Waiting on Wednesday: Unhinged by A.G. Howard & How To Love by Katie Cotugno

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selection's are...

Title: Unhinged
Author: A.G. Howard
Series: Splintered, book #2
Publisher: Amulet
Publication Date: January 2014

Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the guy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly seductive Morpheus and the vindictive Queen Red. Now all she has to do is graduate high school and make it through prom so she can attend the prestigious art school in London she's always dreamed of.

That would be easier without her mother, freshly released from an asylum, acting overly protective and suspicious. And it would be much simpler if the mysterious Morpheus didn’t show up for school one day to tempt her with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland—where she (partly) belongs.

As prom and graduation creep closer, Alyssa juggles Morpheus’s unsettling presence in her real world with trying to tell Jeb the truth about a past he’s forgotten. Glimpses of Wonderland start to bleed through her art and into her world in very disturbing ways, and Morpheus warns that Queen Red won’t be far behind.

If Alyssa stays in the human realm, she could endanger Jeb, her parents, and everyone she loves. But if she steps through the rabbit hole again, she'll face a deadly battle that could cost more than just her head.

I was slow to discover the awesome that was Splintered earlier this year, partly because I judged the book by its cover.  It's not that I hated it...it just didn't sit right with me as the cover for an Alice retelling.  But I gave the audio a try after seeing many, many great reviews for the book, and I fell in love with the characters, the story, and eventually, even the cover.  I know now that the covers for these books are very indicative of the magic and beauty contained in the pages, and I find that I kind of love them now.  And I'm so glad there wasn't a cover redesign for them!

Title: How To Love
Author: Katie Cotugno
Series: n/a
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: October 1, 2013

Before: Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember: as natural as breathing, as endless as time. But he’s never seemed to notice that Reena even exists…until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town without a word, leaving a devastated—and pregnant—Reena behind.

After: Almost three years have passed, and there’s a new love in Reena’s life: her daughter, Hannah. Reena’s gotten used to being without Sawyer, and she’s finally getting the hang of this strange, unexpected life. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again. Reena doesn’t want anything to do with him, though she’d be lying if she said Sawyer’s being back wasn’t stirring something in her. After everything that’s happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again?

In this breathtaking debut, Katie Cotugno weaves together the story of one couple falling in love—twice.

I love that simple cover.  And I kind of adore complicated love stories with a heaping dose of reality.  And I want to know where Sawyer ran off to and why he's decided to come back into Reena's life.







What are you waiting on this week?  Feel free to share it in the comments or leave a link so we can stop by!

Labels: a.g. howard, amulet, contemporary, fantasy, harper-collins, how to love, katie cotugno, retellings, splintered, waiting on wednesday (wow)