Waiting on Wednesday #40 + WWW Wednesday #10

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

Always Emily

by Michaela MacColl

Publication Date: April 8, 2014

From Goodreads:

Emily and Charlotte Bronte are about as opposite as two sisters can be. Charlotte is practical and cautious; Emily is headstrong and imaginative. But they do have one thing in common: a love of writing. This shared passion will lead them to be two of the first published female novelists and authors of several enduring works of classic literature. But they're not there yet. First, they have to figure out if there is a connection between a string of local burglaries, rumors that a neighbor's death may not have been accidental, and the appearance on the moors of a mysterious and handsome stranger. The girls have a lot of knots to untangle - before someone else gets killed.

Why I'm Excited

It's about Charlotte and Emily Bronte! Anyone who loves Victorian literature will understand why I'm so excited. Besides that, I really enjoyed Michaela MacColl's last novel - Nobody's Secret - so I have high hopes for this one as well.

The Nethergrim

(The Nethergrim Trilogy #1)

by Matthew Jobin

Publication Date: April 8, 2014

From Goodreads:

Everyone in Moorvale believes the legend: The brave knight Tristan and the famed wizard Vithric, in an epic battle decades ago, had defeated the evil Nethergrim and his minions. To this day, songs are sung and festivals held in the heroes' honor. Yet now something dark has crept over the village. First animals disappear, their only remains a pile of bones licked clean. Then something worse: children disappear. The whispers begin quietly yet soon turn into a shout: The Nethergrim has returned

Edmund's brother is one of the missing, and Edmund knows he must do something to save his life. But what? Though a student of magic, he struggles to cast even the simplest spell. Still, he and his friends swallow their fear and set out to battle an ancient evil whose powers none of them can imagine. They will need to come together - and work apart - in ways that will test every ounce of resolve.

Why I'm Excited

Aside from the awesomely creepy cover, it sounds like a really fun and engaging fantasy novel. It feels like it's been a while since I've read a good fantasy novel, even though it hasn't been.

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Should Be Reading

What are you reading right now?

Since their mother's death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.

One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a "research experiment" at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.

Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them - Set - has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe - a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

This is a re-read - I originally read it in 2012. But I employed my TBR Jar for the first time this week, and I not only put books I've never read before, but also ones I want to re-read. And The Red Pyramid was this week's pick! And I cannot defy "the jar." ;-) I'm still enjoying it, like I did the first time through, and it amazes me how much I'd already forgotten.

What have you read recently?

On Internment, the floating island in the clouds where 16-year-old Morgan Stockhour lives, getting too close to the edge can lead to madness. Even though Morgan's older brother, Lex, was a Jumper, Morgan vows never to end up like him. She tries her best not to mind that her life is orderly and boring, and if she ever wonders about the ground, and why it is forbidden, she takes solace in best friend Pen and her betrothed, Basil.

Then a murder, the first in a generation, rocks the city. With whispers swirling and fear on the wind, Morgan can no longer stop herself from investigating, especially when she meets Judas. He is the boy being blamed for the murder - betrothed to the victim - but Morgan is convinced of his innocence. Secrets lay at the heart of Internment, but nothing can prepare Morgan for what she will find - or who she will lose.

I gave this book 4/5 strawberries. It was fantastic! I don't know what's happened to Lauren DeStefano's writing since The Chemical Garden Trilogy, but it's improved massively. I really, really enjoyed this book. It had a great sense of mystery, the world building was good, and the characters were good. I absolutely adore Morgan and Basil as a couple, and I really liked Judas, too (who does not create a love triangle).

What are you going to read next?

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 returns home, she has decisions to make. How much is she willing to lose - and just how far will Aileana go for revenge?

Despite my excitement, I am very dubious (so glad I got an ARC of it!). Warrior chicks rarely work, and I get the nagging feeling that she's going to fall in love with a fae - possibly the one who killed her mother, if the Author decides to really make this stupid. But there's also no mention of a love interest in the synopsis, so . . . . maybe there isn't any? Hopefully? We'll see.