Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

There’s nothing like a Wednesday for thinking about the books we want to read! My Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday post is linking up with two fabulous book memes, Wishlist Wednesday (hosted by Pen to Paper) and Waiting on Wednesday (hosted by Breaking the Spine).

This week’s pick:

The Splendour Falls by Susanna Kearsley
(to be released January 2014)

Synopsis via Amazon:

An Ancient Castle, a Tragic Love, and a Web of Secrets Begins to Unravel…

Emily Braden has stopped believing in fairy tales and happy endings. When her fascinating but unreliable cousin Harry invites her on a holiday to explore the legendary town of Chinon, and promptly disappears—well, that’s Harry for you.

As Emily makes the acquaintance of Chinon and its people, she begins to uncover dark secrets beneath the charm. Legend has it that during a thirteenth-century siege of the castle that looms over the city, Queen Isabelle, child bride of King John, hid a “treasure of great price.” And in the last days of the German occupation during World War II, another Isabelle lived in Chinon, a girl whose love for an enemy soldier went tragically awry.

As the dangers of the past become disastrously real, Emily is drawn ever more deeply into a labyrinth of mystery as twisted as the streets and tunnels of the ancient town itself.

The Splendour Falls is actually an older book by Susanna Kearsley, first published in 1995, which is getting a spiffy new cover and relaunch this coming January. Sourcebooks has been reissuing the author’s earlier works over the past several years, mixed in with some newer ones, and just looking at covers, the results are phenomenal. I mean, they’re all so pretty, I just have to have them on my shelf!

But hey, it’s about more than just looks! I’ve read all of the above (except for The Firebird, which I hope to get to in the next few weeks), and have reviews posted for Mariana and The Shadowy Horses. Susanna Kearsley is a lovely writer, with lush and romantic settings and descriptions, a fine touch when it comes to tugging at the heartstrings, and a keen ability to weave historical threads into contemporary stories. At this point, she’s really one of my auto-buy authors, so naturally I’ll be reading The Splendour Falls once it’s reissued in January!

What are you wishing for this Wednesday?

Looking for some bookish fun on Thursdays and Fridays? Come join me for my regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday! You can find out more here — come share the book love!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

20Nov2013

Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Nothing like a Wednesday for thinking about the books we want to read! My Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday post is linking up with two fabulous book memes, Wishlist Wednesday (hosted by Pen to Paper) and Waiting on Wednesday (hosted by Breaking the Spine).

This week’s pick:

The Winter People

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon
(to be released February 2014)

Synopsis via Goodreads:

West Hall has always been a town of strange disappearances and legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who was found murdered in the field behind her house in 1908, a few short months after the tragic death of her daughter, Gertie, drove her mad. People say that Sara’s ghost still walks after dark, and some leave offerings on their doorstep to keep her from entering their homes uninvited.

Now, in present day, Ruthie lives in Sara’s farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister, Fawn. Alice has always insisted that they remain on the fringes, living off the land without internet or outside interference. But one morning Ruthie wakes up to find that Alice has disappeared without a trace. When she searches the house for clues, she is startled to find a secret compartment beneath the floorboards that contains two objects. One, a gun. And two, a copy of Sara Harrison Shea’s diary.

The story the diary tells is one of a mother skating on the edge of sanity, willing to do whatever she can to bring her daughter back even if it means dabbling in dark and dangerous territory. As Ruthie gets sucked deeper into the mystery of Sara’s death, she discovers that she’s not the only one looking for someone that they’ve lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.

Why do I want to read this? Mysteries, ghosts, dual time-lines. secret diaries… The Winter People sounds like it has all the ingredients of a terrifically chilling read!

What are you wishing for this Wednesday?

So what are you doing on Thursdays and Fridays? Come join me for my regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday! You can find out more here — come share the book love!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

12Nov2013

Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

This week’s pick:

Release date: April 1, 2014

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Emma Donoghue’s explosive new novel, based on an unsolved murder in 1876 San Francisco.

Summer of 1876: San Francisco is in the fierce grip of a record-breaking heatwave and a smallpox epidemic. Through the window of a railroad saloon, a young woman called Jenny Bonnet is shot dead.

The survivor, her friend Blanche Beunon, is a French burlesque dancer. Over the next three days, she will risk everything to bring Jenny’s murderer to justice–if he doesn’t track her down first.

The story Blanche struggles to piece together is one of free-love bohemians, desperate paupers and arrogant millionaires; of jealous men, icy women and damaged children. It’s the secret life of Jenny herself, a notorious character who breaks the law every morning by getting dressed: a charmer as slippery as the frogs she hunts.

In thrilling, cinematic style, FROG MUSIC digs up a long-forgotten, never-solved crime. Full of songs that migrated across the world, Emma Donoghue’s lyrical tale of love and bloodshed among lowlifes captures the pulse of a boomtown like no other.

Can I just say how very excited I am for this book? It has so many ingredients that I love: San Francisco’s early, wild days; saloons and burlesque and the Wild West feel; an epidemic and a murder mystery… Wow, it sounds terrific. Plus, this is by Emma Donoghue, and while I haven’t read any of her historical fiction, I did love Room and was impressed by her imagination and talent.

What are you wishing for this Wednesday?

So what are you doing on Thursdays and Fridays? Come join me for my regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday! You can find out more here — come share the book love!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