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Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Waiting On Wednesday (11): Witches and Magic

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking The Spine in which an upcoming, eagerly anticipated release is highlighted on the blog.

This week, I am waiting on books with Witches and Magic:

Title: The Near Witch
Author: Victoria Schwab
Publisher: Hyperion
Date: August 2, 2011

The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children. 
If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company. 
And there are no strangers in the town of Near.
These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.
But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.
The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.
As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

Title: Witchlanders
Author: Lena Coakley
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Date: August 30, 2011

High in their mountain covens, red witches pray to the Goddess, protecting the Witchlands by throwing the bones and foretelling the future.
It’s all a fake.
At least, that’s what Ryder thinks. He doubts the witches really deserve their tithes—one quarter of all the crops his village can produce. And even if they can predict the future, what danger is there to foretell, now that his people’s old enemy, the Baen, has been defeated?
But when a terrifying new magic threatens both his village and the coven, Ryder must confront the beautiful and silent witch who holds all the secrets. Everything he’s ever believed about witches, the Baen, magic and about himself will change, when he discovers that the prophecies he’s always scorned—
Are about him.

Title: Witch Song
Author: Amber Argyle
Publisher: Rhemalda
Date: September 1, 2011

The world is changing. Once, Witch Song controlled everything from the winds to the shifting of the seasons-but not anymore. All the Witches are gone, taken captive by a traitor. All but Brusenna. As the echo of their songs fades, the traitor grows stronger. Now she is coming for Brusenna. Her guardian has sworn to protect her, but even he can't stop the Dark Witch. Somehow, Brusenna has to succeed where every other Witch has failed. Find the traitor. Fight her. Defeat her. Because if Brusenna doesn't, there won't be anything left to save.



Title: Beautiful Chaos
Author: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Publisher: Little, Brown
Date: October 18, 2011

Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home, strange and impossible have taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena's Claiming. Even Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals is affected - and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What - or who - will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?
For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it isn't by Lena - and whatever is haunting him is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Even worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself - forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and most days he's too afraid to ask.
Sometimes there isn't just one answer or one choice. Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending.


It's no secret that I love books that have witches and magic. I love the fantastical spells, the damning prophecies, and the ancient curses. And I love seeing authors find new ways to reinvent the lore and the magic in their books. The Near Witch is one that has been getting a lot of buzz lately, mainly due to the great writing and storytelling abilities of Victoria Schwab. I've read Witchlanders (My review) already and loved it for its original high fantasy world and refreshing Bromance. Out of all these, Witch Song is the one I know least about but I love the blurb so I hope to learn more about it soon. And Beautiful Chaos is, of course, the third book in the fantastic series, The Caster Chronicles. I've only read Beautiful Creatures (My review) so far but I absolutely fell in love with Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl's writing as well as Ethan Wate, the protagonist.

How about you? Are you waiting on any of these books with Witches and Magic? Are there any upcoming books featuring Witches and Magic that aren't included here that you feel I should know about?

40 comments :

  1. Awesome theme! I'm definitely looking forward to these, but The Near Witch especially stands out for me. I'm glad its release is very, very soon! :D

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  2. I agree with Stephanie - I love this weeks theme! Witches and Magic, how I adore. I can't wait to see what's going to happen next in Gatlin, especially with what happened to a certain character at the end of the second book!

    I have Witch Song but I haven't started it yet, very intrigued though! High fantasy and bromance for The Witchlanders? Damn, you know how to tempt me. I've been loving fantasy lately (recently finished Blood Song by Rhiannon Hart and it is AMAZING), so this is going high on my wishlist!

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  3. Blood Song? Interesting, I'll have to check it out!

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  4. I'm reading Witchlanders right now and enjoying it so far! Love the theme of your WoW picks this week Aylee! :)

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  5. Great picks! I've got 3/4 of them. I'm dying for Beautiful Chaos!
    Here's my wow: http://mochalattereads.blogspot.com/2011/07/waiting-on-wednesday15.html

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  6. The cover for Witch Song is so pretty! and the story sounds good too.

    Nice picks.

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  7. Great selections!! Beautiful Creatures is at the TOP of my most-wanted books of this year! All of these look great!

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  8. Great choices!

    My WoW, http://obsessionwithbooks.blogspot.com

    Have a nice week.

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  9. All of these look spectacular. I'm especially excited for Witch Song. The summary sounds wonderfully unique and I really love the cover.
    Every time I see the cover for The Near Witch, I can't help but think the girl looks exactly like Robin Tunney (actress from The Mentalist - http://www.theplace.ru/archive/robin_tunney/img/RobinTunney09_002.jpg).

