Teaser Tuesday: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

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!

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell.

Eleanor & Park –
St. Martin’s Press

Park noticed the new girl at about the same time everybody else did. She was standing at the front of the bus, next to the first available seat.
— Chapter 1

There was something about the music on that tape. It felt different. Like, it set her lungs and her stomach on edge. There was something exciting about it, and something nervous. It made Eleanor feel like everything, like the world, wasn’t what she’d thought it was. And that was a good thing. That was the greatest thing.
— Chapter 2

Welcome back and a slightly belated happy 2014. I hope the first couple of weeks have treated you well enough. I had everything on my mind but the Internet for the past week, but I hope you’ll forgive me. I read this over the break because I’d heard so many good things about it. And it is good. The writing is beautiful and the characters are just so likable in their outcast way. It also has the amazing 80s charm complete with mix tapes and vinyl records. I liked it a lot, very much so. I believe in this love story: it’s not elaborate or achingly sweet or over the top incredible, but very realistic and sweet and ... I don’t want to say wholesome because that would make it sound like healthy food, but it is so refreshingly not love at first sight. I understand why so many love it. This book deserves to be loved.

What did you read the last few weeks? Let’s hear from you in the comments with your teasers.

Teaser Tuesday: World After by Susan Ee

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!

World After by Susan Ee.

World After – Skyscape

My sister’s face changes instantly from a blank slate to a growling animal as she snaps at the man. Her razor-grafted teeth flash as she moves, emphasizing the threat.
— Chapter 1

Paige and I are used to being stared at. I would just ignore it while Paige always smiled at the gawkers from her wheelchair. They almost always smiled back. Paige’s charm was hard to resist.
Once upon a time.
— Chapter 2

This series has the main title Penryn and the End of Days and considering the feeling one currently gets while entering the vicinity of any shopping outlet (or just attempting travel, but that might just be me – I have seriously bad karma when it comes to trains) I found this oddly fitting. Not because of the post-apocalyptic scenario, it has not come this far ... I hope. But the contrast of these angels with the angel-stores that are also in high demand at this time of year. I’m not very far into this second book at the moment but I hope that it will pick up a little on the plot side and clear up a few holes I noticed in book one. I think this could be a great scenario as the narration itself is already very good. There are only a few plot issues that could have used as little smoothing in book one, but maybe they’ll be covered in this second book. The beginnig makes me very optimistic that I’ll enjoy this.

This will be my last regular post of 2013 ... I’ll hopefully find the time during the holidays for a recap/best-of list like last year. In the meantime, let me wish you all a very merry Christmas if you celebrate it. Have a great week and please share what you are reading in the comments.

Teaser Tuesday: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

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 Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown –
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

The Ten Most Important Things To Bring To Coldtown

1. Cash and lots of it. You can barter for lots of things inside, but cash is still the most important tool for bribing guards and getting what you want. You’ve been saving up, right? Bring every last penny. It’s not like you’re coming back.
...
10. A buddy. Trust me, you’ll need one.
— Chapter 14

I promised myself a treat for my Christmas break. And then I decided to take a peek and see if there were any teasers to share within the first few pages. There would have been. I could have teased you from here to Sunday, but that would have meant putting down the book. This is a forced break at the beginning of chapter 14 because it’s a break in the narration as well and it also shows what you can expect from this book. I adore Holly Black’s writing and as you can see it sucked (pun sort of intended) me right in. Other people might suffer from insomnia, but I don’t think I’m fooling anyone.

Most likely this won't last until Christmas ... it’ll be a miracle if I don’t finish this by tomorrow. Share your teasers in the comments, I’ll be in need of something to last me on a 7+ hour train journey on Saturday. Happy Tuesday, and best wishes for your pre-Christmas week.

Teaser Tuesday: Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier

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!

Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier.

Emerald Green –
Henry Holt and Co.

“The ground will soak up your blood!”
I had at least two smart retorts to these sinister words on the tip of my tongue. (Soak up my blood? Oh, come off it, this is a tiled floor.)
— Chapter 1

“Swear by your lives!”
Aunt Maddy was the only one to jump up and put her hand enthusiastically on her heart. The others were still hesitating. “Can’t we swear by anything else?” grumbled Lesley. “I’d have thought our left hands would do.”
— Chapter 4

There aren’t many translated books in English, especially not children’s books. I suppose one of the reasons is that English has such a high number of quality authors that publishers don’t feel the need to look for great stories in other markets. This is one of the few instances where a foreign book series was so persistent in wanting to get noticed that it somehow did. And translated by none other than Anthea Bell, no less (I’m book nerd enough to get excited about translators).So I actually got to read this final book in the Precious Stone trilogy a while ago, but this is one of the series I like to go back to and skim read for favourite scenes. And I dare you to read this and not want a pet gargoyle demon afterwards.

How are you holding up before Christmas? Have you met your reading goal for this year yet? Let’s hear from you in the comments and share your teasers for this week.

Teaser Tuesday: The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead

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 Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead.

The Fiery Heart – Razorbill

“You’ve got a fortune here. This is platinum. Sell these and you’d have allowance for life. And all the records you want.”
“I’d sleep in a cardboard box before I sold those.”
— Chapter 1

“When he realized he couldn’t eat me, he got enraged and tried to snap my neck—but then I got a fireball out on him.” There was a gleam in her eye as she spoke, as though she were seeing the battle play out in front of her.
— Chapter 4

Maybe it’s because I’m sitting here in a cosy sweater and close to negative degrees outside, but I’m at the moment especially jealous of the Palm Spings setting. I can’t really be jealous of Sydney though, because even though she finally got the guy (or did  he get her?) she now has to struggle with her younger sister on top of everything else. This book seems to have a lot of Adrian chapters, which I hope will make him more relatable while not dispel the mysterious allure of him. So far I like being in his head and seeing his more vulnerable side. I liked him as a character in the Vampire Academy series (not as a partner for Rose, mind you) and I think he’s got some great character potential.

Would you rather see a story from both protagonists’ points of view or remain in the dark about the thoughts of one of them? Let’s hear from you in the comments and please share your teasers.