Waiting on Wednesday (4) Across a Star-Swept Sea

Waiting on Wednesday  is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. Click the link to see the original post plus a whole slew of links to other blogs. After you read this one, of course.

This week I'm waiting on:

 
Title: Across a Star-Swept Sea
Author: Diana Peterfreund
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: October 15, 2013

Synopsis from Goodreads:

 Centuries after wars nearly destroyed civilization, the two islands of New Pacifica stand alone, a terraformed paradise where even the Reduction—the devastating brain disorder that sparked the wars—is a distant memory. Yet on the isle of Galatea, an uprising against the ruling aristocrats has turned deadly. The revolutionaries’ weapon is a drug that damages their enemies’ brains, and the only hope is rescue by a mysterious spy known as the Wild Poppy.

On the neighboring island of Albion, no one suspects that the Wild Poppy is actually famously frivolous aristocrat Persis Blake. The teenager uses her shallow, socialite trappings to hide her true purpose: her gossipy flutternotes are encrypted plans, her pampered sea mink is genetically engineered for spying, and her well-publicized new romance with handsome Galatean medic Justen Helo… is her most dangerous mission ever.

Though Persis is falling for Justen, she can’t risk showing him her true self, especially once she learns he’s hiding far more than simply his disenchantment with his country’s revolution and his undeniable attraction to the silly socialite he’s pretending to love. His darkest secret could plunge both islands into a new dark age, and Persis realizes that when it comes to Justen Helo, she’s not only risking her heart, she’s risking the world she’s sworn to protect.

In this thrilling adventure inspired by The Scarlet Pimpernel, Diana Peterfreund creates an exquisitely rendered world where nothing is as it seems and two teens with very different pasts fight for a future only they dare to imagine.  

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Why I'm excited:

Spies disguised as socialites, thrilling adventure, secrets, love...that cover!! This book sounds amazing. Diane Peterfreund seems to have a knack from putting a unique spin on source material. This is a retelling of The Scarlet Pimpernel and her last book, For Darkness Shows the Stars was a retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion. From what I've gathered the book, although billed as For Darkness Shows the Stars #2, isn't really a sequel. I've heard the two are loosely linked, but that you will not have to have read the "first" book in order to follow Across a Star-Swept Sea. And, for real, that cover. Gah!

So what are you anxiously waiting for on this first Wednesday in May? Sound off below.
 

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