WOW: Dead Bolt & Ghoul Interrupted

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.  Today I would like to focus on some of the cozy mysteries I am looking forward to reading as I am kind of going through a cozy mystery phase at the moment.  I can't explain it except that reading one of these books makes me want to curl up in front of a fire (pardon the pun!), grab a cup of hot chocolate, snuggle under my blanket, and just read until the wee hours of the morning, like I did when I was a little girl, with no worries or cares to weigh me down. 

Dead Bolt (A Haunted Home Renovation Mystery #2)
by Juliet Blackwell
Release Date: December 6, 2011

Turner Construction's latest restoration project is a historic Queen Anne Victorian in San Francisco. This time general contractor Mel Turner has to work around the owners who insist on sticking around- along with some ghosts that insist in their own way that the work stops...


The ghosts aren't the only ones standing in the way of the renovations. A crotchety neighbor, Emile Blunt, secretly wants this house, and could be behind some of the disturbances. But when Emile is found dead, it's Mel who appears guilty. Now she must restore the building-and her reputation-before it's too late.

Ghoul Interrupted (A Ghost Hunter Mystery, Book 6)
by Victoria Laurie
Release Date: December 27th, 2011

M.J. Holliday and her crew interrupt the frantic schedule of their reality TV show, Ghoul Getters, and hotfoot it to New Mexico, where a dreadful demon is waging tribal warfare. Same Whitefeather- M.J.'s spirit guide-urgently needs her help to stop this evil spirit from wiping out the descendants of his tribe. It doesn't take a psychic to predict that M.J.'s going to have a devil of a time making New Mexico a demon-free zone.

I love this series and can't wait to read this one!!

WOW: The Night Circus

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.  This weekly meme features novels for which we are anxiously awaiting and want to share with others so they don't miss out.  It is amazing the number of books I have added to my wish list because of this weekly feature.

Also, please be patient with me while I play with some features on my blog, like the Amazon Features.  I promise the playing won't last long.

The Night Circus
by Erin Morgenstern
Release Date: September 13, 2011

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

WOW: Legacy and The Night Strangers

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.  For book lovers who browse bookstores and the internet, it's a great way to post news about upcoming releases and to add to that ever-growing, never-diminishing wish list that we all have.  But what fun it is to scour those upcoming release lists, isn't it?

Legacy
by Molly Cochran
Release Date: December 20, 2011

When her widowed father dumps 16-year-old Katy Jessevar in a boarding school in Whitfield, Massachusetts, she has no idea that fate has just opened the door to both her future and her past. Nearly everyone in Whitfield is a witch, as is Katy herself, although she has struggled all her life to hide her unusual talents. Stuck at a boarding school where her fellow studens seem to despise her, Katy soon discovers that Whitfield is the place where her mother commited suicide under mysterious circumstances when Katy was just a small child. With dark forces converging on Whitfield, it's up to Katy to unravel her family's many secrets to save the boy she loves and the town itself from destruction.

The Night Strangers
by Chris Bohjalian
Release Date:  October 4, 2011
 
In a dusty corner of a basement in a rambling Victorian house in northern New Hampshire, a door has long been sealed shut with 39 six-inch-long carriage bolts.


The home's new owners are Chip and Emily Linton and their twin ten-year-old daughters. Together they hope to rebuild their lives there after Chip, an airline pilot, has to ditch his 70-seat regional jet in Lake Champlain due to double engine failure. The body count? Thirty-nine.

What follows is a riveting ghost story with all the hallmarks readers have come to expect from bestselling, award-winning novelist Chris Bohjalian: a palpable sense of place, meticulous research, an unerring sense of the demons that drive us, and characters we care about deeply. The difference this time? Some of those characters are dead.

WOW: Forever Knight & Beautifully Haunted

Having just had the pleasure of hosting Sherry Soule on my blog last week, and having had the chance to review the first novel in her new series, Spellbound, I am going to focus on two of her novels that will be releasing this fall.  So for this week's Waiting On Wednesday, hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine, here are some books I am looking forward to reading by Sherry Soule.

Forever Knight
by Sherry Soule
Release Date: October 2011

Some loves are meant to be…others are cursed.


