Waiting on Wednesday (#11): Wink Poppy Midnight

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that hilights upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.

Title: Wink Poppy Midnight

Author: April Genevieve Tucholke

Publisher: Dial Books

Release Date: March 22, 2016

Description from Goodreads: The intrigue of THE VIRGIN SUICIDES and the "supernatural or not" question of THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER coalesce in this young adult mystery, where nothing is quite as it seems, no one is quite who you think, and everything can change on a dime.

Every story needs a hero.

Every story needs a villain.

Every story needs a secret.

Wink is the odd, mysterious neighbor girl, wild red hair and freckles. Poppy is the blonde bully and the beautiful, manipulative high school queen bee. Midnight is the sweet, uncertain boy caught between them. Wink. Poppy. Midnight. Two girls. One boy. Three voices that burst onto the page in short, sharp, bewitching chapters, and spiral swiftly and inexorably toward something terrible or tricky or tremendous.

What really happened?

Someone knows.

Someone is lying.

For fans of Holly Black, WE WERE LIARS, and THE RAVEN BOYS, this mysterious tale full of intrigue, dread, beauty, and whiff of something strange will leave you utterly entranced.

I've been seeing ARCs of WINK POPPY MIDNIGHT pop up in the blogger-sphere, and at first I was pretty indifferent about it. And then I started seeing people read and love the story. And then I read the description. And now I want to see just what the hype is about, so I am ready for WPM to hit shelves. My curiosity lights are just flickering like crazy.

Have any of you read this one, yet? If so, what were your thoughts on it?

Happily,

Stephanie

Waiting on Wednesday (#10): The Crown

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that hilights upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.

****SPOILER ALERT****

If you haven't read THE HEIR, Do NoT read this WoW post. You will be spoiled.

Title: The Crown (The Selection #5)

Author: Kiera Cass

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: May 3, 2016

Description from Goodreads: Kiera Cass's bestselling Selection series has enchanted readers from the very first page. Now the end of the journey is here, in a wonderfully romantic series finale that will sweep you off your feet.

Twenty years have passed since the events of THE ONE, and America and Maxon's daughter is the first princess to hold a Selection of her own. Princess Eadlyn didn't think she would find a real partner among the Selection's thirty-five suitors, let alone true love. But sometimes the heart has a way of surprising you... and now Eadlyn must make a choice that feels more difficult-- and more important-- than she ever expected.

The Selection series has sold more than 3 million copies and captured the hearts of fans around the world. This swoonworthy final installment is the happily ever after they've all been waiting for.

Being a huge Selectioner, I cannot wait to get my hands on THE CROWN. I absolutely MuSt find out what happens, who Eadlyn chooses, what happens to America, and all of the other things that THE HEIR did not answer. It's three five months out, but I'm holding on! 

I have my predictions, though, for who I think Eady will choose... We'll have to see if I'm right.

Who do YOU think she'll choose?

Happily,

Stephanie

Waiting on Wednesday (#9): This is Where it Ends

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that hilights upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.

Title: This Is Where It Ends

Author: Marieke Nijkamp

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Release Date: January 5, 2016

Description from Goodreads: 10:00 a.m.

The principal of Opportunity, Alabama's high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.

10:02 a.m.

The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.

10:03 a.m.

The auditorium doors won't open.

10:05 a.m.

Someone starts shooting.

Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student's calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

So. While this may be a pretty heavy topic, I'm hoping that THIS IS WHERE THE WORLD ENDS will be just as emotional and distressing as it sounds. I've been seeing mixed ARC reviews and comments in the book-o-sphere, but I'm still curious to see where Nijkamp takes this one. If executed correctly, I feel like TIWTWE could be one of the best books of the year.

I like reads that make me rethink things. The ones that give me a new perspective. The ones that really make me feel something. 

It is my hope that THIS IS WHERE THE WORLD ENDS will turn out to be a phenomenon of a book, and I can't wait until it hits shelves so I can find out whether my hope has been realized.

Happily,

Stephanie

Waiting on Wednesday (#8): Untamed

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that hilights upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.

Title: Untamed (Splintered #3.5)

Author: A.G. Howard

Publisher: Amulet Books

Release Date: December 15, 2015

Description from Goodreads: A post-ENSNARED collection of three stories-- available in both print and e-versions.

Alyssa Gardner went down the rabbit hole and took control of her destiny. She survived the battle for Wonderland and the battle for her heart. In this collection of these three novellas, join Alyssa and her family as they look back at their memories of Wonderland.

In SIX IMPOSSIBLE THINGS, Alyssa recalls the most precious moments of her life after ensnared, and the role magic plays in preserving the happiness of those she loves. Alyssa's mother reminisces about her own time in Wonderland and rescuing the man who would become her husband in THE BOY IN THE WEB. And Morpheus delves into Jeb's memories of the events in SPLINTERED in THE MOTH IN THE MIRROR, available in print for the first time.

