More Grimm tales await in the harrowing, hilarious companion to a beloved new classic

Take caution ahead—
Oversize plant life, eerie amphibious royalty, and fear-inducing creatures abound.

Lest you enter with dread.
Follow Jack and Jill as they enter startling new landscapes that may (or may not) be scary, bloody, terrifying, and altogether true.

Step lively, dear reader . . .
Happily ever after isn’t cutting it anymore.

In this companion novel to Adam Gidwitz’s widely acclaimed, award-winning debut, A Tale Dark & Grimm, Jack and Jill explore a new set of tales from the Brothers Grimm and others, including Jack and the Beanstalk and The Frog Prince.

Words can’t express how excited I am for this one!! Before BEA I didn’t even know that Adam Gidwitz was writing a sequel to one of my favorite books, A Tale Dark and Grimm, but he did and I can’t wait to get my hands on it!!!

The veil which marks the division between life and death is falling. Lost souls are seeping through to roam Albion’s graveyard city of Fume. Kate Winters’ recent memory is lost. Relieved to be heading home to Albion, Kate can’t shake the feeling that Dalliah Grey, the woman she’s supposed to be working for, is not to be trusted. Disgraced warrior Silas Dane plans to rescue Kate and save Albion from the advancing armies seeking to profit from the confusion. But the veil will not be easy to repair and Silas knows sacrifices have to be made. Kate must return to the dark secrets detailed by her ancestors in the ancient book of WINTERCRAFT and learn from their mistakes to save herself.

I just started this series last week and I am loving everything about it. It is dark and mysterious and not at all what I thought it would be. Silas Dane is swoonworthy and Kate is a very strong female character. I already ordered my copy from Amazon UK and I can’t wait for it to come! Make sure you check back soon for my reviews of Shadowcry and Blackwatch!

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

In this follow-up to Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas begins seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he’s asleep, and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong. These aren’t just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn’t know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn’t deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it’s time for him to return the favor.

Well, we all know I loved Anna Dressed in Blood, and I actually just recommended it to one of my young patrons at work and that reminded me that I am eagerly anticipating its sequel so why not give it a shout out?! Look at this cover, the colors are awesome and Anna’s come hither-ness is somewhat creepy and also endearing a little, no?

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Defiance
By C.J. Redwine
August 28, 2012

Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city’s brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses, host dinner parties, and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father’s apprentice, Logan—the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same boy who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father’s survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her.

At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city’s top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor’s impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared.

As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can’t be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making.
First, how cool is the cover? Kind of reminds me of Grave Mercy by R.L. Lafevers. The blurb sounds pretty awesome! Treason, sword wielding and wastelands! Sign me up!

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

When foster teen Jane Williams is invited to attend elite Birch Grove Academy for Girls and escape her violent urban neighborhood, she thinks the offer is too good to be true. She’s even offered her own living quarters, the groundskeeper’s cottage in the center of the birch grove.

Something’s not quite right about the school — or is it Jane? She thinks she sees things in the birch grove at night. She’s also beginning to suspect that the elegant headmistress and her sons are hiding secrets. Lucky is the gorgeous, golden son who is especially attentive to Jane, and Jack is the sardonic puzzling brother. The school with its talented teachers and bright students is a dream for a science and math geek like Jane. She also loves her new friends, including hilarious poetry-spouting rich girl, Mary Violet. But the longer Jane stays at Birch Grove, the more questions she has about the disappearance of another scholarship girl and a missing faculty member.

Jane discovers one secret about Birch Grove, which only leads to more mysteries. What is she willing to sacrifice in order to stay at this school…and be bound to Birch Grove forever?

The day I turned 16, my boyfriend-to-be died. I brought him back to life. Then things got a little weird…

Molly Bartolucci wants to blend in, date hottie Rick and keep her zombie-raising abilities on the down-low. Then the god Anubis chooses her to become a reaper—and she accidentally undoes the work of another reaper, Rath. Within days, she’s shipped off to the Nekyia Academy, an elite school that trains the best necromancers in the world. And her personal reaping tutor? Rath. Who seems to hate her guts. Rath will be watching closely to be sure she completes her first assignment-reaping Rick, the boy who should have died. The boy she still wants to be with. To make matters worse, students at the academy start turning up catatonic, and accusations fly—against Molly. The only way out of this mess? To go through hell. Literally.

