Waiting on Wednesday #57 + WWW Wednesday #27

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

Sisters' Fate

(Cahill Witch Chronicles #3)

by Jessica Spotswood

Publication Date: August 14, 2014

From Goodreads:

A fever ravages New London, but with the Brotherhood sending suspected witches straight to the gallows, the Sisters are powerless against the disease. They can't help without revealing their powers - as Cate learns when a potent display of magic turns her into the most wanted with in all of New England.

To make matters worse, Cate has been erased from the memory of her beloved Finn. While she's torn between protecting him from further attacks and encouraging him to fall for her all over again, she's certain she can never forgive Maura's betrayal. And now that Tess's visions have taken a deadly turn, the prophecy that one Cahill sister will murder another looms ever closer to its fulfillment.

Why I'm Excited

This is the third - and apparently final - book in The Cahill Witch Chronicles. An alternate history witch series that I've enjoyed pretty well. I am looking forward to seeing how it all pans out. I have my suspicions on how the prophecy will be fulfilled, but I could see it going in any direction, quite honestly.

Storm Siren

(Storm Siren #1)

by Mary Weber

Publication Date: August 19, 2014

From Goodreads:

In a world at war, a slave girl's lethal curse could become one kingdom's weapon of salvation. If the curse - and the girl - can be controlled.

As a slave in the war-weary kingdom of Faelen, seventeen-year-old Nym isn't merely devoid of rights, her Elemental kind are only born male and always killed at birth - meaning, she shouldn't even exist.

Standing on the auction block beneath smoke-drenched mountains, Nym faces her fifteenth sell. But when her hood is removed and her storm-summoning killing curse revealed, Nym is snatched up by a court adviser and given a choice: be trained as a weapon Faelen needs to win the war, or be killed.

Choosing the former, Nym is unleashed into a world of politics, bizarre parties, and rumors of an evil more sinister than she's being prepared to fight. . . .not to mention the handsome trainer whose dark secrets lie behind a mysterious ability to calm every lightning strike she summons.

But what if she doesn't want to be the weapon they've all been waiting for?

Why I'm Excited

Um, well, it sounds interesting. I know, my reasons for excitement are getting lame. But in general, if I'm excited for a book, it's because it sounds interesting!

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Should Be Reading

What are you currently reading?

It's 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma's reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she's been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence's most powerful girls - and their foray into the spiritual world - lead to?

I have maybe a little less than 100 pages left in this first book in a trilogy, and I'm really enjoying it. It's one of those books where you don't necessarily have to like any of the characters to enjoy it. They're very complex characters and they all bring a lot to the story in their own way, but I can't say that I side with any of them. Even Anne, the nicer quiet girl, is turning into a bit of a snot. And while Gemma is a nice enough girl, she is keeping bad company. Even so, I'm really enjoying this book.

What have you recently read?

On her nineteenth birthday, Princess Kelsea Raleigh Glynn, raised in exile, sets out on a perilous journey back to the castle of her birth to ascend her rightful throne. Plain and serious, a girl who loves books and learning, Kelsea bears little resemblance to her mother, the vain and frivolous Queen Elyssa. But though she may be inexperienced and sheltered, Kelsea is not defenseless: Around her neck hangs the Tearling sapphire, a jewel of immense magical power; and accompanying her is the Queen's Guard, a cadre of brave knights led by the enigmatic and dedicated Lazarus. Kelsea will need them all to survive a cabal of enemies who will use every weapon - from crimson-caped assassins to the darkest blood magic - to prevent her from wearing the crown.

Despite her royal blood, Kelsea feels like nothing so much as an insecure girl, a child called upon to lead a people and a kingdom about which she knows almost nothing. But what she discovers in the capital will change everything, confronting her with horrors she never imagined. An act of singular daring will throw Kelsea's kingdom into tumult, unleashing the vengeance of the tyrannical ruler of neighboring Mortmesne: the Red Queen, a sorceress possessed of the darkest magic. Now Kelsea will begin to discover whom among the servants, aristocracy, and her own guard she can trust.

But the quest to save her kingdom and meet her destiny has only just begun - a wondrous journey of self-discovery and a trial by fire that will make her a legend. . . .if she can survive.

The first in a planned trilogy, I gave this new fantasy novel 5/5 strawberries. I thought it was amazing. I loved the characters, the world, the plot, and the writing. It does have a few flaws, of course, but I didn't mind them too much. Kelsea was such a strong protagonist; it was so refreshing reading about her after so many annoying female protagonists.

What do you plan on reading next?

The survivors of the Monument 14 have finally made it to the safety of a Canadian refugee camp. Dean and Alex are cautiously starting to hope that a happy ending might be possible.

But for Josie, separated from the group and trapped in a brutal prison camp for exposed Type Os, things have gone from bad to worse. Traumatized by her experience, she has given up all hope of rescue or safety.

Meanwhile, scared by the government's unusual interest in her pregnancy, Astrid (with her two protectors, Dean and Jake in tow) joins Niko on his desperate quest to be reunited with his lost love Josie.

The last book in the Monument 14 trilogy. It has been on the last two months' TBRs, so I am reading this as soon as possible! Everything will simply have to wait.