Can't-Wait Wednesday: Wayward by Chuck Wendig, The Vermilion Emporium by Jamie Pacton, & To Each This World by Julie E. Czerneda

 

 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: 

Wayward (Wanderers #2) by Chuck Wendig
Publication: November 15th, 2022
Del Rey Books
Hardcover. 816 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"Five years ago, ordinary Americans fell under the grip of a strange new malady that caused them to sleepwalk across the country to a destination only they knew. They were followed on their quest by the shepherds: friends and family who gave up everything to protect them. 

Their secret destination: Ouray, a small town in Colorado that would become one of the last outposts of civilization. Because the sleepwalking epidemic was only the first in a chain of events that led to the end of the world--and the birth of a new one. 

The survivors, sleepwalkers and shepherds alike, have a dream of rebuilding human society. Among them are Benji, the scientist struggling through grief to lead the town; Marcy, the former police officer who wants only to look after the people she loves; and Shana, the teenage girl who became the first shepherd--and an unlikely hero whose courage will be needed again. 

Because the people of Ouray are not the only survivors, and the world they are building is fragile. The forces of cruelty and brutality are amassing under the leadership of self-proclaimed president Ed Creel. And in the very heart of Ouray, the most powerful survivor of all is plotting its own vision for the new world: Black Swan, the A.I. who imagined the apocalypse. 

Against these threats, Benji, Marcy, Shana, and the rest have only one hope: one another. Because the only way to survive the end of the world is together."

I loved Wanderers and I've been so eagerly anticipating this sequel! I'm really curious where Wendig will take this storyline. I just got approved for this yesterday after waiting in NetGalley limbo for months, so I'm very excited to read it soon!

and...

The Vermilion Emporium by Jamie Pacton
Publication: November 1st, 2022
Peachtree
Hardcover. 384 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"It was a day for finding things . . . 

On the morning Twain, a lonely boy with a knack for danger, discovers a strand of starlight on the cliffs outside Severon, a mysterious curiosity shop appears in town. Meanwhile, Quinta, the ordinary daughter of an extraordinary circus performer, chases rumors of the shop, The Vermilion Emporium, desperate for a way to live up to her mother’s magical legacy. 

When Quinta meets Twain outside the Emporium, two things happen: One, Quinta starts to fall for this starlight boy, who uses his charm to hide his scars. Two, they enter the store and discover a book that teaches them how to weave starlight into lace. 

Soon, their lace catches the eye of the Casorina, the ruler of Severon. She commissions Quinta and Twain to make her a starlight dress and will reward them handsomely enough to make their dreams come true. However, they can’t sew a dress without more material, and the secret to starlight’s origins has been lost for centuries. As Quinta and Twain search the Emporium for answers, though, they discover the secret might not have been lost—but destroyed. And likely, for good reason."

This sounds like an amazing winter read full of magic and great characters! 

and...

To Each This World by Julie E. Czerneda
Publication: November 15th, 2022
DAW Books
Paperback. 480 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"Biologist Julie E. Czerneda's new standalone science fiction novel, To Each This World follows a desperate mission to reconnect with long lost sleeper ships, sent centuries earlier from Earth to settle distant worlds. 

A trio of Humans must work with their mysterious alien allies to rescue any descendants they can find on those worlds. Something is out there, determined to claim the cosmos for itself, and only on Earth will Humans be safe. 

Or will they? 

The challenge isn't just to communicate with your own kind after generations have passed. It's to understand what isn't your kind at all. 

And how far will trust take you, when the truth depends on what you are?"

I still haven't read anything from Czerneda and have always heard good things, and I think this sounds like a great place to start! I am really liking the sound of this sci-fi premise. 

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

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Wayward (Wanderers #2) by Chuck Wendig, The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean, & These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall

   

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: 

Wayward (Wanderers #2) by Chuck Wendig
Publication: November 15th, 2022
Del Rey Books
Hardcover. 816 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
**Synopsis contains spoilers for Wanderers, book #1!***
"Five years ago, ordinary Americans fell under the grip of a strange new malady that caused them to sleepwalk across the country to a destination only they knew. They were followed on their quest by the shepherds: friends and family who gave up everything to protect them. 

