ON MY WISHLIST

Although my post today isn't part of the linked original meme, I just couldn't bear to think up another name for what is basically a post about books that I'm looking forward to. So anyway, here are books that I can't wait to read.

MILA 2.0 by Debra Driza

Published by: Katherine Tegen Books
Release date: 12th March 2013

Genre: Science fiction

Mila 2.0 is the first book in an electrifying sci-fi thriller series about a teenage girl who discovers that she is an experiment in artificial intelligence.

Mila was never meant to learn the truth about her identity. She was a girl living with her mother in a small Minnesota town. She was supposed to forget her past —that she was built in a secret computer science lab and programmed to do things real people would never do.

Now she has no choice but to run—from the dangerous operatives who want her terminated because she knows too much and from a mysterious group that wants to capture her alive and unlock her advanced technology. However, what Mila’s becoming is beyond anyone’s imagination, including her own, and it just might save her life.

Mila 2.0 is Debra Driza’s bold debut and the first book in a Bourne Identity–style trilogy that combines heart-pounding action with a riveting exploration of what it really means to be human. Fans of I Am Number Four will love Mila for who she is and what she longs to be—and a cliffhanger ending will leave them breathlessly awaiting the sequel.

*****

Taken by Erin Bowman

Published by: Harper Teen
Release date: 16th April 2013

Genre: Fantasy/Dystopian

There are no men in Claysoot. There are boys—but every one of them vanishes at midnight on his eighteenth birthday. The ground shakes, the wind howls, a blinding light descends...and he’s gone.

They call it the Heist.

Gray Weathersby’s eighteenth birthday is mere months away, and he’s prepared to meet his fate–until he finds a strange note from his mother and starts to question everything he’s been raised to accept: the Council leaders and their obvious secrets. The Heist itself. And what lies beyond the Wall that surrounds Claysoot–a structure that no one can cross and survive.

Climbing the Wall is suicide, but what comes after the Heist could be worse. Should he sit back and wait to be taken–or risk everything on the hope of the other side?

*****

Freakling by Lana Krumwiede
Published by: Candlewick Press
Release date: October 2012
Genre: Dystopian

A thrilling, fast-paced dystopian novel about the dangers of unchecked power and the dilemmas facing a boy torn between two ways of life.

In twelve-year-old Taemon’s city, everyone has a power called psi—the ability to move and manipulate objects with their minds. When Taemon loses his psi in a traumatic accident, he must hide his lack of power by any means possible. But a humiliating incident at a sports tournament exposes his disability, and Taemon is exiled to the powerless colony.

The "dud farm" is not what Taemon expected, though: people are kind and open, and they actually seem to enjoy using their hands to work and play and even comfort their children. Taemon adjusts to his new life quickly, making friends and finding unconditional acceptance.

But gradually he discovers that for all its openness, there are mysteries at the colony, too—dangerous secrets that would give unchecked power to psi wielders if discovered.

When Taemon unwittingly leaks one of these secrets, will he have the courage to repair the damage—even if it means returning to the city and facing the very people who exiled him?


What books are you dying to read?

ON MY WISHLIST (7)

On My Wishlist is a fun event now hosted at Cosy Books. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

My choices for this are both 2012 debut authors and due out in August 2012. What do you think? Would they go on your wishlist?

Innocent Darkness (The Aether Chronicles #1) by Suzanne Lazear 

To be published 8th August 2012 by Flux

Wish. Love. Desire. Live.

Sixteen-year-old Noli Braddock's hoyden ways land her in an abusive reform school far from home. On mid-summer's eve she wishes to be anyplace but that dreadful school. A mysterious man from the Realm of Faerie rescues her and brings her to the Otherworld, only to reveal that she must be sacrificed, otherwise, the entire Otherworld civilization will perish.

*****

The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy by Nikki Loftin

To be published 21st August 2012 by Razorbill

When Lorelei's old school mysteriously burns down, a new one appears practically overnight: Splendid Academy. Rock-climbing walls on the playground and golden bowls of candy on every desk? Gourmet meals in the cafeteria, served by waiters? Optional homework and two recess periods a day? It's every kids's dream.

