Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday (13) + Giveaway

Button from Bewitched Bookworms.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we all feature upcoming books we're eagerly anticipating.

I've altered things a little to include one book that hasn't come out yet and one but that has already been published but I still haven't gotten around to reading yet.







Betrayal by Lee Nichols
Release Date:  March 1, 2011
Only one week away!
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 304



This is the second book in the Haunting Emma series.
DO NOT READ the blurb if you have not yet read Deception!

 From Goodreads: (Highlight to read)

Emma Vaile is the most powerful ghostkeeper in centuries. Which is great when she's battling the wraith-master Neos, but terrible when she's flirting with fellow ghostkeeper (and soul mate) Bennett. When ghostkeepers fall in love, the weaker one loses all power, and that's not something Bennett can handle. Heartbroken and alone, Emma tries to lose herself in school with fellow ghostkeeper, Natalie.

When a new team of ghostkeepers arrive—one a snarky teen boy, the other a British scholar—Emma finds solace in training for the battle against Neos. But as the team grows stronger, they are threatened by an unknown force. One they thought was good.

As chilling and page-turning as Deception, this sequel will grab readers and hold them to the last page. No one is safe from suspicion as Emma closes in on the traitor.

End of spoilers.

I so loved Deception, the first book in this series. Emma is a really likable heroine who I found very easy to relate to. Her worries make her feel more human, but they never bog down the story. The first book had a ton of mystery, a little romance, and a cast of characters I couldn’t get enough of. The ghosts were particularly amusing. I’m counting down the days until I can dive back into Emma’s world and unravel the mystery.

I'm going to read this for a few of my challenges:





The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines
Release Date:  January 6, 2009
Publisher: DAW
Pages: 344


From Goodreads:


What would happen if an author went back to the darker themes of the original fairy tales for his plots, and then crossed the Disney princesses with Charlie’s Angels? What’s delivered is The Stepsister Scheme—a whole new take on what happened to Cinderella and her prince after the wedding. And with Jim C. Hines penning the tale readers can bet it won’t be “and they lived happily ever after.”

Talk about strong heroines! These princesses look more than capable of kicking butt. The book looks fun, light hearted, and action packed. I also love the hint about returning to darker themes of the original fairy tales. I wonder how the story will play out? I’ve had this book on my TBR for a long time, but I’ve never managed to get around to reading it.

For those of you who have read this book, how did you like it? I know it’s part of a series, but does it end on a cliffhanger or wrap up nicely on its own?


I will try to read this for the following challenges:




While you are waiting for your books, you can enter my giveaway for a chance to win Dark Mirror by M. J. Putney!


Click here to enter
(the giveaway is at the bottom of the post)

34 comments:

  1. I've been on a comment spree on your blog because I know tomorrow I'm not going to be online so much, but I think the last 3 (now 4) books on my TBR pile are recommendations from you! I'm adding the fairy tale one.

    And you were nice to put the blurb in white so people couldn't see it!! You've thought of everything!

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  2. Hurray for Betrayal! Btw...how did you do that with the highlight? I've been wanting to post Demonglass for WoW, but the blurb is full of spoilers. I should have done the highlight with my Betrayal giveaway. Too late now.

    I love the cover on The Stepsister Scheme! How cool is that cover? Awesome plot concept. I'm putting that one down on my Wishlist. Here's my WoW.

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  3. I liked The Stepsister Scheme. I haven't read the rest of the series yet, though I did start The Mermaid's Madness last month...^^;; From what I recall, the book doesn't end on a cliffhanger. The second book picks up some time later, so they're all self-contained. I LOVE the fact that Hines researched old versions of the tales we might not be familar with (such as one where the stepsister wants to assassinate Cinderella...).

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  4. I haven't heard of The Stepsister Scheme but I love the cover and sound of it. I'll be adding it to my wishlist :)

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  5. I'm reading Betrayal now! And yeah, how did you do that highlight thing?! That is certainly something I haven't seen before. Good choice!

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  6. I am excited about Betryal too. Another week Yeah!

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  7. I have yet to read Deception, but I heard so many good things about this series, that I can't wait to read that one, and I'll probably enjoy Betrayal as well. The cover is gorgeous in any case.

    Here's my Waiting on Wednesday.

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  8. Love the cover on this one! I haven't read Deception so skipped the blurb. I hate spoilers! Thanks for the alert. Have a good week and happy reading.

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  9. The Stepsister Scheme sounds intriguing...hope you enjoy both your books.

    Here's MY WOW POST

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  10. A superb pick! It looks great. Happy Reading :)
    Check out what I'm Waiting On Wednesday

    Mia @GrippedintoBooks

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  11. I've been meaning to read Deception, so I better get to it before the second one comes out. Great picks this week, happy reading :)

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  12. Ohhh I'll have to check out Deception! Thanks for making the blurb visible only through highlighting, I look forward to meeting Emma and the ghosts:)

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  13. Oh my! I read the blurb! This is the first time I've heard of this book and although your sharing the second book, I now want to read the first one and is putting it in my TBR list.

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  14. Oh I haven't heard from those books before. Honestly this is one of the reasons why I love the WoW posts so much! Discovering new books.
    Oh and thanks again for the giveaway!

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  15. I haven't heard of Betrayal, but I'm totally adding it to my to-read list!

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  16. I haven't heard of either of these books. They sound like they would be good though.

