Waiting on Wednesday - Ripple by Mandy Hubbard

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that are being eagerly anticipated.

Ripple by Mandy Hubbard
Goodreads – YA – July 21st 2011 by Razorbill/Penguin

Eighteen year old Lexi Wentworth is cursed. For as long as she can remember, she’s spent every night swimming. If she doesn’t, she’ll regret it - simply walking will be agony, as if she’s stepping on shattered glass. Her body craves the water, demands the water, until she can’t say no.

But it's not the swimming that troubles Lexi. It’s the singing that goes with it.When she turned sixteen, her siren song killed the only boy she's ever loved. Now, she avoids the popular shores of the Pacific in favor of a long forgotten lake up in the mountains, where she can swim and sing in peace, far from the population of her oceanside home.

Until, that is, Cole Mills discovers her lake. He’s new to Lincoln City High, and he doesn’t know about Lexi’s reputation as an ice queen - a reputation she’s carefully cultivated to keep everyone around her safe. He pushes her, talks to her, forces her to dream of what life could be like if she weren’t a siren.

Lexi can’t stop herself from warming to him, from falling for him. Soon, he’s demanding answers, following her to the lake, unknowingly risking his life. How can she keep him safe when the one thing she wants most - to hold him close - will endanger his life?

This book sounds fantastic.  I absolutely love the idea of a cursed heroine who can’t be near her new boyfriend for fear of hurting him.  It’s inverse Twilight and makes me want to go out and buy it right now. And aren't the colours on this cover simply stunning? Are those tatoos or scales on her legs? *is intrigued*