Tuesday, 2 August 2016
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
To play along just do the following:
The Shadow Hour by Melissa Grey.
This sequel showed up on my reader and I was starting to believe in the book magic fairy before I remembered that I pre-ordered it almost immediately after I finished the first book ... or rather: my account reminded me. I’d have preferred the fairy, but I’m still very glad about the existence of this book. In the interest of full disclosure: It took me a while to get back into the story, especially since it starts right back in the middle of things with the stakes higher than ever before and the light at the end of the tunnel more likely than not an oncoming train rather than a true source of hope. And so far, this sounds like the standard procedure for a second-in-a-trilogy-book. And this book is all that but it is also so much more. The writing is truly beautiful and can at the same time convey so much humour as well as be truly captivating, emotional, and intense.
I still have a few chapters left to go and I’m very curious where this is going. I have (of course) a few hopes and fears ... it can’t be sunshine and rainbows, because second book and all that, but maybe I won’t need the anxiety blanket for this? Right, whom am I kidding? As long as the “Cry Here When A Fictional Character Dies” pillow can stay out of it.
When you really enjoy a first book, do you immediately order the sequel (if possible), do you pre-order it at some later point, or do you wait for it to publish? Share your method and teasers in the comments.
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 Shadow Hour by Melissa Grey.
 |
| The Shadow Hour – Delacorte Press |
“There’s no sense in lying to you with sugarcoated promises that everything will be fine. You’re entirely too clever for that.”
— Chapter 6
“I am your captive audience,” said Caius, with a pointed glance at his newly assigned guards. “Emphasis on captive.”
— Chapter 15
This sequel showed up on my reader and I was starting to believe in the book magic fairy before I remembered that I pre-ordered it almost immediately after I finished the first book ... or rather: my account reminded me. I’d have preferred the fairy, but I’m still very glad about the existence of this book. In the interest of full disclosure: It took me a while to get back into the story, especially since it starts right back in the middle of things with the stakes higher than ever before and the light at the end of the tunnel more likely than not an oncoming train rather than a true source of hope. And so far, this sounds like the standard procedure for a second-in-a-trilogy-book. And this book is all that but it is also so much more. The writing is truly beautiful and can at the same time convey so much humour as well as be truly captivating, emotional, and intense.
I still have a few chapters left to go and I’m very curious where this is going. I have (of course) a few hopes and fears ... it can’t be sunshine and rainbows, because second book and all that, but maybe I won’t need the anxiety blanket for this? Right, whom am I kidding? As long as the “Cry Here When A Fictional Character Dies” pillow can stay out of it.
When you really enjoy a first book, do you immediately order the sequel (if possible), do you pre-order it at some later point, or do you wait for it to publish? Share your method and teasers in the comments.
Tuesday, 26 July 2016
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
To play along just do the following:
The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan.
There is a haiku stuck in my head ... or actually more than one and I totally blame Apollo. But don’t tell him, he’s probably vain enough to fancy himself important or something. And also don’t tell him that I’ve already laughed several times during the first few chapters. Or maybe you can tell him that, because it was definitely at his expense. Just imagine the golden boy of vanity and ego-centrism stuffed into a pile of garbage, discovering that he has acne (the horror!), and at the beck and call of a teenage girl.
Or rather you don’t need to imagine it, you could just read this book, which is Rick Riordan at his very best doing what he does so perfectly: writing snarky, funny, enjoyable adventures mixed with ancient history and clever subtext. I suppose that you don’t have to have read the other books, but it is immeasurably more fun if you can discover all the intertextual references. Just calling what was the plot of the complete previous five books “a few minor hardships” had me snort-giggling for a while. I have a sneaking suspicion in terms of quests (and further cross over potential with other characters) and I’m quite certain that I’ll enjoy this series tremendously as it progresses. But let’s be honest, unless the author suffers from a severe personality and talent change I will happily read whatever he decides to write. I’m so very lucky to have a quite sizable number of favourite authors whom I can trust to write consistently and to a reliable standard.
Tell me about one of your “blind-buy-authors” whom you trust implicitly. Share them and your teasers in the comments.
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 Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan.
 |
| The Hidden Oracle – Disney Hyperion |
“You know, I keep thinking, I have now killed every single thing in Greek mythology. But the list never seems to end.”
“You haven’t killed me yet,” I noted.
“Don’t tempt me.”
— Chapter 7
Bad news: I died. Good news: I got better!
— Chapter 12
There is a haiku stuck in my head ... or actually more than one and I totally blame Apollo. But don’t tell him, he’s probably vain enough to fancy himself important or something. And also don’t tell him that I’ve already laughed several times during the first few chapters. Or maybe you can tell him that, because it was definitely at his expense. Just imagine the golden boy of vanity and ego-centrism stuffed into a pile of garbage, discovering that he has acne (the horror!), and at the beck and call of a teenage girl.
