[Teaser Tuesday] October 10, 2017

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, originally 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 much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
4. Share the title and author too so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

My sister and I will each share our teaser of the week with you below.

Gwenyth:

The athletic ass of my neighbour's smart-alek prodigal son was not what I wanted to see at seven a.m. Yet there he was, clad in tight red running shorts, sporting a grey-flecked two-day stubble, disappearing inside to fetch his mum, his very steps springing with excess energy. And there I was, feeling far from energetic, standing on Davina's dorrstep, wishing I hadn't knocked. Because the last time I'd seen that bum it was bare, jigging up and down atop the buxom curves of a naked British cabinet minister. Eight million views on YouTube, and counting.

This teaser is from Gone Tomorrow by Felicity Price. This is an intriguing romantic suspense novel featuring an older main character. I love this idea! Have you read an amazing romance lately? Let me know in the comments. I am always looking for recommendations.

Would you kill to save the ones you love? Penny Rushmore returns in a fast-paced sequel to two earlier bestsellers. Funny, entertaining, romantic, occasionally dark and filled with suspense, Gone Tomorrow is about an engagingly vulnerable New Zealand woman approaching retirement who feels too old to find love again, while rushing between the demands of an elderly father, a son caught in a terrible marriage, and a daughter who wants a supersize wedding. But then a beloved little girl goes missing. Penny joins the search with her cyber-fraud detective neighbor and follows the trail via the dark web to the Viagra smugglers of India, learning the hard way to make the most of today because it could all be gone tomorrow.

Ally:

But I whisper like a sea in the horse's ear and take a step back from the roving flashlights. One step away from all of them, one step toward the ocean.

This teaser is from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater.

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.
At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

This is a fabulous book! Gwenyth has already read this. It may even be the focus of a future Sister vs Sister post! Maggie is a favourite author to both of us. Enjoy!

Share your teaser with us!

[Teaser Tuesday] October 3, 2017

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, originally 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 much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
4. Share the title and author too so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

My sister and I will each share our teaser of the week with you below.

Gwenyth:

Lata surveyed the scene from the edge of the chaos. Her father-in-law had pulled some hefty strings to obtain this most coveted corner spot, where it should've been relatively quiet. Only it wasn't, thanks to her son's chubby-cheeked bride, who bawled so loudly Lata couldn't decide if she wanted to slap the child's face or pull her close. What kind of girl-child cried like that? As though she had the right to be heard?

This teaser is from A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev. It is the first book in the Bollywood series. This is one of the first romance books I have picked up in a long time, as research for my own romance novel in progress. Have you read an amazing romance lately? Let me know in the comments. I am always looking for recommendations.

Mili Rathod hasn’t seen her husband in twenty years—not since she was promised to him at the age of four. Yet marriage has allowed Mili a freedom rarely given to girls in her village. Her grandmother has even allowed her to leave India and study in America for eight months, all to make her the perfect modern wife. Which is exactly what Mili longs to be—if her husband would just come and claim her.

Bollywood’s favorite director, Samir Rathod, has come to Michigan to secure a divorce for his older brother. Persuading a naïve village girl to sign the papers should be easy for someone with Samir’s tabloid-famous charm. But Mili is neither a fool nor a gold-digger. Open-hearted yet complex, she’s trying to reconcile her independence with cherished traditions. And before he can stop himself, Samir is immersed in Mili’s life—cooking her dal and rotis, escorting her to her roommate’s elaborate Indian wedding, and wondering where his loyalties and happiness lie.

Heartfelt, witty, and thoroughly engaging, Sonali Dev’s debut is both a vivid exploration of modern India and a deeply honest story of love, in all its diversity.

Ally:

And suddenly Mason was Mason again. The armour of the Valkyrie was gone. But somewhere deep inside, she could feel the Valkyrie's rage, like still-burning coals glowing silently beneath the ashes of a banked fire. Waiting to spark to life again... So she could burn down the world.

