Can't-Wait... Tuesday?: Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire, The Lotus Shoes by Jane Yang, & The Secrets of Underhill by Kali Wallace

      

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

Since tomorrow is Christmas Day for those who celebrate, I figured I'd go ahead and post my Can't-Wait Wednesday post today instead. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season! :)

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear (Wayward Children #10) by Seanan McGuire
Publication: January 7th, 2025
Tordotcom
Hardcover. 160 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Giant turtles, impossible ships, and tidal rivers ridden by a Drowned girl in search of a family in the latest in the bestselling Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning Wayward Children series from Seanan McGuire.

Nadya had three mothers: the one who bore her, the country that poisoned her, and the one who adopted her.

Nadya never considered herself less than whole, not until her adoptive parents fitted her with a prosthetic arm against her will, seeking to replace the one she'd been missing from birth.

It was cumbersome; it was uncomfortable; it was wrong.

It wasn't her.

Frustrated and unable to express why, Nadya began to wander, until the day she fell through a door into Belyrreka, the Land Beneath the Lake--and found herself in a world of water, filled with child-eating amphibians, majestic giant turtles, and impossible ships that sailed as happily beneath the surface as on top. In Belyrreka, she found herself understood for who she was: a Drowned Girl, who had made her way to her real home, accepted by the river and its people.

But even in Belyrreka, there are dangers, and trials, and Nadya would soon find herself fighting to keep hold of everything she had come to treasure."

I'm honestly still a bit behind on catching up with this series, but I'm always excited to hear about a new one coming out. I'm also a little surprised sometimes that it's still going, but I'm curious to see what else McGuire has up her sleeve.

The Lotus Shoes by Jane Yang
Publication: January 28th, 2025
Sphere
Hardcover. 400 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"An astonishing story set in 1800s China. Little Flower is sold into slavery, and Linjing into marriage . . .

As a child, Little Flower is sold to Linjing's wealthy family to become a muizai. In a fit of childish jealousy over her new handmaiden's ladylike bound feet and talent for embroidery, Linjing ensures Little Flower can never leave her to ascend in society.

Despite their starkly different places in the Fong household, over the years the two girls must work together to secure both their futures through Linjing's marriage. As the two grow up, they are by turns bitter rivals and tentative friends.

Until scandal strikes the family, and Linjing and Little Flower's lives are unexpectedly thrown into chaos. Linjing's fall from grace could be an opportunity for Little Flower - but will their intertwined fates lead to triumph, or tragedy for them both?"

I'm always on the lookout for some great new historical fiction and this one sounds really promising!

The Secrets of Underhill by Kali Wallace
Publication: January 28th, 2025
Quirk Books
Hardcover. 320 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"This immersive fantasy adventure combines vivid world-building with timely themes of environmentalism is perfect for middle grade readers of Kelly Barnhill and Jessica Townsend.

Nick Sixsmith has spent her whole life on the road. The daughter of a traveling arborist, she and her mother move from town to town, caring for the ironwood groves the communities rely upon. When a dangerous blight takes hold of these magical trees, they must journey to the city of Mistwood—her mother’s hometown—for answers.

Nick can’t wait to explore the prosperous city of Mistwood and all it has to the bustling markets and workshops, neighborhoods built under a roaring waterfall, and the vast ancestral grove of ironwood trees. But dark secrets simmer beneath the surface as people start to disappear, and tensions rise in the city.

As the mystery grows, Nick and her new friends must follow the trail where it leads underground, to a strange, enchanting world called Underhill. Only then, among the roots of ancestral grove, will Nick find a way to save her new home and the ironwood trees."

I've only had a chance to read Kali Wallace's adult sci-fi/horror so far, and I'm really excited to finally check out some of her middle grade work because I do love some great middle grade.

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire & My Friends by Hisham Matar

 

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlights are:

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known (Wayward Children #9) by Seanan McGuire
Publication: January 9th, 2024
Tordotcom
Hardcover. 160 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Antsy is the latest student to pass through the doors at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children.

When her fellow students realize that Antsy's talent for finding absolutely anything may extend to doors, she's forced to flee in the company of a small group of friends, looking for a way back to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go to be sure that Vineta and Hudson are keeping their promise.

