Waiting on Wednesday (18): Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

Mar 14

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. I love it because it is basically a squee-fest where book lovers can choose one book that they are DYING to get their hands on. Check it out!

Falling Kingdoms (Falling Kingdoms #1)

by Morgan Rhodes

Book cover for Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

Sixteen-year-old Cleo has grown up in luxury, the royal heiress to a prosperous kingdom. But beneath her nation’s seemingly peaceful surface lies dangerous unrest. Whispers of war are growing ever louder—intensified by a murderous incident for which Cleo’s betrothed, Aron, is accused.

Amidst the ongoing intrigue, Cleo has a more desperate mission. She defies her father’s orders and sets off on a secret and perilous journey into a neighboring country, seeking a magic long thought to be mythical. If it’s real, it could be the cure that heals her ailing sister. If it’s only legend, Cleo will be stranded in a kingdom that has just declared war on her own.

This sensational series debut melds intricate storylines with unforgettable characters and vibrantly imagined magic. Falling Kingdoms is ideal for fans of Kristin Cashore, Cinda Williams Chima, and George R.R. Martin.

Guys, do you see those names right up there? Cinda Williams Chima (!), Kristin Cashore (!!), and GEORGE R.R. MARTIN (!!!!!!!!!!)? FOR REAL?!? I could merely cite those names as the only reasons I am BEYOND PYSCHED to read FALLING KINGDOMS by Morgan Rhodes and it would be sufficient. Because seriously. Those are some fantasy heavyweights, not to mention the fact that, around these parts, everyone knows that I’m OBSESSED with A Song of Ice and Fire, so shouting out my boy George is pretty much a guaranteed hook for me. But this book sounds like it’s going to be amazing in its own right, with long-lost magic, defiant heiresses, civil unrest, political scheming, and lots of juicy characters. I don’t know if I could ever accurately describe how excited I get whenever I see a new high fantasy series about to get started, and FALLING KINGDOMS by Morgan Rhodes couldn’t sound any more AWESOME if it tried. So trust me: I’M ALL-CAPS EXCITED. Waiting on this one HARD, friends. HARD.

FALLING KINGDOMS (FALLING KINGDOMS #1) is coming out December 11, 2012 from Razorbill.

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Waiting on Wednesday (17): Thou Shalt Not Road Trip by Antony John

Mar 7

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. I love it because it is basically a squee-fest where book lovers can choose one book that they are DYING to get their hands on. Check it out!

Thou Shalt Not Road Trip

by Antony John

Antony John, road trip, contemporary, young adult, salvation, self-help, Luke Dorsey, religion, faith issues

One crazy road trip that’s a mix of rejection, redemption, and romance.

When sixteen-year-old Luke’s book, Hallelujah, becomes a national bestseller, his publishing house sends him on a cross-country book tour with his older brother, Matt, as chauffeur. But when irresponsible Matt offers to drive Luke’s ex–soul mate, Fran, across the country too, things get a little crazy. On the trip, Luke must loosen up, discover what it truly means to have faith, and do what it takes to get the girl he loves.

Told with Antony John’s signature wit and authenticity, and featuring smart, singular characters who jump off the page and into your heart, this story is a spiritual awakening and rockin’ road trip in one.

Oh, but THOU SHALT!! I LOVE road trips, guys. LOVE ‘EM. And I read and very much enjoyed Antony John’s FIVE FLAVORS OF DUMB last year, so I know that his writing is awesome. I confess (eek! Unintentional religious irony) that I’m not usually a huge fan of books that talk about faith and religion. However, reading about faith as an abstract thing as opposed to a religious thing is something I very much enjoy, and I feel like this book is going to have great depth about lots of stuff. Plus it sounds like the relationships are going to be interesting and complicated and SUPER. And seriously, they’re going on a road trip. Like there’s any way I’m not going to love this…

THOU SHALT NOT ROAD TRIP is coming out April 12, 2012 from Dial.

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Waiting on Wednesday (16): Defiance

Feb 29

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. I love it because it is basically a squee-fest where book lovers can choose one book that they are DYING to get their hands on. Check it out!

Defiance (Defiance #1)

by C.J. Redwine

Defiance, CJ Redwine, Fantasy, Fantasy YA, series, Young adult, fantasy, girl, red hair, forest

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.

