Waiting on Wednesday #33 + WWW Wednesday #3

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

Queen of Hearts

by Colleen Oakes

Publication Date: February 14, 2014

From Goodreads:

As Princess of Wonderland Palace and the future Queen of Hearts, Dinah's days are an endless monotony of tea, tarts, and a stream of vicious humiliations at the hands of her father, the King of Hearts. The only highlight of her days is visiting Wardley, her childhood best friend, the future Knave of Hearts - and the love of her life.

When an enchanting stranger arrives at the Palace, Dinah watches as everything she's ever wanted threatens to crumble As her coronation date approaches, a series of suspicious and bloody events suggests that something sinister stirs in the whimsical halls of Wonderland. It's up to Dinah to unravel the mysteries that lurk both inside and under the Palace before she loses her own head to a clever and faceless foe.

Why I'm Excited

So I'm not a major Lewis Carroll fan. I do find his books entertaining, and though Wonderland is to me rather freaky and like a drug trip (well, it would be, considering Lewis Carroll was an addict), it does make for an interesting setting for retellings. And I would love a retelling from the Queen of Hearts' point of view. This sounds awesome!

Fire & Flood

(Fire & Flood #1)

by Victoria Scott

Publication Date: February 25, 2014

From Goodreads:

Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can't determine what's wrong, her parents decide to move to Montana for the fresh air. She's lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying - and she's helpless to change anything.

Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It's an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother's illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there's no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race.

The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can't trust the allies she makes. And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place?

Why I'm Excited

It sounds just weird enough to be intriguing. I'm betting on about a 3-star book: entertaining, worth buying and re-reading, but not amazing. And there is no mention of a love interest. Of course there will be one - there always is. But maybe it won't be the main focus!

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Should Be Reading

What are you reading right now?

Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders - seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party - and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . . .

I originally read this in 2012, when it first came out, and really liked it. I'm re-reading it so I can read its sequel: Enders (which came out earlier this year). I'm 2/3rds done, and it's as good as I remember it being - better, in some ways. I had forgotten some of the creepier aspects. Callie is an awesome protagonist and I like both love interests a lot, and the concept is cool.

What have you read recently?

The day the First World War broke out, Alfie Summerfield's father promised he wouldn't go away to fight - but he broke that promise the following day. Four years later, Alfie doesn't know where his father might be, other than that he's away on a special, secret mission.

Then, while shining shoes at King's Cross Station, Alfie unexpectedly sees his father's name - on a sheaf of papers belonging to a military doctor. Bewildered and confused, Alfie realizes his father is in a hospital close by - a hospital treating soldiers with an unusual condition. Alfie is determined to rescue his father from this strange, unnerving place. . . .

I gave this book 4/5 strawberries. It was really good. Told from a child's perspective, it put a whole new "look" on WWI and the effect it had on families in England. I expected it to end a whole lot more depressing than it did, and for the most part, it actually has a pretty happy ending. But it's also very bittersweet, because the Reader knows that in a few years, Alfie is going to have to fight in the Second World War. But I loved this book; very well written and very interesting.

What do you plan on reading next?

Cade Knight was born into a family of spies. Espionage is in his blood.

Cade helped his father design the J-Phone, the most significant invention in the history of spy craft - complete with Eavesdropper Impersonator, and Hacker apps. Together, he and his father customized a J-Phone for the president of the United States, enabling him to launch nuclear weapons from the Nuclear Football app.

Too bad the J-Phone falls into the wrong hands, and enemy agents hunt for those who know how to use it. When family members begin to fall off the grid, Cade and his twin sister call on years of training to identify and infiltrate the opposition. They must rescue their mother, retrieve the J-Phone, and reunite the family.

Failure could cost one life or a hundred million.

A copy was sent to me by the Author in exchange for an honest review. I love spy novels - I really do. The gadgets, the sneaking around, the classic weird villains, the guns and explosive devices - spy novels are just fun. The Author said this was in the spirit of Alex Rider (my favorite spy series ever), so I'm very excited to read this.