First Chapter Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday #11 - "The Diviners" (The Diviners #1) by Libba Bray

Every Tuesday Diane @ Bibliophile By the Sea hosts a weekly meme called First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros. Basically, this is when you share the first and maybe the second paragraph of the book you are currently reading or want to read soon.

Teaser Tuesdays is a meme hosted by MizB @ Books and a Beat, where you need to open your current read to a random page and pick two spoiler-free sentences.

• 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!

A LATE-SUMMER EVENING
In a town house at a fashionable address on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, every lamp blazes. There’s a party going on—the last of the summer. Out on the terrace overlooking Manhattan’s incandescent skyline, the orchestra takes a much-needed break. It’s ten thirty. The party has been on since eight o’clock, and already the guests are bored. Fashionable debutantes in pastel chiffon party dresses wilt into leather club chairs like frosted petits fours melting under the July sun. A cocky Princeton sophomore wants his friends to head down to Greenwich Village with him, to a speakeasy he heard about from a friend of a friend.
The hostess, a pretty and spoiled young thing, notes her guests’ restlessness with a sense of alarm. It is her eighteenth birthday, and if she doesn’t do something to raise this party from the dead, it will be the talk for days to come that her gathering was as dull as a church social.

TEASER
"This is what I wanted you to see." Malloy opened the girl's dress. On her chest, above her dingy brassiere, was a large brand of a five-pointed star encircled by a snake eating its tail.
~pg. 102

What do you think? Would you read it?

"Mortal Gods" (The Goddess War #2) by Kendare Blake

Book Blurb (from Goodreads):
Ares, God of War, is leading the other dying gods into battle. Which is just fine with Athena. She's ready to wage a war of her own, and she's never liked him anyway. If Athena is lucky, the winning gods will have their immortality restored. If not, at least she'll have killed the bloody lot of them, and she and Hermes can die in peace.

Cassandra Weaver is a weapon of fate. The girl who kills gods. But all she wants is for the god she loved and lost to return to life. If she can't have that, then the other gods will burn, starting with his murderer, Aphrodite.

The alliance between Cassandra and Athena is fragile. Cassandra suspects Athena lacks the will to truly kill her own family. And Athena fears that Cassandra's hate will get them ALL killed.

The war takes them across the globe, searching for lost gods, old enemies, and Achilles, the greatest warrior the world has ever seen. As the struggle escalates, Athena and Cassandra must find a way to work together. Because if they can't, fates far worse than death await.

My Review
I was super excited to start reading this book because after that ending in the first book I just had to find out what would happen next. Needless to say, this book was awesome, except that there was an aspect that really, really annoyed me.
I love the whole concept of the Greek gods walking among humans and that their time is up. They are dying their own unique deaths despite them being immortal. Besides that, ancient heroes are also reincarnated as normal humans, who are about to get mixed up in a godly war. 
So, this is a continuation of the first book Antigoddess (I also reviewed it on this blog, link is here)
I love books about Greek gods, so I might be a bit biased. However, I didn't enjoy this book as much as the first book. I mean, it was still really good and all but one character in particular really annoyed me throughout the entire book.
Cassandra needs to control herself, like big-time. She hates everyone in the world just because she is over-protective of her very dead boyfriend. And she blames it all on Athena. While I was reading this I was sitting there thinking: "Well, you should be glad that Hera didn't find you first, she is the one killing all of the innocent people after all!"
Athena and Odysseus were great characters. I loved there personalities, even though Hermes is still my favourite character. You really get to see the sibling relationship between Athena and Hermes develop and it is really cute. I also really liked Hermes' quirky attitude and sarcasm, it's awesome.
The entire book was action packed and I didn't expect the giant plot twist/cliffhanger at the end. I have to get my hands on the next book soon. 
Because I was very annoyed with Cassandra's behaviour throughout the book, but I loved the rest of the book. I give it 4 out of 5 stars!

First Chapter Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday #10 - "Mortal Gods" (The Goddess War #2) by Kendare Blake

Every Tuesday Diane @ Bibliophile By the Sea hosts a weekly meme called First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros. Basically, this is when you share the first and maybe the second paragraph of the book you are currently reading or want to read soon.

Teaser Tuesdays is a meme hosted by MizB @ Books and a Beat, where you need to open your current read to a random page and pick two spoiler-free sentences.

• 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!

