#25 Teaser Tuesday

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!


My teaser this week:

“It’s a tradition here: we wrap a kiss and leave it on the bed of whoever we’re interested in.” 

“So you’re interested.” I mumbled into her hair. - Page 241, A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix

My sister said that I've been reading too much books with female as the main character. This week, I'm reading A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix as its main character is a male. I didn't expect that this book would be a science fiction! But, it's kind of interesting to read something I don't usually read :)

What's your teaser?

Book Review: Anna and the French Kiss

Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss #1)
by Stephanie Perkins

Genre: Chick Lit, Contemporary, Young Adult
Publication: August 2011
Format: Paperback, 372 pages

Anna can't wait for her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a good job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she's not too thrilled when her father unexpectedly ships her off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair, the perfect boy. The only problem? He's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her crush back home. Will a year of romantic near-misses end in the French kiss Anna awaits?

I have to admit that Anna and the French Kiss is like most people said. It’s adorably cute!

Anna was shipped off to an American boarding school in Paris by her father, leaving her best friend, crush, family and her life. She was alone and was feeling a bit homesick when she met Meredith, her dorm neighbor. And later, she met with Etienne, a boy that Anna came to like a lot.

I love Anna. She’s sweet and funny. I love the relationship between her and the people around her –her friends and family. They sounded very realistic and alive!  And I love how Stephanie Perkins described Etienne. He sounded so hot! Even his name, Etienne St. Clair, sounded really cute! I love every detail Stephanie Perkins written to describe Paris, the Notre Dame, the cafes, cinemas… Reading Anna and the French Kiss definitely makes me want to visit Paris soon!

Anna and the French Kiss had a simple, straightforward romance kind of story. The usual friendship and relationship problems. What differentiate Anna and the French Kiss and other romance book is that it is absolutely cute and fluffy. The story and dialogues flowed up really well. The humor is inserted in the right moment and the appropriate time. Stephanie Perkins writing makes you feel a bit giddy from all the sweetness and the fluffiness!

#24 Teaser Tuesday

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!

My teaser this week:

What if I don't know the truth? What if my feelings slip through my fingers like water every time I try to grab hold of them? - page 145, Wolfsbane, by Andrea Cremer

Actually, having Tom for a husband means I can watch brides and groom kiss, laugh and embraces, and I can smile to myself, knowing I'm going home to a great man. So when there are wedding glitches, I remind myself: I'm helping people get married - page 2, Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson

I'm currently reading two books! Wolfsbane, the second book of Nightshade series is very interesting so far. Too bad, there's not much of Ren!

It has been quite some times since I read any cozy mystery. I heard that Diane Mott Davidson is good. But, I found out that Fatally Flaky is actually the 15th book of "A Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery". Yikes!

Book Review: Half Moon Investigations

Half-Moon Investigations
by Eoin Colfer

Genre: Adventure, Mystery, Young Adult
Publication: March 2006
Format: Hardcover, 290 pages

Fletcher Moon has never been like other kids. For one thing, he has had to suffer the humiliating nickname "Half Moon" because of his short stature. But the real reason Fletcher is different is that ever since he was a baby, he's had a nose for sniffing out mysteries. And after graduating at the top of his Internet class, he is officially certified as the youngest detective in the world. He even has a silver-plated detective's badge to prove it. Everything is going along fine until two things happen: a classmate hires him to solve a crime, and his prized badge is stolen. All signs point to the town's most notorious crime family, the Sharkeys. 

As Fletcher follows the clues, evidence of a conspiracy begins to emerge. But before he can crack the case, Fletcher finds himself framed for a serious crime. To clear his name, he will have to pair up with the unlikeliest of allies and go on the run from the authorities. Fletcher has twelve hours to find the guilty party--or he "is" the guilty party.

I'm a fan of the Artemis Foul books. When I found Half-Moon Investigations written by the same author, Eoin Colfer, I get excited. Plus, I’m also a fan of mystery. I figured that this is going to be a good book.

Fletcher Moon (or Half Moon) is a detective. He even got a silver-plated badge when he graduated in his internet class. When April Devereux, one of the girls in his school hired him to investigate the missing lock of a popstar’s hair, which April thinks was stolen from Red Sharkey, Fletcher accepted. Besides, Fletcher suspected that Red is also responsible of stealing his detective badge. This would be like killing two birds with one stone. But things started to go wrong when Fletcher was framed for arson. Now he has to team up with the Sharkey to find out the real criminal.

I didn’t expect much from Half Moon investigation since it is a light and well, innocent read. But I love the twist. I couldn’t guess what was going to happen, and who the real criminal really is. And it’s not that Eoin Colfer distract me with lots of suspicious characters in the book (or I was probably too slow to think of the character as suspicious).

I absolutely love the idea of how it started with a small case – to find a missing lock of popstar’s hair before it turns into something more dangerous. The development of the case and the mystery are interesting.

#23 Teaser Tuesday

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!

My teaser this week:

What am I going to do? I'm in love with my new best friend.- Page 258, Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins

I'm a bit slow on reading this week since work been piling up again. But, I manage to read Anna and the French Kiss. I got this copy from a friend! The book is definitely a cute and fun read! There's lots of funny moments too. The teaser is actually where I'm stopping right now.