But Lorelei and her new friend Andrew are pretty sure it's too good to be true. Together they uncover a sinister mystery, one with their teacher, the beautiful Ms. Morrigan, at the very center.

Then Andrew disappears. Lorelei has to save him, even if that means facing a past she'd like to forget – and taking on a teacher who's a real witch.

What Lorelei and Andrew discover chills their bones – and might even pick them clean!

ON MY WISHLIST (6)

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

My choices for this week are both yet to be published and have a sci-fi feel to them. What do you think? Would they go on your wishlist?

vN by Madeline Ashby
To be published August 2012 by Angry Robot

Amy Peterson is a self-replicating humanoid robot known as a VonNeumann.

For the past five years, she has been grown slowly as part of a mixed organic/synthetic family. She knows very little about her android mother's past, so when her grandmother arrives and attacks her mother, Amy wastes no time: she eats her alive. Now she carries her malfunctioning granny as a partition on her memory drive, and she's learning impossible things about her clade's history - like the fact that she alone can kill humans without failsafing...

*****

Skylark by Meagan Spooner

To be published October 1st 2012 by Carolrhoda Lab

Sixteen year-old Lark Ainsley has never seen the sky.

Her world ends at the edge of the vast domed barrier of energy enclosing all that’s left of humanity. For two hundred years the city has sustained this barrier by harvesting its children's innate magical energy when they reach adolescence. When it’s Lark’s turn to be harvested, she finds herself trapped in a nightmarish web of experiments and learns she is something out of legend itself: a Renewable, able to regenerate her own power after it’s been stripped.

Forced to flee the only home she knows to avoid life as a human battery, Lark must fight her way through the terrible wilderness beyond the edge of the world. With the city’s clockwork creations close on her heels and a strange wild boy stalking her in the countryside, she must move quickly if she is to have any hope of survival. She’s heard the stories that somewhere to the west are others like her, hidden in secret – but can she stay alive long enough to find them?

ON MY WISHLIST (5)

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.
My choices this week are both ones that come out this month.

A Temptation of Angels by Michelle Zink
To be published 20th March 2012 (US Release) by Dial Books

When her parents are murdered before her eyes, sixteen-year-old Helen Cartwright finds herself launched into an underground London where a mysterious organization called the Dictata controls the balance of good and evil. Helen learns that she is one of three remaining angelic descendants charged with protecting the world’s past, present, and future. Unbeknownst to her, she has been trained her whole life to accept this responsibility. Now, as she finds herself torn between the angelic brothers protecting her and the devastatingly handsome childhood friend who wants to destroy her, she must prepare to be brave, to be hunted, and above all to be strong, because temptation will be hard to resist, even for an angel.

*******

Bewitching by Alex Flinn 
To be published 14th March 2012 by HarperTeen

Bewitching can be a beast. . . . Once, I put a curse on a beastly and arrogant high school boy. That one turned out all right. Others didn’t. I go to a new school now—one where no one knows that I should have graduated long ago. I’m not still here because I’m stupid; I just don’t age. You see, I’m immortal. And I pretty much know everything after hundreds of years—except for when to take my powers and butt out. I want to help, but things just go awry in ways I could never predict. Like when I tried to free some children from a gingerbread house and ended up being hanged. After I came back from the dead (immortal, remember?), I tried to play matchmaker for a French prince and ended up banished from France forever. And that little mermaid I found in the Titanic lifeboat? I don’t even want to think about it. Now a girl named Emma needs me. I probably shouldn’t get involved, but her gorgeous stepsister is conniving to the core. I think I have just the thing to fix that girl—and it isn’t an enchanted pumpkin. Although you never know what will happen when I start . . . bewitching.

What's on your wishlist?

ON MY WISHLIST (4)

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.
My choices this week are ones that I've just stumbled upon in my wanderings of the internet. What do you think? Will they go on your wishlist?

