Impatiently Waiting! Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Expected Publish Date: July 24, 2012

There’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

♥♥♥♥♥

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Pre-order here:
Amazon ★ Barnes & Noble ★ The Book Depository

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

Publisher's Summary: She doesn't see dead people, but…

She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.

Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next…

My Take: I can’t believe it took me so freakin’ long to read this totally, awesome, amazing book, and I can’t believe I just let it sit on my bookshelf collecting dust…literally!!! I actually had to dust it off before I started reading it. But as soon as I picked up My Soul to Take, I pretty much read the whole book in one sitting. Yeah, I did go to bed at 2am, but as soon as I woke (while still in bed!), I picked it back up and finished it. The ending was pure torture! And I’m not talking about a crazy cliffhanger or even about the actual ending of the book. I’m talking about pretty much the last 70 pages where I had tears streaming down my face. And THEN I cried…and then THAT led to sobbing. And just when I thought the sob fest was over, something else would happen and I would start bawling all over again.

Before I started reading, I didn’t fully know what this book (or the Soul Screamers series) was about; the only thing I really knew is that several of my blogger friends are absolutely in love with the series, and they all have the major hots for a particular grim reaper. But when I picked up My Soul to Take, I quickly learned that the story was a modern story with some Irish bean sidhe mythology thrown in. Who would have thought that such a story would totally rock…a story with a female who screams and wails when someone is about to die or when someone actually does die?

There were more than enough crazy, heartbreaking and horrific moments and twists in My Soul to Take. Some of the twists I put together pretty early on, but several I did not at all see coming! But I have to admit; even when this one particular twist (that I did predict) finally did present itself, it still had a major effect on my emotions.

I love the cute romance between Nash and Kaylee! They seem so cute together. But I have to say that it did bother me quite a bit that Kaylee kept insisting that Nash just HAD to be there holding her hand in some parts of the book. I wanted to tell her that she needed to not be so freakin’ needy! But, I did understand that she had some major trust issues.

What I loved most about My Soul to Take is that the story moved really quick and it kept me entertained from the first page until the very last! I will be harassing all of my friends to start reading this series.

Here are some quotes that had me cracking up that I thought I’d share.

“Don’t you guys have to turn in your…um…death ray, or whatever, when you’re off the clock?”
Tod’s perfect lips quirked up in a quick smile. “Um, No. There's no death ray, though that would be really cool. ...”

“Nash gave you my number?” That sounded suspicious even with sleep shrouding my brain like mist over a cold lake.
“No, I haven’t called him yet. I wanted to tell you first.”
“Okaaay…” Yet even with important information practically hanging from his lips, I couldn’t dismiss the hows and whys. “Where did you get my number?”
“It’s programmed into Nash’s phone.”
“And how did you get his phone?”
“He left it on his dresser.” Tod’s voice was smooth and nonchalant, and I could almost picture him shrugging as he spoke.
“You went into his room? How did you get in?”

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Publisher's Summary: 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.

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.

My Take: The Night Circus is a truly unique love story; I think it will become one of those classic love stories that will never die and will be told over and over again. This love story is very sweet and magical, and I grew so attached to the story and its characters that I was actually sad when the story ended!

This story plays out over the course of several decades and, throughout that time, I almost felt like I was actually sitting in the grandstands, watching the characters grow up and experiencing how the circus evolved over the course of the story.

Each chapter switches back and forth between the lives and viewpoints of several key characters and also bounces back and forth between different dates in the past. When I started reading, this was a little hard for me to follow. And because I particularly suck at remembering names, it was a little hard for me to remember whose story I was reading about and to remember when the story was taking place. My suggestion to anyone reading The Night Circus is to pay close attention to each character’s name as well as to the time-line of each character’s story. If you do this, you should have no problem following this unique love story!

Originally, I received an ARC of The Night Circus for review, but whenever I picked it up and started reading, I just had a really hard time getting into the story. In fact, several times I actually fell asleep while reading! But it wasn’t the story I was having a hard time with, it was actually the writing style! But even though the writing style was hard for me to follow, I was still very intrigued by the story. So I ended up giving my ARC to a blogger friend and purchasing the audio book instead.

The story primarily revolves around two characters, Celia and Marco, who are introduced before the circus begins, and I grew particularly fond of each of these characters and their personal stories. As children, Celia and Marco are bound to each other to compete in a magical duel. They don’t know what the duel entails, when it will start or how they can win. But after extensive training, over the course of at least ten years, they learn that Le Cirque des Rêves is the venue for their duel and that their duel has begun. I really loved Celia’s temper in her younger age and how she expressed herself through her magic, and I really loved how she later becomes a strong and caring young woman.

Pretty much every person involved in the circus gets tangled up in this duel, without them even knowing about the duel or even knowing they are involved in the duel! I grew particularly attached to two twins named Poppit and Widget who were born the very night the circus begins, and they play a huge role at the end of the story. There is one particular moment with Poppit near the end where I felt like a proud parent and I had tears in my eyes. And, as I sit here and think about the story, I can list a bunch of other characters I grew really attached to, but if I talk about all of them, I will bore you to tears!

I do have to say that aside from the wonderful characters in The Night Circus, there were several story elements to Le Cirque des Rêves that I truly loved. One of these was this pure genius, totally intricate and awesome clock! And the exact moment when this totally awesome clock is introduced is the exact moment when I became totally entranced by this unique story.

I was really happy about how the story ended, but I was also really sad that I had to say goodbye. I felt like the circus had packed up, without warning, and left without me!

Started out by reading the ARC for review and then finished by listening to the audio-book that I purchased with my own money.

Amazon ★ Barnes & Noble ★ The Book Depository