Book Review: Inkspell

Inkspell (Inkheart, #2) 
by Cornelia Funke

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Suspense, Young Adult
Publication: first published October 2005
Format: Paperback, 682 pages

Amazing! Inkspell is a great sequel to Inkheart.

In the first book, Inkheart, Meggie and Mo read characters out from a novel, Inkheart. And this time, we get to see Meggie, Mo, and her mother, Resa read themselves into the novel. How exciting is that!?

When Meggie found out that someone read Dustfinger back into the world of Inkheart, she was determined to follow him and Farid. They need to warn Dustfinger of what Basta and Mortola was about to do to them. And soon, with the help of Orpheus, Mo and Resa was now sucked into the book. Things have become out of hand. Now, Meggie seek for Fegnolio, the creator of Inkheart for help. Afterall, Fegnolio is the one who could save Meggie and her parents. But, things were not going to as what Meggie and Fegnolio planned when the characters and story get out of control, and refuse to listen to the creator.

There’s a little bit of Robin Hood references when Fegnolio decided to model Bluejay, after Robin Hood, who steals from the rich to give to the poor.  When Fegnolio writes about Bluejay, he always imagined Mo as the character. So, when Mo was sucked into the world of Inkheart, everyone assumes him as the real Bluejay.

The world of Inkheart is somewhere I would very love to live in. There’s fairy, the black princes, the Wayless Wood, magic and everything. It sounded wonderful. The story is amazing. I love Meggie and her adventure along with Farid, Dustfinger and Fegnolio to save her parents, Mo and Resa. It was full of suspense! I love the little bit of romance between Farid and Meggie. The ending to the story was both exciting and sad.

I can’t wait to read the next book, Inkdeath to know what will happen to the characters next! I’m sure it is as exciting as Inkheart and Inkdeath.

Book Cover’s Description

THE BEST BOOKS NEVER END...

Although a year has passed, not a day goes by without Meggie thinking of Inkheart, the book whose characters came to life - and changed her life forever.

But for Dustfinger, the fire-eater brought into being from words, the need to return to the original tale has become desperate. When he finds a crooked storyteller with the magical ability to read him back, Dustfinger leaves behind his young apprentice Farid and plunges into the medieval inkscape once more.

Distraught, Farid goes in search of Meggie, and before long both are caught inside the book, too. There they meet Inkheart's author, Fenoglio, now living within his own story. But the tale is much changed, and threatening to evolve in ways none of them could ever have imagined. Will Meggie, Farid, and Fenoglio manage to write the wrongs of a charmed world? Or is their story on the brink of a very bad ending?

#22 Teaser Tuesday

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!

My teaser this week:

The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in. - Page 38, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K.Rowling

I'm probably one of the person who never read this series before. Although, I've seen the movie when it first came out. I borrowed this copy from my little sister, and wow! I understand why people are crazy about Harry Potter series. The writing is absorbing!

Review: Firelight

Firelight (Firelight #1)

by Sophie Jordan

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

Publication: first published September 2010

Format: Paperback, 323 pages

When I first read the synopsis to Firelight, I get excited. Dragons! Okay. How many dragon stories have we seen around? Not much, I think.

Jacinda is a ‘draki’, a descendant of dragon who could shape-shift into human form. The draki were to stay hidden from human to protect themselves or they will be capture and kill by the hunters. Jacinda is special among her pride. She can breathe fire, an ability which is thought to be extinct among draki. It was Jacinda rebellious act that broke the rules that that pushed her mom to take her and her sister, Tamra away from the pride. They went to this town in the desert to stay hidden. That’s where she found Will, a hunter that hunts her kind for their skins, bones and such.

The thing about this book is that, I’m not entirely sure whether I like it or not. Let’s start with the character first, Jacinda. She sounded so brave and powerful in the first few chapters. But then, she started to sounds a bit irritating and selfish. And her sister, Tamra is a little bit too annoying for my taste. I don’t think I enjoy the withdrawing and pushing in relationship between Jacinda and Will. I understand that they were having conflict to stick together for what they are – their forbidden relationship, but, I think I saw too much of this kind of love story that, well, I don’t feel that there’s something different, unique about it.

But still, Firelight isn’t that bad. I definitely enjoy the world of draki in Firelight with the dragons and everything. The writing is nice and easy to follow. I can’t believe I read this one in a day! It has a nice flow that keeps me flipping the pages to know what will become of Jacinda and Will. But then... THE ENDING! I can’t believe that it would end like that. I guess I’ll have to read the continuation to find out about Jacinda and Will. From sneaking a peek from the next book, it sounds like something interesting will happen to Tamra. I’m looking forward to read Vanish soon!

Book Cover’s Description

A hidden truth.

Mortal enemies.

Doomed love.

With her rare ability to breathe fire, Jacinda is special even among the draki--the descendants of dragons who can shift between human and dragon forms. But when Jacinda's rebelliousness forces her family to flee into the human world, she struggles to adapt, even as her draki spirit fades. The one thing that revives it is the gorgeous, elusive Will, whose family hunts her kind. Jacinda can't resist getting closer to him, even though she knows she's risking not only her life but the draki's most closely guarded secret.