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 Seers 
by Julianna Scott

hitting shelves February 4th, 2014 from Strange Chemistry

description: 
After nearly being drained of her ability and betrayed by a man her father trusted, Becca Ingle was left with one clue — Ciaran Shea. He holds the key to the downfall of the power-mad Holder, Darragh, and can ensure the safety of both Holder and Human kind alike... but is he willing to help?

Becca, Alex, Jocelyn, and Cormac set out for Adare Manor to meet with the Bhunaidh, an aristocratic group of pure blooded Holders of whom Ciaran is a rumored member. However, when Becca discovers that they might not be the only ones after the information Ciaran has, everyone begins to wonder if Bhunaidh might not be as uninvolved with Darragh as they claim.

A race to uncover Ciaran’s secrets begins, where the line between friend and foe is blurred, and everyone seems to have their own agenda. Becca will have to call on every ability at her disposal to uncover the truth, all the while knowing that sometimes the answer is more dangerous than the question.

My thoughts: LOVED book one, The Holders (see my review here) so I can't wait to see this story continue!

Becky's View: The Weight of Souls by Bryony Pearce

The Weight of Souls by Bryony Pearce
♦publisher: Strange Chemistry
♦release date: August 6th, 2013
♦hardcover, 288 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series (possibly)
♦source: from publisher for honest review

Sixteen-year-old Taylor Oh is cursed: if she is touched by the ghost of a murder victim then they pass a mark beneath her skin. She has three weeks to find their murderer and pass the mark to them - letting justice take place and sending them into the Darkness. And if she doesn't make it in time? The Darkness will come for her... She spends her life trying to avoid ghosts, make it through school where she's bullied by popular Justin and his cronies, keep her one remaining friend, and persuade her father that this is real and that she's not going crazy.

And then Justin is murdered and everything gets a whole lot worse. Justin doesn't know who killed him, so there's no obvious person for Taylor to go after. The clues she has lead her to the V Club, a vicious secret-society at her school where no one is allowed to leave... And where Justin was dared to do the stunt which led to his death. Can she find out who was responsible for his murder before the Darkness comes for her? Can she put aside her hatred for her former bully to truly help him? And what happens if she starts to fall for him?

Review:  Jumping right into the action, The Weight of Souls starts off by showing you exactly what Taylor's curse is.  She is touched by ghosts, given a mark that she must pass on to the ghost's killer.  She has a few weeks to do this---the Darkness will come for whoever bears the Mark, whether it's the killer or Taylor herself.  It's a dangerous life for a teenage girl, going after these murderer's, but her mother trained her well.  

While it took a while to really connect with Taylor, I felt for her harsh life.  Not only does she have to live with this curse, but her father doesn't believe in it and insists it's a disease he can find the cure to.  Her best friend is fed up because Taylor always has to cancel on her to chase after killers---she doesn't know about the curse and Taylor is too afraid to tell her.  She is also constantly bullied at school---cruelly, physically, and racially bullied by a seemingly unstoppable group of popular kids. It was hard to watch her weather so much alone.

Everything changes when the head of the popular kids winds up dead and he unintentionally marks Taylor.  She can't begin to find his killer until she can convince him first that he is dead, and second that he was actually murdered.  As they are forced into being together, I loved that they didn't immediately connect, that she didn't forgive him right away for the horrible way he treated her.  Their closeness grows slowly and their relationship evolves as he works to gain her trust and a few secrets and vulnerabilities are revealed. 

The story is interwoven with Egyptian mythology and the history of how the curse was formed, and it circles around to the climax of Taylor's story.  As much as this information was necessary, I did feel the journal-entry way it was presented made the pacing of the story a bit choppy in parts.  Still, there were some really heart-pounding scenes, a few good romantic moments, and great emotion flowing through the whole story.

 As far as I can tell, there's nothing in the works yet, but The Weight of Souls ends with some definite series potential.  Nothing cliffhanger-y, but the twist at the end and the very last chapter gives the reader an inkling that Taylor and Justin's story might not be finished just yet.  I did love the way it ended with Taylor finally finding a bit of well-deserved peace and happiness, but the story could continue with something even more mythologically epic!

Find Bryony Pearce online: Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase The Weight of Souls: Amazon  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound

The Weight of Souls Blog Tour: Bryony Pearce's Top Ten Murder Mysteries

Today I am happy to welcome Bryony Pearce, author of The Weight of Souls, releasing from Strange Chemistry on August 6th!

Sixteen year old Taylor Oh is cursed: if she is touched by the ghost of a murder victim then they pass a mark beneath her skin. She has three weeks to find their murderer and pass the mark to them – letting justice take place and sending them into the Darkness. And if she doesn’t make it in time? The Darkness will come for her…

She spends her life trying to avoid ghosts, make it through school where she’s bullied by popular Justin and his cronies, keep her one remaining friend, and persuade her father that this is real and that she’s not going crazy.

