Teaser Tuesdays and Top Ten Tuesdays

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.
Each week, they will post a new Top Ten list that one of the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join, just link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

 Top Ten Books I Feel As Though Everyone Has Read But Me 

1. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov - I know most people consider this book a classic, but I still won't read it. Ever 
2. Twilight - Stephenie Meyer - I can't get past Bella being whiny in the first movie and I just cannot make myself go through that again in the book version. And I like my vampires manly, without sparkles.
3. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger - no valid excuse here...
4. Anything by Stephen King - I tried to read Salem's Lot but I couldn't finish it. I felt that nothing happened in that book. Don't think I'll try again with his books.
5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - no excuse, just haven't gotten around reading these books
6. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead - they are on my TBR list, I promise. 
7. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - Let's just say that me and the classic books aren't good friends. I tried this book when I was a teen. Maybe I should try it again.
8. Chronicles of Narnia by C.S.Lewis - I've only read the first two books in the series. I liked them, but not enough to continue. Probably would've read them had I started the series before reading Lord of the Rings.
9. Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick - I see these books everywhere. I will try them in the near future.
   
10. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
    

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 today is from The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks:

With that, she sighed. “Shouldn’t you be with your friends, staring at yourselves in the mirror?”

What's your teaser this week?

Book Review: Metrophilias by Brendan Connell

Author: Brendan Connell

Rating: 4.5 stars

Blurb (from Amazon):

Thirty-six cities. Thirty-six stories of obsession. From ancient Thebes to present day Berlin, these little portraits of humans superimposed on their suburban environment are corroding treats thrown together in a past-modern beaker, landmark tales of love in the metropolis. A round-the-world tour of craving and decadence.

Let me start by saying this book is the most bold I've read in a while. I liked that, I really did. It deals with a part of the human psyche that is very dark and taboo. While short, the story is in no way a "light read". The stories are short, yet compelling and well told.

This book is not for everyone. Don't get me wrong, everyone can try it. But some of the stories made me cringe or flinch at some point. Not all, just some. The stories don't linger too much on unnecessary details, which is very good, because it doesn't stray from it's purpose: showing the darker side of humans. I loved the different settings, because it gave more meaning to the idea that anyone, anywhere can have any type of obsession.

I also loved how the author managed to describe the feelings and emotion - both physical and psychological - of the main characters. Brendan Connell manages to get the reader inside the characters mind, making him feel the way the characters feel and maybe understand a little bit the nature of the obsession

I can't say it was the greatest book I've read this year, but I can say I loved it and I think anyone should at least try it. I can say it was the first fiction book I've read on this subject. I'm glad this was the first.

The book deserves 5 stars, but I felt the need for more on some of the stories. When I say more, I mean more exploration of some of the feelings of some characters, of some stories and obsessions. But I definitely loved this book.

Been a while

It's been a while from my last post and I apologize. I finally got my computer back and I can now read and post reviews for the books I've already read. I'm glad to be back :D

Book review: Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward

Author: J. R. Ward

Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood

Rating: 4 stars

Blurb (from Amazon):


Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, seductive cloth as her brother. Imprisoned for eons by their mother, the Scribe Virgin, she finally frees herself-only to face a devastating injury. Manuel Manello, M.D., is drafted by the Brotherhood to save her as only he can-but when the human surgeon and the vampire warrior meet, their two worlds collide in the face of their undeniable passion. With so much working against them, can love prove stronger than the birthright and the biology that separates them?

Finally, the waiting is over and I got my hands on this book. I can honestly say I devoured it.

Lover Unleashed is a bit different from the other books in the series. There are a lot of new characters, one of which I understand is from Ward’s Fallen Angels series – didn’t read it, but soon, very soon – characters that I can’t wait to learn more about. Unlike the previous books, we don’t get scenes from inside the Lessening Society and that makes me very curious about the whys behind this absence. Maybe we’ll find out in the next book.

