Can't Wait Wednesday #12: Strange Alchemy by Gwenda Bond

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.  This week I've picked something a little different.  This is actually a book that I read several years ago.  It is the book that introduced me to one of my favorite authors, Gwenda Bond.  But shortly after it was published, it soon became almost impossible to find a copy of it. Well it seems the author has found a new publisher, and they're bringing it back under a new title, and I hear a few changes to it.  I'm excited to have another chance to read this story that I so enjoyed, and am eager to see what changes the author has included.  The original title was Blackwood, and it had to do with the whole Roanoke tale, one that has been given the spotlight again after the last season of American Horror Story used it as its setting.  You can read my original review HERE, and see what the original cover looked like.  Here is the new, improved blurb and cover from Goodreads:

Gwenda Bond's first book Blackwood has been reimagined and brought back to life with new vision.  On Roanoke Island, the legend of the Lost Colony - and the 114 colonists who vannished without a trace more than four hundred years ago - still haunts the town.  But that's just a story told for the tourists.

When 114 people suddenly disappear from the island in present day, it seems history is repeating itself - and an unlikely pair of seventeen-year-olds might be the only hope of bringing the missing back.  Miranda Blackwood, a member of one of the island's most infamous families, and Phillip Rawling, the sheriff's son, who has demons and secrets of his own, find themselves at the center of the mystery.  

As the unlikely pair works to uncover the secrets of the new Lost Colony, they must dodge everyone from authorities to long-dead alchemists as they race against time to save their family and friends before they too are gone for good.

So, did you read this back when it was called Blackwood?  Have you read any books by this author?  Does this sound like something you'd like to read?  What book or books are you eagerly awaiting this week?

Review: Hotel Ruby by Suzanne Young

First of all thanks to Simon Pulse and Edelweiss for allowing me to read an e-galley of this title. This is the first book I've read by this author, although  I've had one of her other series on my TBR list for a long time.  And now that I've read and enjoyed this one, I'll try to move that other series up on my list to read!  First I have to say that this book really kind of reminded me in a way of this season of American Horror Story, which is set in a hotel.  Actually, this book was a little better than I feel the tv show has been this year though.

The  main character is Audrey.  She's on her way with her brother Daniel, and their father, to go live with her grandmother.  Their mother died a little while ago, and their father never really recovered from it.  He plans to leave them with their grandmother, and go off for awhile until he is better.  On the way though, he decides they are going to spend a night at this hotel that is on the way.  He says it will be there one night of "vacation".  This hotel is beautiful.  And when they get there, there aren't enough rooms on the same floor, so Audrey gets a room on a different floor from her dad and brother.  The hotel is really grand, Audrey can't believe how fancy her room is.  And it's not just her room, the whole hotel seems to be one much more expensive than her family should be able to afford.  She meets a very cute boy named Elias the first night. And she somehow ends up in a ball room where there is a very fancy party going on.  Her father seems to be coming out of his funk and almost back to his normal self.  He decides they will stay till the end of the week, and really make a vacation out of it.

But things are really still kind of weird.  When Elias takes her to hang out with the people who are the staff, she finds out that is not allowed.  And when she tries to go back to the fancy party, she is told she hasn't been invited.  Her dad and brother both get invitations, but she doesn't.  Plus, Elias has an old girlfriend who also lives at the hotel, like he does, and she is hateful and rude.  And the guy who is the concierge, kind of the person in charge of the hotel, is really cruel to her.  Even threatens her when he finds her fraternizing with the staff.  Soon Audrey starts finding things out about the history of the hotel, as well as seeing weird things happening.  The staff all seem to think that the hotel itself can do things.  And they are all scared of the concierge.  Her dad and brother say they are going to stay, but that on Friday she has to go ahead and head to her grandmother's without them.  The weirder things get, the more Audrey find out what is really going on, and the scarier it gets.

While I kind of had a feeling what might be going on, the way it was done was very clever and interesting to read.  As I said it was creepy, and I really enjoyed the story.  They should make a tv show based on this hotel, it was much more interesting than I've found the one on American Horror Story to be so far.  A great read, highly recommended to those who enjoy scary stories.

