Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
The book I´m waiting this week is
Spinning Starlight by R.C. Lewis
Release date: October 6th 2015
Sixteen-year-old heiress and paparazzi darling Liddi Jantzen hates the spotlight. But as the only daughter in the most powerful tech family in the galaxy, it's hard to escape it. So when a group of men show up at her house uninvited, she assumes it's just the usual media-grubs. That is, until shots are fired.
Liddi escapes, only to be pulled into an interplanetary conspiracy more complex than she ever could have imagined. Her older brothers have been caught as well, trapped in the conduits between the planets. And when their captor implants a device in Liddi's vocal cords to monitor her speech, their lives are in her hands: One word and her brothers are dead.
Desperate to save her family from a desolate future, Liddi travels to another world, where she meets the one person who might have the skills to help her bring her eight brothers home-a handsome dignitary named Tiav. But without her voice, Liddi must use every bit of her strength and wit to convince Tiav that her mission is true. With the tenuous balance of the planets deeply intertwined with her brothers' survival, just how much is Liddi willing to sacrifice to bring them back?
Haunting and mesmerizing, this retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Wild Swans strings the heart of the classic with a stunning, imaginative world as a star-crossed family fights for survival in this companion to Stitching Snow.
Why I'm Waiting?
I haven´t read the original story, but I saw the anime when I was a kid and really liked it.
Title: Unbreakable (The Legion #1) Author: Kami Garcia Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Release date: October 1st 2013 Rating: 4/5 Buy on: Amazon | B&N | BookDepository
I never believed in ghosts. Until one tried to kill me.
When Kennedy Waters finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn’t know that paranormal forces in a much darker world are the ones pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into Kennedy’s room and destroy a dangerous spirit sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a vengeful demon — a society whose five members were all murdered on the same night.
Now Kennedy has to take her mother’s place in the Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only weapon that might be able to destroy the demon — battling the deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.
Suspense, romance, and the paranormal meet in this chilling urban fantasy, the first book in a new series from Kami Garcia, bestselling coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures novels.
Although I haven´t see the Supernatural TV series, this book reminded me a lot of the series.
Kennedy is a 17 years old girl, that several weeks after the death of her mother is rescued by two brothers, that break into her house when she´s about to be killed by a vengeful spirit. Soon the Lockhart brothers tell her that she´s the missing member of the Legion, to which they belong, which is dedicated to fight vengeful spirits that are commanded by the demon Andras, which was summoned by their ancestors centuries ago and have create havoc to the mankind for the last centuries. So while Kennedy is not very safe to belong to the Legion, she has no choice but to follow them, because there are spirits controlled by Andras trying to kill her.
The Legion is made up by the descendants of the original 5 members, they were fighting the Illuminati, which in their quest to destroyed them, they invoked a demon, but something went wrong and the last centuries his descendants have been looking for ways to repair the damage created by the original members of the Legion.
The current members of the Legion are teenagers and each of them have a "specialty" that help them to fight vengeful spirits among the members are the 17 years old identical twin brothers Lukas and Jared Lockhart. The specialty of Lukas is hacking, tracking and identify patterns in the violence in their country, while Jared specialty is combat and weapons. Other members of the Legion are Priest, a 15-year-old boy, whose specialty is to create the weapons they used in their battle and ghost hunting. While Alara is a girl whose specialty is anything that has to do with protective wards and voodoo. And all of them have been trained since childhood by the adult members of the Legion. And this is precisely why Kennedy doesn´t think that she´s the fifth member, since she had no knowledge of that group, nor has any training, but they are convinced that she´s the fifth member that is needed to complete the Legion.
I really enjoyed reading Unbreakable, it has a very good story and although it's not very original, it´s very entertaining, with a lot of mystery and several good scenes where they´re fighting spirits. One detail that´s a peeve for me is the love triangle, because even though they´re on the run they have time for some romance and the drama caused by Kennedy´s triangle with the twins. But it has a good ending that hooked me to read its sequel - Unmarked.
Title: Liars, Inc. Author: Paula Stokes Publisher: HarperTeen Release date: March 24th 2015 Source: Edelweiss Format: eARC Rating: 4.5/5 Buy on: Amazon | B&N | BookDepository
It all starts with one little lie…
Max Cantrell has never been a big fan of the truth, so when the opportunity arises to sell lies to his classmates, it sounds like a good way to make a little money and liven up a boring senior year. With the help of his friends Preston and Parvati, Max starts a business providing forged permission slips and cover stories for the students of Vista Palisades High. Liars, Inc. they call it. Suddenly everybody needs something and the cash starts pouring in. Who knew lying could be so lucrative?