Ghost Town by Phoebe Rivers
To be published May 2012 by Simon & Schuster

Sara Collins is a normal 12 year old girl with an abnormal secret: she is psychic. Sara has had her abilities for as long as she can remember, but she doesn't like to talk about them. She hopes that if she ignores them, they might go away. Sara wants nothing more than to have a normal life, and to her
"normal" doesn't include anything paranormal.

But Sara's abilities aren't going away... in fact, changes are happening in Sara's life that will make her abilities even more powerful. Her life is about to be turned upside down because she's moving across the country with her dad to an old shore town in New Jersey. A shore town with a lot of history... and
more than its fair share of ghosts.

Ghost Town places Sara in the fun setting of a shore town with a beach and a boardwalk. As Sara tries to settle into her new home, she discovers that not only is she surrounded by ghosts, but for the first time, the ghosts around her can communicate with her. One ghost in particular is intent on
communicating with Sara because he desperately needs something from her. Sara wants to help, but she's scared. Can Sara put her fear aside and help the spirit? Will doing so put her in jeopardy?
Meanwhile, Sara meets a great local girl named Lily Randazzo, and against all odds, really bonds with her. Sara has made a true friend for the first time in her life. Maybe New Jersey isn't so bad after all....

*******

Green Rider by Kristen Britain

Published April 2000 by DAW Books

On her long journey home from school after a fight which will surely lead to her expulsion, Karigan G'ladheon ponders her future as she trudges through the immense forest called Green Cloak. But her thoughts are interrupted by the clattering of hooves as a galloping horse bursts from the woods, the rider slumped over his mount's neck, impaled by two black-shafted arrows. As the young man lies dying on the road, he tells Karigan that he is a Green Rider, one of the legendary messengers of the king, and that he bears a "life and death" message for King Zachary. He begs Karigan to carry his message, warning her not to read it, and when she reluctantly agrees, he makes her swear on his sword to complete his mission "for love of country." As he bestows upon her the golden winged-horse brooch which is the symbol of his office, he whispers on his dying breath, "Beware the shadow man..."

Karigan's promise changes her life forever. Pursued by unknown assassins, following a path only her horse seems to know, and accompanied by the silent specter of the original messenger, she herself becomes a legendary Green Rider. Caught up in a world of deadly danger and complex magic, compelled by forces she cannot understand, Karigan is hounded by dark beings bent on seeing that the message, and its reluctant carrier, never reach their destination.

ON MY WISHLIST (3)

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

My choices for this week are both already published, and one is a fantasy that you'll probably recognise - I keep saying I want to read more fantasy and yet this year I haven't read any! What do you think - do these books take your fancy?

Birthmarked by Caragh M O'Brien

Published March 2010 by Roaring Brook Press

In the Enclave, your scars set you apart, and the newly born will change the future. 

Sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone and her mother faithfully deliver their quota of three infants every month. But when Gaia's mother is brutally taken away by the very people she serves, Gaia must question whether the Enclave deserves such loyalty. A stunning adventure brought to life by a memorable heroine, this dystopian debut will have readers racing all the way to the dramatic finish.

********

Assasin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Published 1996 by Voyager

Young Fitz is the bastard son of the noble Prince Chivalry, raised in the shadow of the royal court by his father's gruff stableman. He is treated like an outcast by all the royalty except the devious King Shrewd, who has him secretly tutored in the arts of the assassin. For in Fitz's blood runs the magic Skill--and the darker knowledge of a child raised with the stable hounds and rejected by his family. As barbarous raiders ravage the coasts, Fitz is growing to manhood. Soon he will face his first dangerous, soul-shattering mission. And though some regard him as a threat to the throne, he may just be the key to the survival of the kingdom.

ON MY WISHLIST (2)

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

For some odd reason, which is purely coincidental, my choices for this week are all books out this month. What do you think - do these books take your fancy?

Cracked by K M Walton

Published January 2012 by Simon Pulse

Victor hates his life. He’s relentlessly bullied at school and his parents ridicule him for not being perfect. He’s tired of being weak, so he takes a bottle of his mother’s sleeping pills—only to wake up in the hospital.

Bull is angry, and takes all of his rage out on Victor. He’s the opposite of weak. And he’s tired of his grandfather’s drunken beatings, so he tries to defend himself with a loaded gun.