Along the way, temptations are dangled, decisions are reinforced, and a departure to a world populated by dinosaurs brings untold dangers and one or two other surprises!

A story that reminds us that finding what you want doesn't always mean finding what you need."

I think I'm still one book behind in this series, but I'm hoping to catch up soon in time for the release of this latest installment. This series has its ups and downs, but I'm always drawn to them and have really loved the creativity from Seanan McGuire! Also, I'm always down for dinosaurs. 

My Friends by Hisham Matar
Publication: January 9th, 2024
Random House
Hardcover. 416 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"The trick time plays is to lull us into the belief that everything lasts forever, and although nothing does, we continue, inside our dream.

One evening, as a young boy growing up in Benghazi, Khaled hears a bizarre short story read aloud on the radio, about a man being eaten alive by a cat. Obsessed by the power of those words—and by their enigmatic author, Hosam Zowa—Khaled eventually embarks on a journey that will take him far from home, to pursue a life of the mind at the University of Edinburgh.

There, thrust into an open society that is light years away from the world he knew in Libya, Khaled begins to change. He attends a protest against the Qaddafi regime in London, only to watch it explode in tragedy. In a flash, Khaled finds himself injured, clinging to life, an exile, unable to leave England, much less return to the country of his birth. To even tell his mother and father back home what he has done, on tapped phone lines, would jeopardize their safety.

When a chance encounter in a hotel brings Khaled face to face with Hosam Zowa, the author of the fateful short story, he is subsumed into the deepest friendship of his life. It is a friendship that not only sustains him, but eventually forces him, as the Arab Spring erupts, to confront agonizing tensions between revolution and safety, family and exile, and how to define his own sense of self against those closest to him.

A devastating meditation on friendship and family, and the ways in which time tests—and frays—those bonds, My Friends is an achingly beautiful work of literature by an author at the peak of his powers."

Something about this book just really calls out to me and I'm really curious to check it out. It sounds like it'll hit on a lot of different topics and events, which should make for an interesting read.  

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire & What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall

 

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week, we're diving in early to take a peek at some of January's upcoming releases!
This week's upcoming book spotlights are: 

Lost in the Moment and Found (Wayward Children #8) by Seanan McGuire
Publication: January 10th, 2023
Tordotcom
Hardcover. 160 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"Welcome to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go. 

If you ever lost a sock, you’ll find it here. 

If you ever wondered about favorite toy from childhood... it’s probably sitting on a shelf in the back. 

And the headphones that you swore that this time you’d keep safe? You guessed it…. 

Antoinette has lost her father. Metaphorically. He’s not in the shop, and she’ll never see him again. But when Antsy finds herself lost (literally, this time), she finds that however many doors open for her, leaving the Shop for good might not be as simple as it sounds. 

And stepping through those doors exacts a price. 

Lost in the Moment and Found tells us that childhood and innocence, once lost, can never be found."

I have found that the books in this series can be a little hit or miss sometimes at this point, but I'm always so excited to read the new installments, and Lost in the Moment and Found sounds very promising! I love diving into McGuire's seemingly boundless imagination. 

and...

What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall
Publication: January 17th, 2023
Flatiron
Hardcover. 336 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"They were eleven when they sent a killer to prison . . . They were heroes . . . but they were liars. 

Naomi Shaw used to believe in magic. Twenty-two years ago, she and her two best friends, Cassidy and Olivia, spent the summer roaming the woods, imagining a world of ceremony and wonder. They called it the Goddess Game. The summer ended suddenly when Naomi was attacked. Miraculously, she survived her seventeen stab wounds and lived to identify the man who had hurt her. The girls’ testimony put away a serial killer, wanted for murdering six women. They were heroes. 

And they were liars. 

For decades, the friends have kept a secret worth killing for. But now Olivia wants to tell, and Naomi sets out to find out what really happened in the woods—no matter how dangerous the truth turns out to be."

I've really enjoyed what I've read from Kate Alice Marshall so far, and although I'm behind on a couple of her releases, I'm really looking forward to this one now as well!

What do you think about these upcoming releases? What are your anticipated upcoming releases?