But then Justin is murdered and everything gets a whole lot worse. Justin doesn’t know who killed him, so there’s no obvious person for Taylor to go after. The clues she has lead her to the V Club, a vicious secret society at her school where no one is allowed to leave… and where Justin was dared to do the stunt which led to his death.

Can she find out who was responsible for his murder before the Darkness comes for her? Can she put aside her hatred for her former bully to truly help him?

And what happens if she starts to fall for him?

The Weight of Souls is a ghostly murder mystery with a supernatural twist, so I asked Bryony what her top ten murder mysteries of all time were.  Here's what she had to say:

My top ten murder mysteries by Bryony Pearce
I had a ‘murder mystery’ phase when I was a teenager (it was in between my Thomas Hardy phase and my Stephen King phase).  During this time I read everything by Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. 

The books that I reread the most often and therefore have the fondest memories of are The Hound of the Baskervilles, Curtain: Poirot’s Last Call, The ABC Murders and Murder on the Orient Express.  I loved the writing, the twists and turns and the characters of the detectives in these stories.  There is a reason that Poirot and Holmes have lived over and over again in various incarnations.  From Rathbone to Miller, from Ustinov to Suchet; these characters are infused with fascination for the reader, they are deliciously flawed, superhuman and yet missing some essential elements of humanity which means that they need to be counter-balanced by their all too ordinary assistants (Watson and Hastings).

After watching and being drawn into Hitchcock’s Rebecca I got Daphne Du Maurier’s book from the library and loved it, so dark and creepy.  I adored the psychological side of Rebecca.

Another film that led me to a book was The Name of the Rose with Sean Connery and Christian Slater (I was such a fan of Christian Slater years ago).  After seeing Christian Slater’s monk lose his virginity I bought the book and read both The Name of the Rose and Foucault’s Pendulum.  The Name of the Rose remains with me to this day.

Although it feels a little like cheating because these books are funny, they are officially crime and have won awards, so I’m going to mention Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels.  I particularly like Two for the Dough, Three to Get Deadly and Four to Score.  Evanovich’s portrayal of character is laugh out loud true.  I love the early Plum novels.   

And if I’m permitted comedy, I think I should be allowed Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels based on Sam Vimes.  They are crime novels too and utterly brilliant.  Sam Vimes is another of my favourite literary characters.  For him I’m going to add Jingo and Feet of Clay.

Finally I will include JD Robb’s Eve Dallas series, in particular Naked in Death.  It is set in the future, which makes it very different.  It is sexy and again populated with great, memorable characters.

What I love about all these books, which range hugely in publication date and style, is that all have fantastic characterisation and that is something I seek in all my reading and what my favourite books all have in common.

The enjoyment I had when reading these murder mysteries was a huge influence on The Weight of Souls which has, at its heart, a murder mystery.  Yes, it is a paranormal thriller which includes ghosts, Egyptian curses and an army of zombified killers (what good book doesn’t?), but it is the murder mystery that absorbs us and keeps the story moving forward.  Taylor has to find out who killed Justin and bring his killer to justice.  I had a great time ‘killing’ Justin, working out who did it and how.  My early ideas were crazy.  In one version is it his mother who kills him by making him drink Anbesol (a children’s liquid antiseptic which should not be drunk as it paralyses the muscles of the throat).  Needless to say that version did not get past the first edit.  I won’t tell you how the final murder ended up, obviously you need to read the book to find out, alongside Taylor.
I hope you enjoy it.

Find out more about Bryony Pearce and her writing:
      WEBSITE  •  TWITTER  •  FACEBOOK

Bryony is holding a really big contest on her blog, so be sure to check it out here!  To enter, you'll need to check out the rest of the tour stops on her tour!
In the meantime, check out this excerpt from The Weight of Souls!

Becky's View: The Holders by Julianna Scott

The Holders by Julianna Scott
♦publisher: Strange Chemisty
♦release date: March 5th, 2013
♦paperback, 320 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: The Holders, book 1
♦source: from publisher for honest review

17-year-old Becca spent her whole life protecting her brother from, well, everything. The abandonment of their father, the so called 'experts' who insist that voices in his head are unnatural and must be dealt with, and the constant threat of being taken away to some hospital and studied like an animal. When two representatives appear claiming to have the answers to Ryland's perceived problem, Becca doesn't buy it for one second. That is until they seem to know things about Ryland and about Becca and Ryland's family, that forces Becca to concede that there may be more to these people than meets the eye. Though still highly skeptical, Becca agrees to do what's best for Ryland.

What they find at St. Brigid's is a world beyond their imagination. Little by little they piece together the information of their family's heritage, their estranged Father, and the legend of the Holder race that decrees Ryland is the one they've been waiting for. However, they are all--especially Becca--in for a surprise that will change what they thought they knew about themselves and their kind.

