#20 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:

Glo's read the entire Harry Potter series four times and has aspirations toward wizardry. A couple months ago, she found Ripple's Book of Spells in a curio shop, and has been test-driving spells ever since. - page13-14, Wicked Business, Janet Evanovich.

I'm reading Janet Evanovich's Wicked Business this week! Been waiting to read this for a while :) I'm a fan of Janet! I like Lizzy and Diesel novel. But, I think I like Stephanie Plum even better.

What's your Teaser Tuesday?

Book Review: Shiver

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1)

by Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal

Publication: 2009

Format: Paperback, 392 pages

I wanted to read this book when I saw it in the book store! I absolutely love the cover. I was fascinated with simple and attractive cover, and I love wolves!

Grace was attacked by a pack of wolves when she was small. Sam, as a wolf, took her away from the attack to save her. Ever since the attack, Grace was attracted to this wolf with yellow eyes or Sam. It was when Jack died when the people in Mercy Falls started to hunt for the wolves. It was then when Grace found Sam at her house, as a human.

Shiver was written in Grace and Sam’s point of view. Now, I have read a few books with alternating point of view, but I found that Grace and Sam’s are a bit confusing because it didn’t alternate between every chapter. It was all over the place, and messy.

In the beginning, Shiver was written in a bit of poetic, lyrical way when Sam was a wolf. But the writing style isn’t as lyrical when Sam turned human annoys me. 

I love the idea of Grace, falling in love with Sam, as a wolf, without knowing that he is a human. I think it was beautiful. But the story is mostly about the love story between Grace and Sam (as a human), and how Sam wanted to stay human. I was looking forward to see more suspense, actually. So, I was a bit disappointed when there weren’t much of them.

Book Cover’s Description

the cold.

Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why.

the heat.

Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace...until now.

the shiver.

For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human—and Grace must fight to keep him—even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.

Winner: Single Girl's To Do List by Lindsey Kelk

Congratulation to Namcy Kulsuma and Sue Mei Jean! You won yourself a copy of  The Single Girl's To Do List by Lindsey Kelk! Please e-mail me back within 48 hours to claim your prize.

#10 Blog a Quote

Blog A Quote is hosted by Michelle from Michelle Chew Writes where you share a quote from your favorite books (and you can do it any day you like)! Visit Michelle Chew Writes to sign up and submit your link.

My quote this week is from The Spellman Files (The Spellmans #1) by Lisa Lutz

“You're a terrible cook, Daniel."
"I know," he replied, "But it's the effort that counts."
"I hope that's not the slogan for your dental practice.”
― Lisa Lutz, The Spellman Files

The Spellman Series is one of my favorite series of all time. It's funny! I've read the book more than once, and the book still made me laugh! I definitely recommend this series if you like anything humorous :)

#19 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:

"I pulled out my keys and reached over the top of him to open the back door. Too late, I saw one of his hands reach out, snatching air, and he crashed inside the open door, leaving a smear of red on the glass." - page 60, Shiver, Maggie Stiefvater  

I'm reading shiver, the first book of The Wolves of Mercy Falls series this week. I really like the book cover! The changing POV is a bit confusing. But the story is pretty good.

Book Review: The Night Circus

The Night Circus
by Erin Morgenstern

Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Publication: June 2012 (first published September 2011)
Format: Paperback, 508 pages

The Night Circus began with a deal between two magicians, Hector Bowen and Alexander to take a student, trained them with their art and let them compete. The competition is held in a traveling circus called Le Cirque des Rêves, which only opens at night and closes at dawn. In this competition, Celia and Marco will compete, testing each other with their skills until a winner is picked. None of them know the rules, and what it takes to win the competition.

At first, I thought that there are too many characters in the book. I often wondered what characters like Bailey, Poppet and Widget purposes are. As the story goes on, I finally understand why they are there. Each character in the story has their purposes. Although the book started out slow and a bit boring at first, it gets better as the story goes on. I can see how The Night Circus is well planned with each actions and characters development.

The love story between Celia and Marco was very sweet and sad at the same time. They were bonded, but cannot be together because of the competition. I absolutely adore how The Night Circus was written. It was beautiful. I love the descriptions and details. Reading the book makes me feel that I am almost there, in the circus to witness everything – the competition, magic and everything else.

Book Cover’s Description

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

Book Review: Perfect is Overrated

Perfect Is Overrated

by Karen Bergreen

Genre: Mystery, Humor, Chick Lit

Publication: July 17th 2012

Format: Paperback, 320 pages

Kate Alger, an assistant district attorney went through her post-partum depression after the birth of her daughter, Molly. Her husband, Paul couldn’t understand her depression and this had driven their marriage to an end.

Years later, Kate has finally cured of her depression. Her daughter, Molly is all grown up. And someone is murdering moms from Molly’s preschool. Following her instinct, Kate worked on her own investigation to find out who is killing the mommies and she finally start feeling like herself again – the successful lawyer she used to be before the depression.

I love Karen Bergreen’s Following Polly. I love her writing style in the first book and I was excited when I found out about her new book, Perfect is Overrated. But the first thing that irked me is the cover. I didn’t like it. If I haven’t read the first book, there’s a huge chance that I wouldn’t read the second one (I still couldn’t understand what that dog on the cover got to do with the story).

Perfect is Overated is something that I would recommend if you’re looking to a light/cozy mystery. I have to say that Karen Bergreen is really good in plotting her mystery. I think that she had successfully thrown me off in guessing who the murder is. Karen Bregreen’s writing style is highly entertaining and funny. (Although, I do think that the first book is funnier than this one). There were a few parts which are a bit confusing. Especially when Kate revisited her past and talked about how she and Paul met. I thought it would be great if the book is divided into chapters to separate some scene. Which reminds me... why isn’t the book divided into chapters!!?

Book Cover’s Description

Kate Alger has finally found the cure for her post-partum depression.  After years of suffering, all it takes to bring this mommy back to life were a few gruesome homicides!  When someone starts offing the alpha-moms from Kate’s daughter’s preschool, Kate—who worked as an Assistant District Attorney before she had Molly—realizes it’s time to get out of bed, dust off the skills and find out who is killing all the mommies she loves to hate.

Wickedly funny and slightly twisted, Perfect Is Overrated is a romp through the life of one very needy mom, her cockeyed family, gorgeous ex-husband, and the entire insane, entitled, over-dressed , over-zealous, eternally jealous parent body at The Hawthorne Preschool.