Delirium - Teaser Tuesday

This weeks teaser is brought to you from Delirium by Lauren Oliver, page 35(ARC):

But they've stopped listening. All of them are staring beyond me, heads cocked, expressions confused, as though trying to make out familiar words in a foreign langage. And then suddenly the roaring and the screaming surge and I realize I haven't been imagining them all this time.

Delirium releases in the US today! Happy release day to Lauren and her new novel :D So far I'm loving it.

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 #4

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kirsti over at The Story Siren. If you want to find out what great books other book bloggers have gotten in their mailbox head on over there and find out :) I couldn't find my camera today so it's just borrowed pictures here today..

Mooched:

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch - I've heard such great things about this fantasy!

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley - I've seen Angie from Angieville mentioned McKinley several times on her blog so I thought I might check out some of her books.

Spirit Walker by Michelle Paver - Ryan from Empire of Books have convinced me to think that this is a series one should look into. This is the second book in the series and I'm also waiting for the first book :)

For review:

Delirium by Lauren Oliver - finished copy, I'm going to give this one away in February since I already own the ARC - that's the book I'm currently reading by the way. Many thanks to the people at Hodder & Stoughton Ltd for sending me a review copy. 

The Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M. Auel - This is the first book in a very popular series, a series I've heard great things about but never gotten the chance to read. I remember one of my friends devoured the first five books when we were no more than 14-15 years old.

This March it's almost 31 years since the first book in this series was first printed(the first book was re-released in December 2010) and a highly anticipated 6th installment will be released. I'm so exited to discover the much talked about world that Auel has created. Many thanks to Kate from Holler(and Hodder & Stoughton Ltd) for sending me a review copy. 

That's all from me this week; did you get anything good this past week?

A short book review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

If you haven't yet read this trilogy then please check out my reviews for the first two books:
The Hunger Games
Catching Fire


My summary:
I've decided not to write a summary for Mockingjay just in case there's actually more people out there that haven't read the book. I wouldn't want to spoil too much for anyone.

My thoughts:

Yes, I cried when I read this last installment of The Hunger Games trilogy! I enjoyed it but I didn't love it, mainly because of the main focus in this novel. I don't think any of the sequels quite lived up to the first installment. To me it seems like a great many authors out there could benefit from spending some more time on their sequels to further improve the quality, I get the feeling that sometimes they're under an immense pressure to create a finished product.
It was a nice conclusion to the trilogy but it lacked that little extra and the epilogue just felt like a kind of cheap shortcut..Sounds like I didn't enjoy it? Well I truly did but it just wasn't how I wanted it to be.

The cover:
Is just wonderful and fits the covers on the rest of the trilogy.

My rating of this book:

4 stars out of 5

Want a second opinion? Check out these reviews written by some of my book blogging friends:
YA Vampire Books
Today's Adventure
Parajunkee's View
Rihannon Hart
Persnickety Snark
The Book Nerd Club

Want to know more?
Add Mockingjay to your Goodreads wish list.
Visit Suzanne Collins' homepage.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Published: August 2010
Pages(paperback): 398
Publisher: Scholastic Press
ISBN: 0439023513 (ISBN13: 9780439023511)
Full disclosure: Purchased 

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.

Aftertime - Waiting on Wednesday

Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield. Release date: February 22nd 2011. Published by Luna.

Why am I pining for Aftertime?

I don't actually think I've read a adult dystopia novel yet but Afterlife's synopsis caught my interest at once! And after finishing The Hunger Games trilogy this week(short review of Mockingjay coming up soon) I need some new and great dystopian fiction.

Synopsis(borrowed from Goodreads):

The world’s gone. 
Worse, so is her daughter. 

Awakening in a bleak landscape as scarred as her body, Cass Dollar vaguely recalls surviving something terrible. Having no idea how many days—or weeks—have passed, she slowly realizes the horrifying truth: Ruthie has vanished. 

And with her, nearly all of civilization. Where once-lush hills carried cars and commerce, the roads today see only cannibalistic Beaters—people turned hungry for human flesh by a government experiment gone wrong.

