WOW: I'm waiting on The Steep & Thorny Way

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


Ok I just stumbled upon this one on Goodreads this very morning. I started doing the pee pee dance. A retelling of Hamlet set in the 1920's where the main character is mixed race.....oh yes please bring on to me!

From Goodreads:

A thrilling reimagining of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, The Steep and Thorny Way tells the story of a murder most foul and the mighty power of love and acceptance in a state gone terribly rotten.

1920s Oregon is not a welcoming place for Hanalee Denney, the daughter of a white woman and an African-American man. She has almost no rights by law, and the Ku Klux Klan breeds fear and hatred in even Hanalee’s oldest friendships. Plus, her father, Hank Denney, died a year ago, hit by a drunk-driving teenager. Now her father’s killer is out of jail and back in town, and he claims that Hanalee’s father wasn’t killed by the accident at all but, instead, was poisoned by the doctor who looked after him—who happens to be Hanalee’s new stepfather.

The only way for Hanalee to get the answers she needs is to ask Hank himself, a “haint” wandering the roads at night. (less)

Hardcover, 352 pages

Expected publication: March 8th 2016 by Amulet Books

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Series I Have Yet to Finish

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by TheBrokeandtheBookish.

1. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White- I read the first two books in the series. I adored the first but didn't enjoy the second as much. For some reasons I just can't manage to get to the third book.

2. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi- I read the first book but have not gotten around to the next two. I really did enjoy the first book though.

3. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins- I read the first book before the other two were out and LOVED it. I also loved that I had stumbled upon an amazing book that (at the time) no one knew about. Soon enough though the books exploded on the scene and unfortunately they were spoiled for me. I've heard the other two were not as good as the first and I loved the first so dearly I haven't wanted to read the other two...if that makes any sense. 

4. Penryn & the End of Days by Susan Ee- I don't know what the heck is wrong with me that I haven't picked up the third book yet. I LOVE LOVE LOVED the first two books. I HAVE to rectify this situation ASAP

5. The Green Mile by Stephen King- I don't know if this one counts but I'm putting it up anyway. Somewhere buried on my bookshelf are all 6 books of this serialized novel. I read the first two but have never gotten around to reading the whole thing. 

6. Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston- I read the first one many many years ago and have never gone back to finish the series. I have some serious cover love for this series

7. Rock Chick by Kristen Ashley- I have a love/hate thing with KA some of her books I adore and devour in a sitting. Others of her books I find myself eye rolling and tossing across the room. Her Rock Chick series has been hit/miss with me. I only read the first 4 books or so and only liked one or two of them. It is truly a debate as to whether or not I'll read the rest.

8. The Partials Sequence by Dan Wells- This is another series where I read and loved the first book but have never picked up the other two books in the series. 

9. Rising Trilogy by Amy Miles- This one is one I don't plan on finishing. I really didn't care for the first book. I've heard some bad things about the next two...yeah just not for me

10. The Babysitter's Club by Ann M. Martin- Ok I couldn't resist putting down a classic series. While I've read a good number of the books I've never read them all and quite frankly it has been probably 20+ years since I've last read one. 

Book Review: The Mirror by John Heldt

I have been getting a lot of review requests lately but have found myself skipping over most (at least for now). But when I saw the description for The Mirror by John Heldt I immediately said yes.

The Mirror is a stand alone book in the Northwest Passage series. Ginny and twin sister Katie Smith were born on September 11, 2001. It is now September 11, 2020 and they are celebrating their 19th birthday at a fair in Seattle. They have a great time till they encounter a strange fortune teller. Ignoring her warnings they decide to visit the house of mirrors. Soon both girls are traveling through the mirror and back into 1964. They decide to bide their time till they can get back to 2020 but things like boys begin to complicate things.

The good news is that even though this book is part of a series you can read it without reading the other books. When I started the book I was worried that one of my biggest pet peeves was in there...the dreaded head hopping (changing first person perspective). I was worried because the chapters had the name of the different sisters. But I didn't have to worry as this was not first person and there was no real head hopping. Believe me I gave a sigh of relief.

Of the two sisters Ginny was my favorite right out of the gate. But I loved the relationship between the twins. Each one was unique but they had that special bond that twins seem to have including communicating without speaking.

I used to be a HUGE fan of time travel stories but this one was unique in that it takes place in the 60's. I can't remember another time travel book that I've read that has done that. I love that it was close enough to have been in recent memory for some people but yet far enough away to seem a whole lifetime ago (which I suppose for some it is).

I really enjoyed the book and plan on checking out at least one other book in the series.

4 out of 5 stars.


*I received a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Cover Reveal: Ward Against Destruction by Melanie Card (Entangled Teen)

Ward Against Destruction (Chronicles of a Reluctant Necromancer, #4)

by Melanie Card

Release Date: 10/05/15

Entangled Teen

Summary from Goodreads:

Ward de’Ath used to the think that nothing could be more terrible than death. Now he realizes

there are worse things. Like his never-ending hunger for blood. Even if he conquers the

unbearable cravings that drive him headlong toward destruction,he’s a wanted man with a bleak

future.

Assassin Celia Carlyle learns she is the only one who can protect Ward from disaster. She loves him–she wants to help him, but no one can tell her how to save him from himself. And the confusing voices in her head scream to let him go.

But Ward's dark trials keep mounting. A malevolent evil is rising in the land, threatening to

unleash horror upon the world. The only way Ward can defeat it, and have the chance to marry

Celia, is by accepting his fate and becoming the one thing he swore he would never become..

