Waiting on Wednesday (21): Handbook for Dragon Slayers by Merrie Haskell

Jan 9

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!

Handbook for Dragon Slayers

by Merrie Haskell

Book cover for Handbook for Dragon Slayers by Merrie Haskell

When a runaway princess throws her lot in with a couple of would-be dragon slayers, before long she is facing down the Wild Hunt, befriending enchanted horses, battling fire-breathing dragons, and learning more about herself than she ever expected…

I can’t deal with how amazing this sounds, guys. A runaway princess, dragonslayers, enchanted horses. I DIE. Seriously. That little blurb is so freaking short, but I’m still fidgeting with anticipation. I read and very much enjoyed Merrie Haskell’s THE PRINCESS CURSE, which was a retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses tale. But this one sounds like high fantasy at it’s best. PLUS. I love the cover! The illustration is so incredible!

HANDBOOK FOR DRAGON SLAYERS is coming out May 28, 2013 from Harper Collins.

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Waiting on Wednesday (26): Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

May 9

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!

Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1)

by Sarah J. Maas

Book cover for Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Her opponents are men—thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the kings council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she’s bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her… but it’s the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead… quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

YOOOOO!! Holy crap, guys, THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah J. Maas is one of my most anticipated books of the year! I’ve been waiting for the cover to come out to that I could fangirl it here with you guys. Because it’s based loosely on the Cinderella tale, but takes a sharp left into high-fantasy ASS-KICKER assassin girl-town. YES YES YES! I’ve been reading the novellas in this series (starting with THE ASSASSIN AND THE PIRATE LORD, then THE ASSASSIN AND THE DESERT, and then THE ASSASSIN AND THE UNDERWORLD, with THE ASSASSIN AND THE EMPIRE still to come) and they’ve all been awesome. I can’t wait to read THRONE OF GLASS and get to know Celaena better and meet this gruff captain! And also the prince. And also get the 411 on the “greater destiny” business. All of that, too. 

THRONE OF GLASS (THRONE OF GLASS #1) is coming out August 7, 2012 from Bloomsbury Children’s.

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Waiting on Wednesday (25): Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols

May 2

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!

Such a Rush

by Jennifer Echols

Book cover for Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols

High school senior Leah Jones loves nothing more than flying. While she’s in the air, it’s easy to forget life with her absentee mother at the low-rent end of a South Carolina beach town. When her flight instructor, Mr. Hall, hires her to fly for his banner advertising business, she sees it as her ticket out of the trailer park. And when he dies suddenly, she’s afraid her flying career is gone forever.

But Mr. Hall’s teenage sons, golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson, are determined to keep the banner planes flying. Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business — until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers — and the consequences could be deadly.

I am a hardcore Jennifer Echols FANGIRL. MAJOR fan over here. Ever since I read GOING TOO FAR, she instantly became one of my always-read authors, and she’s never really let me down. (Although her romantic dramas are better than her romantic comedies, imho.) Her characters are always real and unique, her settings are always fresh (HELLO! Pilots?!), and her sexytimes are LEGIT TIMES INFINITY. To say that I am eagerly anticipating SUCH A RUSH, her newest romantic drama, is understatement central. Because I AM DYING FOR IT. Pilots? Flying? Secrets? TWO boys instead of just one?! *GRABBY HANDS*

SUCH A RUSH is coming out July 10, 2012 from MTV Books.

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Waiting on Wednesday (24): Kissing Shakespeare by Pamela Mingle

Apr 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!

Kissing Shakespeare

by Pamela Mingle

Book cover for Kissing Shakespeare by Pamela Mingle

Miranda has Shakespeare in her blood: she hopes one day to become a Shakespearean actor like her famous parents. At least, she does until her disastrous performance in her school’s staging of The Taming of the Shrew. Humiliated, Miranda skips the opening-night party. All she wants to do is hide.

Fellow cast member, Stephen Langford, has other plans for Miranda. When he steps out of the backstage shadows and asks if she’d like to meet Shakespeare, Miranda thinks he’s a total nutcase. But before she can object, Stephen whisks her back to 16th century England—the world Stephen’s really from. He wants Miranda use her acting talents and modern-day charms on the young Will Shakespeare. Without her help, Stephen claims, the world will lost its greatest playwright. 

Miranda isn’t convinced she’s the girl for the job. Why would Shakespeare care about her? And just who is this infuriating time traveler, Stephen Langford? Reluctantly, she agrees to help, knowing that it’s her only chance of getting back to the present and her “real” life. What Miranda doesn’t bargain for is finding true love . . . with no acting required.

