Category Archives: Readings

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Waiting On Wednesday – 48

Hello gentle reader,

this week I’m waiting on A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC by Victoria E. Schwab (expected publication: 24th February 2015 by Tor Books). It’s a Fantasy book which sounds utterly unique and quite amazing.

A Darker Shade final for Irene

From Goodreads:

From V.E. Schwab, the critically acclaimed author of Vicious, comes a new universe of daring adventure, thrilling power, and parallel Londons, beginning with A Darker Shade of Magic.

Kell is one of the last Travelers—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes—as such, he can choose where he lands.

There’s Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, ruled by a mad King George. Then there’s Red London, where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London, ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne—a place where people fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London…but no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see—a dangerous hobby, and one that has set him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations, who first robs him, then saves him from a dangerous enemy, and then forces him to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive—and that is proving trickier than they hoped.

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event, hosted by book blogger Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we’re eagerly anticipating.

Have you heard about this book? Is it on your TBR list? What are you waiting on this week?

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Summer Reads – 2014 Edition

Hello gentle reader,

I’ve asked my friends which book they’re most looking forward to reading this summer. Here are their answers…

Lauren Garafalo chose The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (YA High Fantasy)

Queen of the Tearling

Jessica Rubinkowski picked Fire by Kristin Cashore and Warrior by Ellen Oh (both are YA High Fantasy)

Fire

Warrior

Ambiguous A. chose The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Fantasy)

The Night Circus UK

Kate Michael picked Autumn Bones by Jacqueline Carey (Urban Fantasy) and The Falconer by Elizabeth May (YA  Historical Fantasy)

Autumn Bone

The Falconer

Rachel O’Laughlin chose Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (Epic Fantasy) and Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne (YA High Fantasy)

final-empire

Midnight Thief

Jenny Adams Perinovic picked Written In My Own Heart’s Blood (Outlander #8) by Diana Gabaldon (Historical – Time Travel)

Written In My Own Heart's Blood

Katie Bucklein picked Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge (YA Fairy Tale Retelling)

Cruel Beauty

And almost everyone said they were either reading or abour to read Ruin and Rising (Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo (YA High Fantasy)

Ruin and Rising Final

Has your TBR pile suddenly grown? Yes, mine too 😉

Which book are you looking forward to reading this summer? Feel free to leave me a comment below!

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Waiting On Wednesday – 47

Hello gentle reader,

Today I’m waiting on MIDNIGHT THIEF by Livia Blackburne (expected publication: 8th July 2014 by Disney-Hyperion). It’s a YA Epic Fantasy and I’ve read great reviews about it (from book bloggers who were lucky enough to read the ARC!). And have you seen this great cover?!

Midnight Thief

From Goodreads:

Growing up on Forge’s streets has taught Kyra how to stretch a coin. And when that’s not enough, her uncanny ability to scale walls and bypass guards helps her take what she needs.

But when the leader of the Assassins Guild offers Kyra a lucrative job, she hesitates. She knows how to get by on her own, and she’s not sure she wants to play by his rules. But he’s persistent—and darkly attractive—and Kyra can’t quite resist his pull.

Tristam of Brancel is a young Palace knight on a mission. After his best friend is brutally murdered by Demon Riders, a clan of vicious warriors who ride bloodthirsty wildcats, Tristam vows to take them down. But as his investigation deepens, he finds his efforts thwarted by a talented thief, one who sneaks past Palace defenses with uncanny ease.

When a fateful raid throws Kyra and Tristam together, the two enemies realize that their best chance at survival—and vengeance—might be to join forces. And as their loyalties are tested to the breaking point, they learn a startling secret about Kyra’s past that threatens to reshape both their lives.

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event, hosted by book blogger Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we’re eagerly anticipating.

Have you heard about this book? Is it on your TBR list? What are you waiting on this week?

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Waiting On Wednesday – 46

Hello gentle reader,

Today I’m waiting on WINTERSPELL by Claire Legrand (expected publication: 30th September 2014 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers). It’s a YA Fantasy retelling of THE NUTCRACKER, which is exciting enough, but have you also seen this gorgeous cover?! I can’t wait for this book!

WINTERSPELL-FINAL

From Goodreads

The clock chimes midnight, a curse breaks, and a girl meets a prince . . . but what follows is not all sweetness and sugarplums.

New York City, 1899. Clara Stole, the mayor’s ever-proper daughter, leads a double life. Since her mother’s murder, she has secretly trained in self-defense with the mysterious Drosselmeyer.

