Teaser Tuesdays - Barefoot on the Wind

We are not willing to die for him.
But then who would? Who would, if not his friends, his neighbours, his family in all but blood? Who else would risk their lives for him if not them?

(page 73, Barefoot on the Wind by Zoe Marriott)




===

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!

Dark Light of Day - DNF Book Review

Dark Light of Day (Noon Onyx #1)
by Jill Archer

What is it about:
Armageddon is over. The demons won. And yet somehow…the world has continued. Survivors worship patron demons under a draconian system of tributes and rules. These laws keep the demons from warring among themselves, and the world from slipping back into chaos.

Noon Onyx grew up on the banks of the river Lethe, the daughter of a prominent politician, and a descendant of Lucifer’s warlords. Noon has a secret: She was born with waning magic, the dark, destructive, fiery power that is used to control demons and maintain the delicate peace among them. But a woman with waning magic is unheard of, and some would consider her an abomination.

Noon is summoned to attend St. Lucifer’s, a school of demon law. She must decide whether to declare her powers there…or to attempt to continue hiding them, knowing the price for doing so may be death. And once she meets the forbiddingly powerful Ari Carmine—who suspects Noon is harboring magic as deadly as his own—Noon realizes there may be more at stake than just her life.

What did I think of it:
There was so much that I liked about this book.

The setting and world building is very cool. I like Noon and two of her friends. There's a boarding school! There were lawsuits! With all these things you'd think I'd love this books.

But there were also the love interests...

There's Peter, the friend from childhood who wants Noon to change instead of letting her know she's perfectly fine as she is. I did not like him!

And there's Ari, who is pushing himself on Noon from the start and who I didn't like much either.

For the sake of the story - and all those elements I did enjoy - I kept reading, but when Ari did something jerkish to make sure Noon couldn't spend time with Peter I had enough and I put down the book. The good parts of the story weren't enough to put up with the annoyance I felt over Peter and Ari.

Why should you read it:
Maybe it's just me, and you'll like the love interests as well as the rest of the story.

Release Alert - Teeth, Long and Sharp

This anthology released yesterday!


Teeth, Long and Sharp
by Grace Draven, Antioch Grey, Aria M. Jones, Jeffe Kennedy and Mel Sterling

A collection of tales sharp and pointed.

IVORIES by Aria M. Jones - Eleanor resents the afternoons sacrificed to piano lessons and a disagreeable teacher who gloats over her failures and humiliations. Today, it’s Mrs. Lundemann’s turn for a sacrifice of a very different nature…

NIGHT TIDE by Grace Draven - Something hunts the surf at night, luring villagers to their deaths with a lullaby of sorrow and the torture of nightmares. Blessed with the gift of water-sight, Zigana Imre senses the presence of an ancient predator possessing a taste for human flesh sweetened by grief. With the help of a child of earth, she will battle a spawn of the sea to protect a loved one and save a man who will one day save a world.

THE NOISE OF FUR by Jeffe Kennedy - The first time, it came at night…

In the forest, a Thing prowls, picking off members of young Raven’s tribe. If they flee their home, they face starvation. If only Raven can answer the question of what kind of fur makes that noise.

VENETRIX by Antioch Grey - A merchant and a poet come to the City, seeking justice for the murder of a relative, and if justice cannot be found, they will have revenge. They collude with vampires, negotiate with mermaids, share ale and meat pies with gargoyles and navigate the prisons, waterways and court system of a city ruled by a Master possessing long life and even longer teeth.

The City will make you a fortune, or it will kill you, but it will always change you.

THE VAMPIRES OF MULBERRY STREET by Aria M. Jones - Living the simple life in small town Indiana, Mrs. H has everything she could possibly ever want: a cozy house, peace and quiet, and a garden that is the envy of Mulberry Street. But when sinister outsiders disrupt the tranquility of her neighborhood, it might be time for her to come out of retirement and take up tools more deadly than pruning shears and a trowel.

