Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro, The Thick and the Lean by Chana Porter, & Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

 

 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: 

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro
Publication: April 18th, 2023
Del Rey
Hardcover. 272 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"A woman is haunted by the Mexican folk demon La Llorona as she unravels the dark secrets of her family history in this ravishing and provocative horror novel.

Alejandra no longer knows who she is. To her husband, she is a wife, and to her children, a mother. To her own adoptive mother, she is a daughter. But they cannot see who Alejandra has become: a woman struggling with a darkness that threatens to consume her.

Nor can they see what Alejandra sees. In times of despair, a ghostly vision appears to her, the apparition of a crying woman in a ragged white gown.

When Alejandra visits a therapist, she begins exploring her family’s history, starting with the biological mother she never knew. As she goes deeper into the lives of the women in her family, she learns that heartbreak and tragedy are not the only things she has in common with her ancestors.

Because the crying woman was with them, too. She is La Llorona, the vengeful and murderous mother of Mexican legend. And she will not leave until Alejandra follows her mother, her grandmother, and all the women who came before her into the darkness.

But Alejandra has inherited more than just pain. She has inherited the strength and the courage of her foremothers—and she will have to summon everything they have given her to banish La Llorona forever."

This is another one that I feel like I've been waiting for for ages now, and I'm so excited it's finally publishing soon! I love the incorporation of Mexican folklore and I can't wait to see what's in store. 

The Thick and the Lean by Chana Porter
Publication: April 18th, 2023
Gallery/Saga Press
Hardcover. 384 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"In the quaint religious town of Seagate, abstaining from food brings one closer to God.

But Beatrice Bolano is hungry. She craves the forbidden: butter, flambé, marzipan. As Seagate takes increasingly extreme measures to regulate every calorie its citizens consume, Beatrice must make a choice: give up her secret passion for cooking or leave the only community she has known.

Elsewhere, Reiko Rimando has left her modest roots for a college tech scholarship in the big city. A flawless student, she is set up for success...until her school pulls her funding, leaving her to face either a mountain of debt or a humiliating return home. But Reiko is done being at the mercy of the system. She forges a third path—outside of the law.

With the guidance of a mysterious cookbook written by a kitchen maid centuries ago, Beatrice and Reiko each grasp for a life of freedom—something more easily imagined than achieved in a world dominated by catastrophic corporate greed.

A startling fable of the entwined perils of capitalism, body politics, and the stigmas women face for appetites of every kind, Chana Porter’s profound new novel explores the reclamation of pleasure as a revolutionary act."

We love a dystopia with an intriguing concept at its core! I feel like this one might be a little intense with the food/calorie focus so I'll be careful going into it, but I have a feeling it'll probably hit some interesting themes. I have an ARC of this that I'm hoping to get to soon.

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
Publication: April 4th, 2023
Wednesday Books
Hardcover. 368 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.

To combat her worries, Iris writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, where they vanish―into the hands of Roman Kitt, her cold and handsome rival at the paper. When he anonymously writes Iris back, the two of them forge a connection that will follow Iris all the way to the front lines of battle: for her brother, the fate of mankind, and love."

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the premise of Divine Rivals, but I've really enjoyed others books I've read from Rebecca Ross, so I'm eager to check it out.

Review: A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross

A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross

Harper Voyager

Publication Date: February 15th, 2022

Hardcover. 480 pages.

About A River Enchanted:

"Jack Tamerlaine hasn’t stepped foot on Cadence in ten long years, content to study music at the mainland university. But when young girls start disappearing from the isle, Jack is summoned home to help find them. Enchantments run deep on Cadence: gossip is carried by the wind, plaid shawls can be as strong as armor, and the smallest cut of a knife can instill fathomless fear. The capricious spirits that rule the isle by fire, water, earth, and wind find mirth in the lives of the humans who call the land home. Adaira, heiress of the east and Jack’s childhood enemy, knows the spirits only answer to a bard’s music, and she hopes Jack can draw them forth by song, enticing them to return the missing girls. 

