Teaser Tuesday: Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

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!

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas.

Crown of Midnight –
Bloomsbury Childrens

It took one look at the mostly melted candle on her nightstand to know that her encounter in the tomb hadn’t been some awful dream. Which meant that far beneath her room, there was a talking door knocker imbued with an ancient animation spell. And that Elena had yet again found a way to make her life infinitely more complicated.
— Chapter 7

She’d learned the only skills that could keep her safe. To escape death, she’d become death.
— Chapter 38

I am not currently reading this book for the very simple reason that once I sat down to read it I only stopped when I finished it ... and I can only urgently ask you, if you haven’t read Throne of Glass to get your hands on a copy and start reading this amazing series. This sequel will turn everything you thought you knew about this world right up on its head. It will open completely new vantage points, confirm a few suspicions, give you a dose of what you wanted to happen since the beginning of book one, and then it will lovingly plunge the (metaphorical) dagger into your back and twist. The writing is fast-paced and very visual (at points not for the squeamish) and the plot is definitely well-structured and not at all average. I had my suspicions about one or two things but others were surprising (yet not unreasonable if I think back on the clues that were hidden in the text). Very rewarding to read and I want more! Waiting for publication dates still isn’t my forte ... you’d think that I would get better at that, but no such luck.

Have you just breezed through a book you were anticipating for quite a while? Did it meet your expectations and are you now waiting for the next book again? Let’s hear from you in the comments!

Waiting on Wednesday: This Side of Salvation by Jeri Smith-Ready

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
This Side of Salvation by Jeri Smith-Ready.
Publication Date: April 1st 2014.

This Side of Salvation – Simon Pulse

Everyone mourns differently. When his older brother was killed, David got angry. As in, fist-meets-someone-else’s-face furious. But his parents? They got religious. David’s still figuring out his relationship with a higher power, but there’s one thing he does know for sure: The closer he gets to new-girl Bailey, the better, brighter, happier, more he feels.
Then his parents start cutting all their worldly ties in to prepare for the Rush, the divine moment when the faithful will be whisked off to Heaven…and they want David to do the same. David’s torn. There’s a big difference between living in the moment and giving up his best friend, varsity baseball, and Bailey—especially Bailey—in hope of salvation.
But when he comes home late from prom, and late for the Rush, to find that his parents have vanished, David is in more trouble than he ever could have imagined...

Synopsis from goodreads.com

Religion is probably one of the most difficult topics to tackle in literature, especially if it’s not a side-topic and not your standard big general belief thing. I can’t actually explain what makes me want to read this book so much, apart from my love for the author's character building skills (you have met Aura from Shade, right?) and I really want to see how David will present himself and how he will deal with whatever curve ball is heading his way. And I mean if you miss out on whatever salvation is supposed to happen to you and your family and it looks like it really happened that is definitely something worth thinking about. Plus, well ... if you know Jeri Smith-Ready at all ... you know what I’m talking about. Even if there will neither be Irish nor Scots in this book.

Name the book(s) you’re stoked about this week in the comments. And let us know if you’d pick up a book on a touchy subject like religion.

Teaser Tuesday: The House of Hades by Rick Riordan

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 House of Hades by Rick Riordan.

The House of Hades –
Disney Hyperion Books

They needed to get to a place called the House of Hades (or Pluto, as the Romans called him; or as Hazel liked to think of him: the World’s Worst Absent Father).
— Page 5

She laughed, and the sound sent a shock wave through the water. The wailing faded to background noise. Annabeth wondered if anyone had ever laughed in Tartarus before—just a pure, simple laugh of pleasure. She doubted it.
— Page 39

The House of Hades is the fourth in the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan, and it won’t be the last. There’s a cliffhanger to work with from book three and the sense of foreboding that something bad will happen. Two characters trying to find a way out of Tartarus does seem to merit the thought.
The group of demigods is separated. Percy and Annabeth are trying to find the Doors of Death from the inside and the others do the same on the outside. Naturally there’s a prophecy involved and it doesn’t sound good. But as long as there’s hope and laughter – and the occasional godly help – they stand a chance of succeeding. I’m crossing my fingers and reading on.

Which series would you never turn your back on, even if you constantly feared for the characters? Sound off in the comments!

Waiting on Wednesday: After the End by Amy Plum

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
After the End by Amy Plum.
Publication Date: May 6th 2014.

After the End – Harper Children’s

World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They’ve survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.
At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.
When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact. Everything was a lie.
Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she’s trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.

Synopsis from goodreads.com

It’s finally got a cover! And look at that beauty. (Yeah, after involuntarily learning that beauty is not in the eye of the beholder but rather in some ways genetically pre-programmed ... or so some scientists believe ... I’m not sure if I’ll be odd for calling this beautiful or if others will agree because of our genetic mark-up.) But I digress. I think the cover is stunning and compellingly different from the majority of designs you see out there. I’ve been super excited about this book ever since Amy started talking about it. I know that the writing will at least be just as amazing as with the Revenants and I can’t wait to see her take on a supposedly post-apocalyptic scenario. Or surprisingly not-so-post-apocalyptic but still totally messed up. All very mysterious and exciting.

Any thoughts on the beauty subject? If you want, check out the TED talk that inspired that tangent. But definitely let us know about your most anticipated book of the week as we’d most assuredly want to know about those.

Teaser Tuesday: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Teaser Tuesdaysis 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!

 A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.

A Monster Calls – Walker Books

The monster showed up just after midnight.
As they do.
— Page 11

The monster looked at him quizzically. How strange, it said. The words you say tell me, you are scared of the berries, but your actions seem to suggest otherwise.
“You’re as old as the land and you’ve never heard of sarcasm?” Conor asked.
— Page 59

Julika showed me A Monster Calls in a bookstore and I was so impressed by its story and its exceptional black and white illustrations, I had to get it for myself.
The book tells the story of a very special monster and a boy. This monster wants the truth, something that is not so easy to give for thirteen-year-old Conor. I’m not yet far enough into the story to understand why it is after the truth, or how it goes about getting what it wants. It might even take a while until I know, because I’m savouring every page and taking my time reading it.

Which books are you taking your time with? Tell us in the comments along with your teaser.