"Waiting On" Wednesday: The Historians

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:
The Historians By Trisha Leigh 

Publication Date: July 30, 2013 

From Goodreads:

*If you could learn the identity of your one true love—even knowing you’d probably never meet—would you do it?*

Years have passed since refugees from a ruined earth took to space, eventually terraforming a new system of planets. Science has not only made the leaps necessary to allow time travel, but the process engineered a strange side effect—predicting people’s one true love.

The problem? If only one soul ever has been born, or will be born, that perfectly matches yours, the chances the two will exist in the same time and place are almost zero. It’s rare enough that the predictions have been reduced to a game, a parlor trick, and no one expects a happily ever after with their True.

*If you had the chance to meet your one true love—even knowing you couldn’t be together—would you go?*

Seventeen-year-old Kaia Vespasian is an apprentice to the Historians—a group charged with using time travel to document the triumphs and failures of the past—and can’t resist a peek at her long-dead one true love. Before she knows it, she’s broken every rule in the book, and the consequences of getting caught could be disastrous.

*If you could save your one true love from a terrible, untimely death, would you be able to resist?*

When Oz Truman, a fellow apprentice, discovers Kaia’s secret, he shows her the predicted trajectories that could result her from altering the history of ancient Egypt. They prove that if Kaia doesn’t ensure her True dies as he’s supposed to, the effect on the present will be catastrophic.

*Would you have the strength to watch them die?*

But when Kaia she notices Oz popping up in historical archives where he doesn’t belong, she suspects he has a secret of his own—and the conspiracy she uncovers breaks worse rules than traveling to ancient Egypt to meet a boy.

If Kaia’s experience with her one true love has taught her anything, it’s that no alteration to history comes without consequences. The Historians trained her to observe and record the past, but Kaia never guessed she might have to protect it—especially not from the people she trusts

What's your "waiting on" pick this week?

Want to participate? Grab the logo, post your own WoW entry on your blog, and leave your link below

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

To participate you grab your current read, open to a random page and share (2) teaser sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS (Make sure what you share doesn't give too much away. You don't want to ruin the book for others). Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

"Richie!"
"Who's out there?"
"Richie, it's me!"
"Ella?"
"We've got a big problem! It's Noah! I think he's going in!"
"Into the zoo?"
"No, the bathroom." She tossed up one more clump of earth. It missed Richie but sailed through the window and landed in the middle of his pillow. "Of course the zoo!"
"When?"
"Right now!"
Ritchie thought about this for a moment. Then he said , "What are we gonna do?"
"The only thing we can do," Ella said. "Go in after him."

The Secret Zoo by Bryan Chick, pages 86-87

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

To participate you grab your current read, open to a random page and share (2) teaser sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS (Make sure what you share doesn't give too much away. You don't want to ruin the book for others). Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

Today is a doubleshot of teaser goodness.

"Have you seen my other shoe, m'lord?".
The question seemed to vex Lord Bracken. "Am I a bloody handmaid, to fetch you shoes? Go barefoot if you must. Just go".
"Does that mean m'lord won't be taking me home with him, to pray with his little wife? " Laughing, Hildy gave Jaime a brazen look. "Do you have a little wife, ser?"

"I have sworn a vow," he told Hildy wearily.
"No turnips for you, then," the girl said, saucily.
"Get out," Lord Jonos roared at her.


A Dance with Dragons by George RR Martin, page 635.

Anyone else reading A Dance with Dragons? I'd love to hear your thoughts, please leave a comment.

Wednesdays in the Tower

Wednesdays in the Tower is the sequel to Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George. It’s a middle grade book that continues the adventures of Celie, the youngest daughter of King Glower and Queen Celina. For those unfamiliar with the first book, the premise is basically that Castle Glower is “alive” and it frequently adds, removes or changes rooms or entire areas of the castle as it sees fit! It usually does this on Tuesdays, hence the name.

Celie has a special bond with the castle and she alone knows all the ins and outs. Celie and her siblings Rolf, the eldest son and heir, and Lilah her sister face tragedy early on when the king and queen are ambushed and presumed dead. The children must fend off attempts to takeover the kingdom by outsiders- and their greatest ally may be the castle itself. The cast is rounded out by Pogue Parry, a roguish villager (and shameless flirt) who helps the kids and Lulath, a charmingly eccentric ambassador from a neighboring land.

Wednesdays in the Tower picks up after these events. Things have returned to normal  but it’s not long before things get interesting again. Celie is led by the castle to an orange egg- an egg that soon hatches! The creature that emerges has a connection to the first book and proves to be a real handful for Celie. Add to this the arrival of a mysterious wizard who is more than he seems (aren’t they all?), and the stage is set for some serious mayhem.  

The star of the book is in many ways the castle itself. Celie is an engaging protagonist, clever and forthright, but as in the first book it is the castle that provides all the surprises. Things are a little different this time though- in the first installment the castle was clearly acting in the best interests of the royal children, and there was little doubt where the castle’s loyalties lay. In this book however things are a little murkier- the castle is acting strangely (or so they think) and we learn more about the history of the castle and where it comes from.

Wednesdays in the Tower is a little shorter than the first book, and felt a little breezier. I was more invested in the first one for some reason, probably because the plot was a little more gripping. After all the kids were trying to survive a takeover attempt and the stakes were higher. There is not a lot of deep characterization here, the characters are lightly sketched and then off we go. The chapters are relatively short and often end with some kind of mild cliffhanger. The story itself moves pretty fast and it’s entertaining enough that you want to keep going.