Review: Girl on a Wire by Gwenda Bond

First, thanks to Amazon Children's Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to read an e-galley of this title.  The book actually was published at the beginning of October, but I did get an e-galley of it right after that I believe.  I was very interested in it for several reasons. First, I really enjoyed the other book that I had read by this author, Blackwood.  Second, there was a time when I was younger that I really wanted to be trapeze artist, so a story about a girl who was a high wire walker in a circus was definitely interesting sounding.  And of course, with American Horror Story being set in a kind of circus/freak show this season, it has really been something that is on my mind lately.  And can I say, that I enjoyed this book a lot!!  It was a really great story I thought.

The main character is Jules.  She is 16 years old and her family has always been a part of a circus, but kind of in a small setting on their own.  She and her father are wire walkers, while her mother does tricks with horses.  The reason they have worked on smaller shows is because of an old feud between their family and the Flying Garcias.  This feud dates back to the time when Jules' grandmother, who she calls Nan, was a circus performer in the same show as the Garcias.  There is a new "big" show called the Cirque American that has asked her family to join.  But because the Garcias are a big part of the show, her father tells the man in charge, Thurston, no.  Jules decides that's ridiculous, and she wants to be a part of something bigger than the show that they will probably not be able to keep going much longer.  And so she sets up an ultimatum by running away and demanding her father make a deal and take their family to the circus. 

When they get there, they get a cold reception from all the other performers.  You see, Jules' grandmother was blamed for several accidents that happened back then, to the point where she was chased out of the show.  Upon arriving, Jules goes exploring, and wanders into a tent where she sees a cute boy practicing on the trapeze.  And then she realizes that this boy is one of the Garcias, so she leaves quickly.  At the big welcome party the owner throws from them, this boy is the first to ask Jules to dance.  And she finds that he may not be as bad as the rest.  That he may be willing to give her and her family a chance.  His sister also seems to be intrigued by Jules' cousin Sam.  But it is their brother Novio that picks a fight with Sam that first night.  And when they get home after the fight, it seems their trailer has been ransacked.  Soon other things keep happening, symbols of bad luck appear as Jules is doing her act, almost causing accidents.  Remy, the first Garcia she met, has found a board, what would be called a murder board on a detective show.  And on it there are pictures of the items that seem to be showing up causing the bad luck.  And there are lots of clues. 

I won't say who, but one character that you will love will have a disaster happen during one of their acts because of these bad luck tokens.  And now Jules and Remy really must figure out who is behind this before anyone else gets hurt.  But they must also figure out if there can truly be feelings between them when they come from families with such bad blood between them.  They are basically a Romeo and Juliet story, down to their names even.

I loved this story. I feel like the love wasn't insta-love, but there was the instant attraction, and that's okay.  I think the relationships between the people in the story were portrayed pretty realistically.  I love all the stuff about the circus that was in the story.  And the disaster I mentioned?  Well, if I hadn't been at work on break when I read that part, I would have been in tears.  Instead I had to hold them in and go back to work, still wondering who was behind the sabotage, and how in the world Remy and Jules would solve the mystery.  Not to mention, what magic might her grandmother have.  And was it really all Nan's fault what happened in the past, with Remy's grandfather.

Another great story from Gwenda Bond.  Now I must get ahold of The Woken Gods soon, because I'm sure I'll love it as well.  Also she has another book coming out next year that will be one of my WOW posts coming up in the next few weeks.

