Teaser Tuesday: Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith.

Hello, Goodbye, and
Everything in Between – Poppy

“And the idea is to start at the beginning.”
“So this is a chronological scavenger hunt then.”
“It’s not a scavenger hunt at all. Think of it more like a refresher course.”
“A refresher course in what?”
She smiles at him over the top of the car. “Us.”
— Chapter 1

Just one teaser today for two reasons: I don’t want to spoil any of it for you and I have a really hard time right now to find a place that would make any sort of sense without context. So there you have it, one teaser from the very beginning.
This book is slightly different from Jennifer E. Smith’s usual plot lines as this is not so much about a couple getting to know each other and falling in love but a couple getting to un-know each other with all the things they think are true about the other. It’s highly sort of heartbreaking and romantic at the same time, and since I think I know the outcome all the more so.
I’m almost certain that ultimately I won’t like this as much as The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, but then again that one is hard to top. Maybe it’s the general topic. There is always hope so maybe things will turn out alright.

Are you the clean break sort of person? Not necessarily in the sense of romantic relationships but as a general way of dealing with endings? I’m an “end with terror than terror without end” sort of person I think ... let me know in the comments if you like and share your teasers.

Teaser Tuesday: All Fall Down by Ally Carter

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

All Fall Down by Ally Carter.

All Fall Down – Scholastic

“You flare your nostrils when you lie.”
“I knew that,” he says, nostrils flaring again.
— Chapter 4

“I’m not an idiot! I’m just twelve. I’m a twelve-year-old girl and neither of those facts are my fault.”
I was thirteen when I saw my mother die, when I told my story. When I started “having a hard time,” as my grandfather likes to say. Would they have locked me up if I’d been thirty? If I’d been a boy? It’s a question I do not dare to ask.
— Chapter 20

Question first: How reliable do you like you narrator? If  you want to trust the narrator with all your possessions and possibly your life this is – and I say that in a loving way – completely not the book for you. But if you like to keep on your toes and question even the motive of the very last secondary character, this will be right up your alley. I want to trust Grace and believe her when she cries wolf, but there are only so many times you can recover from a wild goose chase ... or an almost international incident.
I have always been interested in the diplomatic services and would have considered this as a career choice had I been a little more adventurous. And a little less prone for homesickness. Reading about it is a close second best and I am very much looking forward to the next instalment ... for once, I really hope that Russia makes a comeback.

Tell me about a narrator you would trust to always be truthful and a narrator who is less trustworthy than the seediest web address. Share them and your teasers in the comments.

Teaser Tuesday: Court of Fives by Kate Elliott

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

Court of Fives by Kate Elliott.

Court of Fives –
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

“I don’t want to be your son! I want to be your daughter who matters to you as much as a son would.”
— Chapter 24

My enemies have weapons and magic and riches and ships and all the might of kingdoms at their disposal. But they don’t have me.
— Chapter 35

I’m a very sporty person ... when it comes to spectator sports. And reading is a very good way of establishing spectatorship (almost wrote spectator-ing there. Oh well, you know what I mean. Right?) The Fives are actually a very sophisticated five tier obstacle course where the player runs against three opponents. Think Takeshi’s Castle meets American Gladiators but without the safety nets, breaks or soft foam ground.This might be fun to watch, minus the possibility of being crushed and falling to your death of course. I enjoyed the description of Jes running through the courses and felt that this was a very immediate and action-packed part of the book. I also liked the background story of Jes’s family and their cultural struggle.
My only complaint is that I don’t quite get the attraction between Jes and Kal. If it weren’t for the kissing this would be a perfectly fine friendship between the two and the impact of what happens at the end would have had a similar impact. This will maybe play a bigger role in the books to come, but for this book it felt more like an afterthought. This doesn’t necessarily deduct from the main story, especially if you’re actually looking for a book that doesn’t seem to have a glowing love story at its centre.

Are you a sports spectator? Be that via television or reading. I find that if such a scene is well-written the reading experience is definitely comparable to watching a match on TV. Leave your thoughts and teasers in the comments.

Teaser Tuesday: Firewalker by Jospehine Angelini

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

Firewalker by Josephine Angelini.

Firewalker –
Feiwel & Friends

I’ve been called crazy for years, but do you know what crazy is? Crazy is being able to see what your daughter is going through, and not being able to do anything about it.
— Chapter 4

“Well, I’m glad I didn’t completely ruin your life.”
“Oh, you still ruined it,” he said, breaking into a huge grin. “I mean, I’m in a tent in a hole in the ground. Not exactly a step up.”
— Chapter 10

Remember that I talked about that Rowan character a couple of weeks ago? Well here you get the second feature length book he’s in and we don’t actually get to see things from his perspective, because that would make things so much easier to understand ... at least for the reader. For the characters to understand each other they would have to communicate and do so without lies by omission and assuming to know what’s best for another person. All that does is make things especially messy. But then we’d have no plot and the whole thing would be kind of pointless. So miscommunication it is.
This is a solid second book which picks up right where the first left off and offers new and interesting twists ... and also some really gut-wrenching ones. I’m still not over what I call the pronoun-differentiation-solution. And that other thing I won’t spoil for you which is also driving me nuts and will for another year. On a logical level, I understand that books take time to write and edit and print, but I doubt that my brain will ever convince my heart that this is more than torture on an emotional level.

