Waiting on Wednesday – The Merchant’s Daughter

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, and specifically spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. This week’s choice is:

Title: The Merchant’s Daughter by Melanie Dickerson
Publisher: Zondervan
Publish Date: Nov. 29, 2011
Genre: Historical, Christian

Summary: An unthinkable danger. An unexpected choice. Annabel, once the daughter of a wealthy merchant, is trapped in indentured servitude to Lord Ranulf, a recluse who is rumored to be both terrifying and beastly. Her circumstances are made even worse by the proximity of Lord Ranulf's bailiff---a revolting man who has made unwelcome advances on Annabel in the past. Believing that life in a nunnery is the best way to escape the escalation of the bailiff's vile behavior and to preserve the faith that sustains her, Annabel is surprised to discover a sense of security and joy in her encounters with Lord Ranulf. As Annabel struggles to confront her feelings, she is involved in a situation that could place Ranulf in grave danger. Ranulf's future, and possibly his heart, may rest in her hands, and Annabel must decide whether to follow the plans she has cherished or the calling God has placed on her heart.

I adore fairytale retellings and lately, I have been reading (and loving) more historical fiction. The Merchant’s Daughter is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and I am very excited about reading it. What books are you waiting on?

Book Review: Elemental Reality

Title: Elemental Reality by Cesya MaRae Cuono

Release Date: Aug. 21, 2011
Publisher: Revolution Publishing
Pages: 251 pages
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: 3 stars
Source: ARC for Publisher

Goodreads Summary: When Callie Pierce was ten, her mother disappeared without a trace. On the eve of her disappearance twelve years later, the earth seemingly comes alive. The elements speak to Callie, and that's only the beginning. Everything she has ever known was a twisted fabrication to protect her. Now the truth is set free. Callie and her sister are more powerful than any Faerie ever born. Now they have to use their powers to save their mother and family from the evil hands of fate that threaten to tear them apart. Welcome to her elemental reality.

Let me start by saying that I love the cover of this book! It’s one of my favorite covers for the year and really does fit with the story.

Callie is a very likable character. The story begins on her 22nd birthday which is always a sad day because it marks the anniversary of when her mother left the family. I love how the book starts and the relationship between Callie and her friends and her family. You really get a sense of how much they care about each other. The back and forth banter among them is snarky and funny and helps to move the story along nicely.

The story is well paced until Callie meets Oli and Cayden and then everything speeds up - her relationship with Oli, finding out the truth about herself and her family, learning to use her powers, training to use her powers – it all happens in a very short period of time. Not that I like slow stories but I would have preferred if the plot and characters had more depth, especially since we meet so many minor characters in passing.

That being said, the book has tons of action, hot romance and a nice twist at the end that will keep readers looking out for the next book in the series.

Content: Kissing, profanity and violence.

Book Review: Frost

Title: Frost by Wendy Delsol

Release Date: Oct. 11, 2011
Publisher: Candlewick
Pages: 384 pages
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: 4 stars
Source: ARC from Publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads Summary: In this sequel to STORK, Katla Leblanc has to employ her grit, spirit, and special gifts to rescue the boy she loves.

After the drama of finding out that she’s a Stork, a member of an ancient and mystical order of women, and that her boyfriend, Jack, is a descendent of the Winter People able to control the weather, Katla Leblanc is delighted when all signs point to a busy and peaceful Christmas. That is, until the snowstorm Jack summons as a gift to Katla turns into the storm of the century, attracting Brigid, a gorgeous scientist who, in turn, attracts Jack. Between the school play, a bedridden, pregnant mother’s to-do lists, and keeping an eye on her aging grandfather, Katla doesn’t have time to question Brigid’s motives or deal with Jack’s increasingly cold behavior. But Katla’s suspicions mount when Jack joins Brigid on a research expedition to Greenland, and when the two of them go missing, it becomes clear that Katla is the only one who can save her beloved Jack from the Snow Queen who holds him prisoner. Adventure, romance, and myth combine in this winter escapade for teens who like a bit of fire with their ice.