Cursed (Voodoo Nights #1) by Lizzy Ford

First I have to say thanks to Netgalley and Indie Ink Publishing for allowing me to read an e-galley of this.  I was of course first drawn to it by the cover, and then the description was intriguing, there aren't as many books about voodoo out there, so I thought it would be a different thing to read.  And now with this season of American Horror Story having voodoo in it, I can see that this book could be a big hit!
There are really two main characters:  Adrienne and Jayden.  Jayden's family on his mother's side are really big into voodoo.  But Jayden doesn't believe all that stuff.  He lives with his father, a man who is kind of the black Steve Jobs.  A whiz at computers.  And very wealthy.  Adrienne has a similar family, her mother's side is very into voodoo.  But she has come to live with her father, who while he isn't into voodoo, definitely respects it.  Adrienne has the power to read Tarot cards, and so works at a psychics parlor. This is the first place she and Jayden come into contact (sort of).  She does a reading for Jayden's sister Tara, and has these extra cards that are for the person Tara came with.  But she doesn't ever go out and actually see Jayden.  Adrienne has come to this fancy school on a scholarship for her singing.  She is also there to maybe find out what happened to her sister who disappeared, possibly died, 5 years ago.  When Jayden first hears Adrienne singing at school he stops to see her and is smitten.  But both of them have curses on their families.  The oldest child in each generation dies.  For Adrienne it was her older sister, for Jayden, it would be him, but the curse was only for the first 99, and he is the 100th oldest child.  But his grandmother warns him of a white zombie girl that he needs to watch out for.  And when she meets Adrienne, she thinks it is her.  Jayden has an ex-girlfriend that tries to put hexes on him.  She also is a "mean girl" and plans a prank on Adrienne, but not only that, hexes her.
The story behind the curses is very intriguing.  What happened in Jayden's past is pretty horrific, something his ancestor was a part of.  I only wish maybe there was a bit more of some specifics about the actual rituals.  But it is still interesting to hear about the gods that they pray to and believe in.  The book does leave off quite suddenly.  So I will be interested to see where it goes next.  An interesting read for sure, and you do care about the characters.  One thing that would have been nice is if they had put the eyes of the girl on the cover.  There are so many times her eyes are described, that it would be a really neat cover if you added that.

Asylum by Madeleine Roux

First thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss for allowing me to read an e-galley of this.  I've read another book by this author, Allison Hewitt is Trapped, and I enjoyed the zombie story.  So when I saw the info about this on Edelweiss, and heard it was going to be like Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, I immediately requested a download of it.  And it was a pretty good, twisty plot story.  It comes out at a good time, after the recent hit TV show American Horror Story had its 2nd season take place in an insane asylum.  My only disappointment is that not all the photos for the story were part of the e-galley.  Although I definitely understand why that was probably the case.
The main character is Dan Crawford.  Dan is attending a summer institute called New Hampshire College Prep.  It just so happens that the dormitory the high school students are staying in is called Brookline, and was once an insane asylum.  One that has some really bad history, and the town really would like to see it destroyed.  Dan doesn't seem to have a lot of friends from what he sounds like at the beginning.  And his roommate Felix is a bit odd he feels.  But at the mixer the first night he meets a girl named Abby.  And she introduces him to the friend she made on the bus trip there, Jordan.  Now, when Dan first got to his room, there was a picture in the drawer where he put his belongings.  It was what looked like a doctor maybe, with his eyes scratched out.  And his roommate said he'd seen some cool stuff down in an office that was from the old asylum.  So when Dan tells Abby about this, she immediately thinks it sounds like a fun trip.  It takes a bit of convincing, but they get Jordan to go as well.  Once down there they find more pictures, and old files, and weird things start to happen.  Abby finds a picture that just speaks to her for some reason.  Dan begins having dreams where he seems to be seeing things from the warden's view point in the past.  And that's not all.  When they get caught for being down there by one of the Hall Advisers, a day or so later, he is found dead.  And not just dead, but kind of posed, the way a serial killer that had once been at the asylum used to do to his victims.  And when Dan tries to ask townspeople more about the asylum, he runs into some issues.  One is when he tells them his name.  See Daniel Crawford was the name of the last warden, the one who was doing so many horrible things to the patients.  What is really bothering Daniel is why he has the same name, why such a huge coincidence?  And as he is adopted, there is no telling if there was some relationship between him and this guy.
In the end, it is definitely left a bit open, because I would like to know exactly what his relationship is, and while they thought they'd solved the mystery, something happens at the end that leads you to think otherwise.  A good creepy story, and I can't wait to actually see the book in print with all the pictures, and then I'll be eagerly awaiting a sequel, I hope!