Teaser Tuesday

Karen's:

"Well, in the School for Good, they teach boys and girls like me how to become heroes and princesses, how to rule kingdoms justly, how to find Happily Ever After," Sophie said.  "In the School for Evil, they teach you how to become wicked witches and humpbacked trolls, how to lay curses and cast evil spells."

From page 11 of The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani.

Gerard's:

She knew then that she could not pretend any longer.  She walked resolutely down the hall to Liston's office, and knocked on her door, and felt her face crumple.

From page 118 of The Unseen World by Liz Moore.

Jonathan gripped the knife in his hand and fought back the tears that burned in his eyes.
"My God," he whispered to the boy next to him.  "How long do we have to do this?"

From page 27 of Scar Island by Dan Gemeinhart.

It wasn't the same spot as the first one.  This time it was in the exact center of the four bare trees.

From page 8 of Every You, Every Me by David Levithan

He's staring at me and I realize that I do know him.

I know him because I killed his daughter.

  From page 22 of The Perfect Girl by Gilly Macmillan.


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker.   Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just pick two sentences from the book you are reading.  Happy Reading!

"The Queen of Blood" is Really Good

Wow!  After coming off A Court of Mist and Fury, I was doubtful if anything would come close to keeping my interest as much, but The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst did!

In this fantasy novel, humans are attacked by six different spirits:  air, water, earth, ice, fire and wood who feel the land belongs to them.  These spirits have two instincts:  destroy and create.  Certain humans have an affinity to control them in different degrees and The Queen is the most powerful and keeps everything in balance and protects the people.  Over time though, the Queen can lose some of her power and so they have heirs trained and prepared to become Queen if the Queen dies.  The kicker here is that the spirits are the ones to choose the next Queen and they give her more power.  The main character is Daleina who as a child demonstrates she has the affinity to control spirits when her home is attacked.  She is smart, nice, and determined to learn more so that she can become Queen and protect people from these spirits but do no harm.  The Queen must be able to control the spirits, not just wipe them all out because that would wipe out their land as well.

I loved this book so much, I even read it at night to finish it!  (I hardly ever read at night.)  I got so engrossed in it that was almost late getting back from lunch and had to stop earlier than usual on the bus so I wouldn't miss my stop.  It is a fun and interesting read that shows how important good leadership and teamwork are.  There is a lot of killing in this book and I felt so bad for Daleina when her friends died.  There is lots of action and humor which kept this from being depressing because of the killing.  Daleina is such a great character who truly wanted to protect others.  She befriends a wolf who proves to be a loyal asset to her and also is chosen to be trained by Ven who brings along a healer, Haman.  The three of them work together to do what is best for the land.  I really look forward to the next book in this series, Queens of Renthia.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

In The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst, Daleina is a young girl whose community is torn apart and its people are killed by the spirits.  This is not supposed to happen!  The Queen is supposed  to protect the people.  Daleina decides to try out to be a champion.  A champion is a person who protects the people and is an heir to be a queen.  But the odds are long that she can become one.  Is the queen losing her power?

I thought this book was very good.  I was into it from page 1 because Daleina is a great character.  This has plenty of action and a few twists that I did not see at all.  I am looking forward to reading the next two books in this series.
(Gerard's review 12/23/16, 5++ stars)


Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

The Perfect Girl by Gilly Macmillan

In The Perfect Girl by Gilly Macmillan, Zoe Maisey ia gifted pianist.  Now 17, she is giving a recital.  Three years ago, an incident happened that had a tragic effect on her and her loved ones.  She is ready to move on with her life, but sometimes the past catches up with you.

This book goes back and forth in time.  Sometimes I'm okay with that but not with this one.  I never really felt connected to any of the characters at all.  There is a lot going on in this book, so much so that I thing the main story sort of got lost.  I loved this author's book, What She Knew but this one not so much!
(Gerard's review, 3 stars)

What did you think of this one if you read it?

"Every You, Every Me" by David Levithan

In Every You, Every Me by David Levithan, Evan is alone. He is a young teen boy whose best friend/girlfriend, Ariel, is gone! Gone where is the question. Is she alive or dead? Evan begins to get photos of her and places where they spent time, but how and from whom? Is Ariel back or is Evan going crazy with guilt because of the day Ariel left? This book had me from page 1! I love how the author kept building up the suspense all the way to the end.
(Gerard’s review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Remember Yesterday" by Pintip Dunn

Remember Yesterday by Pintip Dunn is the follow-up to Forget Tomorrow.  This is ten years later and Jessa is now 16.  She mourns the death of her sister and is working with the underground to overthrow the government.  One day a boy who never had any time for her, gives her some new information.  Will Jessa join up with the enemy if it means the world will look better to her?

