Teaser Tuesday: GRAVE MERCY by Robin LaFevers

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading. Here are the rules:

• Grab your current read
• Open it to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO REVEAL SPOILERS! (Be sure not to spoil the book for others!
• Make sure your sentences don't reveal something important!)
• Include the title and author to, so that other participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

 

I'm just about to dive into this one, and so as not to ruin anything for myself, I kinda, sorta cheated.  Here's my teaser/the first two sentences ;-)

 

Teaser:

 

"I bear a deep red stain that runs from my left shoulder down to my right hip, a trail left by the herbwitch's poison that my mother used to try to expel me from her womb.  That I survived, according to the herbwitch, is no miracle but a sign I have been sired by the god of death himself."

 

I.Love.It.Already.  Hope the entire book's as good as the beginning.  I am expecting great things :)

 

Hope everyone's having a terrific week, and if you haven't already entered, the I LOVE STEAMPUNK Giveaway is still on!

 

Ninja Girl





I LOVE STEAMPUNK GIVEAWAY

 

So, this is my first ever giveaway!!!  I wanted to make it appropriate for the season; Halloween means costumes, and if there's a genre with better/cooler fashion I don't know it.  Corsets, gears, goggles, tiny hats!  Steampunk is awesome, and I wanted my first giveaway to reflect that awesomeness ;D

Some lucky follower will win two books of your choice chosen from the list below:

Phew, I hope the format looks okay.  If it's wonky, that's totally my fault, and we'll just put that down to inexperience, shall we?  If you want a later book in the series, that's totally fine!  When you win, you'll just email me with the titles you'd like at that time.  I'll announce the winner this Friday!  Please enter using the Rafflecopter (always wanted to say that *grins*).

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

Happy Halloween!

 

Ninja Girl

UNSPOKEN by Sarah Rees Brennan

Can we talk about the cover? *___*  It's even more gorgeous in person.  The background is this beautiful scarlet that fades in the center and darkens again near the bottom.  The title and leaves are bright gold, the gate and vines inky black.  Whimsical, dramatic, romantical (yes, I went there J).

Luckily, the story totally matches up to the jacket.

Unspoken centers around Kami and the imaginary boy in her head.  She's comfortable with Jared, has gotten used to the way their feelings tangle and is unwilling to give him up--even if it makes people look at her funny.  But when the mysterious Lynburns return, Kami gets a shock.  Jared is real.  He knows everything about her.  And she's not sure how to feel about it.

The mystery surrounding the Lynburns (what they are, how Kami and Jared's connection came to be, etc.) is icing on the cake.  The real heart of this story is character and a fantastic concept.  Imagine being mentally linked to another person.  I've seen this done before, but never so well executed.

Sounds kinda romantic, right?  And in some ways, it is.  Still, that doesn't stop Kami and Jared from freaking out.  Each struggles to come to terms with the reality of the other's existence.  Their connection was soul-deep and at times invasive.  It was one of the strongest parts of the book imo.

I loved how close we got to all the characters, especially the two leads.

The third person narrative helped, but Sarah Rees Brennan obviously knows her world and each and every person in it.   Kami is the kind of curious you just can't help but like.  She's a self-proclaimed sleuth, searching for the secret truth of her town, Sorry-in-the-Vale.  When animals and people start dying, she trudges along, determined to find the truth.  The girl had a great sense of humor and was an unapologetic Nosy Parker.  Loved her J.

Also loved how Brennan was able to infuse the same life and personality into her secondary characters.  Angela, the people-hating, nap-loving, always-loyal best friend.  Kami's dad and her brothers, Tomo and Ten.  Great, great, great.

And the humor.  That was the surprise!  Kami and her friends are hilarious.  Romance + Funny = One Very Happy Nnja :-)

Here are a few quotes I loved from Unspoken.

Kami whispered into Jared's hair: "I'm always on your side."--Unspoken pg. 74

"I used to have an imaginary friend when I was seven," Holly contributed.  "A unicorn called Princess Zelda."--Unspoken pg 85

Then later, Angela to Jared:

"I'm not calling you that," she announced flatly.  "It's too weird.  I'm going to call you Carl." 

Jared scowled.  "I don't want you to call me Carl."