Elizabeth Blackburn doesn’t believe in fate or the supernatural until she moves into Cliffside Manor and begins having nightmares about a woman who was murdered in the house.

Determined to unlock secrets that have remained hidden for centuries, Elizabeth is plunged into an otherworldly mystery that not even she can explain away, not to mention, her uncontrollable attraction to the former owner, Dorian Knight.

As the history of the Knight family curse begins to unravel, tensions heighten and old secrets turn deadly. Even though Dorian wants nothing to do with Elizabeth and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go...even if it kills her.

Beautifully Haunted (Spellbound, Book 2)
by Sherry Soule
Release Date: November 30, 2011

Shiloh Ravenwolf isn’t your typical teenager. Even though, she loves to shop, enjoys gossiping with her friends, and thinks her parents are totally uncool. Deep down, Shiloh knows she isn’t normal. There’s the gift of Sight (yes, she can see dead people), the magical powers—oh!—and the demon slaying.


Let’s not forget her supernatural training with her uber cool mentor Evans, where Shiloh resolves to learn more about the dark curse inhabiting Whispering Pines. When she embarks on a dangerous journey to seek out the town’s insidious origins, the mystery of her family’s past deepens, and she is again thrust into Ravenhurst Manor’s nightmare world.

To complicate things, she's torn between two hotties, Trent and Dante. And Shiloh must face her biggest challenge yet—and it’s not deciding which crush to take to the prom.

No, she must decide which boy will live and which one will die…

WOW: Bloodstone

Waiting on Wednesday is a great meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.  I will have to admit that this meme also drives me somewhat crazy sometimes, as it totally plays havoc with my TBR pile.  Does anyone else get a thrill looking through the upcoming release section, and ooing and aahing over books when really I should be doing that over my pile of books waiting for me behind my back? 

Bloodstone (Deadtown, Book 3)
by Nancy Holzner
Release Date: September 27, 2011

I was so thrilled to know this book is coming out, and I will be visiting with Nancy Holzner here at Curling Up By The Fire in the fall as she tours her new novel.  Can't wait!!!!

Boston’s diverse South End is known for its architecture and great restaurants, not its body count. So when mutilated human corpses begin turning up in the area, the entire city takes notice. The killer—dubbed the South End Reaper—uses a curved blade for his grisly work. And even though there’s no real evidence pointing to a paranormal culprit, the deaths are straining the already-tense relations between Boston’s human and inhuman residents.


As the bodies pile up, Vicky, her formidable aunt Mab, and her werewolf boyfriend Kane investigate, only to find that the creature behind the carnage is after something much more than blood…

WOW: Dorchester Terrace & The Thirteen Hallows

It's so great to be on holidays, and now the dilemna really begins:  What to read next?!?!?!  I have so many great books sitting in my TBR pile that I don't know what to read next or even where to begin.  I am also going through an historical fiction phase right now (don't know exactly where that came from); I figure as I'm travel deprived this summer as hubby and I agreed to stay put this summer, I am getting my culture fix through historical fiction.  But we have two big trips planned next summer and the budget can only stretch so far, so we are simply going through travel-tox right now.  I spent a great six days at our fabulous trailer (I love our new trailer, but I hesitate to call it that as it's more like a trottage now), and got very little reading accomplished.  And perhaps I need to explain the word 'trottage'; our trailer is 42 feet with two bedrooms and a loft, with one and a half baths, a dishwasher, a garbage disposal, full fridge, apartment style over, microwave, etc.  It's not what I would call camping by any stretch of the imagination and definitely a long shot from my old canoe-tripping days.  But we love it and it's our home-away-from-home.

Sorry for the gab, but I'm on holidays and the words are just flowing as I'm not under time restraints for a while.  Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine, is a wonderful way to share upcoming releases that we are excited about reading.

Dorchester Terrace (Thomas Pitt, Book 27)
by Anne Perry
Release Date: September 1, 2011

I have read every Thomas Pitt novel and love these historical mysteries.

1896. Newly promoted to Head of Special Branch, Thomas Pitt is forced to face the danger his new position brings when he uncovers the work of a traitor in his department. Not knowing who to trust, he must unmask the conspirator, whist simultaneously protecting a suspected target, Austrian state visitor Duke Alois.