This book is so much better than the first one!  It has more action and less romance with a good ending to set up book 3.
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesdays

Karen's:

The champion looked away, across the ruined village and the broken bodies.  "Only the best can become queen.  And she is not the best."

From page 15 of The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst.

Rys gave me a smile dripping with venom.  He knew--through that bond, through whatever magic was between us, he'd known I was about to say no. 

From page 44 of A Court of Mist and Fury by Sara J. Maas.


Gerard's:

 I can't breathe.  I take huge gulps of air, but it doesn't help.

From page 31 of Forget Tomorrow by Pintip Dunn

If I could go back to the past and undo my sister's decision, I would.  But I can't.  So all I can do now is thwart my sister's enemy.

 From page 30 of Remember Yesterday by Pintip Dunn.


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker.   Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just pick two sentences from the book you are reading.  Happy Reading!

Looking Back at Our Favorite Reads in 2016

Here is a list of books both Gerard and I loved that we read in 2016 and would highly recommend.  If you click the links it will take you to our reviews:

YA fantasy continues to be a favorite genre for both of us.  Books in this genre we both read and loved last year were:

A Torch Against the Night (the second book of Sabaa Tahir's Ember in the Ashes series) 

A Court of Mist and Fury (the second book of Sarah J. Mass's A Court of Thorns and Roses series)

Ruined by Amy Tintera (first book of series)

The Beauty of Darkness (third book of Mary E. Pearson's Remnant Chronicles series)

We also read some historical fiction and had a couple we both loved:

A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

 Mystery/Thrillers we both loved:

 

 Those Girls by Chevy Stevens 

The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner

 Contemporary Adult Fiction:

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

What Was Mine by Helen Klein Ross

The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin

Young Adult:

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Finally a couple children's books we both loved:

Some Kind of Courage by Dan Gemeinhart

 PAX by Sara Penny Packer

We also each made a top 12 Favorites list for 2016 so some of these will not be on those lists because we had to narrow down our favorites to just 12--a very hard thing to do!  I read 83 books last year and Gerard read 132.   You can see both our favorites of 2016 here:

To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Forget Tomorrow" by Pintip Dunn

In Forget Tomorrow by Pintip Dunn, you get your future memory on the day you turn 17.  But when Callie gets her memory, it is not what she expected at all.  Now she will do anything to stop this from happening!  But can she do it?

This book was okay.  It had a bit too much romance for my liking though, would have liked more action.  The last part of the book was very good when things came together which pushed this to 4 stars.  This is book 1 in a series and look forward to reading book 2.
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"A Court of Mist and Fury" by Sarah J. Maas is FANTASTIC!

Wow!  A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas is so good! This is the second book in A Court of Thorns and Roses series and is even better than the first! This review has some spoilers so read the book first and then come see what I thought of it. Definitely must read the first book before this one.  If you like fantasy and magical kingdoms, this is a "must read."  (This would be R rated for sexual content.)

SPOILER ALERT: Feyre pretty much tells Tamlin to “jump in the lake” and chooses to stay with Rys who is her mate and challenges Feyre to use her skills. This book is full of new adventures with lots of wit and packed with both heartbreaking and heartwarming scenes and lots of good dialogue. I like all the characters in Rys’ inner circle and loved their trip to the Summer Court and how the wraiths came to save Feyre and Amren from drowning. I cheered when Feyre served Rys the food in the cabin, accepting the bond as mates.   The ending is Great and I can't wait for the next book!

I was having a hard time deciding on my favorite read for December until I read this one which is the winner! (Karen's review, 5 stars)

Gerard read this first, 6-15-16:
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas is the follow-up book to A Court of Thorns and Roses and is like ten times better than the first one!  Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to spring court, but at a high cost.  She still has the bargain with Rhysard.

