Tuesday, 5 August 2014

Teaser Tuesday: What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick

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!

What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick.

What I Thought Was True
– Dial Books for Young Readers

What “all” does she want to know? The kind of “all” I tell Viv is different from the “all” I tell Mom, so God knows what the “all” is to someone who might want to employ me, and ...
— Chapter 5

“You were the one who told me to watch out!”
“I know.” She hunches her shoulders, shivering a little as another chilly breeze comes off the water. “It’s just maybe . . . maybe you’re watching out for the wrong things.”
— Chapter 11


It is almost too tempting to say that this is a typical Huntley Fitzpatrick, except for the fact that this is only her second book (as far as I’m aware – if not, I want to know the titles of her other books, please). The summery familiar feeling already greets you on the first page, like the place you’ve been going to for ages and which always promises you the best possible holiday. It’s a little different than with My Life Next Door in the sense that you don’t get the feeling that you know the main character because there is this event which everyone is aware of apart from the reader. It is hinted at very heavily though and I only wondered how it all fit together. If summer is taking a break where you are, you can at least have a little summer in your book. But be aware that where there is sun there is also the danger of sunburn. This book is decidedly not a fluffy summer romance. Like a well-prepared North Sea tourist, it has put on layers.

How is you summer coming along? We have the sometimes entertaining but often rather disrupting thunder storms at the moment among a mixture of sunny days and “blergh-weather”. Share teasers and spots of perfect summer in the comments.

Tuesday, 29 July 2014

Teaser Tuesday: Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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!

Don’t Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Don’t Look Back –
Disney Hyperion

Even if I couldn’t remember who I was, everyone else would never forget. No matter how badly I wanted to ignore the person I used to be, I couldn’t escape a past I didn’t remember.
— Chapter 7

She had immediately protected me. No questions. No hesitation.
— Chapter 27




Would you like some suspense with your light romance, Miss? That’s exactly the kind you question that would precede the serving of this book. For a Jennifer L. Armentrout, the romance was almost tame even by YA standards, but the crime part is a new angle coming from her and I find that I enjoy that side of her. Granted, I had a very early suspicion of the motivation for the murder and also a very narrow list of suspects. However, the main character was believable enough in her amnesia to take a while to connect the dots. Though she could have done the same much earlier and I don’t think that being a sheltered bad princess is an excuse for being blind to something so glaringly obvious ... Still a nice read as an introduction to contemporary suspense reads and especially if you already enough the author’s writing.

Do you have recommendations for books that gently introduce new readers to a new-to-them genre without breaking out the big guns? I for example would never jump head first into a crime novel, but maybe if I eased into them. Let me know about your thoughts in the comments along with your teasers.

Tuesday, 22 July 2014

Teaser Tuesday: The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness

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 Book of Life by Deborah Harkness.

The Book of Life –
Headline

From that moment my aunt and the house were in an all-out battle for supremacy.
The house was winning, thanks to its chief weapon: Fleetwood Mac.
— Chapter 11

“Do we happen to know of any megalomaniacs with an interest in vampire genetics? Oh, wait, we know two of them”.
— Chapter 14



I am not finished reading and I need to get back to the last 150 pages asap so just quickly this: Deborah Harkness is a witch of word-magic. And I mean this in the most positive way possible. This book has me laughing tears as well as bawling them. I’m currently in the “everything is going to hell in a hand basket stage”, which is also the overall theme of the trilogy, but this never seems unnecessarily cruel or overstated. I fear for all my favourite characters, but not in the they’re all going to die sense. It’s the equally devastating emotional punch I dread. This book is amazing in being able to amaze you and in being absolutely fantastic. I already know that the trilogy will need a thorough re-read (after I’ve coped with this conclusion) to catch all the clever foreshadowing and connections. An exceptional book by a truly gifted writer.

Have you followed the All Souls trilogy? I mainly picked up the first book because it featured my university's city of Oxford ... and after the first page I couldn’t imagine putting the book down. How about you? Share your teasers and stories in the comments.

Tuesday, 15 July 2014

Teaser Tuesday: Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens

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!

Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens.

Murder Most Unladylike –
Corgi Childrens


Murders, unfortunately, always come with murderers attached.
— Chapter 1-6

I still remember that first meeting – it would be hard to forget it. It was the first time I’d ever stepped onto a Games field, and incidentally also the first time I truly thought I might die. 
— Chapter 2-5



I snoozed on the release date of this one. Shame on me, really. This is such a fun read, if you’re only the tiniest bit partial to British humour and detective stories. Daisy is determined to be the next detective wonder and Hazel reluctantly accepts the role as Dr Watson to Daisy’s Sherlock. All this in the delightful setting of a 1930ies boarding school for girls of affluent parents. I enjoyed this story a lot, especially guessing along who the murderer might be and why they did it. This is a very clever book definitely aimed at a younger audience with an inclination towards mystery. I would like to accompany Hazel on her next adventure, which Daisy will inadvertently steer them into.

The end of the World Cup finally means more reading time for me. I desperately have to catch up on some books I neglected during the past weeks. And then there is this highly anticipated tome The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness, which comes out tomorrow and which will mean that I’ll drop everything to read this first.
Do you interrupt your reading of one book to read something else or do you finish your current book before you start something new?

Tuesday, 8 July 2014

Teaser Tuesday: After the End by Amy Plum

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!

After the End by Amy Plum.

After the End – HarperTeen


“Juneau, you can’t be perfect. You’re going to be clan Sage, not our sole protector.”
“I’d rather be prepared to do both,” I respond.
— Chapter 1

Death by ponytail. It could happen.
— Chapter 4




Just a quick note about this as I’ve just started reading. These two scenes are from the two protagonists of the novel and with just a few words you already know the sort of person the are, or at least project to be on the surface. That’s very skillful writing and I admire Amy Plum a lot, especially when I see how much she has evolved during her first trilogy alone. I love watching writers grow with their books and this is definitely the case here. The whole idea of the story is an interesting concept and I’m looking forward to seeing Juneau stumble through not-at-all-post-apocalyptic modern day ... and meet and clash with Miles.

Do you have an author whose development you’ve followed from their debut? Let me know about them and share your teasers in the comments.