Meanwhile, Victor Narraway is investigating the mysterious death of Serafina Monserrat. Once the holder of many sensitive, political secrets, Serafina had suffered from dementia in her later years and Narraway is unsure whether what he has uncovered in his search for answers is the confused ramblings of an old woman, or a catastrophic plot which could trigger a war the likes of which the world has never seen before.

As the two investigations come ever closer it is clear that bluff and double-bluff are at play. When Pitt finally comes face to face with the suspected traitor will he, knowing the fate of the world is at stake, find the strength to stop the man by any means necessary?

The Thirteen Hallows
by Colette Freedman and Michael Scott
Release Date: December 6, 2011
I really like the cover of this book; it looks so intriguing.

WOW: Last Letter &

I think I am in the mood for romance as the books that really struck me this week were all romance novels in some fashion.  Hmmm!!  Maybe I need to spend some more time with my husband?!?!?!  Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Jill @ Breaking The Spine, is a fun meme whereby we talk about those books we are anxiously awaiting.  Here's a couple I can't wait to read:

The Last Letter from Your Lover
by Jojo Moyes
Release Date: July 12, 2011

It is 1960. When Jennifer Stirling wakes up in the hospital, she can remember nothing-not the tragic car accident that put her there, not her husband, not even who she is. She feels like a stranger in her own life until she stumbles upon an impassioned letter, signed simply "B", asking her to leave her husband.


Years later, in 2003, a journalist named Ellie discovers the same enigmatic letter in a forgotten file in her newspaper's archives. She becomes obsessed by the story and hopeful that it can resurrect her faltering career. Perhaps if these lovers had a happy ending she will find one to her own complicated love life, too. Ellie's search will rewrite history and help her see the truth about her own modern romance.

Fair and Tender Ladies
by Lee Smith
Release Date: July 5, 2011

Ivy Rowe, Virginia mountain girl, then wife, mother, and finally "Mawmaw," never strays far from her home-but the letters she writes take her across the country and over the ocean. Writing "to hold onto what's passing," she tells stories that are rich with the life of Appalachia in words that are colloquial, often misspelled, but always beautiful.


From childhood, when teachers encouraged her gift for language, to her rebellious teenage years when she swore against motherhood-only to then become a mother-and on through life, Ivy writes with insight, honesty, and a passion for living that is sure to be infectious.

WOW: Burning Down the Spouse & For The King

Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, is such an interesting meme in which to participate as I adore searching for books that are soon to be published and look forward to their release.  I also look forward to sharing my excitement about their releases, something that everyone who is around me all day experiences to a varying degree.  I, unfortunately, have no willpower and blurt out all of my info to anyone who will listen, often forgetting that not everyone shares my passion and drive for reading.  Such is life!!

Burning Down the Spouse
Dakota Cassidy
Release Date: July 5, 2011

After discovering that her famous chef husband was cheating, Frankie Bennett lost her mind-on live TV. Now Frankie is broke, unemployed, and hiding out in her aunt's retirement village. That is, until Maxine Henderson-Barker-reformed trophy wife and owner of Trophy Jobs Inc. employment agency-arrives to give Frankie a much needed kick in the pants.


Soon, Frankie lands a job as a prep chef at a Greek diner in New Jersey, home to the world's best meatloaf and an owner who resembles an exquisitely chiseled Greek statue. Falling into bed with Nikos isn't the best idea, but after years of living in a man's shadow, this ex- trophy wife is ready to get busy cooking...

For The King
by Catherine Delors
Release Date: July 5, 2011

After First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte survives an assassination attempt, Chief Inspector Roch Miquel, a young man with a bright future and a beautiful mistress, must arrest the assassins before they strike again. But in a city with royalists and revolutionaries alike conspiring to overthrow Bonaparte, Roch's task is near impossible. And when his own father faces the guillotine, Roch has no choice but to trust those most likely to betray him.

WOW:

Waiting on Wednesday is a great way to highlight those books you are really looking forward to reading when they are published.  2011 is looking to be a banner year and there are so many books still waiting to be released.  Hosted by Breaking The Spine, here is a look at several books I can't wait to read.