When Victor and Bull end up as roommates in the same psych ward, things go from bad to worse. Until they discover they might just have something in common: a reason to live.

*******

The Feral Child by Che Golden
Published January 2012 by Quercus Publishing

'They take human children and leave changelings in their place... stolen children go into the mound and we can't follow.'

Her parents dead, Maddy is sick of living in Ireland, sick of Blarney and sick of her cousin Danny, one of the nastiest people you could meet this side of an Asbo. Mad as hell one evening, she crawls inside the grounds of the castle, the one place she has always been forbidden to go. Once inside, she is chased by a strange feral boy, who she suspects is one of the faerie: cruel, fantastical people who live among humans and exchange local children for their own.

When the boy returns to steal her neighbour Stephen into his world, Maddy and her cousins set off on a terrifying journey into a magical wilderness, determined to bring him back home. To do so, they must face an evil as old as the earth itself...

Che Golden has created a dashing adventure that interweaves Maddy's life in modern-day Ireland with a scintillating magical world.

*******

The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

Published January 2012 by Atom

It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up. When the night began, Nora had two best friends and a boyfriend she adored. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands. Chris was dead. Adriane couldn't speak. And Max, Nora's sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also-according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone-a murderer. Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora's determined to follow the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. But Chris's murder is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life.

ON MY WISHLIST (1)

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

My choices for this week are a mixture of old and new. What do you think - do these books take your fancy?

The Heir of Night by Helen Lowe

To be published January 19th 2012 by Orbit (this book is already out, but I love this new version cover coming out this month)

If Night falls, all fall . . .

In the far north of the world of Haarth lies the bitter mountain range known as the Wall of Night. Garrisoned by the Nine Houses of the Derai, the Wall is the final bastion between the peoples of Haarth and the Swarm of Dark—which the Derai have been fighting across worlds and time.

Malian, Heir to the House of Night, knows the history of her people: the unending war with the Darkswarm; the legendary heroes, blazing with long-lost power; the internal strife that has fractured the Derai's former strength. But now the Darkswarm is rising again, and Malian's destiny as Heir of Night is bound inextricably to both ancient legend and any future the Derai—or Haarth—may have.

*******

Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

To be published May 2012 by HarperCollins

Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered.

Since then, Mac’s life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac’s hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy’s killer: A white werewolf.

Lupine syndrome—also known as the werewolf virus—is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control.

Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy’s murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy’s boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk.

Kathleen Peacock’s thrilling novel is the first in the Hemlock trilogy, a spellbinding urban fantasy series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love.

*******

The Hedgewitch Queen by Lilith Saintcrow

Published December 2011 by Orbit

Vianne di Rocancheil is a lady waiting at the Court of Arquitaine, where she studies her books, watches for intrigue, and shepherds her foolhardy Princesse through the glittering whirl. Court is a sometimes-unpleasant waltz, especially for the unwary, but Vianne treads its measured steps well.

Unfortunately, the dance has changed. Treachery is afoot in gilded and velvet halls. A sorcerous conspiracy is unleashed, with blood, death, and warfare close behind. Vianne must flee, carrying the Great Seal of Arquitaine with her. This is the one thing the conspirators need to rule, and they won’t rest until they have it. A life of dances, intrigues, and fashion has not prepared Vianne for this. Nor has it prepared her for Tristan d’Arcenne, Captain of the King’s Guard and player in the most dangerous games conspiracy can devise. Yet to save her country and avenge her Princesse, Vianne will become what she must and do whatever is required.

A Queen can do no less.

ON MY WISHLIST: ILLUMINATE & TOUCHED

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

My choices for this week are both out in 2012, so sadly I'll have to wait a while before I can get my hands on them. What do you think? Do these books take your fancy?

Illuminate by Aimee Agresti
To be published March 2012 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Haven Terra is a brainy, shy high school outcast. But everything begins to change when she turns sixteen. Along with her best friend Dante and their quiet and brilliant classmate Lance, she is awarded a prestigious internship in the big city— Chicago—and is sent to live and work at a swanky and stylish hotel under the watchful eyes of a group of gorgeous and shockingly young-looking strangers: powerful and alluring hotel owner Aurelia Brown; her second-in-command, the dashing Lucian Grove; and their stunning but aloof staff of glamazons called The Outfit.

