’t powerless, or safe. She’s one of the dangerous ones… and everyone knows what happens to them.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of teens who escaped their own camp, pursued along the way by terrifying bounty hunters. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close to him. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Before the end, Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

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I love, love, love the sound of this.

The sense of danger and adventure is so tangible in the synopsis alone.  It sounds like a fast-paced, romantic, wild ride of a story, and I am always up for that.  To be perfectly honest, I hadn't even heard of this until BEA; then everyone kept saying how awfully excited they were for this, how desperate they were to get their hands on a copy, and I thought, Well, perhaps I should check this thing out. Y'know. Perhaps. 

And when I did, it took about .2 seconds for me to decide I needed this to be mine.  

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Waiting on Wednesday (24)

"Waiting on Wednesday"  is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 


This week's WoW is . . .  

The Diviners by Libba Bray


Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."

When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first.

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Libba Bray and the Roaring Twenties.

That's all you had to tell me.

Waiting on Wednesday (23)

"Waiting on Wednesday"  is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 


This week's WoW is . . .  

Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbrook


Two teenagers who, in search of a better life, run away to Vegas, but realize they can't run fast enough when they end up wanted by the police, out of money, and out of options, pitched as a YA Bonnie and Clyde.

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YA Bonnie and Clyde, guys.

YA Bonnie and Clyde. 

That, combined with the hysterical cover remakes and heartfelt reviews by fellow YA Highway-ers, convinced me that this book needs to be mine.

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Waiting on Wednesday (22)

"Waiting on Wednesday"  is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 


This week's WoW is . . .  

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd


London, 1894. Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father’s gruesome experiments. But when she learns her father is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations were true. 

Juliet is accompanied by the doctor’s handsome young assistant and an enigmatic castaway, who both attract Juliet for very different reasons. They travel to the island only to discover the depths of her father’s madness: he has created animals that have been vivisected to resemble, speak, and behave as humans. Worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island’s inhabitants. Juliet knows she must end her father’s dangerous experiments and escape the island, even though her horror is mixed with her own scientific curiosity. As the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father’s genius—and madness—in her own blood.

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Yes, this has a love triangle.

Yes, I'm not too fond of those.

But this sounds so eerie and beautiful and ridiculously unique that I'm willing to bet I will still adore it, and I would totally sell an arm to get my hands on an ARC.  

Waiting on Wednesday (21)

"Waiting on Wednesday"  is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 


This week's WoW is . . .  

Dualed by Elsie Chapman


Would you live through the ultimate test of survival?

The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.

Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.

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I don't know about you, but I think this sounds fucking AWESOME.

Unique. Fascinating. Action-packed. Powerful. Romantic.  A million other positive adjectives.

I'm so in love with this premise that I immediately added it to my TBR list before there was a cover or even a full synopsis.  It has a crazy amount of potential, and if the book is half as fantastic as that concept, I suspect it'll be one of my favorite reads of 2013.  (Or 2012, depending on when I read it.  Okay, so that might be my wishful thinking speaking.  Your point is?)

Also, Elsie is such a sweetie that I would've wanted this even if it didn't sound so insanely cool.

Really, though, I need this book in my life.

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Waiting on Wednesday (20)

"Waiting on Wednesday"  is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 


This week's WoW is . . . 

The Archived by Victoria Schwab


Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books. 

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive. 

Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous—it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da's death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall. 

In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.

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This novel looks ridiculously fantastic.

Gorgeous cover?  Check.  It's eerie and lovely and completely unique, a stand-out amongst rows of girls in pretty dresses.

Incredible premise? Check.  I mean . . . corpses stacked on shelves?  Constant danger, disappearing histories, restless dead?  That is my kind of novel, for sure.

Awesome author? Check.  I think you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who wouldn't agree that Victoria Schwab is just super cool.  Added bonus, no?

This just sounds so dark and haunting and completely beautiful, and that is exactly the kind of read I adore.