Wow, oh Wow!  I really liked the characters, the writing and the action which all work together to make the story flow well.  The ending is probably the best I have ever read!  I want book 3 NOW!
(5++ stars)


Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"A Shadow Bright and Burning" by Jessica Cluess

In A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess, Henrietta has powers that she keeps hidden.  However, when a friend is in danger, she reveals her powers for all to see.  She is the "Chosen One" who must go and train with men to help fight the attack that is sure to come.  She has a secret though that if found out, the battle will be lost for sure.

This is the first book of a series.  Most of the real action comes at the end to set up for the second book.  I enjoyed the main character and it had good twists at the end that peaked my interest for the next book.
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"The Poet's Dog" by Patricia MacLachlan

In The Poet's Dog by Patricia MacLachlan, two young children are all alone in a fierce winter storm.  Teddy (the talking dog) locates them and leads them to a cabin where he lives so they will be safe.  Teddy tells them a story while they wait for the storm to end and for help to come.

This is a young reader's book, but I enjoyed it very much.  I hope it touches your heart like it did mine!  Perfect read for the holidays!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Karen read it too and here are her thoughts:
I read it because it was a short children's book that I could read quickly but did not enjoy it as much as Gerard did.  The dog understood words and only children and a poet could understand what the dog said.  I liked the ending but overall wasn't impressed, but then, poetry isn't my thing.  I liked other dog stories much better.
(Karen's review, 3 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday

Karen's:

I inspected my new body.  I appeared to be a teenaged Caucasian male, clad in sneakers, blue jeans, and a green polo shirt.

From page 5 of The Trials of Apollo--Book One, The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan.


Gerard's:
 "A sorcerer would never harm children," I said, squeezing her hand in return.  Granted, I'd never met a sorcerer, but Sarah didn't need to know that.

From page 1 of A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess.

He led me to his sister crouched under a big tree, a blanket wrapped around her.  She was younger, maybe eight.

 From page 2 of The Poet's Dog by Patricia MacLachlan.

The champion looked away, across the ruined village and the broken bodies.  "Only the best can become queen.  And she is not the best."

From page 15 of The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker.   Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just pick two sentences from the book you are reading.  Happy Reading!

"A Man Called Ove" by Fredrik Backman

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman is simply all about a 59-yr-old man called Ove who is brokenhearted because his wife died and he feels useless since he retired.  He is quite a character and is actually a lovable, crotchety old man who lives in a little community that he sort of takes responsibility for.  He desperately wants to join his wife so tries committing suicide, but it seems something always comes up that spoils his plans--life happens in spite of himself.  The more I read, the better I liked Ove.

This book is really good!  I liked Ove so much, partly because he reminded me of my dad and husband in some ways.  The chapters are short and give pictures of different moments in Ove's life jumping back and forth from the present to the past.   There are many tender moments and some funny things as well which makes this book very real to life.  I loved how gradually Ove formed relationships with those around him, even the stray cat who was practically starving and almost died.  This was a tear jerker for me because the ending was so sweet.  I'm sure this is one that I will not soon forget!  I highly recommend it!
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi

In When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, Paul is this close to completing a decade's worth of training to be a neurosurgeon.  All his late hours and 24-hour days are almost done.  His marriage is having problems and his wife is also a doctor.  Paul though is on top of his game and could have his choice of top-notch hospitals at only 37 years old.  But the unthinkable happens and all of his plans are changed!

This is a very emotional book!  I felt so bad for Paul, his wife and their families.  There is a lot of medical terms in this book that were over my head so that is why I gave this one 4 stars instead of 5.  It is worth reading for sure!
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Seashell Season" by Holly Chamberlin

Seashell Season by Holly Chamberlin is about Gemma, a girl who was kidnapped by her father when she was just a baby and after 17 years, is finally reunited with her mother who is now a complete stranger to her.  The whole book is about adjusting to her life with her mom and trying to understand her dad.  The mother is an artist who teaches art at a college in Maine and is a bit apprehensive about how exactly to get to know her daughter and make her feel at home.

