Waiting on Wednesday (6)

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

My pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection this week is:

Something Strange and Deadly 

by Susan Dennard 

There’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia… Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

Release date: July 24, 2012 (HarperTeen)

I love the premise! This one sounds so unique.... Plus, we get a little bit of everything; romance, action, and mystery.... Yes, please! Not to mention Zombies. I love me a good zombie story :)haha!

What are you waiting for?

Review: Half-Blood: A Covenant Novel

Title: Half-Blood: A Covenant Novel (Covenant #1)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Pages: 281
Challenge: None
Source: Own
Buy the book: BN / Amazon


My Rating:

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi-pure-bloods-have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals-well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures.Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden.Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck. - Summary from goodreads.com

I was very much excited to read HALF-BLOOD when I first heard about it, but I'll admit that after having read a couple reviews saying that HB was alot like Vampire Academies, I became a bit hesitant.... but you know what, I was missing out *lowers head in shame* this book rocked my world. This story follows 17-year-old Alex whom, after a series of unfortunate events, is forced back into the Covenant, a place she had once fled. She is thrown back into a life of training to prove that she should be able to continue where she left off and not become a servant. Her greatest motivator? She wants to hunt down the Daimon that killed her mother.

Alex was such an interesting character to read about. After basically witnessing the murder of her mother she still is able to push forward. She doesn't let anything get in her way. She doesn't take crap from anyone and always has a witty comeback. The relationship between Aiden and Alex was so intense. The pureblood offspring are not supposed to fraternize with the half-bloods, making Alex and Aiden’s relationship take on the appeal of a forbidden love (U-la-la! Forbiden love? Yes, Please!!). Whenever Aiden and Alex were together I could feel the tension between them. I won't lie, my stomach did little flip flops every time they were together in anticipation, I was literally screaming, "JUST KISS HER ALREADY!". Overall, yes, there are many VA similarities, but I read HALF-BLOOD without reservations and the risk paid off; I LOVED this book.