All I Want for Christmas 2019 Is... (4)

'Tis the season... for making book wish lists! And that means my "All I Want for Christmas" feature is going to get dusted off and used again. For any new followers to my blog, this is when I share the books that have made it onto my Christmas wishlist. I'll probably share one or two a week until Christmas. Feel free to link up your own book picks in the comments!

My picks for this post:

The Wildling Sisters by Eve Chase

"An evocative novel in the vein of Kate Morton and Daphne du Maurier, in which the thrill of first love clashes with the bonds of sisterhood, and all will be tested by the dark secret at the heart of Applecote Manor.

"An enthralling story of secrets, sisters, and an unsolved mystery."--Kate Morton, New York Times bestselling author of The Lake House 

Four sisters. A house with a past. One secret summer.

When fifteen-year-old Margot Wilde and her three sisters arrive at Applecote Manor in June 1959, they expect a quiet English country summer. Instead, they find their aunt and uncle still reeling from the disappearance of their daughter, Audrey, five years before. As the arrival of two handsome neighbors divides the sisters' loyalties, Margot is drawn into the life Audrey left behind and the mystery of her vanishing. Fifty years later, Jessie is desperate to move her family out of their London home, and gorgeous Applecote Manor seems like the perfect solution. But once there, Jessie finds herself increasingly isolated, at odds with her fifteen-year-old stepdaughter, and haunted by the strange rumors that surround the manor. Rich with heat and angst, in The Wildling Sisters the thrill of first love clashes with the bonds of sisterhood, taking readers on a breathless journey into the darkest secrets of the human heart."

I read Eve Chase's book Black Rabbit Hall this past year and ended up quite enjoying it. While it wasn't the Gothic thriller I was expecting, its quieter take on death and grief within a family was well done. I'm always up for historical family stories full of secrets and interpersonal tensions, so I'm hopeful I'll also enjoy The Wildling Sisters.

10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston
  

"Sophie wants one thing for Christmas-a little freedom from her overprotective parents. So when they decide to spend Christmas in South Louisiana with her very pregnant older sister, Sophie is looking forward to some much needed private (read: make-out) time with her long-term boyfriend, Griffin. Except it turns out that Griffin wants a little freedom from their relationship. Cue devastation.

Heartbroken, Sophie flees to her grandparents' house, where the rest of her boisterous extended family is gathered for the holiday. That's when her nonna devises a (not so) brilliant plan: Over the next ten days, Sophie will be set up on ten different blind dates by different family members. Like her sweet cousin Sara, who sets her up with a hot guy at an exclusive underground party. Or her crazy aunt Patrice, who signs Sophie up for a lead role in a living nativity. With a boy who barely reaches her shoulder. And a screaming baby.

When Griffin turns up unexpectedly and begs for a second chance, Sophie feels more confused than ever. Because maybe, just maybe, she's started to have feelings for someone else . . . Someone who is definitely not available.

This is going to be the worst Christmas break ever... or is it?"

This one just sounds like a cute, fun read perfect for the holiday season! I haven't read any YA for a while that really captures the warm fuzzy feeling of Christmas (a la Let It Snow), and I'm hoping this one might. 

What books are you hoping to unwrap this holiday season?

All I Want for Christmas 2019 Is... (3)

'Tis the season... for making book wish lists! And that means my "All I Want for Christmas" feature is going to get dusted off and used again. For any new followers to my blog, this is when I share the books that have made it onto my Christmas wishlist. I'll probably share one or two a week until Christmas. Feel free to link up your own book picks in the comments!

My pick for this post:

The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen

"What if you fell in love with the one person you'd sworn to destroy? 
 
Lara has only one thought for her husband on their wedding day: I will bring your kingdom to its knees. A princess trained from childhood to be a lethal spy, Lara knows that the Bridge Kingdom represents both legendary evil - and legendary promise. The only route through a storm-ravaged world, the Bridge Kingdom controls all trade and travel between lands, allowing its ruler to enrich himself and deprive his enemies, including Lara's homeland. So when she is sent as a bride under the guise of fulfilling a treaty of peace, Lara is prepared to do whatever it takes to fracture the defenses of the impenetrable Bridge Kingdom. 

