Waiting on Wednesday | Dreams and Shadows by C. Robert Cargill

 

Dreams and Shadows sounds like the dark, fantastical stuff I just love to read.

Dreams and Shadows by C. Robert Cargill
February 26th 2013 by Harper Voyager
Amazon | Goodreads

There is another world than our own, as close and intimate as a kiss, as terrifying and haunting as nightmares, a realm where fairies and djinns, changelings and angels, all the stuff of which dreams are made is real...and where magic awaits in the shadows, just a hidden step away. Between this realm and that other lies a veil, a gossamer web that muddles the vision of mortal man and keeps him from seeing what is all around him. Sometimes, someone pierces that protective veil. But one glimpse of this world can forever transform lives. Just ask Ewan and Colby...

Once upon the time, the pair were once bold explorers and youthful denizens of this magical realm, until they left that world behind them. Now, Ewan is a musician living in Austin, and has just met the girl he wants to marry. Colby is still coping with the consequences of an innocent childhood wish that haunts him all these years later. While their time in the Limestone Kingdom is little more than a distant memory, this supernatural world has never forgotten them. And in a world where angels relax on rooftops, whiskey-swilling genies and foul-mouthed wizards argue metaphysics, and monsters in the dark feed on fear, both will learn that fate can never be outrun.

The many fans of Neil Gaiman, Lev Grossman, Erin Morgenstern, and Kim Harrison will love this fabulous debut tale of the magic and monsters in our world...and in ourselves.

Dreams and Shadows sounds awesome. I look forward to reading this in a couple of weeks!
What upcoming releases are you pining for this week? Let me know in the comments (or leave me a link!).

This post is being shared as part of Breaking the Spine's "Waiting on" Wednesday.

Review | The Chicken Thief by Beatrice Rodriguez

Someone please explain this book to me. It is so bizarre!

My son brought this book home from his school library yesterday. When I opened it and saw there were no words I thought "Oh cool, we can make up the story as we go along". We used to love reading Good Night, Gorilla. So I "read" it to myself, and I realized I had no idea what was supposed to be happening in this crazytown book.

When it came time to read this book with my son I told him there were no words so he could just look at the pictures and tell me what he thinks is happening. My son: "I don't know what is happening". I don't either.

So I tell my son the very disturbing story that is The Chicken Thief. A fox comes into a backyard gathering of animal friends and nabs a chicken. The fox goes running through the woods with the hen all the while closing her beak so she can't scream out. The chicken's friends go off chasing after the fox to save the chicken. A couple of days go by (and pages of increasing weirdness) until the chicken and the fox wind up falling in love in the oddest display of children's literature what the fuckery I've seen since reading Love You Forever.

I tried to make this story cute for my kid last night, but today I feel the overwhelming urge to make double sure my son knows it is not OK to be abducted. What kind of picture book is this?

1/10: Hated it

Currently Reading | A Game of Thrones

At some point I will catch up on reviews, but in the mean time I am loving my no-plan year of reading. I'm just picking up whatever sounds great at the time. Last week I enjoyed an Urban Fantasy book called The Rook by Daniel O'Malley. I really didn't know what it was all about going into it, but when The Man Eating Bookworm says to read something, I've been known to read it.

Now I'm about a third of the way through A Game of Thrones. I'm surprised how good it is. I was worried everyone loved it just because they love the show, but it really is a great read so far. I imagine I will get sucked into the entire A Song of Ice and Fire series.

Have you read A Game of Thrones? Do you watch the show? A friend gave us the first season on DVD but we've only had time to watch a few episodes. It's definitely not one I can watch with my three little munchkins around.

I have no idea what I'll pick up next, but I'm in the mood for something scary. I tried to read Gretchen McNeil's Ten, but it was not for me. I think I'd be better off picking up the Agatha Christie original instead.

Have a great week! Be sure to let me know what you are reading this week (or leave me a link so I can visit!).

This post is being shared as part of Book Journey's It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Notable New Release | City of a Thousand Dolls by Mirian Forster

 

Only one new release caught my eye last week. It was City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster. It first caught my eye because the cover reminds me of the Southern Oracle from The Neverending Story. Man I love that movie. (I should say book, but I haven't read it.) After losing myself in my memories of Atreyu, the description for City of a Thousand Dolls sounded pretty awesome, too.

City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster
February 5th 2013

The girl with no past, and no future, may be the only one who can save their lives.

Nisha was abandoned at the gates of the City of a Thousand Dolls when she was just a little girl. Now sixteen, she lives on the grounds of the isolated estate, where orphan girls apprentice as musicians, healers, courtesans, and, if the rumors are true, assassins. She makes her way as Matron's errand girl, her closest companions the mysterious cats that trail her shadow. Only when she begins a forbidden flirtation with the city's handsome young courier does she let herself imagine a life outside the walls. Until one by one, girls around her start to die.

Before she becomes the next victim, Nisha decides to uncover the secrets that surround the girls' deaths. But by getting involved, Nisha jeopardizes not only her own future in the City of a Thousand Dolls—but also her life.

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What did I miss last week? Are there any other new releases I should know about? Be sure to let me know what books you were excited about this past week.

Notable New Book Releases | Jan. 27 - Feb. 2

These are the new book releases that caught my eye this week:

The Mad Scientist's Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke
January 29th 2013
Amazon | Goodreads

“Cat, this is Finn. He’s going to be your tutor.”

Finn looks and acts human, though he has no desire to be. He was programmed to assist his owners, and performs his duties to perfection. A billion-dollar construct, his primary task now is to tutor Cat. As she grows into a beautiful young woman, Finn is her guardian, her constant companion… and more.

But when the government grants rights to the ever-increasing robot population, however, Finn struggles to find his place in the world.

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Lilith by Toby Tate
January 29th 2013
Amazon | Goodreads

Before evil had a name, there was LILITH.

Something has come aboard the U.S. Navy’s newest state-of-the-art super carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, something supernatural and as ancient as time itself.  And it’s taking over the crew one by one.

Reporter Hunter Singleton and his wife Lisa, guests invited aboard to witness a routine training mission off the coast of North Carolina, soon learn that the CIA is onboard as well, and that some of the ship’s crew are acting irrationally, even violently.  When an unexpected monster hurricane slams New York, the ship rushes to assist in the aftermath, and Hunter, Lisa and the crew are faced with the terrifying realization that whatever has come aboard the Ford must be stopped before it is set free on the streets of Manhattan.

But how do they fight something beyond human comprehension?  How do they kill something that may not even be alive? 

The clock is ticking…and Time itself is running out.

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Clockwork Dolls by William Meikle
January 29th 2013
Amazon | Goodreads

Does all human passion, all memory, all imagination come merely from the chemistry in our brains, like the movements of a clock follow from the arrangement of its cogs and wheels?

Are we just clockwork dolls?

Or is there an organizing principle at work, something we can ask for answers to the important questions of existence... something that might answer?

Dave Burns has asked.

Now he, and his friends, might not live long enough to understand the reply.

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Did any of these books make it on to your shelves this week? Be sure to let me know what books you were excited about this week.