Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can 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!

'Gram is worried about me. It's not just because my sister Bailey died four weeks ago, or because my mother hasn't contacted me in sixteen years, or even because suddenly all I think about is sex. She is worried about me because one of her houseplants has spots.'

The Sky is Everywhere, Jandy Nelson, page 9

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can 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!

"We'd broken intoRose's, the nicest resturant in town, the one all the undergrads dragged their moms and dads to on parents' weekend. It was our two month anniversary, and Michael wanted to celebrate with a really special dinner even though my parents had grounded me indefinitely."
Fallen Angel, Heather Terrell, page 161.

Poison Study

Choose: A quick death…Or slow poison…

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.

And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear…

Wow,wow,wow!!!!!

I can't get over this book, the plot, the characters and most importantly the twist.

I love a book that has a great back story and I think that this story did, although things start out pretty basic, for instance you don't really know what Valek or Yelena are like or thinking in the beginning of the book, however towards the end you don't want them to go, you want to find out about their life after this chapter in their lifes has ended. I don't think I have ever connected with characters as much as I did with Yelena.

Yelena is a murderer we know that from the start, it isn't hidden she has accepted what she has done and will accept the punishment for the crime, death. Valek offers her a chance, he is looking for a food taster for the Commander, he has to offer the job to the next prisoner about to be exucuted, that is Yelena. From the start you get the idea that Valek isn't really interested in Yelena and wants her out the way from the start. After all, how can she be trusted when she murdered someone?

As the plot develops you start to learn more about the stories from the past lifes all the characters had, personally I think that Rand's was the saddest. However Yelena's was brutal and this leads to more confortation, from Yelena sharing her story we also learn that of Valek, a trained assisin.

The chaacters have back story and personality, the story is a fast moving non stop rollercoaster, that will literally be begging you to pick up Magic Study.

2011 Debut Challenge

Kristi is hosting the annual Debut Author Challenge. I have decided to take part.

I plan to read XVI by Julia Karr, The Iron King by Julia Kagawa, Across the Universe by Beth Revis etc...

Yeah I don't have a big list at the moment but I hope to keep expanding it.

Love Story by Jennifer Echols

One of my favourite reads last year was Forget You by Jennifer Echols. Well guees what she has a new book coming out July 19th Love Story. The cover and description were released today so here it is.



Erin Blackwell is headed to college in New York City to study creative writing and earn aliving as a romance novelist. Her grandmother has other plans: she approves of the college, but she wants Erin to major in business and then come back home to Kentucky to run the family’s famous racehorse farm. There is no way Erin will agree. Studying in New York and writing her way into a career is her escape from the farm and the family tragedy that happened there. So Erin’s grandmother decides Erin really will live life as a starving artist. She takes Erin’s future job running the farm, her inheritance, even her college tuition, and gives them all to Hunter Allen.

Hunter has lived on the farm for years. He’s Erin’s age, he’s the stable boy, and he’s the romantic dream of every girl in her high school. But he was involved in the family tragedy. Erin has always given him a wide berth. And he’s a slick opportunist. She’s furious that he fooled her grandmother into giving him Erin’s birthright and sending him to Erin’s college.

At least she’s free of him in her creative writing class. So she pens a story that has haunted her lately, in which the horse farm heiress at the very first Kentucky Derby starts a forbidden affair with the lowly stable boy. Unfortunately for her, the day she’s sharing this story with her New York classmates, Hunter walks in. He’s switching to her class. And after reading about himself in Erin’s story, he writes his own sexy assignments that lure Erin into dangerous fantasies about what could have been between them, and what might be.

I am Number Four

In the beginning they were a group of nine. Nine aliens who left their home planet of Lorien when it fell under attack by the evil Mogadorian. Nine aliens who scattered on Earth. Nine aliens who look like ordinary teenagers living ordinary lives, but who have extraordinary, paranormal skills. Nine aliens who might be sitting next to you now.







I don't really know why I decided to read this book, I've never been a fan of sci-fi and the thought of another sci-fi book kind of put me off. How are aliens interesting? I think I finially decided to read after I saw the trailer for the movie, it looked fab and I wanted to read the book before seeing the movie.

I'm glad I did read this book, it has opened my eyes to genre that I probabley wouldn't have read otherwise. The book follows the life of John or Number Four. He was sent to Earth years ago with his guardian Henri. It is Henri's job to look after John, to keep him safe. He has done this successfully for the past 12 or so years. Though there are others that came with him, there were nine. There were also the Mogadorians on Earth searching for the nine. They have destroyed the planey Lorien where John is from and have killed one to three, John gets a scar each time someone dies, he knows he is next.