So I personally love books that do the time-travel/historical fiction/romance kind of thing. THANK YOU, OUTLANDER. Pamela Mingle’s book has the added bonus of taking me back to 16th century England, where we get to meet Shakespeare. Sigh. I’m getting a Shakespeare in Love vibe from this summary, and that makes me very happy. Except maybe Stephen is the love interest? Anytime a summary tells me that the guy is “infuriating” it’s almost a dead giveaway, no? But then there’s the whole title about kissing SHAKESPEARE, so LOVE TRIANGLE! 

Anyway, KISSING SHAKESPEARE sounds like a really sweet, emotional, fun story, and I’m looking forward to it BIG TIME. 

KISSING SHAKESPEARE is coming out August 14, 2012 from Random House Children’s Books.

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Waiting on Wednesday (23): Crewel by Gennifer Albin

Apr 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!

Crewel (Crewel World #1)

by Gennifer Albin

Book cover for Crewel by Gennifer Albin

Incapable. Awkward. Artless.

That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: she wants to fail.

Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to embroider the very fabric of life. But if controlling what people eat, where they live and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.

Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and wove a moment at testing, and they’re coming for her—tonight.

Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her Dad’s stupid jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.

Because once you become a Spinster, there’s no turning back.

Guys, I’m really intrigued by this “weaving time with matter” concept going on in CREWEL, the debut from Gennifer Albin. In fact, the whole world in this book sounds BANANAS. I’m not sure whether to call this one dystopian, science fiction, or fantasy, but whatever it is, I’m in. PLUS, I love the sound of the last hour. Tons of jeopardy, heartbreak, and FEELINGS it seems like. I’m curious, too, whether the book takes place over just that hour, which would be a little insane, or if the story takes Adelice on the run, like a YA The Fugitive. 

You know what else I like the sound of in CREWEL, although I’m SURE that it’s just a matter of something being left out of the synopsis? There’s no love interest. Now. I’m no hater of love drama. In fact, I’m a pretty big fan. But I also appreciate a good story that features a character trying to figure out her own business without things getting complicated further by boys. Let’s hope that things go one way or another–boy all over the place, or boy nowhere–because there’s NOTHING less satisfying than a sort-of couple, amirite? But whatever. I’m in no matter what!

CREWEL (CREWEL WORLD #1) is coming out October 16, 2012 from Farrar, Straus and Giroux BFYR.

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Waiting on Wednesday (22): The Vindico by Wesley King

Apr 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!

The Vindico

by Wesley King

Book cover for The Vindico by Wesley King

X-Men meets The Breakfast Club in this darkly humorous adventure.

The Vindico are a group of supervillains who have been fighting the League of Heroes for as long as anyone can remember. Realizing they’re not as young as they used to be, they devise a plan to kidnap a group of teenagers to take over for them when they retire–after all, how hard can it be to teach a bunch of angsty teens to be evil?

Held captive in a remote mansion, five teens train with their mentors and receive superpowers beyond their wildest dreams. Struggling to uncover the motives of the Vindico, the teens have to trust each other to plot their escape. But they quickly learn that the differences between good and evil are not as black and white as they seem, and they are left wondering whose side they should be fighting on after all . . .

Um, X-MEN MEETS THE BREAKFAST CLUB. Seriously. Reading this synopsis just makes me incredibly excited for some fast-paced, thrilling, superhero ACTION. I’m a little new to the superhero thing, but I’m making up for lost time in a big way, friends, and THE VINDICO sounds like the perfect kind of book to help me further my new love. 

Also, did you catch that hint at moral ambiguity at the end there? I can’t overstate how much I love reading about gray area. Things being black and white certainly have their place and I love those kinds of stories, too. But the gray area is where the juicy stuff is, and I’ve got high hopes for THE VINDICO. BRING IT, supervillans. Bring it. 

THE VINDICO is coming out June 14, 2012 from Putnam Juvenile.

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Waiting on Wednesday (21): Storm by Brigid Kemmerer

Apr 4

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!

Storm (Elemental #1)

by Brigid Kemmerer

Book cover for Storm by Brigid Kemmerer

Earth, Fire, Air, Water – they have more power than you dream. 

Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread those lies about her, Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys—all the ones she doesn’t want. Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different. Way different: he can control water—just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They’re powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death. 

And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca. 