In a broken, barren California, Cass will undergo a harrowing quest to get her Ruthie back. Few people trust an outsider, let alone a woman who became a zombie and somehow turned back, but she finds help from an enigmatic outlaw, Smoke. Smoke is her savior, and her safety. For the Beaters are out there. And the humans grip at survival with their trigger fingers. Especially when they learn that she and Ruthie have become the most feared, and desired, of weapons in a brave new world....

Want to know more about the author or the book?

Visit Sophie Littlefield's homepage

Follow Sophie on Twitter

Read Sophie's blog

Add Aftertime to your Goodreads shelf

What are you waiting for this week?

"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.

The Distant Hours -Teaser Tuesday

This weeks teaser is brought to you from The Distant Hours by Kate Morton, page 63:

Shelves spanned all four walls, floor to ceiling, and although it was shadowy inside – the windows were cloaked by thick, draping curtains that brushed the ground – I could see they were lined with very old books, the sort with marbled endpapers, gold-dipped edges, and black cloth binding.  My fingers positively itched to drift at length along their spines, to arrive at one whose lure I could not pass, to pluck it down, to inch it open, then to close my eyes and inhale the soul-sparking scent of old and literate dust.

How's that for a description of a book lovers dream?! I thought that was a wonderful quote.

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: Carrie Pilby by Caren Lissner

My summary:

Carrie is a smart girl, she graduated from Harvard at the age of 19 but she is struggeling to fit in. Now Carrie is living alone in her apartment in New York, she spends her time watching movies, sleeping and she has regular sessions with a psychologist. Carrie has no real friends, by choice in her own opinion. She lives by strict moral and thinks most other people are immoral and obsessed with sex. 

A little taste from the novel:

"Wanna meet for coffee?" he asks.

There it is again. Why does it always have to be coffee? Why is it  that no one ever says, "Do you want to get carrot juice sometime?" Or, "I know this great peach nectar place." Those things are a heck of a lot healthier than coffee, and better tasting. If I ever meet someone who asks me to meet up for some fruit juice, I'll marry him.

My thoughts:

If you want to read a YA novel that features a quirky character then look no further. Carrie is, well almost at least, one of a kind. The reason why I say almost is because she reminded me somewhat of Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye.

When the book first started Carrie annoyed me, she had all these strict moral rules and judged people left and right. No one was as good or as smart has she was. but it soon became apparent that she had issues that needed working out. Her psychologist challenged her to write a list and do all the things on it, as we witnessed Carries long journey thought that list she meets new people and she has new experiences that challenges her and the way she thinks. One thing I loved Carrie for was for being herself, not wanting to do like everyone else just to fit in. I think it's very important to stay true to one self but it is also important to accept that the people around you can be good even if they doesn't always behave the same way that you do.

Carrie's story is both sad and happy and if you stick with her throughout the book you will laugh with her and fall in love with her character. As a bonus I'm sure your vocabulary will have increased by the end of the book, at least I know mine did(but perhaps that's because English is my second language).

The cover:

A colorful contrast to the main character in the novel.

My rating of this book:

4 stars out of 5

Want a second opinion? Check out these reviews written by some of my book blogging friends:

J'adorehappyendings

Want to know more?

Add Carrie Pilby to your Goodreads wish list.

Visit Caren Lissner's homepage 

Read Caren's blog 

Follow Caren on Twitter

Carrie Pilby by Caren Lissner

Published: 2010(first time in 2003)

Pages(paperback): 336

Publisher: Harlequin

ISBN: 

0373210108 (ISBN13: 9780373210107)

Full disclosure: Review copy from Harlequin via Netgalley.

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 #3

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kirsti over at The Story Siren. Soo I've promised myself to stop buying so many books but it's awfully hard when one comes across a good offer.. I didn't do my IMM post last weeks so this IMM contains books I've received in the past 14 days.