Um, DEFIANCE sounds like some seriously bananas fantasy, guys. I love the sound of the evil dictator, the secretly badass girl, an impervious-to-death monster, and the major TENSION that exists between the girl and the boy because they have HISTORY. Honestly. I’m drooling over this summary! Everything sounds so fraught and dangerous. Plus there’s that business about “a war decades in the making” that makes me anxious-excited for the rest of the books in this series. Guys, I feel like DEFIANCE is going to chew me up and spit me out a little bit. I AM IN.

DEFIANCE is coming out August 28, 2012 from Balzer + Bray.

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Waiting on Wednesday (15): Fingerprints of You

Feb 22

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. I love it because it is basically a squee-fest where book lovers can choose one book that they are DYING to get their hands on. Check it out!

Fingerprints of You

by Kristen-Paige Madonia

Lemon grew up with Stella, a single mom who wasn’t exactly maternal. Stella always had a drink in her hand and a new boyfriend every few months, and when things got out of hand, she would whisk Lemon off to a new town for a fresh beginning. Now, just as they are moving yet again, Lemon discovers that she is pregnant from a reckless encounter—with a guy Stella had been flirting with.

On the verge of revisiting her mother’s mistakes, Lemon struggles to cope with the idea of herself as a young unmarried mother, as well as the fact that she’s never met her own father. Determined to have at least one big adventure before she has the baby, Lemon sets off on a cross-country road trip, intending not only to meet her father, but to figure out who she wants to be.

Guys, FINGERPRINTS OF YOU sounds twisty and complex and complicated. With the recent-ish popularity of teenage mothers on TV and elsewhere, and the growing understanding of the difficulties they must deal with raising their own children when they are still basically children themselves, I think that this book sounds incredibly interesting and relevant. BONUS: it also sounds plain AWESOME. The first paragraph of this summary reminds me of that movie Mermaids, with Cher and Winona Rider: a mom who acts like a teenager and a daughter who struggles to fit in as they bounce around and find herself and understand relationships without becoming her mom in the process.  And DOUBLE BONUS: ROAD TRIP!!! GAH!! You all know that I LOVE road trips. FINGERPRINTS OF YOU sounds like a solidly juicy coming-of-age that I can’t wait to get my mitts on.

Also, on a totally superficial note, LOOK at this COVER!! It’s so colorful and bright and gorgeous! I’m assuming that it’s maybe supposed to look like a tattoo, because that’s what it looks like to me, but WOW! So eye-catching.

FINGERPRINTS OF YOU is coming out August 7, 2012 from Simon & Schuster BFYR.

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Waiting on Wednesday (14): The Raven Boys

Feb 15

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. I love it because it is basically a squee-fest where book lovers can choose one book that they are DYING to get their hands on. Check it out!

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)

by Maggie Stiefvater

Filled with mystery, romance, and the supernatural, The Raven Boys introduces readers to Richard “Dick” Campbell Gansey, III and Blue Sargent. Gansey has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on the hunt to find Glendower, a vanished Welsh king. Legend has it that the first person to find him will be granted a wish—either by seeing him open his eyes, or by cutting out his heart.

Blue Sargent, the daughter of the town psychic in Henrietta, Virginia, has been told for as long as she can remember that if she ever kisses her true love, he will die. But she is too practical to believe in things like true love. Her policy is to stay away from the rich boys at the prestigious Aglionby Academy. The boys there—known as Raven Boys—can only mean trouble. When Gansey and his Raven Boy friends come into her life, Blue realizes how true this is. She never thought her fortune would be a problem. But she was wrong.

So, last week Maggie Stiefvater–one of my FAVORITE authors who is also responsible for one of my favorite books from last year, THE SCORPIO RACES–gave the official 411 on her new book/series, coming out this fall. And you guys? IT SOUNDS AWESOME. Look at that first line! Mystery! Romance! Supernatural! WOOT! If I’m being honest, I’m not crazy about the fact that the main guy’s name is Dick, but I’ll deal because he’s looking for a missing Welsh king and because “Aglionby” sounds A LOT like Albion, and Merlin-watchers know what bells THAT set off in my head: KING ARTHUR. I have no idea if Glendower, this MIA Welsh king, is supposed to be some incarnation of Arthur, but I’m in regardless. Also, Blue sounds like a kick-ass character. The whole book sounds amazing, and if my love for any of Maggie’s previous books is any indication of how much I’m going to love it, then I can’t wait to get my mitts on it. It sounds FANTASTIC!