As Haven begins falling for Lucian, she discovers that these beautiful people are not quite what they seem. With the help of a mysterious book, she uncovers a network of secret passageways from the hotel’s jazz-age past that leads her to the heart of the evil agenda of Aurelia and company: they’re in the business of buying souls. Will they succeed in wooing Haven to join them in their recruitment efforts, or will she be able to thwart this devilish set’s plans to take the souls of her classmates on prom night at the hotel?

Illuminate is an exciting saga of a teen’s first taste of independence, her experience in the lap of luxury, and her discovery she may possess strength greater than she ever knew.

*******

Touched by Cyn Balog
To be published August 2012 by Delacorte Press

Nick Cross always listens to the voice in his head. Because if he doesn’t? Things can go really, really wrong. Like the day he decided to go off script to save a life, dooming another one in the process. Trying to change the future can have disastrous consequences.

But this summer at the Jersey Shore, something’s about to happen that Nick never could have predicted. He meets Taryn, a girl with a dark family secret that may be the key to understanding his past. But will she also destroy his future? . Now the path that he thought he was on begins to shift . . . and there’s no way to stop it. Or is there?

In a life where there are no surprises, nothing has prepared Nick for what he’s about to discover—or the choice he will be forced to make. . .

What's on your wishlist?

ON MY WISHLIST: THE SELECTION & FREAKS

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

My two choices this week don't come out until next year, so the wait for these will be a long one! I'm not sure I can wait that long!

The Selection by Kiera Cass 
To be published April 2012 by HarperTeen

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

*******

Freaks by Kieran Larwood

To be published April 2012 by Chicken House

The Freaks are a lonely band of misfits, trapped in a Victorian sideshow known as Plumpscuttle's Peculiars. Together they are a force to be reckoned with. In a world of thieves, grave-robbers and child-snatchers, the Freaks decide to put their extraordinary talents to use - to solve the mysteries that no one else cares about.


What's on your wishlist?

ON MY WISHLIST: THE PREDICTEDS & GOD SAVE THE QUEEN

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

My two choices for this week come from random searchings of the interwebs, and had previously missed my radar...but I'm very glad I found them :)

The Predicteds by Christine Seifert
Published September 2011 by Sourcebooks Fire

Your future is not your own...

"We wanted to know what makes a good kid good and a bad kid bad. Can you blame us for that? We found an astoundingly, marvelously simple answer: The brain isn't so much a complicated machine as it is a crystal ball. If you look into it, you will see everything you want to know."
-Dr. Mark Miliken, senior researcher at Utopia Laboratories

Who will it be? Will the head cheerleader get pregnant? Is the student council president a secret drug addict?

The whole school is freaking out about PROFILE, an experimental program that can predict students' future behaviour.

The only question Daphne wants answered is whether Jesse will ask her out...but he's a Predicted, and there's something about his future he's not telling her.

*******

God Save the Queen by Kate Locke
To be published July 2012 by Orbit (cover not yet final)

Queen Victoria rules with an immortal fist.

The undead matriarch of a Britain where the Aristocracy is made up of werewolves and vampires, where goblins live underground and mothers know better than to let their children out after dark. A world where being nobility means being infected with the Plague (side-effects include undeath), Hysteria is the popular affliction of the day, and leeches are considered a delicacy. And a world where technology lives side by side with magic. The year is 2012 and Pax Britannia still reigns.

Xandra Vardan is a member of the elite Royal Guard, and it is her duty to protect the Aristocracy. But when her sister goes missing, Xandra will set out on a path that undermines everything she believed in and uncover a conspiracy that threatens to topple the empire. And she is the key-the prize in a very dangerous struggle.

What's on your wishlist this week?

ON MY WISHLIST: DON'T YOU WISH & MIST

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming...