There is another quote in this book (aha, you say, more teaser material) that has me thinking quite a bit:

Love is being willing to become the villain so that the one you love can stay a hero.
— Chapter 11

In this case the villain part is pretty drastic, and I suppose people are willing to endure and do a lot for the ones they love. If only you knew of all the choices and consequences, would you choose to be (perceived as) a villain in order to protect someone else? Share thoughts and teasers in the comments.

Teaser Tuesday: This Side of Salvation

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

This Side of Salvation by Jeri Smith-Ready.

This Side of Salvation –
Simon Pulse

That first year, while my family wandered around in the fog of grief, was the best of any year since. We were all lost together in the same way. During the Fog Year, nothing made sense to anybody.
— Chapter 4

“Ugh, is it possible to have a hangover without ever going to sleep?”
“You’re asking the wrong guy.”
“Yes, because for once you are the B-E-T-T-E-R child. Congratulations.”
— Chapter 7

Without delving too deeply into religious matters, because a) it’s not my place and b) you don’t want to know about my opinion, this book is really great no matter what your point of view is ... well unless you were really disappointed that the world didn’t end at some point during the last few years. But with that exception, there is no one I wouldn’t recommend this book to as the topic of religious beliefs is dealt with in a very nuanced way. (I almost wrote critically, but the cultural conses at the moment seems to be that criticism is always negative and trying to tear someone/something down ... no, to examine something critically actually means to look at it from all angles without a pre-defined opinion ... but that’s a different kettle of fish so therefore nuanced).
What I really admire about this book are the two timelines at work that perfectly dovetail. Just not at the point where you think they would and I think this is very clever. And I love the slow unravelling of two mysterious plots in each timeline even if they are directly connected and one cannot exist without the other.
So do not balk at this book just because there is religion in it. In the end it’s just a book with a really good story. And quite a bit of baseball, which can also be a sort of religion I suppose.

In accordance with the main character’s misdeed (as he is basically late to get home and therefore misses the moment of salvation): Which is the single most important or memorable thing you have ever been late for? Share your stories and teasers in the comments.

Teaser Tuesday: Storm by Amanda Sun

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

Storm by Amanda Sun.

Storm – Harlequin Teen

“Funny,” I said. “But I don’t think Goodnight Moon will cut it.”
— Chapter 1

“Well, how many puppies are we talking about?”
“A basketful.”
“It was nice knowing you.”
— Chapter 13

It’s time to finish another series and say goodbye to a cast of characters that has grown on me over the last books ... and years. But before that, they’ll still have to do something as insignificant as stop ancient powers from taking control over them and the world. All in a day’s work. Not really, This is something I appreciate about this series: That you get a sense of time passing, of Katie getting used to the idea of living in a foreign culture and adapting as best as she can during that time. And of course all the wonderful impressions from Japan ... second hand travel and all that. I’m not quite certain what to wish for at the moment as I am at a point in the book where a happy end seems sort of possible, but at what cost? I’m very curious to find out how all of this will be resolved.

Which end of a series has impressed you the most? This could be a happy end or a bittersweet end. Let’s hear from you in the comments.

Teaser Tuesday: Bitter of Tongue by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

Bitter of Tongue by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan.

Bitter of Tongue –
Margaret K. McElderry Books

Songs aren’t blood. Blood is all that matters to Shadowhunters and faeries alike. The songs matter only to me.
— Chapter 1

What is a Shadowhunter made of, if they desert their own, if they throw away a child’s heart like rubbish left on the side of the road? Tell me, Simon Lewis, if that is what Shadowhunters are, why would I wish to be one?
— Chapter 1

Usually, I don’t think that writers actually sit down and hatch a plot (ha!) with the intent to break a reader’s heart. And then there are authors of the ilk of Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan ... and woe if the two of them plot together. There must be a health condition of heart palpitations named after them for caring too much about their fictional characters.
I love how this mini-series is a bridge between the much beloved Mortal Instruments and the coming Dark Artifices. It’s so hard to let go of characters who have accompanied you for so long and this way there are still glimpses of them. Their main story might be over but it’s so good to see them alive and reasonably well or on the way to getting there. It’s also a great way to get to know new characters before officially meeting them as main characters for the first time in their own series. At the same time the stories are independent enough that you won’t have not a clue of half of what happened if you pick up the next book without reading the bridge. You’re just missing a really great story in itself. I really want Simon to succeed at the academy and to get his memories back. Team Good is not complete without him. And I really want to know since when Jace is a hugger ... just for research purposes of course.

Which authors do you suspect collects their readers’ tears to sustain them? And I mean this in a totally loving and respectful way. I know that my previously mentioned fragile reader’s heart is in the best hands to be delicately handled and only mildly tortured with my best interests in mind ... right?
Let’s hear from you and your teasers in the comments.

Teaser Tuesday: Rowan by Josephine Angelini

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

Rowan by Josephine Angelini.

