Waiting on Wednesday #48

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine, that highlights upcoming releases we're anticipating.

Author: Mindy McGinnis
Title: A Madness So Discreet
Series: None
Genre: YA, Historical, Mystery/Thriller, Horror
Release Date: October 6, 2015
Summary From Goodreads: 
Mindy McGinnis, the acclaimed author of Not a Drop to Drink and In a Handful of Dust, combines murder, madness, and mystery in a beautifully twisted gothic historical thriller perfect for fans of novels such as Asylumand The Diviners as well as television's True Detective and American Horror Story.
When Grace Mae is sent to the insane asylum because of the bulge in her belly, she already knows about madness and family secrets. It is in the darkness that she may find a new lease on life when a visiting doctor interested in criminal psychology recognizes Grace's brilliant mind hiding beneath the fear and anger. Although the doctor insists that for Grace's safety she must continue to play insane while assisting him at crime scenes, she finds hope in a different, ethical asylum. But the gruesome nights when Grace and the doctor investigate a killer targeting young women bring Grace's shaky sanity, and the demons of her own past, dangerously close to the surface.

Waiting on Wednesday #47

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine, that highlights upcoming releases we're anticipating.

Author: Mackenzi Lee
Title: This Monstrous Thing
Series: None
Genre: YA, Horror, Science Fiction, Retelling, Historical
Release Date: September 22, 2015
Summary From Goodreads: 
In 1818 Geneva, men built with clockwork parts live hidden away from society, cared for only by illegal mechanics called Shadow Boys. Two years ago, Shadow Boy Alasdair Finch’s life shattered to bits.
His brother, Oliver—dead.
His sweetheart, Mary—gone.
His chance to break free of Geneva—lost.
Heart-broken and desperate, Alasdair does the unthinkable: He brings Oliver back from the dead.
But putting back together a broken life is more difficult than mending bones and adding clockwork pieces. Oliver returns more monster than man, and Alasdair’s horror further damages the already troubled relationship.
Then comes the publication of Frankenstein and the city intensifies its search for Shadow Boys, aiming to discover the real life doctor and his monster. Alasdair finds refuge with his idol, the brilliant Dr. Geisler, who may offer him a way to escape the dangerous present and his guilt-ridden past, but at a horrible price only Oliver can pay…

Mini Review: Voice of Gods (Blood of Gods and Royals #0.5) by EleanorHerman

Author: Eleanor Herman 
Series: Blood of Gods and Royals
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Historical, Romance, Retelling, Novella
Release Date: July 15, 2015
Format: Ebook

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Summary From Goodreads: 

As the end of an age approaches, gods whisper horrors, families scheme for power, and one woman may hold the secret to a lost legacy.

At 19, Ada of Caria yearns to take the Snake Blood throne from her mad older siblings—and seeks the help of a young orphaned girl named Helen, the first True Oracle to have walked the earth in more than three hundred years. 

Helen may be able to channel the voice of the gods, but she hates her gift, and will do anything to get rid of it—even lie to her best friend, Myrtale, the priestess-princess of Epirus who is destined to marry King Philip II of Macedon even though she loves another. And in the shadows lurks a handsome green-eyed stranger who has more at stake—and more to lose—than anyone could possibly imagine.Amid jealousy and heartbreak, torrid affairs and secret rendezvous, it is spoken by the gods that either Helen or Myrtale —newly named Olympias— will carry the destiny of the known world within her womb.

The prequel to Legacy of Kings, Voice of Gods traces the intricate web of love and betrayal that led up to the birth of history’s most powerful leader, Alexander the Great.

Review & Fancast: Legacy of Kings (Blood of Gods and Royals #1) by Eleanor Herman

Author: Eleanor Herman
Series: Blood of Gods and Royals 
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Historical, Romance
Release Date: August 25, 2015
Source: Netgalley

My Rating: 3.5 stars

Summary From Goodreads: 

Imagine a time when the gods turn a blind eye to the agony of men, when the last of the hellions roam the plains and evil stirs beyond the edges of the map. A time when cities burn, and in their ashes, empires rise.

Alexander, Macedonia’s sixteen-year-old heir, is on the brink of discovering his fated role in conquering the known world but finds himself drawn to newcomer Katerina, who must navigate the dark secrets of court life while hiding her own mission: kill the Queen. But Kat’s first love, Jacob, will go to unthinkable lengths to win her, even if it means competing for her heart with Hephaestion, a murderer sheltered by the prince. And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander’s unmet fiancée, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters.

Weaving fantasy with the salacious and fascinating details of real history, New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman reimagines the greatest emperor the world has ever known: Alexander the Great, in the first book of the Blood of Gods and Royals series.

Waiting on Wednesday #41

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine, that highlights upcoming releases we're anticipating.

Author: Renee Collins
Series: None
Genre: YA, Historical, Sci-fi, Romance
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Summary From Goodreads: 
They exist in two different centuries, but their love defies time.