Can't-Wait Wednesday: How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu & Where the Drowned Girls Go (Wayward Children #7) by Seanan McGuire

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlights are: 

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
Publication: January 18th, 2022

William Morrow

Hardcover. 304 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"Follow a cast of intricately linked characters over hundreds of years as humanity struggles to rebuild itself in the aftermath of a climate plague 

Beginning in 2030, a grieving archeologist arrives in the Arctic Circle to continue the work of his recently deceased daughter at the Batagaika crater, where researchers are studying long-buried secrets now revealed in melting permafrost, including the perfectly preserved remains of a girl who appears to have died of an ancient virus. 

Once unleashed, the Arctic Plague will reshape life on Earth for generations to come, quickly traversing the globe, forcing humanity to devise a myriad of moving and inventive ways to embrace possibility in the face of tragedy. In a theme park designed for terminally ill children, a cynical employee falls in love with a mother desperate to hold on to her infected son. A heartbroken scientist searching for a cure finds a second chance at fatherhood when one of his test subjects—a pig—develops the capacity for human speech. A widowed painter and her teenaged granddaughter embark on a cosmic quest to locate a new home planet. 

From funerary skyscrapers to hotels for the dead to interstellar starships, Sequoia Nagamatsu takes readers on a wildly original and compassionate journey, spanning continents, centuries, and even celestial bodies to tell a story about the resiliency of the human spirit, our infinite capacity to dream, and the connective threads that tie us all together in the universe."

This premise is everything to me. I feel like this is the book I've been hoping for, so I can't wait to have a chance to check it out and hopefully love it as much as I'm hoping to!

and...

Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children #7)

Publication: January 4th, 2022

Tordotcom

Hardcover. 160 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"Welcome to the Whitethorn Institute. The first step is always admitting you need help, and you've already taken that step by requesting a transfer into our company. 

There is another school for children who fall through doors and fall back out again. 

It isn't as friendly as Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children. 

And it isn't as safe. 

When Eleanor West decided to open her school, her sanctuary, her Home for Wayward Children, she knew from the beginning that there would be children she couldn't save; when Cora decides she needs a different direction, a different fate, a different prophecy, Miss West reluctantly agrees to transfer her to the other school, where things are run very differently by Whitethorn, the Headmaster. 

She will soon discover that not all doors are welcoming..."

I have adored the Wayward Children series and I think this installment sounds like it's really going to get into something new and interesting. I'm very curious and excited to read this one!

What do you think about these upcoming releases? What are your anticipated upcoming releases?

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire, The Forever Sea by Joshua Phillip Johnson, & The Divines by Ellie Eaton

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlights are: 

Across the Green Grass Fields (Wayward Children #6) by Seanan McGuire
Publication: January 12th, 2021

Tor

Hardcover. 176 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"'Welcome to the Hooflands. We’re happy to have you, even if you being here means something’s coming.'

 

Regan loves, and is loved, though her school-friend situation has become complicated, of late.

 

When she suddenly finds herself thrust through a doorway that asks her to "Be Sure" before swallowing her whole, Regan must learn to live in a world filled with centaurs, kelpies, and other magical equines―a world that expects its human visitors to step up and be heroes.

 

But after embracing her time with the herd, Regan discovers that not all forms of heroism are equal, and not all quests are as they seem…"

I have been really enjoying the Wayward Children series and I'm really excited to see what Regan's story is going to be!

and...

The Forever Sea by Joshua Phillip Johnson

Publication: January 19th, 2021

DAW Books

Hardcover. 464 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"The first book in a new environmental epic fantasy series set in a world where ships kept afloat by magical hearthfires sail an endless grass sea.

 

On the never-ending, miles-high expanse of prairie grasses known as the Forever Sea, Kindred Greyreach, hearthfire keeper and sailor aboard harvesting vessel The Errant, is just beginning to fit in with the crew of her new ship when she receives devastating news. Her grandmother--The Marchess, legendary captain and hearthfire keeper--has stepped from her vessel and disappeared into the sea.

 

But the note she leaves Kindred suggests this was not an act of suicide. Something waits in the depths, and the Marchess has set out to find it.

