Can't-Wait Wednesday: Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim & China Room Sunjeev Sahota

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

 

This week's upcoming book spotlights are: 

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
Publication: July 6th, 2021

Alfred A. Knopf

Hardcover. 464 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"Shiori, the only princess of Kiata, has a secret. Forbidden magic runs through her veins. Normally she conceals it well, but on the morning of her betrothal ceremony, Shiori loses control. At first, her mistake seems like a stroke of luck, forestalling the wedding she never wanted, but it also catches the attention of Raikama, her stepmother.

 

Raikama has dark magic of her own, and she banishes the young princess, turning her brothers into cranes, and warning Shiori that she must speak of it to no one: for with every word that escapes her lips, one of her brothers will die.

 

Penniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her brothers, and, on her journey, uncovers a conspiracy to overtake the throne—a conspiracy more twisted and deceitful, more cunning and complex, than even Raikama's betrayal. Only Shiori can set the kingdom to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in the very boy she fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic she's been taught all her life to contain—no matter what it costs her. "

and...

China Room by Sunjeev Sahota

Publication: July 13th, 2021

Viking

Hardcover. 256 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"Mehar, a young bride in rural 1929 Punjab, is trying to discover the identity of her new husband. Married to three brothers in a single ceremony, she and her now-sisters spend their days hard at work in the family's "china room," sequestered from contact with the men--except when their domineering mother-in-law, Mai, summons them to a darkened chamber at night. Curious and strong willed, Mehar tries to piece together what Mai doesn't want her to know. From beneath her veil, she studies the sounds of the men's voices, the calluses on their fingers as she serves them tea. Soon she glimpses something that seems to confirm which of the brothers is her husband, and a series of events is set in motion that will put more than one life at risk. As the early stirrings of the Indian independence movement rise around her, Mehar must weigh her own desires against the reality--and danger--of her situation.

 

Spiraling around Mehar's story is that of a young man who arrives at his uncle's house in Punjab in the summer of 1999, hoping to shake an addiction that has held him in its grip for more than two years. Growing up in small-town England as the son of an immigrant shopkeeper, his experiences of racism, violence, and estrangement from the culture of his birth led him to seek a dangerous form of escape. As he rides out his withdrawal at his family's ancestral home--an abandoned farmstead, its china room mysteriously locked and barred--he begins to knit himself back together, gathering strength for the journey home.

 

Partly inspired by award-winning author Sunjeev Sahota's family history, China Room is at once a deft exploration of how systems of power circumscribe individual lives and a deeply moving portrait of the unconquerable human capacity to resist them. At once sweeping and intimate, lush and propulsive, it is a stunning achievement from a contemporary master. "

What do you think about these upcoming releases? What are your anticipated upcoming releases?

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim, The Cold Vanish by Jon Billman, & Ghost Wood Song by Erica Waters

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

There continues to be a lot of books coming out in July, so I'm sharing three picks again this week! This week's upcoming book spotlights are: 

Unravel the Dusk (The Blood of Stars #2) by Elizabeth Lim
Publication: July 7th, 2020

Knopf

Hardcover. 368 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"Maia Tamarin’s journey to sew the dresses of the sun, the moon and the stars has taken a grievous toll. She returns to a kingdom on the brink of war. The boy she loves is gone, and she is forced to don the dress of the sun and assume the place of the emperor’s bride-to-be to keep the peace. 

But the war raging around Maia is nothing compared to the battle within. Ever since she was touched by the demon Bandur, she has been changing . . . glancing in the mirror to see her own eyes glowing red, losing control of her magic, her body, her mind. It’s only a matter of time before Maia loses herself completely, but she will stop at nothing to find Edan, protect her family, and bring lasting peace to her country."

I really enjoyed the first book, Spin the Dawn, and have been eagerly awaiting the next installment. Really can't wait to see what will be brought into this world and story next! I requested a copy on NetGalley months ago and it's just been in NetGalley purgatory with no approval or denial so I'm not expecting to get it, but the hope is still there with fingers crossed!

and...

The Cold Vanish: Seeking the Missing in North America's Wildlands by Jon Billman

Publication: July 7th, 2020

Grand Central Publishing

Hardcover. 368 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"These are the stories that defy conventional logic. The proverbial vanished without a trace incidences, which happen a lot more (and a lot closer to your backyard) than almost anyone thinks. These are the missing whose situations are the hardest on loved ones left behind. The cases that are an embarrassment for park superintendents, rangers and law enforcement charged with Search & Rescue. The ones that baffle the volunteers who comb the mountains, woods and badlands. The stories that should give you pause every time you venture outdoors. 

Through Jacob Gray's disappearance in Olympic National Park, and his father Randy Gray who left his life to search for him, we will learn about what happens when someone goes missing. Braided around the core will be the stories of the characters who fill the vacuum created by a vanished human being. We'll meet eccentric bloodhound-handler Duff and R.C., his flagship purebred, who began trailing with the family dog after his brother vanished in the San Gabriel Mountains. And there's Michael Neiger North America's foremost backcountry Search & Rescue expert and self-described "bushman" obsessed with missing persons. And top researcher of persons missing on public wildlands Ex-San Jose, California detective David Paulides who is also one of the world's foremost Bigfoot researchers. 

It's a tricky thing to write about missing persons because the story is the absence of someone. A void. The person at the heart of the story is thinner than a smoke ring, invisible as someone else's memory. The bones you dig up are most often metaphorical. While much of the book will embrace memory and faulty memory -- history -- The Cold Vanish is at its core a story of now and tomorrow. Someone will vanish in the wild tomorrow. These are the people who will go looking."

This book sounds fascinating--a little haunting and serious, but also a topic that I think would make for some really interesting discussion and investigation.

and...

Ghost Wood Song by Erica Waters

Publication: July 21st, 2020

HarperTeen

Hardcover. 368 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"If I could have a fiddle made of Daddy’s bones, I’d play it. I’d learn all the secrets he kept.

Shady Grove inherited her father’s ability to call ghosts from the grave with his fiddle, but she also knows the fiddle’s tunes bring nothing but trouble and darkness. 

But when her brother is accused of murder, she can’t let the dead keep their secrets. 

In order to clear his name, she’s going to have to make those ghosts sing. 

Family secrets, a gorgeously resonant LGBTQ love triangle, and just the right amount of creepiness make this young adult debut a haunting and hopeful story about facing everything that haunts us in the dark."

Necromancy seems to be a bit of a trend lately, but I'm always eager to see how each author portrays this idea. I think this sounds like it could be pretty unique, so I'm excited to check it out.

What do you think about these upcoming releases? What are your anticipated upcoming releases?