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Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Waiting On Wednesday: Simon & Schuster Winter 2016 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 Simon & Schuster Winter 2016 Catalog:

Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman
Date: February 9, 2016
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Blackbeard the pirate was known for striking fear in the hearts of the bravest of sailors. But once he was just a young man who dreamed of leaving his rigid life behind to chase adventure in faraway lands. Nothing could stop him—until he met the one girl who would change everything.
Edward "Teach" Drummond, son of one of Bristol's richest merchants, has just returned from a year-long journey on the high seas to find his life in shambles. Betrothed to a girl he doesn’t love and sick of the high society he was born into, Teach dreams only of returning to the vast ocean he’d begun to call home. There's just one problem: convincing his father to let him leave and never come back.
Following her parents' deaths, Anne Barrett is left penniless and soon to be homeless. Though she’s barely worked a day in her life, Anne is forced to take a job as a maid in the home of Master Drummond. Lonely days stretch into weeks, and Anne longs for escape. How will she ever realize her dream of sailing to Curaçao—where her mother was born—when she's stuck in England?
From the moment Teach and Anne meet, they set the world ablaze. Drawn to each other, they’re trapped by society and their own circumstances. Faced with an impossible choice, they must decide to chase their dreams and go, or follow their hearts and stay.

Historical fiction of the notorious pirate Blackbeard as a young man? Sign me up. Though I do hope the romance here doesn't take over the novel, I am still curious about the story that Blackhearts intends to present.


Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
Date: March 8, 2016
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Los Angeles. It’s been five years since the events of the Mortal Instruments when Nephilim stood poised on the brink of oblivion and Shadowhunter Emma Carstairs lost her parents. After the blood and violence she witnessed as a child, Emma has dedicated her life to to discovering exactly what it was that killed her parents and getting her revenge.
Raised in the Los Angeles Institute with the Blackthorn family, Emma is paired as a parabatai with her best friend, Julian Blackthorn. A series of murders in the city catch her attention — they seem to have the same characteristics as the deaths of her parents. Could the murderer be the same person? And her attention isn’t the only one caught: someone has been murdering Downworlders as well. The Fair Folk make a deal with the Institute: if the Blackthorns and Emma will investigate the killings, they’ll return Mark Blackthorn to his home. The catch: they have only two weeks to find the killers. Otherwise it’s open war between faeries and Nephilim.
The Shadowhunters of the Institute must race against time to catch the killers, even as they begin to suspect the involvement of those closest to them. At the same time, Emma is falling in love with the one person in the world she’s absolutely forbidden by Shadowhunter Law to love. Set against the glittering backdrop of present-day Los Angeles, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches from the warlock-run nightclubs of the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica.

I am getting a wee bit tired of seeing the same kind of stories and dramas told again and again in Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunters novels... BUT it must be said that Emma and Julian's chapters in City of Heavenly Fire (TMI #6) were my favourite parts of that book. So here's hoping Lady Midnight can incite some of the same excitement I used to have for Clare's books!


Shades of Darkness by A.R. Kahler
Date: March 8, 2016
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When Kaira Winters decided to go to Islington—a boarding school deep in the woods of Michigan—she thought she could finally get away from everything she has tried so hard to forget, including some things from her past that she refuses to believe ever actually happened.
Everything seemed great until the bodies of murdered students started appearing all over campus. The victims seem to have been killed in some sort of ritual sacrifice. And even worse, Kaira’s dreams are giving her clues to the killer’s identity.
Though she tries to resist, Kaira quickly realizes that she is the only one who can stop the violence, but to do so she must come to terms with her past. She’s going to have to listen to the voice that is buried deep within her…the one that claims to have unimaginable power…the one that claims to be an actual goddess.
But even if Kaira can harness the power within her, will it be enough to stop the darkness that has fallen over her school? And if it is strong enough, then what’s to stop the goddess from wreaking her own havoc once she’s released?

Boarding school + murder mystery + elements of magic? Count me in! Shades of Darkness is the kind of book that I can see myself really enjoying.


How about you? Are you waiting on any of these Simon & Schuster Winter 2016 reads? Are there any upcoming books from the Simon & Schuster Winter 2016 Catalog that I didn't include here that you feel I should add to my list?

32 comments :

  1. All sound good! I'm not that into pirates but Blackhearts sounds really good.

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  2. Yessss. I really enjoyed BLACKHEARTS and I hope you do, too! SoD sounds pretty amazing, too. Great picks, Aylee!

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  3. Blackhearts sounds really good. I'm going to check this one out. :) Thanks for sharing! :)

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  4. Very excited for Blackhearts & Shades of Darkness. I have to admit I've never read a Clare book, but this one has me curious!