Everytime there has been a spot of bother Henri packs everything up and they move to a new town, John is getting sick of this and wants to make friends, something he has never had. He thinks he finds it in Paradise, he meets Sarah his first real love and her ex, Mark. He also meets Sam a boy obbessed with aliens everr since his dad's dissappearance.

The book had me hooked straight away, the action was fast and steady. The story never seemed to slow down. I found that I was wanting to read more and more not wanting to put the book down. While the main two characters John and Henri were developed the author left out a lot of detail about the other minor characters who played a bigger role overall. Sarah for one just didn't seem real, if I found out my boyfriend was an alien I would freak out, she just went 'Oh, okay', is that really the way you would react. I also didn't understand Mark, he went from hating John to being his best friend towards the end of the book and where did Number Six come from? If the Mogadorians couldn't find John how could she?

The book did finish with a couple of cliffhangers and I think that we will see more in the coming books of the series. For all the faults with the characters I think that the story shone through and was the overall winner. I don't know what is going to happen in book two, it isn't even about the characters from the first I don't think but I can wait to read it.

The Declaration

It's the year 2140 and Longevity drugs have all but eradicated old age. A never-aging society can't sustain population growth, however…which means Anna should never have been born. Nor should any of the children she lives with at Grange Hall. The facility is full of boys and girls whose parents chose to have kids—called surpluses—despite a law forbidding them from doing so. These children are raised as servants, and brought up to believe they must atone for their very existence. Then one day a boy named Peter appears at the Hall, bringing with him news of the world outside, a place where people are starting to say that Longevity is bad, and that maybe people shouldn't live forever. Peter begs Anna to escape with him, but Anna's not sure who to trust: the strange new boy whose version of life sounds like a dangerous fairy tale, or the familiar walls of Grange Hall and the head mistress who has controlled her every waking thought?








Wow! I read this book in one sitting. The story is well developed, the characters too.

Anna is a great character, though she is quite closed off to new ideas. You don't really see the full Anna until she starts to trust Peter. Peter has the image that he isn't scared of anything, though he is on a quest of his own and will find out through the book how many other secrets and lies he has been told.

Both Anna and Peter are Surplus, they aren't legal. They have no rights, they shouldn't be born. You have to remember throughout this book that it is infact set in 2140. The world has changed massively, no one dies! Of course this lead to rules and regulations, this lead to the Declaration! The Declaration states that in order for the world to continue there must be no more children born. Those that are born are hunted down by Catchers, they are not legal. Don't get me wrong there are children born but these are born to parents that opt-out of the drug Longativity. Surplus can't stay hidden forever, especially not in a world where the youngest person should be 50!

The story is mainly focussed on Anna and Peter, Anna had lived at Grange Hall for as long as she remembers, she wants to become a Valuable Assest. She feels the need to pay Mother Nature back because of her parents mistake, she is being punished for her parents having her. She is well on her way as well, until she meets Peter. Peter has just been caught the strange thing is though, he is about the same age as Anna. No one gets caught at that age. He had other plans though, he wants to escape and take Anna with him. But why?

The setting is infact the greatest thing about the book, it give you a very bleak view into the future. How could people possably get away with treating children as slaves? That is practically what they are. They get beaten when they so much as think about the world outside. In fact they cannot be children, they have to learn to grow pretty fast.

I feel there were a few loose ends, partly on the case of Mrs Pincent who was incharge of the Hall. I would have liked to see more information about her past, why she was involved with the blackmarket. I hope the author delves more into this in the secod book.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can 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!

"Sometimes the visions teased me:Ren's fingers on my bare skin, his lips movingf close to mine, and this time I didn't turn away. Shay pulling me into an alley, holding me against a building while his kiss burned through me until there was nothing left but fire."

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer (page 101)

The Last Song

Her parents' divorce left 17-year-old Veronica Miller embittered and confused. Three years later, "Ronnie" still seethes with anger toward her father, a musician and teacher who has abandoned hectic New York City for the quiet beach town of Wilmington, North Carolina. Nevertheless, she reluctantly agrees to her mother's altruistic plan that for the good of all concerned, she should visit her estranged father in his new home. As the story of The Last Song unfolds, novelist Nicholas Sparks weaves his magic, threading together the intricate story of three very different people tied inextricably together.






I really enjoyed this book, I'll admit and say that I was in fact putting this book off as I just wasn't sure this was the right book for me. I'd heard so many things about Nicholas Sparks books in the past for me to warrant them as romance, a genre I don't find I like so much, however I had heard that his books were must reads. This is how I came to read The Last Song.

