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Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Waiting On Wednesday: Macmillan Winter 2014 Catalog

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

This week, I've chosen to feature a few picks from the Macmillan Winter 2014 Catalog:

A Breath of Frost by Alyxandra Harvey
Date: January 7, 2014
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In 1814, three cousins-Gretchen, Emma, and Penelope-discover their unknown family lineage of witchcraft. Beyond the familiar manicured gardens and ballrooms of Regency London, a dangerous, alluring new underworld visible only to those with power is now open to the cousins.
But unbeknownst to them, by claiming their power, the three cousins have inadvertently opened the gates to the Underworld.
Now the dead, ghouls, hellhounds-and the most terrifying of all: the spirits of dark witches known as the Greymalkin Sisters-are hunting and killing young debutante witches for their powers.
And, somehow, Emma is connected to the murders...because she keeps finding the bodies.
Can the cousins unravel the clues and mystery behind their heritage and power before their gifts are stripped away ...or even worse, another witch is killed?

Oh, how I love me some magic and witchcraft! I also happen to love books that take place in the 1800s and books that have a focus on familial relationships, so that's a bonus. A Breath of Frost sounds like my kind of book!


Cress by Marissa Meyer
Date: February 4, 2014
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In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.
Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker—unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.
When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.

So, I haven't actually read Scarlet yet (eeep, I know!), but I'm still excited for Cress! And hopefully I can have Scarlet read just in time for February 4 so that I can run out to the bookstore to buy and read Cress right away with no waiting!


The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Date: March 4, 2014
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Seventeen-year-old Kestrel is an aristocratic citizen of Valoria, a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers. Here, a girl like Kestrel has two choices: join the military or get married. Despite her skills in military strategy, Kestrel’s real passion is music. Which is why she feels compelled to buy Arin, a slave with a talent for singing, at auction. It’s not long before she finds herself falling in love with Arin, and he seems to feel the same for her. But Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for Arin is much higher than she ever could have imagined.
Set in a new world, The Winner’s Curse is a story of wicked rumors, dirty secrets, and games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

I'm not usually very taken with "girl-with-a-pretty-dress" covers, but I have to say this one is absolutely captivating! And though The Winner's Curse seems a bit heavy on the romance for my tastes, I adore high fantasy and I hope this one will be a good one!


The Riverman by Aaron Starmer
Date: March 18, 2014
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Fiona Loomis is Alice, back from Wonderland. She is Lucy, returned from Narnia. She is Coraline, home from the Other World. She is the girl we read about in storybooks, but here's the difference: She is real.
Twelve-year-old Alistair Cleary is her neighbor in a town where everyone knows each other. One afternoon, Fiona shows up at Alistair's doorstep with a strange proposition. She wants him to write her biography. What begins as an odd vanity project gradually turns into a frightening glimpse into a clearly troubled mind. For Fiona tells Alistair a secret. In her basement there's a gateway and it leads to the magical world of Aquavania, the place where stories are born. In Aquavania, there's a creature called the Riverman and he's stealing the souls of children. Fiona's soul could be next.
Alistair has a choice. He can believe her, or he can believe something else...something even more terrifying.

This is exactly the type of Middle Grade read I am into: magical world, enigmatic story line, cute cover. I haven't heard anything about The Riverman yet, which makes me all the more curious about it!


How about you? Are you waiting on any of these Macmillan Winter 2014 reads? Are there any upcoming books from the Macmillan Winter 2014 Catalog that I didn't include here that you feel I should add to my list?

31 comments :

  1. I am so unbelievably excited about Cress and The Winner's Curse! I hadn't heard of A Breath of Frost yet, but it sounds wonderful. And The Riverman is just the kind of middle grade that I adore, can't wait to read all of these. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. For some silly reason, Marie Rutkoski's books just never work for me, but maybe this one will be different. I do like Alyxandra Harvey, though. Her writing isn't all that, but her books are always fun. And I'm curious to see how she'll handle historical this time.

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  3. I can't wait for Cress either. but you must must must get round to Scarlet as it really is awesome ^_^

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  4. You need to read Scarlet, ASAP, Aylee! Two words: Captain Thorne. You need to meet him. He is awesome! And Kai is still hot too. Also looking forward to The Winner's Curse!

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  5. It's a good idea to wait a little with Scarlet, because you'll want to read Cress right away. They are both fantastic <3 I LOVE the sound of The riverman.

