Nightshade - Teaser Tuesday

This weeks teasers is brought to you from Nightshade by Andrea Cremer, hardcover page 127.

"Calla!" He reached for me, only jumping back when I shifted forms and snapped at his fingers. I could still hear him calling my name as I escaped into the forest shadows.

I finished Nightshade late this night/early this morning so a review can be expected this week :) 

MizB of Should Be Reading host this meme called Teaser Tuesday . 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 and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

In My Mailbox - week 47

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kirsti over at The Story Siren. Head on over there to find out what other book lovers received this past week.

My mailbox has been filled with packages this week, I've swapped some books with some fellow booklovers and I've bought some books from The Book Depository. Here's what I got:

Bought:

Nightshade by Andrea Creamer

Sea by Heidi R. Kling

Stork by Wendy Delsol

Looking for Alaska by John Green

I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak

A Season of Eden by J.M. Warwick

Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler

Gift:

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle(from the wonderful Hilde, she is the blogger behind The Turn of the Page)

Swapped:

Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

Evermore by Alyson Noel

Way too many books in my IMM this week (not that I mind at all), book buying is my guilty pleasure I guess. Anything in your mailbox this week?

Book review: Storm Warning by Toni Anderson

Since almost all of my reviews are of young adult novels I feel that I have some responsibility to warn the readers when the novel I review is unsuitable for younger readers.


*This review is of an adult novel, the book contains some of the following ingredients: language, alcohol, sex and abuse.*


My summary:
Ben Foley is an undercover DEA in Columbia, something goes terribly wrong and his partner Jacob gets killed. Ben promises that he will catch the culprits and shutdown their drug dealings once and for all. Clues takes him to Scotland. A call has been made from Sorcha Logan's cottage, but is she a drug dealer? Has she been set up? If so who can be after her?

A little teaser:

Terror reared up like a shadow. Her fingers scrabbled and found the switch. But the relief lasted only until she'd flicked it down and nothing happened. Bloody hell.

My thoughts:

I don't normally read all that much adult books but the cover on Storm Warning caught my eye on Netgalley and the synopsis intrigued me so I decided to give it a go. Storm Warning was a fast paced action paced read, it had lots of suspense, romance and some steam as well. Both of them main characters were well crafted and I instantly connected with them. For me connection with the characters from the get go is very important, if I don't it is extremely hard for me to get involved in the story.

I fell for Ben Foley almost the minute he was introduced. Ben had a rough upbringing and now he's just watched his partner died in front of his eyes, things like that can make anyone want to crawl back in their own shell. Ben has sworn he'd take down the drug lord and his companions and traces leads him to Scotland, in a little village by the sea. Not the best place to be when you're terrified of water. Author Toni Anderson has shared some pictures from this village, I think it is great to really get to see the location where this story plays out.

The main character Sorcha has a lot of things in common with Ben, and the better acquainted they get the more difficult it becomes to ignore. Almost from the moment the two of them meet the reader feels the chemistry, even if both does their best to dislike the other.


Sorcha has a gift she hasn't really been aware of before, she thinks that she might be going crazy and that she'll end up locked away in some lunatic asylum. If I were to complain about something it would be that I would have loved for Sorcha's gift to be explored further, I don't know if there will be a sequel but I sure would have loved to read more about Sorcha and Ben. 

The cover:
The more I look at it the more I love it...the lighthouse in the background and the stormy sea.

My rating of this book:

4 stars out of 5. I devoured this novel, turning pages to find out who is the bad guy?

Want a second opinion? Check out these reviews written by some of my book blogging friends:
Check out Nina's review over at J'adore Happy Endings

Want to know more?
Chek out Toni Anderson's homepage
Follow Toni's blog
Follow Toni on Twitter

Storm Warning by Toni Anderson

Published: October 2010
Pages : Kindle version
Publisher : Carina Press

ASIN: B004322F9A
Full disclosure: Review copy from Carina Press via Netgalley.

The Gathering - Waiting on Wednesday

The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong. Release date: April 12th 2011. Published by HarperCollins.

