Waiting on Wednesday (53) | The Darkest Part of the Forest

Waiting on Wednesday

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Book cover The Darkest Part of the Forest Holly Black

Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.

Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.

At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.

Until one day, he does…

As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?

First of all, even though I haven’t read many of Holly Black’s books, I’m constantly and consistently intrigued by them and I have basically all of them on my TBR. THE DARKEST PART OF THE FOREST–a middle grade story about siblings and faeries and a boy with HORNS all sleeping in a coffin like Snow White–sounds excellent, and right up my alley.

Plus, I’m really curious about this sibling angle going on. A brother and sister in love with the same faerie? Well, yes, I WILL read that, thank you. And any synopsis that mentions “shifting loyalties” and the “sting of betrayal” will instantly pique my interest. I’m beyond excited that THE DARKEST PART OF THE FOREST is going to be at BEA this year because I can’t wait to read it!

THE DARKEST PART OF THE FOREST comes out January 13, 2015 from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

The Darkest Part of the Forest

Book Review | Dreams of Gods and Monsters | Laini Taylor

Book cover Dreams of Gods and Monsters Laini TaylorTitle: Dreams of Gods and Monsters
Author: Laini Taylor (web | twitter)
Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone #3
Genre: Fantasy YA, angels
Amazon | Goodreads | B&N
Publisher: Little, Brown
Release date: April 8, 2014
Source: Bought it

By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.

Common enemy, common cause.

When Jael’s brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people.

And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.

But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz … something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.

What power can bruise the sky?

From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy. 

At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?

[Read more…]

Book Review: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Book cover for Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini TaylorTitle // Author: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor (web | twitter)
Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2
Genre: Fantasy YA
Amazon | Goodreads
Publisher: Little, Brown BFYR
Release date: November 6, 2012
Challenge: 2013 TBR Challenge
Source: Own it

Summary: Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.

This is not that world.

Art student and monster’s apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she’ll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

[Read more…]

Book Review: Bunheads by Sophie Flack

Book cover for Bunheads by Sophie FlackTitle: Bunheads

Author: Sophie Flack

Genre: Contemporary YA

Publisher: Little, Brown BFYR

Release date: October 10, 2011

Challenge: Completely Contemporary Challenge

Source: Library

Summary: As a dancer with the ultra-prestigious Manhattan Ballet Company, nineteen-year-old Hannah Ward juggles intense rehearsals, dazzling performances and complicated backstage relationships. Up until now, Hannah has happily devoted her entire life to ballet. 

But when she meets a handsome musician named Jacob, Hannah’s universe begins to change, and she must decide if she wants to compete against the other “bunheads” in the company for a star soloist spot or strike out on her own in the real world. Does she dare give up the gilded confines of the ballet for the freedoms of everyday life?

[Read more…]