I spotted this week's choices on Goodreads...I hope you like the sound of them - I do!

Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire
To be published October 2012 by Random House Children's Books

What if your mom had married someone else? Would you still be you?

When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad's whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture perfect....

* * * * * * * * * *

Mist by Kathryn James
Published September 2011 by Hodder Children's Books

Midnight: a mist-haunted wood with a bad reputation. A sweet sixteen party, and 13 year old Nell is trying to keep her sister, spoilt birthday-girl Gwen, out of trouble. No chance. Trouble finds Gwen and drags her through the mist. Only Nell guesses who’s behind the kidnap - the boy she hoped was her friend, the cute but mysterious Evan River.

All those fairy stories Nell’s grandmother told her about girls being stolen by fairy folk are true. The Elven are beautiful as starlight, fierce as wolves, and cold as ice. And they want their world back. The fight has been raging for centuries. Nell’s grandmother should know, she’s a Watcher, the ones responsible for imprisoning the Elven in isolated iron-bound camps in Siberia. Only Evan, his fanatical older brother Fen, and a handful of Elven children are still free.

Fen, hellbent on revenge, keeps Gwen in their wolf-guarded stronghold deep in the mist. The price for her safe return? The release of all the Elven – but the Watchers will never agree. Only Nell can save Gwen.

Time is twisted through the mist: if Nell stops longer than a night and day, a hundred years will hit her as soon as she returns and she’ll be old and withered before she’s even lived. The clock is ticking.

What's on your wishlist this week?

ON MY WISHLIST: EXILED & HOLLOW

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.
My two choices for this week instantly caught my eye because of their gorgeous covers. Of course, the books themselves sound really interesting too!

Exiled (Connected #1) by RaShelle Workman
Published October 2011, available on Kindle

Stubborn, sixteen-year-old Princess Venus of Kelari wants one thing, to become immortal, that is, until someone exiles her to Earth, kills her irrihunter and takes her family.
Now she wants revenge.
First she’s got to get home. But before she can return to Kelari, the Gods have commanded her to help an arrogant boy named Michael find his soul mate. Only she doesn't know the first thing about love. 

Hollow by Richard Denney
To be published May 2012 by Createspace/RPD

Welcome to the house of Hollow. In a dystopian future, sixteen year old Leah Munro has been sold to a rich woman in a crippling mansion. Soon Leah discovers that there is something mysterious going on around the home, and with the help of three other girls, she attempts to uncover what is truly happening... what lies beyond all of the plexiglass windows and the hideous screams in the middle of the night? Leah will soon find out.

What's on your wish list this week?

ON MY WISHLIST: AUDITION & ONDINE

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

My two choices for this week are one yet to be released by a debut author and one that I've been waiting to read for ages now. 

Audition by Stasia Ward Kehoe

To be published 13th October 2011 by Viking

When high school junior Sara wins a coveted scholarship to study ballet, she must sacrifice everything for her new life as a professional dancer-in-training. Living in a strange city with a host family, she's deeply lonely-until she falls into the arms of Remington, a choreographer in his early twenties. At first, she loves being Rem's muse, but as she discovers a surprising passion for writing, she begins to question whether she's chosen the right path. Is Rem using her, or is it the other way around? And is dancing still her dream, or does she need something more? This debut novel in verse is as intense and romantic as it is eloquent.


I always wanted to be a ballet dancer when I was little and took it for about three years, but alas I never became a dancer! I'm really looking forward to read this one.

The Summer of Shambles (Ondine #1) by Ebony McKenna

Published April 2010 by Egmont Books

This is a brilliantly witty story with a furry tail ending. One girl. One boy. One spell to be broken. Ondine de Groot is a normal fifteen-year-old who lives with her family in the European country of Brugel. She has a pet ferret called Shambles. But Shambles is no ordinary ferret...He's Hamish McPhee, a boy cursed by a witch. A witch who happens to be related to Ondine. When Shambles turns back into Hamish temporarily, Ondine knows that she has to help him break the spell. He is the most gorgeous boy she has ever met and her one true love! He just can't remain a ferret forever. Can he?

