Waiting On Wednesday

I know I'm going to get tired of typing this (I'm not a very ambitious blogger, to be honest) - but...Don't forget to enter the Happy Book B-Day contest. Up for grabs is J.A. Campbell's newly released novella {Doc, The Vampire Hunting Dog - love it, a story from the dog's point of view} and Suzanne McLeod's newly U.S. released The Bitter Seed of Magic - #3 of Spellcrackers.com series {which I read already and loved very much} To enter - simply post a link to this contest and enter in the comments there.

I haven't done a Waiting On Wednesday post in like...forever, it seems. But there are a couple of books that are coming up soon that I really want to read. One is a sequel, and the other will be the fourth in a series. Waiting on Wednesday is a blogger opportunity to post a bit about books we're waiting to read and to possibly discover from other blogs other books that are soon to be released. This meme is a fun way (along with It's Monday What Are You Reading? and Teaser Tuesdays) to learn about other books you might not otherwise have noticed. Hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine, the Waiting On Wednesday meme is a weekly event {though some of us don't post quite so regularly *g* }

First up is The Shifting Price of Prey. I hear from a very good source that it's going to be a bit longer than the other three - which makes me happy. Written by Suzanne McLeod, #4 in the Spellcrackers.com series.
from the book blurb "Sometimes a bit of magical help might cost more than you bargained for . . .
London is hosting the Carnival Fantastique, and Genny's job has never been busier or more fulfilling. Only not everyone is so happy. The fae are in trouble again and Genny learns the mysterious Emperor may have the solution they need – if Genny can find him.

Genny needs help. She turns to the vampire, Malik al-Khan, only to find he’s wrestling with his own demons. Genny’s own problems are about to multiply too. An old flame arrives with a tragic situation, just as the police request her urgent assistance with a magical kidnap. Is it all unconnected, or can the Emperor help her solve more than the fae’s troubles? " oh yeah, this is going to be good. :) Coming to UK stores in June 2012 - only six more months to go. Of course the U.S. release will be later, but I rarely wait for the U.S. release (being more than happy to spoil myself *g* The Book Depository is great for those of us who don't want to wait for U.S. releases )
One of the other books I see coming out soon is The Wood Queen {Young Adult fantasy}by Karen Mahoney. I haven't visited her blog as much as I should have lately, because I've been very lazy - and game obsessed. But I see that her sequel to The Iron Witch is coming out in February 2, 2012. Blurb from her website - "To keep her best friend, Navin, from being killed at the hands of vicious wood elves, Donna Underwood stole the elixir of life. Now she’s facing an alchemist tribunal while her mother lies dying, succumbing to the elven curse that shattered her mind. In desperation, Donna seeks an audience with Aliette, the fierce and manipulative Wood Queen, who offers a deal: if Donna can use her strange and burgeoning powers to help the wood elves, Aliette will free her mother from the curse.
Along with Navin and Xan, the half-fey guy she’s falling for, Donna struggles to unlock the secrets of her iron tattoos in time to save her mother’s life. But some secrets are better left untold… " Karen Mahoney is a fairly new author in Britain. Her first published work was in an anthology titled Eternal Kiss {2009} and her story was one of the stories I liked the best. While the anthology was being published, she'd been working on The Iron Witch, which was published last year and she's been working hard ever since. She has two other books coming out in the future and I'm looking forward to reading The Wood Queen and the others.
Looking forward to seeing what everone else is waiting to read.

In the meantime, here's another New Year's LOLCatz

Happy New Years, Everyone

May we all find laughter, love and enjoyment in our daily lives. Most of all, may we all try to bring laughter, love and enjoyment to others

(within reason of course! *g*)

The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney - review

The Iron Witch
Karen Mahoney
*****
Young Adult fantasy
available now


I've mentioned how much I love the cover of The Iron Witch on previous posts, so if you've read those, please bear with me. In the story, Donna has these tattoo like markings on her arms. They are curlicues and swirls, they shine in the light. They are made from ink mixed with iron and are magically charged; part of healing done for her as a result of an attack by a creature from Faerie. The cover has these beautifully worked curls and swirls surrounding the cover girl. It's hard to see here, but up close you can see the shiny swirls on her arm also. She's also holding a small bottle which plays a part in the story. I have a U.K. cover, and the pages on the inside - the first page and the last - are also marked with curls and swirls. It's a pretty piece of the book; reminds me of the older books from 70 years and before that used to be embossed with delicate little floral and fine designs on the covers and spine of the books. Rarely see that kind of workmanship on books anymore - so it's nice to see some extra beauty on the covers and inside pages.

