Waiting On Wednesday #149: Stars Above, by Marissa Meyer

This is a weekly event hosted by

Jill @ Breaking the Spine!!

It showcases future releases which

we book bloggers

are eagerly anticipating!!

Here's my choice for this week!

Stars Above

(The Lunar Chronicles 0.5, 0.6, 1.5, 

3.1, 3.6 )

Marissa Meyer 

Hardcover, 400 pages

Feiwel & Friends

February 2, 2016

Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Retellings, Romance, 
Science Fiction, Short Story Collections,
Young Adult Fiction

The enchantment continues....

The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories—and secrets—that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies?

With nine stories—five of which have never before been published—and an exclusive never-before-seen excerpt from Marissa Meyer’s upcoming novel, Heartless, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Stars Above is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles.

--
"The Little Android": A retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid", set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles.
"Glitches": In this prequel to Cinder, we see the results of the plague play out, and the emotional toll it takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch….
"The Queen’s Army": In this prequel to Scarlet, we’re introduced to the army Queen Levana is building, and one soldier in particular who will do anything to keep from becoming the monster they want him to be.
"Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky": Thirteen-year-old Carswell Thorne has big plans involving a Rampion spaceship and a no-return trip out of Los Angeles.
"The Keeper": A prequel to the Lunar Chronicles, showing a young Scarlet and how Princess Selene came into the care of Michelle Benoit.
"After Sunshine Passes By": In this prequel to Cress, we see how a nine-year-old Cress ended up alone on a satellite, spying on Earth for Luna.
"The Princess and the Guard": In this prequel to Winter, we see a game called 'The Princess'.
"The Mechanic": In this prequel to Cinder, we see Kai and Cinder’s first meeting from Kai’s perspective.
"Something Old, Something New": In this epilogue to Winter, friends gather for the wedding of the century...

Why I'm waiting on this one!

I haven't yet read The Lunar Chronicles, and
I could kick myself for not doing so!!
Well, I do have the first two books
in this VERY hot series, which 
means I'd better get with it!!
Now I not only have Winter to look forward
to, but this AWESOME collection, too!! 
I have heard SO many great things
about this series, and I'm making a very firm 
New Year's resolution to  
start reading it at last in 2016!!

What do you think of my choice?

Leave your link below, so I can
come check out your pick(s)!

Pirateship Down, by Suzanne Johnson: Mini-Review/Excerpt/Giveaway!!

Welcome to the Pirateship Down
Blog Tour, sponsored
by

Bewitching Book Tours!! 

This stop features an excerpt with 
mini-review! There's also a 

tour-wide giveaway!!

Pirateship Down

(Sentinels of New Orleans)

Suzanne Johnson

Trade Paperback, 278 pages

Suzanne Johnson, Publisher

October 24, 2015

Humor, Paranormal Romance,
Short Story Collections, Urban Fantasy

Amazon US/Amazon UK
Amazon CA

From award-winning author Suzanne Johnson comes the first story collection set in the Sentinels of New Orleans world, including the all-new novella, Pirateship Down.

French pirate Jean Lafitte is tall, cobalt-eyed, broad-shouldered and immortal. What’s not to love? But New Orleans’ most esteemed member of the historical undead is headed for trouble: He’s determined to reclaim Le Diligent, his gold-laden schooner, lost at sea in 1814 and recently found at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico near Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana.
The U.S. Coast Guard might beg to differ.

New Orleans’ wizard sentinel DJ Jaco and her merman friend Rene Delachaise can either lock Lafitte up or save him from himself, joining him on a road trip to Cajun country. Terrebonne Parish—not to mention its jail—might never be the same after the events of the all-new novella Pirateship Down.

Wizards and Cajun mermen, sexy shifters and undead French pirates. Welcome to the world of the Sentinels of New Orleans in this first collection of new and revised stories, along with a little Louisiana lagniappe.

(Note: This mini-review deals with
the excerpt below, not the entire book.)

This short excerpt is hilarious! Suzanne Johnson has a wonderfully snarky sense of humor, as I quickly found out when I read Pirate's Alley. the fourth book in her Sentinels of New Orleans series, several months ago. One of the most memorable characters from that book, aside from DJ Draco herself, was the undead pirate Jean Lafitte, who is described by the author as being drop-dead (pun intended) gorgeous, not to mention outrageously funny and irresistibly charming. (This book's scrumptious cover should be proof of that....) So I'm really looking forward to his further adventures in this collection! I'm also incredibly pleased that he and Drusilla (as he loves to call DJ) have ended up married! This guarantees laughter and high-seas high jinks galore! And of course, Rene the merman goes along for the ride! Methinks Johnson has another winner for this delighted reader!

Check out my review of
Pirate's Alley HERE!

About five minutes passed before I heard Jean Laffite in the hallway of the prison, having a spirited, if one-sided, argument about Spanish fruit. I definitely heard the words "orange" and "Spaniard". And the pirate never had anything nice to say about Spaniards, since he'd spent most of his human life plundering their ships.

The door opened, and he strode into the room, sending my empathic senses into overload with the force of his outrage. I closed my eyes and tried to squelch the urge to bray like a donkey, because the source of his anger was obvious.

They'd taken away the cord he used to tie back his shoulder-length, wavy black hair, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was his fluorescent orange jumpsuit, with "Terrebonne Parish Prison" stamped on the back. The suit was tight across his shoulders and baggy across his hips, obviously not tailored for the pirate's athletic build, and the pants were three inches too short and flashing bare calf. He wore short white athletic socks someone had scrounged up for him. Obviously, his pirate boots had been confiscated. It wasn't an outfit designed to please a man as arrogant and aware of his good looks as my undead pirate.

Jean shifted his commentary from his guard to me. "Drusilla, a grievance must be made against these ruffians and thieves. They have stolen my clothing and given me only this...this..." He ran out of words.

"Ugly-ass orange jumpsuit?" I offered, always ready to help Jean with his command of modern English.

"Oui, exactement. I demand that you obtain my release, toute de suite. And you must know, a woman who allows her husband to remain in such conditions for an entire evening must face reprimand."

I leaned back in the chair and crossed my arms. "And you must know that, in this day and age, should a man reprimand his wife too much, said wife might leave her husband to enjoy a longer time in his prison cell wearing his ugly-ass orange jumpsuit."

The guard who'd accompanied Jean into the room listened to this exchange with no expression. Now that Jean and I were both in silent mode, he leaned over to fasten the handcuffs to a ring on the center of the table, which forced the irate pirate to sit down.

"You got half an hour," the guard said. "I'll be right outside. If I hear or see anything through that door that I should not hear or see, visitation will be ended. That includes shouting, moving of furniture, excessive use of profanity, or sexual activity. Do you understand?"

I nodded. "Not a problem." I had a confusion potion with Jean's name on it in my shoe, and I wasn't afraid to use it. 



Suzanne Johnson is the author of the award-winning Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series for Tor Books, including the 2014 Gayle Wilson Award-winning Elysian Fields. Writing as Susannah Sandlin, she is author of the Penton Legacy paranormal romance series, including the 2013 Holt Medallion winner for paranormal romance Absolution, as well as The Collectors romantic suspense series, including Lovely, Dark, and Deep, 2015 Holt Medallion winner and 2015 Booksellers Best Award winner for romantic suspense.

A displaced New Orleanian, she currently lives in Auburn, Alabama, and loves SEC football, fried gator on a stick, uptown New Orleans, and all things Cajun (including a certain Cajun merman named Rene), as well as redneck reality TV.

Website/Blog/Facebook/Twitter

Goodreads/Pinterest

  

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