Teaser Tuesday: 20th February 2018

February 20, 2018February 19, 2018 Ali@abookishlife4 Comments

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purple Booker. If you want to join in grab your current read, flick to a random page, select two sentences (without spoilers) and share them in a blog post or in the comments of The Purple Booker.

This week my teaser comes from The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey. It’s a companion novel (is that the right word?) to one of my favorite books, The Girl with All the Gifts and is one I’ve been wanting to read for ages but am only now getting around to. Very early days, I’m 5% in, but so far so good.

My Teaser

Seven weeks into a fifteen-month mission, ten years after the world ended and a hundred miles from home, Dr Samrina Khan is pregnant.

But this is not Bethlehem, and there will be no manger.

~ 4% The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey

Blurb

Once upon a time, in a land blighted by terror, there was a very clever boy.

The people thought the boy could save them, so they opened their gates and sent him out into the world.

To where the monsters lived.

Teaser Tuesday: 13th February 2018

February 13, 2018February 11, 2018 Ali@abookishlife3 Comments

This week my teaser comes from Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. This is a series I’ve been desperate to read for ages but for some reason has never been available in the UK (or at least not on Amazon). Luckily it now looks like it’s going to be released in March and I was lucky enough to get an ARC from NetGalley. Needless to say I dropped everything to read it and really loved it (or at least the first half).

My Teaser

I’ve run out of words. My pockets are full of letters I can’t string together and I’m so desperate to say something that I say nothing and my heart is about to burst through my chest.

~ 65% Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Blurb

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Teaser Tuesday: 6th February 2018

February 6, 2018February 4, 2018 Ali@abookishlife11 Comments

This week my teaser comes from The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton. I received an advance copy of this from Netgalley and started reading it at the weekend. I will admit I had my doubts about it in the beginning but now that I’m just past the halfway point I am absolutely loving it. It has some brilliant world building and I suspect many of the characters are not who they appear to be.

My Teaser

“Some lies are delicious,” I say. He doesn’t laugh. “Lies are as dangerous as a sword. They can cut to the bone.”

~ loc 2176 The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

Blurb

Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orléans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orléans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful.

But it’s not enough for Camellia to be just a Belle. She wants to be the favorite—the Belle chosen by the Queen of Orléans to live in the royal palace, to tend to the royal family and their court, to be recognized as the most talented Belle in the land. But once Camellia and her Belle sisters arrive at court, it becomes clear that being the favorite is not everything she always dreamed it would be. Behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets, and Camellia soon learns that the very essence of her existence is a lie—that her powers are far greater, and could be more dangerous, than she ever imagined. And when the queen asks Camellia to risk her own life and help the ailing princess by using Belle powers in unintended ways, Camellia now faces an impossible decision.

With the future of Orléans and its people at stake, Camellia must decide—save herself and her sisters and the way of the Belles—or resuscitate the princess, risk her own life, and change the ways of her world forever.

Teaser Tuesday: 30th January 2018

January 30, 2018January 28, 2018 Ali@abookishlife6 Comments

This week my teaser comes from Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe which I read at the end of last week. This is one of those books that’s been sitting on my kindle for a while and I’m only now finally getting around to reading. Unfortunately though I don’t think I was in the right mood as I just never connected with it and found it a bit of a struggle (probably not helped by having to rush the last 100 pages). I can however say that I loved a lot of the writing and highlighted many sections making it the perfect choice for this week’s teaser.

My Teaser

Her eyes were like the night sky in the desert.

It felt like there was a whole world living inside her. I didn’t know anything about that world.

~ 43% Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Blurb

Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

Teaser Tuesday: 23rd January 2018

January 23, 2018January 20, 2018 Ali@abookishlife3 Comments

This week my teaser comes from They Both Die at The End by Adam Silvera. I bought this book when it first came out last year and am only now finally getting around to reading it. As I write this I’m around halfway through and I’m really loving it. It’s just so sweet and funny and I suspect it’s going to break my heart.

