Waiting on Wednesday (56)

"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:

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
Publication date: May 22, 2012

Synopsis:
Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he’s heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen—literally, ouch!—both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma’s gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom...

Told from both Emma and Galen’s points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance.

From Goodreads

Why I want it: Debut author. Two narrators. Mermaids, which I have yet to read but really want to. And I have a feeling it'll have mythology intertwined somehow because of the title.

Embers and Echoes (Wildefire #2) by
Karsten Knight
Publication date: August 28, 2012

**WARNING: SPOILERS**

Synopsis:
Ashline Wilde is about to discover that when you’re the reincarnation of a Polynesian volcano goddess, “new beginnings” are just a myth.

Leaving the fiery ruins of her sophomore year behind her, Ash travels to the sizzling beaches of Miami, hot on the trail of the little sister she’s only seen in visions. But her happy family reunion isn’t all palm trees and paradise. A cult of evil gods-on-earth, known as the Four Seasons, has kidnapped her sister to use in its terrifying new religion. Soon, the streets of Miami erupt in chaos and violence... and Ash gets caught right in the tropical crossfire

Ash isn’t without help, however. Unexpected romance arrives in the form of Wes, an Aztec god of night with his own vendetta against the Four Seasons. As memories of Ash’s previous life begin to flicker into her dreams, the boundaries between ally and enemy, life and death, and love and hate all bleed together. And when a mysterious trickster from her past reappears to derail her new quest, Ash must choose between the echoes of a once-forgotten yesterday and the embers of an uncertain future.

Because when old flames return from the dead, even a volcano goddess can get burned.

From Goodreads

Why I want it: I really enjoy how kick-ass Ashline is as a character and can't wait to read more about her. Also, that cliff-hanger ending in Wildefire!!

What upcoming releases are you looking forward to?

Review: Wildefire by Karsten Knight

Title: Wildefire
Author: Karsten Knight
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Publish Date: July 26, 2011
Genre: YA, paranormal
Pages: 393
Series:
1. Wildefire
2. Embers and Echoes (Summer 2012)
3. Afterglow (Summer 2013)

Synopsis:
Ashline Wilde never received an instruction manual on how to be a 16-year-old Polynesian volcano goddess. If she had, it might have contained helpful warnings such as:

• Dreaming about your (thankfully) mortal boyfriend may cause your bed to spontaneously combust
• Oven mitts should be worn at all times during heavy make-out sessions

Instead, Ash has to learn these life lessons the hard way as her dormant powers erupt at the most awkward times. In the wake of a hometown tragedy, Ash transfers to Blackwood Academy, a boarding school nestled in California’s redwoods, where a group of fellow gods-on-earth have mysteriously convened. As if sophomore year couldn’t get any worse, her storm goddess older sister, the wild and unpredictable Eve, resurfaces to haunt Ashline. With a war between the gods looming over Blackwood, Ash must master the fire smoldering within her before she clashes with her sister one final time, which leads us to life-lesson #3:

• When warm and cold fronts collide, there’s guaranteed to be a storm.

From Karsten's website

I’m upset with Karsten because of the ending of this book. I’ve heard that’s a common sentiment upon finishing WILDEFIRE. And not because it’s bad, but because it’s a huge cliffhanger. And not like, the last few pages, but just the last line. I’m pretty sure I yelled “NO!” and slammed the book shut. So, that’s my warning.

The beginning of this book is explosive. It starts out with Ashline kicking another girl’s ass over a guy. First of all, it’s awesome that she’s kicking ass. Second of all, she must have some issues if she’s doing it over a guy (probably both anger and emotional issues). The first chapter really gives you a great idea of who Ashline is as a person and what her family situation is. I liked how the novel started out explosive, and then took a big step down. It really sucked me into the story because I wanted to know how the events at the beginning would affect the rest of the story.

The characters were all pretty fun. Ashline herself is a hardcore girl. All of the characters were different in their own ways, which is great. I loved the group of the six gods and goddesses. They made a good team even though they all kind of came from different groups. The one thing that I had trouble with was remembering each of their powers. I found myself having to jump back to one part in the book to remind myself which character was which God or Goddess. Either way, I did like how Karsten included a lot of different Gods/Goddesses. It wasn’t just the typical Greek or Roman ones; There was a Norse God, an Egyptian Goddess, among others, and of course a Polynesian Goddess. It was great to see some other cultures getting some attention as well.

The story itself was good. There was definitely a lot going on when you look at the book on a whole: Eve, Colt, tennis matches, the weird black things with a blue flame eye, Central America… And the majority of it occurred in the span of a week. Now that I’m done the book, I kind of wonder about some things that weren’t fully explained. I suppose that the following books will contain more answers. At least, I hope so. EMBERS AND ECHOES, book 2 in the series, is due for publication Summer 2012.