But as she infiltrates her new home - a lush paradise surrounded by tempest seas - and comes to know her new husband, Aren, Lara begins to question where the true evil resides. Around her, she sees a kingdom fighting for survival, and in Aren, a man fiercely protective of his people. As her mission drives her to deeper understanding of the fight to possess the bridge, Lara finds the simmering attraction between her and Aren impossible to ignore. 

Her goal nearly within reach, Lara will have to decide her own fate: Will she be the destroyer of a king or the savior of her people?"

How awesome does this premise sound? A princess who's a spy. A marriage of political convenience, between two enemy nations. A kingdom controlling all the trade and travel between different lands. This just hits so many of my favourite things in a story! 

What books are you hoping Santa brings this year?

All I Want for Christmas 2019 Is... (2)

'Tis the season... for making book wish lists! And that means my "All I Want for Christmas" feature is going to get dusted off and used again. For any new followers to my blog, this is when I share the books that have made it onto my Christmas wishlist. I'll probably share one or two a week until Christmas. Feel free to link up your own book picks in the comments!

My pick for this post:

The Lady and the Highwayman by Sarah M. Eden

"Elizabeth Black is the headmistress of a girls’ school and a well-respected author of “silver-fork” novels, stories written both for and about the upper-class ladies of Victorian society. But by night, she writes very different kinds of stories—the Penny Dreadfuls that are all the rage among the working-class men. Under the pseudonym Mr. King, Elizabeth has written about dashing heroes fighting supernatural threats and dangerous outlaws romancing helpless women. They contain all the adventure and mystery that her real life lacks.
 
Fletcher Walker began life as a street urchin, but is now the most successful author in the Penny Dreadful market, that is until Mr. King started taking all of his readers--and his profits. No one knows who King is, including Fletcher’s fellow members of the Dread Penny Society, a fraternity of authors dedicated to secretly fighting for the rights of the less-fortunate.
 
Determined to find the elusive Mr. King, Fletcher approaches Miss Black. As a fellow-author, she is well-known among the high-class writers; perhaps she could be persuaded to make some inquiries as to Mr. King’s whereabouts? Elizabeth agrees to help Fletcher, if only to insure her secret identity is never discovered. 
 
For the first time, Elizabeth experiences the thrill of a cat-and-mouse adventure reminiscent of one of her own novels as she tries to throw Fletcher off her scent. But the more time they spend together, the more she loses her heart. Its upper-class against working-class, author against author where readers, reputations, and romance are all on the line."

This book just sounds like so much fun! I do enjoy a good hidden-identity story, especially when there's a romance involved too. And of course, the Victorian society setting just makes it even better. 

What books are you hoping to find under the tree?

All I Want for Christmas 2019 Is... (1)

'Tis the season... for making book wish lists! And that means my "All I Want for Christmas" feature is going to get dusted off and used again. For any new followers to my blog, this is when I share the books that have made it onto my Christmas wishlist. I'll probably share one or two a week until Christmas. Feel free to link up your own book picks in the comments!

The first pick for this year is:

Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf

"Zera is a Heartless – the immortal, unageing soldier of a witch. Bound to the witch Nightsinger ever since she saved her from the bandits who murdered her family, Zera longs for freedom from the woods they hide in. With her heart in a jar under Nightsinger’s control, she serves the witch unquestioningly.

Until Nightsinger asks Zera for a Prince’s heart in exchange for her own, with one addendum; if she’s discovered infiltrating the court, Nightsinger will destroy her heart rather than see her tortured by the witch-hating nobles.

Crown Prince Lucien d’Malvane hates the royal court as much as it loves him – every tutor too afraid to correct him and every girl jockeying for a place at his darkly handsome side. No one can challenge him – until the arrival of Lady Zera. She’s inelegant, smart-mouthed, carefree, and out for his blood. The Prince’s honor has him quickly aiming for her throat.

So begins a game of cat and mouse between a girl with nothing to lose and a boy who has it all.

Winner takes the loser’s heart.
 
Literally."

This is one of my most anticipated YA fantasy reads! I know it's gotten a lot of positive reviews -- I remember seeing Misty at The Book Rat rave about it -- and the premise sounds right up my alley. What with the whole secret-mission-to-steal-his-heart going on, and I'm guessing they eventually fall for each other...

What books are on your Christmas wishlist?