VOICE OF THE KNIFE by Mel Sterling - Biologist Charles Napier doesn’t mind getting lost in a Florida swamp—it’s part of a scientist’s job. Logic and training will get him out safely. Except lurking in this swamp, there’s a monster Napier’s science can’t explain...a lonely, exquisite, desperate monster.

Foreword by Ilona Andrews


Buy from Amazon

On McPig's Wishlist - The Drowning City

The Drowning City (The Necromancer Chronicles #1)
by Amanda Downum

Symir -- the Drowning City. home to exiles and expatriates, pirates and smugglers. And violent revolutionaries who will stop at nothing to overthrow the corrupt Imperial government.

For Isyllt Iskaldur, necromancer and spy, the brewing revolution is a chance to prove herself to her crown. All she has to do is find and finance the revolutionaries, and help topple the palaces of Symir. But she is torn between her new friends and her duties, and the longer she stays in this monsoon-drenched city, the more intrigue she uncovers -- even the dead are plotting.

As the waters rise and the dams crack, Isyllt must choose between her mission and the city she came to save.

The Masked Truth - Book Review (repost)

The Masked Truth
by Kelley Armstrong

What is it about:
Riley Vasquez is haunted by the brutal murder of the couple she was babysitting for.

Max Cross is suffering under the shadow of a life-altering diagnosis he doesn’t dare reveal.

The last thing either of them wants is to spend a weekend away at a therapy camp alongside five other teens with “issues.” But that’s exactly where they are when three masked men burst in to take the group hostage.

The building has no windows. The exits are sealed shut. Their phones are gone. And their captors are on a killing spree.

Riley and Max know that if they can’t get out, they’ll be next—but they’re about to discover that even escape doesn’t equal freedom.

What did I think of it:
I usually stick to Fantasy, Paranormal and SF, but once in a while a contemporary story sounds so intriguing I want to give it a try.

And this book is so good!

This book is full of suspense and action. Once I started reading I couldn't put the book down until I finished it. I kept trying to guess where things would lead to. There were some clues along the way that I picked up on, but other events came as a shock. All in all this is an intense and cool read.

The story is told from both Riley's and Max's viewpoint, and I liked how it gave insight in both of them. I really liked both of them, and cheered both of them on. Armstrong doesn't make things easy on them, but that is what makes this book such a gripping read.

The book has a very satisfying ending, and you can bet I'll be rereading it in the future. I wouldn't mind at all if Armstrong decides to write more contemporary suspense.

Why should you read it:
It's a really intense and cool, Suspenseful Contemporary YA read.

TBR Orphans - Update

We read two orphaned books in September!

The Fire Lord's Lover had been in out TBR pile since July 2015
Kill or Cure had been in there since March 2016.

How did your challenges go?

Cell 7 - Book Review

Cell 7
by Kerry Drewery

What is it about:
Should she live or die? You decide

An adored celebrity has been killed. Sixteen-year-old Martha Honeydew was found holding a gun, standing over the body.

Now Justice must prevail.

The general public will decide whether Martha is innocent or guilty by viewing daily episodes of the hugely popular TV show Death is Justice, the only TV show that gives the power of life and death decisions - all for the price of a phone call.

Martha has admitted to the crime. But is she guilty? Or is reality sometimes more complicated than the images we are shown on TV?

What did I think of it:
Although a nice read I think this book could have been harder.

The premise of this book is a good and current one: How much are we manipulated by what we're shown on TV? How much freedom will we give up just because we think it doesn't concern us (yet)? How much power lies with those with money?

With issues like these I expected a bit more bite from this story, but instead it explores the misery of Martha vs. what the public gets shown, and the half-assed attempts of those who care for her to get her declared innocent. People who should know better let themselves be taken on a ride, people who are devious are being shown as devious, and the general public is shown as one big lump of uninformed and uninterested mass who just wants to be entertained.

So yeah, it's a bit black and white, and the overall story isn't strong enough to deliver the message this book wants you to receive. Maybe it works for those who haven't really thought about issues like these, but for me a read that could have been thought provoking turned out to be just an entertaining read.

Why should you read it:
It's a nice near future YA read.