The Wicked Awakening of Anne Merchant (V Trilogy #2) by Joanna Wiebe

* * * *

Available January 20, 2015

Life and death, light and dark, spirit and flesh-on Wormwood Island, the lines are always blurred. For Anne Merchant, who has been thrust back into this eerily secretive world, crossing the line seems inevitable, inescapable, destined.

Now, as Ben finds himself battling for the Big V and Teddy reveals the celestial plan in which Anne is entwined, Anne must choose: embrace her darkly powerful connection to a woman known as Lilith and, in doing so, save the boy she loves...or follow a safer path that is sure to lead to Ben's destruction at the hands of dark leaders. Hoping the ends will justify the means, Anne starts down the slippery slope into the underworld, intent on exploring the dark to find the light. But as the lure of Lilith proves powerfully strong, will Anne save others-only to lose herself?

I was completely dumbfounded when The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant ended. The moment of truth was not what I had suspected at all and by the time the climax and cliffhanger came to be, I was quite spent. Here we are now and I’ll try to write this review without spoilers!

Anne returns to Cania Christi (school), not by choice. It’s established at the beginning that she has a mission and the consequences affect many people. Things are looking bleak and this is not at all where Anne thought she’d be. She's returning to a number of changes such as a new dean whose flare for flamboyance and over-the-top gestures are the talk of the school. His singular attention towards Anne is especially irksome to her.  Even I felt a little uneasy by his flirtatiousness. However, Anne being Anne handles it all in stride, making the boundaries very clear. Returning to school also finds her relationships with several people changed like Teddy, who was central to her getting acclimated in the first book. He needs her as much as she needs him. Another one is her boyfriend Ben, who she loves desperately. She wants nothing more than to give him a second chance at life even if that may be without her. All her good intentions land them in some trouble as things go awry a bit. Her foes, old and new are many as they return to plague Anne too.

There are two story arcs going here – one, rescuing Ben which is the main impetus for everything she does. Two, take down a few bad guys on the way. In planning out her scheme, she learns that there's more to the mystery of Wormwood Island, and she's one of those mysteries. This proves to be almost too much but when it comes down to it, she knows what needs to be done so she can help the people she cares about.

The Wicked Awakening of Anne Merchant shows a smarter, braver and more resourceful Anne who shouldn’t be underestimated.  This doesn’t mean that she won’t make mistakes.  Everyone has much at stake making it hard to discern who has an agenda and who is genuine. Perhaps the toughest road ahead is Anne's own battle of wills with herself as she unearths more information. Ride through hell and back with Anne - it won't be boring!

~ Bel

Waiting on Wednesday (131)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that highlights future releases that we are excitedly anticipating.


By Jason Reynolds
Publication Date:  January 16, 2015

Just when seventeen-year-old Matt thinks he can’t handle one more piece of terrible news, he meets a girl who’s dealt with a lot more—and who just might be able to clue him in on how to rise up when life keeps knocking him down—in this wry, gritty novel from the author of When I Was the Greatest.

Matt wears a black suit every day. No, not because his mom died—although she did, and it sucks. But he wears the suit for his gig at the local funeral home, which pays way better than the Cluck Bucket, and he needs the income since his dad can’t handle the bills (or anything, really) on his own. So while Dad’s snagging bottles of whiskey, Matt’s snagging fifteen bucks an hour. Not bad. But everything else? Not good. Then Matt meets Lovey. She’s got a crazy name, and she’s been through more crazy than he can imagine. Yet Lovey never cries. She’s tough. Really tough. Tough in the way Matt wishes he could be. Which is maybe why he’s drawn to her, and definitely why he can’t seem to shake her. Because there’s nothing more hopeful than finding a person who understands your loneliness—and who can maybe even help take it away.