The Extinction Club
by Jeffrey Moore
Release Date: May 31, 2011 (Penguin Canada)

Shortlist: Arthur Ellis Award - Best Crime Novel 2011

On the last stroke of November, as Nile Nightingale examines a church with a faded for-sale sign, he is startled by a gun-racked pickup barrelling down the country lane. With a sack roped to the roof, it veers past the church and comes to a spinning stop beside the cemetery. Silence, then a thud. With that sound ends the peace Nile expected to find when he fled the addictions, exhaustions, and legal problems of home by heading north, illegally, into Quebec's Laurentian Mountains. Inside the burlap sack is the bloodied body of a stillbreathing teenage girl. Against his better judgment, Nile resolves to treat her wounds and find those who left her for dead.

The Extinction Club is a darkly comic tale, in which the very urban Nile and the country-smart, near-genius Céleste teach each other about life and death, love and loss.

Haunting Violet
by Alyxandra Harvey
Release Date: May 24, 2011 (Bloomsbury)

Violet Willoughby doesn't believe in ghosts. But they believe in her. After spending years participating in her mother's elaborate ruse as a fraudulent medium, Violet is about as skeptical as they come in all matters supernatural. Now that she is being visited by a very persistent ghost, one who suffered a violent death, Violet can no longer ignore her unique ability. She must figure out what this ghost is trying to communicate, and quickly because the killer is still on the loose.

Afraid of ruining her chance to escape her mother's scheming through an advantageous marriage, Violet must keep her ability secret. The only person who can help her is Colin, a friend she's known since childhood, and whom she has grown to love. He understands the true Violet, but helping her on this path means they might never be together. Can Violet find a way to help this ghost without ruining her own chance at a future free of lies?

WOW: Second Grave & Island of Bones

I haven't had a chance to post this in a while and I really enjoy sharing books that I am looking forward to reading.  Work is catching up with me and is incredibly busy at the moment, but it should calm down in a couple of weeks before it picks up again for the end of the season.  And then I'm on holidays!!   Here are a couple of books I am definitely looking forward to reading when I can finally get some relaxation time:

Second Grave on the Left
by Darynda Jones
Release Date: August 16, 2011

When Charley is rudely awakened in the middle of the night by her best friend who tells her to get dressed quickly and tosses clothes out of the closet at her, she can’t help but wonder what Cookie’s up to. Leather scrunch boots with a floral miniskirt? Together? Seriously?

Cookie explains that a friend of hers named Mimi disappeared five days earlier and that she just got a text from her setting up a meet at a coffee shop downtown. They show up at the coffee shop, but no Mimi. But Charley finds a message on the bathroom wall. Mimi left a clue, a woman’s name. Mimi’s husband explains that his wife had been acting strange since she found out an old friend of hers from high school had been found murdered a couple weeks prior. The same woman Mimi had named in her message.


Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow (otherwise known as the Son of Satan. Yes. Literally) has left his corporeal body and is haunting Charley. He’s left his body because he’s being tortured by demons who want to lure Charley closer. But Reyes can’t let that happen. Because if the demons get to Charley, they’ll have a portal to heaven. And if they have a portal to heaven…well, let’s just say it wouldn’t be pretty. Can Charley handle hot nights with Reyes and even hotter days tracking down a missing woman? Will Cookie ever get a true fashion sense? And is there enough coffee and chocolate in the world to fuel them as they do?

Island of Bones

by Imogen Robertson
Release Date: June 15, 2011

Gabriel Crowther's brother was hanged for their father's murder in 1751. Thirty years later, his sister returns with her wayward son to their childhood home of Keswick. A body has been found on the little 'island of bones' in nearby Derwent Water, and the town is sick with rumours and suspicion. All eyes turn towards Crowther and his friend Harriet Westerman to cure them, but he finds that his own past will not stay buried.

WOW: Follow My Lead & Darkfire Kiss

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that highlights books we are looking forward to reading.  I am going through a weird phase right now where I don't really know what I want to read, but I kind of want to read everything at the same time.  It's really weird as I usually know what I want to read next.  No accounting for mood swings!!  Anyways, it's not too often I choose a romance to highlight so here is my WOW for this week:

Follow My Lead
by Kate Noble
Release Date: May 3, 2011

Being the most sought-after bachelor in London can be trying. Jason Cummings, Duke of Rayne, should know. But when he winds up an unwilling escort to the headstrong Winnifred Crane on a trip across Europe, he realizes he'll do anything to keep this independent beauty safe-even if it means marrying her.

