Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme created 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.

Grim Lovelies
by  Megan Shepherd

hitting shelves October 2nd, 2018

from HMH Teen

Grim Lovelies is a darkly enchanting saga set in Paris that focuses on the forgotten characters of fairy tales.

Anouk’s human form is tied to her mistress’ dark magic after being enchanted by an animal. She’s never stepped outside of Mada Vittoria’s Parisian townhouse, but when her mistress is murdered, Anouk and her fellow beasties only have three days before the spell fades and they turn back into animals forever. In a desperate attempt to save themselves, they venture into the outside world and discover a well-kept secret.

My thoughts:  I am loving all these bold, stunning covers coming out, and this one is no exception! And I will always be game for more fairy tale-themed fantasies!! 

What book are you eagerly anticipating this week?

Waiting on...

"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.

The Disappearances

by Emily Bain Murphy

hitting shelves July 4th, 2017

from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

What if the ordinary things in life suddenly…disappeared?
 
Aila Quinn’s mother, Juliet, has always been a mystery: vibrant yet guarded, she keeps her secrets beyond Aila’s reach. When Juliet dies, Aila and her younger brother Miles are sent to live in Sterling, a rural town far from home--and the place where Juliet grew up.

Sterling is a place with mysteries of its own. A place where the experiences that weave life together--scents of flowers and food, reflections from mirrors and lakes, even the ability to dream--vanish every seven years.

No one knows what caused these “Disappearances,” or what will slip away next. But Sterling always suspected that Juliet Quinn was somehow responsible--and Aila must bear the brunt of their blame while she follows the chain of literary clues her mother left behind. 

As the next Disappearance nears, Aila begins to unravel the dual mystery of why the Disappearances happen and who her mother truly was. One thing is clear: Sterling isn’t going to hold on to anyone's secrets for long before it starts giving them up.

My thoughts:  This sounds like just the kind of wonderfully bizarre type of story I love. Disappearing scents, reflections, and dreams, family mystery, and on top of that, literary clues to follow??? YES. PLEASE.  Who's with me?? :) 

What book are you eagerly anticipating this week?

Waiting on...

"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.

Into the Dim

by Janet B. Taylor

hitting shelves March 1st,  2016

from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

“Seventy-two hours, then we have to be back at the clearing. Sunrise on the third day.”

Being “the homeschooled girl,” in a small town, Hope Walton’s crippling phobias and photographic memory don’t help her fit in with her adoptive dad’s perfectly blonde Southern family. But when her mother is killed in a natural disaster thousands of miles from home, Hope’s secluded world crumbles. After an aunt she’s never met invites her to spend the summer in Scotland, Hope discovers that her mother was more than a brilliant academic. She’s a member of a secret society of time travelers, and is actually trapped in the twelfth century in the age of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Now Hope must conquer her numerous fears and travel back in time to help rescue her mother before she’s lost for good. Along the way, she’ll discover more family secrets, and a mysterious boy who could be vital to setting her mother free… or the key to Hope’s undoing.

My thoughts: Okay--so mysterious family stuff, a summer in Scotland, and a secret society of time travelers??? UM I need this Right. Now.

What are you excited for this week?

New Shelf Goodies & The Weekly Nutshell {86}

For New Shelf Goodies, I'll be showing you what lovely books I acquired this week, whether from publishers, or the library, or from whatever half-crazed book-buying binge I happened to go on. :D (Inspired by Tynga's Stacking the Shelves) The Weekly Nutshell will be just that...my week here at Stories & Sweeties, in a nutshell. (inspired by Ginger @ GReads and her recaps at the end of the TGIF posts)

The lovely haul this week: 

For review: 

Linked by Imogen Howsen

Read this one last year, so I'll be giving this away close to the release of the next book in July!

Chantress Alchemy by Amy Butler Greenfield

Need to get cracking on this series, it looks really good!

Dissonance by Erica O'Rourke

YES, excited about this one!

Flights and Chimes and Mysterious Times by Emma Trevayne

One of my fave covers of the year! Plus, time travel, steampunk, clockwork dragons???

A Creature of Moonlight by Rebecca Hahn

Girl who is half-dragon must reclaim her throne. This sounds awesome. 

Love by the Morning Star by Laura L. Sullivan

Spies, pre-WWII, mistaken identities---sounds fun!

 

 I also won this awesome Violet Hour prize back with a copy of the book, a Vision Crest mug (which has to do with the story), hair chalk, a Sex Pistols tee, and a $25 BN gift card! 