"That's interesting, Carl," said Angela, cheering up.--Unspoken pg 86

The dialogue was lol funny; the writing was gorgeous; the mystery had enough twists and turns to keep you guessing; and the character relationships were fantastic.  Beware: One of the most devestating cliff hangers on the planet.  But worth it.  (Still, seriously, it'll make you wanna bang your head on the wall.)  Unspoken was a Gothic mystery YA with a nice blend of genres, a great Halloween read, but also a great anytime read J

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend,

Ninja Girl

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY

Hi everyone! I only do "Waiting on Wednesday" posts when I've found something really awesome. It's a meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine, featuring those books that are just too good, the ones you wish were out. Right. This. Second.

 

Goodreads summary:



He makes good girls...bad.

Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence has made him one of hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple, weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.

Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal opportunity collector and doesn’t want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:

Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within 10 days.

Dante doesn’t know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky, Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect—he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector, and uncover emotions deeply buried.

My WoW pick, The Collector by Victoria Scott.  A "Nerd Alert chick" heroine and bad-to-the-bone Dante as leading man.  Seriously, do I need to even explain why I want this one?  Yeah, didn't think so ;)

Hope everyone's having a terrific week!

Ninja Girl

STACKING THE SHELVES (6)

Hi everyone!  Picked up a small (but awesome) haul of two books this week.  Thanks to Ninja Aunt P for insisting on buying my books even though I had it covered :).  Love you!  Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

List of Books: Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan and Defiance by C. J. Redwine

*Jumping up and down*  Whoop, I cannot wait to dig into these two lovely books.  Both have equally gorgeous covers, and the jacket summaries make them sound oh-so-good :D

Have a great week everyone!

Ninja Girl

P.S. The Veronica Wolff books I won and received last week?  Yeah, I just found out they were signed, with my name and everything!  How cool is that? :)

EASY by Tammara Webber

This book totally rocked my world.  By defying convention, Easy by Tammara Webber surprised me and impressed me and made me want to read it again.  Immediately.  That's a rare occurrence, especially with as big a TBR pile as I have J.

 I'm not gonna lie.  The story had a couple of things that usually put me off.

1) An MC who follows her boyfriend to college and has lost her identity b/c of a guy. 

Um yeah, no need to explain why this independent woman wouldn't like that.

2) Heavy subject matter with the possibility of whiny-baby drama and preaching.

As a reader, I want to escape, to be entertained and ultimately a story with a spectacular HEA.  Usually, I steer clear of the heavy.  And preachy books pretty much turn me off.

Luckily, Easy took everything I'd come to expect from this kind of book and flipped it on its head.  Drama that was never preachy, romance that redefined HOT, and enticing characters that grow throughout the story yet stay true to themselves.  Why yes, you can have it all.

Easy centers around Jacqueline, a sophomore in college whose boyfriend has recently broken up with her.  She followed him to school instead of pursuing her dream as a concert bassist.  Jacqueline thought Kennedy was her one.  She never saw his betrayal coming.

After a frat party, Jacqueline--who was the designated driver for the night and completely sober--leaves by herself and is sexually assaulted by Buck, one of Kennedy's frat brothers.  (*Sidenote: If there's a better name for a sicko rapist, I don't know it.  Right on, Webber.  Right. On.)  Lucas, a complete stranger, saves Jacqueline right in the nick of time, beating the sh*t out of Buck before he can rape her.  But the close call changes Jacqueline forever.  She just wants to forget it ever happened--but how can she with Lucas popping up all the time?

I can't say enough about this book.  All of the characters were incredibly well developed.  It was believable that Jacqueline would commit to this relationship and lose a bit of herself.  I think this probably happens to so many young girls.  Not necessarily the following to college bit, but the loss of self.  It was believable.  It made her believable.

Instead of looking down on her for her vulnerability, I liked her more for it.  Jacqueline was willing to risk her heart, and quite frankly, Kennedy was the asshole.  That much was clear.  His reason for breaking her heart: He wanted to hook up with as many girls as possible before settling down so as not to ruin his future political aspirations.  Blech.  I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.

Whereas Lucas…well.  He was absolutely delectable J.  Prepare yourself, ladies.  A bad boy with a tragic past and a protective instinct for women--which was totally endearing and not at all possessive-stalkerish?  *Cue angels singing*  Thank you, Lord, for Lucas.  He was so sexy, so smart, so incredibly attractive on every level.  If he was real, I'd be all over that.  Seriously.