Secrets are hard to keep when your life’s at stake. When Hunter, the mysterious new kid around school, turns up with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time, Becca thinks she can trust him. But then Hunter goes head-to-head with Chris, and Becca wonders who’s hiding the most dangerous truth of all. 

The storm is coming . . .

Don’t have to wait too long for this one, friends! Which is GREAT news because, even though the cover is a little…icky? I’m not a fan of all those blurry, brooding boys GLARING at me. But even though the cover isn’t my favorite, I’m CONVINCED that the story inside is going to be awesome. See, just this past week, Brigid Kemmerer released a little prequel story about the oldest Merrick brother, Michael, and this star-crossed lover thing he has going on with the daughter of his family’s enemy. IT WAS REALLY SUPER GOOD, and it made me all kinds of excited to read the whole story, starting with STORM.

I know I’ve mentioned a bunch of my must-read buzz words before: Scotland, gardening, witches, road trips, Robin Hood, etc. Add to that list controlling the elements. It’s like nature’s superheros, and the Merricks have control over one each. (Michael, from the prequel novella, can control Earth LIKE A BOSS.) Of course, though, there’s bad guys who want to get rid of the Merricks and their powers, so I’m anticipating DRAMA and TENSION, along with some good, tingly romance. Woot!

STORM (ELEMENTAL #1) is coming out April 24, 2012 from Kensington.

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Waiting on Wednesday (20): Through To You by Emily Hainsworth

Mar 28

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!

Through To You

by Emily Hainsworth

Book cover for Through To You by Emily Hainsworth

Camden Pike has been grief-stricken since his girlfriend, Viv, died. Viv was the last good thing in his life: helping him rebuild his identity after a career-ending football injury, picking up the pieces when his home life shattered, and healing his pain long after the meds wore off. And now, he’d give anything for one more glimpse of her. But when Cam makes a visit to the site of Viv’s deadly car accident, he sees some kind of apparition. And it isn’t Viv.

The apparition’s name is Nina, and she’s not a ghost. She’s a girl from a parallel world, and in this world, Viv is still alive. Cam can’t believe his wildest dreams have come true. All he can focus on is getting his girlfriend back, no matter the cost. But things are different in this other world: Viv and Cam have both made very different choices, things between them have changed in unexpected ways, and Viv isn’t the same girl he remembers. Nina is keeping some dangerous secrets, too, and the window between the worlds is shrinking every day.

As Cam comes to terms with who this Viv has become and the part Nina played in his parallel story, he’s forced to choose—stay with Viv or let her go—before the window closes between them once and for all.

Whew. WHOA, guys. This summary kind of blows my mind. Dead girlfriend IS ACTUALLY ALIVE in a PARALLEL UNIVERSE, except things over there are very different. So many juicy things are alluded to in this summary, I can’t even handle it. My mind is literally scrambling to wrap itself around all of this potential AWESOME. I love the idea of the parallel world being different from the current one. I’m imagining that maybe Cam and Viv aren’t together in the alternate reality, and that maybe Cam and Nina had something going on. But seriously, I know NOTHING. (Woop! Unintentional Jon Snow reference for all you Thronies!) But I can’t wait to read this book and FIND OUT. Just this synopsis had my pulse going a little bit. THROUGH TO YOU sounds majorly gripping and dramatic. I have this feeling that I’m going to read it and it’s going to leave me breathless from all of the things. Huzzah!

THROUGH TO YOU is coming out October 9, 2012 from Balzer + Bray.

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Waiting on Wednesday (19): Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Mar 21

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!

Tiger Lily

by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Book cover for 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.

Guys. I have NO IDEA how I am only just hearing about TIGER LILY by Jodi Lynn Anderson RIGHT NOW. Because honestly, there’s very little I love more than a retelling of a classic story, ESPECIALLY when that retelling mines other, completely different characters to lead the story. It helps me to have a more complete understanding of the world, the story, everything. And guys? Could there BE a more awesome-sounding thing than Peter Pan told via Tiger Lily, Indian princess and Captain Hook kidnap victim? I submit that NO there is not. I think this whole idea is the business, especially because there seems to be a love triangle between Tiger Lily, Peter, and Wendy. Now, sometimes triangles make me cringy and frustrated, but I think that this is one I can get behind. Mostly because I am JAZZED to be inside Tiger Lily’s head. She was a firmly secondary character in the versions of Peter Pan that most people know, so I can’t wait to hear her version of events. Also, Peter Pan as a love interest?! WORD.

TIGER LILY is coming out July 3, 2012 from HarperTeen.

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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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