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  6. YES TO ALL OF THESE AYLEE! Particularly Cress and The Winner's Curse, I'm absurdly excited for both of those. I have yet to read a book by Alyxandra Harvey, so I'm really looking forward to A Breath of Frost too!

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  7. Yes to Cress and A Breath of Frost! More on Cress because Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles is just so awesome! The Winner's Curse sounds good as well. Great picks!

    Check out my Wow picks!

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  8. All these books have gorgeous covers, but A Breath of Frost is my favorite. I want to reread Cinder now. I haven't read Scarlet yet, but Cress sounds great too.

    Take a look at my WoW post.

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  9. A Breath of Frost sounds really good. Thanks for sharing :)

    My WOW: http://www.bookythoughtsandme.com/come-to-me-quietly/

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  10. The Winner's Curse cover is gorgeous! I'm not usually a fan of the the girl-in-dress covers either but this is definitely an exception. And CRESS! Can't wait

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  11. Wow every single one of these sound good. Thanks for sharing them.

    My WoW

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  12. I'm most excited about Cress! Can't wait for more Kai and Cinder. <3

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  13. Yes, yes, yes for Cress. Dying for it!

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  14. Oh wow, The Riverman sounds really interesting. I want to try out more MG fiction! I haven't read Cinder, etc. yet but I really want too! Hope you love Cress.

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  15. Wow, some great picks! I can't wait for Cress or A Breath of Frost and Winner's Curse was my WoW choice a while back. I've never heard of The Riverman but it sounds fantastic and is on my wishlist now, thanks for sharing it :)

    My WoW!

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  16. I can't wait for Cress!!!!! AAAHHHHH!
    My WoW

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  17. Cress is oh-so-very high on my waiting list. Winner's Curse looks really interesting, too.

    My WoW.

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  18. I haven't read Cinder yet, but I've been planning to since before it was released! Ugh, damn my ever-growing TBR pile!
    Waiting on Wednesday || SIGNED Icons and Beautiful Creatures Giveaway

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  19. Love all of your fabulous Macmillan picks this week!! :) Waiting on all of those titles as well.

    -Jess @ Reading Nook Reviews - My WoW

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  20. Cress and The Winner's Curse are two that I really can't wait to read. Great picks, Aylee!

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  21. Aylee, go read Scarlet right now - it is amazing!!

    I'm really looking forward to The Winner's Curse, it sounds fascinating.

    Great WOW choices!

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  22. Cress looks so good!! I hope it lives up to Scarlet and Cinder :D

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  23. Amazing picks :) Hope you will love them all. <3 I have read Cress, and it is AWESOME :D

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  24. Eeep, I still haven't read Scarlet yet either! AND like you,I'm hoping to crack open my copy before Cress comes out so I can run out and get that one too :D Awesome picks as usual girl, I already went ahead and added both A Breath of Frost and Winner's Curse to my TBR! I think A Breath of Frost is right up my alley as well ♥ You're right that Winner's Curse might be a bit too romance-heavy for my tastes as well, but if it's done well it could be really great!

    I'm curious about Riverman too, but I'm always hesitant when the MC 'might' be crazy and be imagining the whole thing...cause that always makes me sad and puts a damper on my enjoyment of the story :( Thanks for putting it on my radar though, if the reviews start coming in full of praise, I'll add it as well! Fabulous picks ^^

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  25. I'm excited to see what the big fuss is with The Winner's Curse!! I hope it lives up to the pre-hype :) Great picks, Aylee!! And you so have to read Scarlet!!

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  26. A Breath of Frost! Yes! I can't wait to read that one. :)

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  27. I've heard good things about The Winner's Curse already and can't wait to read it myself. I also haven't read Scarlet yet, but I like the sound of Cress and I'm a little tempted to just skip and go straight onto the third. Though I don't know if I can! The Riverman has such a lovely cover. It's the sort of MG read that I like too. Great picks, Aylee! :)

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  28. I can't wait for Cress, Aylee :) I haven't really enjoyed any of Alyxandra Harvey's books so I'm just going to stay from her novels. As for The Winner's Curse and The Riverman, they both sound interesting but I'll wait for reviews before I add them to my wishlist.

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  29. I really really need to read Cinder...and then Scarlet...and then get uber excited about Cress because I just know I'll love them! I just need to get to them first! haha :P

    And I just saw the cover for The Winner's Curse the other day...and I'm definitely intrigued by it now that I've read the description! I totally can't wait to read it! A Breath of Frost sounds amazing, too! :D So many good books coming out...this is why my TBR pile keeps growing and never seems to get any smaller! haha

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