This romance is a must-read.  I know everyone under the sun has pretty much recommended this book, but I'll add my voice to that.  Easy was a great read by a great author with a very powerful message.  No girl deserves to be raped.  Ever.  For any reason.  Period.

If I ever get a chance to thank Tammara Webber for writing this book, I will.  And if you're a woman--or if you have women you love in your life--you should, too.

Happy reading,

Ninja Girl

TUNE IN TUESDAY: NEW DAY

 

Hi all!  Tune in Tuesday is a GReads meme currently being hosted over at Kate's Tales of Books and Bands.  Every now and then an artist comes out with a song that's inspiring, positive, and still totally bad a**.  "New Day" by Alicia Keys is all those things :)  And I decided to use the vid that intoduced me to this song--which features the choreo of one of my favorite choreographers: Miss Gigi Torres :D

Great music and a smooth groove.  You can't beat that ;)  Have a great day everyone!

Ninja Girl

STACKING THE SHELVES (5)

 

Hi everyone!  This week I got some really great books, mostly urban fantasy/paranormal and one really great contemporary.  Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

 

List of books:  Isle of Night by Veronica Wolff
                        Vampire's Kiss by Veronica Wolff
                        Bloodfever by Veronia Wolff
                        Grave Memory by Kalayna Price
                        Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster

 

List of eBooks: Easy by Tammara Webber

I won the Veronica Wolff books in a giveaway over at Paranormal Indulgence--which is totally awesome!!  Since I already own and reviewed Book 1 (Isle of Night), I'm planning to donate a copy to my local library so that others may partake in the fantastic series.  Just finished Kiss of Steel, and it was WOW!  The cover drew me, but the story rocked.  Easy by Tammara Webber was a pleasant surprise (review to come shortly ;D), and I just think I got a great haul.

Hopefully you all had as great a week in books as I did!

Happy reading,

Ninja Girl

MOONGLOW by Kristen Callihan

There's something great about knowing that you're going to love a book.

And with Kristen Callihan, you just know.

The fantastic gothic world she created in Firelight gets even better in the second installment, Moonglow.  The romance, the danger, the hero and heroine, the reasons to read this book were too many to name, but I'll do my best to sum up.

Ian Ranulf, the Marquis of Northrup, never thought he'd fall in love again.  After countless women, all paid, all with the same features, he knows his type: red hair, green eyes, the perfect body.  But when he finds Daisy, the only survivor at the scene of a recent werewolf attack, she awakens Ian's protective instincts.

Recently widowed, Daisy isn't the type of girl to swoon at the sight of blood.  Though one of her dear friends was murdered by the were, Daisy is reluctant to trust the Marquis.  Her gut feeling where Ian is concerned is to run far, far away.  But his flirtatious yet dangerous nature calls to something deep within Daisy, that side of her which was beaten back in a loveless, abusive marriage.

Together, Ian and Daisy discover several more bodies, and a plot which revolves around women who wear the very perfume Daisy created for herself.  With a killer led by scent and an intelligent heroine determined to save herself, Ian will have to be very careful not to lose his life--or his heart--to the one woman he never saw coming.

If you want to know why to read…

Ian + Daisy = Out-of-this-world Chemistry.

These two characters really got to me.  Ian and Daisy were perfect for each other.  And it wasn't just the romance--though that was *sigh* spectacular!!  At the moment, I can't think of anything I've read recently that has two characters with better conversation and more natural chemistry.  I couldn't put it down!

Daisy was so smart and fearless.  Usually the two don't go hand in hand; the heroine does something stupid, which makes this ninja roll her eyes.  But not Daisy!  Callihan made sure to give her power so she could protect herself.  And Daisy was just as much of an unapologetic smartass as Ian and had a great sense of humor.  Wow, a girl with brains and bravery.  A rare sight in Queen Victoria's London J.

And Ian Ranulf.  Oh, he was such a strong hero.  Scottish, bad boy werewolf with a tragic past and effortless charm whose brogue gets stronger when his blood is up.  Need I say more? J

Great plot.  The whole perfume angle was interesting, and I have to say I just love these Ellis sisters.  Can't wait for Poppy's story!  Moonglow was even better than the first book, and I'd totally recommend it.  If you love romance and gothic goodness, you don't want to miss Daisy and Ian.

Happy reading,

Ninja Girl