Rowan – Feiwel & Friends

Sleep has never been easy for me, not like it is for city folk. I’ve never met an Outlander who couldn’t wait to open his eyes and see the day. To know he made it through one more night.
— Chapter 1

Above ground and out in the open and I feel like I can breathe again. Danger is immediate and basic in the woods, and I’ve always been more comfortable with that than with the hidden barbs and double speak of the city.
— Chapter 1

How often have I wondered was was going on in some other person’s mind or how something looked from their perspective. Books already allow you the unique possibility to experience something from inside someone’s head who is not you. And still you wonder if that singular point of view doesn’t miss something. Sometimes, authors will give you the opportunity to delve into another character for a while and I think this can greatly enhance the understanding of the plot or as in this case add another level to the story. Sure, Lily could discern a lot of what happened, but it is quite different to actually experience it from Rowan’s perspective. And I like that more publishers and authors are beginning to use the possibility of e-shorts to enrich their books. Sure, some might think of this as rip-off and that the author better write on the actual book. However, I think that authors sometimes need to do these character studies anyway to get to know them better and then why not use this exercise? Okay, maybe we could talk about the cost-benefit ratio a little ... nevertheless, it’s a really great way to bridge the last few days of waiting until the second book is released. And I for one can barely wait to get my hands on it!
This e-short won’t make any sense if you haven’t read book one, Trial by Fire. But if you have and liked it, then I recommend you take a look at this. It may be short and basically just tells the same plot as the first few chapters of the first book, but I’m certain that you’ll glean quite a bit of additional information from it and that you’ll be able to understand Rowan so much better ... also considering his relationship to Tristan and general outlook on life as a whole.

Which character would you like to have an additional perspective from and from which book? I’ll be happy to hear from you in the comments.

Teaser Tuesday: Jesse's Girl by Miranda Kenneally

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

Jesse’s Girl by Miranda Kenneally.

Jesse’s Girl –
Sourcebooks Fire

That’s when I remember to check my cell—I don’t think I’ve ever gone so long without checking it—and discover four missed calls from the school number I dialed earlier, two missed calls from my mother, a text from Dad telling me I’m grounded (I wasn’t aware he knew how to send texts), ten texts from my brother demanding an explanation for why I went off the grid on shadow day, and one from Jordan telling me to disregard everything my brother says and enjoy myself.
— Chapter 6

Family can’t always help fix a difficult situation, and everybody makes mistakes. We shouldn’t expect perfect. But we can hope that the people we love love us enough to try to make it right.
— Chapter 15

Sometimes you just need to listen to some good old country music to relax to ... or at least read about it and a girl who is decidedly not into this music, but still falls for the prince of country. Reluctantly. Very reluctantly. And in case you haven’t heard of the song this title alludes to, you should check it out. I won’t judge you if you prefer the version made popular by Glee a while back. What is great about Miranda Kenneally’s series is that you don’t necessarily have to read the books as a series, but if you read all of them you get to check in with beloved characters from earlier books. In this case we get to see Jordan and Sam again and I adored catching a glimpse of their matured but certainly not entirely mature relationship. And still this doesn’t take away from the two new main characters at all and I have to say that I loved that the focus was on something other than sport for a change but still heavily on the realising and following one’s dream ... all in the course over falling in love, of course. I appreciated Maya’s attitude of wanting to make it on her own, but finding the strength to rely on her support system. And her determination to in a way save Jesse from himself and the ideals he was chasing.
A very sweet read that rings true and authentic in its character development (even if in some instances forgiveness seems to come too easily, but one girl can only bear so much drama over the course of one book). I recommend this with a good bowl of ice-cream and a shadowy place beneath a tree on a hot summer day.And now I want a friend like Dave ... and Casper, the cat. (Great, I’ll be the cat lady Maya has now avoided becoming ...)

What do you think about same universe but not quite sequels book series? Love to stay in the familiar environment with cameos of former main characters or would you rather not look at them? Share opinions and teasers in the comments!

Teaser Tuesday: Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella.

Finding Audrey –
Delacorte Books for Young Readers

They talk about “body language,” as if we all speak it the same. But everyone has their own dialect. For me right now, for example, swiveling my body right away and staring rigidly at the corner means, “I like you.” Because I didn’t run away and shut myself in the bathroom. I just hope he realizes that.
— Chapter 11

He didn’t say anything. He stopped mid-sentence.
Except that stopping mid-sentence is the worst thing people can do. It’s, like, totally passive aggressive, because you can’t take issue with anything they’ve said. You have to take issue with what you think they were going to say.
Which then they deny.
— Chapter 14

Some authors, who are enormously successful on the adult side of publishing, sometimes get it into their heads, maybe egged on by their publicist, to try their hand on writing for a younger audience. In most cases the result reads like a mix of what they seem to remember liking when they were young and what they think a book for this age group should sound like. And if it’s not patronising, you’re in luck.
However, Sophie Kinsella managed this transition with an elegance that is admirable. Her voice is neither bland nor does the story seem shallow. I think she has found a very relevant topic and put it into a story that speaks to readers off all age groups ... possibly mostly the female percentage, but you can’t expect a tiger to change its stripes altogether. And why not address the audience you have anyway and organically expand it downwards? That’s certainly healthier than forcing out a book that should have never seen the light of day.
Audrey is in her own way a very relatable character. Maybe not every girl feels the need to hide from the outside world behind large sunglasses, but everyone has experienced situations where they would have rather run away than stay just a second longer. I like the characterisation of our lizard brain and I also like that the problem isn’t magically resolved completely, but that the reader gets to see steps of improvement as well as setbacks.

Do you know of other adult authors who have published books for a younger audience that you can recommend? Share them and your teasers in the comments.

Teaser Tuesday: Paper Towns by John Green

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

Paper Towns by John Green.