THE RAVEN BOYS: THE RAVEN CYCLE, #1 is coming out September 18, 2012 from Scholastic Press.

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Waiting on Wednesday (13): If I Lie

Feb 8

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. I love it because it is basically a squee-fest where book lovers can choose one book that they are DYING to get their hands on. Check it out!

If I Lie

by Corrine Jackson

Quinn’s done the unthinkable: she kissed a guy who is not Carey, her boyfriend. And she got caught. Being branded a cheater would be bad enough, but Quinn is deemed a traitor, and shunned by all of her friends. Because Carey’s not just any guy—he’s serving in Afghanistan and revered by everyone in their small, military town.

Quinn could clear her name, but that would mean revealing secrets that she’s vowed to keep—secrets that aren’t hers to share. And when Carey goes MIA, Quinn must decide how far she’ll go to protect her boyfriend…and her promise.

YOU GUYS. I have to talk for a quick second about a trend that I’m noticing in YA contemporaries coming out this year: soldiers. War time. Young people in the military. I LOVE THIS SO HARD (Yes. I BOLDFACE CAPSLOCKED). Books like IN HONOR, SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL, and Corrine Jackson’s debut, IF I LIE, all address–in different ways–the affects that serving in the military has on both the people who serve(d) and the family and friends they leave behind at home. It’s such a real part of life for so many people, and I can’t wait to dive into all of these books to see what kind of insightful, thought-provoking stories they tell.

But right now we’re focusing on IF I LIE, which sounds full of heart, drama, scandal, and secrets, not to mention the fact that it seems like we’ve got a heaping pile of the double-standard of cheating. And I’m really looking forward to reading a book from the perspective of the girlfriend at home, especially because it sounds like the relationship between Quinn and Carey is not quite what everyone in their town thinks it is.

GAH! IF I LIE just sounds so full of awesome–emotional, twisty, gray-area awesome–and my hands are ITCHING for it.

IF I LIE is coming out August 28, 2012 from Simon Pulse.

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Waiting on Wednesday (12): The Vicious Deep

Feb 1

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. I love it because it is basically a squee-fest where book lovers can choose one book that they are DYING to get their hands on. Check it out!

The Vicious Deep (The Vicious Deep #1)

by Zoraida Córdova

When an unnatural riptide sweeps lifeguard Tristan Hart out to sea for three days and then dumps him back on the shore of Coney Island, it’s the start of the Sea Court claiming its own. Suddenly, Tristan’s girlfriend dramas and swimming championship seem like distant worries as he discovers the truth: he’s a Merman. Now Tristan must fight for his life, the lives of his friends, and his humanity (if he still wants it), while competing in a race for a throne as ancient as the gods.

Seductive, duplicitous, and with an agenda of their own, these are not the mermaids you know.

HOLLA! This book sounds BANANAS. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that lots of people think of Ariel when they think of mermaids. (I do.) But I love that the mermaids in THE VICIOUS DEEP are being described as something much darker and nastier. As much as I adore Ariel and King Trident and their sweet, weepy moment at the end of The Little Mermaid and their generally likable dispositions, I’ve always LOVED reading about the vindictive, manipulative side of mythological creatures who have little care for humanity. I can’t wait to see what happens with Tristan and his battle to be KING OF THE OCEAN. Sounds so epic.

THE VICIOUS DEEP is coming out May 1, 2012 from Sourcebooks Fire.

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Waiting on Wednesday (11): Second Chance Summer

Jan 25

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. I love it because it is basically a squee-fest where book lovers can choose one book that they are DYING to get their hands on. Check it out!

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 Taylor’s dad gets devastating news that changes everything. Her parents decide that the family will spend the summer together at their old vacation home 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 still 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 are 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.

