Waiting on Wednesday (57) KINSLAYER by Jay Kristoff

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine, and is a great way to share upcoming releases that you’re excited about with other bloggers and readers. I have a really good one today, a book I’ve been dying to read since I finished the last page of Stormdancer:

Kinslayer (The Lotus War #2) by Jay Kristoff. Release date: September 17 2013 (Thomas Dunne Books). First of all, look at that cover, people! Is it beautiful or what?? Ah, Yukiko, one of my very favorite heroines. She is such a great character, and I wish there were more like her in fiction these days. Here’s what Goodreads says about the story:

A SHATTERED EMPIRE
The mad Shōgun Yoritomo has been assassinated by the Stormdancer Yukiko, and the threat of civil war looms over the Shima Imperium. The Lotus Guild conspires to renew the nation’s broken dynasty and crush the growing rebellion simultaneously – by endorsing a new Shōgun who desires nothing more than to see Yukiko dead.

A DARK LEGACY
Yukiko and the mighty thunder tiger Buruu have been cast in the role of heroes by the Kagé rebellion. But Yukiko herself is blinded by rage over her father’s death, and her ability to hear the thoughts of beasts is swelling beyond her power to control. Along with Buruu, Yukiko’s anchor is Kin, the rebel Guildsman who helped her escape from Yoritomo’s clutches. But Kin has his own secrets, and is haunted by visions of a future he’d rather die than see realized.

A GATHERING STORM
Kagé assassins lurk within the Shōgun’s palace, plotting to end the new dynasty before it begins. A waif from Kigen’s gutters begins a friendship that could undo the entire empire. A new enemy gathers its strength, readying to push the fracturing Shima imperium into a war it cannot hope to survive. And across raging oceans, amongst islands of black glass, Yukiko and Buruu will face foes no katana or talon can defeat.

The ghosts of a blood-stained past.

If you haven’t read Stormdancer yet, why not? I beg you, read these books. Jay is an amazing writer and storyteller. Plus, he has a special offer for readers who pre-order Kinslayer right now. You can get an exclusive novella called The Last Stormdancer mailed to you right now, before Kinslayer comes out this fall! But I think you have to be one of the first 1,000 people or something like that, and I don’t know whether or not they’ve reached that goal yet. Check it out here if you’re interested!

Have you read Stormdancer? Are you excited to read Kinslayer? What are you waiting on?