Paper Towns – Speak

The first shall be last; the last shall be first; the meek shall do some earth-inheriting. But before we can radically reshape the world, we need to shop.
— Part 1 / Chapter 2

We don’t suffer from a shortage of metaphors, is what I mean. But you have to be careful which metaphor you choose, because it matters.
— Part 3 / Chapter 22

Here is how I found myself re-reading John Green, an exercise in two steps. One: In preparation for seeing the movie (which I haven’t yet, because it only opens here this week) I re-watched the trailers and found myself wondering about a few of my favourite quotes. Time to verify! Two: My weekend is mostly gone and I have re-read and highlighted four books. I find that I now liked different aspects and passages than the first time I read them (I’d still always highlight the first-read bits, but I now have even more). I suppose that it is true that quote we like and share in the end tell more about us than about the person who said or wrote them.
I’m very much looking forward to seeing the movie and comparing it to the book. I don’t think that movies have to be a one to one adaption of a book, because they can’t be; but they have to be truthful to the character if they want to call themselves book to movie adaptions. Otherwise they’re just movies. And a good one, I think, can expand the book’s universe because both media can show and do things that the other can’t.

What are your thoughts on book to movie adaptions? Share movies that were you liked – or didn’t in the comments along with your teasers. And let me know if you’ve been to the cinema or plan to go to see Paper Towns.

Teaser Tuesday: Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard.

Something Strange and Deadly –
HarperTeen

“Miss Fitt, you know curiosity gets men killed.”
I grinned. “Then I daresay it’s good I’m a woman.”
— Chapter 7

“If you interfere in my affairs again, I’ll personally feed you to the Dead.”
I scoffed. And if you ever get in my way, I’ll personally feed you to my mother.
— Chapter 10

If anyone asked me which Teams I am on, I’d possibly say Human, Vampire, Werewolf, Good, Unicorn ... or something like that, depending on mood and book. You would probably never hear Zombie. I’m not a Zombie reader and the undead are one of the few things to freak me out (and spiders, but that’s another kettle of fish). So a plot with zombie hunters and possible voodoo has a hard time to make it onto my radar. This is most likely why I haven’t read this series yet, but I’m very much in the process of rectifying that omission. Because creepy zombies aside, this historical setting is decidedly fascinating and don’t get me started on mysterious shenanigans. Add to that an exasperatingly stubborn and crafty main character and this promises to be an entertaining read.

Which aspect would make you hesitant to pick up a book? Share team affiliations and teasers in the comments!

Teaser Tuesday: Rogue by Julie Kagawa

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

Rogue by Julie Kagawa.

Rogue – Harlequin Teen

“Yes, well, for future reference,” I said, thumping the spade-tip of my tail against the ground, “when someone decides to save your life, for whatever reason, the proper response is thank you. Guilt and groveling optional but highly encouraged.”
— Part II / 4

“No dragons in the kitchen. The neighbors would have a fit.”
— Part II / 4

The positive effect of starting a series late is that often you get to read two books in a row, maybe more if you were really holding back. I enjoyed this second instalment well enough, but I think that it’s good that we’ll now spend some time apart. Otherwise I might consider having words with a stubborn dragon girl about several things and I don’t think that I’m fireproof. I also have a serious problem with that Riley/Cobalt character as I can only understand part of his motives and I don’t think that he is actually fit to be a companion for anyone. And let’s not even talk about the two organisations at play. Something is very rotten ... and not in the state of Denmark.
In summary: Can everyone please get their act together until 2016 for book three? No? ... That’s what I thought since this will be a five book thing. Thanks for that. Until then I’ll invest in some sort of fire proof gear in case that I have to have words with several potentially fire-breathing creatures about how to handle things ... like poor, breakable human hearts. Poor human(s).

Do you binge-read series or authors? If you, after how many books do you feel that you might need a break or change of flavour? Let’s hear from you in the comments!

Teaser Tuesday: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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 Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh.

The Wrath and the Dawn –
G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books
for Young Readers

“Are you a good spy?”
“The best.”
“A good spy would hide her identity.”
“The best spies don’t have to.”
— Chapter 5

“You can’t foresee the future. And there’s nothing you can do about the past.”
“You’re wrong. I can learn from it . . .”
— Chapter 9

Potentially leading question: Have you ever been to an Arabian style palace or its remains? My family took me on a trip to southern Spain when I was younger where we visited the Alhambra palace. I vividly remember that my imagination was running wild in that amazing place and I was thinking how life must have been there. I also remember that I was fascinated by the idea that women were this prized possession that had to be kept away from prying eyes ... and I remember wondering if all those women actually liked being such a possession. All these and many more memories came to mind during this book which is so refreshingly located in a culture so very different from my own but still has this incredible mix of inspiring characters.
There are a few aspects that make this story great but not awesome. I would have liked a little more emotional insight in certain moments instead of a tactful fade to black or character cut. And if the retelling of some of the Arabian Nights myths is such an important part of the story, I wish it would have had more prominence regarding Shahrzad spinning those tales. But apart from that I have to say that I absolutely adored how she slowly but surely dug through the caliph’s defences ... and her own reservations as well.
I also really liked the side characters. I want a Despina and a Jalal ... and possibly a Tariq, but I’m not quite convinced that he isn’t a stubborn and possibly blinded fanatic. I’ll have to see what happens in the continuation of the story ... which won’t be out until next year. Oh cruel world!