When Preston wants his own cover story to go visit a girl he met online, Max doesn’t think twice about hooking him up. Until Preston never comes home. Then the evidence starts to pile up—terrifying clues that lead the cops to Preston’s body. Terrifying clues that point to Max as the murderer.
Can Max find the real killer before he goes to prison for a crime he didn’t commit? Paula Stokes starts with one single white lie and weaves a twisted tale that will have readers guessing until the explosive final chapters.
This a very good YA thriller that kept me on the edge of the seat, throughout the book, is really captivating, with a good pace (I devour it), with a believable plot and that gradually unfolds until it shows what is happening and it´s great as everything were interwoven
The story is told from the point of view of Max Cantrell, a average guy in his senior year of high school, he´s best friend of Preston, the most popular and richest kid in school and boyfriend of Parvati an impulsive girl, but that appears to be the student perfect and perfect daughter, so only Max and Preston really know her. And they decide to profit with lies, so they create Liars Inc., where charge their classmates for making false permissions or alibis or any other kind of lie that their peers need to stay out of trouble at school and business is doing well.
So when Preston asks Max to cover him for the weekend, he accepts without question, but when comes Monday and Preston hasn´t returned and soon after he´s being questioned by the FBI because he was the last person to see him, so Max lies, which brings him problems because as the investigation progresses evidence begins to emerge that incriminates Max and once that he lied, he doesn´t know how to untangle his lies without looking guilty. Which generates him more problems and Max does not know how to get out of it.
About the characters: Max is a 17 year old boy that lives with his adoptive parents and younger sisters, he is of those who regularly complains when he has to help at home, so he prefer to receive school detention than babysit his sisters; but I liked his interactions with his mother and one of his sisters. Preston is Max's best friend, he´s the son of a US senator, he´s rich and very popular. And Parvati, is Max´s girlfriend, she´s the daughter of a Colonel and has aspirations to work in the CIA, so she know things that later are helpful when Max gets in trouble.
Liars, Inc. is fast-paced and engrossing story. I loved it!. This is the second book I read of Paula Stokes and I´ve greatly enjoyed both, so I’m looking forward to reading more of her work.
Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
The book I´m waiting this week is
A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis
Release date: October 6th 2015
Grace Mae knows madness.
She keeps it locked away, along with her voice, trapped deep inside a brilliant mind that cannot forget horrific family secrets. Those secrets, along with the bulge in her belly, land her in a Boston insane asylum.
When her voice returns in a burst of violence, Grace is banished to the dark cellars, where her mind is discovered by a visiting doctor who dabbles in the new study of criminal psychology. With her keen eyes and sharp memory, Grace will make the perfect assistant at crime scenes. Escaping from Boston to the safety of an ethical Ohio asylum, Grace finds friendship and hope, hints of a life she should have had. But gruesome nights bring Grace and the doctor into the circle of a killer who stalks young women. Grace, continuing to operate under the cloak of madness, must hunt a murderer while she confronts the demons in her own past.
In this beautifully twisted historical thriller, Mindy McGinnis, acclaimed author of Not a Drop to Drink and In a Handful of Dust, explores the fine line between sanity and insanity, good and evil—and the madness that exists in all of us.
Why I'm Waiting?
I´ve read and enjoyed her books Not a Drop to Drink and In a Handful of Dust, so I can´t wait to read more of her books.
Title: Shadow Scale (Seraphina #2) Author: Rachel Hartman Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers Release date: March 10th 2015 Source: Netgalley Format: eARC Rating: 4.5/5 Buy on: Amazon | B&N | BookDepository You can read my review of Seraphina- here
The kingdom of Goredd: a world where humans and dragons share life with an uneasy balance, and those few who are both human and dragon must hide the truth. Seraphina is one of these, part girl, part dragon, who is reluctantly drawn into the politics of her world. When war breaks out between the dragons and humans, she must travel the lands to find those like herself—for she has an inexplicable connection to all of them, and together they will be able to fight the dragons in powerful, magical ways.
As Seraphina gathers this motley crew, she is pursued by humans who want to stop her. But the most terrifying is another half dragon, who can creep into people’s minds and take them over. Until now, Seraphina has kept her mind safe from intruders, but that also means she’s held back her own gift. It is time to make a choice: Cling to the safety of her old life, or embrace a powerful new destiny?