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Waiting on Wednesday (19)

"Waiting on Wednesday"  is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 


This week's WoW is . . .

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff


A DYING LAND 
The Shima Imperium is verging on the brink of environmental collapse; decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshippers of the Lotus Guild. The skies are red as blood, land choked with toxic pollution, wildlife ravaged by mass extinctions.

AN IMPOSSIBLE QUEST
The hunters of the imperial court are charged by their Shōgun to capture a thunder tiger—a legendary beast, half-eagle, half-tiger. But any fool knows thunder tigers have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shōgun is death.

A SIXTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL
Yukiko is a child of the Fox clan, possessed of a hidden gift that would see her executed by the Lotus Guild. Accompanying her father on the Shōgun’s hunt, she finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in Shima’s last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled thunder tiger for company. Even though she can hear his thoughts, even though she saved his life, all she knows for certain is he’d rather see her dead than help her.

But together, the pair will form an indomitable friendship, and rise to challenge the might of an empire.


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


So . . . I've wanted this for a long time.  A very, very long time. I blame the delay between the first stirrings of book lust and its feature on the lack of US cover art and my own absence.  Now that the ridiculously fantastic cover has been revealed and I am (sort-of-ish) back, here we are.


Stormdancer.


What is there even to say about this book?  I suspect many of you have heard of it before; I think over half of Goodreads would sell their first-borns (and maybe their second- and third-borns) just to get their hands on an ARC of their very own.


And why?

• Because Jay Kristoff is one of the most hilarious, frank, down-to-earth authors you'll ever have the pleasure of meeting/viewing on your computer screen.
• Because that synopsis is so full of awesome that I don't even know where to begin. Thunder tigers. Epic hunts.  Kick-ass heroines. JAPANESE STEAMPUNK.
• Because that cover is so goddamn sexy that anyone in their right mind wants it on their shelf.  And in a huge frame on their wall.  And as their desktop background. (Which, by the way, is actually a thing you can do.)

If this book wasn't already at the top of your I-WILL-FIND-A-COPY-IF-IT-KILLS-ME shelf, it should be.

That's it for this week! How about you guys? What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Waiting on Wednesday (18)

"Waiting on Wednesday"  is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


This week's WoW is . . .

Splintered by A. G. Howard

For sixteen years, Alyssa Gardner has lived with the stigma of being descended from Alice Liddell -- the real life inspiration for Lewis Carroll's famed novel, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. But cruel jokes about dormice and tea parties can’t compare to the fact that Alyssa hears the whispers of bugs and flowers ... the same quirk which sent her mother to a mental institution years before.


When her mother takes a turn for the worse and the whispers grow too strong for Alyssa to bear, she seeks the origins of their family curse. A set of heirlooms and a moth tied to an eerie website lead Alyssa and her gorgeous best friend / secret crush, Jeb, down the rabbit hole into the real Wonderland, a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on.


There, creepy and violent counterparts of the original fairytale crew reveal the purpose for Alyssa’s journey, and unless she fixes the things her great-great-great grandmother Alice put wrong, Wonderland will have her head.

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Where do I even begin? With the ridiculously fantastic premise featuring one of the most whimsical, crazy, lovely tales of all time?  With the hauntingly beautiful trailers?  Or maybe with the cover, which is wild and gorgeous and perfectly captures the feeling of encroaching madness.

I just love everything about this, and I expect it to be an insanely awesome read. My only problem?

It doesn't come out until January of 2013. Sigh.

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

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P.S. There are several giveaways coming up in the very near future, so stay tuned for that!

Waiting on Wednesday (16)

"Waiting on Wednesday"  is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


This week's WoW is . . . 

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

15 year old Tiger Lily, proud and fierce, wild and misunderstood, doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland, and immediately falls under his spell. Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, big-hearted but hard to reach, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything - her family, her future - to be with the haunted, hunted, courageous boy who loves her. When - as a punishment for her rebellious ways - she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter. With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart. 

