Waiting on Wednesday: The Stepsister's Tale, The Vault of Dreamers, and Don't Touch

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!

Yep, I *am* back on the blog again! My first year of grad school is finally done, and now I am home and able to catch my breath, relax, read, and catch up on what's been going on in the blogosphere over the last, oh, 10 months or so (anyone want to clue me in?)

There are apparently a lot of upcoming books I need to get familiar with. Here are a few that I'm looking forward to:


The Stepsister's Tale by Tracy Barrett

Goodreads' description:

"What really happened after the clock struck midnight?

Jane Montjoy is tired of being a lady. She's tired of pretending to live up to the standards of her mother's noble family-especially now that the family's wealth is gone and their stately mansion has fallen to ruin. It's hard enough that she must tend to the animals and find a way to feed her mother and her little sister each day. Jane's burden only gets worse after her mother returns from a trip to town with a new stepfather and stepsister in tow. Despite the family's struggle to prepare for the long winter ahead, Jane's stepfather remains determined to give his beautiful but spoiled child her every desire.

When her stepfather suddenly dies, leaving nothing but debts and a bereaved daughter behind, it seems to Jane that her family is destined for eternal unhappiness. But a mysterious boy from the woods and an invitation to a royal ball are certain to change her fate...

From the handsome prince to the evil stepsister, nothing is quite as it seems in Tracy Barrett's stunning retelling of the classic Cinderella tale."


I've read Tracy Barrett's Anna of Byzantium several times, although I was not as thrilled with her book Dark of the Moon. Cinderella is not my favourite fairy tale, but as a rule I do like fairy tales generally and I'm interested to see what Tracy Barrett does with one of the best known ones.


The Vault of Dreamers by Caragh M. O'Brien

Goodreads' description:

"From the author of the Birthmarked trilogy comes a fast-paced, psychologically thrilling novel about what happens when your dreams are not your own.

The Forge School is the most prestigious arts school in the country. The secret to its success:  every moment of the students' lives is televised as part of the insanely popular Forge Show, and the students' schedule includes twelve hours of induced sleep meant to enhance creativity. But when first year student Rosie Sinclair skips her sleeping pill, she discovers there is something off about Forge. In fact, she suspects that there are sinister things going on deep below the reaches of the cameras in the school. What's worse is, she starts to notice that the edges of her consciousness do not feel quite right. And soon, she unearths the ghastly secret that the Forge School is hiding—and what it truly means to dream there."


I enjoyed Birthmarked (*cough* need to catch up on that series, along with a billion other ones *cough*) and I am drawn to psychological thrillers. Not the biggest fan of "reality TV show" premises but it sounds like there's more to it than that, so I'm hoping the secret of the Forge School is something good...


Don't Touch by Rachel M. Wilson

Goodreads' description:


"A powerful story of a girl who is afraid to touch another person’s skin, until the boy auditioning for Hamlet opposite her Ophelia gives her a reason to overcome her fears.

Step on a crack, break your mother’s back. Touch another person’s skin, and Dad’s gone for good.

Caddie can’t stop thinking that if she keeps from touching another person’s skin, her parents might get back together... which is why she wears full-length gloves to school and covers every inch of her skin.

It seems harmless at first, but Caddie’s obsession soon threatens her ambitions as an actress. She desperately wants to play Ophelia in her school’s production of Hamlet. But that would mean touching Peter, who’s auditioning for the title role—and kissing him. Part of Caddie would love nothing more than to kiss Peter—but the other part isn't sure she's brave enough to let herself fall.

Perfect for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson, this debut novel from Rachel M. Wilson is a moving story of a talented girl who's fighting an increasingly severe anxiety disorder, and the friends and family who stand by her."

I'm always on the lookout for more YA books about mental health issues, so I'm happy to see another one tackling OCD. It seems like there are more of those these days than there used to be – perhaps awareness about OCD is increasing? In any case, I'm hopeful that it provides an accurate representation of OCD as well as a compelling storyline. Also, the cover is simple but effective, with the black gloves underscoring Caddie's challenges. 