Does an abandoned asylum hold the key to a frightful haunting?

Everyone’s heard the stories about Graylock Hall.

It was meant to be a place of healing – a hospital where children and teenagers with mental disorders would be cared for and perhaps even cured. But something went wrong. Several young patients died under mysterious circumstances. Eventually, the hospital was shut down, the building abandoned and left to rot deep in the woods.

As the new kid in town, Neil Cady wants to see Graylock for himself. Especially since rumor has it that the building is haunted. He’s got fresh batteries in his flashlight, a camera to document the adventure, and a new best friend watching his back.

Neil might think he’s prepared for what he’ll find in the dark and decrepit asylum. But he’s certainly not prepared for what follows him home. . . .

Ghost Adventures just might be a guilty pleasure of mine and episodes relating to asylums might be the only episodes I DVR so I can watch them over and over again (don’t judge me). Therefore, I was very excited when I saw this book over on The Book Smugglers radar this week. I sincerely hope that it is terrifying, I love scary stories!

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Sixteen-year-old Cleo has grown up in luxury, the royal heiress to a prosperous kingdom. But beneath her nation’s seemingly peaceful surface lies dangerous unrest. Whispers of war are growing ever louder—intensified by a murderous incident for which Cleo’s betrothed, Aron, is accused.

Amidst the ongoing intrigue, Cleo has a more desperate mission. She defies her father’s orders and sets off on a secret and perilous journey into a neighboring country, seeking a magic long thought to be mythical. If it’s real, it could be the cure that heals her ailing sister. If it’s only legend, Cleo will be stranded in a kingdom that has just declared war on her own.

First, how awesome is this cover? It kind of reminds me of Assassins Creed except I am pretty sure that is a lady under that hood and I am slightly jealous because I want one. I love books about palace intrigue and defiant missions and this one has both AND magic! Throw in the fact that this book is compared to works by George R.R. Martin and I am completely hooked.

Maeve, daughter of Lord Sean of Sevenwaters, was badly burned as a child and carries the legacy of that fire in her crippled hands. After ten years she’s returning home as a courageous, forthright woman with a special gift for taming difficult animals. But while her body’s scars have healed, her spirit remains fragile, as she fears the shadows of her past.

Sevenwaters is in turmoil. The fey prince Mac Dara has become desperate to see his only son, who is married to Maeve’s sister, return to the Otherworld. To force Lord Sean’s hand, Mac Dara has caused a party of innocent travelers on the Sevenwaters border to vanish.

When Maeve finds one of the missing travelers murdered in the woods, she and her brother Finbar embark on a journey that may bring about the end of Mac Dara’s reign — or lead to a hideous death. But if she is successful, Maeve may open a door to a future she has not dared to believe possible…

First, I promise that next week my “Waiting on Wednesday” will NOT be a Juliet Marillier book. I couldn’t help myself, when the cover and blurb were revealed this week I could hardly contain my excitement. This is presumably the last installment in The Sevenwaters series (that’s what Juliet said after book three, let’s hope she is wrong again) and I will definitely be re-reading the entire series for the millionth time before reading this one. I LOVED the story of Mac Dara and I am so excited to hear more about the entire family, though I may cry a little when its over.

Seriously who is surprised that I chose a Juliet Marillier as my FIRST “Waiting on Wednesday?” I was actually going to use Flame of Sevenwaters for my first choice but there is no pretty book cover yet so I decided to go with this one. I AM SO EXCITED that Juliet is choosing to write another series!! She describes this book as such: “Shadowfell, first book in a crossover series for YA/adult readers, is a story of tyranny and rebellion set in ancient Scotland.” I. can’t. wait.