Teaser Tuesday: Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
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!

Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan.

Tell the Wind and Fire –
Clarion Books

Maybe that is the only thing I have ever learned about love: love is when you save someone no matter what the cost.
— Chapter 3

All the more beautiful because it was fragile. Never more beautiful than at the instant before it was destroyed.
— Chapter 12

I was recently asked what made a great book for me and I said that I need the characters to be real (not relatable, but authentic) and the plot to make sense and not babble along. The writing can be the most beautiful and the idea the most imaginary, but if these two aspects aren’t met, the book could never convince me of its greatness. This could have gone either way with this retelling of A Tale of Two Cities, but I needn’t have worried ... at least not in the sense of will I love it and will it utterly destroy me, because it is Sarah Rees Brennan after all, one of my favourite tormentors. Or: One of the authors I’d cheerfully hand an imaginary stiletto and beg them to stab and twist at their leisure. And please wring the very last tear from me while you’re at it. No, really, I adored this story even if I knew how it would have to end (hoped differently certainly, but see above).
What I possibly love most would be the very clear yet delicate writing, which managed to pierce the exact meaning and evoke a multitude of emotions without forcing these experiences onto you. I didn’t mind that I was plunged into this new world with magic and strange rules and habits, because I knew for certain that it would all make sense or be explained when necessary.
There is a lot of praise due for this book: the characters, which aren’t perfect, but more real for being flawed; the retelling itself true to the original, but with its own twists and surprises and hardships; the world with its gritty reality and magic, which I would have liked to see more of; and of course (because this is where I think Sarah Rees Brennan excels) the relationships between the characters, it can’t feel more real than this. I would have loved more of this book, to have a little more insight into the world and spend more time with Carwyn all of the cast. But I also admire the brevity of the story and the impact it managed to have on me despite or because of it.

What is your absolute have to have for a story to make you describe it as great? Share ideas and teasers in the comments.

Teaser Tuesday: The Moth and the Flame by Renée Ahdieh

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
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 Moth and the Flame by Renée Ahdieh.

The Moth and the Flame –
G. P. Putnam’s Sons

He could supposedly charm the skirts off a girl with nothing but sly words and flippant promises.
At the memory of such tales, Despina stifled a laugh.
Impossibly ridiculous. Removing clothing involved a great deal more than words.
— Chapter 1

It was an easy room to find. The only one with a guard posted outside the door.
— Chapter 5

Authors who write extended short stories about my favourite supporting characters have a sure-fire way to make me love them forever. And Despina and Jalal have been two of my absolute favourite not-main-characters of 2015 in The Wrath and the Dawn. And now I get to read their story and also get to know them better before the new full book is published in April. It is not essential information to understand the main story, but I like this extension of the story universe. In every story with well-developed characters these need to have a back story. And if the author is willing to share them, I won’t discourage it.

What is your favourite character extension story if you have one? Share them along with your teasers in the comments!

Teaser Tuesday: The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
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 Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury.

The Forbidden Wish –
Razorbill

Would I throw away a bag of gold just because I found it in a pile of dung?
— Chapter 2

Wishes have a way of twisting themselves, and there is nothing more dangerous than getting your heart’s desire. The question is, are you willing to gamble? How much are you willing to lose? What are you willing to risk everything for?
— Chapter 2

There are most certainly more memorable quotes on the way for this story, but I didn’t want to risk spoiling myself by looking ahead. Of course I immediately had the Aladdin theme song stuck in my head when I opened the book, but I think we’ll depart from that quite soon ... unless anyone had the head canon of Aladdin and Genie as OTP from the beginning. Maybe if Genie had looked a little more like Jasmine.
I like the idea of being able to get your heart’s desire handed to you but with the stinger that it might cost you everything. It will be interesting to see how all of this is going to work out.

Is it just me or are there more jinni stories than usual at the moment? Or maybe I just stumble upon them more now that I’ve read a few. Asking for your wishes would be cheesy, but maybe asking for the price you’d be willing to pay in exchange is an option? Share them with your teasers in the comments.

Teaser Tuesday: Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
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!

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare.