The book itself ends on a cliffhanger, which surprised me a bit as the first book was self- contained. This is definetly a series now and the ending seemed very abrupt. All in all I thought the book was fun and breezy but not as good as the first one.  

13 Secrets

13 Secrets is the conclusion to Michelle Harrison’s 13 trilogy. Tanya is coming back to her grandmother's estate for summer vacation and looking forward to seeing Fabian and Rowan again. After the events of the second book Rowan now lives at the manor… but she still has some secrets she has not revealed. Tanya and Fabian soon find that Rowan belongs to a clandestine organization that fights against the changeling trade- the kidnapping of human children by fairies. This was hinted at strongly in the second book of course, but here we find out just how involved she was with them and just how dangerous it is. Someone or something is hunting members of the organization down- can the killer be stopped before all is lost? And how is this related to a decision Rowan made that may have disastrous consequences for them all? 

In many ways I thought this was the best book of the series. Harrison seems to improve with each outing. The setting is well- realized, the plot moves along briskly and there are enough surprises and betrayals to keep you guessing. I liked the fact that the villain, when revealed, had a plausible (albeit twisted) motivation. The only quibble I have is everything seemed a little too connected at the end, a little too convenient how some of the pieces came together, but this is a minor point. The fun factor and surprises along the way make this a page- turner.

Some reviewers have noted the overall lack of romance in this series, and it seems appropriate given the young ages of the protagonists. In this third volume however we begin to see some romantic entanglements, both between Rowan and Sparrow (a streetwise ally with a heart of gold) and also between Fabian's father Warwick and Rose (Rowan's mother). The various members of Rowan's group are also a nice addition to the story. Everyone has a secret and no one can be trusted.

13 Curses

13 Curses is the sequel to 13 Treasures. This book picks up right where the first one left off, with Rowan having saved Tanya's life and taking her place in the fairy realm. Of course Rowan has reasons of her own for wanting to be there- she is looking for her brother who was abducted by fairies. The story gets off to a quick start and it doesn’t take Rowan long to get in serious trouble! She gains a companion who will be familiar to readers of the first book, and together they have to escape some early trouble and make their way to the fairy court in order to get her brother back.

Unfortunately for Rowan the fairy court doesn’t play nice, and in order to rescue her brother she will need to find 13 charms- charms that correspond to 13 treasures of fairy lore. The fairies have scattered the charms to parts unknown, and the rest of the book concerns Rowan’s efforts to find them, aided by her friends Tanya and Fabian. The problem for Rowan and her friends is that finding the charms may not be the hardest part… surviving the hunt for them may be! Will Rowan manage to find the pieces and reunite with her brother? 

This book is significantly longer than the first one, which was fine with me since I enjoyed the first one a great deal and was looking forward to spending more time in the world of Tanya and Rowan. If anything this book is even darker in tone than the first one. Rowan makes a fateful decision early on that will have serious repercussions for her in the next book. The thing I like about this series is that the characters have shades of grey- not everything is as it seems and you never know when the rug is going to be pulled out from under them. As with the first book there is a major plot twist towards the end that I didn’t see coming. It really makes you think, what would I do in that situation? There may be no right answer…

One of my favorite moments in the book is an absolutely hair- raising scene where Tanya, Fabian and Rowan have to dig up a grave and then break into an old church Let’s just say they find more than they bargained for! 

13 Curses is highly recommended for anyone looking for a little mystery, suspense and a few surprises.  

13 Treasures

Tanya’s life is a mess. Her parents are divorced and she gets frequent visits from nasty fairies. Tanya can see the fairies but no one else can… as far as she knows. These aren’t your standard fairies though… these fairies seem to delight in tormenting her and cause all kinds of problems. After one such episode she is sent to stay with her grandmother in the country. That’s where the trouble starts.

13 Treasures is the debut volume in Michelle Harrison’s dark trilogy. Set in England, it’s

 a YA book with some nice twists and turns. As Tanya adjusts to life at her grandmother’s old estate, she becomes friends with the caretaker’s son Fabian and together they investigate a local mystery. They soon discover that there is more to the estate than meets the eye. Secret tunnels, a mysterious wood where people disappear and some absolutely nasty fairies make for a compelling read. And of course secrets abound- what is her grandmother hiding from her? And why is the house full of fairies?

As the story progresses more and more secrets are uncovered and perhaps no one is who they seem to be. A new character, Rowan Fox, is introduced about halfway through the book and while my initial reaction to her situation was skepticism, she quickly won me over. Her story adds a layer of moral complexity to the story. Tanya and Rowan, with the help of Fabian, have to make some hard choices and discover some unsettling truths that will change them forever.

I picked this up on a whim, having not heard anything about the series, but I was quickly hooked. Harrison weaves an interesting setting that seems modern and yet could have taken place 20 or 30 years ago. No one appears to have cell phones for example, which means the kids have to do things the old- fashioned way. I found this refreshing as the presence of a smart phone or two might have made some things a lot easier, but the kids don’t have the advantage of calling for help and have to survive by their wits. The revelations at the end were a welcome surprise, and there is a major plot twist that I didn’t see coming. I love it when a book surprises me and this book delivered