Or rather you don’t need to imagine it, you could just read this book, which is Rick Riordan at his very best doing what he does so perfectly: writing snarky, funny, enjoyable adventures mixed with ancient history and clever subtext. I suppose that you don’t have to have read the other books, but it is immeasurably more fun if you can discover all the intertextual references. Just calling what was the plot of the complete previous five books “a few minor hardships” had me snort-giggling for a while. I have a sneaking suspicion in terms of quests (and further cross over potential with other characters) and I’m quite certain that I’ll enjoy this series tremendously as it progresses. But let’s be honest, unless the author suffers from a severe personality and talent change I will happily read whatever he decides to write. I’m so very lucky to have a quite sizable number of favourite authors whom I can trust to write consistently and to a reliable standard.
Tell me about one of your “blind-buy-authors” whom you trust implicitly. Share them and your teasers in the comments.
Tuesday, 19 July 2016
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
To play along just do the following:
The Iron Warrior by Julie Kagawa.
Faeries are always a good backup read, especially when they are written by Julie Kagawa. And I mean backup read if you need your reading soul put through the wringer ... in the most loving way with respect to the author. This is the final book in the second Iron Fey cycle and as far as I’m aware there aren’t going to me more in the foreseeable future. I’ll be sad to say goodbye to characters that have been with me for quite a while and also a few of the newer ones. But knowing the author she’ll have something up her sleeve ... apart from the next books in her dragon centred series.
I’m currently alternating between books that have been on my TBR for a while and brand new books and I must admit that quite a few of the older TBRs don’t actually stand the test of time as they were apparently published (and added to the pile) during a trend that now doesn’t quite capture me anymore. Are you making similar observations (or do you cull your pile more regularly than I do)? Share your thoughts and teasers in the comments.
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 Iron Warrior by Julie Kagawa.
 |
| The Iron Warrior – Harlequin Teen |
I meet those icy blue eyes. He smiles sadly.
“I’m sorry, Ethan,” he whispers, always the same.
— Chapter 2
This wasn’t going well. We’d escaped one dragon’s nest only to land in an even bigger, nastier one. The Exile Queen stopped staring at Kenzie and smiled at me again, and I felt my insides shrink.
— Chapter 11
Faeries are always a good backup read, especially when they are written by Julie Kagawa. And I mean backup read if you need your reading soul put through the wringer ... in the most loving way with respect to the author. This is the final book in the second Iron Fey cycle and as far as I’m aware there aren’t going to me more in the foreseeable future. I’ll be sad to say goodbye to characters that have been with me for quite a while and also a few of the newer ones. But knowing the author she’ll have something up her sleeve ... apart from the next books in her dragon centred series.
I’m currently alternating between books that have been on my TBR for a while and brand new books and I must admit that quite a few of the older TBRs don’t actually stand the test of time as they were apparently published (and added to the pile) during a trend that now doesn’t quite capture me anymore. Are you making similar observations (or do you cull your pile more regularly than I do)? Share your thoughts and teasers in the comments.
Tuesday, 12 July 2016
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
To play along just do the following:
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner.
This book (and subsequent sequels) is hands down the perfect mixture of everything that shouldn’t work thrown together and because of that turning out to be utterly perfect. Sci-Fi, space travel, survival, snark, star-crossed lovers, swooning, spying ... and now there is no s-word for conspiracy, dang it all. (Edited to add: Scheming, as suggested by Meagan Spooner herself). I’m sort of congratulating myself for only reading this now without the wait between books because I hope that I’ll catch more subtle hints and references than I would have otherwise. I’m a good portion into the second of the three books already and the third is right there waiting for me to finish. So far, I liked the first book a little better than the second, but that might be due to my preferences regarding the male lead. And I have already caught a glimpse of the one of the main characters of the third book, and I’m very certain that I’ll like her a lot.
The writing is absolutely wonderful and almost seamless. If the cover didn’t name two authors you’d never guess it. And while I usually like a little world-building in my books I didn’t actually miss it here that much, because the story itself captured me in a way that I only realised at the end that I still don’t quite understand, how all of this works. But maybe that’s part of it, because none of the characters do as well or they know only parts and are just now beginning to piece it all together.
And now I’ll have another guy I like who is a) taken, b) way beyond reach, and c) ... err ... fictional. Tarver is secretly a poet at heart and how can anyone resist that? And let’s not forget Lilac who is everything you expect of a spoilt rich brat, but then turns out to be the exact opposite and you can’t help but admire her. Books, they ruin your standards and prejudices, but what else is new?
Let me know if you have a word that means conspiracy that starts with S. I was close to heartbroken about having to give up the alliteration. Tell me if you’ve read this wonderful trilogy and share your teasers in the comments!
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!
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner.
 |
| These Broken Stars – Disney Hyperion |
Somehow, unimaginably, we’ve landed. Right now I couldn’t give a damn where. I’m alive.
Or else I’m dead, and I’ve ended up in hell after all, and it’s an escape pod with Lilac LaRoux.
— Chapter 5
“Who cares about after? You could die tomorrow, you don’t think you should kiss her today?”
