Waiting on Wednesday: June 13, 2012: The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly me hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine (gotta love the name!). The idea is that it spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating. So, here is my pick for the week:

The Crown of Embers
by Rae Carson
Publication Date: September 18, 2012

From Amazon:
She does not know what awaits her at the enemy’s gate.

Elisa is a hero. She led her people to victory over a terrifying, sorcerous army. Her place as the country’s ruler should be secure. But it isn’t.

Her enemies come at her like ghosts in a dream, from both foreign realms and within her own court. And her destiny as the chosen one has not yet been fulfilled.

To conquer the power she bears once and for all, Elisa must follow the trail of long-forgotten–and forbidden–clues from the deep, undiscovered catacombs of her own city to the treacherous seas. With her goes a one-eyed spy, a traitor, and the man who–despite everything–she is falling in love with.

If she’s lucky, she will return from this journey. But there will be a cost.

This is the followup to Rae Carson’s debut novel The Girl of Fire and Thorns, an epic fantasy that details Elisa’s journey to becoming the Queen regent her new country deserves. I can’t wait to read the followup and see what is happening to Elisa once she’s taking on the role of regent and how this entwines with the destiny she is expected to fulfill.

If you haven’t had a chance to pick up The Girl of Fire and Thorns (check out my review if you still aren’t convinced you should read it) you really should. I doubt you’ll regret it when you do!

 

Waiting on Wednesday: June 6, 2012: “The Crimson Crown” by Cinda Williams Chima

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly me hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine (gotta love the name!). The idea is that it spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating. So, here is my pick for the week:

The Crimson Crown
by Cinda Williams Chima
Publication Date: October 23, 2012

From Amazon:
A thousand years ago, two young lovers were betrayed—Alger Waterlow to his death, and Hanalea, Queen of the Fells, to a life without love.

Now, once again, the Queendom of the Fells seems likely to shatter apart. For young queen Raisa ana’Marianna, maintaining peace even within her own castle walls is nearly impossible; tension between wizards and Clan has reached a fevered pitch. With surrounding kingdoms seeking to prey on the Fells’ inner turmoil, Raisa’s best hope is to unite her people against a common enemy. But that enemy might be the person with whom she’s falling in love.

Through a complicated web of lies and unholy alliances, former streetlord Han Alister has become a member of the Wizard Council of the Fells. Navigating the cut-throat world of blue blood politics has never been more dangerous, and Han seems to inspire hostility among Clan and wizards alike. His only ally is the queen, and despite the perils involved, Han finds it impossible to ignore his feelings for Raisa. Before long, Han finds himself in possession of a secret believed to be lost to history, a discovery powerful enough to unite the people of the Fells. But will the secret die with him before he can use it?

A simple, devastating truth concealed by a thousand-year-old lie at last comes to light in this stunning conclusion to the Seven Realms series.

Ya’ll, I can’t even tell you how upset I was a few weeks ago when i learned that The Gray Wolf Throne was NOT the last book in the Seven Realms series. I had been waiting to read the books until they were all released and someone I managed to convince myself that it was only a trilogy and I could go ahead and read them all.

I only discovered I was wrong when I was halfway through the third book…and now I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am for the fourth (and final book for real) to come out in October. Cinda Williams Chima is an expert at high fantasy and she does not disappoint in this series. If you’re a fan of Robin McKinley or Tamora Pierce you should really check this series out.

 

Waiting on Wednesday: May 30, 2012: Princess Academy: Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly me hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine (gotta love the name!). The idea is that it spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating. So, here is my pick for the week:

Princess Academy: Palace of Stone
by Shannon Hale
Publication Date: August 21, 2012

From Amazon:
Coming down from the mountain to a new life in the city seems a thrill beyond imagining. When Miri and her friends from Mount Eskel set off to help the future princess Britta prepare for her royal wedding, she is happy about her chance to attend school in the capital city. There, Miri befriends students who seem so sophisticated and exciting . . . until she learns that they have some frightening plans. They think that Miri will help them, that she should help them. Soon Miri finds herself torn between loyalty to the princess and her new friends’ ideas, between an old love and a new crush, and between her small mountain home and the bustling city.

I read Princess Academy as a selection for a class assignment in grad school and I adored it. Miri is a fantastic lead character, the story was exciting and the setting reminded me of Heidi (which i read over and over again as a girl). I can’t wait to read this sequel and see where all of the characters are now! Plus I’m excited to get a glimpse of the world beyond Mount Eskel, as Shannon Hale’s world building is always fantastic.

I know fairytales aren’t for everyone, but if you enjoy them I’d recommend picking up Princess Academy and waiting with me for it’s sequel!

 

Waiting on Wednesday: May 23, 2012: The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly me hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine (gotta love the name!). The idea is that it spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating. So, here is my pick for the week:

Bloodlines: The Golden Lily
by Richelle Mead
Publication Date: June 12, 2012

From Amazon:
Tough, brainy alchemist Sydney Sage and doe-eyed Moroi princess Jill Dragomir are in hiding at a human boarding school in the sunny, glamorous world of Palm Springs, California. The students–children of the wealthy and powerful–carry on with their lives in blissful ignorance, while Sydney, Jill, Eddie, and Adrian must do everything in their power to keep their secret safe. But with forbidden romances, unexpected spirit bonds, and the threat of Strigoi moving ever closer, hiding the truth is harder than anyone thought.

Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series remains one of my favorite YA spins on the vampire myth and I was so glad that the story continued on in this new series. I adore Sydney, Adrian and all the others and simply cannot get enough of the world she’s created.

I am especially giddy with anticipation for this novel, especially after that cliffhanger she left us with at the end of Bloodlines!!

Is it June yet? For Serious.

 

Waiting on Wednesday: May 16, 2012: For Darkness Shows the Stars

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly me hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine (gotta love the name!). The idea is that it spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating. So, here is my pick for the week:

For Darkness Shows the Stars
by Diana Peterfreund
Publication Date: June 12, 2012

Plot
It’s been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family’s estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot’s estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth—an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret—one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she’s faced with a choice: cling to what she’s been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she’s ever loved, even if she’s lost him forever.

I first discovered Diana at DragonCon a few years back where she was promoting her newest book Rampant, a novel about girls and killer unicorns. If you haven’t read it and you love strong heroines, then I absolutely suggest you add it to your TBR book (along with the sequel Ascendant).

I love Diana’s writing and when I first heard about For Darkness Shows the Stars I was thrilled to know that I’d be seeing more of it. The more I learn about the story the more intrigued I am to see where she takes it. I have a feeling this will be one I tear into on release day (only a month away!!) and don’t put down until I’ve completely finished!

 

Waiting on Wednesday: May 8, 2012; The Rise of Nine

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly me hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine (gotta love the name!). The idea is that it spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating. So, here is my pick for the week:

The Rise of Nine
by Pittacus Lore
Publication Date: August 21, 2012

From Amazon:
Until I met John Smith, Number Four, I’d been on the run alone, hiding and fighting to stay alive. Together we are much more powerful. But it could only last so long before we had to separate to find the others …I went to Spain to find Seven, and I found even more, including a tenth member of the Garde who escaped from Lorien alive. Ella is younger than the rest of us, but just as brave. Now we’re looking for the others – including John. But so are they. They caught Number One in Malaysia. Number Two in England. And Number Three in Kenya. They caught me in New York – but I escaped. I am Number Six. They want to finish what they started. But they’ll have to fight us first.

This is the third book in Pittacus Lore’s “Lorien Legacies” and I have to admit I’m pretty hooked. The writing isn’t particularly fantastic or revolutionary but the story is gripping and fast paced. I am in this for the long haul and can’t wait to see where Lore takes us in this next installment.

 

Waiting on Wednesday: May 2, 2012.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly me hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine (gotta love the name!). The idea is that it spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating. So, here is my pick for the week:

The Legacy of Tril: Soulbound
by Heather Brewer
Publication Date: June 19, 2012

From Amazon:
Tril is a world where Barrons and Healers are Bound to each other: Barrons fight and Healers cure their Barrons’ wounds in the ongoing war with the evil Graplar King. Seventeen-year-old Kaya was born a Healer, but she wants to fight. In Tril, and at Shadow Academy, where she is sent to learn to heal, it is against Protocol for Healers to fight. So Kaya must learn in secret. Enter two young men: One charming, rule-following Barron who becomes Bound to Kaya and whose life she must protect at all costs. And one with a mysterious past who seems bent on making Kaya’s life as difficult as possible. Kaya asks both to train her, but only one will, and the consequences will change their lives forever.

I’ve read all of Heather Brewer’s other books (The Chronicles of Valdimir Tod series and The Slayer Chronicles series both set in the same universe) and I love her style. I’m excited to see her delve into an entirely new world tackle a main female character for the first time (both of her previous main characters have been male).

This is the first book in a series and hopefully it will leave up to my expectations!

 

Waiting on Wednesday!

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly me hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine (gotta love the name!). The idea is that it spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating. So, here are my picks for the week:

Insurgent
by Veronica Roth
Publication Date May 1, 2012 (next week!)

From Amazon:

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

The Serpent’s Shadow
by Rick Riordan

Publication Date May 1, 2012 (next week!)

From Amazon:

He’s b-a-a-ack! Despite their best efforts, Carter and Sade Kane can’t seem to keep Apophis, the chaos snake, down. Now Apophis is threatening to plunge the world into eternal darkness, and the Kanes are faced with the impossible task of having to destroy him once and for all. Unfortunately, the magicians of the House of Life are on the brink of civil war, the gods are divided, and the young initiates of Brooklyn House stand almost alone against the forces of chaos. The Kanes’ only hope is an ancient spell that might turn the serpent’s own shadow into a weapon, but the magic has been lost for a millennia. To find the answer they need, the Kanes must rely on the murderous ghost of a powerful magician who might be able to lead them to the serpent’s shadow . . . or might lead them to their deaths in the depths of the underworld.

Bitterblue
by Kristin Cashore
Publication Date May 1, 2012 (next week!)

From Amazon:

Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck’s reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle–disguised and alone–to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past.

 

Can’t wait to see what everyone else is waiting for and excited about! Let me know your picks in the comments below, maybe it will give me something else to look forward to. 🙂