Shadow Scale bring us back to Goredd, the city where Seraphina lives, which is preparing for war against the dragons who want to break the treaty with humans, so the Queen Glissenda decide to try to bring together all the half-dragons in order to see if they can help in the war, because is suspected that most of them have unique powers that could be useful in combat against dragons. And because Seraphina is a half-dragon and also has a link with others like her, through visions, she´s sent on a mission in order to collect them and bring them to Goredd, so she must look for them in the other Kingdoms, and during her journey she finds allies and friends, but also finds people who see the half-dragons as aberrations, so that her mission will not be easy. On this journey, her constant companion is Abdo a 12-year-old half-dragon boy that can see the "light" emanating from his race.
During her trip Seraphina start having problems with a half-dragon that can influence and take over the mind of the other half-dragons, with whom Seraphina had had a confrontation before when she was a little girl and at that time she could successfully ban her from her mind . But now it seems she has become mentally stronger and has her own agenda in the war that is about to happen between humans and dragons.
I loved this book, the only thing I had issue was the romance, which although it isn´t the main part of the plot, at least for me it was important, because Seraphina and Lucian are great together and they had not enough interaction during the book (this is my opinion), but the few interactions they had were great and loved them.
And for the epilogue, I can only say that it was bittersweet with a touch of hope. I liked it although it saddened me. And I would greatly appreciate if in the future the author decides to write a short story or novella.
Overall, Shadow Scale is an amazing book, the plot is fascinating and unforgettable, it´s beautifully written, has its fair share of action, interesting twists and turns in the plot and lost of intrigue ... there were times when Seraphina could not trust anyone. I loved it! It makes me sad to know that this is the conclusion of Seraphina´s story. I highly recommend this duology for fans of epic fantasy books.
Title: Burning Kingdoms (The Internment Chronicles #2) Author: Lauren DeStefano Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Release date: March 10th 2015 Source: Edelweiss Format: eARC Rating: 2.5/5 Buy on: Amazon | B&N | BookDepository You can read my review of Perfect Ruin- here
Danger descends in the second book of The Internment Chronicles, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Chemical Garden trilogy.
After escaping Internment, Morgan and her fellow fugitives land on the ground to finally learn about the world beneath their floating island home.
The ground is a strange place where water falls from the sky as snow, and people watch moving pictures and visit speakeasies. A place where families can have as many children as they want, their dead are buried in vast gardens of bodies, and Internment is the feature of an amusement park.
It is also a land at war.
Everyone who fled Internment had their own reasons to escape their corrupt haven, but now they’re caught under the watchful eye of another king who wants to dominate his world. They may have made it to the ground, but have they dragged Internment with them?
I liked Perfect Ruin and I was eager to read its sequel, as the previous book had ended with a cliffhanger, which had left me hooked and wanted to know what had happened to Morgan and the people that fled with her. But the truth is that Burning Kingdoms bored me, mainly due to the extremely slow pace and rather anti-climactic plot.
Besides the main character irritated me, because in the first book she spends her time dreaming of the world below (since she lived in a city floating in the sky) and as soon she fulfilled hers mission and escape Internment and reach the below (aka earth), a land at war, she spends her time missing her floating city.
The plot leaves much to be desired, since despite being 320 pages, not much happens of relevance and it sort of lost the magic that had the first book - I liked the idea of a floating city - because this book takes place an alternate world that reminds me a lot of earth in the 20's, as we see silent films and other details that reminded me of that time.
Overall, I didn´t enjoyed Burning Kingdoms as much as its predecessor, it definitely suffered from second book syndrome, in truth I was very disappointed because the plot was lacking.
Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
The book I´m waiting this week is
Soundless by Richelle Mead
Release date: November 17th 2015
From Richelle Mead, the #1 internationally bestselling author of Vampire Academy and Bloodlines, comes a breathtaking new fantasy steeped in Chinese folklore.
For as long as Fei can remember, there has been no sound in her village, where rocky terrain and frequent avalanches prevent residents from self-sustaining. Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom.
When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink and many go hungry. Fei’s home, the people she loves, and her entire existence is plunged into crisis, under threat of darkness and starvation.
But soon Fei is awoken in the night by a searing noise, and sound becomes her weapon.
Richelle Mead takes readers on a triumphant journey from the peak of Fei’s jagged mountain village to the valley of Beiugo, where a startling truth and an unlikely romance will change her life forever...
Why I'm Waiting?
I loved her Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series, so I´m looking forward to read more of her books and this one sounds really interesting and is a standalone.
Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider
Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone
Soundless by Richelle Mead
The Martian by Andy Weir