Darkfire Kiss (A Dragonfire Novel)
by Deborah Cooke
Release Date: May 3, 2011

Rafferty Powell has resolved to destroy his hated arch-nemesis, Magnus Montmorency. The pair have exchanged challenge coins, and their next battle will be their last. But Rafferty never expected to meet a woman whose desire for Magnus's end matches his own-and whose soul sparks the firestorm within him...

WOW: The Rose Garden and Some Immorality

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.  For those of us who like to scour the net looking at new releases just because we get a thrill knowing what's going to be released, this meme gives us a chance to highlight what we have found.

The Rose Garden
by Susanna Kearsley
Release Date: May 11, 2011

When Eva's film star sister Katrina dies, she leaves California and returns to Cornwall, where they spent their childhood summers, to scatter Katrina's ashes and in doing so return her to the place where she belongs. But Eva must also confront the ghosts from her own past, as well as those from a time long before her own. For the house where she so often stayed as a child is home not only to her old friends the Halletts, but also to the people who had lived there in the eighteenth century. When Eva finally accepts that she is able to slip between centuries and see and talk to the inhabitants from hundreds of years ago, she soon finds herself falling for Daniel Butler, a man who lived - and died - long before she herself was born. Eva begins to question her place in the present, and in laying her sister to rest, comes to realise that she too must decide where she really belongs, choosing between the life she knows and the past she feels so drawn towards.

The Immorality Engine (Book 3, Newbury and Hobbes Investigations)
by George Mann
Release Date: September 27, 2011

A thrilling new steampunk mystery from a unique voice.

Come read the adventures of Sir Maurice Newbury and his indomitable assistant Miss Veronica Hobbes as they attempt to solve another electrifying mystery.

What new discoveries did you find that needs to be added to my wish list and TBR pile?

WOW: The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.  It is a way to highlight those books for which we can't wait for their publication dates.  I just saw the movie "I am Number Four" and am looking forward to reading The Power of Six when it is released in August.  Take a look.

The Power of Six
by Pittacus Lore
Release Date: August 10, 2011

I've seen him on the news. Followed the stories about what happened in Ohio. John Smith, out there, on the run. To the world, he's a mystery. But to me . . . he's one of us.

Nine of us came here, but sometimes I wonder if time has changed us—if we all still believe in our mission. How can I know? There are six of us left. We're hiding, blending in, avoiding contact with one another . . . but our Legacies are developing, and soon we'll be equipped to fight. Is John Number Four, and is his appearance the sign I've been waiting for? And what about Number Five and Six? Could one of them be the raven-haired girl with the stormy eyes from my dreams? The girl with powers that are beyond anything I could ever imagine? The girl who may be strong enough to bring the six of us together?

They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They tried to catch Number Four in Ohio—and failed.

I am Number Seven. One of six still alive.

And I'm ready to fight.

WOW: The Body in The Thames

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.  This is where we get a chance to highlight those books we are anxiously awaiting the publication date and are looking forward to reading.  I am definitely going through a historical mystery phase at the moment and am skimming for books of that that genre.  I can't seem to fight it, so why try?  Unless a good ghost mystery comes along, that is!!

The Body in the Thames (Book 6, Thomas Chaloner Series)
by Susanna Gregory
Release Date: March 9, 2011

In the dilapidated surroundings of the Savoy, a delegation from the government in the Netherlands is gathered in a last ditch attempt to secure peace between the two countries. Thomas Chaloner, active in Holland during Cromwell's time, is horrified at the violent aggression and hatred shown to the Dutch by ordinary Londoners, but is more worried by the dismissive attitude with which they are greeted by the King's ministers and officials. He has experienced the futilities of war at first hand and has no wish to witness another. Then the body of his former brother-in-law is found in the Thames, and Chaloner discovers the dead man has left enigmatic clues to a motivation for his murder. These may be linked to a plot to steal the crown jewels, or perhaps to a conspiracy to ensure that no peace is secured between the two nations. Whichever it proves to be, Chaloner knows he has very little time to decipher the pointers left to him...

