I might make myself sick worrying about what could happen in this book, so instead I’ll just join in the WoW fun and share a novel I’m so impatient to read I actually paid more than twice as much as I could have in order to get it — from another continent.
Waiting On: “Quintana of Charyn” by Melina Marchetta
Release Date: March 12, 2013 | Pages: 528 | Publisher: Candlewick
Pre-order: Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Fishpond (if you can’t really wait!)
The climactic conclusion of Printz Award winner Melina Marchetta’s epic fantasy trilogy!
Separated from the girl he loves and has sworn to protect, Froi and his companions travel through Charyn searching for Quintana and building an army that will secure her unborn child’s right to rule. While in the valley between two kingdoms, Quintana of Charyn and Isaboe of Lumatere come face-to-face in a showdown that will result in heartbreak for one and power for the other. The complex tangle of bloodlines, politics, and love introduced in Finnikin of the Rock and Froi of the Exiles coalesce into an engrossing climax in this final volume.
Quintana by the awesome Simini Blocker
Talking about Melina Marchetta’s books is a risky proposition for me, because I could very well begin to start crying without any notice. Or, I could feel an irresistible urge to kiss my husband, hard, in public, in private, anywhere (especially if I’m reading about that most beautiful ginger king Finnikin, or Jonah “Effing” Griggs). Or, I could giggle with heart-bursting joy at how her characters deserve their happy endings. Marchetta is a marvel, because she manages to make her readers empathize with flawed, heartbroken characters. There’s so much depth to her stories that they refuse to leave you. She’s one of the very few authors whose work gets under my skin, whom I want to read again and again and again.
All that to say that I could.not.wait for the U.S. release in March. So I paid the full $25 to have “Quintana of Charyn” shipped to me from Australia. Just this evening I received the “your item has shipped” email and proceeded to do a little happy dance, which led to the following conversation with my husband:
—Him: “What happened? Are the kids all in bed?” —Me: “Quintana is coming!” —Him: “Who?” —Me: “Quintana of Charyn” —Him: “A friend of yours is coming over?” —Me: “Forget it!”
My stomach has serious butterflies about what might happen to all of the established characters I love, particularly Finnikin and Isaboe, who are the reason I got swept into the trilogy to begin with, but also Trevanion and Beatriss and Lucian of the Monts and OF COURSE Quintana and Froi, but considering she’s the titular character, I doubt anything too horrific will happen to them. I am totally unspoiled about “Quintana” and refuse to even read the Goodreads page. Needless to say, I’m waiting, waiting, waiting until my package from Down Under arrives. And once it does, I’m unlikely to stop reading until I’m done!
Thanks Breaking the Spine, for hosting Waiting On Wednesday.
Eeee! We’re definitely waiting on this one too, and good to know that you can get it shipped from Australia. *makes mental note* We JUST got our hands on FROI OF THE EXILES, though, so we can probably stand to wait a little bit. (KING?! KING?!??!?! Oh boy, this is gonna be good.)
Also, a million times yes to this:
“Marchetta is a marvel, because she manages to make her readers empathize with flawed, heartbroken characters. There’s so much depth to her stories that they refuse to leave you. She’s one of the very few authors whose work gets under my skin, whom I want to read again and again and again.”
Where did you find that picture of Quintana!? All the other ones (and I do mean /all/) keep trying to make her so pretty. I think one of the best things about the story is that she’s this fantastic heroine who’s NOT pretty and NOT quaint and doesn’t feel the need to please others. At all. Definitely searching Simini Blocker’s work:)
Also, your description of the experience of reading Marchetta is bang-on. My boyfriend hasn’t made the connection between my reading them and me being extra teary/romantic/fierce, but it always happens 😛
Just about to finish Quintana for the second time and I’m already experiencing withdrawal. Any suggestions as to what I should read next? (Apart from Marchetta’s other books. I’ve read em all.)