Are you going on any summer travels? This might be via books or in person. Share your destinations and teasers in the comments!

Teaser Tuesday: Talon by Julie Kagawa

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

Talon by Julie Kagawa.

Talon – Harlequin Teen

“I’ll be back at 0500. If you don’t hear from me in a couple hours, I’ve probably been eaten by a dragon.”
“Fine. If you don’t hear from me by then, it’s because I hope you were.”
— Part I/10

“Kristin, I swear, if I have to watch you try on shoes for an hour, I’m going to eat your boyfriend. With a fork.”
— Part I/19

Do you hear that whooshing noise? That’s my good intentions going out the window, don’t mind them if they rush past you. I wanted to wait until the trilogy was complete before I started this book even if I already had it on my shelf, because I know what the author will most likely do to me again ... two series have taught me that. But then I found out that there are going to be five books and there is no way that I was going to wait that long. So emotional roller coaster torture it is.
I really like Julie Kagawa’s kind of humour. It’s not always laughing out loud funny (though it can be that, too), but also surprised snort laughing. Kind of like what Ember does to Garret the first time they meet. I predict disastrous heartbreak with wrongful accusations and terrible misunderstandings. Maybe even a severe dose of triangularity. And don’t correct me, if I’m wrong. In that case, I’d like to be surprised.

Whom could you have eaten for breakfast lately? Alternatively tell me if you’re giving a series a head start before you catch up to it at the moment.

Teaser Tuesday: Happy Again by Jennifer E. Smith

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

Happy Again by Jennifer E. Smith.

Happy Again – Poppy

“There was so much I was trying not to say. I guess it was easier to talk about nothing than about how much I missed you.”
— Chapter 13

“I want to be able to stand in front of a room full of people and actually be able to say the thing I want to say,” she told him.
“And I want to be able to stand in front of just one person and say the thing I want to say.”
— Chapter 13

Confession: I have a dichotomous feeling about e-shorts. Sometimes I love them for expanding the world of a story I already love or want to dip into before committing to the whole series or to build a bridge between two main books. And then there are those that I’m torn about because they add to what I perceived to be the end. This is one from the second category. I loved the end of This Is What Happy Looks Like in the sense that it closed the story but was still open to interpretation. This addition tells me that after the end one thing happened which necessitated this addition. Don’t get me wrong, more Graham and Ellie is definitely not a bad thing, but I would have thought that things had played out differently than described in this short story. I can arrange with how it ends now, but I really hope that now they aren’t just happy again but also stay that way.

What are your feelings on e-shorts? One disadvantage it their restriction to a digital medium, but on the other hand they’re really suited for it and wouldn’t really work in print. Share your opinions and teasers in the comments!

Teaser Tuesday: End of Days by Susan Ee

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

End of Days by Susan Ee.

End of Days –
Hodder & Stoughton

I don’t like it when angels murmur in agreement. Nothing good ever comes of that.
— Chapter 33

Knowing about the horrors that have happened and will happen but choosing to live anyway. Maybe there’s an art to being human.
— Chapter 57

I was wrong ... but I was also right. As this is mildly confusing, let me elaborate a little: Back in 2012 I told myself that I would read no more angel books because I was so over them but that I’d make an exception if the book didn’t have a love story front and centre. Luckily, I excluded series I had already started ... yes, I like to hoodwink myself when it seems opportune. This series is very much a love story and a lot of things are very much driven by this love, but it is never sappy or the single driving force. More like a creeping vine and before you know it you’re completely entangled.
Most series make you wait about a year between books but this series started out as a wee indie and it has been a great pleasure to watch it build momentum and be picked up by a bigger publisher over the years even if the two year waits between the instalments were agonisingly long.
As implied in the name, this is the angel-apocalypse to end all angel-apocalypses, no further candidates need to apply. This series calls for a re-read now that all books are available and can be read back to back. As much fun as theorising between two books can be, there are details that are bound to get lost between book one and three if they are separated by almost four years. And to anyone who might not be satisfied by the end: The world in this series as we know it ended, there was an actual apocalypse. Don’t expect everything will magically go back to normal because the beauty of this is also in showing how the main character endures and tries to make the best of her situation no matter what. Now excuse me, I need to have a good wail over the fact that some things that were logical to happen were also heart-wrenching and beautiful in their perfect imperfection ... which is again mildly confusing but in this case you’ll need to read the series and the end to understand how this impression is achieved.

I’m usually a little sceptical when it comes to indie-published stories, but as the exception proves the rule I’m always open to suggestions. If you have recommendations for a book that has been overlooked by the major publishing houses please share them in the comments along with your teaser.

Teaser Tuesday: The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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 Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West.

The Fill-In Boyfriend Sway –
HarperTeen

The more I thought of it, the more I realized that I rarely fought with anyone. I didn’t like fighting. I disagreed with people in my head a lot but rarely out loud.
— Chapter 20

“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Did you know those two words make up the most-told lie in the English language?”
— Chapter 32

Low blood sugar levels coinciding with a serious lack of sweet fluff? Well, I can’t provide you with chocolate, but I can certainly offer a cute recommendation for your literary craving. Value-added insights on life and relationships with possible allergens of seemingly ignorant brat-girl and possibly supersaturated teenage angst.
I’m opening the supposedly lighter summer read season with this at times not quite so light story. I admire how the author manages to integrate several current topics into this plot that at the surface appears to simply deal with a girl’s road to self-discovery. This is an elegant all-in-one pleasant read that might surprise the casual reader with as few unexpected insights. I personally wouldn’t have minded as last minute fill-in myself if the substitution eventually proved himself to be such an improvement to the initial situation.

