Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, and specifically spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. As always, there are some amazing upcoming books, but this week I'm particularly excited for...

Title: Ironskin
Author: Tina Connolly
Publisher: Tor Books
Publish Date: October 2, 2012
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Pages: 304

Jane Eliot wears an iron mask. It’s the only way to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. The Great War is five years gone, but its scattered victims remain—the ironskin.

When a carefully worded listing appears for a governess to assist with a "delicate situation"—a child born during the Great War — Jane is certain the child is fey-cursed, and that she can help.

Teaching the unruly Dorie to suppress her curse is hard enough; she certainly didn’t expect to fall for the girl’s father, the enigmatic artist Edward Rochart. But her blossoming crush is stifled by her own scars, and by his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio...and come out as beautiful as the fey.

Jane knows Rochart cannot love her, just as she knows that she must wear iron for the rest of her life. But what if neither of these things is true? Step by step Jane unlocks the secrets of her new life—and discovers just how far she will go to become whole again.

It's actually been a good while since a paranormal story really excited me. I feel like I've read and seen it all lately, and I keep waiting for something to break the mold. I've yet to really read a story involving fey that I love, so I'm excited to read Ironskin. Not only is the cover to die for, but the synopsis is fantastic and it sounds like it could be a great start to a brand new series! It seems a bit upper YA, and it seems a whole lotta dark, which makes me incredibly happy. What do you think, and what are you waiting on this week?

Title: The Faerie Ring
Author: Kiki Hamilton
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publish Date: September 27, 2011
Genre: YA, Historical, Paranormal
Pages: 352
Source: Publisher

The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of orphans in a deserted hideaway adjoining Charing Cross Station in central London. Their only means of survival is by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring, and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring belongs to Queen Victoria, and it binds the rulers of England and the realm of Faerie to peace. With the ring missing, a rebel group of faeries hopes to break the treaty with dark magic and blood—Tiki’s blood.

Unbeknownst to Tiki, she is being watched—and protected—by Rieker, a fellow thief who suspects she is involved in the disappearance of the ring. Rieker has secrets of his own, and Tiki is not all that she appears to be. Her very existence haunts Prince Leopold, the Queen’s son, who is driven to know more about the mysterious mark that encircles her wrist.

Prince, pauper, and thief—all must work together to secure the treaty…

Tiki lives in a world of extremes. While Victorian London is alive with colour, hustle and bustle for those with plenty, those without are forced to live in the slums and do whatever they can to scrape by. An orphan and alone, Tiki is the latter, as is her "family" in Charing Cross - a whole group of orphans working to pick pockets and make enough to live day to day. But even so, money is scare, times are hard and Tiki never knows when her little bit of luck will run out. Then she happens upon the ring; a mysterious and beautiful ring belonging to the Queen, and she is presented with two choices. She can keep the ring and return it for the reward money, or she can venture further into a world of shaky alliances between humans and vengeful fey. Either way, Tiki's life is about to change forever, and she might not be who she thought she was.

Faerie stories are hit or miss for me. I'm not the type who loves glittering faeries born to be tedious little tricksters. Rather, I like my fey to be a bit heinous, a bit mad and whole lot dark and nasty. The Faerie Ring more than easily obliges all my criteria. Author Kiki Hamilton may have very well accomplished the impossible with The Faerie Ring, merging a young adult historical story with the paranormal. Two difficult genres to blend, The Faerie Ring brings the two together in a potent and intoxicating story of truth, dignity and the right to survive at all costs. Battle lines are easily drawn in The Faerie Ring, but peace is the more difficult path, and the tension, compassion and mystery overflow throughout the story.

Tiki is one of the most lovable and engaging heroines that I've read in a while. Right from the start, though she's strong and resilient, you can feel her anger at her situation. Though it simmers lightly below the surface, part of the beauty of The Faerie Ring was that you can sense that she will eventually reach her boiling point, and you're simply waiting to find out when. Despite her circumstances though, Tiki's love for her fellow orphans in Charing Cross was abundant, and the feeling left me feeling comforted by the sense that there was a rock for her charcter no matter where the action took us. In regards to the action, The Faerie Ring was a complete rollercoaster. Fast and furious, the plot is a whirlwind, sweeping us through Victorian London, all the while letting us taste the gritty air, view the extravagance of the wealthy and feel the acrid hatred between the humans and the fey. The transition between historical fiction and paranormal elements was flawless. The two were intertwined in a way that one would be incomplete without the other, which is a feat in and of itself. Furthermore, the full cast of characters in The Faerie Ring were wholly enmeshed in the ever-moving plot, driving it in the right direction from start to finish. I do have to say that Reiker was the one character that, though awesome, confused the heck out of me. I never knew what I was going to get from him, and I'll be honest and say I still had some questions at the end.

The Faerie Ring is a meticulous blend of all the elements of a great story - characters, plot and writing. Entertaining and engrossing from start to finish, it will have you guessing throughout. I give it a 4.5 out of 5, and I highly recommend it to all fans of YA fiction, historical fiction and paranormal.

