Waiting on Wednesday: Abandon and Lost Voices

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and features books that we just can't wait to get our hands on!

This week's picks:

Abandon by Meg Cabot

I saw this book being featured on the blog A Girl, Books and Other Things and I knew what one of my WoW picks would be this week!

Goodreads' description:

When Pierce first sees him, she thinks he is a murderer. She's right about one thing -- he does take lives. But not in the way she ever imagined. Pierce is drawn to the dark stranger even as she tries to uncover the mystery surrounding the tragic death of someone close to her. As she gets closer to the truth -- and the stranger -- unexpected secrets are revealed, even in her own heart.

It's a retelling of the Persephone myth, and I'm excited to see what Meg Cabot does with this one! It does look a little darker than some of her other work...also don't you just LOVE that cover? The full book jacket is even more amazing:

 

 Seriously. Stunning.

Lost Voices by Sarah Porter

Goodreads' description:

What happens to the girls nobody sees—the ones who are ignored, mistreated, hidden away? The girls nobody hears when they cry for help? 

Fourteen-year-old Luce is one of those lost girls. After her father vanishes in a storm at sea, she is stuck in a grim, gray Alaskan fishing village with her alcoholic uncle. When her uncle crosses an unspeakable line, Luce reaches the depths of despair. Abandoned on the cliffs near her home, she expects to die when she tumbles to the icy, churning waves below. Instead, she undergoes an astonishing transformation and becomes a mermaid. 

A tribe of mermaids finds Luce and welcomes her in—all of them, like her, lost girls who surrendered their humanity in the darkest moments of their lives. The mermaids are beautiful, free, and ageless, and Luce is thrilled with her new life until she discovers the catch: they feel an uncontrollable desire to drown seafarers, using their enchanted voices to lure ships into the rocks. 

Luce’s own talent at singing captures the attention of the tribe’s queen, the fierce and elegant Catarina, and Luce soon finds herself pressured to join in committing mass murder. Luce’s struggle to retain her inner humanity puts her at odds with her friends; even worse, Catarina seems to regard Luce as a potential rival. But the appearance of a devious new mermaid brings a real threat to Catarina’s leadership and endangers the very existence of the tribe. Can Luce find the courage to challenge the newcomer, even at the risk of becoming rejected and alone once again? 

Lost Voices is a captivating and wildly original tale about finding a voice, the healing power of friendship, and the strength it takes to forgive.

I don't normally read a lot of mermaid books (is this something I should remedy? Tell me your favourite mermaid story!) but Lost Voices sounds darker than most. I like that there's a connection between "lost girls" in real life and the mermaids. Beautiful cover on this one as well, I really like the shades of blue-green chosen and the font creatively looks a little like seaweed!

What books are you waiting on?