Are you a “disagree in my head” person or a “loudly disagree” person? And how often do we question if the “I’m fine” reply is actually the truth or simply what we want to be true to get on with things? I’m curious about your thoughts and teasers; let’s have them in the comments.

Teaser Tuesday: Sway by Kat Spears

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

Sway by Kat Spears.

Sway – St. Martin's Griffin

Still, if you were going to lose either way, it’s better to lose without saying anything so it can’t be held against you later.
— Chapter 24

“Don’t you dare,” Theresa said as she put a handful of fries in her mouth. “It’s my story and mine to share if I want to, which I don’t.”
— Chapter 25

On the off chance that your definition of sway needs as much of a brushing up as mine did when I started reading this book: “Sway helps you make money and money helps make you sway. But sway is not money.” This is conveniently printed right on the first page. It is not quite related to or involving a swing set unless you want to get metaphorical in how on a swing the harder you push something away the stronger it comes back. Disclaimer: This will only work to a certain extend in real life but seems to be utterly successful in literary genres of a particular persuasion.
Nevertheless, this is a very interesting read in that it presents the point of view of the often coveted bad boy, who really is a bad boy in the sense that he commits all kinds of grey-verging-on-black-area misdemeanours. I had a hard time to find an angle to sympathise with him and I think I only succeeded to a certain degree. I still think that the girl is way too good for him and should run screaming in the other direction rather than try to rehabilitate him. He knows this and is in constant wonder of her goodness and possibly later of the fact that she probably likes him more than she should. This is what gives this story an aspect that you don’t see too often. Sure there is a variation of the “I’m not good for you, you should stay away” and the girl then boldly declaring that it doesn’t matter because the guy is inherently good, but here he actually tries to let her be (so some extend). I’m not making excuses for him, because he has made most of the choices for himself and in my opinion should dig himself out of them on his own.I suppose that it is okay for him to receive help as there are outer circumstances that influenced his behaviour. The network he built and dedication to his work are remarkable but not necessarily a good thing to aspire to though.

Can you tell me of a book from the point of view of the redemee rather than the redeemer where the rooting for the redemee is easier because s/he had no other choice rather than has taken the easier choice? Let’s hear from you in the comments!

Teaser Tuesday: The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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 Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey.

The Girl at Midnight –
Delacorte Press

Books didn’t give her dirty looks or whisper snide comments under their breath. Books didn’t judge.
— Chapter 2

“Young?” Echo took another look at the date. “This is a hundred years old.”
“Youth is a relative concept.”
— Chapter 4

This book had me at the first sentence. How could I resist “[She] had gone to the library in search of hope.”? Impossible. As luck would have it, the next sentences didn’t disappoint either and this is shaping up to be a great story. It has an interesting conflict and apparently well thought out characters who come with a complete background. The two sides haven’t actually met yet, but I assume that when they do, this will be very complicated but entertaining to read.
This book has been mentioned to echo (ha, p-un-intended) both the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series and The Mortal Instruments and I can definitely see that. Maybe the former a little more at the beginning of the book. I have no objection to that as long as the level of it doesn’t increase too much.

Many of us have had a long weekend (if you’re not one of them, I’m very sorry to rub it in and sincerely apologise); did you invest the time off in some serious reading time? Or did you, by any chance, watch that minor music competition that took place in Europe on Saturday? Feel free to comment on either reading or music in the comments along with sharing your teaser.

Teaser Tuesday: Wrong About the Guy by Claire LaZebnik

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

Wrong About the Guy by Claire LaZebnik.

Wrong About the Guy –
HarperTeen

“Yes,” he said. “You’re right. I have no idea what your point is, but I know you can’t be wrong.”
“It’s theoretically possible,” I said. “It’s just never happened.”
— Chapter 18

I don’t like uncertainty. Or waiting around for other people to do things I’m perfectly capable of doing myself.
— Chapter 32

What’s that saying? If I had a [insert currency of your choice] for every time someone ... said they didn’t understand why Jane Austen or retellings were a thing, well, I wouldn’t be rich, but I could afford a very decent meal and probably a weekend spa trip. Like any good English Literature student I couldn’t avoid an introduction to Jane Austen’s novels at some point during my studies. Luckily, I had a lecturer who was very fond of teaching by showing, by which I mean BBC versions of Jane Austen. And from there I found myself voluntarily picking up the source material. A very clever way of teaching, if you asked me. Way better than teaching Hemingway through making students analyse each and every sighting of the blasted fish. But I digress.
This is a perfectly pleasurable read in and of itself if you have no affection for Austen at all. But if you do, it is a lot of fun to draw parallels between LaZebnik’s and Austen’s versions of the characters. Emma is one of the books that I didn’t immediately appreciate, I’ll admit, and if I had to choose now I think I’d pick up another novel of hers. However, LaZebnik’s story is a very cute and fun one with quite a few relevant undertones, which I think are well adapted from the original and translated into a modern setting. Maybe it’s cramming almost too many themes into one novel, but then again, that’s so totally Emma as she also fits in and manages everything somehow while almost overlooking the important things right in front of her nose. Please, just don’t ever make me choose between Mr Darcy and Mr Knightley ...

