Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #270: The Master of Dreams by Mike Resnick

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event which had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with "Can't-Wait Wednesday" hosted over at Wishful Endings. 

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Opening a new fantasy trilogy from Hugo award winner Resnick, this novel offers an adventure through space and time as Eddie Raven tries to outrun the dark forces pursuing him.

Eddie Raven isn't quite sure what's happening to him--and he's in a race to find out before it kills him.

His adventures begin with a shooting in a very strange shop in Manhattan--but soon he finds himself the owner of a very familiar bar in Casablanca. By the time he adjusts to that reality, he's suddenly become one of several undersized people helping a young woman search for a wizard. And after confronting the wizard, he somehow finds himself in Camelot.

But as he rushes to solve the mystery of his many appearances, a larger threat looms. Because someone or something is stalking him through time and space with deadly intent...

The Master of Dreams by Mike Resnick is due out April 16th, 2019 from DAW Books.

Why am I waiting on this one? I think it sounds interesting the way he is skipping through different literary landscapes. It makes me think of Robert Heinlein's Number of the Beast, but in dreams instead of dimensions. I find myself wanting to know what is happening to the main character.

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Lying Beneath the Oaks by Kristin Wright

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

A bird sang in the distant branches of the live oak next to me. I went up to the trunk of the vast tree and leaned against it, trying not to panic, trying not to scream or beat my hands against the rough bark. I'd let it go too long. I should have told him before we got on the plane. (21% through on my Kindle)

Lying Beneath the Oaks by Kristin Wright was published January 15th, 2019 by Bella Rosa Books.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Review: Summoned to Thirteenth Grave by Darynda Jones

Charley has been exiled from the earthly plain for eternity. But, somehow she is back after a mere 100 years. And Reyes is waiting for her. Sexy times commence.

A hell dimension has opened up in their home city. There is something infecting people and driving them mad. And there are still a couple of more storylines causing Charley to multitask to get everything done that she wants to be accomplished before the possible end of the world as we know it.

So, is it a wrap? Kinda. It seems like this wraps up Charley and Reyes story. Lots of things come to logical conclusions. Some things are still a surprise. Lots of sarcasm and sexiness as we've come to expect. And the fate of at least 2 characters is up in the air. Which leads us to the question so often asked... Will Beep's story be told? And on her blog, Darynda Jones confirms that at some point in the future it will be. When is up in the air, but it will be told. We have that to look forward to.

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars for being a pretty satisfying conclusion to the series. There were a few parts that seemed a little rushed or contrived, but overall, it is good and satisfying. All the things we've grown to love about the series are present. I would recommend the series to fans of urban fantasy with paranormal aspects and a little romance and sex going on. This is not a standalone novel and should not be read as one.

Summoned to Thirteenth Grave by Darynda Jones was released January 15th, 2019 by St. Martin's Press.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions herein are my own and freely given.

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #269: House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event which had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with "Can't-Wait Wednesday" hosted over at Wishful Endings. 

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Get swept away in Erin A. Craig's mesmerizing House of Salt and Sorrows. As one by one her beautiful sisters mysteriously die on their isolated island estate, Annaleigh must unravel the curse that haunts her family. Be careful who you dance with. . . .

In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.

Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls' lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last—the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge—and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods.

Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn't sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who—or what—are they really dancing with?

When Annaleigh's involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it's a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family—before it claims her next. 

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig is due to be released August 6th, 2019 from Delacorte.

Why am I waiting on this one? I enjoy retellings. This sounds like an interesting retelling based on "The Twelve Dancing Princesses."

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

She was thirty-one years old. She'd failed to achieve escape velocity and the crash landing was brutal. (p.50)

This edition of Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory was published June 26th, 2018 by Vintage.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Summoned to Thirteenth Grave by Darynda Jones

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

She smiled up at me for the first time, and I wanted to hug her and pet her and squeeze her and possibly change her name to George.

