Impatiently Waiting! Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead

Expected publish date:
July 29, 2014

In The Fiery Heart, Sydney risked everything to follow her gut, walking a dangerous line to keep her feelings hidden from the Alchemists.

Now in the aftermath of an event that ripped their world apart, Sydney and Adrian struggle to pick up the pieces and find their way back to each other. But first, they have to survive.

For Sydney, trapped and surrounded by adversaries, life becomes a daily struggle to hold on to her identity and the memories of those she loves. Meanwhile, Adrian clings to hope in the face of those who tell him Sydney is a lost cause, but the battle proves daunting as old demons and new temptations begin to seize hold of him. . . .

Their worst fears now a chilling reality, Sydney and Adrian face their darkest hour in this heart-pounding fifth installment in the New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series, where all bets are off.


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Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Publisher’s summary: Winning what you want may cost you everything you love.

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

My take: This is one of those books that have an ending that makes the entire book so unbelievably worth it! That was a phenomenal ending, I tell ya, but it’s also one of those endings that makes you think, “That sucks!”

This book was so good that I read the entire book in one sitting, and I didn’t even feel like my day was consumed! I felt like it happened in a snap! Yep, it’s that good. (Full disclosure . . . I did start it a while ago and only read a few chapters before putting it aside. But when I picked it up this time, I started from the beginning and didn’t stop until I was finished. Well, I MIGHT have gotten up to go to the restroom once, but I know for sure that I definitely left a dent in my couch where I sat while reading!)

One of the things I loved about this book is that it was fantasy with absolutely no paranormal aspects to it. So the war and lifestyle portrayed in the book were completely foreign to me but so much fun.

I think my favorite character in this book is for sure Kestrel. She’s an independent thinker and does what she wants and she’s kick butt! I liked Arin too, but there were times where I was worried about Arin’s decisions even though I understood his actions.

The ending to this book has all the tables turned, with a completely different set –up from how the story started, and I’m so excited to see where Marie Rutkoski is going to take us. Even though I loved this book so much, I have a feeling it’s only an introduction to a phenomenal new trilogy and I’m more than eager to follow along!

Impatiently Waiting! The Young Elites by Marie Lu

Expected publish date:
October 7, 2014

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood plague: marked by a jagged scar, snow-white hair and lashes. Cast out by her family, Adelina has finally found a place to belong within the secret society of Young Elites. To some, the Elites are heroes, here to save innocents in desperate situations. But to the Inquisition Axis, the white-robed soldiers of Kenettra, they are monsters with demonic powers who must be brought to justice. As Adelina learns more about this perilous world where politics and magic clash, she soon realizes that her own powers may be in danger of bringing on an era of panic such as the world has never seen.



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Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Impatiently Waiting! Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers

Expected publish date:
November 4, 2014

Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.

She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has



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Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Plus One by Elizabeth Fama

Publisher’s summary: Divided by day and night and on the run from authorities, star-crossed young lovers unearth a sinister conspiracy in this compelling romantic thriller.

Seventeen-year-old Soleil Le Coeur is a Smudge—a night dweller prohibited by law from going out during the day. When she fakes an injury in order to get access to and kidnap her newborn niece—a day dweller, or Ray—she sets in motion a fast-paced adventure that will bring her into conflict with the powerful lawmakers who order her world, and draw her together with the boy she was destined to fall in love with, but who is also a Ray.

Set in a vivid alternate reality and peopled with complex, deeply human characters on both sides of the day-night divide, Elizabeth Fama's Plus One is a brilliantly imagined drama of individual liberty and civil rights, and a fast-paced romantic adventure story.

My take: Now that’s an awesome ending! I think I liked it because that ending wasn’t a surprise to me, and it’s not a happily ever after because it would be way too impossible to have an ending that worked out after everything that happened in this book.

This book took me a little longer to read than I would have liked because there were just a few things I had a hard time relating to, and I debated my star rating for quite a while but I think these following issues had way too much influence than I would have liked. First, what’s up with this book and people acting like stealing a baby is as okay as stealing someone’s phone simply because you have the intent of returning it? It’s a baby! And not just one baby is involved, two completely different babies from two completely different families are stolen, and for two completely different reasons. This should be an extremely serious situation, and people wouldn’t just tiptoe around this kind of thing! And I don’t care who you are, as a parent you’d change your whole life if this happened to your children because it’s a natural need for parents to be so protective. And I know that the whole point to the kidnapping of these babies is to try to show this extreme seriousness, but so many unconcerned people were involved that it was hard for me to accept! I just had a really hard time coming to terms with this idea. The other thing I had a hard time with is the lifestyles of these people. This whole Day people verses Night people lifestyle thing, evolving out of the Spanish flu of 1918, was hard to wrap my mind around as to the “why.” At first, I kept wondering if this was a futuristic book where the people were all told the wrong history of the world. But then I realized it’s a book where this is a “could have been” lifestyle brought about if we separated people between night and day (for whatever reason) because of the Spanish flu. I just had an extremely hard time with this fantasy vision of the world, obviously, because it didn’t happen in the real world. But you give me a book with a bunch of power hungry people, and I’ll get it.

Other than all of that, I really loved the story. The characters were really well done! It was like they were meant to be together. Sol was a little too selfless for my liking, but I still ended up liking her. And now that I’ve fallen in love with the characters and I’ve wrapped my head around the world Elizabeth Fama created, I’m super excited to read the next book!