Then, on Christmas Eve, disaster strikes.

Her home is destroyed, her father abducted–by beings distinctly not human. To find him, Clara journeys to the war-ravaged land of Cane. Her only companion is the dethroned prince Nicholas, bound by a wicked curse. If they’re to survive, Clara has no choice but to trust him, but his haunted eyes burn with secrets–and a need she can’t define. With the dangerous, seductive faery queen Anise hunting them, Clara soon realizes she won’t leave Cane unscathed–if she leaves at all.

Inspired by The Nutcracker, Winterspell is a dark, timeless fairy tale about love and war, longing and loneliness, and a girl who must learn to live without fear.

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event, hosted by book blogger Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we’re eagerly anticipating.

Have you heard about this book? Is it on your TBR list? What are you waiting on this week?

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Waiting On Wednesday – 45

Hello gentle reader,

Today I’m waiting on PRINCESS OF THORNS by Stacey Jay (expected publication: 9th December 2014 by Delacorte Press). It’s a YA Epic Fantasy and a fairytale retelling. I heard about it a while ago and I’ve read some really good reviews, so I’m curious to find out if it’s as good as advertised…

PRINCESS_THORNS_FRONT

From Goodreads:

Game of Thrones meets the Grimm’s fairy tales in this twisted, fast-paced romantic fantasy-adventure about Sleeping Beauty’s daughter, a warrior princess who must fight to reclaim her throne.

Though she looks like a mere mortal, Princess Aurora is a fairy blessed with enhanced strength, bravery, and mercy yet cursed to destroy the free will of any male who kisses her. Disguised as a boy, she enlists the help of the handsome but also cursed Prince Niklaas to fight legions of evil and free her brother from the ogre queen who stole Aurora’s throne ten years ago.

Will Aurora triumph over evil and reach her brother before it’s too late? Can Aurora and Niklaas break the curses that will otherwise forever keep them from finding their one true love?

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event, hosted by book blogger Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we’re eagerly anticipating.

Have you heard about this book? Is it on your TBR list? What are you waiting on this week?

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Waiting On Wednesday – 44

Hello gentle reader,

Today I’m waiting on SUSPICION by Alexandra Monir (expected publication: 9th December 2014 by Delacorte Press). It’s a YA Fantasy and a retelling of Daphne Du Maurier’s REBECCA. Isn’t this cover beautiful?

Suspicion

From Goodreads:

Mysterious. Magnificent. Creepy. Welcome to Rockford Manor.

“There’s something hidden in the Maze.” Seventeen-year-old Imogen has never forgotten the last words her father said to her seven years ago, before the blazing fire that consumed him, her mother, and the gardens of her family’s English country manor.

Haunted by her parents’ deaths, Imogen moves to New York City with her new guardians. But when a letter arrives with the news of her cousin’s untimely death, revealing that Imogen is now the only heir left to run the estate, she returns to England and warily accepts her role as duchess.

All is not as it seems at Rockford, and Imogen quickly learns that dark secrets lurk behind the mansion’s aristocratic exterior, hinting that the spate of deaths in her family were no accident. And at the center of the mystery is Imogen herself–and Sebastian, the childhood friend she has secretly loved for years. Just what has Imogen walked into?

Combining a fresh twist on the classic REBECCA with a spine-tingling mystery and powerful romance, SUSPICION is an action-packed thrill ride.

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event, hosted by book blogger Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we’re eagerly anticipating.

Have you heard about this book? Is it on your TBR list? What are you waiting on this week?

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Waiting On Wednesday – 43

Hello gentle reader,

Today I’m waiting on THE GIRLS AT THE KINGFISHER CLUB by Genevieve Valentine (expected publication: 3rd June 2014 by Atria Book). It’s a YA Historical set in Manhattan during the Roaring Twenties. It’s also a reimagining of the fairytale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses. Need I say more?

girls-at-the-kingfisher-club-hr

From Goodreads:

Jo, the first born, “The General” to her eleven sisters, is the closest thing the Hamilton girls have to a mother. She is the one who taught them how to dance, the one who gives the signal each night, as they slip out of the confines of their father’s townhouse to await the cabs that will take them to the speakeasy. Together they elude their distant and controlling father, until the day he decides to marry them all off.