My Teaser

It’s all ending today and there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it. I can’t journey across dragon infested lands to retrieve scepters that can halt death. I can’t hop onto a flying carpet in search of a genie to grant my wish for a full and simple life. I could maybe find some mad scientist to cryogenically freeze me, but chances are I’d die in the middle of that wacky experiment. Death is inevitable for everyone and it’s absolute for me today.

~ Pg 8 They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Blurb

When Mateo receives the dreaded call from Death-Cast, informing him that today will be his last, he doesn’t know where to begin. Quiet and shy, Mateo is devastated at the thought of leaving behind his hospitalised father, and his best friend and her baby girl. But he knows that he has to make the most of this day, it’s his last chance to get out there and make an impression.

Rufus is busy beating up his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend when he gets the call. Having lost his entire family, Rufus is no stranger to Death-Cast. Not that it makes it any easier. With bridges to mend, the police searching for him and the angry new boyfriend on his tail, it’s time to run.

Isolated and scared, the boys reach out to each other, and what follows is a day of living life to the full. Though neither of them had expected that this would involve falling in love…

Another beautiful, heartbreaking and life-affirming book from the brilliant Adam Silvera, author of More Happy Than Not and History Is All You Left Me.

Teaser Tuesday: 16th January 2018

January 16, 2018January 13, 2018 Ali@abookishlife2 Comments

This week my teaser comes from It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne, a YA contemporary romance about real relationships and how they’re nothing like we see in the movies. I finished this at the weekend and really enjoyed it. I highlighted quite a lot as I was reading so it seemed like the perfect choice for teaser.

My Teaser

“… And, the real question is, why not zombies, Audrey? If you’re going to do anything, you need to ask yourself – would this situation benefit from adding zombies? The answer is almost always ‘yes’.”

~ 16% It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne

Blurb

Audrey is over romance. Since her parents’ relationship imploded her mother’s been catatonic, so she takes a cinema job to get out of the house. But there she meets wannabe film-maker Harry. Nobody expects Audrey and Harry to fall in love as hard and fast as they do. But that doesn’t mean things are easy. Because real love isn’t like the movies…

The greatest love story ever told doesn’t feature kissing in the snow or racing to airports. It features pain and confusion and hope and wonder and a ban on cheesy clichés. Oh, and zombies… YA star Holly Bourne tackles real love in this hugely funny and poignant novel.

Teaser Tuesday: 9th January 2018

January 9, 2018January 8, 2018 Ali@abookishlife5 Comments

This week my teaser comes from Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes. I have to confess I haven’t actually started reading it yet but I’m between books as I write this and I think this may be what I pick up next. I don’t read a lot of non fiction but this is one that I’ve been curious about for a while. She is behind a lot of my fave TV shows, and I recently read and enjoyed one of Mindy Kalling’s books so I have high hopes.

My Teaser

Fabrication is like a bad habit that feels good, easy to pick up, hard to quit. Spinning tall tales, knitting yarns made of stories, is my dirty little vice. And I like it.

~ 2% Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes

Blurb

In this poignant, hilarious and deeply intimate call to arms, Hollywood’s most powerful woman, the mega-talented creator of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal and executive producer of How to Get Away with Murder and Catch, reveals how saying YES changed her life – and how it can change yours too.

With three hit shows on television and three children at home, Shonda Rhimes had lots of good reasons to say no when invitations arrived. Hollywood party? No. Speaking engagement? No. Media appearances? No.

And to an introvert like Shonda, who describes herself as ‘hugging the walls’ at social events and experiencing panic attacks before press interviews, there was a particular benefit to saying no: nothing new to fear.

Then came Thanksgiving 2013, when Shonda’s sister Delorse muttered six little words at her: You never say yes to anything.

Profound, impassioned and laugh-out-loud funny, in Year of Yes Shonda Rhimes reveals how saying YES changed – and saved – her life. And inspires readers everywhere to change their own lives with one little word: Yes.

Teaser Tuesday: 2nd January 2018

January 2, 2018January 1, 2018 Ali@abookishlife4 Comments

Happy New Year Everyone. I hope you all had a great time over the holiday period and you’re feeling good about 2018.