I currently have the second book in this series sat waiting to be read, thanks to Sarah at Feeling Fictional. I was lucky enough to win the first book in a competition, but sadly it never completed its journey to my little flat in London. Alas, the problems of international mail! If anyone is willing to do a swap so I can get Ondine #1, please let me know!

What's on your wishlist this week?

ON MY WISHLIST: FLYAWAY & THE HOST

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

My two choices for this week are one yet to be released by a debut author and one that I've already read but I wish I had bought it because I enjoyed it so much I really want to re-read it. Yes I know, its by the author of Twilight but please read it - it really is an amazing book!

Flyaway by Helen Landalf 

To be published 19th December 2011 by Harcourt Children's Books 

Fifteen-year-old Stevie Calhoun is used to taking care of herself. But one night, her mom, who works as an exotic dancer in a downtown Seattle nightclub, never comes home. That’s the night Stevie’s life turns upside down. It’s the night that kicks off an extraordinary summer: the summer Stevie has to stay with her annoyingly perfect Aunt Mindy; the summer she learns to care for injured and abandoned birds; the summer she gets to know Alan, the meanest guy in high school. But most of all, it’s the summer she finds out the truth about Mom. FLYAWAY is the story of a teen girl’s struggle to hold on to what she’s always believed, even as her world spins out of control.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Published July 2009 by (Sphere) Little Brown Book Group

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed. When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans, is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too-vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind. Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves - Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.


What's on your wish list this week?

ON MY WISHLIST: THE PEACH KEEPER & SKARY CHILDRIN

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

My two choices for this week are one yet to be released and one already released with a cover that is creepy but so adorable at the same time....

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen 

To be published January 2012 by Hodder & Stoughton

Welcome to Walls of Water, North Carolina, where secrets are thicker than the town's famous fog. Willa Jackson wants nothing more than a life beyond her family's legacy. The Jacksons met with financial ruin generations ago, and the Blue Ridge Madam - built by Willa's great-great-grandfather, and once the town's grandest home - has stood empty for years. However socialite do-gooder Paxton Osgood has intentions for the house. She wants to restore it to its former glory, and begins a bold renovation project. But when a skeleton is found buried beneath the property's lone peach tree, the town's troubled past is suddenly brought to the surface once more. The two women must form an unlikely friendship to confront the dangerous passions and tragic betrayals that once bound their families . . .

Skary Childrin and the Carousel of Sorrow by Katy Towell
Published August 2011 by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Twelve years ago, for 12 days straight, the town of Widowsbury suffered a terrible storm, which tore open a gate through which escaped all sorts of foul, rotten things. Strange things and strange people were no longer welcomed in Widowsbury, for one could never be sure of what secrets waited under the surface . . . Adelaide Foss, Maggie Borland, and Beatrice Alfred are known by their classmates at Widowsbury's Madame Gertrude's School for Girls as "scary children." Unfairly targeted because of their peculiarities—Adelaide has an uncanny resemblance to a werewolf, Maggie is abnormally strong, and Beatrice claims to be able to see ghosts—the girls spend a good deal of time isolated in the school's inhospitable library facing detention. But when a number of people mysteriously begin to disappear in Widowsbury, the girls work together, along with Steffen Weller, son of the cook at Rudyard School for Boys, to find out who is behind the abductions. Will they be able to save Widowsbury from a 12-year-old curse?

What's on your wishlist?

ON MY WISHLIST: LADY OF DEVICES

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

My choice this week is steampunk Lady of Devices. I saw this book a few weeks back on Books and Things blog. You can find Melissa's review of Lady of Devices here. I checked on Amazon, and it is currently only available to download, so I may have to wait until I've saved enough up for a Kindle before I can read this one.

Lady of Devices: A steampunk adventure novel (Volume 1) by Shelley Adina
Published May 2011 by independent publisher CreateSpace

London, 1889. Victoria is Queen. Charles Darwin’s son is Prime Minister. And steam is the power that runs the world.

