Waiting on Wednesday #15 – SOMETHING RED by Douglas Nicholas

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine, and is a great way to share the books you are “waiting on” with other book bloggers. This week I’m stepping back in time to highlight a historical fantasy. I don’t usually read historical fiction in any form. I just prefer the present! But this book sounds amazing, and it’s already received great reviews from seasoned writers.

Something Red by Douglas Nicholas. Release date: September 18 2012 (Atria/Emily Bestler Books) This atmospheric cover just screams “something really bad is going to happen if you go into the forest.” Set in 1300th century England, this tale by poet Nicholas is filled with magic, a terrible snowstorm, and a lurking, evil creature. And romance. What more could you want in a book? Here’s what Goodreads says:

From debut novelist Douglas Nicholas comes a haunting fantasy of love, murder, and sorcery set in one of the coldest winters of thirteenth-century England.During the 1200s in northwest England, in one of the coldest winters in living memory, a formidable middle-aged Irishwoman and the troupe she leads are trying to drive their three wagons across the mountains before the heavy snows set in. Molly, her powerful and enigmatic lover, her fey granddaughter, and her young apprentice, soon discover that something terrible prowls the woods. As the group travels from refuge to refuge, it becomes apparent that the mysterious evil force must be faced and defeated—or else they will surely die.     An intoxicating and spirited blend of fantasy, mythology, and history, Something Red features the most fascinating of characters including shapeshifters, Irish battle queens, Norman knights, Templars, pilgrims, Saracens, a Lithuanian noblewoman, warrior monks, strong—even dangerous—women, and ten murderous mastiffs, as well as an epic snowstorm that an early reader described as “one of the coldest scenes since Snow Falling on Cedars.”

I believe this book started out as an independently published novel from Createspace and was later picked up by Simon & Schuster. Click on the book image if you’d like to add Something Red to your Goodreads books! What are you waiting on this week?