Wednesday 27 February 2013

Waiting on Wednesday: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week’s can’t wait to read selection is
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey.
Publication Date: May 7th 2013.

The 5th Wave - Putnam Juvenile

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.
Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.
Synopsis from goodreads.com

I’ve seen a lot of remarks about this book starting with something along the lines “It’s Sci-Fi, but you might like it.” As a matter of fact, I don’t like these caveats. Either you recommend books wholeheartedly or you don’t, but don’t use its supposed genre as an excuse. Doesn’t a sentence like that rather sound like “It’s strawberry, but unlike all the other strawberry you are deadly allergic to this will only give you a minor itch.” Similar thing goes for “It’s Sci-Fi, but for girls as well.” I’ll step off my soapbox now and say this: Yay, it has Sci-Fi elements and it sounds really great and I’m quite excited for this.

Anyone else allergic to strawberries and/or genre-but(t)s? Which book are you waiting for this week?

Tuesday 26 February 2013

Teaser Tuesday: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
To play along just do the following:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!  

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake.

Girl of Nightmares -
Tor Teen


There is no dead thing haunting the mall.
It’s too busy, too bright, and too lotion-y.
-- Page 42

When my shoes crunch against the gravel the sound brings a flash of nostalgia, a jolt that takes me back six months, when the Victorian still stood and I used to come at night to talk to the dead girl inside it.
Warm, fuzzy memories.
-- Page 108


When you are a ghost hunter, isn't it a bit contradictory to fall in love with the ghost you should be killing? 
Ghost hunter (and not ghostbuster!) Cas Lowood doesn't think so. He is on a mission to get his love back from Hell and it seems that nothing can stop him.  
Girl of Nightmares is the sequel to Anna Dressed in Blood, which it took quite some time for me to pick up, because I thought the topic might be too scary for me. It isn't. If anything, it's fascinating. Girl of Nightmares is full of action and even more suspenseful than the first book has been, but I also like it so much more. Cas is more active and takes things into his own hands without relying on others to do it for him. He is driven by purpose and I wonder if his love will be able to conquer death in the end.

Which book are you reading right now? Anything scary? :) Tell us in the comments!

Wednesday 20 February 2013

Waiting on Wednesday: Infinityglass by Myra McEntire

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week’s can’t wait to read selection is
Infinityglass by Myra McEntire.
Publication Date: July 9th 2013

Infinityglass - Egmont USA
The stakes have risen even higher in this third book in the Hourglass series.

The Hourglass is a secret organization focused on the study of manipulating time, and its members — many of them teenagers -­have uncanny abilities to make time work for them in mysterious ways. Inherent in these powers is a responsibility to take great care, because altering one small moment can have devastating consequences for the past, present, and future. But some time trav­elers are not exactly honorable, and sometimes unsavory deals must be struck to maintain order.

With the Infinityglass (central to understanding and harnessing the time gene) at large, the hunt is on to find it before someone else does.

But the Hourglass has an advantage. Lily, who has the ability to locate anything lost, has determined that the Infinityglass isn't an object. It's a person. And the Hourglass must find him or her first. But where do you start searching for the very key to time when every second could be the last?
Synopsis from goodreads.com

Infinityglass is the third book in the Hourglass series. Hourglass was awesome and Timepiece quite good as well, so my expectations are high on this one. As the first two books had different points of view, I wonder whose point of view Infinityglass will be from. Michael maybe, or Lily?
I also like the cover to this book, even as it is darker than the ones before. Actually, I'm not quite sure what to expect, but hope for a good show down and some more time with Emerson, Michael and especially Kaleb! 

Which books are you waiting on this week? Leave us a comment! 

Tuesday 19 February 2013

Teaser Tuesday: Asunder by Jodi Meadows

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
To play along just do the following:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!  

Asunder by Jodi Meadows.


Asunder - Katherine Tegen Books


“Why wouldn’t I understand your questions?” Lightning struck inside my chest. He couldn’t even remember that sometimes he didn’t.
-- Chapter 4

We sat in silence while I waited on Sam, and Armande…made sure no one threw rocks.
-- Chapter 11



Incarnate grew on me while I was reading it and when I reached the end I realised that despite a few misgivings I had about the overall thing I was quite interested how Ana’s story would continue. At the moment I’m a little miffed about Ana’s naivete in some field while she also displays deep insight in other areas. This tends to feel a little too constructed for my taste. I’m still trying to figure out what the main threat is, but since only Ana feels that there is one this might take some time. I hope that the plot picks up a little more pace in the second half of the book.

