Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme created by Jill at Breaking the Spine. A spin-off of the meme called "Can't Wait Wednesday" is now hosted at Wishful Endings. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

The Cold Is In Her Bones

by Peternelle van Arsdale

hitting shelves January 22d 2019  

from Margaret K. McElderry Books

One girl must uncover secrets of the past to save her friend from a terrible curse in this dark and mesmerizing story of love, revenge, and redemption inspired by the myth of Medusa.

Milla knows two things to be true: Demons are real, and fear will keep her safe.

Milla’s whole world is her family’s farm. She is never allowed to travel to the village and her only friend is her beloved older brother, Niklas. When a bright-eyed girl named Iris comes to stay, Milla hopes her loneliness might finally be coming to an end. But Iris has a secret she’s forbidden to share: The village is cursed by a demon who possesses girls at random, and the townspeople live in terror of who it will come for next.

Now, it seems, the demon has come for Iris. When Iris is captured and imprisoned with other possessed girls, Milla leaves home to rescue her and break the curse forever. Her only company on the journey is a terrible new secret of her own: Milla is changing, too, and may soon be a demon herself.

Suspenseful and vividly imagined, The Cold Is in Her Bones is a novel about the dark, reverberating power of pain, the yearning to be seen and understood, and the fragile optimism of love.

My thoughts:  After being completely mystified by Peterenelle van Arsdale's beautiful and bizarre storytelling in The Beast in an Animal (check out my review here), I'm definitely curious to try more of her work.  This sounds a little like The Wicked Deep (one of my absolute faves this year) and says it's inspired by the Medusa myth, so I am definitely adding this one to my most-wanted list!

What book are you eagerly anticipating this week?

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

An Enchantment of Ravens

by Margaret Rogerson

hitting shelves September 26th, 2017

from Margaret K. McElderry Books

Isobel is a prodigy portrait artist with a dangerous set of clients: the sinister fair folk, immortal creatures who cannot bake bread, weave cloth, or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and Isobel’s paintings are highly prized among them. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—she makes a terrible mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes – a weakness that could cost him his life.

Furious and devastated, Rook spirits her away to the autumnlands to stand trial for her crime. Waylaid by the Wild Hunt’s ghostly hounds, the tainted influence of the Alder King, and hideous monsters risen from barrow mounds, Isobel and Rook depend on one another for survival. Their alliance blossoms into trust, then love, violating the fair folks’ ruthless Good Law. To save both their lives, Isobel must drink from the Green Well, whose water will transform her into a fair one—at the cost of her Craft, for immortality is as stagnant as it is timeless.

Isobel has a choice: she can sacrifice her art for a future, or arm herself with paint and canvas against the ancient power of the fairy courts. Because secretly, her Craft represents a threat the fair folk have never faced in all the millennia of their unchanging lives: for the first time, her portraits have the power to make them feel.

My thoughts:  The Faerie court and it's wicked twisted ways is always something that has drawn me in. This cover is a gorgeous illustration and I love it. The title, so pretty.  I love the "creativity as power" idea.  Everything (barring that very last line of the synopsis, which just went a little  cheesy for me LOL), the characters, the world, the magic---all sound pretty awesome! :)

What book are you eagerly anticipating this week?

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

Shimmer and Burn

by Mary Taranta

hitting shelves August 8th, 2017

from Margaret K. McElderry Books

Faris grew up fighting to survive in the slums of Brindaigel while caring for her sister, Cadence. But when Cadence is caught trying to flee the kingdom and is sold into slavery, Faris reluctantly agrees to a lucrative scheme to buy her back, inadvertently binding herself to the power-hungry Princess Bryn, who wants to steal her father’s throne.

Now Faris must smuggle stolen magic into neighboring Avinea to incite its prince to alliance—magic that addicts in the war-torn country can sense in her blood and can steal with a touch. She and Bryn turn to a handsome traveling magician, North, who offers protection from Avinea’s many dangers, but he cannot save Faris from Bryn’s cruelty as she leverages Cadence’s freedom to force Faris to do anything—or kill anyone—she asks. Yet Faris is as fierce as Bryn, and even as she finds herself falling for North, she develops schemes of her own.

With the fate of kingdoms at stake, Faris, Bryn, and North maneuver through a dangerous game of magical and political machinations, where lives can be destroyed—or saved—with only a touch. 

My thoughts:  Sisters, a scheming Princess, stolen magic, handsome traveling magicians...all things that will have me counting the days to this one!! 

What book are you eagerly anticipating this week?

Amy's View: Doll Bones by Holly Black

Doll Bones by Holly Black
♦publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
♦release date: May 7th, 2013
♦hardcover, 244 pages
♦intended audience: Middle grade
♦source: ALA

Zach, Poppy and Alice have been friends for ever. They love playing with their action figure toys, imagining a magical world of adventure and heroism. But disaster strikes when, without warning, Zach’s father throws out all his toys, declaring he’s too old for them. Zach is furious, confused and embarrassed, deciding that the only way to cope is to stop playing . . . and stop being friends with Poppy and Alice. But one night the girls pay Zach a visit, and tell him about a series of mysterious occurrences. Poppy swears that she is now being haunted by a china doll – who claims that it is made from the ground-up bones of a murdered girl. They must return the doll to where the girl lived, and bury it. Otherwise the three children will be cursed for eternity . . .