Cassandra craves drama and adventure, so the last thing she wants is to spend her summer marooned with her mother and stepfather in a snooty Massachusetts shore town. But when a dreamy stranger shows up on their private beach claiming it's his own—and that the year is 1925—she is swept into a mystery a hundred years in the making.
As she searches for answers in the present, Cassandra discovers a truth that puts their growing love—and Lawrence's life—into jeopardy. Desperate to save him, Cassandra must find a way to change history…or risk losing Lawrence forever.

Review: The Witch of Painted Sorrows by MJ Rose

Author: M.J. Rose
Series: The Daughter's of La Lune
Genre: NA, Historical Fiction, Fantasy/Paranormal, Romance
Release Date: March 17, 2015
Source: Netgalley

My Rating: 1.5 stars

Summary From Goodreads: 

Possession. Power. Passion. New York Times bestselling novelist M. J. Rose creates her most provocative and magical spellbinder yet in this gothic novel set against the lavish spectacle of 1890s Belle Époque Paris.
Sandrine Salome flees New York for her grandmother’s Paris mansion to escape her dangerous husband, but what she finds there is even more menacing. The house, famous for its lavish art collection and elegant salons, is mysteriously closed up. Although her grandmother insists it’s dangerous for Sandrine to visit, she defies her and meets Julien Duplessi, a mesmerizing young architect. Together they explore the hidden night world of Paris, the forbidden occult underground and Sandrine’s deepest desires.Among the bohemians and the demi-monde, Sandrine discovers her erotic nature as a lover and painter. Then darker influences threaten—her cold and cruel husband is tracking her down and something sinister is taking hold, changing Sandrine, altering her. She’s become possessed by La Lune: A witch, a legend, and a sixteenth-century courtesan, who opens up her life to a darkness that may become a gift or a curse.

This is Sandrine’s “wild night of the soul,” her odyssey in the magnificent city of Paris, of art, love, and witchery.

Waiting on Wednesday #33

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine, that highlights upcoming releases we're anticipating.

Author: Anne Blankman 
Series: Prisoner of Night and Fog
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Romance
Release Date: April 21, 2015 

Summary From Goodreads: 

The girl known as Gretchen Whitestone has a secret: She used to be part of Adolf Hitler’s inner circle. More than a year after she made an enemy of her old family friend and fled Munich, she lives with a kindly English family, posing as an ordinary German immigrant, and is preparing to graduate from high school. Her love, Daniel Cohen, is a reporter in town. For the first time in her life, Gretchen is content.
But then, Daniel gets a telegram that sends him back to Germany, and Gretchen’s world turns upside-down. And when she receives word that Daniel is wanted for murder, she has to face the danger she thought she’d escaped-and return to her homeland.
Gretchen must do everything she can to avoid capture and recognition, even though saving Daniel will mean consorting with her former friends, the Nazi elite. And as they work to clear Daniel’s name, Gretchen and Daniel discover a deadly conspiracy stretching from the slums of Berlin to the Reichstag itself. Can they dig up the explosive truth and get out in time-or will Hitler discover them first?

Waiting on Wednesday #24

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine, that highlights upcoming releases we're anticipating.

Author: Megan Shepherd
Series: The Madman's Daughter
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance, Horror, Retelling, Historical
Release Date: January 27, 2015

Summary From Goodreads: 

After killing the men who tried to steal her father’s research, Juliet—along with Montgomery, Lucy, Balthazar, and a deathly ill Edward—has escaped to a remote estate on the Scottish moors. Owned by the enigmatic Elizabeth von Stein, the mansion is full of mysteries and unexplained oddities: dead bodies in the basement, secret passages, and fortune-tellers who seem to know Juliet’s secrets. Though it appears to be a safe haven, Juliet fears new dangers may be present within the manor’s own walls.

Then Juliet uncovers the truth about the manor’s long history of scientific experimentation—and her own intended role in it—forcing her to determine where the line falls between right and wrong, life and death, magic and science, and promises and secrets. And she must decide if she’ll follow her father’s dark footsteps or her mother’s tragic ones, or whether she’ll make her own.
With inspiration from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this breathless conclusion to the Madman’s Daughter trilogy is about the things we’ll sacrifice to save those we love—even our own humanity.

Review: Prisoner of Night and Fog (Prisoner of Night and Fog #1) by Anne Blankman

Author: Anne Blankman
Series: Prisoner of Night and Fog
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Romance
Release Date: April 22, 2014
Format: Hardcover

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Summary From Goodreads: 

A In 1930s Munich, danger lurks behind dark corners, and secrets are buried deep within the city. But Gretchen Müller, who grew up in the National Socialist Party under the wing of her "uncle" Dolf, has been shielded from that side of society ever since her father traded his life for Dolf's, and Gretchen is his favorite, his pet.

Uncle Dolf is none other than Adolf Hitler. And Gretchen follows his every command.

Until she meets a fearless and handsome young Jewish reporter named Daniel Cohen. Gretchen should despise Daniel, yet she can't stop herself from listening to his story: that her father, the adored Nazi martyr, was actually murdered by an unknown comrade. She also can't help the fierce attraction brewing between them, despite everything she's been taught to believe about Jews.

As Gretchen investigates the very people she's always considered friends, she must decide where her loyalties lie. Will she choose the safety of her former life as a Nazi darling, or will she dare to dig up the truth—even if it could get her and Daniel killed?