As Jack and Adaira reluctantly work together, they find they make better allies than rivals as their partnership turns into something more. But with each passing song, it becomes apparent the trouble with the spirits is far more sinister than they first expected, and an older, darker secret about Cadence lurks beneath the surface, threatening to undo them all. 

With unforgettable characters, a fast-paced plot, and compelling world building, A River Enchanted is a stirring story of duty, love, and the power of true partnership, and marks Rebecca Ross’s brilliant entry on the adult fantasy stage."

I picked up A River Enchanted without really knowing much about it and I was thrilled to find one of the most beautiful and engaging books I've read in a while. Ross' writing in A River Enchanted is beautiful and enchanting and I was truly captivated. I had been struggling to get into books and focus on them when I decided to pick this one up, and I was immediately sucked into this world and found myself losing track of time while reading, which was such a wonderful things to experience once again. 

A River Enchanted follows Jack Tamerlaine, a bard who hasn't visit his home on the isle of Cadence in ten years and who has no plans to do so until he is summoned back home to help inhabitants of the isle figure out why their daughters are going missing. Tensions between the east and west areas of Cadence are high, and the spirits of the isle are causing more concern than Jack knows how to deal with. 

The first and most important thing to know about A River Enchanted and the isle of Cadence, in particular, is that it's overflowing with magic and folklore. I love stories like this one where you can feel the magic on each page, no matter how subtle or overt it may be. Ross does a truly excellent job of capturing the fact that this setting is something special and that its inhabitants live a life far different from those on the mainland. 

I really enjoyed getting to know Jack, Adaira, and all of the other characters we meet throughout this story, such as Jack's mother, Sidra, Torin, and many others. They were all really well-written and had distinct personalities that each contained their own unique motivations and struggles that felt realized and authentic. I particularly liked watching Jack's development as someone who somewhat rejected the life he was first raised in for his own life and career on the mainland, but comes to realize that no matter how much he may try to distance himself, he will always be a part of Cadence in one way or another. As previously mentioned, Jack is a bard and I liked how Ross showcased his talent for music, as well as his compulsion and love for what he does so well. 

Adaira is also a complex character that has many of her own personal struggles plaguing her as she reunites with Jack in order to attempt to find the missing girls on Cadence. Adaira has a lot of passion and motivation to be the best leader that she can be, and because of that makes many important and difficult decisions that affect many aspects of her life. Additionally, we have the character Sidra who is equally passionate about her role and is always ready to do whatever is necessary to make sure life is safe and content for those around her. I really loved getting to know both Adaira and Sidra, and I think Ross made them both really compelling characters. I enjoyed seeing how 

The beautiful, sometimes melancholic setting of Cadence was wonderfully created, and I really enjoyed Ross' development of the east versus west conflict in the story, as well as the background for the evolution of this conflict. I really appreciated how many different elements of folklore she included, from a myriad of stories that the characters tell about the isle and its history to the spirits themselves and stories and background about all of them. All of this detail and thoughtfulness to the history of the isle really brought it to life and made it feel like a living, breathing character the same as any of the human characters in this book. Everything in this book had a wonderful balance of feeling magical, a little ominous, oddly comforting, and was full of imagination. This is the perfect escape into another world.  

Overall, I've given A River Enchanted five stars! I was so relieved when I saw that this book would indeed have a sequel, and I will therefore be counting down the days until I get to read it. If you are looking for a book that is full of magic, folklore, and a wonderful setting, then make sure you pick up a copy of A River Enchanted when it is released. I promise you won't regret it!

*I received a copy of A River Enchanted courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The School of Mirrors by Eva Stachniak, A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross, & Last Exit by Max Gladstone

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: 

The School of Mirrors by Eva Stachniak

Publication: February 22nd, 2022

William Morrow & Company

Hardcover. 320 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"A scintillating, gorgeously written historical novel about a mother and a daughter in eighteenth-century France, beginning with decadence and palace intrigue at Versailles and ending in an explosive new era of revolution. 