Kelley's Darkest Powers trilogy was such a great read so I'm super exited about her writing more novels set in the same universe as we met Chloe, Derek and company. That's why I'm eagerly anticipating this book! I cannot wait to find out what kind of person Maya is, I really liked Chloe as a MC but Maya might be just as good. Also the cover is gorgeous, I love the way that the lipstick and the earrings are the only two things with color other than the blue.  Here's the synopsis from Goodreads: 

Maya lives in a small medical-research town on Vancouver Island. How small? You can’t find it on the map. It has less than two-hundred people, and her school has only sixty-eight students—for every grade from kindergarten to twelve. 

Now, strange things are happening in this claustrophobic town, and Maya's determined to get to the bottom of them. First, the captain of the swim team drowns mysteriously in the middle of a calm lake. A year later, mountain lions start appearing around Maya's home, and they won’t go away. Her best friend, Daniel, starts getting negative vibes from certain people and things. It doesn't help that the new bad boy in town, Rafe, has a dangerous secret—and he's interested in one special part of Maya's anatomy: Her paw-print birthmark.

Want to know more about the author or the book?

Visit Kelley Armstrong's homepage

Follow Kelley on Twitter

Check out Kelley's facebook page

Add The Gathering to your Goodreads shelf

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This event spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. Please visit Jill's blog to find out what other book bloggers are waiting for.

Graceling - Teaser Tuesday

This weeks teasers is brought to you from Graceling by Kristin Cashore, paperback page 65.

"He's safe", Katsa said. "I'm sorry for not consulting you, Raff." "Kat", Raffin said, "if you think he's safe even after he's bloodied your face and" - he glanced at her tattered dress - "rolled you around in a puddle of mud, then I believe you." 

MizB of Should Be Reading host this meme called Teaser Tuesday . 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 and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Book review: The Mermaid's Mirror by L.K. Madigan

My summary:
16 year old Lena has a good life with her parents, Brian and Allie, and her younger brother, Cole, in their house close by the beach. Sounds like a perfectly normal family life, right? Well things aren't always as great as it seems; Lena's birth mother died when she was four years old, something her dad doesn't like talking about and then there's the fact that Lena sometimes wakes up on the beach in the middle of the night.

My thoughts:
I wanted to like The Mermaid's Mirror, I really did, but sadly the book was never more than okish for me. I always find it so hard to write a review of a book that I didn't really enjoy, it is hard because I know that as an author a book is your baby and it's not nice reading that people doesn't like. That being said I've always believed in honesty so I have to write down my true feelings.

As one probably guesses this is a story about family ties and mermaids and the main character Lena get's to visit the land below the sea. In the village of the merfolk the reader gets introduced to a whole bunch of new characters, I just couldn't keep track of them all and that for me was a huge minus. I couldn't really understand the point of it since so many of them were of little or non importance to the story. This should have been edited before publishing the book in my opinion.

Now it sounds like the book was all bad, it wasn't, occasionally I felt that the writing was excellent. I especially liked how the relationship between Lena and her little brother Cole was beautifully written. There is no doubt in my mind that L.K. Madigan can write and I would like to read her future work(and her first novel Flashburnout) to see how she evolves as an author.

The cover:
I love it, it is absolutely stunning.

My rating of this book:

2.5 stars out of 5

Want a second opinion? Check out these reviews written by some of my book blogging friends:
Shweta's review over at Book Journal.
Gaby's review over at Oh my Books!
Jessica's review over at Book Sake.
Nina's review over at jadorehappyendings

Want to know more?
Visit L.K. Madigan's homepage
Follow L.K. Madigan's blog
Follow L.K. Madigan on Twitter

The Mermaid's Mirror by L.K. Madigan

Published: October 2010
Pages(hardcover): 336
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt books for children
ISBN: 0547194919 (ISBN13: 9780547194912)
Full disclosure: Review copy from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via Netgalley.

In my mailbox - Week 46

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kirsti over at The Story Siren. Head on over there to find out what other book lovers received this past week.

So this book haven't really been in my mailbox but in my inbox; a review copy of Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton. If you want to know more about this book then check out my WoW post.

Did you get anything exiting in the past week?