Review:  A doll, a murder and a mystery to be solved.  When Captain William the Blade, of the Neptune Pearl and Lady Jayne, a thief who began her travels with the captain after a misfortunate pick pocketing incident, set out on an epic adventure, they had no idea it would be their last. 

With dolls purchased at goodwill, blacktop that represents the sea, a boat shaped piece of paper and an incredible imagination, Zach, Poppy and Alice make a story come to life. Each child creating a character of their own to take their place on the Neptune Pearl, full of thieves, pirates and even a mermaids curse. The Neptune Pearl is perfectly hidden in a world that only they know about. The game is hidden from friends at school and even their parents, they all secretly know that they are too old to play with dolls. Unable to give up the allure of the game and despite their reservations, the game continues, quickly turning into an epic journey that spills into their real lives.

When Zach, Poppy and Alice decide to bring the "Queen" doll into their game, their make believe adventure suddenly becomes real. The children know to never touch the priceless old porcelain doll in the china cabinet but they never knew why. The Queen represented an ancient honor and time that has gone by.  Wasting away in a china cabinet, the doll beckoned to be played with. So when a tragic and a seemingly ordinary event happened, the Queen doll and her ghostly tale soon unfolds before the children. Once they remove her from her cabinet something sinister starts to happen.  The children need to quickly figure out if the doll is just a doll, or if it contains the ghost of a murdered girl.

One thing is clear, the Queen doll has a motive and that is to lay her to rest. As they set out on the journey to fulfill her request an epic adventure ensues. Although soon enough, Zach, Poppy and Alice realize adventuring wasn’t what they thought it would be.  In story books, real adventurers didn’t need supplies, a chartered path, or a plan.  Instead, the children quickly find themselves cold and exposed to the elements, with adults chasing them at every stop and quickly running out of money on a stolen boat sailing for their lives.  But the Queen doll won’t let them stop until they have done what she wants them to do.

Holly Black, author of The Spiderwick Chronicles once again captures her reader’s hearts in a classic ghost story for readers of all ages. A great way to introduce  young readers to a ghost story.

Find Holly Black online:  Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase Doll Bones:  Amazon  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound

Becky's View: Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst
♦publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
♦release date: September 11, 2012
♦hardcover, 424 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦source: from publisher for honest review

In a desert world of sandstorms and sand-wolves, a teen girl must defy the gods to save her tribe in this mystical, atmospheric tale from the author of Drink, Slay, Love.  Liyana has trained her entire life to be the vessel of a goddess. The goddess will inhabit Liyana’s body and use magic to bring rain to the desert. But Liyana’s goddess never comes. Abandoned by her angry tribe, Liyana expects to die in the desert. Until a boy walks out of the dust in search of her.

Korbyn is a god inside his vessel, and a trickster god at that. He tells Liyana that five other gods are missing, and they set off across the desert in search of the other vessels. For the desert tribes cannot survive without the magic of their gods. But the journey is dangerous, even with a god’s help. And not everyone is willing to believe the trickster god’s tale.

The closer she grows to Korbyn, the less Liyana wants to disappear to make way for her goddess. But she has no choice: She must die for her tribe to live. Unless a trickster god can help her to trick fate—or a human girl can muster some magic of her own.

Review: Vessel is the first book that I've read by author Sarah Beth Durst, but it definitely won't be the last.  In Vessel, you get a magical, sweeping fantasy adventure that stretches the imagination and gives you a full and satifying story all in one volume. Yes, my friends,...this is a stand-alone, rare as they seem to be these days in the YA fantasy genre! It was something of a wonder to see a story progress and build, hit its exciting climax,  and completely wrap up by the last page.

Set in a stark and unforgiving desert world, Vessel introduces us to Liyana just as she is suppose to die---she is the chosen one of her tribe to give up her body so that their goddess can inhabit it and use her powers to sustain the tribe's way of life.  It really is a unique and facinating concept.  I loved the descriptions of the ceremony, the dance, her elaborate ceremonial costume, and the process of Liyana saying goodbye to her family and people.  She was a fireball of a character all the way through---super smart, resourceful, and determined.  Once she is abandoned to the desert, and Korbyn comes on the scene, things get even more interesting.  He is such a fun character to read, as the trickster god---so funny and with a great wit, but also a great stroke of depth as he struggles with trying to rescue the other gods when no one will trust his word because his reputation as a trickster always precedes him.  Another character that I loved was Raan---she presented such an important opposing side of the role of the Vessels.

The love story was a bit tricky in this one! I can't say too much without giving anything away, but I will say it was one of the most unusual takes on a love triangle I have ever come across! I don't think there's ever been a dilemma quite like it before! It was heart-wrenching and complicated, and I love how it worked out in the end.