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    1. I imagine you could just jump in wherever - I think she goes over the Shadowhunters lore each time!

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  5. Yay :D Stunning picks Aylee. <3 LADY MIDNIGHT. I am DYING for it. Sniffs. So heartbroken about those ARC boxes :p I need it. Sigh. Can't wait to read it :) And so curious about Blackhearts as well. But doubt I will read it :p I hope you will love all of these books sweet girl. <3 Happy reading :)

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    1. ARC boxes? I haven't seen those yet. But anything that comes in a special box sounds awesome - I hope you get one, Carina!

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  6. I feel like I've been waiting FOREVER for Lady Midnight! :) The other two sound awesome as well. I'll have to add them to my TBR list.

    My Waiting on Wednesday post

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  7. OOh I'm excited for Blackhearts and Shades of Darkness. I've kind of given up on Cassandra Clare for awhile. Great choices! Hope you love them all My WoW.

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  8. I am really excited to read Blackhearts. It sounds like it is going to be so much fun. I'm a big pirate fan though, so it's an obvious choice for me.

    Alexis @ Stay at Home Reader

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  9. Shades of Magic and Blackhearts are BOTH right up my alley - no big surprise there - so yeah I'm super pumped to start reading reviews for both of those^^ Hopefully they'll deliver! I still have to read CoHF but I think my library has it on audio so that might be the best way for me to actually get to it. I was never a huge fan of the series but since I made it all the way to book 5, my OCD side kind of insists that I finish the series...but I don't know that I'll continue with Lady Midnight after that. I've gotten a lot of comments about getting into TID though so we'll see :)

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    1. Ah yes, I can understand why you'd just want to get 'er done. I adore TID though :)

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  10. I'm definitely with you on the Lady Midnight, Aylee. I got so bored with the MI series and I just felt obligated to finish that series. I did, however, LOVED the Infernal Devices so I know Clare can write enjoyable stories in the Shadowhunter World. I just hope Lady Midnight is more like The Infernal Devices and less MI.

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    1. Yes, me too. I just think TMI was a bit too drawn out. The first three books were just fine!

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  11. Great picks! I just finished Blackhearts yesterday and loved it! I hope you enjoy it too! I also can't wait to read Lady Midnight! I love the Mortal Instruments series and I'm so excited for a new book. Shades of Magic also sounds really good and is on my list too.

    Traci @ The Reading Geek

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  12. Blackhearts was my WoW a couple of weeks ago :) CC's books aren't really my style but I know a lot of people are looking forward to this newest book.

    My WoW

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  13. I can vouch that Blackhearts is excellent! :) Loving the other two on your list as well!

    Waiting on Wednesday

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    1. A third person who loved Blackhearts! yay :)

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  14. Shades of Darkness is new to me, but it sounds great! I love books with boarding schools in them! I'm really looking forward to the other two too. Especially Blackhearts! I used to be obsessed with Blackbeard when I was a kid. We actually read about him in school because apparently he lived in my state for a while near Bath, NC. I thought that was so cool! So, I'm anxiously awaiting Blackhearts and I'm so glad February 9th is just around the corner! Here's my WoW. Happy reading!

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    1. Yup, boarding schools FTW! You know, I don't actually know all that much about Blackbeard, so this book would be great for me to find out more!

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  15. So many good ones here! Blackhearts is my pick this week too! These have great covers too. Happy reading.
    Waiting on Weds @Libby Blog

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  16. I think I'd really like Shades of Darkness too. It sounds fascinating and the cover!! It really sticks out.

    thanks for sharing - hope you get a chance to read all of these and enjoy them! :)

    -lauren

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  17. YES!!!! LADY MIDNIGHT!!! This one has been on my wishlist FOREVER and it's getting so close to it's release! I won't lie, I don't think I'll ever get sick of her Shadowhunters world...it still makes me ridiculously excited! I am very excited to get to see a new part of the Shadowhunter world through Emma and Julian though!!

    Great picks, Eilidh! :D

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    1. It continues to make me excited for now... I have to imagine I'll eventually get tired though.

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    2. Maybe someday. :P For me, I don't think it'll be anytime soon though. haha

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  18. I still haven't read any of Clare's books so when I saw Lady Midnight, I checked out the synopsis. Then, I found out that it was set in the Shadowhunters world too. I know she has a lot of fans, but I'd like to see her try something different now.

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    1. You could maybe try that MG series that she writes with Holly Black!

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  19. Great picks! I think I'm most excited for Lady Midnight! I'm excited for a new cast of characters. I can't believe it's just a matter of weeks now before it comes out! Blackhearts and Shades of Darkness sound great too!

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