waiting on wednesday (53)

Today I’m participating in "Waiting On" Wednesday, a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Its purpose is to spotlight upcoming book releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Gail Carriger started off by writing engaging steampunk for adults.  Her novel Soulless, the first of the Parasol Protectorate series, was a hoot and a half.  Carriger is following up that success with a steampunk series for the young adult audience.  The first book, Etiquette & Espionage, introduced a school on a dirigible, a mystery, and many moments of hilarity.  I'll review it later today, as part of Girls in Steampunk Week.  The good news is that Carriger is continuing on, and the second book in the Finishing School series comes out later this year.  Curtsies & Conspiracies will be released on November 5th, 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette).

Does one need four fully grown foxgloves for decorating a dinner table for six guests? Or is it six foxgloves to kill four fully grown guests?

Sophronia's first year at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality has certainly been rousing! For one thing, finishing school is training her to be a spy (won't Mumsy be surprised?). Furthermore, Sophronia got mixed up in an intrigue over a stolen device and had a cheese pie thrown at her in a most horrid display of poor manners.

Now, as she sneaks around the dirigible school, eavesdropping on the teachers' quarters and making clandestine climbs to the ship's boiler room, she learns that there may be more to a school trip to London than is apparent at first. A conspiracy is afoot--one with dire implications for both supernaturals and humans. Sophronia must rely on her training to discover who is behind the dangerous plot-and survive the London Season with a full dance card. 

In this sequel to bestselling author Gail Carriger's YA debut Etiquette & Espionage, class is back in session with more petticoats and poison, tea trays and treason. Gail's distinctive voice, signature humor, and lush steampunk setting are sure to be the height of fashion this season.

What books are you waiting on?
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girls in steampunk week calendar of events + giveaway

Welcome!  It’s Girls in Steampunk Week at Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia.  All week long I’ll be featuring books that both fit into the steampunk mold and have strong heroines.  Planned activities are listed below, and will be updated with links as the content goes live.  Oh, and there’s a giveaway.

5/13 – Girls in Steampunk Week calendar of events + giveaway
5/13 – Review of Kiss of Steel and Heart of Iron by Bec McMaster

5/15 – Waiting on Wednesday featuring Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger

6/1 – Review of Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger
5/16 – Review of The Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross
5/16 – Review of Emilie and the Hollow World by Martha Wells

And now for the giveaway!  Several months ago I had the pleasure of meeting Caitlin Kittredge at a local author event.  She writes young adult steampunk, and was kind enough to sign copies of the first two books in her Iron Codex series, The Iron Thorn and The Nightmare Garden.  I’m offering these two books for giveaway.  Want to enter?  Simply fill out the FORM.  Giveaway open internationally, will end May 18^th at 11:59pm EST.  Winner will be selected randomly and notified via email.  Good luck!

In the city of Lovecraft, the Proctors rule and a great Engine turns below the streets, grinding any resistance to their order to dust. The necrovirus is blamed for Lovecraft's epidemic of madness, for the strange and eldritch creatures that roam the streets after dark, and for everything that the city leaders deem Heretical—born of the belief in magic and witchcraft. And for Aoife Grayson, her time is growing shorter by the day. 

Aoife Grayson's family is unique, in the worst way—every one of them, including her mother and her elder brother Conrad, has gone mad on their 16th birthday. And now, a ward of the state, and one of the only female students at the School of Engines, she is trying to pretend that her fate can be different.

girls in steampunk week

Steampunk has been one of the constants in my reading life since I started blogging.  The genre's fun meld of speculative fiction, science, and the allure of the Victorian age seemed to hit peak popularity at the same time that I was rediscovering young adult fiction.  In order to keep myself motivated to read the latest and greatest in an area I pretend to know something about, I hatched a plan.

Next week I’ll be blogging up a storm with an *event* that I created on a whim and a sugar high.  I’m making it up as I go, with some generous inspiration from previous steampink events organized by V of vvb32reads.  It’ll be fabulous.  Look out for Girls in Steampunk Week at Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia from May 12-15.  I’ll be reviewing recent steampunk releases that feature strong female leads, hosting a giveaway or two, and I'll probably throw a meme in for good measure.

Best of all, my delightful (real life!) sister Ginny made a fancy button for the occasion.  If you’d like to check back here for Girls in Steampunk Week content, it’ll be in the sidebar, available at the click of a button.  From the 12th on, the image will lead directly to the calendar of events/reviews. 

If you don’t know what steampunk is, please check out this description, then come back next week for more fun in worlds both strange and fantastic.

middle grade in march

This month I’ll be focusing on middle grade (MG) books. Why? Well, they’re awesome. But also, Jill at the O.W.L. is hosting the March of the Middle Grade, featuring daily posts by middle grade authors and bloggers. I contributed a guest blog for The O.W.L. (which I will direct you to in due time), and I’ve also put together a number of posts for Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia – reviews, giveaways, and an author interview. Did I mention that MG is my new love?

Calendar:

3/2 – Review of Ellen Potter’s The Humming Room

3/4 – Calendar of Events

3/5 – Review of Kate Klimo’s Daughter of the Centaurs

3/6 – Teaser Tuesday featuring Jenn Reese’s Above World

3/7 – Waiting on Wednesday featuring Shannon Messenger’s Keeper of the Lost Cities

3/12 – Review of Lauren Oliver’s Liesl & Po

3/14 – Waiting on Wednesday featuring Christopher Healy’s The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom

3/15 – Author Guest Post with Derek the Ghost (PLUS Giveaway!)

3/16 – Retro Friday Review of Vivian Vande Velde’s Heir Apparent

3/28 – Waiting on Wednesday featuring Catherynne M. Valente's The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There

3/29 – Review of Sarah Prineas’ Winterling

4/2 – Review of Jenn Reese's Above World

If you want to check out EVEN MORE middle grade goodness, Novel Novice is also hosting a Middle Grade March. And remember to check out the opening post at The O.W.L. – Jill is hosting an awesome giveaway. Let’s go middle grade!