Waiting on Wednesday (6) - Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Sacrificial Magic

Waiting on Wednesday is a feature hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine that shares the upcoming releases we bloggers are on the edge of our seats about!

I have to cheat a little this week! I was all set with the book I wanted to talk about...and then I got an email from Stacia Kane to anyone in the "Downside Army" with the cover reveal for her next book! SO, I can finally include that in a WOW post!!! So, here are my TWO picks this week:

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

by Laini Taylor
Release date: September 27, 2011

(Synopsis from Goodreads)

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Okay, so that's the vaguest synopsis ever...

But, if you have been lurking around the YA blogosphere for a little while you know that this is a very much anticipated book! The reviews I have read of advanced copies have described it as mysterious, beautiful, exotic, creative, romantic, magical, and...my favorite..."In the simplest terms, I would not recommend starting this book until you can read straight through to the end" (All Things Urban Fantasy).

And now, the cover reveal of Stacia Kane's fourth book in the Downside Ghosts series:

Sacrificial Magic

by Stacia Kane

Downside Ghosts #4

Release date: March 27, 2012

(Synopsis from Goodreads)

When Chess Putnam is ordered by an infamous crime boss—who also happens to be her drug dealer—to use her powers as a witch to solve a grisly murder involving dark magic, she knows she must rise to the challenge. Adding to the intensity: Terrible, doesn’t trust her, and Lex, the son of a rival crime lord, is trying to reignite the sparks between him and Chess.

Plus there’s the little matter of Chess’s real job as a ghost hunter for the Church of Real Truth, investigating reports of a haunting at a school in the heart of Downside. Someone seems to be taking a crash course in summoning the dead—and if Chess doesn’t watch her back, she may soon be joining their ranks.

As Chess is drawn into a shadowy world of twisted secrets and dark violence, it soon becomes clear that she’s not going to emerge from its depths without making the ultimate sacrifice.

I love this cover! The style is a little bit different than the other three covers, but it keeps the general theme. This series is in my tie for my favorite three series of all time so I'm super excited for this book to come out in March!

What is YOUR WoW pick?