From the New York Times bestselling author of PEACHES comes a magical and bewitching story of the romance between a fearless heroine and the boy who wouldn't grow up.

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Why I want to read this book:

It's about Peter Pan.

It's about Tiger Lily.

The cover is beyond gorgeous.

It sounds ridiculously fantastic.

I think that's all that needs to be said.  Now I'll just sit here and pray for July 3rd to come soon.

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Waiting on Wednesday (15)

"Waiting on Wednesday"  is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


This week's WoW is . . .

Hemlock by Kathleen Peackock


Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered.

Since then, Mac’s life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac’s hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy’s killer: A white werewolf. 

Lupine syndrome—also known as the werewolf virus—is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control. 

Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy’s murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy’s boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk. 

Kathleen Peacock’s thrilling novel is the first in the Hemlock trilogy, a spellbinding urban fantasy series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love.


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I'm kind of stunned that I haven't featured this one yet.  I believe I've been fangirling over this book for several months now, yet somehow, it's never appeared in a WoW.  For shame, Lexie, for shame.

Honestly, why I want this so badly? It's a combination of the usual three. Gorgeous cover, fantastic premise, and really awesome word of mouth.  

The cover is undeniably lovely.  Yes, it's the typical "girl in a dress," but it's dark and haunting and I love it.  I would be ecstatic to have this on my shelf.

The premise? Equally dark and equally entrancing.  A world where werewolves are known and hunted, where it's an increasingly common infection, where a girl must run for her life and investigate her best friend's murder.  I've seen my fair share of werewolf novels since the paranormal craze hit, but never one quite like this, and that is serious praise.  An original, awesome concept, particularly in paranormal, is something I seriously respect nowadays.

And finally, the reviews.  The reviews, for goodness sake.  My friends are in love with this.  Complete, head-over-heels in love. Even those who don't typically fall for the werewolf genre adore absolutely adore this book.  When people are shouting its praises from the rooftops, I'd be an idiot to ignore them.

What are you waiting on this Wednesday? Leave a link in the comments!

Waiting on Wednesday (14)

"Waiting on Wednesday"  is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


This week's WoW is . . .   

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake


In this follow-up to Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas begins seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he’s asleep, and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong. These aren’t just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears. 

Cas doesn’t know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn’t deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it’s time for him to return the favor.


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Yes, another sequel.  I was browsing my TBR list when I stumbled upon this gem, and I was stunned that I hadn't already featured it.  I actually had to pan back through my archives, to make absolutely certain that I hadn't already shared with the world my ridiculously high levels of excitement for this lovely, lovely book.  

Honestly? It's the same case as Days of Blood & Starlight. I loved the first book. Loved it, loved it, loved it.  It was horrifying and beautiful and witty rolled into one package of awesome and wrapped in one of the most gorgeous covers you will ever set your eyes upon.  

So when Anna is standing there in hell with her hand outstretched, just waiting for me to join, what else am I supposed to do?

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?  Leave a link in the comments and I'll be sure to check it out.

Waiting on Wednesday (13)

"Waiting on Wednesday"  is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


This week's WoW is . . .   

Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor


In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed "Daughter of Smoke and Bone," Karou must come to terms with who and what she is, and how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, mysteries and secrets, new characters and old favorites, Days of Blood and Starlight brings the richness, color and intensity of the first book to a brand new canvas.  


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Not a full summary, but I DON'T EVEN CARE.

If you remember, I really freaking loved Daughter of Smoke & Bone.  It was dark, different, and stunningly beautiful.  I am not typically a fan of the angel genre, considering just how many times I have seen the myths completely slaughtered, but Daughter of Smoke & Bone still managed to win me over.  Between the gorgeous, lyrical, and occasionally whimsical writing of Laini Taylor and the crazy amounts of imagination and originality stuffed between those pages, it's one of my Top 10 favorites of all time.

So of course "excited" doesn't accurately describe how I feel about this sequel.

It doesn't have a final cover.  It doesn't have a full summary. I know next-to-nothing about it.  I don't care.  I need this book to be mine, sooner rather than later.