Their secret destination: Ouray, a small town in Colorado that would become one of the last outposts of civilization. Because the sleepwalking epidemic was only the first in a chain of events that led to the end of the world--and the birth of a new one. 

The survivors, sleepwalkers and shepherds alike, have a dream of rebuilding human society. Among them are Benji, the scientist struggling through grief to lead the town; Marcy, the former police officer who wants only to look after the people she loves; and Shana, the teenage girl who became the first shepherd--and an unlikely hero whose courage will be needed again. 

Because the people of Ouray are not the only survivors, and the world they are building is fragile. The forces of cruelty and brutality are amassing under the leadership of self-proclaimed president Ed Creel. And in the very heart of Ouray, the most powerful survivor of all is plotting its own vision for the new world: Black Swan, the A.I. who imagined the apocalypse. 

Against these threats, Benji, Marcy, Shana, and the rest have only one hope: one another. Because the only way to survive the end of the world is together."

I absolutely loved Wanderers and can barely describe how excited I was when I saw that there would be a sequel after all! I can't wait to see what the follow up is going to be to all of the crazy events of the previous book. 

and...

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
Publication: August 2nd, 2022
Tor Books
Hardcover. 304 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"Out on the Yorkshire Moors lives a secret line of people for whom books are food, and who retain all of a book's content after eating it. To them, spy novels are a peppery snack; romance novels are sweet and delicious. Eating a map can help them remember destinations, and children, when they misbehave, are forced to eat dry, musty pages from dictionaries. 

Devon is part of The Family, an old and reclusive clan of book eaters. Her brothers grow up feasting on stories of valor and adventure, and Devon—like all other book eater women—is raised on a carefully curated diet of fairytales and cautionary stories. 

But real life doesn't always come with happy endings, as Devon learns when her son is born with a rare and darker kind of hunger—not for books, but for human minds."

This premise is so ridiculously intriguing to me and I am so curious about how Sunyi Dean executes it! I'm actually just starting the audiobook, and so far so good–can't wait to get into it more.

and...

These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall
Publication: August 9th, 2022
Vikings Books
Hardcover. 336 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"Helen Vaughan doesn't know why she and her mother left their ancestral home at Harrowstone Hall, called Harrow, or why they haven't spoken to their extended family since. So when her grandfather dies, she's shocked to learn that he has left everything—the house, the grounds, and the money—to her. The inheritance comes with one condition: she must stay on the grounds of Harrow for one full year, or she'll be left with nothing. 

There is more at stake than money. For as long as she can remember, Harrow has haunted Helen's dreams—and now those dreams have become a waking nightmare. Helen knows that if she is going to survive the year, she needs to uncover the secrets of Harrow. Why is the house built like a labyrinth? What is digging the holes that appear in the woods each night?And why does the house itself seem to be making her sick? 

With each twisted revelation, Helen questions what she knows about Harrow, her family, and even herself. She no longer wonders if she wants to leave…but if she can."

I didn't expect to love Kate Alice Marshall's Rules for Vanishing when I read it last year, but I ended up really, really enjoying it and I'm so glad to see she has another creepy-sounding story coming out! 

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

Review: The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig

The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig
Del Rey Books
Publication Date: July 20th, 2021
Hardcover. 544 pages.

About The Book of Accidents:

"Long ago, Nathan lived in a house in the country with his abusive father—and has never told his family what happened there. 

Long ago, Maddie was a little girl making dolls in her bedroom when she saw something she shouldn’t have—and is trying to remember that lost trauma by making haunting sculptures. 

Long ago, something sinister, something hungry, walked in the tunnels and the mountains and the coal mines of their hometown in rural Pennsylvania. 

Now, Nate and Maddie Graves are married, and they have moved back to their hometown with their son, Oliver. 

And now what happened long ago is happening again . . . and it is happening to Oliver. He meets a strange boy who becomes his best friend, a boy with secrets of his own and a taste for dark magic. 

This dark magic puts them at the heart of a battle of good versus evil and a fight for the soul of the family—and perhaps for all of the world. But the Graves family has a secret weapon in this battle: their love for one another."