 

To follow in her grandmother's footsteps, Kindred must embroil herself in conflicts bigger than she could imagine: a water war simmering below the surface of two cultures; the politics of a mythic pirate city floating beyond the edges of safe seas; battles against beasts of the deep, driven to the brink of madness; and the elusive promise of a world below the waves.

 

Kindred finds that she will sacrifice almost everything--ship, crew, and a life sailing in the sun--to discover the truth of the darkness that waits below the Forever Sea."

Is that cover not so intriguing!? I haven't heard much about this one at all, but I am so intrigued by its premise. (And on a side note--anyone think that cover would make a great puzzle?)

and...

The Divines by Ellie Eaton

William Morrow

Publication: January 19th, 2021

Hardcover. 320 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"Can we ever really escape our past?

 

 The girls of St John the Divine, an elite English boarding school, were notorious for flipping their hair, harassing teachers, chasing boys, and chain-smoking cigarettes. They were fiercely loyal, sharp-tongued, and cuttingly humorous in the way that only teenage girls can be. For Josephine, now in her thirties, the years at St John were a lifetime ago. She hasn’t spoken to another Divine in fifteen years, not since the day the school shuttered its doors in disgrace.

 

Yet now Josephine inexplicably finds herself returning to her old stomping grounds. The visit provokes blurry recollections of those doomed final weeks that rocked the community. Ruminating on the past, Josephine becomes obsessed with her teenage identity and the forgotten girls of her one-time orbit. With each memory that resurfaces, she circles closer to the violent secret at the heart of the school’s scandal. But the more Josephine recalls, the further her life unravels, derailing not just her marriage and career, but her entire sense of self.

 

Moving between present-day Los Angeles and 1990s Britain, The Divines is a scorching examination of the power of adolescent sexuality, female identity, and the destructive class divide. Exposing the tension between the lives we lead as adults and the experiences that form us, Eaton probes us to consider how our memories as adults compel us to reexamine our pasts. "

I'm also intrigued by books with this sort of premise, though they can be so hit or miss and I'm not sure what to expect! I recently received an ARC of it, though, so I'm excited to find out. 

What do you think about these upcoming releases? What are your anticipated upcoming releases?

Novella Mini-Reviews: Final Girls by Mira Grant & Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire

Final Girls by Mira Grant
Subterranean Press
Publication: April 30th, 2017

Hardcover. 112 pages.

About Final Girls:

"What if you could fix the worst parts of yourself by confronting your worst fears? 

Dr. Jennifer Webb has invented proprietary virtual reality technology that purports to heal psychological wounds by running clients through scenarios straight out of horror movies and nightmares. In a carefully controlled environment, with a medical cocktail running through their veins, sisters might develop a bond they’ve been missing their whole lives—while running from the bogeyman through a simulated forest. But…can real change come so easily? 

Esther Hoffman doubts it. Esther has spent her entire journalism career debunking pseudoscience, after phony regression therapy ruined her father’s life. She’s determined to unearth the truth about Dr. Webb’s budding company. Dr. Webb’s willing to let her, of course, for reasons of her own. What better advertisement could she get than that of a convinced skeptic? But Esther’s not the only one curious about how this technology works. Enter real-world threats just as frightening as those created in the lab. Dr. Webb and Esther are at odds, but they may also be each other’s only hope of survival."

As you may or may not know, Mira Grant and Seanan McGuire are the same author using different pseudonyms. From my experience, it seems as though Mira Grant leans more towards the sci-fi and medical sci-fi routes, whereas Seanan McGuire has more books featuring fantasy and the like. Final Girls falls in the realm of what I would describe as science fiction with a mental health medicine focus. This was a really interesting thought experiment about an experimental new method to help estranged family members and friends develop a strong relationship using virtual reality simulations.

What I liked: I loved how Grant took the idea of how fear affects the mind and body and explored that in a new way. I was fascinated by how Esther, who tested out the experiment herself, was able to be sucked into this simulation idea despite her occasional awareness that the situation wasn't real. Grant's prose also continues to be one that easo;y drags the reader in, as she knows how to combine a simple style with strong descriptions and explanation in a way that makes this an enjoyable read.