The girls, meanwhile, continue to dance, from Salon Renaud to the Swan to the Funeral Parlor Supper Club and, finally, the Kingfisher, the club they come to call home. They dance until one night when they are caught in a raid, separated, and Jo is thrust face-to-face with someone from her past: a bootlegger named Tom whom she hasn’t seen in almost ten years. Suddenly Jo must weigh in the balance not only the demands of her father and eleven sisters, but those of her own heart.

With The Girls at the Kingfisher Club, award-winning writer Genevieve Valentine takes her superb storytelling gifts to new heights, penning a dazzling tale about sisterhood, freedom, and love in Jazz Age Manhattan.

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event, hosted by book blogger Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Have you heard about this book? Is it on your TBR list? What are you waiting on this week?

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Cover Reveal: What The Lady Wants by Renee Rosen

Hello gentle reader,

today I’m delighted to share with you the cover of What the Lady Wants: A Novel of Marshall Field and the Gilded Age by Renee Rosen (expected publication: 4th November 2014 by NAL Trade).

I really enjoyed Renee’s debut, Dollface: A Novel of the Roaring Twenties. I’m excited for her second book to be out, and I’m even more excited to reveal her beautiful cover art!

Here’s the book blurb. Scroll down to check out the cover!

In late 19th century Chicago, visionary retail tycoon Marshall Field made his fortune wooing women customers with his famous motto:“Give the lady what she wants.” His legendary charm also won the heart of socialite Delia Spencer, and led to an infamous love affair. 

The night of the Great Fire, as seventeen-year-old Delia watched the flames rise and consume what had been the pioneer town of Chicago, she couldn’t imagine how much her life, her city, and her whole world was about to change. Nor would she have guessed that the agent of that change would not simply be the fire, but more so the man she met that night…

Leading the way in rebuilding after the fire, Marshall Field reopens his well-known dry goods store and transforms it into something the world has never seen before: a glamorous palace of a department store.  He and his powerhouse coterie— including Potter Palmer and George Pullman—usher in the age of robber barons, the American royalty of their generation.

But behind the opulence, their private lives are riddled with scandal and heartbreak. Delia and Marshall first turn to each other out of loneliness, but as their love deepens, they will stand together despite disgrace and ostracism, through an age of devastation and opportunity, when an adolescent Chicago was transformed into the Gleaming White City of the Chicago’s World’s Fair of 1893.

Praise for Dollface 

“Intoxicating….Fans of Boardwalk Empire will love Dollface.”—New York Times Bestselling Author Sara Gruen

“A lively, gutsy romp of a novel that will keep you turning pages.”—Karen Abbott, New York Times Bestselling Author of Sin in the Second City

And now the cover…

WhatTheLady_Cover

Isn’t it gorgeous?!

You can add What The Lady Wants on Goodreads and/or pre-order it here.

 

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Waiting On Wednesday – 42

Hello gentle reader,

Today I’m waiting on THE FOREVER SONG (Blood of Eden #3) by Julie Kagawa (expected publication: 15th April 2014 by Harlequin Teen). I enjoyed the first two books in this YA Fantasy trilogy (although THE IMMORTAL RULES was a bit slow-paced, THE ETERNITY CURE really grabbed me). And now I can’t wait to read the finale and find out what will happen to Allie and Zeke!

The Forever Song

From Goodreads:

VENGEANCE WILL BE HERS

Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster?

With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer.

MONSTER

Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions—her creator, Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost—the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie.

In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, triumph is short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event, hosted by book blogger Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Have you read The Immortal Rules and The Eternity Cure? Is The Forever Song on your TBR list? What are you waiting on this week?

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Waiting On Wednesday – 41

Hello gentle reader,

If you’re here to enter my 600 Blog Followers Giveaway for a chance to win a copy of HALF BAD by Sally Green, please click here.

This week, I’m waiting on MURDER (Mayhem #2) by Sarah Pinborough (expected publication: 24th April 2014 by Jo Fletcher). I really enjoyed Book 1 in this duology and I’m intrigued by Book 2’s blurb…

Murder Sarah Pinborough

From Goodreads:

Dr. Thomas Bond, Police Surgeon, is still recovering from the event of the previous year when Jack the Ripper haunted the streets of London – and a more malign enemy hid in his shadow. Bond and the others who worked on the gruesome case are still stalked by its legacies, both psychological and tangible.

But now the bodies of children are being pulled from the Thames… and Bond is about to become inextricably linked with an uncanny, undying enemy.

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event, hosted by book blogger Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Have you read Mayhem? Is Murder on your TBR list? What are you waiting on this week?