What are you waiting on this Wednesday? Leave a link in the comments and I'll be sure to check it out.

Waiting on Wednesday (12)

"Waiting on Wednesday"  is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


This week's WoW is . . .   


The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandana

Eva's life is not her own. She is a creation, an abomination - an echo. Made by the Weavers as a copy of someone else, she is expected to replace a girl named Amarra, her 'other', if she ever died. Eva studies what Amarra does, what she eats, what it's like to kiss her boyfriend, Ray. So when Amarra is killed in a car crash, Eva should be ready. 

But fifteen years of studying never prepared her for this. 

Now she must abandon everything she's ever known - the guardians who raised her, the boy she's forbidden to love - to move to India and convince the world that Amarra is still alive. 
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I featured this one in a cover reveal a few weeks ago, and I tried to express my excitement as well as possible; unfortunately, I don't think I managed to show you just how ridiculously excited I am about this book. 


The cover is, of course, a part of it.  I must say, it's one of my favorites of 2012.  It's so . . . haunting.  This one doesn't try to pull you in with lovely dresses and glitter and blown-up faces with deep, speculative looks.  It doesn't need to.  The dark, hollow feeling of the cover, the shadows and the clouds and her empty, image-filled face, are beyond stunning.  And even better?  That seems completely and utterly perfect for this book.


I love this idea. I love it, I love it, I love it.  I love the insane originality and incredible possibility. I love the idea of a girl who has been made for nothing but to mimic another.  I love that it's set in India.  I love that there will be romance, but it does not seem to be the main plot.  I love that it could be both creepy and  absolutely beautiful.  There are so many fantastic things that can be done with this idea, and I suspect it'll be even better than I've imagined.


What are you waiting on this Wednesday? Leave a link in the comments and I'll be sure to check it out!

Waiting on Wednesday (11)

"Waiting on Wednesday"  is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


This week's WoW is . . .  


Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Alina Starkov doesn’t expect much from life. Orphaned by the Border Wars, all she’s ever been able to rely on is her best friend and fellow refugee, Mal. And lately not even that seems certain. Drafted into the army of their war-torn homeland, they’ve been sent on a dangerous mission into the Fold, a swath of darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh.
 
When their convoy is attacked, all seems lost until Alina reveals a dormant power that not even she knew existed. She is torn from everything she knows and whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. He believes that she is the answer the people have been waiting for: the Sun Summoner. Only her power can destroy the Fold.
 
Overwhelmed by luxury, envied as the Darkling’s favorite, Alina struggles to keep her wits about her without Mal by her side. But nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her mastery of her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha—and the secrets of her heart.
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On the 24th of February, the cover to Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo was revealed; now, almost two weeks later, I still hear people talking about it.  I'm not surprised.  This cover may be my favorite of 2012.  Everything about it is lovely.  The color scheme; the shadowy tendrils; the dark, scrolling font; the beautiful castle, black and blood red, with a distinct Russian influence.  Everything works perfectly, and it manages to do so without the typical staple of YA covers today: a girl. In a dress.


But the cover lust is not why I want this so very badly.  I want it because I fully expect it be utterly incredible.


The pitch sounds absolutely marvelous.  Dark, magical, and utterly fantastical.  I have mixed feelings on the fantasy genre, so the fact that this pulled me in so completely is testament to its sheer awesomeness.  I'd be expecting great things from the pitch and the cover alone, but that's not it; of every person that I know of who's read this book, not a single one has given it less than five stars. Not a single one.  Even some notorious for their strictness have fallen utterly in love with this.  


And, as if that's not already reason enough . . . there's going to be a map in the finished copy.  A gorgeous, beautifully crafted map that I enjoy staring at almost as much as the cover.  I'm going to be straight with you guys, I'm a sucker for maps in fantasy books.  Not only can they be more than a little bit helpful, I've always found them so very fascinating to look at.  I've probably spent many hours of my life gazing at maps in my favorite books.