The first book I read from Chuck Wendig was Wanderers a couple years back and I absolutely loved it, so I was excited to see another new work from Wendig, and especially one in the horror vein. I was happy to discover that many of the elements that I liked from Wanderers were also present in this book, such as his somewhat extensive exposition of characters and the setting, which I was excited to see and made me know that this was going to be a great read. 

In The Book of Accidents, we follow a family consisting of mother and father Maddie and Nate and their son Oliver as they move back to live in Nate’s hometown at his recently passed father’s house. Nate never wanted to move back anywhere near his hometown or the memory of his father due to an exceptionally horrible childhood that is filled with bad memories. However, he knows that this move is likely the best move for his family for a variety of reasons, and both his wife and son are excited about the idea, so he obliges and they move back. But, as you might expect, once they move in they begin to notice some odd things happening around them, and each character individually begins to try to figure out exactly what’s going on. And although this seems like the perfect setup for a haunted house story, it’s not quite the haunted house story you might expect. The house itself has its moments, but it’s more of a central hub of sorts for everything else that happens in town around it than it is a main character, if that makes any sense. Oh yeah, and there’s a bit of a serial killer storyline/influence that plays what seems to be an insignificant role, yet also provides for some interesting framework. 

The characters are something that I really appreciate about Wendig’s writing because of how much depth and description he supplies. Their personalities are drawn and developed in an incredibly in-depth manner, and I always feel like I really have a chance to understand how they think and how they feel, which also helps readers draw connections between different characters and elements. Nate and Maddie both have their own struggles while raising their son, but at the end of the day they seem to have a good understanding of one another and a deep love for their family, which really shows through in this book. Oliver in particular was a fascinating kid to follow because he is a bit of an extreme empath to the point where he can actually see anger and other emotions that people have. I’m a big empath myself and often struggle not absorbing other people’s emotions, but let’s just say my situation is much less, er, supernatural-esque than Oliver's; however, I do still really appreciate how Wendig portrayed Oliver in a relatable and intriguing manner, and it was really enjoyable to follow him as some pretty crazy things happened in this book. 

All of the above are reasons why I think this book really can stand out from other horror and provide something just a bit different. For how many ‘traditional’ horror elements are present at the beginning of the story to set the stage, I was surprised by how unique and new this story ended up being (which, with Wendig I really shouldn’t be surprised, I guess!) It’s a pretty big book for horror at 500+ pages, and it’s not a book you necessarily want to rush through. Trust me, you’ll definitely read through this book quickly enough and have a hard time putting it down, but it’s a story meant to be savored more than rushed through. You get time to really get to know the characters and let the meat of the story really build up into something that can truly be appreciated. 

As much as I enjoyed this story overall, I will admit that there were quite a few times where I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, why certain things were happening, or what exactly certain characters’ roles where, but fortunately Wendig does a great job of slowly piecing different parts of the story together in some really neat ways that tended to have a great payoff at the end. There are also a few elements that I didn’t enjoy quite as much as I thought I might initially because they seemed a bit forced into the narrative, but overall they ended up working out well with the story (and I know that entire sentence is horribly vague, but I really can’t say anything without giving anything away). This is definitely a story that you appreciate more and more as you get nearer to the end and after you finish when you can reflect on everything that happened and finally understand how carefully Wendig crafted such a complex and intricate story. 

The Book of Accidents is not necessarily an overtly scary or traditional horror novel by any means, but it’s horror comes from the eeriness of the setting and the writing and the small things that happen that are clearly building up to something bigger. Things gradually grow darker and more foreboding, and it’s clear that many of the strange things that happen or that some of the characters see have darker reasons or backgrounds that we, the readers, aren’t aware of just yet. 

As a last note, this book handles some pretty heavy topics, especially those dealing with abuse and child abuse. There’s also some more violent moments and other difficult topics handled, so do keep all of those in mind when checking this book out.

Overall, I've given The Book of Accidents four stars!

 *I received a copy of The Book of Accidents courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Indiebound

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig, Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder, & Island Queen by Vanessa Riley

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 Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig
Publication: July 20th, 2021

Del Rey Books

Hardcover. 544 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"Long ago, Nathan lived in a house in the country with his abusive father—and has never told his family what happened there.

 

Long ago, Maddie was a little girl making dolls in her bedroom when she saw something she shouldn’t have—and is trying to remember that lost trauma by making haunting sculptures.

 

Long ago, something sinister, something hungry, walked in the tunnels and the mountains and the coal mines of their hometown in rural Pennsylvania.

 

Now, Nate and Maddie Graves are married, and they have moved back to their hometown with their son, Oliver.

 

And now what happened long ago is happening again . . . and it is happening to Oliver. He meets a strange boy who becomes his best friend, a boy with secrets of his own and a taste for dark magic.

 

This dark magic puts them at the heart of a battle of good versus evil and a fight for the soul of the family—and perhaps for all of the world. But the Graves family has a secret weapon in this battle: their love for one another. "

I have been meaning to read more of Chuck Wendig ever since I read and loved Wanderers, and this sounds like it is going to be perfect. This sounds creepy and exactly what I'm looking for from Wendig. I have an eARC from NetGalley already and I can't wait to read it very soon!

and...

Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

Publication: July 20th, 2021

Doubleday Books

Hardcover. 256 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"In this blazingly smart and voracious debut, an artist turned stay-at-home mom becomes convinced she's turning into a dog.

 

An ambitious mother puts her art career on hold to stay at home with her newborn son, but the experience does not match her imagination. Two years later, she steps into the bathroom for a break from her toddler's demands, only to discover a dense patch of hair on the back of her neck. In the mirror, her canines suddenly look sharper than she remembers. Her husband, who travels for work five days a week, casually dismisses her fears from faraway hotel rooms.

 

As the mother's symptoms intensify, and her temptation to give in to her new dog impulses peak, she struggles to keep her alter-canine-identity secret. Seeking a cure at the library, she discovers the mysterious academic tome which becomes her bible, A Field Guide to Magical Women: A Mythical Ethnography, and meets a group of mothers involved in a multilevel-marketing scheme who may also be more than what they seem."

I really don't know what to expect from this book, but it sounds like the exact sort of weird I like. It sounds somewhat absurd horror-y, but I've also seen some people describe it as humorous... so I'm not sure what to expect other than perhaps some dark humor?? Regardless, really intrigued by this one!

and...

Island Queen by Vanessa Riley

Publication: July 6th, 2021

William Morrow

Hardcover. 592 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"A remarkable, sweeping historical novel based on the incredible true life story of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, a free woman of color who rose from slavery to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful landowners in the colonial West Indies.

 

Born into slavery on the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat, Doll bought her freedom—and that of her sister and her mother—from her Irish planter father and built a legacy of wealth and power as an entrepreneur, merchant, hotelier, and planter that extended from the marketplaces and sugar plantations of Dominica and Barbados to a glittering luxury hotel in Demerara on the South American continent.

 

Vanessa Riley’s novel brings Doll to vivid life as she rises above the harsh realities of slavery and colonialism by working the system and leveraging the competing attentions of the men in her life: a restless shipping merchant, Joseph Thomas; a wealthy planter hiding a secret, John Coseveldt Cells; and a roguish naval captain who will later become King William IV of England.

 

From the bustling port cities of the West Indies to the forbidding drawing rooms of London’s elite, Island Queen is a sweeping epic of an adventurer and a survivor who answered to no one but herself as she rose to power and autonomy against all odds, defying rigid eighteenth-century morality and the oppression of women as well as people of color. It is an unforgettable portrait of a true larger-than-life woman who made her mark on history. "

I am so excited about the sound of this book and to read the story of this real woman's journey. These kinds of stories always grab me, so I think this is going to be a great one. Can't wait to have a chance to read it!

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

Review: Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

Del Rey

Publication Date: July 2nd, 2019

Hardcover. 800 pages

Wanderers is an enormously ambitious novel that really took me by surprise. I had extremely high hopes for this book and I was not disappointed in the slightest. In all truthfulness, Wanderers is the first book that I have ever read by Chuck Wendig--and it certainly won't be the last. I didn't really know what to expect from his writing, but I was extremely pleasantly surprised by what I found.