My first teaser of the year comes from Sourdough by Robin Sloan, author of Mr Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore. I received a copy of this from Readers First and read it over the weekend. It’s quite a quirky story about a woman who works as a software engineer but discovers a sudden passion for baking bread. It’s one of those books you can probably take a lot of meaning and depth from or just relax and enjoy. Probably not recommended for those trying not to eat bread though 🙂

My Teaser

The cheese is not the thing, he told me. The cheese is just the territory, the battleground. The bacteria are the thing. They are the actors on a milky stage.

~ Pg209 Sourdough by Robin Sloan

Blurb

Lois Clary is a software engineer at General Dexterity, a San Francisco robotics company with world-changing ambitions. She codes all day and collapses at night, her human contact limited to the two brothers who run the neighbourhood hole-in-the-wall from which she orders dinner every evening. Then, disaster! Visa issues. The brothers close up shop, and fast. But they have one last delivery for Lois: their culture, the sourdough starter used to bake their bread. She must keep it alive, they tell her – feed it daily, play it music, and learn to bake with it.

Lois is no baker, but she could use a roommate, even if it is a needy colony of microorganisms. Soon, not only is she eating her own homemade bread, she’s providing loaves daily to the General Dexterity cafeteria. The company chef urges her to take her product to the farmer’s market, and a whole new world opens up.

When Lois comes before the jury that decides who sells what at Bay Area markets, she encounters a close-knit club with no appetite for new members. But then, an alternative emerges: a secret market that aims to fuse food and technology. But who are these people, exactly?

Teaser Tuesday: 26th December 2017

December 26, 2017 Ali@abookishlife2 Comments

Merry Christmas to everyone who’s celebrating and Happy Tuesday to those who aren’t.

This week my teaser comes from Not If I Save You First from Ally Carter, a book I received from NetGalley and devoured in one sitting at the weekend. This was my first Ally Carter and it is such a fun read I will be looking out for more. As it’s set in Alaska it’s also nice and wintry so seems appropriate.

My Teaser

“And if you see a bear-”

“It’s more afraid of me than I am of it,” Logan filled in but Maddie stopped short.

“No.” She shook her head and looked at him like he might be a moron, which he probably was. “It’s not afraid of you. It’s a bear!

~ 22% Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter

Blurb

Dear Logan,
Someday I’m going to write a book: How Not to Die in Alaska – A Girl’s Guide to Fashionable Survival.

I bet you don’t know that a hair pin can make an excellent fishing hook. You may think you can use just any kind of mud for mud masks, but trust me, you CAN’T! In a pinch, nothing starts a fire like nail polish remover. Alaska is tough. You might know this, if you ever replied to my letters.

After Maddie’s Secret Service dad takes a bullet for the president, he takes Maddie somewhere he thinks they’ll be safe – far away from the White House and the president’s son, Logan.

But when Logan comes to Alaska, so does the danger.

If there’s one thing Alaska has taught Maddie, it’s how to survive. And now her best friend’s life depends on it …

Teaser Tuesday: 19th December 2017

December 19, 2017December 16, 2017 Ali@abookishlife1 Comment

This week my teaser comes from The Last Romeo by Justin Myers, an ARC I received from NetGalley. I finished this early on Saturday morning (around 5am) and very much enjoyed it. The writing is wonderful so I just had to use it for this weeks teaser.

My Teaser

They say in New York you’re never more than a foot away from a rat, but it seemed in London I was always only ever a few inches away from someone else having the time of their lives. But I was that peculiar, tiny corner of the beach that the sea never reached – just day after day of dry sand.

~ 62% The Last Romeo by Justin Myers

Blurb

James is 34 and fed up. His six-year relationship with Adam has imploded, he hates his job making up celebrity gossip, and his best friend Bella has just announced she’s moving to Russia.

Adrift and single in loved-up London, James needs to break out of his lonely, drunken comfort zone. Encouraged by Bella, he throws himself headlong into online dating, blogging each encounter anonymously as the mysterious Romeo.

After meeting a succession of hot/weird/gross men, James has fans and the validation he’s always craved. But when his wild night with a closeted Olympian goes viral and sends his Twitter-fame through the roof, James realises maybe, in the search for happy-ever-after, some things are better left un-shared. Seriously, wherefore art thou Romeo . . .