    My WoW can be found here: http://www.bittenbooks.com/2011/07/waiting-on-wednesday-10.html

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  10. Definitely have a theme going on and I am loving it. I heart witches so want them all.

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  11. All of these sound fantastic! :) I can't wait for The Near Witch to be released and I definitely need to start reading the eGalley I have of Witchlanders.

    Great picks! :)

    Carina
    (My WoW)

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  12. I've read The Near Witch. I think the writing is superb, but I'm not really that into the plot. I'm looking forward to Beautiful Chaos and Witch Song too. Great picks!

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  13. The Near Witch is completely want worthy! I loved it!

    Great picks!

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  14. Really loved The Near Witch. Witch Song is on my list too, I really love the cover and I also haven't heard much about it but I'm really curious. I cannot wait for Beautiful Chaos!! Love that series. =D

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  15. Awesome picks. I have Witchlanders, but I still haven't read it. It does sounds amazing. I also love the sound of The Near Witch. I'm liking it!

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  16. Fabulous choices Aylee, I've been reading so many good reviews of the Near Witch lately, I can't wait to get my hands on that one! I need to get caught up on the Beautiful Creatures series, I still need to read book 2:)

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  17. I can't wait for The Near Witch either, it sounds amazing! I still need to read Beautiful Darkness, but I'm still excited for Book 3! Great picks Aylee! :)

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  18. WOW! YOu picked some really awesome picks!! And I adore the name of your blog!!

    Paranormal Wastelands' WoW:
    http://paranormalwastelands.blogspot.com/2011/07/waiting-on-wednesday.html

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  19. The Near Witch is sooo good! And I love the sound of Witch Song. Awesome picks this week!!

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  20. AWESOME picks! I'm dying to read all of these! Witch stories are the best =D

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  21. Awesome picks! Infact, Beautiful Chaos was my WoW last week! You can check out my picks at Fuzzy.Coffee.Books!
    Now following!
    Courtney

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  22. The Near Witch is AMAZING. I can't wait for you to read it! I'm definitely looking forward to Witchlanders and Witch Song! Great picks. :)

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  23. Enjoy! your picks.

    http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2011/07/waiting-on-wednesday_20.html

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  24. I love this theme! Witchlanders and The Near Witch were so good! I can't believe they're both debut authors. Hm, more witches/magic books...I'll have to think...

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  25. Great bunch of books! I have the Witchlanders for review, but haven't started it yet. Witch Song looks interesting, too, and I also can't wait for Beautiful Chaos. :)

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  26. Great choices I really like the sounds of The Near Witch, it sounds very intriging.

    My WoW

    Suzanne @ Under the Covers

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  27. How much do I love Ethan Wate?! He's the perfect Southern boy for me.

    I'm still wondering about that Witchlanders cover after what you said about it in your review, but I can't wait to see what that bromance is all about.

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  28. Yes, yes...to all! Great selections. All are on my list :)

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  29. I finished The Near Witch a couple of weeks ago and really liked it. It was a well-written tribute to fairy tales, that's for sure.

    I also just got Witchlanders from Galley Grab, but I haven't started it yet. I feel like I'll either really like it or really won't--I'm not sure which way it's going to go yet.

    Happy reading!

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  30. Great selection The Near Witch sounds particularly good!

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  31. I like your books! I have the witchlanders and am planning to read it soon!

    Here is my WoW

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  32. Super cool picks!

    I love reading about witches.

    Especially in the fall (near Halloween).

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  33. Thank you so much for passing by my blog :)

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  34. Thanks everyone for stopping by and commenting! I'm particularly fond of this theme myself :)

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  35. Girl, I was just blown away by THE NEAR WITCH, and I hope you are, too! Fab picks! :)

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  36. The Near Witch was great. And I cannot wait for Beautiful Chaos!

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  37. Ooh, all those books look and sound amazing! Looks like my TBR pile just increased by four. Thanks for the recs!


    (P.S.- just found your blog and I love the concept of finding more great books in our post-Potter world!!! But believe me, I just got back from LeakyCon, and rest assured that the Wizarding World is still alive and well.)


    Smiles!
    Lori

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  38. Witches are the best!! I love this list and hope to read at least a couple of these.

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  39. I have a copy of Witchlanders, but I haven't had a chance to start it.
    Also, I'm giving away a copy of The Near Witch on my blog - international - if you're interested. :)

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  40. Yes, yes, yes! Every one of those I want to read! I was lucky enough to get Witchlanders off of galley grab. I'm just beginning the book, really enjoying it. The writing is very descriptive, but in a good way.

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