Waiting On Wednesday #167 - The Bear And The Nightingale

Waiting On Wednesday, where we put the spotlight on upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating, is hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine.

This week's choice is -

The Bear And The Nightingale - Katherine Arden

ISBN - 9781101885932

Publisher - Del Rey

Release date - January 17 2017

Find - Goodreads | Book Depository

A young woman’s family is threatened by forces both real and fantastical in this debut novel inspired by Russian fairy tales.

In a village at the edge of the wilderness of northern Russia, where the winds blow cold and the snow falls many months of the year, a stranger with piercing blue eyes presents a new father with a gift - a precious jewel on a delicate chain, intended for his young daughter. Uncertain of its meaning, Pytor hides the gift away and Vasya grows up a wild, willful girl, to the chagrin of her family. But when mysterious forces threaten the happiness of their village, Vasya discovers that, armed only with the necklace, she may be the only one who can keep the darkness at bay.

How much do I want to read this?! It has a lot to live up to though as it's been compared to Uprooted, The Night Circus and to Neil Gaiman's work. I absolutely adore Russian fairy tales so I'm sure to love it even if the hype isn't quite met...

Hexed - Kevin Hearne

Hexed (Iron Druid Chronicles #2) - Kevin Hearne

ISBN - 9780345522498

Publisher - Del Rey

Release date - June 7 2011

Find - Goodreads | Book Depository

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, doesn’t care much for witches. Still, he’s about to make nice with the local coven by signing a mutually beneficial nonaggression treaty - when suddenly the witch population in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, quadruples overnight. And the new girls are not just bad, they’re badasses with a dark history on the German side of World War II.

With a fallen angel feasting on local high school students, a horde of Bacchants blowing in from Vegas with their special brand of deadly decadence, and a dangerously sexy Celtic goddess of fire vying for his attention, Atticus is having trouble scheduling the witch hunt. But aided by his magical sword, his neighbor’s rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and his vampire attorney, Atticus is ready to sweep the town and show the witchy women they picked the wrong Druid to hex...

I originally picked up the first couple of Iron Druid Chronicles as someone recommended them as an excellent way to fill the gap in between instalments of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files and then let them sit on my TBR  mountain for a couple of years... I read Hounded in July last year and loved it, went out and bought all the available books and promptly moved on to something else. Fast forward to this year and I've just finished my epic re-read/finishing off of the Dresden Files and found Hexed, Hammered and Tricked sitting underneath them. Obviously a sign that it's time to read them!

At the end of Hounded (which I never reviewed but gave 4 stars on Goodreads) Atticus has found himself with his first apprentice in some time and cautiously optimistic about the future. However, Leif (his centuries old vampire lawyer of course) wants him to take on a new quest - to kill Thor! Before he even has time to contemplate this Atticus gets caught up in some witchy business. The coven he's about to sign a peace treaty with are being targeted by an old enemy, one that has Atticus in their sights too.

Joined by the motley assortment of characters we were introduced to in the first book Atticus is soon up to his eyeballs in trouble again. Oberon, (nearly) everyone's favorite Irish Wolfhound, is back with his brilliantly witty (for a dog) commentary, the Widow MacDonagh gets to see more of our druid than an elderly lady probably should and there are goddesses fighting over him each with their own nefarious reasons for wanting Atticus to be dedicated purely to them. We get to know a little bit more about Granuaile and Laksha makes a brief reappearance too.

Hexed is an excellent addition to Hounded, I love Kevin Hearne's writing which makes the story move along nicely without stalling and the fact that mythology is the main theme this really is my perfect sort of book/series. It would be completely unfair to compare the Iron Druid Chronicles to the Dresden Files as they're both so different but I'm glad I listened to my friend's recommendation. I now have two favorite urban fantasy series instead of one and I can't wait to see what happens to Atticus in Hammered.

Iron Druid Chronicles

Hounded
Hexed
Hammered
Tricked
Trapped
Hunted
Shattered
Staked

Book Haul #115, Or The One With What Seems Like All The Books...

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted on Tynga's Reviews where we can share what new books we've picked up this past week be they bought, borrowed or downloaded. There are also lots of other 'book haul' memes out there for you to choose from!

I have got to remember to book haul posts on a slightly more regular basis again! This may look like I have all the books in the world - again - but I swear I don't! This is about five weeks worth of books but in my defense in all that time? I only bought three books!!!

Bought

Beyond The Page - Quentin Blake

The Next Together - Lauren James

Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears - Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling

Library Books

Europe In Autumn - David Hutchinson

Crazy Love You - Lisa Unger

The Cutting - James Hayman

The Dark Light - Julia Bell

A Game For All The Family - Sophie Hannah

Little Girl Lost - Brian McGilloway

Nelly Dean - Alison Case

Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy

What Remains - Tim Weaver

For Review

The Abyss Surrounds Us - Emily Skrutskie

The Casquette Girls - Alys Arden

City Of Wonders - James A Moore

Dark Heart Of Magic - Jennifer Estep

The House On Cold Hill - Peter James

Mythmaker - Marianne de Pierres

Never Never - Brianna R Shrum

Sleeping Giants - Sylvain Neuvel

The Snow Sister - Emma Carroll

These Shallow Graves - Jennifer Donnelly

When I Was Me - Hilary Freeman

Worlds Of Ink & Shadow - Lena Coakley

Waiting On Wednesday #134 - Sleeping Giants

Waiting On Wednesday, where we put the spotlight on upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating, is hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine.

This week's choice is -

Sleeping Giants (Themis Files #1) - Sylvain Neuvel 

ISBN - 9781101886694

Publisher - Del Rey

Release date - April 26 2016

Find - Goodreads | Book Depository

World War Z meets The Martian. This inventive first novel will please devoted fans of sci-fi as well as literary readers hoping a smart thriller will sneak up on them.

17 years ago: A girl in South Dakota falls through the earth, then wakes up dozens of feet below ground on the palm of what seems to be a giant metal hand. Today: She is a top-level physicist leading a team of people to understand exactly what that hand is, where it came from, and what it portends for humanity. A swift and spellbinding tale told almost exclusively through transcriptions of interviews conducted by a mysterious and unnamed character, this is a unique debut that describes a hunt for truth, power, and giant body parts.

I love the sound of this! Falling through the earth only to land on a giant hand? Definitely want to know more about that...

Waiting On Wednesday #90 - Uprooted

Waiting On Wednesday, where we put the spotlight on upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating, is hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine.

This week's choice is -

Uprooted - Naomi Novik

ISBN - 9780804179034

Publisher - Del Rey

Expected release date - June 30 2015

Find - Goodreads | Book Depository

Naomi Novik, author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed Temeraire novels, introduces a bold new world rooted in folk stories and legends, as elemental as a Grimm fairy tale.

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”
 
Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows - everyone knows - that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose. 

I cannot wait to read this, I adore Naomi Novik's Temeraire books and Uprooted sounds like it was written just for me. But look at that release date, almost another year to wait...