This book reminded me of a Hallmark or Lifetime movie.  I enjoyed it a lot and liked how the author let us see how both Verity, the mother, and Gemma thought about things.  I think women would enjoy this book much more than men because it is very heavy on developing relationships and low on action.   I read it because one of my co-workers recommended it to me and I liked the summary of it.
(Karen's review, 4 stars) 

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Teach Me To Forget" by Erica M. Chapman

In Teach Me To Forget by Erica M. Chapman, Ellery is dealing with pain.  The pain comes from a tragic family accident that her dad blamed her for and she also blames herself.  She decides to end the pain and comes up with a plan.  When a classmate, a boy, finds out her plan, he will do anything to try to stop her plan from going forward.  But can he stop it?  This is a very strong emotional book for sure!  I thought all the characters were developed very well.
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)


Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesdays

If you have a teaser, please feel free to leave your link to it in my comments so I can visit.  

Karen's:

I realized I was about to get what I had been wishing for so fervently for over seventeen years.  And I wondered if I was ready for it.

From page 29 of Seashell Season by Holly Chamberlin.


Gerard's:

I often wonder if in the split second after I pull the trigger I'll have changed my mind, decided I should live.  This haunts me, but I know only one thing.

 From page 10 of Teach Me to Forget by Eric Chapman.

I finally was able to leave our link on the host blog today by using my gravitar instead of the open ID thing--whew!  Another problem solved!  Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone else was experience difficulty too.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker (unfortunately, I don't know how to leave my link in a comment over there--help.)  Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just pick two sentences from the book you are reading.  Happy Reading!

"The Beauty of Darkness" by Mary E. Pearson (Book 3 of Remnant Chronicles) UPDATED

The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson is the third and final book of the Remnant Chronicles series, and in my opinion, the best!  Lia survived Venda and is now headed home to save her people because an army is coming to her land.  I thought this book was very good.  At close to 700 pages, it is a big one!  Lia was so good!  Even better in this one than the first two.  Rafe and Kaden were good as well and I enjoyed them too.  I LOVED the ending!  This is my book of the month for December!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)


Karen read this one first:
The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson is the third book of the Remnant Chronicles series and finishes strong.  Princess Lia continues to be awesome and an amazing peacemaker!  In this book, traitors are caught and alliances are made with love taking a back seat as Rafe, Lia and Kaden work together to bring down the cruel Komizar of Venda.  All through, I kept hoping that Lia and Rafe would eventually marry.  Do they?  You'll have to read the book to find out!

Wow!  This book drew me in and I found myself thinking about it even when I wasn't reading it.  I loved this series and really cared about the complex characters as they developed.  Every book in this series is great!  I liked this series even more than THE THRONE OF GLASS series by Sarah J. Maas because it was much easier to follow and wasn't so much magic which made it more believable and realistic. 
(Karen's review, 12/2/16, 5 stars)  

The first book of this series is Kiss of Deception and the second is Heart of Betrayal. 

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"A Court of Thorns and Roses" by Sarah J. Maas (UPDATED)

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas is about a human, Fayre who is the sole provider for her family until she kills a Faerie and gets taken by a beast away from her home to his Faerie kingdom. The beast, Tamlin, treats her well and they fall in love. Wanting to protect her from the impending trouble, he sends her back home to the human world. However, her love for him is so strong that she decides to go back and try to help him no matter what.

I liked Tamlin, but didn’t care for Feyre in the beginning but grew to like her as the book progressed. I liked this book because the suspense built and the romance blossomed gradually. I also liked Lucien and Rhysand who were interesting characters. This book has magic, adventure, suspense, romance and an interesting plot that was easy to follow. 
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Gerard read this one first:
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas is about a young girl named Feyre.  She is the sole supporter for her family, a dad and her two sisters.  One day while hunting, she shoots a deer and a wolf that was going after the same deer she shot.  That was a BIG mistake as she soon found out.  Another wolf comes and gives her a choice to either be killed now or go live with the wolves.

This book was outstanding!  I LOVED the characters in it.  The middle dragged some but the last 100 plus pages more than made up for that.  I can't wait to read the second book in this series!
(Gerard's review 7-30-15, 5++ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesdays

If you have a teaser, please leave your link to it in my comments so I can visit.  I don't see how to leave a comment on the new host's blog!  Can someone let me know?

Karen's:

I leaped back, almost stumbling over my cowering father.  The faerie could have killed me--could have, yet the lunge had been a warning.

From page 34 of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sara J. Maas.


Gerard's:

My head ached, trying to sort it all out.  Our freedom came at a high cost to others.

 From page 8 of The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson.


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker (unfortunately, I don't know how to leave my link in a comment over there--help.)  Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just pick two sentences from the book you are reading.  Happy Reading!