Teaser Tuesday (July 7)

Here's my teaser this week -

It's a meme hosted by Should Be Reading and here are the rules:
Grab your current read...
Open to a random page
Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on the page
Don't include spoilers!

"There was a low growl-from Freaky Pete, Maia noted with some surprise. He had come back into the bar and was surrounded by the rest of the pack, their eyes fixed on the Shadowhunter."

Page 35, City of Ashes, by Cassandra Clare

Everything Austen Challenge & An Award

The Everything Austen Challenge is hosted by
Stephanie at Stephanie's Written Word

I first read about this challenge at vvb32reads

The rules of the challenge:

It runs from July 1, 2009 to January 1, 2010

All you have to do is pick six Jane Austen-themed items (books, movies, etc), you are going to complete over the course of six months. Then, click on the link to her site above, and sign up at the post for a chance to win Lost in Austen. There is also an option to double the challenge, and complete 12 books/movies by the new year at Austenprose

My choices:

Books -
Prada and Prejudice, by Mandy Hubbard
Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, by Amanda Grange
Jane Austen Ruined My Life, by Beth Pattillo
Austenland, by Shannon Hale

Movies -
Pride & Prejudice (BBC version)
Clueless
Bridget Jones's Diary


I also got an award this week from
B.A.M. Book Reviews! Thank you!

My Nominations -
B.A.M. Book Reviews
Books, Books, and More Books
BookWorming in the 21st Century
Pirate Penguin's Reads
The Zen Leaf
The Book Geek
Sunshine Edition

Book Review: Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

According to her best friend Frankie, twenty days in Zanzibar Bay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy every day, there's a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there's something she hasn't told Frankie---she's already had that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie's older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.



When I picked up this 2009 debut, I expected a fun beach read (apparently, I'm not very good at reading the synopses of the books that I purchase). Well, I was surprised when I realized what the subject matter of the book was (dealing with grief, death, and first love). The story is told by Anna, and really begins after the death of Matt, the older brother of her best friend, Frankie. What's even more traumatizing, is the fact that Anna has been in love with him for years, and they had just recently started a relationship (secretly, of course).

Most of the book takes place in California, where the girls are vacationing (which is where the twenty boy game begins). They spend time traveling to see the sights (San Francisco), spending the rest of the time, where else, on the beach. I've vacationed in California, and it was surprisingly different from the chaotic lifestyle that I'm used to on the East Coast. Granted, it was a vacation, but Palo Alto and La Selva Beach had a different atmosphere. Plus, I completely geeked out that I was in the city where the Stanford Prison Experiments took place (have I mentioned I'm a psych major?). But I digress, it was really nice to see that the laid back atmosphere I had experienced was able to translate to the book. I also loved how Ocklwer was able to capture how it feelts to be a teenager, particularly how everything seems like it's the end of the world.

The great thing about this novel is that isn't just a beach read. It's got something special that makes people look forward to, or reminisce about their first love. I can't wait for more from this author. On a different note, is it just me or are the debut authors this year amazing?

Twenty Boy Summer
By Sarah Ockler
304 Pages
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Rating - A

In My Mailbox (July 5)

In my mailbox was created by Kristi of The Story Siren, who was inspired by Pop Culture Junkie. Here are the books I got this week...

Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard
Published by the Penguin Group

To impress the popular girls on a high school trip to London, klutzy Callie buys real Prada heels. But trying them on, she trips...conks her head...and wakes up in the year 1815!

There Callie meets Emily, who takes her in, mistaking her for a long-lost friend. As she spends time with Emily's family, Callie warms to them—particularly to Emily's cousin Alex, a hottie and a duke, if a tad arrogant.

But can Callie save Emily from a dire engagement, and win Alex's heart, before her time in the past is up?

Evermore by Alyson Noel
Published by St. Martin's Press

Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch. Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste…

Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition. He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets. Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head. She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is. Damen equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.

Well, it was a slower week for me book-wise. On the bright side, I had a great fourth of July. Hopefully everyone here had a great fourth, too!

Book Review: Poison Study by Maria V Snyder

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooma in the palace--and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.

And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust--and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear...

The first in a series, Snyder has created a world filled with lies, betrayal, murder, and magic. It's a place where an eye for an eye is law, and trials don't exist. At the start of the story, Yelena is waiting to be executed for the murder of the only son of a general. Naturally, when she's offered the chance to live, she takes it despite the fact that she has to become the food taster (to check for poison) for the Commander of Ixia. She's escaped being hanged, but she could die at any time....

It was nice to read a story with a strong female heroine. She doesn't need to be rescued, and she makes her own decisions (within the limitations that have been put on her by her handler). Her life hasn't been easy, but she never uses that as an excuse. I also liked that Snyder waited to reveal why Yelena commited murder. I won't give anything away, but it really made me understand and empathize with her character. I also loved the cast of supporting characters! Yes, I used an exclamation mark...I was always suspicious of them (which was, in my opinion, the point). I never knew who was trustworthy, or who would could be leaking information to the rebels.

I'm on my way to go pick up the sequel, and I'm sure I won't be able to put it down.

Poison Study
by Maria V. Snyder
416 Pages
Published by Mira
Rating: A