Stork was such a cool book. Katla, the main character, was a spunky girl who was struggling in a fish out of water situation after moving from stylish California to cold Minnesota. The book was a really fun read and I loved the Norse mythology, not something that find a lot of in YA. Additionally, the romance between Kat and Jack is so sweet!

Frost is an equally fun read. Portions of the story - the main storyline featuring Jack, Kat and Brigid - is based on Hans Christian Anderson’s The Snow Queen and had wonderful fairytale-like quality to it. The story takes place in Minnesota, Iceland and Greenland and I love Ms. Delsol’s vivid descriptions of Icelandic folklore. Frost has a lot more going on than Stork did and at times, I wondered how the author was going to pull all the sub-plots together, but she does so very nicely in the end. 

I love Kat’s voice. Even though she still a bit snarky, she is also more mature in this book. As with many second books in a series, Jack and Kat’s relationship is tested and we don’t get to see them together as much as I would like. I also wanted more of the Stork Society and I hope we will see more of the Storks in the next book in the series. I’m really hoping there will be another book because while Frost does not end with a cliffhanger, it does a great job of setting up some storylines that I hoping will get resolved in the next book. 

Frost has a very satisfying ending and I recommend this series to anyone looking for something fun and different from the usual YA offerings of vamps, faeries, wolves and the ever increasing amount of Greek demigods we have been seeing lately.

Content: Kissing and violence.

Supernaturally Giveaway!

I was lucky enough to win the ARC of Supernaturally from Goodreads so I thought I would pay it forward and give someone else a chance to read this awesome book (read my review here). Just fill out the form below to enter the giveaway. Following the blog is not required to enter but you will get an extra entry if you do and another for Tweeting the giveaway. Good luck and thanks for entering!

Book Review: Supernaturally

Title: Supernaturally by Kiersten White

Release Date: July 26, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 336 pages
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: 4 stars
Source: Won from Publisher through Goodreads

Goodreads Summary: Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be . . . kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees.

But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself. So much for normal.

Supernaturally was one of my most anticipated books for this year and I happy to say it’s a great sequel to Paranormalcy!

Evie is back with her signature brand of snark and wit and I could not be more happy. Other characters that we love (and some we love to hate) are back including Lend, Raquel, Arianna, David and Reth. We are also introduced to a new, impish character named Jack who is all sorts of interesting.

While Paranormalcy introduced us to Evie and focused on who was behind all the paranormal killings, Supernaturally is all about Evie and how she tries to fit into both the normal world and the paranormal one. As with many second books in a series, there is a lot of angst on the main character’s part. Evie is worried about her future and her relationship with Lend and as a result, she makes some bad choices. I’m not a huge fan of angst but Kiersten White writes it better than almost everyone else so I was not overly frustrated by it.

Supernaturally also gives us the back stories of some of the characters and I was very especially interested in how Evie, Vivian and Arianna came to be. The plots of the books in this series are very well done and the paranormal aspects: the vampire, werewolf and fey lore, are really interesting and unique. I also love the relationship between Evie and Lend and want to see more of him (and Tasey too!) in the next book. While the book does not end with a cliffhanger, there are also some unresolved plot lines in Supernaturally that I am hoping will get tied up in the next book, Endlessly.

Overall, Supernaturally is a very well written, fun book and this series is just so good. Kiersten White is a truly fantastic writer and I cannot wait for Endlessly to come out next year.

Content: Kissing and some violence.

Winner!

The winner of the A Vampire Christmas Carol is Darcus! The winner was chosen by Random.org and has been notified by email.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway. I have a few more giveaways coming up so make sure you enter.

Waiting on Wednesday – Insurgent

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, and specifically spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. This week’s choice is:

Title: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Publisher: HarperCollins
Publish Date: May 28, 2012
Genre: Dystopia, Science Fiction

Summary: 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.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

I’m sure Insurgent will be a popular Waiting on Wednesday pick this week and it should be. Divergent is one of the best books I have read this year and one of my all time favorites, you can read my review here. Insurgent is one of my most anticipated books for 2012. The cover is amazing (I love gritty/artistic dystopian covers), it complements the Divergent cover and the summary has me dying to get my hands on this book. What books are you guys waiting on?