I can honestly say that I very much enjoyed reading The Iron Witch. I don't read a lot of Young Adult, but the same applies to Young Adult (for me anyway) as Adult fiction. It has to hold my interest. Normally I look for books that jump into action from the first page, and I prefer lots of action - whether it's fighting, running or laughing situations...Sometimes I get that but then a book slows down for me, and then comes to a complete stop interest-wise. The Iron Witch did start out with a bang - the prologue describes some of the nightmarish night that Donna went through as a child. The first chapter has her waking up from her nightmare. And even though there wasn't the feeling of non-stop adventure, there were things that kept me interested throughout the book.

After the opening prologue/nightmare scene, the book continues at a seemingly sedate pace, but really little things are happening that point towards the danger to come. Donna is attending a party with her best friend, Navin. They've been best friends for a long time, and live right next door to each other. Navin is the one person that Donna feels comfortable with, and even with him she feels like she doesn't quite fit in. Both of them have lost a parent. Donna has freakish strength in her arms - something that she is always aware of, which therefore causes a bit of angst. On top of that, she has these markings on her arms...making her feel like she has to keep them hidden. As a teen, she dreads having anything pointed out as different, and here are two things that mark her as way different - her markings that she keeps hidden by wearing gloves and her freakish strength which she just tries to keep hidden....except for ---- no, spoiler. haha

She goes to a party with Navin, against her instinct to remain in the background at all times. But once there, she ends up looking for a quiet place to hang out, and ends up on the roof with this mysterious boy/man. This guy turns out to be Xan, or Alexander - a kid who had gone off to college and then ended up back at home after a short while. Turns out he has his own reasons to feel like he doesn't quite belong. Xan plays an important part in the story - Donna and Xan strike up an uneasy (at first) yet strong friendship/attraction. They both feel different from others, and both have things to hide...and other than Navin's friendship, the only experience Donna has with other boys are...well probably none.

Donna Underwood's family and circle have secrets, so Donna has learned all her life to keep things secret, this is wearing on her. She's also feeling bad about having to keep secrets from her best friend. Donna lives with her aunt, since her mother is in a confused state of conciousness in a hospital and her father died while saving her from the thing in the forest. Donna is homeschooled ever since an incident at the high school involving teasing students and her strength. She has normal homeschooling along with some alchemy classes with people in the circle. That's one of the secrets Donna has to maintain. Her family and family friends are a secretive order of alchemists - involving magic, experiments, knowledge of the fae, etc.

The Iron Witch, seemingly starting out at a sedate pace, in truth has many small incidents happening that build up to a crescendo of action. Donna at one point figures out that her friend has been kidnapped by the forest elves and in typical teen fashion, tries to handle things on her own.. things become more complicated for her, and she makes decisions that she knows are going to have harsh consequences for herself. This reminded me of being a teen. There were so many times that friends and I tried to handle things on our own, for one reason or another, when we really should have involved an adult. But I think that is a rather common thing for some teens. It's not always logical, but then being a teen isn't always logical. Thank goodness we never had to deal with forest elves, or elf queens!

What I liked about the ending of the book, is that we find out that Donna hasn't been miraculously forgiven by the alchemists and their order - she has to face some possibly severe consequences for her actions...and things might not be fair. I believe that's where the sequel is going to take up. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, The Wood Queen.

The Iron Witch kept my interest for the whole story; I enjoyed this debut novel, with good dialogue, interesting characters and an interesting twist with the possibility of more twists....there is the hint of a mystery beyond the plot of The Iron Witch. Why was young Donna in the forest at the beginning of the book (in her nightmare/memory)....What exactly was going on there? Looking forward to finding out.

Karen Mahoney is also the author of numerous short stories, three of which are published or soon to be published in the following anthologies:

• Falling To Ash in The Eternal Kiss
• The Spirit Jar in Kiss Me Deadly
• The Lost Boy in Wicked Pretty Things

I know for sure that the first two are stories about Moth, a vampire. I'm not sure about the third story. I've read the first Moth short and it would be great to read a complete novel about this character.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading/

It's been a cold, wet, busy, slightly tortured week for me. LOL - any week with cold or rainy weather is tortured for me, because of the arthritis crap. And of course, I must work for a living, whether I like it or not, when I could be lounging in bed, reading and staying warm...sigh. So here I am at 1a.m.; doing some mild stretching and I feel a bit more flexible. I DO get to enjoy a spring break. For the first time ever, the school district in our city has scheduled spring break for a week that does not coincide with Easter. Feels strange, but y'know - must keep church and state totally separate.. I've always thought it was nice to have the candy part of Easter with some days off of school...ahh well. anyway, yadda-yadda-blah-blah-blah. On to the book stuff. I always seem to insert some non-book topics, no matter how many times I tell myself to keep it all about the books

:)

Let's get this show on the road!

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila of Book Journey.