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

In My Mailbox is an amazing weekly meme hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren that features the books we have received during the week. It's so much fun because we get to see what our fellow bloggers stumbled upon this week and add even more to our piles of books! Without further ado, this week I received the following books:

FOR REVIEW

Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday

ARC - Thank you, HarperTeen

Hartley Grace Featherstone is having a very bad day. First she finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her with the president of the Herbert Hoover High School Chastity Club. Then he's pegged as the #1 suspect in a murder. And if that weren't enough, now he's depending on Hartley to clear his name. 

But as much as Hartley wouldn't mind seeing him squirm, she knows he's innocent, and she's the only one who can help him. But as the dead bodies begin to pile up, the mystery deepens, the suspects multiply, and Hartley begins to fear that she may be the killer's next victim.

FOR REVIEW

The Magic of Recluse by L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Thank you, TOR

Young Lerris is dissatisfied with his life and trade, and yearns to find a place in the world better suited to his skills and temperament. But in Recluce a change in circumstances means taking one of two options: permanent exile from Recluce or the dangergeld, a complex, rule-laden wanderjahr in the lands beyond Recluce, with the aim of learning how the world works and what his place in it might be. 

=Though it goes against all of his instincts, Lerris must learn to use his powers in an orderly way before his wanderjahr, or fall prey to Chaos.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, and specifically spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. As always, there are some amazing upcoming books, but this week I'm particularly excited for...

Title: Anna Dressed in Blood
Author: Kendare Blake
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: September 2011
Pages: Unknown
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Thriller

Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story. . .

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

Colour me crazy...I might have a thing for the macabre with this title. But seriously?! That is one crazy, creepy, pretty cover, and let's be honest, Anna Dressed in Blood sounds like a fun twist on your run-of-the-mill paranormal story these days. Plus, I don't think there are nearly enough books about ghosts. It seems a bit like Bloody Mary for the younger lot, so yes, sign me up! I can't wait to read this (sooooo long from now). What do you think, and what are you waiting on this week?

Title: The Lost Gate
Author: Orson Scott Card
Publisher: Tor
Published: January 4, 2011
Genre: YA, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 378
Source: Publisher

Danny North knew from early childhood that his family was different, and that he was different from them. While his cousins were learning how to create the things that commoners called fairies, ghosts, golems, trolls, werewolves, and other such miracles that were the heritage of the North family, Danny worried that he would never show a talent, never form an outself.

There are many secrets in the House, and many rules that Danny must follow. There is a secret library with only a few dozen books, and none of them in English — but Danny and his cousins are expected to become fluent in the language of the books. While Danny’s cousins are free to create magic whenever they like, they must never do it where outsiders might see.

Unfortunately, there are some secrets kept from Danny as well. And that will lead to disaster for the North family.

The Lost Gate follows the story of Danny, just one young boy in a family of exiled mages, forced to live in the real world where kids create stories of fairies, werewolves, and the type of stuff his family knows is real. Danny lives his life in a realm of secrets, some of which he can never share with others, but he’s beginning to learn that there are just as many (if not more) secrets being hidden from him. His family calls him a Drekka, or someone without powers. But unknown to Danny, there is more power than he could ever imagine lurking inside of him. He’s a gatemage – and so powerful that it could very well be more of a curse than a magical gift.

Before this, the only work of Orson Scott Card that I’d read was Ender’s Game, which is kind of a hit or miss series, or so I hear. Luckily, it was a hit for me, so I was incredibly excited to read The Lost Gate. The first book in a new series called the Mithermages, The Lost Gate is a riveting urban fantasy adventure blending Norse mythology with an intricate plot that’s equal parts spellbinding and cryptic. Orson Scott Card has an amazing writing style that sends the reader on a journey with the characters, allowing you to experience and feel exactly what they feel giving life to the world within The Lost Gate.

I’ll admit, The Lost Gate is complex at times, and there are moments when the mythology and background of the story gets a bit tedious and too intricate, but the world that’s been created is phenomenal. Danny was a bit hard for me to connect with at first. He was very…bland, and rather unlikeable, but the character development he portrayed throughout the story redeemed him in the end. Wad, however, was the character that defined the story for me. Almost completely shrouded in mystery, I was hooked to every action (and inaction) of his character, desperate to find out who he really was. The dialogue between the characters is fitting and age-appropriate, but I did find it a bit crass or graphic at times. That said, for the age of the MC, it fits.

All in all, The Lost Gate is a great start to a new series from Orson Scott Card. And yes, the cliffhanger ending is a killer. I hate those endings! I give The Lost Gate a strong 4 out of 5, and I’d recommend it to fans of YA, especially teen boys and those who enjoy fantasy, urban fantasy, and anything along the lines of Ender’s Game or Pathfinder.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

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Because of the generosity of Tor Books, I've been given a second, finished hardcover copy of The Lost Gate for a giveaway. This giveaway is international and will end promptly at midnight EST on January 30, 2011. Winners will be notified by email. To enter to win The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card, follow the link below.

ENTER TO WIN