This collection expands upon ENSNARED's epilogue, and includes some deleted scenes to provide a "director's cut" glimpse into the past and futures of our favorite SPLINTERED characters.

I hadn't planned on using UNTAMED as a WoW post book. Since it releases this year, I wasn't going to do it. But then I realized that it comes out in six days.

SIX. DAYS.

SIX DAYS, PEOPLE!

I've been a fan of SPLINTERED and its lovely author for some time now, and when MOTH IN THE MIRROR released as an e-book, I was unable to get my hands on it due to not e-reading. So I waited and hoped that it would someday come out in print. And then, at NTTBF, A.G. Howard revealed the cover for UNTAMED, and sent her fans into a frenzy. It took me a long time after that to realize that MOTH IN THE MIRROR would indeed be included in this collection, and that put me so over the top excited, combined with the closeness of release day, that I couldn't keep from putting it on here.

UNTAMED comes out in six days, and I absolutely cannot wait to hold it in my hands. There are things from ENSNARED that I need answers to. Things I NEEED TO KNOW. You can bet I'll be at a bookstore come the 15th, and you can bet I'll leave with this gorgeous white thing in my hands.

I am completely stoked to read it, and I can't help but wonder how amazing it's going to look on the shelf next to the first three books.

Happily,

Stephanie

Waiting on Wednesday (#7): Bookishly Ever After

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that hilights upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.

Title: Bookishly Ever After
Author: Isabel Bandeira
Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary
Release Date: January 12, 2016

Description from Goodreads: In a perfect world, sixteen-year-old Phoebe Martins' life would be a book. Preferably a YA novel with magic and a hot paranormal love interest. Unfortunately, her life probably wouldn't even qualify for a quiet contemporary. But when Phoebe finds out that Dev, the hottest guy in the clarinet section, might actually have a crush on her, she turns to her favorite books for advice. Phoebe overhauls her personality to become as awesome as her favorite heroines and win Dev's heart. But if her plan fails, can she go back to her happy world of fictional boys after falling for the real thing?

As YA fans, we all know that there are times when we wish that our lives were more like the books we read. Phoebe is just like us, and the idea of reading about someone who really gets what it's like to be booknerd is so appealing. 

I've had my eye on BOOKISHLY EVER AFTER for a few months now. I found the description on the Spencer Hill website and fell in love, and now that I'm seeing ARCS pop up in the blogger world, the excitement is starting to flare up. Release date won't come soon enough, and I can't wait to start seeing reviews come in.

If you received an ARC, I want to know what you think of it once you finish!

Happily,

Stephanie

Waiting on Wednesday (#6): Glass Sword

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that hilights upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.

Title: Glass Sword
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: February 9, 2016

Description from Goodreads: Mare Barrow's blood is red-- the color of common folk-- but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control.

The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince-- the friend-- who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.

Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join the struggle against her oppressors.

But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat.

Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of the rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

If you saw my review of RED QUEEN then you know that I had some majorly positive feelings about book one. It hit me with feels, had me on the edge of my seat, not wanting to do anything but finish the book. And then when I finished, I had a spazz-out moment and immediately wanted more. I had to wait nearly a year, but here's the more, finally going to be released in February. Knowing how RED QUEEN ended, I desperately need GLASS SWORD. I NEED TO KNOW THINGS! 

This is definitely one of my most anticipated novels of 2016, and I just can't wait.

Happily,

Stephanie

Waiting on Wednesday (#5): Riders

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that hilights upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.

Title: Riders

Author: Veronica Rossi

Publisher: Tor Teen

Release Date: February 16, 2016

Description from Goodreads: For eighteen-year-old Gideon Blake, nothing but death can keep him from achieving his goal of becoming a U.S. Army Ranger. As it turns out, it does.

Recovering from the accident that most definitely killed him, Gideon finds himself with strange new powers and a bizarre cuff he can't remove. His death had brought to life his real destiny. He has become War, one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse.

Over the coming weeks, he and the other horsemen-- Conquest, Famine, and Death-- are brought together by a beautiful but frustratingly secretive girl to help save humanity from an ancient evil on the emergence.

They fail.

Now-- bound, bloodied, and drugged, Gideon is interrogated by the authorities about his role in a battle that has become an international incident. If he stands any chance of saving his friends and the girl he's fallen for-- not to mention all of humankind-- he needs to convince the skeptical government officials that the world is in imminent danger.

But will anyone believe him?

The idea of bringing the four horsemen of the apocalypse to YA is more than intriguing to me. RIDERS sounds extremely different than most of the things I have on my shelf when it comes to apocalypse-related novels, so I'm eager to have this one in my possession.

AND! I've started to see ARCs pop up, so hopefully we'll be getting reviews in soon and I can see what everyone's thinking about it.

Happily,

Stephanie

Waiting on Wednesday (#4): Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that hilights upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.