At 17, Claire Trevelyan, daughter of Viscount St. Ives, was expected to do nothing more than pour an elegant cup of tea, sew a fine seam, and catch a rich husband. Unfortunately, Claire’s talents lie not in the ballroom, but in the chemistry lab, where things have a regrettable habit of blowing up. When her father gambles the estate on the combustion engine and loses, Claire finds herself down and out on the mean streets of London. But being a young woman of resources and intellect, she turns fortune on its head. It’s not long before a new leader rises in the underworld, known only as the Lady of Devices . . . 

When she meets Andrew Malvern, a member of the Royal Society of Engineers, she realizes her talents may encompass more than the invention of explosive devices. They may help her realize her dreams and his . . . if they can both stay alive long enough to see that sometimes the closest friendships can trigger the greatest betrayals . . .

ON MY WISHLIST: AFTER OBSESSION

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

My choice this week is a forthcoming paranormal story of possessions and hauntings, After Obsession.

Although I haven't read anything before by Carrie Jones, I've heard some great things about this scary and ghostly story, and as usual for me I'm won over by the cover! I'm always amazed when authors work in pairs to write a story, as it must be such a fun but challenging process, and I'm interested in seeing how debut author Wedel and established author Carrie Jones work together on this one.

After Obsession by Carrie Jones and Steven E. Wedel
To be published by Bloomsbury in September 2011

Aimee and Alan have secrets. Both teens have unusual pasts, and abilities they prefer to keep hidden. But when they meet each other for the first time, in a cold Maine town, they can’t stop their secrets from spilling out. Strange things have been happening lately, and they both feel strongly that something, or someone, is haunting them.

They’re wrong.

Despite their unusual history and powers, it’s neither Aimee nor Alan who is truly haunted. It’s Alan’s cousin Courtney who, in a desperate plea to find her missing father, has invited a demon into her life—and into her body. Only together can Aimee and Alan exorcise the ghost. And they have to move quickly, before it devours not just Courtney, but everything around her…

What's on your wishlist?

ON MY WISHLIST: BLOOD RIGHTS BY KRISTEN PAINTER

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

My choice this week is Blood Rights, the first in a forthcoming urban fantasy series featuring vampires and human 'feeders'. Not only is the cover stunning but I love the idea of looking at the vampire story from the ‘feeder’ side.

Blood Rights (House of Comarré #1) by Kristen Painter

To be published by Orbit Books in autumn 2011

Born into a life of secrets and service, Chrysabelle's body bears the telltale marks of a comarré -- a special race of humans bred to feed vampire nobility.

When her patron is murdered, she becomes the prime suspect, which sends her running into the mortal world...and into the arms of Malkolm, an outcast vampire cursed to kill every being from whom he drinks.

Now, Chrysabelle and Malkolm must work together to stop a plot to merge the mortal and supernatural worlds. If they fail, a chaos unlike anything anyone has ever seen will threaten to reign.

Click here for Kristen Painter's blog.

What's on your wishlist?

ON MY WISHLIST: ONCE A WITCH AND 0.4

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

My first one for this this week is Once a Witch, because I love a good old witch story. It was released last year but I never got around to reading it.

Once a Witch by Carolyn McCullough


Tamsin Greene comes from a long line of powerful witches, and was prophesied to be the most powerful of them all. Each witch in the Greene family has a special Talent, but Tamsin's Talent never showed up turning the prophesy into a cruel joke. Now she's 17 and spends most of her time away at boarding school, only returning to her hometown when she is forced to come back and work in the family bookstore. But when a stranger comes into her family's store and, mistaking Tamsin for her extremely talented sister Rowena, asks for help finding an old clock Tamsin sets a chain of events into motion that will change her life forever.

My second choice is 0.4 by Mike Lancaster came out earlier this year. It just sounds so intriguing and I'm really loving dystopian stories right now.

It's a brave new world.

'My name is Kyle Straker. And I don't exist anymore.'

So begins the story of Kyle Straker, recorded onto old audiotapes. You might think these tapes are a hoax, but perhaps they contain the history of a past world....If what the tapes say is true, it means that everything we think we know is a lie.

And if everything we know is a lie, does that mean that we are, too?

What's on your wishlist?