Currently Coveting (14)
In case you haven't seen this feature before, I'm switching from my usual Waiting on Wednesday post. Instead of just one upcoming title that I want, I'll list several, along with some backlisted books that I have on my wishlist too. If you guys have read any of the previous releases, let me know what you thought about them.
On Shelves Now
Young Adult Fantasy
Young Countess Meliara swears to her dying father that she and her brother will defend their people from the growing greed of the king. That promise leads them into a war for which they are ill-prepared, which threatens the very people they are trying to protect. But war is simple compared to what follows, in peacetime. Meliara is summoned to live at the royal palace, where friends and enemies look alike, and intrigue fills the dance halls and the drawing rooms. If she is to survive, Meliara must learn a whole new way of fighting-with wits and words and secret alliances.
In war, at least, she knew in whom she could trust. Now she can trust no one.
The Firebird edition of Crown Duel combines the hardcover editions of Crown Duel and Court Duel-and features a never-before-published story by Sherwood Smith!
I hadn't even heard of this series until the YA Fantasy Showdown.
by Garth NixSent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing, and Sabriel knows she must enter the Old Kingdom to find him. She soon finds companions in Mogget, a cat whose aloof manner barely conceals its malevolent spirit, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage long imprisoned by magic, now free in body but still trapped by painful memories. As the three travel deep into the Old Kingdom, threats mount on all sides. And every step brings them closer to a battle that will pit them against the true forces of life and death—and bring Sabriel face-to-face with her own destiny.
With Sabriel, the first installment in the Abhorsen trilogy, Garth Nix exploded onto the fantasy scene as a rising star, in a novel that takes readers to a world where the line between the living and the dead isn't always clear—and sometimes disappears altogether.
Another one courtesy of the YA Fantasy Showdown. While I had heard of Sabriel prior to the event, I had never really paid it any attention. The same can be said for the two Garth Nix books (from the Keys to the Kingdom series) currently languishing on my shelves.
by Alison Goodman
Young Adult Fantasy
Eon has been studying the ancient art of Dragon Magic for four years, hoping he'll be able to apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune. But he also has a dark secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been living a dangerous lie for the chance to become a Dragon-eye, the human link to an energy dragon's power. It is forbidden for females to practice the Dragon Magic and, if discovered, Eon faces a terrible death. After a dazzling sword ceremony, Eon's affinity with the twelve dragons catapults him into the treacherous world of the Imperial court, where he makes a powerful enemy, Lord Ido. As tension builds and Eon's desperate lie comes to light, readers won't be able to stop turning the pages...
I actually first noticed this one about a month ago after seeing something touting the upcoming sequel, Eona
. But, again, it was the YA Fantasy Showdown that led me to put it on my wishlist.
. But, again, it was the YA Fantasy Showdown that led me to put it on my wishlist.Upcoming Releases
by Danielle EvansShort Story Collection
Release Date: September 23, 2010
Release Date: September 23, 2010
Introducing a new star of her generation, an electric debut story collection about young African-American and mixed-race teens, women, and men struggling to find a place in their families and communities.
When Danielle Evans's short story "Virgins" was published in The Paris Review in late 2007, it announced the arrival of a bold new voice. Written when she was only twenty-three, Evans's story of two black, blue-collar fifteen-year-old girls' flirtation with adulthood for one night was startling in its pitch-perfect examination of race, class, and the shifting terrain of adolescence.
Now this debut collection delivers on the promise of that early story. In "Harvest," a college student's unplanned pregnancy forces her to confront her own feelings of inadequacy in comparison to her white classmates. In "Jellyfish," a father's misguided attempt to rescue a gift for his grown daughter from an apartment collapse magnifies all he doesn't know about her. And in "Snakes," the mixed-race daughter of intellectuals recounts the disastrous summer she spent with her white grandmother and cousin, a summer that has unforeseen repercussions in the present.
Striking in their emotional immediacy, the stories in Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self are based in a world where inequality is reality but where the insecurities of adolescence and young adulthood, and the tensions within family and the community, are sometimes the biggest complicating forces in one's sense of identity and the choices one makes.
I spotted this a short while ago. Where, I don't know. I just know that I NEED it!
Mercy by Rebecca LimYoung Adult Paranormal
UK Release Date: October 28, 2010
An electric combination of angels, mystery and romance, MERCY is the first book in a major new paranormal series. There's something very wrong with me. I can't remember who I am or how old I am, or even how I got here. All I know is that when I wake up, I could be any one. It is always this way. There's nothing I can keep with me that will stay. It's made me adaptable. I must always re-establish ties. I must tread carefully or give myself away. I must survive. Mercy doesn't realise it yet, but as she journeys into the darkest places of the human soul, she discovers that she is one of the celestial host exiled with fallen angel, Lucifer. Now she must atone for taking his side. To find her own way back to heaven, Mercy must help a series of humans in crisis and keep the unwary from getting caught up in the games that angels play. Ultimately she must choose between her immortal companion, Lucifer, and a human boy who risks everything for her love.
This was a random, Goodreads generated recommendation. A companion of Lucifer? I gotta get this one, despite it's lack of a US release.
The Boyfriend of the Month Club
by Maria GeraciWomen's Fiction/Chick Lit
This sexy, funny new novel asks: Can a woman find a modern-day Mr. Darcy in Daytona Beach?A Goodreads giveaway find. I'm loving that the setting is Florida and that it comes out in December when the cold weather blues will be setting in.
At thirty, Grace O'Bryan has dated every loser in Daytona Beach. After the ultimate date-from-hell, Grace decides to turn her dwindling book club into a Boyfriend of the Month Club, where women can discuss the eligible men in their community. Where are the real life twenty-first century versions of literary heroes such as Heathcliff and Mr. Darcy?
Could it be successful and handsome Brandon Farrell, who is willing to overlook his disastrous first date with Grace and offers financial help for her parents' failing Florida gift shop? Or maybe sexy dentist Joe Rosenblum, who's great with a smile but not so great at commitment? Unfortunately, like books, men cannot always be judged by their covers...
Women's Fiction/Chick Lit
Anne Blythe is lucky. She's got a brand new book contract, a great newspaper job and a steadfast best friend, and she can land just about any man she sets her sights on - and the ones that appeal are typically tall, dark and handsome.Ugh, another foreign-only release! I love this premise. I'll have to figure out a way to get my hands on it since there's no Book Depository listing for it.
Problem is, the men she chooses never last. Shortly after yet another relationship goes down in flames, Anne comes across a card for what she believes is a dating service, and pockets it just in case. If she's so unlucky in love, maybe she could use a little assistance. Then her best friend announces she's engaged, and envy gets the better of Anne. Now's the time, she decides, to give the service a try - and she is shocked to discover that what the company specializes in are exclusive, and pricey, arranged marriages. After learning of the company's success rate, however, she overcomes her reluctance and signs on. After all, arranged marriages are the norm for millions of women around the world, and she's not done so well selecting a mate on her own. So why not use a professional service that claims it can produce the perfect match?
Some time later, Anne is travelling to a Mexican resort, where in one short weekend she will meet and marry Jack, the man they have chosen for her. And against all odds, it seems to be working out, until Anne learns that Jack and the company who arranged their marriage are not what they seem at all.
What books are you guys coveting right now?
2 Comments:
Just had to comment - I loved, loved, loved Crown Duel! Read it last year - found it on the shelf in the library and picked it up - so glad I did. Really enjoy Sherwood Smith's work.
@ Beverly - That's really great to hear! I haven't heard much about her or her work, but this one caught my eye regardless.
Post a Comment