Waiting on Wednesday: Battle Magic by Tamora Pierce

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Title: Battle Magic

Author: Tamora Pierce

ETA: September 24th, 2013

Summary from Goodreads:  On their way to the first Circle temple in Gyongxi, mages Briar, Rosethorn, and Evvy pay a visit to the emperor’s summer palace. Although treated like royalty when they first arrive, the mages soon discover that the emperor plans to invade Gyongxi, posing a fatal threat to the home temple of the Living Circle religion. Accompanied by one of the emperor’s prize captives, the three mages rush to Gyongxi to warn its citizens of the impending attack. With the imperials hot on their trail, Briar, Rosethorn, and Evvy must quickly help the country prepare for battle. But even with the help of new allies, will their combined forces be enough to fight the imperial army and win the war?

Why I’m Waiting: I heard a couple of excerpts from this book when I was at the Alpha Workshop for Young Writers, and they seemed pretty cool, but what really, really intrigues me about this book is that if you’ve read her other stuff, you already know the aftermath: at least one of the main characters has pretty awful PTSD from these events.  I’m very curious to see what Tammy does with this, because I feel like the psychological impact of war isn’t addressed nearly enough in fantasy, and also because I REALLY want to know what happened.

Waiting on Wednesday: “Perfect Ruin” by Lauren DeStefano

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Title: Perfect Ruin (The Internment Chronicles #1)

Author: Lauren DeStefano

ETA: October 1st, 2013

Summary from Goodreads: On Internment, the floating island in the clouds where 16-year-old Morgan Stockhour lives, getting too close to the edge can lead to madness. Even though Morgan’s older brother, Lex, was a Jumper, Morgan vows never to end up like him. She tries her best not to mind that her life is orderly and boring, and if she ever wonders about the ground, and why it is forbidden, she takes solace in best friend Pen and her betrothed, Basil.

Then a murder, the first in a generation, rocks the city. With whispers swirling and fear on the wind, Morgan can no longer stop herself from investigating, especially when she meets Judas. He is the boy being blamed for the murder — betrothed to the victim — but Morgan is convinced of his innocence. Secrets lay at the heart of Internment, but nothing can prepare Morgan for what she will find — or who she will lose.

Why: Curious why I find Lauren so amazing? See my reviews of Wither and Fever! Also, just look at her she’s freaking fantastic and this looks amazing and thank goodness October is coming up soon.

Waiting On Wednesday: Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Title: Dreams of Gods and Monsters

Author: Laini Taylor

ETA: April 1st, 2014

Note: That’s not the actual cover, just a placeholder, but you can bet the cover will look awesome, given the precedents.

Summary from Goodreads:  By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.
Common enemy, common cause.

When Jael’s brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people.

And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.

But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz … something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.

What power can bruise the sky?

From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy. 

At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?

Why I’m Waiting: I really enjoyed the first two books in the series.  There are some problems–there are always problems, right?–but I love how Karou is not defined by her relationship to Akiva.  She’s a veritable badass all by herself, resurrecting the dead and pulling off SUPER-TRICKY SPOILERY THINGS in the name of peace and sanity.  Actually I can’t tell you many of the reasons why I love these books, but the prose is pretty awesome, the descriptions and worldbuilding are cool, the author skillfully avoids most of the things I hate in YA romance, so I’m very curious to see where the next book goes.

–Marina

Weekly Wrap Up + Stacking the Shelves for 8-31-13

Hey guys! It’s been a LONG time since I’ve done one of these, so this isn’t so much of a “weekly” wrap up as much as a “here’s what’s happened since the last one.” My Stacking the Shelves this week is also huge, but mostly because I just bought a bunch of books for college. No, I’m not StS-ing with textbooks – I’m showing off the books I bought for one of my awesomest classes, “Studies in YA and Children’s Lit!” (Plus, you know, actual review books.) As always, watch the video for the views, and check out the links below!

Waiting on Wednesday #43

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Title: Blindsided (Transparent #2)

Author: Natalie Whipple

ETA: January 2014 from Hot Key Books

Summary from Goodreads: What price would you pay just to look in a mirror? It’s junior year of high school, and Fiona has definitely had enough of being invisible. It’s pretty hard to have a normal relationship when the only photos of her and Seth show him kissing thin air. On top of that, old Arizonan gang tensions are threatening to spill over at any minute, which could put them all in serious danger. So when Fiona realizes that she and her friends know something that could change everything, she has to decide whether working with the criminal syndicates is too high a price to finally be seen.

Check out my review of Transparent to see why I’m so excited about this book!