What books are you waiting for? 

Cover Reveal — Empower: Fight Like a Girl

Why yes, it has been a while since I posted on the blog! I've been super busy this past term with school (and will still be busy throughout the month of May, since I have a practicum placement for my program) but am hoping to get to some reading for fun (and reviewing!) during the rest of the summer.

However, in the meantime, I was asked to participate in a cover reveal for Empower: Fight Like a Girl, which released on May 1. Considering the proceeds go to a good cause — the Lupus Foundation of America (it's Lupus Awareness Month) — AND one of the writers is Jane Espenson, who writes for Once Upon a Time (one of my favourite shows!), well, how could I refuse?

So, without further ado, here's some more info on the book:

"Praise for Empower: Fight Like A Girl

"Even non-girls will feel empowered by these stories about ordinary, flawed characters finding their own strengths. Highly entertaining and original." - Lee Goldberg, New York Times bestselling author of The Chase and King City, whose mother lost her hearing to lupus.

Women of TV have united against lupus! Presenting Empower: Fight Like A Girl, a special collection of short stories by top women writers from some of your favorite shows, including: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Family Guy, Person of Interest, Grimm, Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Law & Order: SVU, Star Trek: Voyager, Eureka, Twisted, The 100, Malcolm in the Middle, Millennium, Being Human, The Shield, Castle, Chuck, Gilmore Girls, and Game of Thrones. In this anthology, you'll discover supernatural thrillers, crime mysteries, horror, comedies, and more.

Authors contributing stories to this volume include:

Amy Berg

Cherry Chevapravatdumrong

Akela Cooper

Liz Edwards

Jane Espenson

Shalisha Francis & Nadine Knight

Lisa Klink

Pang-Ni Landrum

Lauren LeFranc

Kam Miller

Jess Pineda

Jennifer Quintenz

Lisa Randolph

Kay Reindl

Kira Snyder

Jeane Wong 

All proceeds will be donated to the non-profit Lupus Foundation of America to help solve the cruel mystery of lupus."

And now for the cover...

Waiting on Wednesday: The Fire Wish, Conversion, and Kiss Kill Vanish

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!

The Fire Wish by Amber Lough

"A jinni. A princess. And the wish that changes everything. . . .

Najwa is a jinni, training to be a spy in the war against the humans. Zayele is a human on her way to marry a prince of Baghdad—which she’ll do anything to avoid. So she captures Najwa and makes a wish. With a rush of smoke and fire, they fall apart and re-form—as each other. A jinni and a human, trading lives. Both girls must play their parts among enemies who would kill them if the deception were ever discovered—enemies including the young men Najwa and Zayele are just discovering they might love."

Stories involving wishes always have the potential to be plenty of fun...as is a Freaky Friday–style switcheroo!

Conversion by Katherine Howe

"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane comes a chilling mystery—Prep meets The Crucible.

It’s senior year at St. Joan’s Academy, and school is a pressure cooker. College applications, the battle for valedictorian, deciphering boys’ texts: Through it all, Colleen Rowley and her friends are expected to keep it together. Until they can’t.

First it’s the school’s queen bee, Clara Rutherford, who suddenly falls into uncontrollable tics in the middle of class. Her mystery illness quickly spreads to her closest clique of friends, then more students and symptoms follow: seizures, hair loss, violent coughing fits. St. Joan’s buzzes with rumor; rumor blossoms into full-blown panic.

Soon the media descends on Danvers, Massachusetts, as everyone scrambles to find something, or someone, to blame. Pollution? Stress? Or are the girls faking? Only Colleen—who’s been reading The Crucible for extra credit—comes to realize what nobody else has: Danvers was once Salem Village, where another group of girls suffered from a similarly bizarre epidemic three centuries ago . . .

Inspired by true events—from seventeenth-century colonial life to the halls of a modern-day high school—Conversion casts a spell. With her signature wit and passion, New York Times bestselling author Katherine Howe delivers an exciting and suspenseful novel, a chilling mystery that raises the question, what’s really happening to the girls at St. Joan’s?"

