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!
Here's mine this week:
I kept walking, trying to stay clear of Chiron's hooves. "We haven't seen any other centaurs," I observed.
"No," said Chiron sadly. "My kinsmen are a wild and barbaric folk, I'm afraid. You might encounter them in the wilderness, or at major sporting events. But you won't see any here."
I'm excited to bring to you this giveaway for Mary Jane Clark's newest book, Dying for Mercy! Thanks to Katrina at Wiredset for letting me giveaway TWO COPIES of this book on my site!
BOOK DESCRIPTION
When death shatters the serenity of the exclusive moneyed enclave of Tuxedo Park, New York, Eliza Blake, cohost of the country's premier morning television show KEY to America, is on the scene. While attending a lavish gala at her friends' newly renovated estate, Pentimento, Eliza's host is found dead—a grotesque suicide that is the first act in a macabre and intricately conceived plan to expose the sins of the past involving some of the town's most revered citizens.
Determined to find out the truth, Eliza and her KEY News colleagues—producer Annabelle Murphy, cameraman B.J. D'Elia, and psychiatrist Margo Gonzalez—discover that Pentimento holds the key. Nestled in the park's sprawling architectural masterpieces, picturesque gardeners' cottages, and lush, rolling landscape, the glorious mansion is actually a giant "puzzle house," filled with ingenious clues hidden in its fireplaces, fountains, and frescoes that lead them from one suspicious locale to another—and, one by one, to the victims of a fiendish killer.
As Pentimento gives up its secrets, it becomes clear that no amount of wealth or privilege will keep the residents of Tuxedo Park safe. But just when Eliza unearths one final surprise, she comes face-to-face with a murderer who believes that some puzzles should never be solved.
You can check out more information about the book at Amazon.com.
BOOK TRAILER
HOW TO WIN:
For one entry, leave a comment.
+1 entry - Become a follower on Google Friend Connect. (+2 entries if you are already a follower)
+1 entry - follow me on Twitter (@Melsbookshelf) and let me know you did
+2 entries - Tweet about this contest and leave a link to your tweet.
+2 entries - Blog about this contest and leave a link.
The contest will remain open until Sunday, August 9th at 11:59pm EDT and the winner will be announced in a Mystery Monday's post on the 10th! This contest is open to US residents only.
Happy Sunday, Saloners! Sorry I've been absent from the salon for awhile, other than a review here or there. There just hasn't been too much to write about this summer. I thought I'd use today's post to recap my month of July, which wasn't too shabby... 16 books read! I have to admit, I thought I'd read more because I was on vacation in between jobs the entire month, but it's amazing how busy one can keep even without a job!
So nothing lower than 3-1/2 stars, not too shabby!! And this month's total page count was 6,075!
JULY'S TOP PICK
This is a tough one, because I read a lot of great books this month, but rather than have a few of my 5 star books share this honor, I am choosing a debut that really stood out: Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev.
READING CHALLENGE UPDATE
As you may have seen from one of yesterday's posts, I completed my first reading challenge, the Pages Read Challenge hosted by Kathrin at Secret Dreamworld of a Bookaholic! I had set my goal at 30,000 pages and little did I realize I'd be meeting it by the end of July! As for my other challenges, I have now read 3 of 9 books for the Sarah Dessen challenge (ends 12/31), since I added Keeping The Moon this month. I also managed to squeak in The Time Machine by H. G. Wells for the Classics Challenge (ends 10/31) before the month ended, so now I've finished 2 of 6 towards that challenge. And I have now read 86 books for the 100+ Challenge of 2009!
OTHER RANDOM MUSINGS & NEWS
I thought I ought to tell you all that you may not hear from me quite as much beginning tomorrow. I am starting a new job after having enjoyed five glorious weeks of vacation when my previous job ended. This new job will definitely keep me busier than my old job. I'm going to be the Assistant Store Manager at the Barnes & Noble at Georgia Tech, a college superstore in mid-town Atlanta. This is the company I worked with for five years before my most recent job, and that is even the store I came from.
One possible change to my reading habits may come from this--my commute is going to be a bit longer so I may be trying out and reviewing more audiobooks in the near future. I figure that will be a good way to maximize my time since I'm not sure how much time I'll be able to devote to my usual reading. I will try to keep up with my usual memes, but I think I likely won't be churning out as many reviews as I was for awhile. But who knows? Maybe I'll surprise myself and read more than I expect to!
And because there is actual a blog policy (that I had to sign) for B&N, I am supposed to say something to the effect that the views represented in this blog do not necessarily reflect the view of Barnes & Noble College Bookstores, Inc. whenever I mention them in a post. I'll have to get the exact verbiage when I can get a copy of the policy for myself!
Title: My Soul To Take Author: Rachel Vincent Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Pub Date: August 1, 2009 (today!), Harlequin Teen Trade paperback, 279 pages Book Source: Won this copy from Rachel Vincent during Lisa Mantchev's #TweetSulk event
She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.
Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next…
My Thoughts
Well, I have to admit that I have never read anything by Rachel Vincent, but I was pretty excited to win My Soul To Take, as I'd heard many good things about it. I decided to go ahead and dive in today, which just so happens to be the book's official release date, as well. My understanding is that this is Vincent's first YA effort and all I can say is "wow!" And that synopsis above definitely does not give you a true look at what this book is about--the paranormal element is another twist on faeries, but definitely different from anything I've read so far. However, I'm going to leave it at that, as I don't want to spoil anything for those of you who haven't read this one yet.
This book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading and I hated having to put it down, although I never did for long. The characters are drawn well and the story is simply gripping. I really did enjoy all the characters--as a strong 16-year-old girl--stronger than even she realizes--Kaylee is a great heroine and Nash is a perfect match for her, in more ways than one. Other than the paranormal elements, I thought all the characters were generally realistic, though a part of me has a difficult time believing that Kaylee's friend Emma would be so accepting of what she learns about Kaylee's abilities. Parts of the book felt rushed--Kaylee and Nash's relationship developed rather quickly, and events in general just moved along so fast... I wouldn't have minded another 50-75 pages to flesh out some of the storylines a bit and add detail. Oh, and can you say plot twist? The plot definitely twists and turns a lot throughout the whole book, but I thought the twist towards the end was pretty major--it had me gasping out loud!
Thankfully, though this is the first in a series, My Soul To Take is not a cliffhanger. We are simply left knowing that Kaylee is going to learn even more about herself in the next two books. My Soul To Save is the second book and is due out in January 2010 and I can't wait to read it! I'll definitely be checking into Vincent's other books to hold me over until then.
Well, I completed my first challenge - the Pages Read Challenge hosted by Kathrin at Secret Dreamworld of a Bookaholic. You can view my original challenge post here to see what books got me to my goal of 30,000 pages. The magic book that put me across the finish line was A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi, which I completed on July 30th. I'm still planning to continue tracking my pages read for the year, of course, so I will continue to update that post with my progress. Clearly I underestimated the number of pages that I could read in a year this time around, but I'll know better how to estimate my goal for next year! If only I will be so lucky as to be able to read so many books in 2010!!
I kept walking, trying to stay clear of Chiron's hooves. "We haven't seen any other centaurs," I observed.
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