#031 Waiting On Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday (or ya know WoW!) is a nifty little weekly event, hosted by the ever so lovely Jill at Breaking The Spine that puts the spotlight on various new and upcoming book releases that have become the"ohmigod! i gotta have this or i'll just die," eagerly anticipated novels to adorn your shelves.

The Springsweet
By Saundra Mitchell
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Publish Date: April 17, 2012
Format: Hardback, pp 288
Age Demographic: Young Adult
b&n // amazon

It’s a long way from Baltimore to Oklahoma Territory. But Zora Stewart will go any distance to put the tragic events of her sixteenth summer behind her. So this city girl heads to the tiny frontier town of West Glory to help her young widowed aunt keep her homestead going.

When another Baltimorean shows up in West Glory, Zora couldn’t be more surprised. Theo de la Croix made the long trip out west hoping to court Zora, whom he has long admired from afar.

But Zora has developed an attraction to a rather less respectable fellow: Emerson Birch, a rough-mannered young "sooner" whose fertile land is coveted.

As Zora begins to suspect that there may be more than luck behind Emerson’s good land, she discovers an extraordinary, astonishing power of her own: the ability to sense water under the parched earth. When her aunt hires her out as a "springsweet" to advise other settlers where to dig their wells, Zora feels the burden of holding the key to something so essential to survival in this unforgiving land.

Even more, she finds herself longing for love the way the prairie thirsts for water. Maybe, in the wildness of the territories, Zora can finally move beyond simply surviving and start living.

*Summary taken from Goodreads.

I am extremely excited for this book, as I've fallen maddly in love with The Vespertine. Saundra Mitchell writes with such whimsical passion that I am blown away at how beautiful the story she's crafted is.

#027 Teaser Tuesday

This meme is brought to you weekly by MizB over at Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along, just do the following:

01. Grab your current read and open to a random page
02. Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page, but BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
03. Share the title and the author, too, so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR List if they like your teaser!

The Vespertine
By Saundra Mitchel
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Publish Date: March 7, 2011
Format: Hardback, pp 304
Age Demographic: Young Adult
b&n // amazon

“"And you are Miss van den Broek," he said, and kissed my hand.

The warmth of his mouth bloomed across my hand, and his nails skimmed the inside of my wrist. Such a great sensation for so little a touch; I had to stuggle to answer him. "I am."” (pp 39)

It’s the summer of 1889, and Amelia van den Broek is new to Baltimore and eager to take in all the pleasures the city has to offer. But her gaiety is interrupted by disturbing, dreamlike visions she has only at sunset—visions that offer glimpses of the future. Soon, friends and strangers alike call on Amelia to hear her prophecies. However, a forbidden romance with Nathaniel, an artist, threatens the new life Amelia is building in Baltimore. This enigmatic young man is keeping secrets of his own—still, Amelia finds herself irrepressibly drawn to him.

When one of her darkest visions comes to pass, Amelia’s world is thrown into chaos. And those around her begin to wonder if she’s not the seer of dark portents, but the cause.

*Summary taken from Goodreads.

So, I have fallen maddly in love with Saundra Mitchell's beautiful way of writing, the imagery she evokes, and the passion she writes about are incredibly heart-pounding. It makes me long for Amelia and Nathaniel in ways that I've never really longed for two character's to be together. Plus, I love that it's a historical romance with just a touch of the paranormal. I cannot wait for the sequel, The Springsweet.