Waiting on Wednesday (119): Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire #waitingonwednesday #wow

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



Title: Every Heart a Doorway
Author: Seanan McGuire
Publisher: Tor.com (Macmillan)
Release Date: January 19, 2016
Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost.


This just sounds so very perfect, don't you think? And it's only 160 pages!

What are you waiting on this week?

Until Midnight Launch & Giveaway

UNTIL MIDNIGHT is here…and it’s FREE!

Happy Holidays, everyone! I’m Melissa Landers, author of the Alienated series, and I have a present for you—a brand new e-short from Disney Hyperion!

UNTIL MIDNIGHT takes place onboard an intergalactic transport, soon after ALIENATED ends and before the sequel INVADED begins. The story details Aelyx and Cara’s last day together before he returns to Earth to mend the alliance and she continues to his home planet. It’s sweet and romantic, and as a bonus, it includes a four-chapter preview of the sequel, which releases February 3rd.

Oh, and did I mention the best part? IT’S FREE!



Title: Until Midnight (Alienated #1.5)
Author: Melissa Landers
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Release Date: December 23, 2014
Cara and Aelyx only have one day to spend together before he returns to earth and she travels to Aelyx's home planet, L'eihr. Homesick and worried about the upcoming year apart, Cara is desperate to make these final hours count. Worst of all, Cara is missing Christmas, stuck on board an alien spaceship. When Aelyx learns that Cara is forgoing her favorite holiday, he tries to recreate Christmas in space by researching traditional earth customs…but a few things get lost in translation.

Buy Links
Kindle | Nook | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play

*If you live outside the USA, no worries. I’ve uploaded the story to Scribd for you. (The only downside is it doesn’t include the bonus preview chapters, due to technical reasons from the publisher.) Link: http://www.scribd.com/AuthorMelissaLanders


Alienated

Armchair BEA 2014: Novellas/Short Stories

Design by Amber of Shelf Notes

To learn more about Armchair BEA, visit HERE.
You guys, I think this may be my favorite topic of the week. I LOVE novellas, novelettes, and short stories. When they were required reading in school, I was a happy, happy girl. Even if I didn't like them, I loved them. (Don't ask how that works.) There's just something about reading something short and sweet, with so much squeezed into one little morsel. Oh, and you know how some of them have open endings? I love those, too. That's a lot of love, huh? We should hug it out.

When I'm looking to read short stories when I'm just farting around on the computer, I go to Tor.com's story section. I have found many quality stories (and fabulous artwork for them!) on the site, and I usually end up buying them for my Kindle, too, so I can read them wherever. The very best one that I've ever come across is Burning Girls by Veronica Schanoes. My review from Goodreads is as follows:

I'm typing sentences, deleting them, and attempting to write more. I don't know what to really say except that Burning Girls left me speechless. I started reading the story without reading any reviews or the words italicized at the start. It was on Tor.Com - what else did I need to know?

What I found in Burning Girls was a striking mixture of witchcraft, Judaic mythology, fairy tale, history, and feminism. The more I read, the more I was sucked in by the writing of Veronica Schanoes. She weaved the above-mentioned elements into her world flawlessly and held me helplessly ensnared in it. By the time I reached the end, my skin crawled and was covered with chill bumps.

Veronica Schanoes' Burning Girls is a story you should put aside an hour for, and she is definitely a writer whose future works I will be impatiently waiting to read.

Trust me when I say it's good stuff.

What is your favorite short story?

Review: Poison Dance by Livie Blackbourne

Title: Poison Dance (Midnight Thief #0.5)
Author: Livie Blackburne
Publisher: Lion's Quill Press
Acquired Via: Author
Release Date: September 12, 2013
James is skilled, efficient, and deadly, a hired blade navigating the shifting alliances of a deteriorating Assassin’s Guild. Then he meets Thalia, an alluring but troubled dancing girl who offers him a way out—if he’ll help her kill a powerful nobleman. With the Guild falling apart, it just might be worth the risk. But when you live, breathe, and love in a world that’s forever flirting with death, the slightest misstep can be poison. Poison Dance is approximately 14,000 words, or 54 printed pages.

My Review

I received this novella from the author herself after I added her debut novel, The Midnight Thief, to my to-read shelf on Goodreads. I wanted to read The Midnight Thief because I love a good fantasy story about assassins. I usually don’t read novellas unless I know that the author added something in the novella I might need to know for an upcoming book. But, I agreed to read this novella because I figured I could get a good idea about her writing before picking up The Midnight Thief. I’m so glad that I was given the opportunity to read Poison Dance, because I really enjoyed the novella and now I can’t wait to see what Blackburne has in store for us with The Midnight Thief.

Cover Reveal: I Choose You by Bethany Lopez

Title: I Choose You (Friends & Lovers #2)
Author: Bethany L. Lopez
Genre: Contemporary Romance Novella
Age Group: New Adult
Cover Designer: B Design
Expected Release Date: January 8, 2013
Cover Reveal Organized By: AToMR Tours
Up until now, Nicole's life has been mapped out for her. She'd go to college, marry Jake and become the upstanding minister's wife. When she leaves that life to begin again in a small town in Texas, she finally has the freedom to live as she chooses. There, she meets Kent, a guy whose charm and passion make it hard to stick to her morals.

Dodging his father’s fists and protecting his twin sister made Kent into the man he is today. He learned by watching his mother stay by his father’s side that it’s better to keep relationships simple. Then he meets Nicole. Her sweet smile and genuine response to him land like punches to his resolve. After a lifetime of learning to protect his heart, can he finally let down his guard?


About the Author

Bethany Lopez was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in Michigan and San Antonio, Texas. She went to High School at Dearborn High, in Dearborn, Michigan, which is where she has set her Young Adult novel. She is married and has a blended family with five children. She is currently serving in the United States Air Force as a Recruiter in Los Angeles, California. She has always loved to read and write and has seen her dream realized by independently publishing her contemporary Young Adult series, Stories About Melissa. Ta Ta for Now!, xoxoxo, and Ciao are available now. Bethany is currently working on a Contemporary Fantasy YA and a Contemporary New Adult Trilogy.

You can keep up with Bethany on her Website, Facebook and Twitter!