Waiting on Wednesday #31 + WWW Wednesday #1

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine.
It's a weekly meme about upcoming books we're excited about!

Pointe

by Brandy Colbert

Publication Date: April 10, 2014

From Goodreads:

Theo is better now.

She's eating again, dating guys who are almost appropriate, and well on her way to becoming an elite ballet dancer. But when her oldest friend, Donovan, returns home after spending four long years with his kidnapper, Theo starts reliving memories about his abduction - and his abductor.

Donovan isn't talking about what happened, and even though Theo knows she didn't do anything wrong, telling the truth would put everything she's been living for at risk. But keeping quiet might be worse.

Why I'm Excited

Not normally the sort of book that catches my interest, the whole kidnapper plot twist sounds intriguing enough to give this book a try. I'm not really expecting anything big - it will more than likely be a disappointment. But I'm excited/dreading to find out.

The Falconer

(The Falconer #1)

by Elizabeth May

Publication Date: May 6, 2014

From Goodreads:

Edinburgh, Scotland, 1844

Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, was destined for a life carefully planned around Edinburgh's social events - right up until a faery killed her mother.

Now it's the 1844 winter season and Aileana slaughters faeries in secret, in between the endless round of parties, tea, and balls. Armed with modified percussion pistols and explosives, she sheds her aristocratic facade every night to go hunting. She's determined to track down the faery who murdered her mother, and to destroy any who prey on humans in the city's many dark alleyways.

But the balance between high society and her private war is a delicate one, and as the fae infiltrate the ballroom and Aileana's father rerturns home, she has decisions to make. How much is she willing to lose - and just how far will Aileana go for revenge?

Why I'm Excited

Quite honestly, I'm not sure if I am excited about this book, or dreading it. Both, I suppose. A female protagonist who goes around with modified weapons hunting Fae while trying to maintain proper decorum in high society. Sounds like a setup for a super annoying warrior chick with a serious chip on her shoulder. But I have noticed one thing: the synopsis mentions no form of a love interest. Oh, I have no doubt that there is one - there always is. But just maybe it won't take center stage? And just possibly the plot will be interesting enough and maybe Aileana won't be annoying? I'm willing to give it a go, because if that is the case, then this will be a really good book. If it isn't, well, no surprise.

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Should Be Reading

A new feature! It's simple: participating blogs answer these three questions every Wednesday: what you're reading, what you've read recently, and what you plan to read next!

What are you currently reading?

Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.

For Alex, being left alone for the weekend means having the freedom to play computer games and hang out with his friends without hassle from his mother. Then the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts, plunging his hometown into a nightmare of darkness, ash, and violence. Alex begins a harrowing trek to search for his family and finds help in Darla, a travel partner he meets along the way. Together they must find the strength and skills to survive and outlast an epic disaster.

I am a little more than halfway through this first book in a trilogy, and I am liking far more than I really thought I would! It's been a long time since I've read a good disaster book, and it's nice to read one that actually is somewhat believable. And get this - there's actually character development! The violence is a bit . . . well, gritty. Don't read while eating pizza or anything resembling brain matter.

What did you recently finish?

It all began when four friends - Wade, Lily, Darrell, and Becca - recieved a strange, coded email from Wade's uncle Henry shortly before the old man's sudden death. They set off for Germany to attend the funeral with Wade's father, Roald, and discover that Uncle Henry left them yet another baffling message that they suspect is the key to figuring out how and why he died.

The message leads to a clue, and the more clues they discover, the farther they travel down a treacherous path toward an ancient, guarded secret. Soon they are in a breathless race across the globe, running for their lives as a dangerous shadow organization chases them around every corner. Their only hope of saving themselves - and the world that they know - is to find twelve magical relics from a hidden past that will unlock the Copernicus Legacy.

A 2-strawberry book, this ARC wasn't necessarily bad, but it isn't the best Middle Grade adventure story I've ever read. It was full of cliches and the villains were the furthest thing from scary. I never really connected with any of the characters, and the presence of the adult (and one of the character's parents, at that!) just didn't work. Yeah, kid characters need an adult figure so they can travel the glove realistically in the 21st century. But not a parent. No one wants their parents along on an adventure!

What do you think you will read next?

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom - all because of a foolish bargain by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle - a shifting maze of magical rooms - enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

I'm always looking out for the next best fairytale retellings, and Beauty and the Beast is, like so many other Readers, one of my favorite fairytales. When I had a chance to read an ARC of this book, I of course jumped at the chance! The premise sounds much more original than most retellings of this particular fairytale, so I'm really curious to see how it is!