Waiting on Wednesday #33: Doon

Waiting on Wednesday is a wonderful meme created by Jill from Breaking the Spine where we highlighted an upcoming release that we're eagerly anticipating.

Doon (Doon #1)by Carey Corp (Goodreads Author),
Lorie Langdon (Goodreads Author)
Hardcover, 368 pages
Expected publication: August 20th 2013 

by Zondervan

Summary from Goodreads:

Veronica doesn't think she's going crazy. But why can't anyone else see the mysterious blond boy who keeps popping up wherever she goes? When her best friend, Mackenna, invites her to spend the summer in Scotland, Veronica jumps at the opportunity to leave her complicated life behind for a few months. 

But the Scottish countryside holds other plans.

Not only has the imaginary kilted boy followed her to Alloway, she and Mackenna uncover a strange set of rings and a very unnerving letter from Mackenna's great aunt—and when the girls test the instructions Aunt Gracie left behind, they find themselves transported to a land that defies explanation. Doon seems like a real-life fairy tale, complete with one prince who has eyes for Mackenna and another who looks suspiciously like the boy from Veronica's daydreams. But Doon has a dark underbelly as well. The two girls could have everything they've longed for...or they could end up breaking an enchantment and find themselves trapped in a world that has become a nightmare.

Babble:
I love reading about adventure in some fantastic new land. I'm hoping that this will put me out of my terrible reading slump.

Blog Tour (Review & Giveaway): Otherborn by Anna Silver

Otherborn
by Anna Silver
Published April 4th 2013

by Sapphire Star Publishing

Summary from Goodreads: 

London and her teenage friends live in a reprocessed world.

Confined within Capital City’s concrete walls, London has done the impossible and the illegal. She’s created something New- a song. But her mentor, club owner Pauly, is not impressed. Since the historic Energy Crisis forced everyone behind walls generations ago, the Tycoons have ensured there is truly nothing new allowed under the sun. Pauly warns London to keep her song to herself, if she knows what’s good for her. 

What he doesn’t know is that London is keeping an even bigger secret: she dreams. And she’s not alone. London’s band-mates and friends have begun dreaming as well, seeing themselves in “night pictures” as beings from another world. As Otherborn, they must piece together the story of their astral avatars, the Others, in order to save their world from a dreamless, hopeless future.

When Pauly is murdered and an Otherborn goes missing, London realizes someone is hunting them down. Escaping along the Outroads, they brave the deserted Houselands with only their dreams to guide them. Can they find their friend before the assassin finds them? Will being Otherborn save their lives, or destroy them? 

Thoughts:
I was really curious as to how the author could come up with such an interesting idea in creating a dystopian world where everything is actually old or reprocessed. Even ideas and creative works are remade in Capital City so London; the main character definitely stood out and were even told to concealed her talents when she inadvertently invented a new song.

I've never encountered a dystopian book that focussed on musical and creative elements so it is indeed a welcome change after reading so much unecessary violence in YA dystopian books. However, it took some time for the story to pick up its pace and the rather slow beginning might confuse and turn off some readers.

What I love most however is the interesting characters and their individual traits. London and her bandmates are a colourful bunch who discovered that they have been experiencing something unique and then decided to take some action. I really can't wait for the next in the series to find out more about these characters and how can they solve the mystery of being an Otherborn.

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Waiting on Wednesday #32: The Naturals

Waiting on Wednesday is a wonderful meme created by Jill from Breaking the Spine where we highlighted an upcoming release that we're eagerly anticipating.

The Naturals
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Hardcover, 304 pages
Expected publication: November 5th 2013 

by Disney-Hyperion

Summary from Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie doesn’t realize is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved homicides— especially when she’s sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own.

Sarcastic, privileged Michael has a knack for reading emotions, which he uses to get inside Cassie’s head—and under her skin. Brooding Dean shares Cassie’s gift for profiling, but keeps her at arm’s length.

Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms closer than Cassie could ever have imagined. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

Babble:
There are so many books featuring teens with special powers these days that I'm hoping that this book will be able to differentiate itself with an amazing plot, likeable characters or a gripping mystery. Otherwise I'm totally giving up on all these YA X-Men meets super secret spy thing.

Waiting on Wednesday #31: Champion

Waiting on Wednesday is a wonderful meme created by Jill from Breaking the Spine where we highlighted an upcoming release that we're eagerly anticipating.


Champion (Legend #3)

by Marie Lu
Hardcover, 384 pages
Expected publication: November 5th 2013
by Putnam Juvenile 

Summary from Goodreads:

He is a Legend.
She is a Prodigy.
Who will be Champion?

June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic—and each other—and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. June is back in the good graces of the Republic, working within the government’s elite circles as Princeps Elect while Day has been assigned a high level military position. But neither could have predicted the circumstances that will reunite them once again. Just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic’s border cities. 

This new strain of plague is deadlier than ever, and June is the only one who knows the key to her country’s defense. But saving the lives of thousands will mean asking the one she loves to give up everything he has. 

Babble:
What is going to happen to June and Day? For once, I think both the female and male protagonist are on equal ground unlike Peeta who is a bit inferior to alpha female Katniss. Day's resourcefulness and June's ability makes quite a match although they are from different part sides of the government.