Many thanks to HMH books, Flux, and Simon & Schuster for all this fun stuff!!

The Weekly Nutshell: 

{Monday} Cover Story

{Tuesday} Waiting on Wednesday: Boneseeker

{Thursday} Liv, Forever by Amy Talkington Review

This week I'm reading Don't You Forget About Me and it is so bizarre from the get-go! Enjoying it now that I've wrapped my head around what's going on! LOL  I'm liking Kate Karyus Quinn's writing style, it reminds me a little of Alice Hoffman, whose books I love. Also planning to start Flights and Chimes this week---guys, I am SO excited to dive into this one. It looks so fun.
Hope everyone had a great week!

 

Becky's View: When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears by Kersten Hamilton

When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears by Kersten Hamilton
♦publisher: Clarion Books
♦release date: August 6th, 2013
♦hardcover, 400 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: The Goblin Wars, book 3
  book 1: Tyger, Tyger (review)
  book 2: In the Forests of the Night (review)
♦source: ALA midwinter 2013

“People will die.”

Locked doors are opening, and uncanny creatures are tumbling through mysterious portals from Mag Mell, the world-between-worlds, into the streets of Chicago. The Dark Man has marked Aiden with a new song that’s scared him badly, and a frightening new group of sídhe is lurking nearby.

Teagan knows this is war, and she must protect her family. She leaves her flesh and bones behind to join Finn in hunting the evil beings across the city. Meanwhile, their relationship is heating up—almost faster than they can control. But he is still bound to fight goblins his entire life . . . and by blood she is one of them now.

Then the gateway to Mag Mell cracks open again, and the Wylltsons find themselves caught in a trap. As her loved ones begin to die, Teagan realizes that she must destroy the Dark Man and his minions once and for all in order to save those who remain . . .

. . . before it is too late.

Review: Bringing one of my favorite recent series to a close, When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears picks up right where the last book left off and finds Teagan, Finn, Aiden and the rest of the massive cast of characters preparing for their next move to take down Mab, Fear Doirich, and save the magical land of Mag Mell.  

While admittedly, this was my least favorite of the three, it was still great fun to be back with these incredible characters.  There are so many---sometimes it was tough to remember who was who with all the unusual names (and species!), especially after being away from this world for a year.  I would definitely recommend rereading the first two for a refresher, or better yet if you haven’t started the series to read them all at once!  The first 100 or so pages did feel a bit slow, most of it taking place in and around Teagan’s house as the group speculates on new and old dilemmas and prepares for the building danger and their plan of attack.  

 Despite the danger getting more and more severe, you’ll still find the same great humor and heart throughout the story, with Teagan reaching out to help even the nastiest of creatures, Finn fighting back his fate to be who and what he wants despite his legacy, Lucy and Aiden in all kinds of mischief,…even Mrs. Santini, the nosy neighbor from across the street, has her great shining moments this time around.  There are a few new faces, some not so welcome, and some that will help save them all in the end.  With the climactic onset of the war, there are some shockingly heartbreaking moments of betrayal and some very heavy losses.  Hamilton definitely doesn’t patronize us with a sappy happy ending, but gives us the gritty, heart-wrenching, and hard-won triumph that this fantastic adventure deserves.  

Find Kersten Hamilton online: Website  •  Twitter 

Purchase the book:  Amazon  •  Book Depository  •  Indiebound

Tyger Tyger: Grab one of my favorite books for free!

Looking for something good and spooky to dig into this Halloween?

I recommend Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton!

I read this one a few years ago when it first came out. It's a brilliant story full of rich irish mythology, a family mystery, a strong heroine, a boy with a lovely accent, ...and creepy creatures that will make your stomach turn.  I absolutely loved it! 

This week, Tyger Tyger is the Apple iTunes Book of the Week!
Congrats, Kersten!

And for all those who've yet to experience these books, the Tyger Tyger ebook edition is FREE on both Kindle and Nook this week!

Grab the Kindle Edition here!  ♦   Grab the Nook Edition here!

Enjoy! :D

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.

A Most Dangerous Deception
by Sarah Zettel

hitting shelves November 5th from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

description:
A warning to all young ladies of delicate breeding who wish to embark upon lives of adventure: Don't.
Sixteen-year-old Peggy is a well-bred orphan who is coerced into posing as a lady in waiting at the palace of King George I. Life is grand, until Peggy starts to suspect that the girl she's impersonating might have been murdered. Unless Peggy can discover the truth, she might be doomed to the same terrible fate. But in a court of shadows and intrigue, anyone could be a spy—perhaps even the handsome young artist with whom Peggy is falling in love . . . History and mystery spark in this effervescent series debut.