Lady Midnight –
Margaret K. McElderry Books

“You look worried,” said Livvy. “Is Emma taking you somewhere to kill you?”
“Worse,” Emma said, heading over to join Cristina at the door. “Shopping.”
— Chapter 13

For the weight of a thousand lies, told in good faith, because lies told in good faith were still lies.
— Chapter 20

I honestly don’t know how to start this ... maybe with the fact that I was making distressed high-pitched keening noises throughout the book and decided early on that this could only be read in a non-public environment lest people think I’m in pain and separate me from the book. A good book let’s you close it with a wistful smile ... and for me a brilliant book has you in the foetal position wailing about the unfairness of it all and how will any of this ever be alright again? (Cassie, I trust you completely, but you better find a way.)
The Blackthorns (and Emma) are so very precious and if anyone is ever trying to hurt them in any capacity, I won’t guarantee for anything. Same goes for Cristina. And to some extent Kieran. And Kit. And ... I think you get the idea. I’m so very afraid of what will happen in the next book, especially as some of the hurt seems inevitable and coming from within. It’s perfectly horrible in a beautiful, agonising way. (I also notice that my vocabulary regarding descriptions of pain has been considerably broadened by knowing Cassandra Clare ...)
In short: This book is 720 pages of masterfully executed emotional heart-shattering. I need my group therapy members to catch up reading as soon as possible because shared anguish is always preferable. And I also need someone to laugh when I quote all the wonderful wit and sarcasm.
You definitely can read this series without having read any of the other books, but it is so much more fun if you know all the cameos ... and seriously why wouldn’t you want to read the other books, you will need all the practice you can get to steel yourself against the heartache and soul-twisting the next books will cause. And this book clearly spoils the previous two series.
As for a lot of the criticism that this is (depending on how you count) the tenth or twelfth book in the Shadowhunter universe: No one is forcing this book upon anyone and there are obviously enough readers out there who are absolutely thrilled to return to this story world. No one is wondering why Rick Riordan keeps writing in the Demigod universe or J.R. Ward and the Black Dagger Brotherhood or John Grisham writing yet another legal thriller set in – gasp – the real world. If the writer has stories left to tell in their world then by all means let them and if you don’t like it there are literally tons of other books published each week that you could read instead without being a troll about it.

Is there a story universe you could read in forever? I love it when authors create a world so thoroughly that they can dive back into it and take me as a reader right along. In addition to all the new worlds I like to explore in other books. Share thoughts and teasers in the comments.

Teaser Tuesday: Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
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!

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard.

Truthwitch – Tor Teen

“How is that for service? Do you know how many men onboard would kill for the use of a spoon?”
“And do you know,” she retorted, “how many men I can kill with a spoon?”
— Chapter 23

She was stuck in this body, with this mind, but it didn’t mean that she couldn’t reach outside. It didn’t mean she couldn’t change.
— Chapter 26

Whenever someone tells me that witches are making a comeback I am tempted to ask them why they think witches were ever gone ... but that would seem flippant and possibly impolite, so I won’t list all the books with witches the person has probably missed. I don’t like thinking in trends, but the trade often insists on it so I’ll say that if witches were gone, this start of the series will do its part to bring them back.
It’s possibly not the book for the unexperienced fantasy reader as there is no big exposition into the world and how it works, but rather a requirement to figure it out as you go. I understand that someone else might feel a bit lost between the foreign words, strange concepts of witchery, and seemingly confusing world politics while this works quite well for me. I liked that the story focuses on the two female leads and their very impressive friendship ... if you understand that this is a very common name for something much bigger, a bond thicker than blood. There are so many thing I can’t wait to find out how they develop in the coming books not only with the two female leads but also with the other characters. I’m especially interested in the maybe-but-also-maybe-not-so-villainous villain.
And having just realised that there will be four books in this series this has filled my reading schedule with yet another book each year up until 2019 ... which seems crazy, but seeing that I have a list that runs up to possibly 2024 ... don’t look at me like that!

If you were to choose to specialise in one talent that you had absolute power over, like telling truth from lie, controlling the wind/any other element or fabric, or some other maybe more intangible power, what would that be? I’d have a hard time deciding between controlling the air (yay flying) and this idea of wordwitchery of being able to write truly binding contracts and strongly suggesting actions and ideas to others. How about you? Share talent wishes and teasers in the comments.