By Joanna Wiebe 
Publication Date: January 20, 2015

Life and death, light and dark, spirit and flesh-on Wormwood Island, the lines are always blurred. For Anne Merchant, who has been thrust back into this eerily secretive world, crossing the line seems inevitable, inescapable, destined.

Now, as Ben finds himself battling for the Big V and Teddy reveals the celestial plan in which Anne is entwined, Anne must choose: embrace her darkly powerful connection to a woman known as Lilith and, in doing so, save the boy she loves...or follow a safer path that is sure to lead to Ben's destruction at the hands of dark leaders. Hoping the ends will justify the means, Anne starts down the slippery slope into the underworld, intent on exploring the dark to find the light. But as the lure of Lilith proves powerfully strong, will Anne save others-only to lose herself?









By Samantha Shannon
Publication: January 27, 2015

Paige Mahoney has escaped the brutal penal colony of Sheol I, but her problems have only just begun: many of the fugitives are still missing and she is the most wanted person in London.

As Scion turns its all-seeing eye on Paige, the mime-lords and mime-queens of the city’s gangs are invited to a rare meeting of the Unnatural Assembly. Jaxon Hall and his Seven Seals prepare to take center stage, but there are bitter fault lines running through the clairvoyant community and dark secrets around every corner.

Then the Rephaim begin crawling out from the shadows. But where is Warden? Paige must keep moving, from Seven Dials to Grub Street to the secret catacombs of Camden, until the fate of the underworld can be decided. Will Paige know who to trust? The hunt for the dreamwalker is on.

The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant (The V Trilogy #1) by Joanna Wiebe

* * * * 3/4

So many secrets for such a small island. From the moment Anne Merchant arrives at Cania Christy, a boarding school for the world’s wealthiest teens, the hushed truths of this strange, unfamiliar land begin calling to her—sometimes as lulling drumbeats in the night, sometimes as piercing shrieks.

One by one, unanswered questions rise. No one will tell her why a line is painted across the island or why she is forbidden to cross it. Her every move—even her performance at the school dance—is graded as part of a competition to become valedictorian, a title that brings rewards no one will talk about. And Anne discovers that the parents of her peers surrender million-dollar possessions to enroll their kids in Cania Christy, leaving her to wonder what her lowly funeral director father could have paid to get her in and why.

As a beautiful senior struggles to help Anne make sense of this cloak-and-dagger world without breaking the rules that bind him, she must summon the courage to face the impossible truth—and change it—before she and everyone she loves is destroyed by it.

I came across this title through Stacking The Shelves and saw that many fellow bloggers had picked this book. The title and the cover were far too enticing to pass this over. I have to say that this is one of the creepier reads I’ve had in a while. There were certain things that reminded me of The Deepest Night series  (believe me, that’s a good thing and also one of my favorites) but Joanna Wiebe has created her own fantastic world here.

Anne’s initial start at her new school is anything but smooth. Everyone is bizarre including the students, the administrative staff, the teachers but most of all, the headmaster who takes the creep factor to soaring new heights. So here she is all alone, cut off from any communication with the outside world (no internet or cellphones people!) and utterly confused by her strange surroundings.  I was perplexed as to why her dad would knowingly send her off to what seems like the edge of nowhere. But don’t worry folks, Anne befriends Pilot who likes to go against what’s expected at the school and he becomes her sole support system while she’s there. And of course, there’s the unattainable hot guy who is hot and cold towards her. But his secrets and that of the school are far too intriguing to ignore and she finds herself wrapped up in a life-altering situation.

This a well-written, compelling mystery that only gets creepier the deeper she digs. Anne herself is brave and unapologetic for her inquisitive mind which makes her an awesome heroine. The twist ending is reminiscent of a movie I won’t name right now but I’m pretty sure you’ll know what I’m referring to once you read it. But once I got there, even I have to admit that I was thrown for a loop and the clues were nicely dispersed.

Congrats Joana Wiebe! All the buzz about this book is definitely warranted and I highly recommend it!

~ Bel