This is a series where I look at my old Waiting on Wednesday posts and talk about if I actually ever read the book, if I liked it if I did, and if I haven’t, would I or not. That kind of thing. I think it’s an interesting to talk about books from back then, and I hope you find it interesting, too.
WoWed July 20th, 2011:
Wherever You Go by Heather Davis
Release date: November 14th, 2011
Summary (from goodreads): Seventeen-year-old Holly Mullen has felt lost and lonely ever since her boyfriend, Rob, died in a tragic accident. The fact that she has to spend most of her free time caring for her little sister and Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather doesn’t help. But Holly has no idea that as she goes about her days, Rob’s ghost is watching over her. He isn’t happy when he sees his best friend, Jason, reach out to help Holly with her grandfather but as a ghost, he can do nothing to stop it. Is his best friend really falling for his girlfriend?
As Holly wonders whether to open her heart to Jason, the past comes back to haunt her. Her grandfather claims to be communicating with the ghost of Rob. Could the messages he has for Holly be real? And if so, how can the loved ones Rob left behind help his tortured soul make it to the other side?
Update: I didn’t read this one, but I read the Clearing from this author. I wasn’t huge a fan, and this concept doesn’t do much for me now.
The Sharp Time by Mary O’Connell
Release date: November 8th, 2011
Summary (from goodreads): Sandinista Jones is a high school senior with a punk rock name and a broken heart. The death of her single mother has left Sandinista alone in the world, subject to the random vulnerability of everyday life. When the school system lets her down, her grief and instability intensify, and she ponders a violent act of revenge.
Still, in the midst of her crisis, she gets a job at The Pale Circus, a funky vintage clothing shop, and finds friendship and camaraderie with her coworker, a boy struggling with his own secrets.
Even as Sandinista sees the failures of those with power and authority, she’s offered the chance to survive through the redemptive power of friendship. Now she must choose between faith and forgiveness or violence and vengeance.
Update: THIS GIRL LOOKS LIKE TAYLOR SWIFT. Remember when Taylor was on CSI and her character went all goth after her friend died or whatever?
Look!
She even has bangs! Just imagine if her hair was curly here. Tell me I’m wrong – I’ll wait.
(Also does this picture not also look like Max from Life Is Strange?)
WoWed December 7th, 2011:
Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough
Release date: April 7th, 2011 in the UK, July 10th, 2012 in the US
Summary (from goodreads): Beware of Long Lankin, that lives in the moss. . . .When Cora and her younger sister, Mimi, are sent to stay with their elderly aunt in the isolated village of Byers Guerdon, they receive a less than warm welcome. Auntie Ida is eccentric and rigid, and the girls are desperate to go back to London.
But what they don’t know is that their aunt’s life was devastated the last time two young sisters were at Guerdon Hall, and she is determined to protect her nieces from an evil that has lain hidden for years. Along with Roger and Peter, two village boys, Cora must uncover the horrifying truth that has held Bryers Guerdon in its dark grip for centuries — before it’s too late for little Mimi. Riveting and intensely atmospheric, this stunning debut will hold readers in its spell long after the last page is turned.
Update: Apparently I dnfed this? I think the beginning just kind of bored me and I didn’t like the voice so I decided not to continue reading it.
Fracture by Megan Miranda
Release date: January 17th, 2012
Summary (from goodreads): By the time Delaney Maxwell was pulled from a Maine lake’s icy waters by her best friend, her heart had stopped beating.
But somehow Delaney survived – despite the brain scans that show irreparable damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be fine, but she knows she’s far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can’t control or explain, Delaney now finds herself drawn to the dying, and when she meets Troy Varga, a boy who recently emerged from a coma with the same abilities, she is relieved to share this strange new existence. Unsure if her altered brain is predicting death or causing it, Delaney must figure out if their gift is a miracle, a freak of nature – or something else much more frightening…
Update: I didn’t read this, but I have read another book by the author and it was fun and I’d love to check out more. I think she writes a lot of adult books now, too, right? This does intrigue me.