Wednesday 13 February 2013

Waiting on Wednesday: Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt


Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week’s can’t wait to read selection is
Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt.
Publication Date: March 26th 2013


Going Vintage - Bloomsbury
When Mallory’s boyfriend, Jeremy, cheats on her with an online girlfriend, Mallory decides the best way to de-Jeremy her life is to de-modernize things too. Inspired by a list of goals her grandmother made in 1962, Mallory swears off technology and returns to a simpler time (when boyfriends couldn’t cheat with computer avatars). The List:
1. Run for pep club secretary
2. Host a fancy dinner party/soiree
3. Sew a dress for Homecoming
4. Find a steady
5. Do something dangerous
But simple proves to be crazy-complicated, and the details of the past begin to change Mallory’s present. Add in a too-busy grandmother, a sassy sister, and the cute pep-club president–who just happens to be her ex’s cousin–and soon Mallory begins to wonder if going vintage is going too far.
Synopsis from goodreads.com.

I like vintage things, such as Tiffany lamps or 50's furniture, so the cover of Going Vintage caught my attention straight away. The synopsis sounds great and I totally get Mallory's decision to return to a time that seems more simple in hindsight, especially after her boyfriend cheated on her online. Admittedly, changing your life this drastically sounds like fun, but it's not easy to go back in time when everybody else goes forward. So there are quite some complications waiting for her I would guess. Will she make it to the end of her list inspite of it all? And which danger will she face for number five on the list?
 
Would you like to go vintage sometimes? Tell us in the comments along with what you're waiting on this week!

Tuesday 12 February 2013

Teaser Tuesday: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
To play along just do the following:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!  

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.

The Raven Boys - Scholastic


She wasn’t interested in telling other people’s futures. She was interested in going out and finding her own.
-- Chapter 1

“Blue, if you ever see that man again, you just walk the other way.”
“No,” Calla corrected. “Kick him in the nuts. Then run the other way.”
-- Chapter 13


I think the best way to describe how Maggie Stiefvater’s writing feels to me is that it is an acquired taste. I can’t actually read her books in one sitting like I do with other authors but have to take it in in smaller chunks. However, something about her writing makes me read on and pick up her new books ... even if it’s just to take a look (we know how that goes). I freely admit that her Mercy Falls trilogy didn’t speak to me like it obviously did to so many others, but The Raven Boys is oddly compelling in its very different characters and also in the variety of characters presented in the book. I think my problem with Mercy falls was that it just didn’t feel peopled enough somehow for me.

Share your teasers in the comments ... and please don’t lynch me if Mercy Falls happens to be your favourite series of all time.

Wednesday 6 February 2013

Waiting on Wednesday: You Look Different in Real Life by Jennifer Castle

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week’s can’t wait to read selection is
You Look Different in Real Life by Jennifer Castle.
Publication Date: June 4th 2013.


You Look Different in Real Life - Harper Teen

The premise was simple: five kids, just living their lives. There’d be a new movie about them every five years, starting in kindergarten. But no one could have predicted what the cameras would capture. And no one could have predicted that Justine would be the star. Now sixteen, Justine doesn’t feel like a star anymore. In fact, when she hears the crew has gotten the green light to film "Five at Sixteen," all she feels is dread. The kids who shared the same table in kindergarten have become teenagers who hardly know one another. And Justine, who was so funny and edgy in the first two movies, just feels like a disappointment. But these teens have a bond that goes deeper than what’s on film. They’ve all shared the painful details of their lives with countless viewers. They all know how it feels to have fans as well as friends. So when this latest movie gives them the chance to reunite, Justine and her costars are going to take it. Because sometimes, the only way to see yourself is through someone else’s eyes.
Synopsis from goodreads.com

There are so many times when I’m ridiculously happy that my childhood was only captured in not-so-high-quality home videos and photos. And that it’s definitely not available online. But to imagine that it was not only preserved for posterity, but made into feature films ... so basically the Olsen-Twins and Full House ... yep, still thankful. I think this will be quite an interesting read and I hope that it will go a little deeper than the careful-what-you-share-in-public warnings.

Share your Waiting on Wednesday in the comments. And your worst childhood mishap in video (just kidding).

Tuesday 5 February 2013

Teaser Tuesday: The Archived by Victoria Schwab

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
To play along just do the following:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!  

The Archived by Victoria Schwab.


The Archived - Hyperion

The Narrows remind me of August nights in the South. They remind me of old rocks and places where the light can't reach. They remind me of smoke -- the stale, settled kind -- and of storms and damp earth.
Most of all, Da, they remind me of you.
-- Page 1

Da always said there were two ways to get through any locked door: by key or by force.
And I don't have a key, so . . .
-- Page 59


I picked up this book, because apparently I have a thing for libraries and mysteries. The Archived is as much a mystery story as it is about history and memory. It is told by sixteen-year-old Mackenzie Bishop, who lives a secret and lonely life as a Keeper. It's her job to capture the awakened dead, who made their way into the Narrows - a place between the real world and the Archive - and to return them. Mackenzie is always active and inquisitive and I like that a lot about her.  
Also, I was hooked from the start by the beautiful style of writing and the way secrets are revealed bit by tiny bit. One third into the book, I still can't figure out where the story will lead. I'll enjoy being surprised.

Which are your current reads? Tease us in the comments!