Teaser Tuesday #22

Welcome to Teaser Tuesdays.


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:


1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. 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 muchaway! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
4. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


My current read is Feast of Fools by Rachel Caine and my two  lines are from page 79 :


""He smiled, and even though he wasn't showing vampire teeth, she felt the predator's breath on the back of her neck"

Purchase:  Amazon | Book Depository | Galaxy

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

In My Mailbox #19

Welcome to  ;In My Mailbox, a meme run by The Story Siren where each week over 200 bloggers post on their blogs the books they have bought, received to review or won in the past week.

To find out more information, get involved yourself or see what's in other bloggers mailboxes this week head over to The Story Siren or to find out what is in my mailbox this week, keep reading.

Don't forget to comment and post your IMM link or just let me know what's in your mail box this week

Welcome to another In my mailbox coming to you once again with baby on my lap. This time sleeping but still unwilling to be moved. 

 





Also my computer went kaput last night and is now completely utterly dead so I am posting this from my iPad, typing one handed (holding baby with other) trying out the blogger app for the first time  so definitely an interesting challenge :-)

And yes I am aware of the events of this week but I have decided that I will continue with the IMM meme.

So here is what has arrived in my mailbox this week:

To Review:

 

Black Dawn by Rachel Caine (Penguin Books Australia via Netgalley)
Timepiece by Myra McEntire (Egmont USA via Netgalley)

From the Library

White Cat by Holly Black
Men of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong

So what did you get in your mailbox this week?

Review: Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

Title: Goddess Interrupted
Author: Aimee Carter
Source: HarlequinTEEN via Netgalley
Publisher: HarlequinTEEN
Date Released: 27 March 2012
Purchase:  Amazon | Book Depository | Galaxy Bookshop
Sapphired Dragon Rating: ****

Synopsis ( via Goodreads):
Kate Winters has won immortality. But if she wants a life with Henry in the Underworld, she'll have to fight for it.

Becoming immortal wasn't supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she's as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he's becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate's coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans. As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person whom she would really rather not meet. Henry's first wife, Persephone

Review:

The Goddess Test was one of my favourite books of 2011 so i was extremely excited to get Goddess Interrupted to read and review and I can definitely say that it did not disappoint!

Kate has spent the summer months travelling and is back to spend her six months in Hades with Henry.  However Henry suddenly seems colder and she is no longer sure of his feelings and before they can work it, the king of the titans threatens to escape and end the world and the gods with it.

This story is a worthy follower to the Goddess Test with a great mixture of romance, suspense, myth and just plain good story. Carter weaves the big picture with the smaller threads brilliantly so we see Kate having to confront her worst fears about her relationship with Henry while at the same time try to help save him from the clutches of the King of the Titans and Henry must come to terms with his past while trying to save the world.

Lastly without wanting to spoil any of the story, I cannot wait for the third instalment Goddess Inherited (OMG!!)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Goddess Interrupted and have no qualms about giving it four stars:-)

Sapphired Dragon xx

Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Immortal Rules
Author: Julie Kagawa
Source: HarlequinTEEN via Netgalley
Publisher: HarlequinTEEN
Date Released: 24 April 2012
Purchase:  Amazon | Book Depository | Galaxy Bookshop
Sapphired Dragon Rating: ****

Synopsis ( via Goodreads):
In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

Review:

From the author of the awesome Iron fey series comes the first book in a new series that is set to be just as good if not better!

Two of the most popular topics going round the YA world at the moment are Dystopian novels and vampires and Julie Kagawa has combined the two brilliantly to produce a riveting story that keeps you engaged right to the end and then anxiously waiting the next installment.

Allison Sekemoto is a lowly human in a world controlled by vampires until one night searching for food, she is attacked and very nearly killed until a vampire intervenes and gives her choice between dying or becoming one of the hated vampires.

After choosing to survive  (and become a vampire), Allison discovers she is now on the out with humans and vampires alike and finds herself having to flee her native city, learn the immortal rules and a meet another human who will put this to the test.

This story has many twists and turns and from where it starts you don't know or expect where it will end up.  The characters are interesting and varied and Allison is a reassuringly flawed but determined heroine.

I would definitely recommend to this book to fans of dystopians and vampires a like and in fact anyone who enjoys a good story.


Definitely a 4 star read!

Sapphired Dragon xx

Teaser Tuesday #21

Welcome to Teaser Tuesdays.


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:


1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. 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 muchaway! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
4. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


My current read is The Light-Field by Traci Harding and my two  lines are from location 4970 of 9431 (kindle edition) :


"'You're harmless,' she adopted his previous stance on the matter. 'Right?'"