She meets Alex, a Holder who is fiercely loyal to their race, and for some reason, Becca and Ryland. There's an attraction between Becca and Alex that can't be denied, but her true nature seems destined to keep them apart. However, certain destinies may not be as clear cut as everyone has always believed them to be.

Becca is lost, but found at the same time. Can she bring herself to leave Ryland now that he's settled and can clearly see his future? Will she be able to put the the feelings she has for Alex aside and head back to the US? And can Becca and Ryland ever forgive their father for what he's done?

Review:  The Holders was so much more than I expected!  From the cover, I think I expected more of a serious high fantasy---what I got was a fantastic story with some great Harry-Potter type fantasy elements, and a great plot surrounding a fierce heroine with a wicked temper, especially when it comes to protecting her little brother from, well, ...everyone!  

Becca has always put protecting her brother, Ryland, first and foremost in her life.  There father left them two weeks after Ryland was born and her mother pretty much crumbled after that.  Ryland hears voices and for years, doctors, counselors, teachers have all been trying to take him away, and Becca has been there to chase them off every step of the way.  Because no matter what anyone tries to say, she know her brother is not crazy.  Then finally one day, two men show up that may finally be able to help.  Becca and Ryland find themselves in Ireland, at a school run by the one man Becca never wanted to see again...their father.

Becca was so fierce and I loved her from the moment I saw her temper flare in protection of her terrified little brother.  I loved how close they were and how the dynamic was addressed that not only was she determined to make sure he was safe, but she didn't realize how much she needed him to need her.  That and her temper made her very genuine and flawed.  I thought the rocky relationship with her estranged father was really well done, there was definitely an issue of anger and hurt for her to deal with there.

Loved the love story! It was perfect and slow-building...while she did admit to being attracted and impressed by Alex, she was so used to keeping her guard up that there was none of the dreaded 'I just met you but I think I'm in love' syndrome. He was sweet and good with Ryland and grew closer to Becca little by little with the way he watched out for both of them.  I loved the funny reference to certain love stories where the girl falls for the guy only to find out he's a hundred-plus years old. There were some really humorous moments throughout---not surprising with such a huge cast of eclectic characters, many that I really loved!

The story has some great surprises and twists, lots of magic, lore, and dangerous excitement.  I highly recommend picking this one up, I doubt you'll be disappointed!  The next in this series will be high on my list of anticipated reads next year!

Find Julianna Scott online:  Web  •  Twitter 

Purchase The Holders:  Amazon  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound

Read an exerpt:

Amy's View: Broken by A.E. Rought

Broken by A.E. Rought
♦publisher: Strange Chemistry
♦release date: January 3rd, 2013
♦paperback, 320 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦source: from publisher for honest review

A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry’s boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetary and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog.

When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she’s intrigued despite herself. He’s an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely…familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel’s. The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there’s something very wrong with Alex Franks.

And when Emma stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks’ estate, creatures she surely knows must have died from their injuries, she knows.

Review:  Horrifically wonderful. Broken is a haunting Frankenstein-like story that will intrigue you from the very start. A twisted tale of love, broken hearts, and shattered lives.

Emma Gentry is a broken-hearted, emotionally absent girl trying to get through life after the devastating death of her boyfriend, Daniel. Not sure how she will finish her high school days, Emma finds herself starting each day with a breve of coffee (us Americans call it a latte) from the walk up window of the  Mugz in Chugz as she reluctantly scuffs off to school. But when Emma arrives at school one crisp chilly morning everything is about change. There is a devastatingly new student, Alex Franks, who feels just a little bit too familiar. From the moment their eyes lock and Alex unlocks Emma’s locker, her life takes on a dramatic and alarming new change.

Even though Emma feels that she is slowly falling apart, Alex still finds a way in to her everyday life, almost, in a way, haunting her days. The only problem is the more she finds herself around Alex the more she finds herself starting to live but also finds herself even more reminded of Daniel---from Alex’s eyes that looks just like Daniels with their little brown flecks in them to the way he can open her jammed locker and the way he calls her by Daniels secret nickname. As time goes on, Emma finds herself strangely attracted to him but also in fear of him. There is too much wrong with Alex Franks to overlook, and the similarities between him and Daniel are all too alarming. And Emma can’t help but constantly wonder how can Alex remind her so much of her dead boyfriend Daniel?

Delightfully from the first paragraph  this story builds into mystery with horrific consequences. Broken takes so many twists and turns I found myself not wanting to put iy down for fear of it losing momentum.  I was truly a captive of Broken's wicked tale. A must read for all you horror fans!

Find A.E Rought online: Website  

Purchase Broken: Amazon  •  BN.com  •  BookDepository  • Indiebound