Anyone interested in a 10 % off voucher from The Book Depository

My favorite online bookstore, The Book Depository, wants to spread some Christmas love so I have a few 10 % off vouchers to give away. If you would like a voucher just leave your email in a comment below and I will mail you a voucher. You can perhaps spend it on a little Christmas shopping or if you just would like some new books yourself. A little something that is great to know: The Book Depository offers free shipping to about 100 countries (see which ones here).

Have a great weekend!

Book review: Saltwater Vampires by Kirsty Eagar

My summary:
This Australian YA vampire thriller begins in the year 1629; the ship Batavia was going down by the Australian west coast. Lives were lost but quite a few survived and were transferred to an island nearby the wreck site. A part of the crew did mutiny and head mutineer was the apothecary Corneliz, he was a man with a cruel plan. It all culminated in a bloodbath with only four survivors, they had one goal; immortality. Now the mutineers are back in 21st century Australia to finish what they started long ago. An evil plan will be executed on a rock festival in a small town named Rocky Head.

15 year old Jamie Mackie lives in Rocky Head, not long ago Jamie and one of his best mates, Dale, were in a terrible boat accident. Dale was badly hurt and everyone, including Jamie himself, thinks Jamie is to blame for what happened. Guilt has made Jamie into an insomniac and one night Jamie decides to go surfing, the water is the only place that brings him peace. Just too bad for Jamie that something horrible is out there on the water with him; he ends up fighting for his life. When Jamie finally gets out of the water there are almost no signs of the struggle he was just in; just two bleeding puncture marks on his neck...

My thoughts:
“Saltwater Vampires is a distinctly Australian vampire thriller.” now that was a great sales pitch, it really grabbed my attention. I've never read any vampires novels set in Australia, it sounded like an original idea and I loved the fact that these vampires had a story connected to a real historical event. When I read a review of the novel over at The Book Nerd Club I knew that I had to buy myself a copy. However that was not all that easy, I soon discovered that the novel was only released in Australia, author Kirsty Eager kindly helped me finding an Australian online bookstore, Abbey's Bookshop, which shipped to Norway. So a few short weeks after I first discovered Saltwater Vampires; a copy showed up in my mailbox (yaaay).

Saltwater Vampires is the first vampire novel I've read with a male main character so that alone for me was like was like a breath of fresh air. Almost all the vampire novels I have read contains at least one girl falling in love with a vampire(or at becoming one). Be warned there are no kind and sparkling vampires in this story. The pace in Saltwater Vampires is somewhat slow building up towards a climax, still the story never bored me. Eagar knows how to keep her readers interested in the story even without non stop action.

There is no doubt that Eagar has created an original Australian vampire novel, a nice addition to the vampire genre. The story ends in a way that opens up for the possibility of a sequel but it's no cliffhanger and it works just fine as a standalone novel. I have only one minor complaint I would have loved for the vampire organization, Piravem that Eagar has invented to be explored a bit further (so I'm kind of hoping of more in a sequel).

The cover:
Nice and dark, beautiful and captivating with the moon mirroring on the water on the back of the cover.

My rating of this book:
4 stars out of 5. It's not easy writing an original vampire novel these days but Eager has managed to pull it off.

Want a second opinion? Check out these reviews written by some of my book blogging friends:
mummazappa's review over at The Book Nerd Club.

Want to know more?
Visit Kirsty Eagar's homepage

Saltwater Vampires by Kirsty Eagar
Published: August 2010(Australia)
Pages(paperback): 372
Publisher: Penguin Books
ISBN: 9780143011460
Full disclosure: Purchased 

Iron Witch - Waiting on Wednesday

The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney. Release date: February 8nd 2011. Published by Flux.

Witches and horrible faeries, yes please! Sounds good and dark this one. Read the synopsis borrowed from Goodreads:

Freak. That's what her classmates call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood. When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed her father and drove her mother mad. Donna's own nearly fatal injuries from the assault were fixed by magic—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. The child of alchemists, Donna feels cursed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane and grounded is her relationship with her best friend, Navin Sharma.

When the darkest outcasts of Faerie—the vicious wood elves—abduct Navin, Donna finally has to accept her role in the centuries old war between the humans and the fey. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout with secrets of his own, Donna races to save her friend—even if it means betraying everything her parents and the alchemist community fought to the death to protect.

Want to know more about the author or the book?