The characters are all great in the own little ways, for me I loved Steve, Ronnie, Jonah, Will and Blaze. Especially Blaze, although she wasn't in the book for the most part I actually got excited when she appereaded. All the characters where complex in their own little ways, you had the guilt trip had placed on himself, you have the hatred and love Ronnie feels for her father and you have the confusion and distance towards others from Blaze. The only person who was themselves to put it bluntly was Jonah.

The story follows Ronnie and her brother Jonah who are going to live for the summer with their father Steve in a small costal town. Moving from New York to Wilmington is a shock for Ronnie, she knows she will be bored and can't think of how she is ever going to spend the summer there, with her dad who she doesn't speak to. As the first day approaches to an end we meet Blaze, who Ronnie feels is a friend and she finallt thinks that the summer may not be so bad. She also runs into Marcus and Will, it appears they want to fight but about what? Skip forward a week and Ronnie and Will start what appears to be a whirlwind romance. Of course not everything is happy and a lot of secrets do come out between most of the main characters, the biggest coming from Steve.

This book was well written, the characters developed fast and fitted easily into there roles. This book will have you smiling and crying, yes there is a really sad scene towards the end. I honestly didn't know how the book was going to end and I think that it kind of ended too perfect, but I suppose that is just a personal choice. I will deffinatly be reading more by Nicholas Sparks in the future.

Resolutions

With it being a new year, I thought that I would share with you some of the things I want to do this year.

*I want to try and read atleast 100 books this year.
*I also want to read what is actually on my shelf, I have so many books that have been on my shelf for years without being read.
*I want to try and review most of them, I know this may be self explanitry but honestly sometimes you just don't have the time.
*Blogging wise I want to blog atleast every other day. I think I should manage this one.
*I want to set up a twitter and domain for this blog if possible. Twitter is easy, just I'm not to sure about the domain.
*I want to interact more with other bloggers, I want to comment on more blogs. At the moment and in the past I have been looking and reading but not commenting, this is going to change.

So yeah these are my reading and blogging resolutions, they are pretty boring but if I have them wrote down here there is no way I can forget them.

Teaser Tusday

Teaser Tuesday is a meme hosted by MizB of Should be Reading.

Just do the following:
-Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that pageBE 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!

''Compare everything,' Harry said. 'Time of death, phase of moon, what was on TV, hair clolour of the victims, whether any of them borrowed the same book from the library, attended the same seminar, the sum of their telephone numbers. We have to know how he selects them.''

The Snowman, Jo Nesbo. Page 131.

New Year, New Start

I know I have been majorly slacking when it comes to posting and the blog in general, however with it being a new year I have decided that I am going to make a more concrete effort on the blog. I have just had a really bad few months inwhich time I haven't really had much time to do anything especially not web related, however this going to change. This will include more updates, including reviews, book news and contests. Yes contests!

In the coming weeks please look forward to seeing a lot of new content added and a total update of the layout and the overall style of the blog. I will be looking to start this tonight. The new layout should be sorted by tomorrow! I also will be adding a twitter account for the site, I have decided to do this because I think that it will mean that I can communicate with a lot of you better.

In My Mailbox 4

Here is my in my mailbox this is two weeks worth of books. It is hosted by kristen.



Fire: Really enjoyed Graceling, so wanting to start this one pretty soon.

Mockingjay: I got this because I wanted to see how the series ended, I didn't really enjoy Hunger Games but loved Catching Fire. We'll see if I like this.

Storm and Sea Glass: This is a new series, it is by the same author that wrote the Posion series, I haven't read either but a couple of people mentioned that this was the better series.

Candor: The story seems really interesting, from what I have read it seems like it is going to be a fantastic story.

Grave Secret: I don't particulary find the Sookie Stackhouse novels to be any good, however from reading this I enjoyed it alot more than I thought I would. I didn't realise it was in a series though, but I think it's better for this reason. (review to come)

The Dead Girls Dance: This is a Morganville Vampire books, it's the second. I have the first on my ereader though I am thinking about getting them all in paperback.

The Wish House: Alot of people recommended this to me. The story seems quite good, plus I love stories that are set in the past.

The Eternal Ones: This sounds amazing! Can't wait to read it, the only thing thats stopping me at the moment is the fact that it is in a series. The story doesn't seem the kind that can go on more than one book.

Overall I've had a great two weeks worth of books! I'm happy with all the books that have came my way.

Teaser Tuesday 2

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Should Be Reading.

Just do the following:

Grab your current read

Open to a random pageShare two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that pageBE 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!