WoWed December 14th, 2011:
Tempest by Julie Cross
Release date: January 17th, 2012
Summary (from goodreads): The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies — nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors — it’s just harmless fun.
That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.
Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities. But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.
Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.
Update: This really just does not sound like my thing anymore. I also don’t really like women being used solely for male pain.
Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
Release date: February 17th, 2012
Summary (from goodreads): Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.
Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word… especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.
If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.
Update: I didn’t read this, but it still is actually on my tbr list. It sounds interesting! I also still think this cover is really pretty.
WoWed December 21s, 2012:
The Other Life by Susanne Winnacker
Release date: February 1st, 2012
Summary (from goodreads): Sherry has lived with her family in a sealed bunker since things went wrong up above. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find a world of devastation, desolation…and the Weepers: savage, mutant killers.
When Sherry’s dad is snatched, she joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua – an Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers.
But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all?
Update: I didn’t read this, but it’s also still on my tbr list too.
The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison
Release date: February 14th, 2012
Summary (from goodreads): Penelope (Lo) Marin has always loved to collect beautiful things. Her dad’s consulting job means she’s grown up moving from one rundown city to the next, and she’s learned to cope by collecting (sometimes even stealing) quirky trinkets and souvenirs in each new place—possessions that allow her to feel at least some semblance of home.
But in the year since her brother Oren’s death, Lo’s hoarding has blossomed into a full-blown, potentially dangerous obsession. She discovers a beautiful, antique butterfly pendant during a routine scour at a weekend flea market, and recognizes it as having been stolen from the home of a recently murdered girl known only as “Sapphire”—a girl just a few years older than Lo. As usual when Lo begins to obsess over something, she can’t get the murder out of her mind.
As she attempts to piece together the mysterious “butterfly clues,” with the unlikely help of a street artist named Flynt, Lo quickly finds herself caught up in a seedy, violent underworld much closer to home than she ever imagined—a world, she’ll ultimately discover, that could hold the key to her brother’s tragic death.
Update: This is actually something I think I might really like! I like thrillers. Also, bit of theme with these two covers.
WoWed December 28th, 2011:
Scarlet by A. G. Gaughen
Release date: February 14th, 2012
Summary (from goodreads): Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the evil Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only Big John and Robin Hood know the truth—the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. It’s getting harder to hide as Gisbourne’s camp seeks to find Scarlet and drive Robin Hood out of Nottinghamshire.
But Scarlet’s instinct for self-preservation is at war with a strong sense of responsibility to the people who took her in when she was on the run, and she finds it’s not so easy to turn her back on her band and townspeople. As Gisbourne draws closer to Scarlet and puts innocent lives at risk, she must decide how much the people of Nottinghamshire mean to her, especially John Little, a flirtatious fellow outlaw, and Robin, whose quick smiles and temper have the rare power to unsettle Scarlet.
Update: I really don’t read YA fantasy like this anymore. I also really don’t care about Robin Hood. Really nothing against this, but my personal tastes aren’t it.
Undeadly by Michele Vail
Release date: November 20th, 2012
Summary (from goodreads): Molly Bartolucci wants to blend in, date hottie Rick and keep her zombie-raising abilities on the down-low. Then the god Anubis chooses her to become a reaper—and she accidentally undoes the work of another reaper, Rath. Within days, she’s shipped off to the Nekyia Academy, an elite boarding school that trains the best necromancers in the world. And her personal reaping tutor? Rath.
Life at Nekyia has its plusses. Molly has her own personal ghoul, for one. Rick follows her there out of the blue, for another…except, there’s something a little off about him. When students at the academy start to die and Rath disappears, Molly starts to wonder if anything is as it seems. Only one thing is certain—-Molly’s got an undeadly knack for finding trouble….
Update: Oh this gives me big House of Night vibes. This is so 2012 YA Paranormal, it’s amazing. I have found that YA paranormal romances from this time period tend to just frustrate me, so I’ll probably pass on this.
What did y’all think of these books? Have you read any? Are there any you’d read now?
– Laina
Laina Has Too Much Spare Time 
