Waiting on Wednesday #1: Always a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that fellow bloggers can't wait to get their hands on!

This is my first week participating and the book I can't wait to read is:

Always a Witch
by Carolyn MacCullough

Release Date: August 1st 2011

Goodreads: The adventures of Tam and Gabriel continue with more time travel, Talents, spy work, and of course, the evil Knights.

Since the gripping conclusion of Once A Witch, Tamsin Greene has been haunted by her grandmother's prophecy that she will soon be forced to make a crucial decision—one so terrible that it could harm her family forever. When she discovers that her enemy, Alistair Knight, went back in time to Victorian-era New York in order to destroy her family, Tamsin is forced to follow him into the past. Stranded all alone in the nineteenth century, Tamsin soon finds herself disguised as a lady's maid in the terrifying mansion of the evil Knight family, avoiding the watchful eye of the vicious matron, La Spider, and fending off the advances of Liam Knight. As time runs out, both families square off in a thrilling display of magic. And to her horror, Tamsin finally understands the nature of her fateful choice.

Ever Since I read Once a Witch, the first book in this amazing series, I've been dying to get my hands on the sequel, and have been counting down the days ever since, and now the time for it is almost here!

Tamsin just seemed so much more real to me than a lot of heroines these days, and that's just one of the many reasons I fell in love with the first book, Carolyn MacCullough knows how to write a good tale and I'll be eagerly waiting for the continuation to see what Tam and Gabriel get up to next!

Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey

Goodreads: Violet Willoughby doesn't believe in ghosts. But they believe in her. After spending years participating in her mother's elaborate ruse as a fraudulent medium, Violet is about as skeptical as they come in all matters supernatural. Now that she is being visited by a very persistent ghost, one who suffered a violent death, Violet can no longer ignore her unique ability. She must figure out what this ghost is trying to communicate, and quickly because the killer is still on the loose.

Afraid of ruining her chance to escape her mother's scheming through an advantageous marriage, Violet must keep her ability secret. The only person who can help her is Colin, a friend she's known since childhood, and whom she has grown to love. He understands the true Violet, but helping her on this path means they might never be together. Can Violet find a way to help this ghost without ruining her own chance at a future free of lies?

As soon as I heard about Haunting Violet I jumped to pre-order it, I have a massive obsession for any book with ghosts, and especially try to get my hands on any YA novel that has them mentioned in the synopsis.

My first trial was deciding if I should pre-order the hardcover or the paperback, I know most people wouldn't take pause and instantly order the hardcover, but I have a thing for paperbacks, and as soon as I saw the cover of the paperback, I had to get it, yes I thought the hardcover was equally stunning, but I couldn't resist.

So after I solved that dilemma, I read a few reviews and found out that not only did Haunting Violet have ghosts, but it also was set in England in the late 1800's, which is a favourite time period for me, so I was beyond excited.

I can't describe the joy of finding it in my mailbox earlier than I was expecting it (yesterday), and it didn't take me long to dive straight into the wonderful world that Alyxandra Harvey had created.

Violet Willoughby is no wilting flower, she has a lot to deal with; her mothers lies and outrageous personality, romantic interests, the rules of society, suddenly being able to see ghosts and a murderer on the loose who doesn't like the questions that she is asking.

Haunting Violet is a thrilling read, you get sucked right in to the mystery with Violet wondering who on earth did it, Harvey did a great job because honestly I came no where near close to guessing who was the killer, and that's one of the things I'm good at! (shame that I can't put it on a resume!)

The romance meshed well with the plot and didn't overwhelm it in the slightest.

I fell in love with Colin and just wanted to punch Xavier in the face every time he called Violet beautiful, I think she got it the first one hundred times you said it pal!

At the ending, the first thing I said was 'Aww' with a big smile on my face and had to stop myself from turning back to the start and reading it from the beginning all over again.

Haunting Violet will be found in my favourites pile and I'm hoping very much for a sequel, because even though the loose ends were tied off nicely it still has that potiential opening for a sequel

Now I'm off to go stalk Alyxandra Harvey's site for more info. (After some stalking I came across Alyxandra's twitter where she posted this: For those asking: Haunting Violet is a standalone. But I wrote a sequel bc I couldn't help myself ;) (but it's uncontracted so no promises.) You can find her twitter here.)

So it looks like I'll be waiting! Many people already love Haunting Violet, so I'm hoping that it wont be too long until the sequel in approved. :D

A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford

Goodreads:
Eden didn't expect Az.

Not his saunter down the beach toward her. Not his unbelievable pick-up line. Not the instant, undeniable connection. And not his wings.

Yeah.

So long, happily-ever-after.

Now trapped between life and death, cursed to spread chaos with her every touch, Eden could be the key in the eternal struggle between heaven and hell.