Wendig has a very clear writing style; it's descriptive without being overboard and is entirely entertaining with plenty of interesting background tidbits given about various characters, locations, and events. I genuinely enjoyed every single page and minute I spent reading this book. Usually in an 800 page book, you're likely to feel bored at some point for a period of time, even if the writing is fantastic. It just feels inevitable to happen--except, somehow, for Wanderers. That feeling of a slowdown in pacing or a bit of boredom creeping in truly never happened in any sense that I can recall. I was hooked from page one all the way until the last.

The characters in Wanderers are remarkably well-written and developed. Wendig really dives into the background and history of each character, as well as their present day internal conflicts and frustrations with themselves and others, all of which lead to a plethora of interesting and unique characters to explore. There are characters that are easy to love, others that are easy to hate, and even more that straddle the line of love and hate and leave you feeling unsure how exactly you should feel about them. He also includes a large variety of people from all walks of life that really add some strong, unique perspectives to keep the story lively, realistic, and relatable The best part is that none of the characters were added in just to have another character; rather, each character had an important, vital role that fully expanded and developed.

A few of the major characters include: Shana Stewart, whose younger sister Nessie was one of the first sleepwalkers; Benji, formerly an employee of the CDC who becomes tangled up in the sleepwalker fiasco despite being let go from the CDC years prior for morally questionable actions; Sadie, creator of the all-knowing, god-like Black Swan AI that is possibly the most crucial component to this book; Arav, a young member of the CDC who stays with the flock; Matthew, a pastor from a small town in Indiana who ends up on a journey in a role he never anticipated and can't seem to stop; and lastly, Pete, an out-of-time former rock god who wants to hold onto his youth and significance for as long as possible. Together, these character make up the general misfit cast of characters that have the most impact throughout this story and who truly make this book as memorable and incredible as it is. I really wanted to go into more detail about each of these characters in this review, but I have a feeling it's going to be a longer one so I'll leave it with those brief tidbits about each, leaving you to discover more about them and their journeys.

As mentioned, Wanderers is truly epic in scope and covers a myriad of themes and elements that are relevant to our daily lives even now without some unknown potentially apocalyptic flock of sleepwalkers present. He touched heavily on issues such as race and religion and how they can be amplified in various ways during crises and even turned into weapons and threats that can lead to even bigger and more terrifying outcomes than the main crisis itself (something that is not exactly  unheard of throughout history, which we all know tends to repeat itself). He also explores many moral-related quandaries, including an exploration of empathy and compassion and how they both factor into a situation such as this one. Do you solely look out for yourself and your family in this scenario, or do you continue helping the others around you no matter whether you know them or not or how you feel about them? Is there a right or wrong way to treat people affected by the 'sleepwalking' epidemic? All of these questions and so many more are explored throughout Wanderers, which is part of what makes it so compelling.

As far as stylistic notes go for this book, the most notable component that I loved was the inclusion of small epigraph-like excerpts at the start of each chapter. Most of these seemed like a 'throwaway' sort of thing, but I loved the social commentary that was able to be conveyed through these. Wendig includes random excerpts from imagined posts on Reddit, excerpts from made-up podcasts or quotes from random Tweets on Twitter, and together all of these really added some unique depth and insight into how the public were reacting to the flock of sleepwalkers and the shepherds following them. I particularly liked this component since the majority of this novel follows those who are on the inside of the entire state of affairs, rather than being an average member of the public watching this occur.

Obviously I can't go into any details regarding the ending of the book, but I would just like to throw out there how much of a shock it was and how consistently unpredictable this book is. Sure, you can maybe hazard a guess about a few things here or there, but in the big picture Wendig keeps you guessing and completely unprepared for what he's about to throw at you. There are some incredibly impressive and unexpected plot lines and ideas about things that blew my mind and that I loved, and he continued to pull the rug out from under me through--quite literally--the last few pages.

Overall, there's nothing I could give Wanderers other than five stars, which it wholeheartedly deserves. If you like your books epic, imaginative, impossible to put down, and full of incredible characters, then you have to pick up Wanderers. 

*I received an ARC of Wanderers courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating or enjoyment of the novel.*

 Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound