Waiting on Wednesday (39): Dearly Departed, Unraveling Isobel and Slumber

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine where you can post about upcoming books you're looking forward to.

This is a wonderful chance for blogger to show off what's coming out soon that they are excited about! Every week my wishlist balloons thanks to this awesome meme.

Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

As far as romantic pairings go in the year 2195, you don't get much more unlikely than an upper-class schoolgirl and a poor miner from enemy tribes. Filter in the fact that he's a zombie, and you're definitely talking about star-crossed love. 

Dearly, Departed is a cyber-Victorian/steampunk romance that takes place in the shadow of a new ice age. Nora Dearly, a mouthy teenage girl and apparent orphan, leaves school for Christmas - only to be dragged into the night by the living dead. Luckily for her, though, the good ones got to her first. From her reanimated rescuers she learns not only that zombies are roaming the countryside, but that her father is one - and that he's in terrible trouble. She also meets Captain Bram Griswold, a noble, strong, and rather sweet undead boy for whom she starts to fall. 

Meanwhile, her best friend, Pamela Roe, is just trying to carry on with life as best she can in the wake of Nora's disappearance - when she ends up killing an evil zombie in self-defense. Pam is galvanized into action, and ends up leading a group of survivors as the city of New London is thronged by the ravenous dead. 

Upon hearing of Pamela's plight, Nora and Bram set out to rescue her friends, find her missing father, and maybe just save what's left of the world.

Why I need this: Holy moly, hello unique concept. I've never heard of zombies having thoughts and I'm interested to see if I can find an undead, rotting thing swoon-worthy. Plus, I love the idea of good zombies and bad ones. The cover for this one is just gorgeous too!


Dearly, Departed comes out 2011 from Random House.

Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook

Isobel’s life is falling apart. Her mom just married some guy she met on the internet only three months before, and is moving them to his sprawling, gothic mansion off the coast of nowhere. Goodbye, best friend. Goodbye, social life. Hello, icky new stepfather, crunchy granola town, and unbelievably good-looking, officially off-limits stepbrother. 

But on her first night in her new home, Isobel starts to fear that it isn’t only her life that’s unraveling—her sanity might be giving way too. Because either Isobel is losing her mind, just like her artist father did before her, or she’s seeing ghosts. 

Either way, Isobel’s fast on her way to being the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons.

Why I need this: I love that she, like her father, is an artist that can see ghosts, I think it's something about the visual artist seeing things. I don't know. Either way, can't wait for this one to come out!

Unraveling Isobel comes out January 3, 2012 by Simon Pulse.

Slumber by Samantha Young

Sleeping Beauty may be the damsel in distress, but her White Knight? Why her rather un-knightish best friend of course. And the White Knight’s White Knight? Well… none other than her reluctant mortal enemy… 

When Haydyn falls victim to the mysterious Sleeping Disease, the world of Phaedra is thrown into Chaos. 

Rogan, Haydyn’s best friend and handmaiden, is the only one who can save her. Together, with the Royal Guard and their young Captain, Wolfe Stovia, Rogan must set off across the provinces to find the Somna Plant that will wake Haydyn from her dying sleep. 

Beset on all sides by the chaos, Rogan tumbles into a dark world of kidnapping, prejudice, betrayal and love… a journey that will change her forever, and a journey that will change their world forever, if she does not retrieve the cure. 

Why I need this: I love story re-tellings and I am all over a re-telling of Sleeping Beauty. Plus, I love the fact that this novel focuses on Beauty's BFF and casts her in the part of the heroine. This is definitely on my radar!


Slumber is out May 20,2011 from Create Space.


What are you waiting for this week?