And on the topic of choosing: There is a truly evil Would You Rather.Very revealing and soul baring. Let me know how it went for you along with your teasers.

Teaser Tuesday: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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 Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas.

A Court of Thorns and Roses –
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

He jerked his chin at the knife. “It’s yours. Don’t bury it in my back, please.”
— Chapter 18

“I realized he wouldn’t have gone with me to save you from Prythian.”
And for her, with that raging, unrelenting heart, it would have been a line in the sand.
— Chapter 30

One day, I’ll stop jumping headfirst into new series by authors who I know will have me begging for the next book to be published sooner ... she said as she added another to her growing list.
However, there aren’t many authors with two series underway in which I’m so very impatiently anticipating the next book. I should have known with this one though. Sarah J. Maas is a brilliant storyteller and the mythology she so casually weaves into this wonderful re-imagination (I don’t want to use the term retelling because that would be misleading as there is so much more to it) of the beauty and the beast theme is very thorough and fantastically implemented. I strongly disliked Feyre’s family and the rational part of me will never understand why she didn’t leave them, but my messy heart was totally on board with that and with the forgiveness. It’s in my opinion the skill of a great writer to create a character (or a host of characters) whose actions you would personally never support and comprehend, but which make absolute sense for this character in their context. So yes, I might have guessed the riddle but my background (and that of many readers, even those complainers) is vastly different from Feyre’s. And if I had been brave enough to voice that guess about the solution, is written on a completely different page.
I love the clever foxy Lucien and his grudging but growing acceptance of Feyre; and I am so!intrigued! by the dark and mysterious Rhysand (isn’t that name alone really cool?). And the most amazing thing is that I was expecting a major cliffhanger, as I know the author is capable of them, but the end is actually quite tame. But don’t think that there aren’t still enough open questions that have me chomping at the bit for the next book. Maybe if I barter a week of service each quarter as a house elf?

What would you be willing to trade in for a chance to have any of your upcoming anticipated books right now? Leave suggestions and teasers in the comments.

Teaser Tuesday: Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien.

Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH –
Puffin Books

The size of the brain is no measure of its capacity. And well she might recall it, for the crow’s head was double the size of her own.
— Chapter 3

One warm day, she told herself, does not make a summer. No, nor even a spring.
— Chapter 4

It’s children’s book week! Luck has it that work requires me to take a closer look at this beautiful classic. I loved the animated movie when I was younger even if the two stories don’t quite match up (the movie has an element of magic while the book really is a classic animal tale). I adore the writing and especially the little gems of wisdom that are hidden in the text. I think that it is a special talents that allows authors to put these truths in their texts without sounding patronising and not all authors have it. It’s a lovely story with short chapter that you can easily fit in when you only have a short time to read ... if you’re the kind of person who reads while standing in line at the supermarket check-out and the likes for example. And if you have someone to read this book aloud to, all the better! You’ll discover amazing new things about a story when it’s read aloud.

Can you recommend other children’s books classics? Are you doing anything interesting for children’s book week? Share thoughts and teasers in the comments!

Teaser Tuesday: Tithe by Holly Black

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

Tithe by Holly Black.

Tithe –
Margaret K. McElderry Books

Gristle would have loved this. She had thought that many times since she had left the Shore, six years past. My imaginary friends would have loved this. She’d thought it the first time that she’d seen the city, lit up like never-ending Christmas. But they never came when she was in Philadelphia. And now she was sixteen and felt like she had no imagination left.
— Chapter 1

Kaye kicked a flattened soda can down the street ahead of her. Even she could see that she was going in no good direction, and not just literally.
— Chapter 4

Hindsight is always 20/20 – or so it is said. With this in mind I picked up the very first book of an author I have discovered through one of her later works. You know how with bands the original fans often dislike the new fans or claim that their band has gone mainstream and no longer sounds the same? I sure hope that bands are able to develop their style and try new things; and if they acquire a bigger following while they do it, good for them. Why this? Because the new fan of a music band might also flip back to the band’s older works and discover that they probably wouldn’t have liked the music had it stayed that way. With authors this is indeed similar enough to be also very different. This book has now been published over a decade ago and the author is still active. You can already see the fine writing skills in this and if you know her current work, admire the advancement. And now imagine if 10+ years have shaped this difference, how much better will the author be in another 5 years? Musicians play with their style and often return to their roots, but authors, in my experience, usually get better with the more books they write. There is a beauty in the thought of growing with your author from their debut, but if you get a chance to get an outside view to compare and contrast a writing period, that is also quite an interesting experience.

Have you ever gone back to an author’s early work after discovering them through a later book? I imagine that many John Green fans started out with The Fault in Our Stars and only later read Looking for Alaska or Papertowns ... especially now that there is another movie right around the corner.

Teaser Tuesday: Taste of Darkness by Maria V. Snyder

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

Taste of Darkness by Maria V. Snyder.