YAY, MORGAN MATSON! Guys, I’ve been looking forward to Morgan’s new book ever since I turned the very last fabulous, adorable, swoony page of her 2010 debut, AMY AND ROGER’S EPIC DETOUR. I don’t think there was anything about that book I didn’t like, from the plot and the road trip angle to the characters and the slow-burning romance. To be honest, there isn’t anything *massively* profound about DETOUR, although there are certainly serious elements, but it has stuck with me this whole time because it’s just so…endearing and happy and it made me feel the importance of not planning things to death and…it just gave me all of the good feelings. And to say that I have expectations of the same kind of genuine, touching, fun, romantic AWESOMENESS from SECOND CHANCE SUMMER is an understatement. But I’m confident that Morgan won’t let me down! Can’t wait for this one, friends!!

SECOND CHANCE SUMMER is coming out May 8, 2012 from Simon & Schuster Children’s.

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Waiting on Wednesday (10): Kill Me Softly

Jan 18

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. I love it because it is basically a squee-fest where book lovers can choose one book that they are DYING to get their hands on. Check it out!

Kill Me Softly

by Sarah Cross

 True love’s kiss just may prove deadly….

Mirabelle’s past is shrouded in secrecy, from her parents’ tragic deaths to her guardians’ half-truths about why she can’t return to her birthplace, Beau Rivage. Desperate to see the town, Mira runs away a week before her sixteenth birthday—and discovers a world she never could have imagined.

In Beau Rivage, nothing is what it seems—the strangely pale girl with a morbid interest in apples, the obnoxious playboy who’s a beast to everyone he meets, and the chivalrous guy who has a thing for damsels in distress. Here, fairy tales come to life, curses are awakened, and ancient stories are played out again and again.

But fairy tales aren’t pretty things, and they don’t always end in happily ever after. Mira has a role to play, a fairy-tale destiny to embrace or resist. As she struggles to take control of her fate, Mira is drawn into the lives of two brothers with fairy-tale curses of their own … brothers who share a dark secret. And she’ll find that love, just like fairy tales, can have sharp edges and hidden thorns.

I can’t help it, guys. I’m really, REALLY feeling the fairy tale retellings right now. I promise next week will be something completely different. But lately I keep thinking of this book–with its story that sounds like ALL THE FAIRY TALES EVER and the striking red cover with lots of ominous-looking blood-like spatter–and I just couldn’t keep myself from sharing my anticipation with you guys. Because seriously: ALL THE FAIRY TALES.

This book sounds like reading Once Upon a Time, my new favorite TV show. I’m not sure anyone could convince me that this ISN’T awesome. Snow White, the Beast, Prince Charming, and what seems to be the Brothers Grimm, maybe? KILL ME SOFTLY sounds like it’s going to be dramatic and dark and intense with lots of shout outs to my favorite old stories. Plus I’m intrigued by Mira: Is she a fairy tale character? Which one? (I swear, this is exactly like OUaT). What happened to her parents? Why can’t she return to her home? This book is SCREAMING my name, and I can’t wait to read it. Three cheers for fairy tales, friends!!

(PS. I’m ignoring the fact that the title reminds me of Roberta Flack. And The Fugees. Ignoring it.)

KILL ME SOFTLY is coming out April 10, 2012 from EgmontUSA.

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Waiting on Wednesday (9): Enchanted

Jan 11

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. I love it because it is basically a squee-fest where book lovers can choose one book that they are DYING to get their hands on. Check it out!

Enchanted

by Alethea Kontis

 It isn’t easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.

When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.

The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past—and hers?

I love the sound of ENCHANTED. It reminds me a little bit of Juliet Marillier’s WILDWOOD DANCING with the frog and the princess (or, in this case, it appears to just be a girl from a powerful family?) angle, which is excellent. BUT THEN! Business takes a turn into ROMEO & JULIET-ville (hopefully without the whole “Let’s both die together” part) when the newly de-frogged prince and the girl turn out to be from two families who hate each other’s guts. DRAMA!

Seriously though. ENCHANTED sounds fantastic. I LOVE this spin on The Frog Prince story, which, like all fairy tales, usually ends with the frog returned to his princely form whereupon the princess is immediately in love with him. I’m excited to read a version of events that requires a little more effort and creates more tension. PLUS. What about those “twisted secrets,” huh? What’s THAT about?? Can’t wait for this one, guys.

ENCHANTED is coming out May 8, 2012 from Harcourt Children’s.

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