Waiting on Wednesday: Double Feature!

Waiting on Wednesday recognizes that we as bookies pine for books. This post is about what I am impatiently waiting for right now. It was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Today you're in for a treat as I'm featuring two books that came out yesterday because I think they are equally promising & I feel like a complete dolt for not mentioning them earlier. Illegal by Bettina Restrepo & Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres are polar opposite books, so I know they will appeal to divergent audiences.

Into a world of wild secrets and deadly pleasures comes a girl whose innocence may be her greatest strength.

In Ixion music and party are our only beliefs. Darkness is our comfort. We have few rules but they are absolute . . .

Retra doesn’t want to go to Ixion, the island of ever-night, ever-youth and never-sleep. Retra is a Seal – sealed minds, sealed community. She doesn’t crave parties and pleasure, experience and freedom. But her brother Joel left for Ixion two years ago, and Retra is determined to find him. Braving the intense pain of her obedience strip to escape the only home she’s ever known, Retra stows away on the barge that will take her to her brother.

When she can’t find Joel, Retra finds herself drawn deeper into the intoxicating world of Ixion. Come to me, whispers a voice in her head. Who are the Ripers, the mysterious guardians of Ixion? What are the Night Creatures Retra can see in the shadows? And what happens to those who grow too old for Ixion? Retra will find that Ixion has its pleasures, but its secrets are deadly. Will friendship, and the creation of an eternal bond with a Riper, be enough to save her from the darkness? From Goodreads

A promise.
Quinceañera.
A promise that we would be together on my fifteenth birthday . . .

Instead, Nora is on a desperate journey far away from home. When her father leaves their beloved Mexico in search of work, Nora stays behind. She fights to make sense of her loss while living in poverty—waiting for her father's return and a better day. When the letters and money stop coming, Nora decides that she and her mother must look for him in Texas. After a frightening experience crossing the border, the two are all alone in a strange place. Now, Nora must find the strength to survive while aching for small comforts: friends, a new school, and her precious quinceañera. From Goodreads

How about that for divergent? Burn Bright is an Australian import that has serious promise. It is the first in a trilogy that promises to be both dark & edgy. I look forward to getting lost in "Land of Toys" type world. Illegal seems to be a grippingly realistic tale that I'm sure many immigrants have faced. Restrepo's debut novel touches on a very sensitive subject in today's society & I hope it lives up to it's blurb. What are you waiting on this week?