Waiting on Wednesday (68)

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that showcases upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating!





This week I'm waiting on a few sequels! So remember, beware of spoilers!

Shadows in the Silence
(Angelfire #3)
by Courtney Allison Moulton
Publication date: January 29, 2013

**WARNING: SPOILERS**

Synopsis:
Your strength in heart and hand will fall...
Ellie knows that the darkest moments are still to come, and she has everything to fight for:

She must fight for Will.
The demonic have resorted to their cruelest weapons to put Will in mortal danger, and Ellie makes an unlikely alliance to save him and to stop Lilith and Sammael, who seek to drown the world in blood and tear a hole into Heaven.

She must fight for humanity.
As the armies of Hell rise and gather for the looming End of Days, Ellie and her band of allies travel to the world’s darkest and most ancient regions in her quest to come into her full glory as the archangel Gabriel.

And Ellie must save herself.
Her humanity withers beneath the weight of her cold archangel power, but Ellie must hold tight to who she is and who she loves as she prepares for the ultimate battle for Heaven and Earth.

In this final installment in the Angelfire trilogy, Courtney Allison Moulton brings her dark world of epic battles and blistering romance to a blazing bright conclusion.

From Goodreads

Why I want it: I can't wait to see how this action-packed series ends. I love Courtney's writing, she writes the best fight scenes I've seen.

Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2)
by Tahereh Mafi
Publication date: February 5, 2013

**WARNING: SPOILERS**

Synopsis:
tick, tick, tick, tick, tick
it's almost
time for war.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life.

From Goodreads

Why I want it: I absolutely fell in love with Tahereh's writing when I read Shatter Me. I can't wait to read more of it, and see Juliette get even stronger than she already has.

Sever (Chemical Garden #3)
by Lauren DeStefano
Publication date: February 12, 2013

**WARNING: SPOILERS**

Synopsis:
Time is running out for Rhine in this conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Chemical Garden Trilogy.

With the clock ticking until the virus takes its toll, Rhine is desperate for answers. After enduring Vaughn’s worst, Rhine finds an unlikely ally in his brother, an eccentric inventor named Reed. She takes refuge in his dilapidated house, though the people she left behind refuse to stay in the past. While Gabriel haunts Rhine’s memories, Cecily is determined to be at Rhine’s side, even if Linden’s feelings are still caught between them.

Meanwhile, Rowan’s growing involvement in an underground resistance compels Rhine to reach him before he does something that cannot be undone. But what she discovers along the way has alarming implications for her future—and about the past her parents never had the chance to explain.

In this breathtaking conclusion to Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden trilogy, everything Rhine knows to be true will be irrevocably shattered.

From Goodreads

Why I want it: After the way Fever ended, I can't get my hands on this book soon enough. It breaks my heart that Rhine and Gabriel are still separated, and that bombshell with Rowan at the end was crazy! I need this book!

What upcoming releases are you looking forward to?

Review: Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton

Title: Wings of the Wicked
Author: Courtney Allison Moulton
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books, HarperCollins
Publish Date: January 31, 2012
Genre: YA, paranormal
Pages: 319 (ebook)
Series: Angelfire
1. Angelfire (review)
2. Wings of the Wicked
3. Untitled (expected pub 2013)

**WARNING: SPOILERS**

Synopsis:
Life as the Preliator is harder than Ellie ever imagined.
Balancing real life with the responsibility of being Heaven’s warrior is a challenge for Ellie. Her relationship with Will has become all business, though they both long for each other. And now that the secret of who she really is has come out, so have Hell’s strongest reapers. Grown bold and more vicious, the demonic threaten her in the light of day and stalk her in the night.

She’s been warned.
Cadan, a demonic reaper, comes to her with information about Bastian’s new plan to destroy Ellie’s soul and use an ancient relic to wake all the souls of the damned and unleash them upon humanity. As she fights to stay ahead of Bastian’s schemes , the revelations about those closest to her awaken a dark power within Ellie that threatens to destroy everything—including herself.

She’ll be betrayed.
Treachery comes even from those whom she loves, and Ellie is broken by the deaths of those who stood beside her in this Heavenly war. Still, she must find a way to save the world, herself, and her love for Will. If she fails, there will be hell to pay.

From Goodreads

What an explosive sophomore novel for Courtney! I was so excited to hop back into Ellie’s story and see what challenges she was going to face next. There were quite a few twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting. It was also a lot more risque than the first. I think that Courtney took some chances this time around in terms of more taboo topics, especially for YA. But the story was just as amazing. I enjoyed the romance a lot because it had more layers. It wasn’t just relationship building, it was conflict, both internal and external, and desire.

Ellie is the same kickass girl that we met in Angelfire. She’s been training and patrolling and trying to come to terms with the fact that she’s really the archangel Gabriel. Things are made even harder for her because of the distance Will is trying to keep from her. He’s afraid of the consequences from Michael if he disobeys and pursues more of a relationship with Ellie aside from the Preliator-Guardian relationship. It was easy to see the difficulties both Ellie and Will were having by trying to keep the relationship professional.