This teaser is from Transcendent by Lesley Livingston. It is the third book in the Starling series.

LOVE CONQUERS

On a storm-swept terrace high above the streets of Manhattan, Mason Starling holds the fate of the world in her hands as her beloved Fennrys lies bleeding at her feet, his life hanging in the balance. The ancient Norse prophecy of Ragnarok stands poised on the knife edge of fulfillment. Mason’s transformation into a Valkyrie—a chooser of the slain and the one who will ultimately bring about the end of the world—is complete. Still, she remains determined to thwart her father’s apocalyptic desires. Whatever is to come, it won’t happen because of what the prophecy foretold, or what Gunnar Starling has planned, or what the fates have already decided. What happens next will be up to Mason and the Fennrys Wolf. The world had better hope they haven’t reached the limits of what their souls and swords can survive.

Perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series, and set in the same universe as Lesley Livingston’s much-loved WONDROUS STRANGE trilogy, with roots in Greek, Roman, Norse, Egyptian, and Celtic myths and legends, this thrilling conclusion to the acclaimed Starling trilogy is filled to the hilt with sweeping adventure and soaring romance.

This is an amazing series! Both of us have read the first two books and Gwenyth hopes to be able to read the final book in the series soon. It may even be the focus of a future Sister vs Sister post! We both highly recommend it, and anything by Lesley Livingston to be honest. Enjoy!

Share your teaser with us!

A Fresh Start, A Clean Page

I have been away for awhile.

Last year I suffered from a serious chronic illness and had to have major surgery in July. I returned to full-time work in September, but still didn't quite feel like myself. I rarely had time to read and only really listened to audiobooks during my drives to and from work, and I rarely felt like, or even had the energy to if I wanted to, write any reviews.

In January of this year, I started a new job, and much of the same occurred.

In June I got sick again. Completely different issue, but it still has me off work and confused as to how life progress. The major difference is this time we don't really know what the issue is, how to fix it, and therefore when I might be back to "normal".

This has made me sit down and rethink life and my part in it. I have also had more time to read. I realized how much I have missed reading, and writing reviews, and writing this blog, and writing in general. I have some many partially formed stories floating around in my head, some for years. Now is the time to get them out.

Tomorrow is October 1, 2017. Tomorrow is the first day of my fresh start. Tomorrow I get back to me, and what makes me happy.

These books will shape the foundation of my next year. More books and materials will be added in as I progress along, but these will be the ones I start with, and the ones I go back to over and over again as I attempt to write my first novel.

The story that is speaking to me the loudest, oddly enough, is a romance novel. I haven't really read any romance novels in many years. In my younger years (teens) I loved them, but more recently it has been mostly horror, paranormal, fantasy, etc. So this is definitely going to be a tough haul.

One of the first things I am going to be doing is reading recent romance. I ask now if you have any good recommendations, please feel free to drop me a comment. I have created a romance list over on my Goodreads. Feel free to click over and see what I have listed to see what has sparked my interest and let me know if you have that perfect romance novel I would love.

I already have my main characters and the general plot in my head. I have started a playlist over on youtube to help me visualize the story from beginning to end through song, which is even more helpful since my main character is a bit of a karaokeaholic, but more on that later.

As for the blog, it will continue on as well. I will be bringing back old favourites like Teaser Tuesday, cover reveals, and of course, reviews.

There will also be new additions to the blog, including insights into the writing life of this hopeful author, as well as a new feature, Sister vs Sister, that will involve two-part reviews being posted by my sister and myself on books and movies that we have both enjoyed (or hated). We will also face off against each other when it comes to creative writing, each of us taking our attempts at writing prompts. Readers can vote for their favourites, and even suggest future writing prompts. And finally, we will tag team with each other on a combined story to see how we work together instead of against one another. It should all be very interesting, to say the least!

So here is to a new me, a new year, a new beginning. I hope you enjoy this journey with me as much as I will!