Teaser Tuesday (24)

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!

This week I'm reading Karsten Knight's debut novel, Wildefire! I had an egalley of it, but it wasn't working with my Kobo, so I popped into my local Chapters on Saturday night and it was shelved already! (It just came out today, technically.) So I grabbed a copy to continue reading. Here's my teaser:

The scream was certainly human - female, more precisely - but it stretched into an octave that Ash didn't even know she was capable of hearing. It penetrated her eardrums so startlingly that she couldn't help but clamp her hands over her ears. The wail infiltrated even her deepest recesses, and her body transformed into a human tuning fork.

"Are you okay?" Colt asked.

"Okay?" she started to ask. Hadn't he heard it too?


So, it's a bit longer than 2 sentences, but I had to get the whole feel for the part out. I hope it whet your appetite! This is such a good book so far. I love the way Karsten set it up, where each chapter is a day. Gotta get back to reading it!

Feel free to share your teasers with me. I'd love to see what you're reading!

Book News

Jennifer L. Armentrout's Adult Book Deal

Jennifer announced on her blog yesterday that she has a new 3-book deal for an adult urban fantasy series! It sounds really awesome. It's about demon-hunters, fallen angels, and Nephilim. Right up my alley! Here's the blurb:

Between the pissed off creatures that want demon-hunter Lily Marks dead and the fallen angel who just … wants her, Lily is about ready to trade in forever for a comfy job in a cubicle farm.

Mortal enemies, the fact that Lily and Julian are civil to one another is enough to have her thrown out of the Sanctuary. Even she can build a laundry list of why getting close to him is career suicide, but she can’t shake her not-so angelic stalker or how he brings her dangerously close to ecstasy.

As if Lily already didn’t have enough problems, the hits just keep coming. Blindsided when a traitor is discovered working from within the Sanctuary, Lily is shocked to find he's determined to get her kicked out. Her relationship with Julian provides the perfect fuel for suspicion, and she quickly finds herself being hunted by well, everyone. Her only hope is to discover the real traitor before she loses everything—and she'll need Julian's help. That is, if Julian is really there to help her … or destroy her.

Yeah, being a Nephilim isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be.

The blurb is taken from Jennifer's blog.

It's due for release in March 2012. Check out her post where she announces the book deal here. While you're at it, go here to add it to your Goodreads shelf!


Karsten Knight's "Twins"

Also yesterday, Karsten Knight announced that his debut novel WILDEFIRE (July 26, 2011) will have two sequels! Here's the info:

Book #2: EMBERS AND ECHOES (Summer 2012)

Book #3: AFTERGLOW (Summer 2013)

I'm reading Wildefire now and I love the writing. Ashline is a kick ass character so far, and I can't wait to read more. I've heard that WILDEFIRE ends in a pretty big cliff-hanger, so I'm happy to hear that there will be more than one! Check out Karsten's blog where he makes the announcement here. Go to Karsten's author page on Goodreads here to add the whole series to your shelf.

Exciting stuff going on! What do you think of this news??

Waiting on Wednesday (3)

"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.




I've been putting together my Debut Authors Challenge 2011 list, and so I was introduced to a lot of new books that are coming out next year. The one I chose for my WoW is one that really caught my eye and I'm pretty excited for!

My Waiting on Wednesday this week:
Wildefire by Karsten Knight
Publication date: July 26, 2011

Ashline Wilde never received an instruction manual on how to be a 16-year-old Polynesian volcano goddess. If she had, it might have contained helpful warnings such as:

• Dreaming about your (thankfully) mortal boyfriend may cause your bed to spontaneously combust
• Oven mitts should be worn at all times during heavy make-out sessions

Instead, Ash has to learn these life lessons the hard way as her dormant powers erupt at the most awkward times. In the wake of a hometown tragedy, Ash transfers to Blackwood Academy, a boarding school nestled in California’s redwoods, where a group of fellow gods-on-earth have mysteriously convened. As if sophomore year couldn’t get any worse, her storm goddess older sister, the wild and unpredictable Eve, resurfaces to haunt Ashline. With a war between the gods looming over Blackwood, Ash must master the fire smoldering within her before she clashes with her sister one final time, which leads us to life-lesson #3:

• When warm and cold fronts collide, there’s guaranteed to be a storm.

From Goodreads

Reasons why I chose this:
1. Volcanic Goddess. I mean come on, doesn't that sound awesome? I could stop the list here.
2. Do you see that cover?? It's mesmerizing.
3. It's different from most YA (i.e. vampires, werewolves, faeries, etc.)
4. The author is male, and I feel they are highly under-represented in YA fiction. Plus, he's kinda hilarious. (Click on his name for a link to his blog/vlog)

The only part I don't like, is that I have to wait until the SUMMER to read this! Just one more reason for it to come faster!

What upcoming releases are you looking forward to?