During the reign of Louis XV, impoverished but lovely teenage girls from all over France are sent to a discreet villa in the town of Versailles. Overseen by the King’s favorite mistress, Madame de Pompadour, they will be trained as potential courtesans for the King. When the time is right, each girl is smuggled into the palace of Versailles, with its legendary Hall of Mirrors. There they meet a mysterious but splendidly dressed man who they’re told is merely a Polish count, a cousin of the Queen. Living an indulgent life of silk gowns, delicious meals, and soft beds, the students at this “school of mirrors” rarely ask questions, and when Louis tires of them, they are married off to minor aristocrats or allowed to retire to one of the more luxurious nunneries. 

Beautiful and canny Veronique arrives at the school of mirrors and quickly becomes a favorite of the King. But when she discovers her lover’s true identity, she is whisked away, sent to give birth to a daughter in secret, and then to marry a wealthy Breton merchant. There is no return to the School of Mirrors. 

This is also the story of the King’s daughter by Veronique—Marie-Louise. Well-provided for in a comfortable home, Marie-Louise has never known her mother, let alone her father. Capable and intelligent, she discovers a passion for healing and science, and becomes an accredited midwife, one of the few reputable careers for women like her. But eventually Veronique comes back into her daughter’s life, bringing with her the secret of Marie-Louise’s birth. But the new King—Louis XVI—is teetering on his throne and it’s a volatile time in France…and those with royal relatives must mind their step very carefully."

I am loving the sound of this setting and premise! I always enjoy a story that focuses on courtesans in a really compelling and insightful way, and I think this one will have so much intrigue and excitement. Really can't wait to check this one out!

and...

A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross

Publication: February 15th, 2022

Harper Voyager

Hardcover. 480 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Jack Tamerlaine hasn’t stepped foot on Cadence in ten long years, content to study music at the mainland university. But when young girls start disappearing from the isle, Jack is summoned home to help find them. Enchantments run deep on Cadence: gossip is carried by the wind, plaid shawls can be as strong as armor, and the smallest cut of a knife can instill fathomless fear. The capricious spirits that rule the isle by fire, water, earth, and wind find mirth in the lives of the humans who call the land home. Adaira, heiress of the east and Jack’s childhood enemy, knows the spirits only answer to a bard’s music, and she hopes Jack can draw them forth by song, enticing them to return the missing girls. 

As Jack and Adaira reluctantly work together, they find they make better allies than rivals as their partnership turns into something more. But with each passing song, it becomes apparent the trouble with the spirits is far more sinister than they first expected, and an older, darker secret about Cadence lurks beneath the surface, threatening to undo them all. 

With unforgettable characters, a fast-paced plot, and compelling world building, A River Enchanted is a stirring story of duty, love, and the power of true partnership, and marks Rebecca Ross’s brilliant entry on the adult fantasy stage."

I'm really curious to see Rebecca Ross with an adult fantasy release! I enjoyed one of her YA books, but it didn't really blow me away–I'm excited to see how this one is, it sounds like a really promising premise.

and...

Last Exit by Max Gladstone

Publication: February 22nd, 2022

Tor Books

Paperback. 400 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Ten years ago, Zelda led a band of merry adventurers whose knacks let them travel to alternate realities and battle the black rot that threatened to unmake each world. Zelda was the warrior; Ish could locate people anywhere; Ramon always knew what path to take; Sarah could turn catastrophe aside. Keeping them all connected: Sal, Zelda’s lover and the group's heart. 

Until their final, failed mission, when Sal was lost. When they all fell apart. 

Ten years on, Ish, Ramon, and Sarah are happy and successful. Zelda is alone, always traveling, destroying rot throughout the US. 

When it boils through the crack in the Liberty Bell, the rot gives Zelda proof that Sal is alive, trapped somewhere in the alts. 

Zelda’s getting the band back together—plus Sal’s young cousin June, who has a knack none of them have ever seen before. 

As relationships rekindle, the friends begin to believe they can find Sal and heal all the worlds. It’s not going to be easy, but they’ve faced worse before. 

But things have changed, out there in the alts. And in everyone's hearts. 

Fresh from winning the Hugo and Nebula Awards, Max Gladstone weaves elements of American myth--the muscle car, the open road, the white-hatted cowboy--into a deeply emotional tale where his characters must find their own truths if they are to survive."

I really have no idea what to expect from this one, but I think it sounds weird and interesting enough to get me excited!

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