Title: Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1)

Author: Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Margaret K. Elderberry Books

Release Date: March 8, 2016

Description from Goodreads: Los Angeles. It's been five years since the events of the Mortal Instruments when Nephilim stood poised on the brink of oblivion and Shadowhunter Emma Carstairs lost her parents. After the blood and violence she witnessed as a child, Emma has dedicated her life to discovering exactly what it was that killed her parents and getting her revenge.

Raised in the Los Angeles Institute with the Blackthorn family, Emma is paired as a parabatai with her best friend, Julian Blackthorn. A series of murders in the city catch her attention-- they seem to have the same characteristics as the deaths of her parents. Could the murderer be the same person? And her attention isn't the only one caught; someone has been murdering Downworlders as well. The Fair Folk make a deal with the institute: if the Blackthorns and Emma will investigate the killings, they'll return Mark Blackthorn to his home. The catch: they have only two weeks to find the killers. Otherwise it's open was between faeries and Nephilim.

The Shadowhunters of the Institute must race against time to catch the killers, even as they begin to suspect the involvement of those closest to them. At the same time, Emma is falling in love with the one person in the world she's absolutely forbidden by Shadowhunter Law to love. Set against the glittering backdrop of present-day Los Angeles, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches from the warlock-run nightclubs of the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica.





I am a huge Cassie Clare fan, loving both The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments, and I cannot wait for the Dark Artifices to start. Especially knowing that Emma and Julian are going to be a big part in the story. I fell in love with both of them in the Mortal Instruments, so I'm excited to see more of them and see how they grow-- together and independently.

Also, I think we can all agree that Lady Midnight has one of the best covers of all of Clare's novels.

Happily,
Stephanie

Waiting on Wednesday: Endure by Sara B. Larson

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that hilights upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.

Title: Endure (Defy #3)

Author: Sara B. Larson

Publisher: Scholastic

Release Date: January 5, 2016

Description from Goodreads: At last, Alexa and King Damian are engaged to be married. But their lives are far from safe. The kingdom of Antion is under siege, and Rylan is a prisoner of the enemy. Even worse, Alexa remains at the mercy of the evil Dansiian Rafe, who controls her mind and can force Alexa to kill or harm Damian t any moment.Despite this, Alexa is determined to rescue Rylan, which soon leads her far from Damian and deep into enemy territory.

When she arrives, what awaits her is deadlier than anything she could have ever imagined: an army of black sorcerers, and a horrifying plot to destroy the world as Alexa knows it. Will she be able to gather the strength to free herself, protect the love of her life, and save the land? Will there ever be true peace?

Acclaimed author Sara B. Larson has woven a stunning, romantic, and evocative finale to the Defy trilogy, that is sure to leave readers breathless until the very last page.

I read and loved the first two books, DEFY and IGNITE, and have been sitting on pins and needles, awaiting this conclusion. I'm eager to see how Alexa gets around certain obstacles that were led up to in IGNITE, and of course I can never get enough of King Damian. My hope is that the wait for this one won't be too gruesome. Only a few months left!

Waiting on Wednesday: The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that hilights upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.

Title: The Great Hunt
Author: Wendy Higgins
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: March 8, 2016

Description from Goodreads: A strange beast stirs fear in the kingdom of Lochlanach, terrorizing towns with its brutality and hunger. In an Act of desperation, a proclamation is sent to all of Eurona-- kill the creature and win the ultimate prize: the daughter of King Lochson's hand in marriage.
Princess Aerity understands her duty to the kingdom though it pains her to imagine marrying a stranger. It would be foolish to set her sights on any particular man in the great hunt, but when a brooding local hunter, Paxton Seabolt, catches her attention, there's no denying the unspoken lure between them... or his mysterious resentment.

Paxton is not keen on marriage. Nor does he care much for spoiled royals and their arcane laws. He's determined to keep his focus on the task at hand-- ridding the kingdom of the beast and protecting his family-- yet Princess Aerity continues to challenge his notions with her unpredictability and charm. But as past secrets collide with present desires dire choices threaten everything Paxton holds dear.

Inspired by the Grimm Brothers' tale, "The Singing Bone," New York Times bestselling author Wendy Higgins delivers a dark fantasy filled with rugged hunters, romantic tension, outlawed magic, and a princess willing to risk all to save her people.



"Rugged hunters,
romantic tension,
outlawed magic,
and a princess willing to risk all to save her people"

What part of that DOESN'T sound absolutely enthralling?

I'm super excited for this one. I love the fairy tale element, and for whatever reason, GREAT HUNT is giving off some Disney's Brave-type vibes, so I'm ready to see what Wendy Higgins gives us! I'm really hoping to snag an ARC, seeing as I'm very curious as to what this story will entail and how it's going to be executed. GREAT HUNT is definitely on my list of most anticipated reads for next year!