"Waiting on" Wednesay

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



This week's selection is:

THIS SAVAGE SONG
By: Victoria Schwab
Published By: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: July 5, 2016
Preorder the Book: Amazon

Goodreads Summary: There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.



Why it's Wanted:
I've read one of Victoria Schwab's books before and enjoyed it. This book has an interesting premise and a lot of hype, so I'm eager to see what it has in store.

Opening Lines (9)

Opening Lines is a new feature here on Portrait of a Book that showcases the first lines of recent and/or upcoming releases. If you're looking for your next read, let these first lines help you decide!



RETURN TO ME
By: Justina Chen Headley
Published By: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: Jan. 15, 2013
Buy the Book: Amazon

Nothing is going as planned for Rebecca Muir. She's weeks away from starting college--at a school chosen specifically to put a few thousand miles of freedom between Reb and her parents. But her dad's last-minute job opportunity has her entire family moving all those miles with her! And then there's the matter of her unexpected, amazing boyfriend, Jackson, who is staying behind on the exact opposite coast.

And if that isn't enough to deal with, mere days after moving cross-country, Reb's dad drops shocking, life-changing news. With her mother and brother overwhelmed and confused, Reb is left alone to pick up the pieces of her former life. But how can she do that when everything can change in an instant? How can she trust her "perfect" boyfriend when her own dad let her down? Reb started the year knowing exactly what her future would hold, but now that her world has turned upside down, will she discover what she really wants?

Justina Chen, the acclaimed author of North of Beautiful, has created a moving and powerful novel about the struggles that arise from betrayal, the uncertainty of life after high school, and the joy that ultimately comes from discovering what's truly in your heart.

"If you believed my so-called psychic of a grandmother, she predicted that I would almost die."


CINDERS & SAPPHIRES (At Somerton #1)
By: Leila Rasheed
Published By: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: Jan. 22, 2013
Buy the Book: Amazon

One house, two worlds...

Rose Cliffe has never met a young lady like her new mistress. Clever, rich, and beautiful, Ada Averley treats Rose as an equal. And Rose could use a friend. Especially now that she, at barely sixteen, has risen to the position of ladies’ maid. Rose knows she should be grateful to have a place at a house like Somerton. Still, she can’t help but wonder what her life might have been had she been born a lady, like Ada.

For the first time in a decade, the Averleys have returned to Somerton, their majestic ancestral estate. But terrible scandal has followed Ada’s beloved father all the way from India. Now Ada finds herself torn between her own happiness and her family’s honor. Only she has the power to restore the Averley name—but it would mean giving up her one true love . . . someone she could never persuade her father to accept.

Sumptuous and enticing, the first novel in the At Somerton series introduces two worlds, utterly different yet entangled, where ruthless ambition, forbidden attraction, and unspoken dreams are hidden behind dutiful smiles and glittering jewels. All those secrets are waiting . . . at Somerton.

"Lady Ada Averley leaned on the rail of the steamboat Moldavia, feeling the hum of the ship's huge engines through the steel, a rhythmic shudder like a giant's breathing."


THE ARCHIVED
By: Victoria Schwab
Published By: Hyperion
Release Date: Jan. 22, 2013
Buy the Book: Amazon

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often—violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn’t just dangerous—it’s a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da’s death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.

"The Narrows remind me of August nights in the south."


SLATED
By: Teri Terry
Published By: Nancy Paulsen Books
Release Date: Jan. 24, 2013
Buy the Book: Amazon

Kyla has been Slated—her memory and personality erased as punishment for committing a crime she can’t remember. The government has taught her how to walk and talk again, given her a new identity and a new family, and told her to be grateful for this second chance that she doesn’t deserve. It’s also her last chance—because they’ll be watching to make sure she plays by their rules.

As Kyla adjusts to her new life, she’s plagued by fear. Who is she, really? And if only criminals are slated, why are so many innocent people disappearing? Kyla is torn between the need to know more and her instinct for self-preservation. She knows a dangerous game is being played with her life, and she can’t let anyone see her make the wrong move . . . but who can she trust when everyone is a stranger?

Debut author Teri Terry has written a brilliantly compelling, original and thought-provoking novel about an uncomfortably plausible future.

"I run. Fists of waves claw the sand as I force one foot to pound after the other."



Do any of these opening lines grab your attention? What are your favorite first lines that you've read lately?

Review: The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

THE NEAR WITCH
By: Victoria Schwab
Published By: Hyperion Books CH
Release Date: Aug. 2, 2011
Series: None
Pages: 288
Genre: Fantasy
Reading Level: Young Adult
Source: ALA
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads Summary: The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab’s debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won’t soon forget.



Remember the days of fairy tales and childhood bedtime stories? In The Near Witch, Victoria Schwab takes this idea and spins a book from it, creating a haunting tale that seems to transcend time and place.

Passed down through the generations, The Near Witch is a legend of something that happened long ago in Near, a story of how good triumphed over evil and the town was made safe. Or so everyone thinks. The witch has long since been dealt with, and now there are no strangers (or witches) in Near. Then one night, Lexi sees a mysterious boy from her window - a boy that she's never seen before. When children start disappearing, Lexi knows she has to find this boy. Using the tracking skills taught to her by her father, Lexi locates him. But once she does, she knows that he is innocent. Yet more children are disappearing, and the town is all too eager to blame the stranger. Lexi realizes she has to uncover the truth about the stranger, as well as find the children, before it is too late. She will have to rely on what her father taught her as well as two village women who might, just maybe, be witches. But can she save everyone in time?

The thing I loved the most about this book was the quality of writing. It was unlike anything I had read before, so lyrical and effective at creating an atmosphere that I could not help but be transported to another world. The setting was beautifully crafted; if you have seen or heard Brigadoon, I imagine that the moor in this story has many similarities: an almost magical quality, an air of mystery, and a hidden danger. Woven into this setting and legend were the characters themselves. Lexi was not afraid to challenge authority, make her own decisions, and do what needed to be done to protect her sister. Then there is Cole, the quiet stranger whose past and whose love for Lexi made him completely endearing. I also enjoyed seeing Lexi's interactions with her mother and how things changed over time.

However, the one issue I did have with this book was the romance between Lexi and Cole. Although it was by turns sweet and intense, I missed something in the development. I wanted a little bit more buildup, or maybe more information about Cole, before things started happening. That being said, the romance is a nice balance with the increasingly darker, spooky vibe that comes toward the end of the book.

A story in which the mood evoked is just as important as the characters and the plot, The Near Witch blended poetry, songs, spells, and proverbs into one unique whole. It is a fantastic debut novel, and I cannot wait to see what Schwab writes next!