Waiting on Wednesday #42

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Title: Othersphere (Otherkin #3)

Author: Nina Berry

ETA: December 31st, 2013

Summary from Goodreads: In her fresh, inventive debut, Berry introduces a teenage feline shapeshifter coming to terms with her strange powers in the first in a mesmerizing new series that deals with such teen issues as body image and the strength to be found in friendship.

Disclaimer: That’s a really crappy summary that I’m sure will be updated at some point, but until then you can see what these books are really about with my squealing reviews of #1, Otherkin, and #2, Othermoon.

Waiting on Wednesday #41

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Title: Unhinged (Splintered #2)

Author: A. G. Howard

ETA: January 7th, 2014

Summary from Goodreads: Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the guy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly seductive Morpheus and the vindictive Queen Red. Now all she has to do is graduate high school and make it through prom so she can attend the prestigious art school in London she’s always dreamed of.

That would be easier without her mother, freshly released from an asylum, acting overly protective and suspicious. And it would be much simpler if the mysterious Morpheus didn’t show up for school one day to tempt her with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland—where she (partly) belongs.

As prom and graduation creep closer, Alyssa juggles Morpheus’s unsettling presence in her real world with trying to tell Jeb the truth about a past he’s forgotten. Glimpses of Wonderland start to bleed through her art and into her world in very disturbing ways, and Morpheus warns that Queen Red won’t be far behind.

If Alyssa stays in the human realm, she could endanger Jeb, her parents, and everyone she loves. But if she steps through the rabbit hole again, she’ll face a deadly battle that could cost more than just her head.

Read my review of Splintered HERE!

Waiting on Wednesday #40

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Title: The Falconer (The Falconer #1)

Author: Elizabeth May

ETA: September 26th, 2013

Summary from Goodreads: Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, was destined for a life carefully planned around Edinburgh’s social events – right up until a faery killed her mother.

Now it’s the 1844 winter season and Aileana slaughters faeries in secret, in between the endless round of parties, tea and balls. Armed with modified percussion pistols and explosives, she sheds her aristocratic facade every night to go hunting. She’s determined to track down the faery who murdered her mother, and to destroy any who prey on humans in the city’s many dark alleyways.

But the balance between high society and her private war is a delicate one, and as the fae infiltrate the ballroom and Aileana’s father returns home, she has decisions to make. How much is she willing to lose – and just how far will Aileana go for revenge?

Waiting on Wednesday #39

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine

Title: The Fiery Heart (Bloodlines #4)

Author: Richelle Mead

ETA: November 19th, 2013

Description from Goodreads: In The Indigo Spell, Sydney was torn between the Alchemist way of life and what her heart and gut were telling her to do. And in one breathtaking moment that Richelle Mead fans will never forget, she made a decision that shocked even her. . . .

But the struggle isn’t over for Sydney. As she navigates the aftermath of her life-changing decision, she still finds herself pulled in too many directions at once. Her sister Zoe has arrived, and while Sydney longs to grow closer to her, there’s still so much she must keep secret. Working with Marcus has changed the way she views the Alchemists, and Sydney must tread a careful path as she harnesses her profound magical ability to undermine the way of life she was raised to defend. Consumed by passion and vengeance, Sydney struggles to keep her secret life under wraps as the threat of exposure—and re-education—looms larger than ever.

Pulses will race throughout this thrilling fourth installment in the New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series, where no secret is safe.

Waiting on Wednesday #38

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Title: Vortex (Insignia #2) 

Author: S. J. Kincaid

ETA: July 2nd, 2013

Summary from Goodreads: The impossible was just the beginning. Now in their second year as superhuman government weapons-in-training at the Pentagonal Spire, Tom Raines and his friends are mid-level cadets in the elite combat corps known as the Intrasolar Forces. But as training intensifies and a moment arrives that could make or break his entire career, Tom’s loyalties are again put to the test.

Encouraged to betray his ideals and friendships for the sake of his country, Tom is convinced there must be another way. And the more aware he becomes of the corruption surrounding him, the more determined he becomes to fight it, even if he sabotages his own future in the process.

Drawn into a power struggle more dramatic than he has ever faced before, Tom stays a hyperintelligent step ahead of everyone, like the exceptional gamer he is—or so he believes. But when he learns that he and his friends have unwittingly made the most grievous error imaginable, Tom must find a way to outwit an enemy so nefarious that victory seems hopeless. Will his idealism and bravado cost him everything—and everyone that matters to him?

Filled with action and intelligence, camaraderie and humor, the second book in S.J. Kincaid’s futuristic World War III Insignia trilogy continues to explore fascinating and timely questions about power, politics, technology, loyalty, and friendship.