Waiting on Wednesday (4)

Considering recent events, I think we're all in need of happy-making things. Since we're all readers and writers around these parts, there's nothing like anticipating books to brighten the day. Here are a few we're looking forward to.

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

1) THE OATHBREAKER'S SHADOW by Amy McCulloch

Blurb from Goodreads: Fifteen-year-old Raim lives in a world where you tie a knot for every promise that you make. Break that promise and you are scarred for life, and cast out into the desert.

Raim has worn a simple knot around his wrist for as long as he can remember. No one knows where it came from, and which promise of his it symbolises, but he barely thinks about it at all—not since becoming the most promising young fighter ever to train for the elite Yun guard. But on the most important day of his life, when he binds his life to his best friend (and future king) Khareh, the string bursts into flames and sears a dark mark into his skin.

Scarred now as an oath-breaker, Raim has two options: run, or be killed.

Fantasy is the genre of our heart, and this one sounds like it's going to be a good one. We love our girl MCs, but it's nice to get a male YA POV in there once in a while, and we're all for non-typical, non-European fantasy settings. This one is out in June, so the wait isn't too bad.


2) ROSE UNDER FIRE by Elizabeth Wein

Blurb from Goodreads: While flying an Allied fighter plane from Paris to England, American ATA pilot and amateur poet, Rose Justice, is captured by the Nazis and sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious women's concentration camp. Trapped in horrific circumstances, Rose finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery and friendship of her fellow prisoners. But will that be enough to endure the fate that’s in store for her?

Elizabeth Wein, author of the critically-acclaimed and best-selling Code Name Verity, delivers another stunning WWII thriller. The unforgettable story of Rose Justice is forged from heart-wrenching courage, resolve, and the slim, bright chance of survival.

Code Name Verity was my favorite YA book last year (only narrowly beat out for my favorite book overall of the year by The Song of Achilles), because it was so unexpectedly moving and powerful. I still can't get over how good it was, and I will review it one day when I finally have the coherent words to do so. Yes, I recommend it THAT MUCH. So it's a no-brainer that I freaked out when I heard Code Name Verity was getting a companion novel. I CANNOT WAIT for this one!


3) VICIOUS by Victoria Schwab

Blurb from Goodreads: Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will.

Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

I was impressed by Victoria Schwab's beautiful, atmospheric writing in The Near Witch, so I was intrigued to hear that she was writing an adult novel. While the blurb is certainly attention-grabbing, it's the cover that I love. So gorgeous.

Q4U: What books are you waiting on?

And for an added dose of happy for all of this week, here's a gif of a puppy.