I loved Payne. She’s so much like her brother, Vishous, and yet different in some ways. I think there are a few details that we have yet to find out, since we don’t know much about the time Payne spent in the human realm before she was imprisoned. I hope we’ll find out more in the future. But like I said, loved the character. She’s such a strong female, stubborn and proud. It’s actually a bit funny to see her and Vishous having an argument and see how he realizes that there is another creature on earth that’s just as stubborn as he is. I also think Payne has no idea yet what her powers are, but I’ll bet they’re totally different that her twin’s.

Manuel Manello is the hero in this book. If you’ve read the series, you might remember him from Lover Unbound. He was Jane’s boss. I’m happy we got to see him again. I liked his character then and I liked it even better now. He’s a great surgeon and he always tries to make things right, even the surgery might seem impossible to some. He’s also full of surprises. I’m very curious about how his character will develop in the series in the future.

Vishous broke my heart in this book. If I thought in his book I’ve learned everything about him, I was surprised. He and Butch went through a very difficult situation and you can see their friendship is the real deal. Some of V’s scenes were really heartbreaking, but I think he’s going to be a lot better from now on.

Another thing that I missed were the scenes from the past. I was really hoping to read something from Payne’s or Manuel’s past, but unfortunately, we get only one scene of that. Maybe in the next books we’ll learn more about their pasts.

If you don’t know who’s getting his/hers story told next, I’m not going to tell you. All I can say is I can’t wait for this next book and I know it will be a looooong waiting period, no matter when the book will come out. But I’m happy we’re finally getting this book and maybe we’ll get some answers to the questions brought out by Lover Unleashed.

Book review: Premier Jour by Marc Levy

Author: Marc Levy
Original Title: Premier Jour
Country: France
Rating: 5 cups


If you remember, in February I decided to have a little personal reading challenge to help me get out of the "I don't want to read" phase, Book Around the World. The first stop was in Italy, with Federico Moccia's Three meters above the sky.

This week's stop is France, with a very well known French author, Marc Levy. If his name doesn't ring any bell, you might have seen the movie Just like heaven, with Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo. This movie is based on Levy's first novel, If only it were true (original title Et si c'était vrai...), which I believe it was WAY better than the movie.

The novel Le Premier Jour (The First Day) was published in 2009 and it has a really interesting plot. An astrophysicist and an archaeologist team up and find a strange object inside a volcano, object that might change history as we know it.

Adrian, the astrophysicist, has one big dream: to find out where the dawn begins. He's just returned in England after a 3 year research project in Chile when he reconnects with an ex-girlfriend, Kira.  After they spend the night together, she leaves him, leaving behind a note and a necklace. After searching for her, he finds out she's in Ethiopia, conducting some archaeological research.

As an archaeologist, Kira wants to find out who the first human being was, how many years ago he/she lived and how different was he than what humans are nowadays. Kira is convinced that the answers to these questions can be found in Ethiopia.

When Adrian arrives in Kira's camp, he convinces her that the necklace she left him is very special and that they need to find out where it comes from and if there are other object similar to it. At the same time, a secret international organization that wants to make Adrian and Kira to give up their research and the people in that organization doesn't stop from anything, whether it's murder, bribe, lying or stealing. The people in this organization are convinced that humanity is not ready yet for the secrets that the fragments could uncover if they are brought together.

I think this book is a mystery of sorts, a romantic mystery, a genre that I think fits very well with Levy's writing style. What I love about Levy's novels is the fact that each of them has a lesson. For example, in another of his novels, My friends, my lovers (original title: Mes amis, mes amours), the lesson is that real friends are there for each other always.

The book is light, easy to read. The ending is kind of surprising, but that is because the book has a second part, The First Night (Le Premier Nuit) which I am currently reading.

I just hope someone will make it into a movie.

Teaser Tuesdays

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 today is from Kresley Cole's Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night.

“If I slake you, in return I get a smiling lass. I like this deal, kitten.”
“Damn it, MacRieve, if you keep calling me kitten, then I’m going to start calling you something equivalent, like hound dog—and then we’ll both be losers.”

What's your teaser this week?