The first 150 pages or so, when they are wandering the desert looking for the other vessels, did seem a little long-winded at times, dragging the pace just a bit.  Also, every several chapters we get a POV switch to an emperor that for awhile into the story, it kind of remains a mystery what the significance of his involvement is and that got a bit frustrating.  BUT once all the vessels were found and the emperor's part in the story is revealed, the intensity of the story really kicks into gear and Vessel becomes a fast-paced heroic tale of magic and myth, war and bravery, and what lengths one will go to save the people they care about---from many different perspectives.  Durst has given us an incredible imaginative tale, building a rich world of myth and legend, with terrifying dangers that range from simply dying of thirst to fighting off sky serpents and sand worms.

Definitely one to pick up if you have a craving for an epic fantasy adventure!

Visit Sarah Beth Durst: Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase Vessel at:  Amazon  •  BN.com  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

Chantress
by Amy Butler Greenfield

hitting shelves May 7th, 2013
from Margaret K. McElderry Books

description:
Sing and the darkness will find you.

Shipwrecked on an island seven years ago, Lucy has been warned she must never sing, or disaster will strike. But on All Hallows Eve, Lucy hears tantalizing music in the air. When she sings it, she unlocks a terrible secret: She is a Chantress, a spell-singer, brought to the island not by shipwreck but by a desperate enchantment gone wrong.

Her song lands her back in England — and in mortal peril, for the kingdom lies in the cruel grasp of a powerful Lord Protector and his mind-reading hunters, the Shadowgrims. The Protector has killed all Chantresses, for they alone can destroy the Shadowgrims. Only Lucy has survived.

In terrible danger, Lucy takes shelter with Nat, a spy who turns her heart upside-down. Nat has been working with his fellow scholars of the Invisible College to overthrow the Lord Protector, and they have long hoped to find a living Chantress to help them. But Lucy is completely untrained, and Nat deeply distrusts her magic. If Lucy cannot master the songspells, how long can she even stay alive?

Beguiling and lyrical, dangerous and romantic, Chantress will capture readers in a spell they won’t want to break.

My thoughts: This sounds like an amazing high fantasy! Shipwrecks, enchantments and the magic of music, a kingdom in peril, mind-reading hunters? OOOH, this sounds so good. Such a torturously long wait, but sounds to me like it will be well worth it!

Review: The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

publisher: Margaret K. McElderry

release date: November 15, 2012

hardcover, 320 pages

intended audience: Young adult

series: The Pledge, book 1

rating:



source: Simon & Schuster Galley Grab

description:
In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.

Review: The Pledge was a fascinating read, definitely held my attention from beginning to end, with a few great gasp-worthy twists and surprises. While it didn't quite live up to my high expectation of Kimberly Derting's work, it was definitely worth a read.

The concept of a society segregated by language was interesting. Each class had their own language and the universal language of "Englaise". Those in lower classes were not permitted to know the language of other higher classes, nor to even dare to look at someone while they were speaking a language higher than their own. While I understood the idea, it seemed a little over the top and damn near impossible that the lower classes would have to drop their eyes every time someone spoke a language they weren't suppose to know. It seemed to me that if people were going to the gallows everytime they couldn't look away fast enough, there would be very few people left!

The main character, Charlie, has the ability to understand all languages. She's gone her whole life having to hide this from everyone. Aside from her ability, Charlie was fairly unremarkable as a protagonist. She is self-controlled, not much of a risk-taker, sort of lets her best friend walk all over her. It was interesting seeing her go through day to day, coming across people she is not suppose to understand, and having to hide her reactions. She made a few fairly odd choices that made it hard for me to get behind her one hundred percent. The relationship between Charlie and Max was a little cool (which was disappointing, because as anyone who's read The Body Finder knows, Miss Derting knows her way around writing love). What I did really love was the relationship between Charlie and her sister, Angelina. Angelina doesn't speak and has a few secrets of her own, but Charlie is a fierce protector of her little sister. The character that was the biggest surprise for me was Charlie's best friend, Brooklynn. I started out hating her...I mean really hating every scene she came into, wanting to just punch her in the face! But her part in the story was a complete surprise and I loved her by the end of the book!

This is definitely a very plot-driven story. It was very fast paced (sometimes a little too fast), very intense in parts and exciting. It held my interest all the way through, but didn't really grab me until closer to the end. Like a said earlier, there were a few twists that literally had me gasping in shock, and yelling, "NO!" at the book. However, there were also a few points that never came clear for me (for example, why did her parents stay behind?? The explanation that was given never quite made sense to me). I did like the short interjected POV switches where we get a little glimpse of what's going on inside the minds of Max, Xander, and even the Queen.

A great blend of fantasy and dystopia, I definitely suggest giving this one a try, to make up your own mind. The ending was breath-taking and had both a satisfying close and just enough left open to make me curious about what will happen as the series continues!

Visit Kimberly Derting's site here!

Purchase The Pledge at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository • Indiebound