My thoughts:  This looks fun!! History and mystery---always a good combo. :)

Thanksgiving-Away #4 - Win The Innocents & Middle Ground

It's time for giveaway #4!! Today I'm giving away these lovelies!

ARC of The Innocents by Lili Peloquin

+

ARC of Middle Ground by Katie Kacvinsky

(see event kick-off post for more details!) 

•US mailing addresses only

• Must be 13 or older

• Last day to enter: November 26, 2012

Enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Trailers: Defiance, Forsaken, & Waking Storms

A few cool new book trailers hit the web recently! Take a look:

Defiance by C.J. Redwine (Balzer & Bray)


The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse (Simon & Schuster)


Waking Storms by Sarah Porter (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)


What do you think? Will you be reading these? Do the trailers make you more excited for them?

Review: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

released: April 3rd, 2012

hardcover, 549 pages

intended audience: Young adult

series: His Fair Assassin, Book 1

rating:



source: from publisher for honest review

description: Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae's most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

Review: When I delved into the pages of Grave Mercy, I found myself immediately drawn in to the fantastic atmosphere of a country on the brink of war and change, a people who still worshiped the ancient gods, and a convent veiled in mystery where the nuns are trained to carry out the will of the patron saint of death, St. Mortain.

Ismae is such an interesting character. When she finds herself at the convent, she quickly relishes the idea of becoming an assassin. While this could have just come across as heartless and violent on her part, you can easily see her side---the only thing she had ever known is cruelty. All she knows of her mother is that she tried to have an herbwitch remove her from her womb with a poisoned branch. All she's gotten from her father is cruelty and hate, until she is sold to a vicious, barbaric husband. So she easily swears her oath to serve Mortain, and is trained in the art of weaponry, poisons, luring in her victims---everything she might need to carry out her duty. There is also a little of a paranormal touch to the story, as Ismae has the ability to communicate with a newly dead soul, can sense when death is coming to someone naturally, and is immune to all poisons. It's an amazing journey to watch what she does with this new life she's fallen into and what she learns along the way.

The storytelling is incredibly engaging. There is political intrigue, a bitter fight for the hand of a young duchess, plotting and scheming and murdering, all grandly played out by a huge cast of amusing characters, some of who truly surprised me by the end. At the front of the book there is a character index, and this really came in handy a few times---with such a long, complex story and so many characters, they can be hard to keep straight at times! My favorites were Beast---named for his looks and his ferocity in battle, but such a funny, big-hearted character with an almost instant connection with Ismae---and the duchess, Anne. I felt so much for her with such a huge burden on her young shoulders and loved her bond with Ismae. The love story was perfectly done---a slow-blossoming attraction that goes against everything Ismae thought she was and believed in.

This one was so very close to a 5-rating for me. On the whole, I loved the rich, elaborate storytelling and wonderful characters. But there were just one or two times where my attention started to wander and one very important predicament that I couldn't help but feel was solved just a bit too conveniently. Other than that, it was a wonderful historical fantasy and one that I highly recommend.

One last very good note: Grave Mercy is part of a series, but it's a complete story that stands alone. The next book will be about Sybella, another of Ismae's sisters in the convent. I am definitely looking forward to continuing this series and learning more about Sybella!

Robin LeFevers has a gorgeous website! Visit here: www.robinlafevers.com

Purchase Grave Mercy 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.

The Suburban Strange
by Nathan Kotecki

hitting shelves October 2, 2012 from Houghton Mifflin

description:
Shy Celia Balaustine is befriended by a mysterious group of outliers called The Rosary at her new school, Suburban High. The Rosary exposes Celia to new experiences and ideas that help her break out of her shell. Soon though, Celia discovers something is not quite right at Suburban. Girls at the school begin having near fatal accidents on the eve of their sixteenth birthdays. Who is causing the accidents and why? Celia's own sixteenth birthday is fast approaching and she is inexorably drawn into an underground conflict between good and evil—the Kind and the Unkind—that is bubbling beneath Suburban High.

My thoughts: Suburban Strange sounds completely bizarre and eerie, so it's definitely one I'll be checking out! Plus--cover is awesome!! Love the swirls, the darkness, all the textures and the people just standing around in front of the school. Beautiful!