What I didn't like: There's nothing that I explicitly disliked in this novella, but it also wasn't something that stood out to me in any strong way. I will certainly remember this novella and the premise that it explores, but there's still something about it that prevented me from enjoying it further. I think the main thing that might've have contributed to this was my lack of interest in most of the characters. Novellas don't provide much time to really connect with a character usually, but it's still possible to care about them and I'm not sure that's something that I ever really felt about the characters--even though the two main characters were developed well--which in turn caused me to feel as if I was being held at arm's length. I felt that many areas were not explored as much as they could have been.

Overall, Final Girls is a fascinating futuristic sci-fi novella with some interesting ideas to explore. I've given it 3.75 stars!

Amazon | IndieBound

Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
Tor
Publication Date: January 9th, 2018

Hardcover. 174 pages.

About Beneath the Sugar Sky:

"When Rini lands with a literal splash in the pond behind Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, the last thing she expects to find is that her mother, Sumi, died years before Rini was even conceived. But Rini can’t let Reality get in the way of her quest – not when she has an entire world to save! (Much more common than one would suppose.)

If she can't find a way to restore her mother, Rini will have more than a world to save: she will never have been born in the first place. And in a world without magic, she doesn’t have long before Reality notices her existence and washes her away. Good thing the student body is well-acquainted with quests... 

A tale of friendship, baking, and derring-do. 

Warning: May contain nuts."

Beneath the Sugar Sky is the third installment in the ever-popular Wayward Children's series. In this book, we follow yet another member of Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children on their own journey as we get to explore even more new worlds. We visit a few worlds in this book, but the main one is a sugar-sweet Nonsense world, and as someone with a huge sweet tooth, this world spoke to me.

What I liked: McGuire has an incredibly inventive imagination and she continues to build these magnificent settings that stand apart from everything else and that come vividly to life in my own mind. Her descriptions are stunning and overflowing with beautiful prose. I loved that this book combined some new characters with old characters--all from different worlds--and readers are able to continue to learn new things about them and their character. I also really appreciated how seamlessly McGuire incorporates so much diversity among her cast of characters--it's effortless and flows perfectly, yet is also prominent enough to make a statement.

What I didn't like: Much like with Final Girls, there's nothing that I can really pinpoint that I disliked, but this installment just didn't call out to me quite as much as some of the others. Parts of it felt very formulaic and a bit lacking in some way, while other parts were beautiful and immediately grabbed my attention. I think the inconsistency really translated to my own uncertain feelings about this book. The plot was just a bit odd in this one and I couldn't find myself feeling fully invested in the stakes at play.

Overall, I've given Beneath the Sugar Sky 3.75 stars!

Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Novella Mini-Reviews: The Test by Sylvain Neuvel & Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

The Test by Sylvain Neuvel
St. Martin's Press
Publication: March 1st, 2019

Paperback. 112 pages.

About The Test:

"Britain, the not-too-distant future. Idir is sitting the British Citizenship Test. He wants his family to belong. Twenty-five questions to determine their fate. 

Twenty-five chances to impress. 

When the test takes an unexpected and tragic turn, Idir is handed the power of life and death. How do you value a life when all you have is multiple choice?"

I was never able to get into Sylvain Neuvel's first trilogy, the Themis Files, but the concept of this novella was too good to pass up and I ended up enjoying it much more than his other books. The concept of The Test is very simple: an immigrant who traveled with his family to a future Britain must pass a citizenship test. The execution of that test, however, is much deeper and more compelling than that. As far as plot goes, I really can't tell you any more than that without spoiling anything, but rest assured that this book takes off at a thrilling pace only a couple pages in and doesn't stop until you hit the last page. Since it's only about an ~100 page story, it reads extremely quickly, but it packs a lot into those pages.

The exploration of morals, prejudice, and decision-making were contemplated in a striking--and rather shocking--manner that is certain to leave you thinking about it long after you put it down. The story takes an initial unpredictable twist that will put you on edge, then just when you think you know how this whole story is going to go, it still manages to shake things around and leave you constantly unprepared for the results. This story works perfectly as a novella and every page was utilized in a precise and exacting manner; Neuvel truly knows how to write about about powerful topics in a short but fulfilling manner.

Overall, I've given The Test 4.5 stars!

Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
Tor
Publication Date: June 13th, 2017

Hardcover. 187 pages.