Purchase:  Amazon | Book Depository | Galaxy

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

Review: Balthazar by Claudia Gray

Title: Balthazar
Author: Claudia Gray
Source: Purchased Book Depository
Publisher: HarperTeen
Date Released: 6 March 2012
Purchase:  Amazon | Book Depository |
Sapphired Dragon Rating: ****

Synopsis ( via Goodreads):
Haunted by memories from his first days as a vampire, Balthazar has spent hundreds of years alone—without allies, without love. When he emerges from his isolation to help Skye Tierney, a human girl who once attended Evernight Academy, Balthazar has no idea how dangerous it will be. Skye’s psychic powers have caught the attention of Redgrave, the cruel master vampire responsible for murdering Balthazar and his family four centuries ago. Having learned of Skye’s powers and the remarkable effect her blood has on vampires, he plans to use her for his own evil purposes. As they stand together to fight the evil vampire, Balthazar realizes his lonely world could finally be changed by Skye...just as Redgrave realizes that he can destroy Balthazar once and for all by taking her for his own.

In a story filled with forbidden love and dark suspense, one of the most beloved characters in Claudia Gray’s New York Times bestselling Evernight series will captivate readers with his battle to overcome his past and follow his heart.
Review:

Balthazar is a great addition to the Evernight series and easy enjoyable read.  It is a continuation in that takes it takes place after the events of the previous book (Afterlife) but rather than centering on previous main characters Bianca and Lucas, this story focuses on previously periferal characters vampire Balthazar More and human Skye Tierney.

After allowing Bianca to possess her briefly while at Evernight, Skye's psychic powers have increased and after the fall of Evernight, she comes to the attention of Redgrave, Balthazar's maker.  It is up to Balthazar to protect her as he alone knows how evil Redgrave is.

Gray weaves an fast paced enjoyable tale that will have you hooked from the first page and moving through the pages easily and quickly. In this tale we get to see more of Balthazar and find out more of his origins and his back story while enjoying a whole new story in the present.  Skye is a strong character who is both believable and resilient making the reader care about what is happening to her.

If you are just looking for a continuation of Bianca and Lucas' tale, then apart from a cameo from them, this is probably not the tale for you but if you enjoyed the Evernight series and especially if you enjoyed the characters Balthazar and Sky then I thoroughly recommend this book.

Definitely a 4 star read!

Sapphired Dragon xx

In My Mailbox #18

Welcome to  In My Mailbox, a meme run by The Story Siren where each week over 200 bloggers post on their blogs the books they have bought, received to review or won in the past week.

To find out more information, get involved yourself or see what's in other bloggers mailboxes this week head over to The Story Siren or to find out what is in my mailbox this week, keep reading.

Don't forget to comment and post your IMM link or just let me know what's in your mail box this week

So my beautiful daughter Elizabeth is exactly one month old today so I figured it was the perfect time to attempt to post on my blog again.  While i haven't done as much reading as previous, reading, especially on my kindle and ipad have been one of the things to  get me through the long nights of feeding and trying to get Elizabeth to sleep. Of course finding the free time to write blog entries and reviews is going to be the interesting part.  Currently she is lying on my lap dead tired but with eyes wide open determined not to miss a thing. So if i get distracted mid post you know why :-P

Anyhew here is what has arrived in my mailbox over the last couple weeks

To Review:

 

 The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (HarlequinTEEN via Netgalley)
The Six by K. B Hoyle (Smith Publicity - The Writer's Coffee Shop via Netgalley)
Shift by Kim Curran (Angry Robot via Netgalley)
Blackwood by Gwenda Bond (Angry Robot via Netgalley)

Purchased:

 I did some pre-ordering before Elizabeth's birth and these are the ones that have arrived in the past three weeks:

The Calling by Kelley Armstrong
Spellbound by Rachel Hawkins
Balthazar by Claudia Gray 

Actually I received Balthazar before Elizabeth was born and managed to get it signed by Claudia Gray while she was in Australia but it never got to feature in an IMM and I thought it should.  Here is a photo of a very pregnant me (I was 9 days overdue at the time - i think elizabeth waited so i could go to the signing before being born :-P) and Claudia Gray:

 

Borrowed:

The library has been my best friend lately and Elizabeth and I try to make at least on trip there a week. Her for baby rhyme time and me for more books  Here is what I currently have on loan:

Star Trek Myriad Universes (assorted authors)
Darkfall by Isobelle Carmody
The Named by Marianne Curley
The Dark by Marianne Curley
The Tin Princess by Philip Pullman
The Shadow in the North by Phillip Pullman
The Tiger in the Well by Phillip Pullman
The Ruby in the Smoke by Phillip Pullman
Heist Society by Ally Carter
Dark Visions by L J Smith
Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon

So what was in your mailbox this week?