Waiting on Wednesday - Erin & Janelle

This week's WoW (courtesy of Jill at Breaking the Spine!) comes to you from Erin & Janelle!

Janelle

A Secret Kept by Tatiana de Rosnay
St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: September 14, 2010

From Goodreads: This stunning new novel from Tatiana de Rosnay, author of the acclaimed New York Times bestseller Sarah’s Key, plumbs the depths of complex family relationships and the power of a past secret to change everything in the present.

It all began with a simple seaside vacation, a brother and sister recapturing their childhood. Antoine Rey thought he had the perfect surprise for his sister Mélanie’s birthday: a weekend by the sea at Noirmoutier Island, where the pair spent many happy childhood summers playing on the beach. It had been too long, Antoine thought, since they’d returned to the island—over thirty years, since their mother died and the family holidays ceased. But the island’s haunting beauty triggers more than happy memories; it reminds Mélanie of something unexpected and deeply disturbing about their last island summer. When, on the drive home to Paris, she finally summons the courage to reveal what she knows to Antoine, her emotions overcome her and she loses control of the car.

Recovering from the accident in a nearby hospital, Mélanie tries to recall what caused her to crash. Antoine encounters an unexpected ally: sexy, streetwise Angèle, a mortician who will teach him new meanings for the words life, love and death. Suddenly, however, the past comes swinging back at both siblings, burdened with a dark truth about their mother, Clarisse.

Trapped in the wake of a shocking family secret shrouded by taboo, Antoine must confront his past and also his troubled relationships with his own children. How well does he really know his mother, his children, even himself? Suddenly fragile on all fronts as a son, a husband, a brother and a father, Antoine Rey will learn the truth about his family and himself the hard way. By turns thrilling, seductive and destructive, with a lingering effect that is bittersweet and redeeming, A Secret Kept is the story of a modern family, the invisible ties that hold it together, and the impact it has throughout life.

I really enjoyed the author's previous work Sarah's Key, in which she delved into the 1942 round-up of over 10,000 Jews in France, so I'm excited to know that she has another book coming out this fall. Her exploration of  the horrific events of Vel d'Hiv using the parallels of Sarah's life during World War II and an American journalist named Julia kept me capitvated, as their stories began to intersect and we learned more about Sarah and this Parisian tragedy, so I look forward to the story de Rosnay will tell next.

Erin

Blameless (The Parasol Protectorate, #3) by Gail Carriger
Orbit Books
Release date: September 1, 2010

From Goodreads:  (I'm giving you the summary for the first in the Parasol Protectorate series because the summaries for the second and third books contain spoilers)

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

Steampunk Victorian England? Werewolf detectives? Vampire dandies?  When I first heard of this series it seemed almost too good to be true.  This series, besides have awesome covers that I want to blow up, frame and put on my walls, is just delightful.  I can't believe someone hadn't combined two of my favorite things (Victorian England and the supernatural) before this.  Alexia is a smart, independent woman and a fabulous protagonist, but I have to admit, it's Lord Maccon that has me eagerly awaiting this new book.  I was quite put out with the werewolf and the end of book two and hope he redeems himself in this new book.  I can't wait to see how Carriger delves deeper into the world she's created.  If you haven't read Soulless or Changeless I wholeheartedly recommend you pick them up before September 1st!