Waiting on Wednesday: Owl and the Japanese Circus, by Kristi Charish

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine to spotlight upcoming book releases that we're excited about.


This week's pick

Release date: January 13, 2015
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Canada
Format: Paperback, 432 pages

Goodreads description
Fans of Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher, and Linda Hamilton will flock to the kick-ass world of Owl, a modern-day “Indiana Jane” who reluctantly navigates the hidden supernatural world.

Ex-archaeology grad student turned international antiquities thief, Alix—better known now as Owl—has one rule. No supernatural jobs. Ever. Until she crosses paths with Mr. Kurosawa, a red dragon who owns and runs the Japanese Circus Casino in Las Vegas. He insists Owl retrieve an artifact stolen three thousand years ago, and makes her an offer she can’t refuse: he’ll get rid of a pack of vampires that want her dead. A dragon is about the only entity on the planet that can deliver on Owl’s vampire problem – and let’s face it, dragons are known to eat the odd thief.

Owl retraces the steps of Mr. Kurosawa’s ancient thief from Japan to Bali with the help of her best friend, Nadya, and an attractive mercenary. As it turns out though, finding the scroll is the least of her worries. When she figures out one of Mr. Kurosawa’s trusted advisors is orchestrating a plan to use a weapon powerful enough to wipe out a city, things go to hell in a hand basket fast…and Owl has to pick sides.


This one was on my list before it even had a cover. Thieves, supernatural elements, circus, vampires, dragons, mercenaries... no way I can pass this up. What do you think of it? And what are you pining for this Wednesday?

Top Ten Tuesday: Words/Topics That Instantly Make Me Buy/Pick Up A Book

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week the participants post their top ten to a specific topic.


This week is all about the topics that instantly make us want to read a certain book.

Hm... this is actually sort of hard! There are some topics I'm particularly interested in reading about and feel drawn to but that doesn't mean I instantly run out and buy All The Books. Here are some themes that make my reader ears perk though, in no particular order :)

1. Stories about revenge
   I really need to check out some of these new books featuring the Furies! But yeah, payback is a bitch and I love to see it being served. These books usually have an edge and I like that.


2. Stories involving road trips / travel
   Road trips in the way they are possible in the US can't be done in Europe, so travelling America in a car is very high on my bucket list! Till then, I'll live it vicariously :)


3. Stories set in the late 19th or early 20th century
   Probably my favorite period, both in terms of literary history and/or culture. I love the state of in-betweenness, and at the point the Victorian age was crumbling but Modernism hadn't quite emerged yet. Yay for Decadence and Dandies.


4. Stories that are loosely inspired by / based on classics (not necessarily retellings)
   I haven't read all that many of those yet but I love the general idea! I really want to check out Kenneth Oppel's books, and I love Kelly Creagh's Nevermore series! I'm not such a huge fan of fairytale retellings because you have to sort of stick to the outline in a way, but with classics you can explore the imagined childhood of a character or focus on a minor character and their story or just pick up on some of the themes.


5. Stories with a new take on vampires
   The subgenre's sort of been done to death but I'm always open to fresh ideas about some of my favorite creatures...


6. Stories about thieves or assassins
   Haven't actually read that many, but I have a bunch on my TBR :) Fascinating figures!


7. Stories that feature Death as a character
   I love Death in Neil Gaiman's Sandman graphic novels! I have a macabre mind. Death doesn't really scare me (doesn't mean I don't grieve when someone I know dies!). There's no point being afraid of the inevitable. I think Death features in the Grave Mercy books (so do assassins) so those are high on my TBR.


8. Stories with a type of creature I haven't read much about yet
   See above... I need something new! I think there are some gargoyle books coming out so I have high hopes!


9. Bad boys that are really bad and not just essentially good guys with a bad reputation
   Because let's face it, so-called bad boys are everywhere but they're always just misunderstood or slandered or whatever and actually really nice. I want a bad boy who has more to his name than just a leather jacket, smoking habit, and a motorbike.


10. Haunted house stories
    Because houses fascinate me and I love being creeped out. I'd also like to see more YA horror! Think Anna Dressed in Blood.

That's it, I think! I could probably keep going if I thought a bit harder. If any of you are interested in the same things and have recommendations, bring them on! And leave your TTT link in the comments :)