Just when I thought we were bonding, she put a finger over her lips and said, "Shhhh, you just have to listen," seconds before her molecules separated and she flew away on the wind. (33% through on my Kindle)

Summoned to Thirteenth Grave by Darynda Jones is the final installment in the Charley Davidson series. It's coming out today, January 15th, 2019 from St. Martin's Press.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #268: That Ain't Witchcraft by Seanan McGuire

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event which had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with "Can't-Wait Wednesday" hosted over at Wishful Endings. 

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Crossroads, noun:

1. A place where two roads cross.
2. A place where bargains can be made.
3. See also “places to avoid.”

Antimony Price has never done well without a support system. As the youngest of her generation, she has always been able to depend on her parents, siblings, and cousins to help her out when she’s in a pinch—until now. After fleeing from the Covenant of St. George, she’s found herself in debt to the crossroads and running for her life. No family. No mice. No way out.

Lucky for her, she’s always been resourceful, and she’s been gathering allies as she travels: Sam, fūri trapeze artist turned boyfriend; Cylia, jink roller derby captain and designated driver; Fern, sylph friend, confidant, and maker of breakfasts; even Mary, ghost babysitter to the Price family. Annie’s actually starting to feel like they might be able to figure things out—which is probably why things start going wrong again.

New Gravesend, Maine is a nice place to raise a family…or make a binding contract with the crossroads. For James Smith, whose best friend disappeared when she tried to do precisely that, it’s also an excellent place to plot revenge. Now the crossroads want him dead and they want Annie to do the dirty deed. She owes them, after all.

And that’s before Leonard Cunningham, aka, “the next leader of the Covenant,” shows up…

It’s going to take everything Annie has and a little bit more to get out of this one. If she succeeds, she gets to go home. If she fails, she becomes one more cautionary tale about the dangers of bargaining with the crossroads.

But no pressure.

That Ain't Witchcraft by Seanan McGuire is due to be released March 5th, 2019 from DAW Books.

Why am I waiting on this one? I have enjoyed the other books in the series that I've read. And this book sounds good to me. I especially like the crossroads angle. I want to know what happens to Annie.

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Review: The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

The Winter of the Witch is the third book in the Winternight Trilogy by  Katherine Arden. It picks up where book two left off. Things are chaotic in Moscow and people are looking for someone to blame for all that has befallen them. The people focus on Vasya and blame her for their ills. She finds herself fighting for her life.

Vasya journeys on the Midnight Road where it is always midnight and it is more than a time, it is a destination. The chyerti, the Russian folkloric spirits, are drawn to her. Some want to help, some are less beneficial or downright dangerous. She crosses paths with Baba Yaga and learns something important about herself in the process. As the book goes on, the spirits both large (think Morozko) and smaller (ex. Ded Grib) become more and more important.

Dmitrii tries to send tribute to the Tatars. But it fails and the Tatars will march toward Moscow. Dmitrii finds himself in the position that he must raise an army to meet them. Vasya will play a key part here as well.

The best way to read this book is as a follow up to the first two. This is not a standalone. You would definitely lose something if you tried to read it by itself.

I enjoyed seeing Vasya continue to evolve as a character. Even Morozko doesn't remain the same as he was in the first book.

The book is excellently written. I liked the first book a lot. The second one I didn't enjoy quite as much, but still it was good. The third book? Excellent! It draws it all together and sews up the plot points in a satisfactory way. The afterword tells which points are actually historical and which are more fantasy.

Overall, I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. It's well written. It ties things together and the characters grow and change. I continue to enjoy the way the old religion honoring the chyerti is paralleled to the new religion as it was historically. If you've read the first two books in this trilogy, you must read this one as well. If you haven't read any of them yet but are a fan of fantasy with a base in both history and folklore, then do read this trilogy. I look forward to seeing what else Katherine Arden has in store.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions herein are my own and freely given.