Purchased:

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Hunger(Gone #2) by Michael Grant

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Entice by Carrie Jones

Arrow(Faery Rebels #3) by R.J. Anderson

The white hare by Merice Briffa(first book in an Australian trilogy, my copy is a Norwegian translation)

Syk Pike by Espen Holm(Norwegian thriller/crime novel)

Mare Circus by Ruben Eliassen(Norwegian YA fantasy)

For review:

Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan(I've read and reviewed this already - you may enter to win this beautiful hardcover copy here)
The Radlys by Matt Haig

Shine by Lauren Myracle

Plan B by Charnan Simon

Mellom oss by Ruth Lillegraven(Norwegian debutant)

That's all from me this week(more than enough if you ask me. I had to do a spring cleaning in my shelves to free up some space for these books) :)

Giveaway - Immortal Beloved - Open to all

I recently read and reviewed Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan, Immortal Beloved is the first book in a new trilogy. The wonderful people from Hodder & Stoughton Ltd sent me a finished copy of the novel. I thought I might give away a copy to one of my readers since I've already read it. Since I live in Norway I will be giving away the actual copy I recived to one of my Norwegian readers on my Norwegian bookblog. But have no fear I'll give away a copy to one of the readers of my international readers here on Escape In A Book as well but I'll buy a copy from The Book Depository that way I won't have to spend so much on shipping ;)

Contest details:

1. Open for all over 15 years.
2. To enter this contest you have to live in a country that The Book Depository ships to(please check here before entering).
3. 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.
4. Fill out the form below ;)


+1 Extra: Link on Twitter, Facebook, blog etc.

The contest ends February 20th 2011.

Book review: First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost

The cover on the right is the Norwegian cover and the cover to the left is the US cover. Which one do you prefer? 

My summary:

Some time ago Denise lost her husband in a vampire war, a war that had nothing to do with them. Now she also has to cope with the loss of her aunt and two cousins, they all believed they were being stalked and all three died of heart attack, something that seems highly unlikely (Denise herself was present when one of her cousins were being attacked by a man and when help showed up no man was there just a big dog.).

Soon Denise discovers that her family is the target of some supernatural creature and she is the next in line. Luckily she has contacts in the supernatural community, or at least she used to have contacts before she decided to pretend that world never existed. Denise's best friend, and half vampire, Cat is out of the country. Denise still manages to track down a willing helper in another vampire, the dark and sexy Spade.

My thoughts:

I haven't read anything by Jeaniene Frost before and I realize now that I should have started with the Night Huntress series but First Drop of Crimson worked fine as a stand alone novel. The audiobook was available on sale on Audible around Christmas so that was the main reason why I bought it. As I listened I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything but I'm aware there might have been spoilers from the Night Huntress series present. 

Frost has created a great vampire story and the chemistry between her characters is superb! Denise, the main character, was a great but perhaps a bit to stubborn for her own good kind of heroine. Spade was a dark and sensual hero, he always acted according to what should be in Denise's best interest but he didn't always take the time to ask what she wanted. Might not be so easy when you know your immortal but the person you have fallen for might die any moment.

First Drop of Crimson is an action filled story with vampires, addictive blood and a crazy demon. I definitely recommend it and the rest of Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress and Night Huntress world series is on my I-must-buy list! 

Book trailer:

The cover:

Not quite how I imagine the delicious Spade and I'm not too keen on half naked people on the cover. It just doesn't appeal to me.

My rating of this book:

4 stars out of 5

Want a second opinion? Check out these reviews written by some of my book blogging friends:

Mystifying Paranormal Reviews

My World of Books

Want to know more?
Add First Drop of Crimson to your Goodreads wish list.
Visit Jeaniene Frost's homepage 
Read Jeaniene's blog 
Follow Jeanine on Twitter

First Drop of Crimson(Night Huntress World #1) by Jeaniene Frost

Published: February 2010
Pages(paperback): 371
Publisher: Avon
ISBN: 0061583227 (ISBN13: 9780061583223)
Full disclosure: Purchased from Audible.


This is an adult book by the way :)

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.