The Sacred Stone
by The Medieval Murderers
Release Date: April 2011

1067. In the desolate wastes of Greenland, a group of hunters discover a strangely-shaped meteor which has fallen from the sky. At first, the mysterious 'sky-stone' seems to bring them good luck, healing a lame boy and guaranteeing a good catch of furs. But violence and murder soon follow in fortune's wake, as the villagers fight and struggle amongst themselves to get control of the precious stone. Over the next six hundred years, the Sky-Stone falls into the hands of crusading knights, the wicked Sheriff of Devon, a group of radical young kabalists, the dying King Henry III and a band of travelling players. Each time, the stone brings treachery, discord and violent death to those who seek to possess it.

WOW: Where Shadows Dance

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.  I've kind of rekindled my passion for historical mysteries lately, not sure why, but I guess I'm going through another phase.  Here are a couple I am looking forward to reading.

Where Shadows Dance (Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery Series, Book 6)
by C.S. Harris
Release Date: March 1st, 2011

Sebastian St. Cyr finds himself in the realm of international intrigue when he investigates the murder of a foreign office diplomat-a murder his reluctant bride-to-be, Hero Jarvis, knows something about. And when a second body is found, Sebastian must race to unmask a ruthless killer who is now threatening Hero's life-and the life of their unborn child.

WOW: Ruby Red & Shimmer

I always enjoy this meme,hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine, as one of my favourite things after reading a good book is searching the upcoming releases for books that are being released.  For some reason, I've always enjoyed browsing catalogues, even as a young girl, and probably should have been a librarian rather than a teacher.  I've been seriously thinking about going that route though.  Anyways, tangent aside, here are a couple of releases I am looking forward to reading in the next few months.

Ruby Red
by Kerstin Gier
Release Date: May 10, 2011

Sixteen-year-old Gwen lives with her extended - and eccentric - family, in an exclusive London neighbourhood.  In spite of her ancestors' peculiar history, she's had a relatively normal life so far.  The time-traveling gene that runs like a secret thread through the female half of the family is supposed o have skipped over Gwen.  So it comes as an unwelcome surprise when she starts taking sudden leaps into the past.

She's totally unprepared for time travel, not to mention all that comes with it: fancy clothes, archaic manners, a mysterious secret society, and Gideon, her time-traveling counterpart.  He's obnoxious, a know-it-all, and possibly the best-looking boy she's seen in a century.

Shimmer (Riley Bloom, Book 2)
by Alyson Noel
Release Date: March 15, 2011

Having solved the matter of the Radian Boy Riley, Buttercup, and Bodhi are enjoying a little time off.  But their rest is interrupted when Riley encounters a young ghost named Rebecca.  Despite Rebecca's sweet appearance, Riley soon learns she's not at all what she seems.  As the daughter of a former plantation owner, Rebecca is furious about being murdered during the slave revolt of 1733.  Her overwhelming anger is keeping other ghosts who died in the slave revolt trapped in a shimmering bubble.  When Bodhi and Buttercup inadvertently fall into her trap, Riley is the only one who can save them.

WOW: Witches & Warlocks, Gotta Love 'Em!!

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.  I get to share my excitement over some upcoming releases with you and hope you are interested.  Voila a few I am looking forward to this week:

The Emperor of Nihon-Ja (Ranger's Apprentice, Book 10)
by John Flanagan
Release Date: April 19, 2011

(This one is for my son who has been devouring these books.)

Months have passed since Horace departed for the eastern nation of Nihon-Ja on a vital mission. Having received no communication from him, his friends fear the worst. Unwilling to wait a second longer, Alyss, Evanlyn, and Will leave their homeland behind and venture into an exotic land in search of their missing friend.


When they finally catch up with him, they find Horace entangled in a military coup. Determined to protect the imperial throne, Will and his band of Araluens must piece together and train a force in order to fend off the master Senji warriors intent on overthrowing the emperor.

A Discovery of Witches
By Deborah Harkness
Release Date: February 8, 2010

A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.


Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell

WOW: Darkness Becomes Her & Stay

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine, where we highlight upcoming releases we are looking forward to reading.  With everything I have to read, it's amazing I still have time to browse the upcoming release sections of various book publishers, but it's something I enjoy doing.  Here are a couple I can't wait to read:

Darkness Becomes Her
by Kelly Keaton
Release Date: February 22, 2011

Ari can't help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can't be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is.


Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it's impossible to protect herself when she doesn't know what she's running from or why she is being pursued.

She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.


Ari won't stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.

Stay
by Deb Caletti
Release Date: April 5, 2011

Clara's relationship with Christian is intense from the start, and like nothing she's ever experienced before. But what starts as devotion quickly becomes obsession, and it's almost too late before Clara realizes how far gone Christian is--and what he's willing to do to make her stay.



Now Clara has left the city - and Christian - behind. No one back home has any idea where she is, but she still struggles to shake off her fear. She knows Christian won't let her go that easily, and that no matter how far she runs, it may not be far enough....


 
 
What have you found that you would like to share with us and help destroy our TBR piles?
 

Waiting on Wednesday!!

Waiting on Wednesday has become more like an exercise in patience.  I have ordered more pre-orders than ever so far this year, and there's still more to come!!  Hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine, this is what I am looking forward to reading when they are released.

Evenfall: Ghosts Don't Give Up
by Liz Michalski
Release Date: February 1st, 2011

In life, Frank could've had any woman he wanted.


In death, he'll try to win back the one that mattered...

Frank Wildermuth always regretted a mistake he made as a teenager: choosing Clara Murphy over her sister Gert. And like a true Murphy woman, Gert got on with her life, never admitting to heartbreak. Not even now, decades later, with Frank dead-dead, that is, but not quite gone. Now, Frank's niece, Andie Murphy, is back in town to settle his estate, and she sees that things have changed in Hartman, Connecticut. Aunt Gert still drives her crazy, but Cort, the wide-eyed farmboy she used to babysit, is all grown up-with a whole new definition for the word "sleepover." Even freakier are the whispers. Either Andie's losing her mind, or something she can't see is calling out to her-something that insists on putting right the past.

Plague (Book 4, Gone Series)
by Michael Grant
Release Date: April 5, 2011

The FAYZ goes from bad to worse...The darkness has been foiled once again and the resurrected Drake has been contained. But the streets of Perdido Beach are far from safe, with a growing army of mutants fighting against the humans for power in the town. In a small room of a house near the edge of town, Little Pete lies ill on a bed. In his fevered dreams, he continues his battle with the hidden evil that seeks to use his power to bring about anarchy and destruction.


 
 
 
 
 
 

What lovely and amazing books did you discover that need a new home on my TBR pile?

WOW: The Queen's Lady

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.  It is a great way to highlight those books being released that we can't wait to read.  Here are a few that I can't wait to read:

The Queen's Lady (Book 2, Tudor Series)
by Eve Edwards
Release Date: March 29, 2011

1584 – Surrey, England When Lady Jane Rievaulx begins service to the Queen at Richmond Palace, she is thrilled at the court’s newest arrival . . . Master James Lacey. Despite her previous courtship with his older brother, James is the man she truly loves. And for his part, he cannot deny his fascination with her. However, James is setting sail on a treacherous journey to the Americas, seeking absolution for what he sees as past sins. But when Lady Jane is forced into a terrible situation by her own family, there is only one man to save her. Will Master James return to his lady ­- before it’s too late?

Timeless
by Alexandra Monir
Release Date: January 11, 2011

When tragedy strikes Michele Windsor's world, she is forced to uproot her life and move across the country to New York City, to live with the wealthy, aristocratic grandparents she's never met. In their old Fifth Avenue mansion filled with a century's worth of family secrets, Michele discovers a diary that hurtles her back in time to the year 1910. There, in the midst of the glamorous Gilded Age, Michele meets the young man with striking blue eyes who has haunted her dreams all her life - a man she always wished was real, but never imagined could actually exist. And she finds herself falling for him, into an otherworldly, time-crossed romance.


Michele is soon leading a double life, struggling to balance her contemporary high school world with her escapes into the past. But when she stumbles upon a terrible discovery, she is propelled on a race through history to save the boy she loves - a quest that will determine the fate of both of their lives.