 

***Books in this series***

Ward Against Death (Chronicles of a Reluctant Necromancer #1)

by Melanie Card 

Release Date: 08/02/11

Entangled Teen

306 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

Twenty-year-old Ward de’Ath expected this to be a simple job—bring a nobleman’s daughter back from the dead for fifteen minutes, let her family say good-bye, and launch his fledgling career as a necromancer. Goddess knows he can’t be a surgeon—the Quayestri already branded him a criminal for trying—so bringing people back from the dead it is.

But when Ward wakes the beautiful Celia Carlyle, he gets more than he bargained for. Insistent that she’s been murdered, Celia begs Ward to keep her alive and help her find justice. By the time she drags him out her bedroom window and into the sewers, Ward can’t bring himself to break his damned physician’s Oath and desert her.

However, nothing is as it seems—including Celia. One second, she’s treating Ward like sewage, the next she’s kissing him. And for a nobleman’s daughter, she sure has a lot of enemies. If he could just convince his heart to give up on the infuriating beauty, he might get out of this alive...

Ward Against Darkness (Chronicles of a Reluctant Necromancer #2)

by Melanie Card 

Release Date: 08/27/13

Entangled Teen

352 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

The last thing Ward de'Ath wants is more trouble. On the run from both the law and the criminal underworld, Ward and Celia flee Brawenal City only to stumble into the mansion of a powerful evil necromancer. And when Ward discovers the man possesses a dangerous grimoire, his duty leaves him no choice. He can't allow the necromancer to keep the grimoire.

But the mansion is filled with monsters--human and undead--and Ward has no way of telling who's friend or foe. The only person he can trust is Celia who dominates more of his thoughts and feelings everyday. But there are still laws in the way of anything but friendship. She's still dead and he's still alive . . . for now.

Ward Against Disaster (Chronicles of a Reluctant Necromancer #3)

by Melanie Card

Release Date: 01/19/14

About the Author

I have always been drawn to story telling. In fact, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t telling a story in my head or on paper. In grade school, we had journal writing time which I turned into story telling time, weaving tales of magic and adventure that mimicked the fairy tales and myths that I loved to read. It was there, with the help of two very special teachers, that I nurtured this love and started my journey as a writer.

I write fantasy, paranormal romance, and everything in between, seasoned with a good dash of adventure and mystery. Join me on my tales of magic, adventure, and romance.

Author Links:

   

Book Review: Arrow of the Mist by Christina Mercer

So I joined a reading challenge on goodreads and decided to read this as part of it. I had never seen nor heard of this book before the challenge. But fell in love with the cover and decided to go ahead and buy myself a copy of the book to read for the challenge.

Arrow of the Mist tells the tale of the kingdom of Nemetona. Young Lia's father is poisoned by barbed roots that have begun to invade the kingdom. Lia has a knack for herbs and follows the old ways. She goes on a journey with her grandfather, cousin, and one other in search for a cure for her father. They enter a forbidden land and start a deadly journey in their quest to save Lia's father.

Maybe it was because I was listening to this with the text to speech option on my reader but I didn't enjoy this as much as I had hoped. I loved that Lia was a strong character and had such a close relationship with her father. The journey itself was exciting with many twists and turns.

But something about this just fell a little flat for me. I was hoping for a just a bit more. But that doesn't mean I wont read the second book. In fact I actually kind of want to read the next book. I think one of my problems was the romance (very light). I just didn't believe it or at least it just didn't add to the book. I think it would have done just as well with out that thread. This coming from someone who ADORES romance.

In the end this was a 3 out of 5 star read.

Book Review: Moon Spell by Samantha Young

Ok so I had really enjoyed On Dublin Road so I decided to give one of Samantha Young's YA books a shot. Since I haven't read a shapeshifter book in a long time I went with Moon Spell.

Moon Spell tells the tale of 17 year old Caia Ribiero.  She has been kept seperate from her Lykan pack for ten years. She was told that The Hunter killed her parents and wants to kill her. The alpha pack leader Lucien killed The Hunter and wants Caia to rejoin the pack. But secrets are kept from Caia that impact a centuries old war.

I'm always leery of books where the heroine is much younger than her romantic interest. Which I suppose is hypocritical of me considering there is a 9 year difference between hubby and I. I just am never a fan of teen girls with older men. But in this world the lykan are of age at 17 so she technically is of age. Fortunately, this didn't completely kill the book for me and I was mostly able to get over their age gap.

It was obvious that this was one of her early books as it wasn't as refined as On Dublin Road. But I still really enjoyed it. I was able to finish it in about 3 days so for me that is a fast read. I liked the world and the secret war that humans don't know about.

I found Caia to be a bit immature but at 17 what can you expect? There were also a number of cliche things that one finds in YA books. But again for the most part I could move past them. I would say that this borders between YA and NA. It is not a clean read so it is not really for younger teens. But older teens and adults who read YA should have no problem.

Over all I really liked the book and play on reading the next book in the series. I would say that over all this is a 4 out of 5 star read.

Book Review: Greta and the Goblin King by Chloe Jacobs

This book is a reread for me. Since it has been nearly 3 years since I last read it I wanted a refresher before I started the second book in the series. I wasn't sure if it would still hold the same magic for me that it did back then when it was a solid 5 star read for me.

This second time around I was re-enchanted with the world of Mylena. Greta is a kickass female bounty hunter. But she has one major secret. She is human in world where humans are despised and blamed for the world's eternal winter. She arrived in Mylena as a young teenager sent through a magical fire while attempting to save her brother from a witch. But soon her secret is out and all of Mylena is out for her blood. She has no one she can trust not even the Goblin King Isaac, who makes her blood rush.

I'm happy to say that I was still totally in love with this book and my book crush on Isaac still beats strong. I'm a sucker for an alpha male.  I'm all for a kickass main character who is vulnerable at the same time. Oh and the cover....oh how gorgeous is it? Oh how it plays to my inner cover whore.

I'm happy to say that this is still a 5 out of 5 star read for me.