Taste of Darkness –
Harlequin Mira

“But they fight in the name of the creator.”
“I don’t care if they fight in the name of broccoli. The goal remains the same.”
— Chapter 5

And the lesson had been learned. Stop trying to use the Lily to revive the dead or it might just work.
— Chapter 8

I have a growing appreciation for Sisyphus and his never-ending task, but at least mine is a pleasant one of decimating my TBR ... only that whenever I finish one book at least one more has joined the rest of the pile. More likely two or more. But I’m teaching myself to put down books that aren’t doing it for me and decide whether it’s just for now or to give them away entirely. So far it’s mostly a “maybe later” pile next to the TBR, but I’m getting better at it.
This books is definitely not in danger of being put down ... apart from sleep and work, but everything else can wait. I want to know what happened to Kerrick! I dare the book to keep him from me much longer or this will not have a pretty end. And please return him in an acceptable state, preferably before I completely lose it with Avry and the rest of them. Final book in the series and I’m more than curious how this will come to its conclusion. The build-up over the first two books was very promising.

What’s the news regarding your TBR piles? Do you sort them according to mood or simply by chronological order of books being added to the pile? I’d love to hear about your method in the comments along with new books to be added to my pile.

Teaser Tuesday: Sisters of Blood and Spirit by Kady Cross

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

Sisters of Blood and Spirit by Kady Cross.

Sisters of Blood and Spirit –
Harlequin Teen

Talking out loud to someone no one else could see would make them all think they were right, that I was still crazy. I was supposed to be cured.
— Chapter 1

It was an untruth that the dead had all the answers. We just had different questions.
— Chapter 2

Turns out that I’m a sort of visual person after all, because I clicked on it simply based on the cover. But I definitely wouldn’t have it on my reader if that was the only redeeming factor if that’s any consolation. I haven’t read very much of it yet, but the premise of a (so far I think) willing participant in as living-body-snatcher/possession between sisters is a very interesting concept. And considering how often I thought that it would be awesome if someone else could please just live through yet another boring lecture for me, I suppose I wouldn’t be completely disinclined to at least try it ... possibly.

What is the last book you picked up because the cover appealed to you that you then ended up buying? Let’s hear from you in the comments.

Teaser Tuesday: The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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 Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski.

The Winner’s Crime –
Farrar Straus Giroux

“Winner take all,” said Arin.
She looked at him. “The Stakes?”
“The truth.”
— Chapter 19

She supposed that it had been lost, and found again. Sometimes things happened that way. But sometimes, Kestrel knew, what’s lost stays lost forever.
— Chapter 37

I love a good second book in a trilogy and wow this one is an amazing second book. The first book ended with an emotional punch which I thought was quite hard to stomach already, but this book is downright an emotional pummelling. At the same time the plot is a gripping roller coaster that will grip you and before you know it you’re racing through the last chapter with your heart in your throat hoping that it will somehow work out but knowing that it can’t possibly. The author has an amazing ability to make you root for her characters and infuse you with hope for their well-being ... and then almost dangling it within reach before yanking it away. I’m so worried for some characters and heart-broken for others and no matter what will happen, even if it’s a happy end it will also be bitter, but can I please have the third book now?

Did you suffer any literary heartbreak over Easter or lots of sweets and sweetness? Also applicable if you didn’t celebrate the egg-festivities. Let’s hear from you in the comments!

Teaser Tuesday: Before the Fall: Arrival by Ally Carter

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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!

Before the Fall: Arrival by Ally Carter.

Before the Fall: Arrival –
Scholastic Press

The woman who sat beside me on the plane is trembling and whispering to the people beside her, no doubt telling them that I had seemed so normal.
Dangerous psychos always seem so normal.
— Chapter 1

For the first time he’s not looking at me like I’m dangerous. He’s looking at me like I’m broken.
It’s a look I know too well.
— Chapter 1

There is hardly a better way to encourage readers to buy a book than by giving them a short snipped of the background story and then telling them that there is more. At least if this short appetiser is well-written. And for that purpose this story does its job exceptionally well. I’m quite certain that you will be able to read the main series without this background knowledge, but if you’re uncertain about the author and want to have a peek if you like the writing and basic story layout, this will give you an excellent idea of what it’s all about.

What is your stance on prequel shorts and the like? Do you like having additional information or does it clutter up a series unnecessarily? Let’s hear about your opinions and teasers in the comments.

Teaser Tuesday: The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
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 Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead.

The Ruby Circle –
Razorbill

“What?” My mother-in-law’s voice came out extra shrill to my ears. “That creature’s staying?” It figured. Her daughter-in-law transforming into an animal? No problem. Having to take care of a cat? Crisis.
— Chapter 2

“Is he right?” I asked quietly, once we’d put some distance between the guest cabin and us.
“That I’m a terrible liar? No. I’m a fantastic liar.”
— Chapter 10

Slight contrast programme to last week, but even I (especially) can’t read the heavy stuff all the time. Sometimes I need fluff and romance and sweet happy ends ... with some plot and everything still in moderation and with logic, if at all possible, most of the time. As this is the end of the series and in fact the end of the Vampire Academy universe (for now at least) there are certain expectations as to what will have to happen in this book. Some might call it fan service, but I think that there will still be a great deal of thing happening before that final chapter. I’m curious how the author will tie up the plot and say goodbye to the characters. I imagine that it wasn’t easy after 12 books in that universe.

Is there a series that has accompanied you for the better part of a decade (or longer)? Did it come to a conclusion you were satisfied with? Let’s hear from you in the comments.