We got to see a lot more of Nathaniel and Lauren in this book, which I thought was awesome. They’re Will’s family and I feel like getting to know them helps us to understand Will a bit better. Cadan is a great addition to this novel. We met him in the first, but really get to know him in the second. We see him as a person with feelings rather than as a demonic reaper. We also learn a lot of his secrets.

The storyline was just as exciting as the first. Ellie’s got the toughest demonic reapers coming after her so that Bastian can perform a ritual that will stop her from ever being reincarnated again, by killing her soul. But Ellie still wants to hold onto her human life: her friends, her school, her family. I think that makes her a lot more relatable. Not a lot of people can relate to being a reincarnated archangel stuck in a teenaged human body, but they can relate to things in their life changing and trying to hold onto the constants. That’s one of my favourite things about Ellie as a character, and Courtney’s writing.

This review is kind of all over the place, but I basically want you to know that this second novel matches the first perfectly, that the characters and the writing are perfect continuations of the first, and that this is one sequel that you do not want to miss. Now I’m dying waiting for the next one, since Courtney left it off on a huge cliffhanger!

Wings of the Wicked Cover Reveal

I feel like the worst blogger ever. I apologize a million times to my awesome followers for the lack of posts. I'm trying really hard to find time for it between work and my summer courses, but it's being neglected. I'm such a failure *hangs head*.

To make up for this (slightly), I'm directing you all the the awesome contest Courtney Allison Moulton has going until tomorrow, to spread the word about her newly released cover for WINGS OF THE WICKED, the second book in her ANGELFIRE trilogy.

If you missed it, I LOVED ANGELFIRE. Like, so hard. Don't believe me? Check out my review here. I talk about Audis, Twitter, and one-liners. Trust me, you want to read it (and leave me a little note ;) ).

Now, onto the cover of WINGS OF THE WICKED:

I love it. It totally fits with the cover for ANGELFIRE:

I'm so excited for this to come out and see what other storylines Courtney has up her sleeve. The only downside is that we have to wait until the winter to get our hands on this book! At least that's one reason to look forward to the cold weather...

I mentioned a contest before! Hop on over to Courtney's blog and enter for a chance to win some awesome stuff, including a signed ARC of WINGS OF THE WICKED! And if you haven't read ANGELFIRE yet (WHY NOT??), head on over to The Book Depository, or your favourite bookstore and snatch up a copy!

To all my wonderful and amazing followers, I promise more reviews and other posts soon!

Review & Giveaway!: Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Title: Angelfire
Author: Courtney Allison Moulton
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publish Date: February 15, 2011
Genre: YA, paranormal
Pages: 291 (Kindle edition)
Series: Angelfire Trilogy
1. Angelfire
2. Wings of the Wicked (expected pub 2012)
3. Hymns to the Fallen (expected pub 2013)

Synopsis:
This debut, the first novel in a trilogy, is achingly romantic, terrifying, and filled with blistering action.

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.

From Goodreads

I’ve had this title sitting on my computer for awhile now, and it wasn’t until I started following Courtney on Twitter and she started posting doodles from her book that I finally decided I needed to read this book (check out her Twitpic to see said doodles). Some of the doodles were so funny and accompanied by quotes, and it just drew me in. Angelfire was moved up to the top of my TBR list. I’m so glad I did that. I thought this book was amazingly well written, with characters that were more than just a name on the page. They have depth and feelings and I fell in love with all of them.

Ellie's Audi A4 (and my dream car!)

Ellie is a rich, spoiled girl with rich, spoiled friends. She lives in a big house in a rich neighbourhood, her friends get DJs for their parties, and she gets an Audi A4 for her birthday. However, this doesn’t make Ellie a character that is stuck up or whiny, and she doesn’t have the perfect white-picket-fence family. Courtney gives her characters depth, regardless of what the stereotype may be. Ellie really is a strong, female character and it’s wonderful to see that in YA. Then there’s Will, who is my new character crush. I just think he’s so great. You have to read this book just so you can fall in love with Will and his bad-assness-that-really-is-only-a-cover-for-his-sweetness.

Courtney really knows how to write some damn good fight scenes, too. They were so detailed and thought out that I could see them playing out in my mind easily. They really got my pulse going as I read and waited anxiously to see who would come out of the battle alive. Not only did she write good fight scenes, she wrote good one-liners, too! I loved some of the lines she gave to Ellie (see my Teaser Tuesday post). There was more than one occasion where I burst out laughing or snickered and got funny looks from around me (sometimes, I’d be on the bus and just start smiling like an idiot because I was trying to hold in the giggles).