Visit Karen Mahoney's homepage

Follow Karen Mahoney on Twitter
Read Karen's blog

Add Iron Witch to your Goodreads shelf.

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This event spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. Please visit Jill's blog to find out what other book bloggers are waiting for.

Check out this amazing new Hunger Games trailer!

While we're waiting for Suzanne Collins novel the Hunger Games being made into a movie why not check out this fan made trailer? I would never have guessed that this was a fan, the quality is excellent. I might warn you there is violence and blood in this trailer.

I cried and cried while watching this just like I did when reading this scene in the book.

I discovered this trailer over at Liyana's blog Liyanaland.

The Mermaid's Mirror - Teaser Tuesday

This weeks teasers is brought to you from The Mermaid's Mirror by L.K. Madigan, Kindle location 457-61.

When Lena woke up on the beach that night, she sank to her knees. Oh, God, she thought, her heart leaping with fright. There is something wrong with me.

I'm almost halfway through this book, so far it is ok but sadly I'm not quite feeling the way about this book that I'd hoped for.

MizB of Should Be Reading host this meme called Teaser Tuesday . 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 and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Book review: Glee: The Beginning by Sophia Lowell

My summary:
Did you ever wonder why Quinn fell for Puck or what Rachel was up to before Glee?

My thoughts:
I love, LOVE Glee and was thrilled when I was offered a review copy of this first official Glee novel. I first started this novel when I got it late in August but didn't finish it before this week. When I first started reading I just wasn't in the right mood so I decided it was best to put it aside for a little while and try later. I'm so glad that I didn't force myself to finish this book the first time around. In the cold, dark and snowy November nights reading Glee has been just the vitamin injection I needed. It was such a light and funny read.

I feel that the author did a great job staying true to the series, well except for one important thing, there's no sound(but hey that is a little to much to ask for). Some of my favorite scenes from the novel were the ones between Quinn and Puck. I have to say that reading about Puck makes me go a little weak in the knees, I have to admit that I have a slight crush on him.

Just to put you in the Glee mood(a perfect excuse to share this wonderful performance, I just love it):

If your a fan of Glee, like I am, I'm pretty sure you will love this prequel. I cannot wait to read the next Glee novel Glee: Foreign Exchange, due out February 2011. I also just noticed that a third novel is already planned, it is titled Summer Break and is due out July 2011.

The cover:
Cute with the pretty characters that we know and love. Sparkly blue font is a nice touch.

My rating of this book:
4 stars out of 5. No classic but it sure made my day brighter!

Glee: The Beginning by Sophia Lowell
Published: August 5th 2010   
Pages(paperback): 224
Publisher: Headline UK
ISBN: 9780755377374
Full disclosure: Received review copy from Headline UK for honest review.

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and on-line book stores such as Amazon or The Book Depository(I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store does by the way have free shipping to about 100 countries.  

In my mailbox - Week 45

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kirsti over at The Story Siren. Head on over there to find out what other book lovers received this past week.

I've been so fortunate to receive a surprise in my mail this week as well. From the English publisher Hodder & Stoughton I got *DRUMROLL*:

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Delirium is Lauren Oliver's second novel, I'm guessing many of you have either read or at least heard about her much talked about debut novel titled Before I Fall. I have yet to read Before I Fall but I do own a copy of it and I'm very much looking forward to reading it. I have heard such great things about Lauren's writing and I was over the moon when I discovered what had been mailed to me; an ARC of Delirium.

Here's the synopsis for Delirium (borrowed from Goodreads):

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -the deliria- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.  

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love. 

Watch the trailer: 

Delirium will be released February 3rd in the UK (February 1st in the USA). If you want a taste from Delirium you can read the first chapter here. 

Something to discuss on a Saturday

As some of you might have noticed I read and reviewed Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta this week. The reason why I bought this novel in the first place was mainly because Adel from the wonderful book blog Persnickety Snark speaks/writes so highly of it. If you haven't read Adel's review of this novel then you need to go and read it now.

Just days before I started reading Jellicoe Road I came across Leonore's review, over at her superb blog Presenting Lenore, the same book and she was of a very different opinion about this novel then Adel was. So I really must say that the reason this book came so quickly off my shelf was due to these two bloggers very different opinion of this book. There's just something that appeals to me when I read such varied opinions of a book.