In summary, this book seems like it will be everything I wish for and more and I absolutely cannot wait for it to be released.  (I may or may not be camping out at B&N on June 4th . . . )


What's your WoW this week?

Waiting on Wednesday (10)

"Waiting on Wednesday"  is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


This week's WoW is . . .  

Defiance by C. J. Redwine


Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city’s brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses, host dinner parties, and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father’s apprentice, Logan—the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same boy who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father’s survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her. 

At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city’s top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor’s impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared. 

As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can’t be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making.
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So, I featured this in a cover reveal just last week.  But I don't think I managed to express just how very in love with this cover I am.  I like girls in gorgeous dresses as much as the next person, but while those other YA girls are lounging about in their dresses, Rachel is kneeling here in a badass cloak with a badass armband.  (And really, really lovely hair . . . )  There's an absolutely stunning but very simple forest background, and then a dark, eerie castle below.  The font is bold, but not to the point of distraction.  It seems to fit the pitch to the T.  It is, quite simply, flawless.


But I don't just want this so it can sit on my shelf and look pretty.  I want it because I think I'll be completely and utterly in love with the story itself.    Kickass military girl that can hold her own in a fight, fantasy and monsters, fighting and drama and love.  Excuse me while I fangirl.


What's your WoW this week? Leave your links in the comments and I'll go check them out!

Waiting on Wednesday (9)

"Waiting on Wednesday"  is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


This week's WoW is . . . 

Speechless by Hannah Harrington


The story of a girl named Chelsea Knot who takes a voluntary oath of silence after her gossip-mongering ways yield unexpected consequences…






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Yes, I realize that this only has a sentence-long description. Yes, I want to read it anyway.  First off, even that one sentence description would probably be enough to hook me, even if I wasn't already smitten with the author's writing; a girl who swears to silence after her gossiping goes too far?  Yes, please.  


More importantly, though, it's written by Hannah Harrington.  I was completely in love with her first novel, so if Speechless is anywhere near as stunning as Saving June, it'll be a quick favorite.  


Also, that cover.  I know some aren't fond of it because of how very plain it is, but I'm . . . in love with it, to be honest.  I just picture this novel sitting on shelves, brilliant white with its bold, raised text and dark tagline, amongst a horde of snappy dresses and flashy colors.  And it makes me smile.  Because you know what this novel will do? It will stand out.  It will be the one that catches your eye.  It will be the one in your bag when you leave that store.


So, yes. I am completely in love with the concept of this one, and I wish September didn't seem so terribly far away.  


What's your WoW this week? Leave a link in the comments and I'll be sure to check it out.

Waiting on Wednesday (8)

"Waiting on Wednesday"  is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


This week's WoW is . . . 

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson


Taylor's family might not be the closest-knit – everyone is a little too busy and overscheduled – but for the most part, they get along fine. Then they get news that changes everything: Her father has pancreatic cancer, and it's stage four – meaning that there is basically nothing to be done. Her parents decide that the family will spend his last months together at their old summerhouse in the Pocono Mountains. 

Crammed into a place much smaller and more rustic than they are used to, they begin to get to know each other again. And Taylor discovers that the people she thought she had left behind haven't actually gone anywhere. Her former summer best friend is suddenly around, as is her first boyfriend. . . and he's much cuter at seventeen than he was at twelve.

As the summer progresses, the Edwards become more of a family, and closer than they've ever been before. But all of them very aware that they're battling a ticking clock. Sometimes, though, there is just enough time to get a second chance – with family, with friends, and with love.

This one just sounds so poignant and adorable and beautiful, everything I loved about Matson's debut, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour.  While I do wish the US cover was as awesome as the UK one, I don't really care what this book looks like, as long as I can get my hands on it.  Morgan Matson is already on my Favorite Authors list, and if this is anywhere near as incredible as her debut, she'll definitely stay there.

What's your WoW this week? Feel free to link in the comments!