Not too many YA books involve conversion disorder, so that's a neat idea. Add in the Salem witch trials and the fact that it's "inspired by true events" and this book sounds like it has the potential to be fascinating (if bizarre!) Plus that cover is both striking and kind of unsettling...

Kiss Kill Vanish by Jessica Martinez

"Valentina Cruz no longer exists.

One moment, she was wrapped in Emilio’s arms, melting into his kiss. The next, she was witnessing the unthinkable: a murder in cold blood, ordered by her father and carried out by her boyfriend. When Emilio pulled the trigger, Valentina disappeared. She made a split-second decision to shed her identity and flee her life of privilege, leaving the glittering parties and sultry nightlife of Miami far behind.

She doesn’t know how to explain to herself what she saw. All she knows now is that nothing she believed about her family, her heart, or Emilio’s love, was real.

She can change her name and deny her past, but Valentina can’t run from the truth. The lines between right and wrong, and trust and betrayal, will be blurred beyond recognition as she untangles the deceptions of the two men she once loved and races to find her own truth."

I've read two of Jessica Martinez's other books and enjoyed both of them. This one sounds like it's in a bit of a different vein from her previous books — a thriller rather than a straight-up contemporary. Love that powerful pop of colour in the cover!

What books are you waiting for?

The Woman in Black: A Snapshot (Adult)

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

"Proud and solitary, Eel Marsh House surveys the windswept reaches of the salt marshes beyond Nine Lives Causeway. Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, the house's sole inhabitant, unaware of the tragic secrets which lie hidden behind the shuttered windows. It is not until he glimpses a pale young woman, dressed all in black, at the funeral, that a creeping sense of unease begins to take hold, a feeling deepened by the reluctance of the locals to talk of the woman in black - and her terrible purpose." (from Goodreads)

The subject: a house shrouded in mystery and whispers, and a town scared to death of its secrets.

The setting: England, more specifically Crythin Gifford, most specifically Eel Marsh House. Not sure of the exact year but it had an early 1900s feel to it. (They were using both pony-and-traps and motor cars, after all.) The atmosphere the author instills in her descriptions, particularly those of the marsh and the foreboding house, was by far one of my favourite aspects of this book. Ghost stories thrive on cultivating the right mood, and Susan Hill excels at that. I could see the desolate scene she paints clearly in my mind's-eye.
 
Shutter speed: slow, but that suits the nature of the story. (And it's a short book, anyway.)

What's in the background? A whole lot of unanswered questions relating to the backstory of some of the characters. The narrator Arthur Kipps is telling his own ghost story, so we get it entirely from his perspective...and we don't ever really find out what the ghost has to say on the matter.

Zoom in on: Spider, the adorable little dog that Arthur befriends. I hate most spiders, but I loved this one.
 
Anything out of focus? While there's certainly an unsettling element to the situation Arthur finds himself in, the whole supernatural side of things isn't all that scary, really. And the mystery behind the haunted house is hardly surprising; I'm not sure if it was intended to be. Given all the clues leading up to it, the "reveal" is not really a reveal as much as it is a straightforward and more thorough explanation. The ending, though – now that gives the reader more of a sickening jolt.

I did find the end rather abrupt; I thought it would spend more time wrapping up, coming full-circle back to Arthur and his family in the present day.

Ready? Say... "Shhhh...did you hear that?"

Click! 4 shooting stars. For readers who like their ghost stories free from violence and gore, but not free from a spooky setting, some supernatural creepiness, and a fantastically spot-on early-1900's-British tone and writing style (even though this book was actually published in 1983).

The Book Lode (19) – Books I Got For Christmas!

Gifted:

Outpost by Ann Aguirre
A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge
The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
The Fairest of Them All by Carolyn Turgeon
Forgotten by Catherine McKenzie
Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Thanks very much to my parents for these!

Reviews of books mentioned in the vlog: Enclave by Ann Aguirre and What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty