Hello everyone! "Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, that is hosted by Breaking the Spine and the purpose of this event is that we spotlight upcoming releases of books that we are excited for! This will also tie into Wishful Ending's Can't Wait Wednesday post!
This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selections are:
Zo
By: Xander Miller
Expected Publication Date: August 11th, 2020
A riveting, gorgeously written debut novel—a contemporary Romeo and Juliet saga with great emotional power, set in Haiti during the 2010 earthquake and its aftermath.
When we first meet Zwazo Delalun—Zo—he is a young orphan in a fishing village. Although he’s been told he may be the “poorest boy in the Western Hemisphere,” he possesses every trademark of a hero: he's strong, honest, and courageous, and he dreams of a better life. As he grows up, Zo travels the island, working in the cane fields and almond orchards and out at sea—but he longs for something work can’t earn him: love. Then one morning, while hauling cement under the broiling sun, he meets Anaya, a beautiful nursing student sipping cherry juice under a tree. Their attraction is instantaneous, fierce. Anaya uses her knowledge of medicine to cure Zo of the malaria that's plagued him for months, even as she intoxicates him with a love more potent than any he could have imagined.
But Anaya’s father, a prominent doctor, cannot accept that a poor, uneducated man is destined for his daughter, and he takes measures to stop their union. Zo and Anaya nevertheless find a way to be together—making a new home in the hills outside Port-au-Prince—until the unthinkable happens: an earthquake roils the ground. Homes, hospitals, and churches topple; roads crack. Zo watches as the city—where Anaya is in class—is reduced to rubble in a searing instant. Even before the dust has settled, Zo is ready to risk his life to rescue her—if he can only find her, and keep himself alive in the meantime.
Suspenseful, heartrending, written in lyrical prose, Zo captures the sensory splendor of Haiti at a moment of historic crisis and transformation, as it tells the unforgettable story of one remarkable man’s life and love.
When we first meet Zwazo Delalun—Zo—he is a young orphan in a fishing village. Although he’s been told he may be the “poorest boy in the Western Hemisphere,” he possesses every trademark of a hero: he's strong, honest, and courageous, and he dreams of a better life. As he grows up, Zo travels the island, working in the cane fields and almond orchards and out at sea—but he longs for something work can’t earn him: love. Then one morning, while hauling cement under the broiling sun, he meets Anaya, a beautiful nursing student sipping cherry juice under a tree. Their attraction is instantaneous, fierce. Anaya uses her knowledge of medicine to cure Zo of the malaria that's plagued him for months, even as she intoxicates him with a love more potent than any he could have imagined.
But Anaya’s father, a prominent doctor, cannot accept that a poor, uneducated man is destined for his daughter, and he takes measures to stop their union. Zo and Anaya nevertheless find a way to be together—making a new home in the hills outside Port-au-Prince—until the unthinkable happens: an earthquake roils the ground. Homes, hospitals, and churches topple; roads crack. Zo watches as the city—where Anaya is in class—is reduced to rubble in a searing instant. Even before the dust has settled, Zo is ready to risk his life to rescue her—if he can only find her, and keep himself alive in the meantime.
Suspenseful, heartrending, written in lyrical prose, Zo captures the sensory splendor of Haiti at a moment of historic crisis and transformation, as it tells the unforgettable story of one remarkable man’s life and love.
Oooh! A book with a "Romeo and Juliet" twist! This sounds like a very unique romance novel and I can't wait to read it soon!
Legendborn
By: Tracy Deonn
Expected Publication Date: September 15th, 2020
Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn’s YA contemporary fantasy Legendborn offers the dark allure of City of Bones with a modern-day twist on a classic legend and a lot of Southern Black Girl Magic.
After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.
A flying demon feeding on human energies.
A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.
And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.
The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.
She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.
After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.
A flying demon feeding on human energies.
A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.
And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.
The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.
She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.
Oooh! I love books that deal with magic! Can't wait to read this one soon!
I like the sound of both of these! I hope you enjoy them when you read them. Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteThanks! You too!
DeleteThese both sound really good. I have to admit the Romeo and Juliet with a twist really has my interest.
ReplyDeleteAgree!
DeleteOoh, I love the Romeo and Juliet inspiration of Zo!
ReplyDeleteMe too!
DeleteOoo. I wasn't super interested in Legendborn before, but the Merlin character intrigues me. I'll have to keep my eye on this one. Hope you enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting Shell's Stories!
Thanks!
DeleteBoth of these sound so good! Thanks for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
DeleteBoth of these sound really good. I've never heard of Zo before, so thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
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