All because she gave her heart to one of the Fallen, an angel cast out of heaven.

She may lose everything she ever had. She may be betrayed by those she loves most. But Eden will not be a pawn in anyone else's game.

Her heart is her own.

And that's only the beginning of the end.

A Touch Mortal was one of those rare jewels you happen to find amongst a bunch of rocks; for me anyway.

It was simply amazing, Leah Clifford writes a fantastic world that sucks you in and keeps you glued to your seat, eagerly turning the pages to find out what happens next.

This was another book that I was skeptical about when I heard about it, but what grabbed my attention, and then sold the book for me, was when I happened to stumble upon Leah Cliffords LiveBlogTV when she and Courtney Allison Moulton, author of Angelfire where having a live show, I became interested and decided to check out Leah's goodreads page.

Then I came across this vlog where Leah reads an excerpt out of A Touch Mortal, which ended up sealing the deal, and had me tripping over my feet to buy the book when I got paid that week.

I knew I would like it, but what I didn't know, is that I would LOVE it!

From the very first sentence until the end of the book I was enthralled with everything, the storyline was great, the characters amazing and the concept of siders was intriguing.

It was a very refreshing read for the YA genre, I especially liked how Eden and Az's romance started at the beginning of the book, it had a very different build-up from other YA novels, which I enjoyed.

The end was just wow, a couple little twists, and surprises that will have you either shocked, or screaming 'I knew it!' at the end of the book, (I was a bit of both :D)

I can't wait till A Touch Morbid comes out, the cover looks amazing! I will be counting down the days on my calender until its released in February next year in great anticipation!

Exile by Anne Osterlund

Goodreads:
Crown princess Aurelia is a survivor. She survived attempted assassination. She survived the king's rejection. She survived her mother's abandonment. And now, in exile, she must survive her kingdom-from hostile crowds to raw frontier to desert sands. But even as unknown assailants track Aurelia and expedition guide Robert, she knows what her greatest risk is: falling love...

I must confess that although I bought Exile, I wasn't expecting much from it, Aurelia was a good read but I found it somewhat lacking, so I had Exile sitting on my shelf staring at me for quite some time before I picked it up and decided to give it a go.

It was such a pleasant surprise! Anne Osterlund has grown so much as a writer, Aurelia was her debut work and I felt it somewhat lacking, then I read Academy 7 and had witnessed her growth in that book, and enjoyed it immensely, I didn't think that would account for the same in Exile.

Boy was i wrong, and was very happy that I was.

Then I was swept away with Aurelia and Robert as they journeyed throughout the kingdom, with many trials ahead and behind them.

Aurelia grew so much in this novel and so did Robert, they never seem to have any luck with love, and after everything that has happened, who knows what will occur of their relationship, especially with a few new little twists thrown in the mix.

I do know however that I'll be cheering for them in the next book!

Trial by Fire - by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Goodreads:
There can only be one alpha.
Bryn is finally settling into her position as alpha of the Cedar Ridge Pack—or at least, her own version of what it means to be alpha when you’re a human leading a band of werewolves.
Then she finds a teenage boy bleeding on her front porch. Before collapsing, he tells her his name is Lucas, he’s a Were, and Bryn’s protection is his only hope.

But Lucas isn’t part of Bryn’s pack, and she has no right to claim another alpha’s Were. 
With threats—old and new—looming, and danger closing in from all sides, Bryn will have to accept what her guardian Callum knew all along.
To be alpha, she will have to give in to her own animal instincts and become less human. And, she’s going to have to do it alone.

I was literally counting down the days for Trial by Fire, and once it was, the good people at the Book Depository sent it off to me all the way here in Australia, and even though it usually takes a week, I was checking my mail box every day in anticipation.

Once it had arrived I practically devoured it.

The best thing about Trial by Fire and Raised by Wolves, is that romance wasn't the main drive of the novel, sure it was there, and like every other girl, I love a good romance, but in a lot of YA books these days, Authors tend to go a bit overboard, so it was nice and refreshing read for me, in both books, even though my heart went out to Chase in this installment.

With my fascination and obsession for wolves I'm a tough critic with books based on werewolves or wolves in general but Jennifer Lynn Barnes did an amazing job, I just simply fell in love the world that she has created and all of it's characters.

A lot of heroines bug me but I found Bryn to be an amazing character, shes strong, has brains and knows how to use them and has a genuine kindness for others, ones that aren't a threat to her pack of course.

Finding about Ali's past was a nice touch and Callum remains to be as cryptic as ever, especially with that nice little twist of info at the end.

I'll be eagerly anticipating the third installment as much as I did this one, and, well okay, I am hoping for a little more romance in the next book... but not too much! Gotta keep a girl on her toes.