Earlier this week Adel wrote a blog titled When You Find Yourself Stumped where she shared her feelings about how disappointing and surprising it feels when someone doesn't feel the same way about a novel that you love so much, based on Lenore's review of Jellicoe Road. Now Adel's post has inspired a good and interesting debate over at Leonore's blog where she asks Does a YA novel have to be accessible? I've written down my own thoughts as a reply on Lenore's post and for me this is about the variations in personal preferences.

This whole debate is very interesting and I just wanted to spread the word so that more book bloggers can share their opinions on this and perhaps some of you will discover a new blog? Both girls are excellent bloggers!

Enjoy your Saturday :)

Win a copy of Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

I loved Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta(read my review) so much that I've decided to give away a copy of the book to two lucky winners. To be entered in this giveaway just fill out this form. This contest is open to all, followers and non-followers, over 15 years. Only one entry per person please, multiple entries will be deleted. A good idea is to leave a comment on this post after entering the contest, that way it is easier to check if you have remembered to enter the contest.

The contest will close December 12th 2010.

If I should reach 500 followers during this period I'll add another winner.

Book review: Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

My summary:
Jellicoe Road starts out with a tragic incident that happened 22 years before the story of the main character begins. An incident which is instrumental for our main character and as the story unfolds the reader will understand how the puzzle fits together.

Taylor Markham was left by her mother in a store on Jellicoe Road when she was only eleven years old. A young woman named Hannah finds Taylor and takes her home to her place. Now Taylor is 17 years old and she's attending the boarding school just off Jellicoe Road. Taylor is so scared to let people come to close to her; she doesn’t want to interact with other people. Taylor has suffered a great betrayal and naturally she is colored by that experience. The cadets led by Jonah Griggs has arrived in town and the everlasting territorial war between the boarders, townies and the cadets are about to begin. It’s a bit of a shock for Taylor when she is chosen by the boarders’ last leader to lead them in the battle this year.
 
There is so much I would like to say about this novel but I think that Jellicoe Road is a novel that should be experienced without knowing too much in advance.

My thoughts:
For me Jellicoe Road was an absolutely amazing read, this is a book I will treasure and the characters will stay with me for a long, long time. I don't read much realistic fiction but this book gave me a taste for more. I can honestly say that I will re-read this book again (but first I'm going persuade my younger sister to read it), I seldom re-read anything so that says a lot about how much I loved this book.

The first 100 pages or so could be really confusing, but for me it was a positive kind of confusing, not the irritating one, that made me curious and made me want to discover what this was all about. If you just sit back and relax and accept that there is a mystery in the beginning of this book that will be revealed for you bit by bit throughout the novel you're in for a real treat.

We join Taylor Markham for a few weeks in August/September for a few weeks of her life and parallel to this we are introduced to a story about five teens. The two stories are separated by the use of italic on the five’s story. It works out really well in this novel, although it was a bit confusing at first when I tried figuring out how these two stories fit together.

Reading Jellicoe Road has been such an emotional rollercoaster. I feel head over heels for Marchetta’s characters, each and every one of them. Marchetta writes in a way that makes even the least important characters memorable and living and you will feel their emotions. I’ve been sad, happy, I’ve laughed and I’ve shed a ocean of tears(so many that the puppy I’m babysitting jumped up into my lap to try and comfort me). 

Our main character, Taylor, is a cold person, well at first anyway, but it’s only realistic that you’re afraid of connecting with people when your own mother didn’t want anything to do with you. Throughout the story Taylor changes very much and it just feels so realistic. I must add that there will be some romance in this book and the kissing scenes might very well steal your breath away!

Melina Marchetta officially got a new fan; I want to read all here books. If they’re anywhere near as good as Jellicoe Road then I have much to look forward to.

The cover:
I think it is beautiful and the flowers on the cover play a very important part in the novel.
  
My rating of this book:
5 stars out of 5.
 
Want to know more?
Visit Melina Marchetta's homepage
Add Jellicoe Road to your shelf on Goodreads.

Full disclosure: Won

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and on-line book stores such as Amazon or The Book Depository(I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store does by the way have free shipping to about 100 countries.