About Down Among the Sticks and Bones:

"Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children. 

This is the story of what happened first… 

Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline. 

Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter—adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you've got. 

They were five when they learned that grown-ups can’t be trusted. 

They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices."

I've been holding onto a copy of this novella pretty much since it came out and I don't have a good explanation for as to why I hadn't read it yet. I loved Every Heart a Doorway and consistently heard nothing but raves for the additional novellas that have been published, yet something prevented me from picking it up. And wow do I regret not picking it up sooner!

I loved Down Among the Sticks and Bones even more than the first novella in this series and it's probably going on my favorites of the year list. This novella somehow managed to pack everything I love into its short 187-page journey and I still have a genuine book hangover for this one. It follows Jack and Jill as they embark upon a journey that will act as the precursor to them being sent off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children. This novella was filled to the brim with a stunning dark fairy tale atmosphere that truly permeated the entire plot and setting and made it impossible for me to stop reading (or even thinking!) about it.

The themes explored in this book also felt so relatable and hard-hitting, full of tough decisions and heartbreaking consequences. Jack and Jill were nothing like I expected--in the best way possible--and the characters that inhabit the world they enter were equally engaging and constantly begged for my attention. At this point, I really can't think of anything that I didn't like about this novella and I couldn't ask for anything more, so of course overall I'm giving it five stars!

Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Lent by Jo Walton and Middlegame by Sean McGuire

 

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlight is: 

Lent by Jo Walton

Publication: May 28th, 2019

Tor

Hardcover. 320 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"From Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award-winning Jo Walton comes Lent, a magical re-imagining of the man who remade fifteenth-century Florence—in all its astonishing strangeness 

Young Girolamo’s life is a series of miracles. 

It’s a miracle that he can see demons, plain as day, and that he can cast them out with the force of his will. It’s a miracle that he’s friends with Pico della Mirandola, the Count of Concordia. It’s a miracle that when Girolamo visits the deathbed of Lorenzo “the Magnificent,” the dying Medici is wreathed in celestial light, a surprise to everyone, Lorenzo included. It’s a miracle that when Charles VIII of France invades northern Italy, Girolamo meets him in the field, and convinces him to not only spare Florence but also protect it. It’s a miracle than whenever Girolamo preaches, crowds swoon. It’s a miracle that, despite the Pope’s determination to bring young Girolamo to heel, he’s still on the loose… and, now, running Florence in all but name. 

That’s only the beginning. Because Girolamo Savanarola is not who—or what—he thinks he is. He will discover the truth about himself at the most startling possible time. And this will be only the beginning of his many lives."

I'm so excited that Jo Walton has another book coming out, and this one sounds particularly interesting. It's been a while since I've read anything with a Renaissance Italy setting and I'm totally here for it. The cover for this always grabs me so hard, I'm really in love with the entire aesthetic.

and...

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire

Publication: May 7th, 2019

Tor.com

Hardcover. 528 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"New York Times bestselling and Alex, Nebula, and Hugo-Award-winning author Seanan McGuire introduces readers to a world of amoral alchemy, shadowy organizations, and impossible cities in the standalone fantasy, Middlegame. 

Meet Roger. Skilled with words, languages come easily to him. He instinctively understands how the world works through the power of story. 

Meet Dodger, his twin. Numbers are her world, her obsession, her everything. All she understands, she does so through the power of math. 

Roger and Dodger aren’t exactly human, though they don’t realise it. They aren’t exactly gods, either. Not entirely. Not yet. 

Meet Reed, skilled in the alchemical arts like his progenitor before him. Reed created Dodger and her brother. He’s not their father. Not quite. But he has a plan: to raise the twins to the highest power, to ascend with them and claim their authority as his own. 

Godhood is attainable. Pray it isn’t attained."

I guess it's an unplanned Tor day! I feel like having twin characters with the names Roger and Dodger will drive me crazy, but the rest of this premise sounds super intriguing so I'm ready to jump in anyway. I'm a little obsessed with alchemy also, so anytime it plays any sort of role in a book, I'm in. This cover is pretty damn neat also--Tor's doing good work!

What do you think about these upcoming releases? What are your anticipated upcoming releases?