The title is pretty self-explanatory - we list what's been read by us, what we're currently reading and what we've finished reading. Sometimes, some of us will even list what we're hopoing to start reading. It's fun., and keeps me out of trouble! lol

I read the short story, Westward, Yo! a cute read with a bit of mystery and suspense, yet tame enough for middlegrade aged students. The first in a series titled Into The West by J. A. Campbell. There will be more from this writer, coming soon. Shorts and novels.

I finished reading and reviewed A Song For My Mother, by Kat Martin. This is a sedately written novel about some heavy duty situations.No graphic scenes of violence or sex, although there are some mentions of both. The overall theme of the book seemed to be anger and forgiveness.

I read and enjoyed The Iron Witch, by Karen Mahoney. The Iron Witch is her debut full length YA novel, there are more in the works. A young teen with iron worked into a magical tattoo on her arms is pulled into the world of the Fae, learning more than she ever expected...

btw - Marianne De Pierres is one of those writers that must have words coming out of her ears, her nose, her toes...click on her name below and just look at how many books and series (and names) that she writes. It is awe-inspiring. So far, the books that I've read from her (or even just read snippets of) are all interesting no matter what the subject matter is....Her other pen name is Marianne Delacourt (young adult - Burn Brightly)

I am currently reading Dark Space by Marianne DePierres. This is my read at home book. It's good. The first section requires you to simply sit back and read, don't think too deeply - by the time you are a few chapters in, you realize that you're understanding what certain words refer to, the different species of beings, etc. I find this happens for me when I read certain Science Fiction or Fantasy novels. The worlds are so different from ours, (in a way, they are also similar) that there is usually almost a complete vocabulary you have to learn....which I promptly forget when I finish the book. Hey, I'm getting up there in age, there's only so much this brain can keep! *g*

Based completely on a few reviews and reading an excerpt, I picked up Black Wings by Christina Henry. Lots of things going on with this book - mix of Death escorts, gargoyles, and other supernatural species (reminds me of Suzanne McLeod's characters...Hopefully it'll be as good *g*)

The main character has wings that disappear when she's not using them. How cool is that?


The other day, when I was looking for another one of my books, I found my temporarily misplaced copy of Tiger Eye, by Marjorie M. Liu. I've been reading a page here and there, (which you should never do, it takes forever to get through a book that way), enough anyway to familiarize myself with where I might have left off while reading before I "lost" the book. *g* I NEVER lose things, other people pick them up from where I set them and move them around. that's why I can't find some things!

It's Monday - What Are You Reading?
What have you read?

New Book

Have I mentioned lately how fortunate I feel when it comes to reading, winning books, just having books, and having books sent to me? I don't want to sound greedy - but I think I've been blessed lately with books. There have been some very good books coming my way.

Recently, I entered on a whim a contest for The Iron Witch - Karen Mahoney's first full-length published book. I really didn't expect to win, since there were so many entries. I almost didn't enter, because there were so many entries. Usually, if I see that many entries, I decide to let the contest go - figuring I'll just buy the book when I can. But this time, I thought - what the heck - just enter. I was very happy and surprised to learn that I did win. The book arrived today in the mail. I am very close to finishing Blood Song, and as soon as I do, I'm cracking open The Iron Witch. I don't think it'll ever get old, that "who me?" feeling I get when I do win a book. This is also one of those times that I tried to buy the book at the bookstore and couldn't find when I had the money - so it's a double-win for me. :)

And check out this cover - It's beautiful. The curly-cues all over the front - the markings on the cover model's arms, the colors and the font. It's a beautifully put together cover and I've very happy to get this UK edition.

Of course, I couldn't wait to at least peek inside the book. Now I've read the prologue that's available online, but when I opened the book I just had to read at least the first page of the first chapter...

and I'm going to post a snippet here. You can read more on the above link.

The Iron Witch, By Karen Mahoney

from page 3 (chapter one)

'It all started with the party. That's what Donna Underwood would tell herself in the days that followed. If only she hadn't let Nav talk her into going with him, then maybe everything would be different. Maybe things wouldn't have gotten quite so bad.'

How's that for a beginning paragraph?

The Iron Witch is available right now - in both the UK and the US.

Karen Mahoney also has two short stories published in anthologies:

Falling to Ash in the antology Eternal Kiss

The Spirit Jar in the anthology Kiss Me Deadly

Both are YA reads featuring Moth, a vampire.

I've been following (or rather mostly lurking) Karen Mahoney for the last few years, and it's very exciting to see her progress, and her books come out in print. Very nice. I love when dreams come true for writers. :) Of course, I know there's a lot of hard work for the dreams to come through in the first place - but I believe a lot of it is hard work, the right story at the right time, perseverance and a little bit of luck (considering the sheer numbers of people trying to get noticed by the publishing houses).

Woo Hoo! Kaz!