One other that thing I really liked was the detail that Courtney included when explaining all the inner workings of the world that Ellie had become a part of. To someone like me, who really isn’t religious in any way, shape, or form, it was really useful to get a good, detailed explanation of all the concepts Courtney included in her story. Her way of interpreting angels and demons is really different from the other angel stories I’ve read, and I really like that. It’s an angel story that doesn’t centre on the angel aspect, I guess.

I think it’s really important the way Ellie is trying to keep up her relationship with her mom and her friends. It sets a good example for girls who either get a new boyfriend, or start a new hobby, or whatever it is they do that may separate them from their friends. Even though Ellie is trying to save the world and her own life, she knows that her friends and family are important parts of her life and she doesn’t want to give that up.

Overall, this is one book I really enjoyed. It wrapped up nicely (the last line was perfect), but you can also tell that it’s leading up to more. I’m really interested to see where Courtney takes Ellie and Will to next and how Ellie is going to manage her newfound life with her old one. I think it’ll be pretty exciting. Book 2, Wings of the Wicked comes out in 2012!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and HarperTeen for the eARC!

GIVEAWAY!!

So I’m really excited to be hosting my first ever giveaway!! I loved Angelfire so much, that I want to share that love with someone else. Here’s the rules:

• One person will win one copy of Angelfire, shipped from The Book Depository.
• You don’t have to be a follower, but I’d appreciate it if you took a look around. You might find something you like.
• This is open INTERNATIONALLY to anywhere The Book Depository ships (Check here)
• Must be 13 years of age or older.
• If you spread the word, it will gain you one extra entry (Twitter, Facebook, sidebar, etc.)
• This giveaway runs until February 15 (release day!)

The winner will be chosen randomly by random.org. He/she will be contact on February 16 by email and will have 48 hours to respond. If they haven’t responded by this time, I will choose another winner.
GOOD LUCK!

Waiting on Wednesday (11)

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that showcases upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating!
I first heard about it from PageTurnersBlog.




My Waiting on Wednesday this week:
Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton
Publication Date: February 15, 2011

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.

From Goodreads

I'm actually reading an eGalley of this right now from NetGalley and loving it. I know I'm going to have to pick up my own copy when it comes out in a couple weeks. Check back around the weekend (hopefully) for my review!

Since I feel like I cheated you out of a real "Waiting on" Wednesday, I give you a second today!

The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge
Publication Date: February 22, 2011

In the city of Lovecraft, the Proctors rule and a great Engine turns below the streets, grinding any resistance to their order to dust. The necrovirus is blamed for Lovecraft's epidemic of madness, for the strange and eldritch creatures that roam the streets after dark, and for everything that the city leaders deem Heretical—born of the belief in magic and witchcraft. And for Aoife Grayson, her time is growing shorter by the day.

Aoife Grayson's family is unique, in the worst way—every one of them, including her mother and her elder brother Conrad, has gone mad on their 16th birthday. And now, a ward of the state, and one of the only female students at the School of Engines, she is trying to pretend that her fate can be different.

From Goodreads

The Iron Thorn is a book that I can add to my 2011 Debut Author Challenge list. I haven't read any steampunk, but I definitely want to. And I know I like dystopian. Then there's this book, that's a mix of both steampunk and dystopian! I have to try it out. The cover is also really interesting... it's kind of creepy actually, but in a good way. The one thing I'll have to get used to is the main character's name. I'm not even sure how I would pronounce that...

What upcoming releases are you looking forward to?

Teaser Tuesday (9)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Just do the following:

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

DO NOT INCLUDE SPOILERS (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away, so that you don't ruin the book for others)

Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR list is they like your teasers!

My teaser this week is from Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton. I am currently reading an eGalley from NetGalley and I’m loving it so far. Some of the lines Courtney gave to Ellie, the main character, are just to die for. I’ve found myself laughing quite a bit in this story. I want to share some of the funny with you, so my teaser tuesday this week includes a few different lines. Here’s my teasers:

“I’m going to get tetanus in there,” I grumbled.
“Don’t go rolling in piles of dirt and rusty nails and you’ll be fine.”
“You’re an ass.”
pg. 69

“It was just Nathaniel, anyway.”
“Oh, that’s so cute,” I said, pinching his cheek. “He shopped for you. You’re, like, biffles.”
pg. 97

Click to see larger

That last one had me cracking up. Do people actually use the word “biffles” in real life?? It’d be funny if they did. I've also added a doodle that Courtney posted to her TwitPic a little while back illustrating that very scene. It's so cute. You should check out her other doodles, too!

These are only a couple of the lines that had me laughing. I feel like I can hear Ellie’s sarcasm in my head, and that makes it so much better. Another thing that I love is how Ellie keeps calling Will different names, such as Batman and a ninja. She also names her car, Marshmallow. Are you curious? Intrigued? I hope so. Angelfire comes out on February 15, 2011 and you have to get a copy. I know I will.

Feel free to share links to your teasers! I’d love to see what you’re reading.