Perhaps I shouldn’t kiss her today because I could die tomorrow.
“Boring. Also, illogical.”
I’m delirious and hallucinating, now you want logic?
— Chapter 25
This book (and subsequent sequels) is hands down the perfect mixture of everything that shouldn’t work thrown together and because of that turning out to be utterly perfect. Sci-Fi, space travel, survival, snark, star-crossed lovers, swooning, spying ... and now there is no s-word for conspiracy, dang it all. (Edited to add: Scheming, as suggested by Meagan Spooner herself). I’m sort of congratulating myself for only reading this now without the wait between books because I hope that I’ll catch more subtle hints and references than I would have otherwise. I’m a good portion into the second of the three books already and the third is right there waiting for me to finish. So far, I liked the first book a little better than the second, but that might be due to my preferences regarding the male lead. And I have already caught a glimpse of the one of the main characters of the third book, and I’m very certain that I’ll like her a lot.
The writing is absolutely wonderful and almost seamless. If the cover didn’t name two authors you’d never guess it. And while I usually like a little world-building in my books I didn’t actually miss it here that much, because the story itself captured me in a way that I only realised at the end that I still don’t quite understand, how all of this works. But maybe that’s part of it, because none of the characters do as well or they know only parts and are just now beginning to piece it all together.
And now I’ll have another guy I like who is a) taken, b) way beyond reach, and c) ... err ... fictional. Tarver is secretly a poet at heart and how can anyone resist that? And let’s not forget Lilac who is everything you expect of a spoilt rich brat, but then turns out to be the exact opposite and you can’t help but admire her. Books, they ruin your standards and prejudices, but what else is new?
Let me know if you have a word that means conspiracy that starts with S. I was close to heartbroken about having to give up the alliteration. Tell me if you’ve read this wonderful trilogy and share your teasers in the comments!
Tuesday, 5 July 2016
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
To play along just do the following:
Summer Days and Summer Nights edited by Stephanie Perkins.
More summer reads! Anyone else suspecting a theme here? Stephanie Perkins has again assembled an impressive collection of authors, some of my very favourites and some new to me in what I’d like to describe as delicious, lovely reading morsels. I’m very used to hearing that anthologies are difficult and no one here want to read them and therefore no one is eager to publish them (where I live anyway). And I get it. Sort of. The short story reader is different from the novel reader, but who says that you can’t be both? I love it when my authors write long, elaborate stories ... but at the same time it is a pretty amazing quality to paint a quick sketch of a story and infuse it with and evoke just as much emotion as in a novel. That’s real talent.
As with almost every compilation there will be those parts that you like more than others. And that’s okay, I don’t like all songs on every album of my favourite bands, but I’m still very happy to have them. And who knows maybe in this selection of authors you’ll find one you didn’t know before, enjoy their story, and want to read more from them. I know I’ll be looking into a few, just like I did with the winter companion of this.
How is you summer (reading) shaping up so far? The weather is sort of improving (and now I totally jinxed it, didn’t I?) and my reading is currently very pleasing (one of them is not summery at all, but I can’t tell you about that one yet ... will have to wait until Autumn for that one). Share your summer impressions and teasers in the comments!
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!
Summer Days and Summer Nights edited by Stephanie Perkins.
 |
| Summer Days and Summer Nights – St. Martin’s Press |
“I didn’t want to break up with you.”
“But … but you did.”
His shoulders drooped miserably. “I know.”
“Oh.” It was a whisper..
— In Ninety Minutes, Turn North by Stephanie Perkins
My smile fell away. Some habits of friendship were like muscle memory, rising up even when everything else had changed. I knew our jokes, our rhythms, the choreography of our friendship. But that didn’t take away what we were now.
— Inertia by Veronica Roth
More summer reads! Anyone else suspecting a theme here? Stephanie Perkins has again assembled an impressive collection of authors, some of my very favourites and some new to me in what I’d like to describe as delicious, lovely reading morsels. I’m very used to hearing that anthologies are difficult and no one here want to read them and therefore no one is eager to publish them (where I live anyway). And I get it. Sort of. The short story reader is different from the novel reader, but who says that you can’t be both? I love it when my authors write long, elaborate stories ... but at the same time it is a pretty amazing quality to paint a quick sketch of a story and infuse it with and evoke just as much emotion as in a novel. That’s real talent.
As with almost every compilation there will be those parts that you like more than others. And that’s okay, I don’t like all songs on every album of my favourite bands, but I’m still very happy to have them. And who knows maybe in this selection of authors you’ll find one you didn’t know before, enjoy their story, and want to read more from them. I know I’ll be looking into a few, just like I did with the winter companion of this.
How is you summer (reading) shaping up so far? The weather is sort of improving (and now I totally jinxed it, didn’t I?) and my reading is currently very pleasing (one of them is not summery at all, but I can’t tell you about that one yet ... will have to wait until Autumn for that one). Share your summer impressions and teasers in the comments!
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