Waiting on Wednesday #47 + WWW Wednesday #17

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

Mouseheart

by Lisa Fielder

Publication Date: May 20, 2014

From Goodreads:

Hopper is just an ordinary pet shop mouse before he escapes. Soon he finds himself below the bustling streets of Brooklyn, deep within the untamed tangles of transit tunnels, and in Atlantia, a glorious utopian rat civilization.

But all is not what it seems. Though Hopper is treated as a royal guest, he misses his siblings that he lost in the escape attempt. That, and Altantia is constantly threatened by the rebels who wish to bring the city to its knees. And there are cats everywhere in Atlantia, cats that leave the citizens unharmed; and no one can seem to answer why.

Soon, Hopper is caught in the crosshairs of a colossal battle, one that crosses generations and species. As the clashes rage, Hopper learns terrible, extraordinary secrets: Deadly secrets about Atlantia. Painful secrets about his friends.

And one powerful secret about his destiny.

Why I'm Excited

I have ARC waiting to be read, and I'm quite excited about it! A dystopian novel with mice! How interesting! The cover art, granted, is rather creepy, and I have an uneasy like for animal fiction. On the one hand, I hate reading about animals tearing each other up and having flawed human traits. But I do somehow end up finding myself reading quite a bit of animal fiction.

The Night Gardener

by Jonathan Auxier

Publication Date: May 20, 2014

From Goodreads:

This much-anticipated follow-up for Jonathan Auxier's exceptional debut, Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, is a Victorian ghost story with shades of Washington Irving and Henry James. More than just a spooky tale, it's also a moral fable about human greed and the power of storytelling.

The Night Gardener follows two abandoned Irish siblings who travel to work as servants at a creepy, crumbling English manor house. But the house and its family are not quite what they seem. Soon the children are confronted by a mysterious spectre and an ancient curse that threatens their very lives. With Auxier's exquisite command of language, The Night Gardener, is a mesmerizing read and a classic in the making.

Why I'm Excited

I also have an ARC of this (yay!). I loved Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, so I'm extremely excited to see what Jonathan Auxier has next up his sleeve. And I love stories set in Ireland! :)

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Should Be Reading

What are you reading right now?

Hopper is an ordinary pet shop mouse - until he escapes. Soon he finds himself deep within the untamed Brooklyn transit tunnels and in Atlantia, a glorious utopian rat civilization.

But all is not as it seems. Hopper misses the siblings he lost in the escape. Atlantia is constantly threatened by rebels who wish to bring the city to its knees. And there are cats everywhere, cats who leave the citizens unharmed. . . .and no one can seem to answer why.

Soon Hopper is caught in the crosshairs of an epic battle, and as the clashes rage, Hopper learns terrible, extraordinary secrets. Deadly secrets about Atlantia. Painful secrets about his friends.

And one powerful secret about himself.

I'm about halfway into this ARC, and I can tell you that while I like this book, it is also very freaky. As I knew it would be; just look at that cover! I don't like animal fiction, but I always seem to be reading it. Makes no sense at all.

What have you recently read?

It's 2075. The USA has broken up and California has become an Independent refuge dominated by a single omnipotent corporation. Eighteen-year-old Bran, a shepherd, is given a mission to traverse the California Republic in ten days, in order to save his rural community from forfeiting its land.

On the way, he teams up with a seventeen-year-old girl who has the skills and prowess of a warrior, an eleven-year-old wild boy with uncanny survival skills, and a wandering musician with a secret revolutionary agenda.

After the Parch is a fast-paced, vivid, dystopian fantasy with a chilling resemblance to the way we are, and a vision of what we might become. It's a well-crafted story and a plot flowers naturally from one crisis to another, with three-dimensional character right up to the taut and positive climax.

The Author sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, which will be forthcoming. Unfortunately, I did not like this book one iota. I gave it the Special Awfulness Award, which is lower than one strawberry. The world building was nil, the Author seemed to have a person vendetta against the comma, the characters were not even one-dimensional, it was sloooooowww and booooorrrrring, and it was sleezy. The Author spent more time talking about groins and ladies with well rounded bottoms and breasts than he did "fleshing" out the world. I was downright disturbed that he had an eleven-year-old boy have sexual relations with a couple of girls, and it wasn't painted as something disgusting, but rather just a learning curve. I wouldn't ever recommend this book to anyone.

What do you plan on reading next?

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom's magical elite - the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfill her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina's childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can't she ever quite forget him?

I get to meet Leigh Bardugo in June! So while I have plenty of other series that I really should finish first, this series takes priority, because I always feel bad about meeting Authors and having not read their books. So, I intend to plunge into this one next, and I am sooooooo excited!