    Excellent review! :)

    I like the way you hid the spoiler, too. Very creative.

    ~Kelsa

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  17. The Stepsister Scheme sounds like it'd be a fun read, I love it when authors twist fairy tales into something new.

    Sandy
    My WoW

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  18. I haven't read Deception yet, but now I want to! :) Great picks!

    Hope you get a chance to stop by Gone with the Words and check out what I'm Waiting On this Wednesday!!

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  19. I'm so excited for Betrayal as well.I adored the first Haunting Emma novel!

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  20. Great pick! The Stepsisters book is new to me. And I'll have to look up the Haunting Emma series.

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  21. Those books sound great. I love the premise of Stepsisters book! :D I want it now!

    Great picks

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  22. I've heard good things about the Haunting Emma series so I'll probably read it in the future. Great pick!

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  23. The Stepsister Scheme is awesome. I really liked it. Fun and lots of girl power action!

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  24. Do you know how hard it was for me not to highlight that blurb? I'm like a child. If you tell me not to do something, I immediately want to do the opposite. Tempting, still very tempting...

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  25. I haven't read Deception yet, so I didn't read the description of this book. But, I will more than likely read Deception!

    My Waiting on Wednesday is:
    http://faybaysbooks.blogspot.com/

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  26. The Stepsister Scheme looks good from cover to summary! I'm so buying it!

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  27. I haven't read Deception yet, but it's been on my wish list for quite a while. I love the sound of the series, so I should really get around to buying it, but you know, I have too many books to read as it is! :D

    Great pick!

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  28. Lazy Girl, I love comment sprees :) Feel free to spree whenever you like! Oh wow, that makes me feel so happy because introducing people to new books is exactly one of the reasons I started my blog! Yes! You’ve made me feel all accomplished. :)

    Julie, I just set the font color to match the color of the background. I love the cover too! It looks even better when it’s bigger (I think if you click on it it’ll get bigger). The other covers in the series are really cool too.

    A Backwards Story, Thank you for the feedback! You’re the second person now who has said the book is good. I’m so glad to hear it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger. Wow, assassinate Cinderella? Well that’s certainly different from Disney! :P

    A Canadian Girl, I hope you like it! There are at least two more books in the series, I think.

    June, Oooh lucky you! How are you liking it? I set the font color to be the same as the background color. :)

    Jan, Yes! I’m counting down the days, which is actually silly because I still then need to wait until my library gets a copy. :P

    Majanka, I highly recommend Deception! It took me a few chapters to get into it, but then I was hooked.

    Kaye, You’re welcome. I hate spoilers too :) Thanks for stopping by!

    Laurel, Thank you!

    Mia and Sofia, Thank you!

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  29. Katie, Definitely read it! But it’s probably better you waited until now because it ended on a huge cliffhanger.

    Jenny, Please do! I think you’d like it. Plus I’m curious to hear your thoughts on it.

    Ayanami, Oops! I hope you enjoy the first book anyway :)

    Danny, Seriously?! You liked Paranormalcy, right? Then I can’t imagine you not liking the Haunting Emma series. I love WoW for the same reason. I’ve put so many books on my TBR because of this meme. You’re welcome for the giveaway!

    Christy, I hope you enjoy it! Make sure to add the first book Deception as well :)

    Kelsa, If Betrayal is anything like the first book, then it will be great! I hope you enjoy them if you decide to read them. I’m glad you liked the hidden spoilers :)

    Sandy, Me too! I went through a huge fairy tale retelling phase last summer. Have you read My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison? She had some very funny twists on classic fairy tales.

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  30. Jess, I hope you do read and enjoy Deception!

    Carrie, Me too! I hope the sequel is as good as the first.

    Alison, I can see you liking the Haunting Emma series. :)

    Alex, Doesn’t it sound fun? I’m really curious to see what the author does with it, especially after reading A Backwards Story’s comment about an assassination attempt on Cinderella!

    Jenny N., Thanks! I hope you enjoy the Haunting Emma series. I was surprised at how much I liked the first book.

    Need Tea, You’re actually the person who first introduced me to The Stepsister Scheme. :) I probably owe about a quarter of my TBR to you.

    Logan, Bad Logan! No! Go distract yourself by finding a copy of the first book and reading that instead :P

    The Book Angel, I hope you do read and enjoy Deception!

    Yiota, I hope you like it! I love the summary and cover too.

    Leanna, I hear you! Too many books and too little time, but I really can’t complain :P

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  31. I really need to read this series. Too many books too little time!

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  32. I read some of Lee Nichols adult fiction and it was very funny stuff, so I was happy to pick up Deception when I found it. I think Nichols' humor is what I like best about her writing. Plus, a little Bennett never hurt anyone.

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  33. Nic, Tell me about it! I'd just better live for a very long time if I'm going to have any chance of getting through my TBR :P

    Rubita, I haven't read her adult stuff, but it's good to know her humor is present there as well. It was one of my favorite things about Deception.

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  34. Yeah, I don't know where the assassination version of the story came from originally. I'm not even sure where/how I first read that he was pulling from obscure versions of stories. What's funny is that Mermaid's Madness came up when I was looking up some other mermaid book earlier last year and I put it in my wishlist, but forgot about it. Then somehow in January (I forget now), I heard about The Stepsister Scheme, realized it was the same author, and bought all three books in one gulp. So far I've only read the first and started the second because I've been so focused on new teen shinies, but hope to get back to them soon...

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