***The Starry-Eyed Revue***: Jessica Verdi

"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 selections are...

's Pick:

Title: What You Left Behind
Author: Jessica Verdi
Series: n/a
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: Aug 4th, 2015

It’s all Ryden’s fault. If he hadn’t gotten Meg pregnant, she would have never stopped her chemo treatments and would still be alive. Instead, he’s failing fatherhood one dirty diaper at a time. And it’s not like he’s had time to grieve while struggling to care for their infant daughter, start his senior year, and earn the soccer scholarship he needs to go to college.

The one person who makes Ryden feel like his old self is Joni. She’s fun and energetic—and doesn’t know he has a baby. But the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to keep his two worlds separate. Finding one of Meg’s journals only stirs up old emotions, and Ryden’s convinced Meg left other notebooks for him to find, some message to help his new life make sense. But how is he going to have a future if he can’t let go of the past?

I just saw this book on Edelweiss, and I need to have it! It looks so good. Single teen dad = different. Sign me up!

's Pick:

Title: Blood Passage
Author: Heather Demetrios
Series: Dark Caravan Cycle, book #2
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: October 6, 2015

A jinni who's lost everything.

A master with nothing to lose.

A revolutionary with everything to gain.

When Nalia arrives in Morocco to fulfil Malek's third and final wish she's not expecting it to be easy. Though Nalia is free from the shackles tdhat once bound her to Malek as his slave, she's in more danger than ever before.

Meanwhile, Malek's past returns with a vengeance as he confronts the darkness within himself, and Raif must decide what's more important: his love for Nalia, or his devotion to the cause of Arjinnan freedom.

Set upon by powerful forces that threaten to break her, Nalia encounters unexpected allies and discovers that her survival depends on the very things she thought made her weak. From the souks of Marrakech to the dunes of the Sahara, The Arabian Nights come to life in this dazzling second instalment of the Dark Passage Cycle.

I will pretty much read anything Heather Demetrios writes. I love her contemporary novels with everything in me -- ask April, I talked her into reading them, too! -- but I loved her take on The Arabian Nights just as much. Nalia was a fierce heroine and I can't wait to see where this next installment takes her...and if the potential love triangle comes to fruition. :P

What are you desperately waiting for this Wednesday? Let us know in the comments or share a link to your own WoW post!