'"Hah." I turned that over in my head. "Then she should come to a cemetry with us, if she's so interested. See firsthand. She's been alot of help to us over the years. I wouldn't mind."'

Grave Secret, Charlaine Harris, Page 60.

MIA

Sorry I've been a little M.I.A over the past couple of weeks, alot came up at work and I haven't been reading as much as I would like to of, Graceling is still being read and I love the way the story is unfolding in it, I'll finish that as soon as I can and will post a review very soon. What do people think of the header? Does it need changing? Or is it fine the way it is?

However I did get a copy of Mockingjay, not a huge fan of the series. Didn't really like the Hunger Games however loved Catching Fire. Hope Mockingjay rounds the series off nicely. I've been trying to keep away from spoilers, though I have seen one or two saying the ending wasn't as good as they thought. Hmmm I'd like to make my own decsion. Mockingjay will have to wait until I'm done with my library books, wow the library has a load of great books in at the moment.

Currently reading Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris, the fourth book in the Harper Connelly seires. I didn't however realise that it was in a series, but saying that I feel better that I haven't read the others, plus the way the plot and writing the book could easily be a stand alone novel. Harper is a great lead, however I don't really like her personalilty. I had the same problem with the Southern Vampire Mystries series she also writes aswell, I didn't like Sookie at all in the first book but by the third I loved her. I think the same might happen if I continue to read the other books in this series.

Sorry for the lengthy blog, full of writing! I know BORING!!!!
I'll be posting alot more regulary from now on.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Should Be Reading.


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!


'He looked into the fire and considered her question evenly. he looked into her face. 'I think it depends on what you hope to gain by fighting.''
Graceling, Kristen Cashore, page 187.

Perfect Chemistry

When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more. In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart.

This book had mixed chapters, the kind where you get two points of view. I enjoyed this book so much more because of this, if it was just from Brittney's point of view for example I don't think I would of rated the book at all. I loved the way you could see one event happen from two different people persectives and the different reactions they had to these events.

The characters made me laugh so much as well, the scene with Paco in the tolilet at the wedding had me in stitches, I think that is another aspect that makes this book work. The supporting cast are amazing. Even Brittney's mom is funny. You really get to see a different side to people who you would normally judge in real life, it shows that most people do have problems but are not open about them and put on a show to help cope.

Brittney is a funny character to judge, she has so much going on, she thinks that she has to be perfect because her sister is not. Alex is part of gang because it is the only way he can protect his family from the gangs around the area. People judge Brittney because she has the so called perfect life and judge Alex because they feel he likes being part of a gang.

This story highlights the issues I have talked about and as you learn about the characters you start to get an understanding about them, they also learn about eachother the same way you find out about them. They discover eachother, but also discover themselves at the same time. What turns out as a bet can lead to true love!

I would highly recommend this book, I loved it and cannot wait to read Rules of Attraction. Which I think has a January 2011 release date in the UK. Hopefully I'll be able to get my hands on a copy before that though. Rules of Attraction follows on from Perfect Chemistry and explores the life of Carlos, Alex's younger brother.

In My Mailbox 3

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristen.

I got a few books this week. Some that I am sooo happy to finially get round to owning!

Wicked Lovely: You may of seen from my last couple of updates that I own the rest of this series and only needed this for my collection, I have read the book and thought it was fantastic!

Vampire Academy Series: I've wanted this series for a while now, and can't wait to get stuck into it.

Mistress of Rome: I basically got this because of the wonderful cover. It was love at first sight! After reading what the book is about I think that I will enjoy it, it has everything I like about a book rolled into one.

Nanny Returns: This is a tour book that I am looking forward to reading, it seems funny from what I can gather.

Recreate a cover: Losing Faith

Princess Bookie has another wonderful contest, this time it is for Losing Faith by Denise Jaden.

Here is my entry:

In My Mailbox 2

In my mailbox is hosted by Kristen.


Sorry this is a day late, I was really busy yesterday and didn't have time to update.

Beastly: I've wanted to read this for a long time, and with it not being released in the UK found it hard to come across. I was so happy when I finially saw it in WH Smiths, I grabbed it straight away!

Linger: I got this to read because although I have Shiver and never read it I wanted to wait and read them both together. So I'm looking forward to reading both in the up coming weeks.

To Kill a Mockingbird: I never read this at school, like so many have so I decided to pick this up and see what I thought.

Paper Towns: Everyone has been telling me to read some of John Greens books so I finially decided to get Paper Towns. If anyone has any recommendations on other John Green books to read please let me know.

Radiant Shadows: The next in the Wicked Lovely series. This series is SO good, I recommend it to everyone.