 Finally, I've got my hands on this book! It has been amazing so far :D

Prologue: Blood and Ivory

The god of war stood still as a statue, waiting for Aphrodite as he waited for prey, for foes, for anything with veins to cut. The stillness lasted only an hour or so. Then he paced and huffed and gnashed his teeth. Ares had no more patience than he had rationality or restraint. He made a fist, and the skin of his knuckles cracked and ran red. Damned Aphrodite. She kept him waiting even when the meeting was her idea. 

He glanced to his wrist, like someone checking the time, but in place of a watch was a blood-soaked bandage with fraying edges. He could have been anywhere else, enjoying the end of his days. Maybe lounging on an island, eating figs and honey. Maybe killing someone. 

Teaser
'So," Odysseus said. "Is there anything I should know about sleeping on the rain forest floor?"
"Hm?" Hermes asked, even though he'd probably heard. He'd been looking up through the canopy, catching a glimpse of the stars above the smoky orange glow of the fire. "Oh, uh, not that I can think of. You might want to check yourself for leeches every once in a while."

What do you think? Would you read it?

Half Bad (the half bad trilogy #1) by Sally Green

 Book Blurb (From Goodreads)

You can't read, can't write, but you heal fast, even for a witch.

You get sick if you stay indoors after dark.

You hate White Witches but love Annalise, who is one.

You've been kept in a cage since you were fourteen.

All you've got to do is escape and find Mercury, the Black Witch who eats boys. And do that before your seventeenth birthday.

Easy.

My Review:

This book has one of the most captivating book blurbs that I have ever seen, so needless to say I had high expectations for it. But I was disappointed, it was like a roller-coaster that went up really high at the beginning but then kind up dropped and never got back up again.

It is about a boy called Nathan who is half white witch and half black witch. He lives in a white witch society where he is constantly judged, bullied and every aspect of his life I controlled by the White Witch counsel. His farther is the most powerful black witch that they know off and the counsel would do anything to catch him, their main plan? Use Nathan and hope that his Farther has some shred of decency as to not let his son die. Nathan being not happy with any part of this plan escapes the counsel and begins his journey to find Mercury, a black witch which can give him the three gifts on his seventeenth birthday so he can come into his powers. Something which Council will surly never do. If he does not receive these three gifts, he'll die. No pressure.
Throughout this book I found the plot kind of bland. Not the concept of the plot, that's really interesting and exciting to think about. It's more of how it was executed that really bothered me throughout the entire book. It started off really exciting with all of the mystery and the writing style at the beginning was something that I had never seen before. It was written as if you were the character, and that was the coolest thing about this book. I wish that Sally Green had written the entire book in that style. All the action was in the first 3 sections of the book. After that it was more sitting around and it wasn't all that great to read. I started to really want to put the book down and never pick it up again but I was too far in to do that.

I had trouble with relating to all of the characters in this book. But that could just be me. My favourite character by far would have to be Jessica, but I am almost 100% sure that I am only saying that because she has the same name as me. If she didn't, I'd probably want her dead.

All in all I give this book 2 out of 5 stars.

"Skullduggery Pleasant" (Skulduggery Pleasant #1) by Derek Landy

Book Blurb (from Goodreads):
Meet Skulduggery Pleasant

Ace Detective
Snappy Dresser
Razor–tongued Wit
Crackerjack Sorcerer
and
Walking, Talking,
Fire-throwing Skeleton

—as well as ally, protector, and mentor of Stephanie Edgley, a very unusual and darkly talented twelve-year-old.

These two alone must defeat an all-consuming ancient evil.

The end of the world?

Over his dead body.

My Review 
My friend recommended this book to me when I was busy hauling a bunch of books out of the library to read over the school break. She handed this book to me and said: "The sass is strong with this one." So, I read the back and decided that was indeed interested in reading about a witty skeleton detective.
This book has everything: skeletons, vampires, sorcerers, gods and a lot of magic spells. I love all of these things, if something is fantasy, then there will be a chance that I will be interested in reading it. I'm glad I read this book though. My friend wasn't kidding, there really was a lot of wit in this book and I felt as if I personally knew the characters. The action was all very exciting and it just made me want to keep on reading to find out what would happen next. It kind of seemed at times that all of the events were really random, which kind of disrupted the story for me a bit, but then they did end up leading to the final ending of the book.
Like I said, Skullduggery, the talking skeleton, is very witty and sometimes the statements he makes are really very amusing. Especially when he is arguing with Stephanie, which is happening almost throughout the entire book. It is alright, its just that sometimes it seems kind of childish and silly; however, it is still enjoyable when Skullduggery is being stubborn. I didn't really expect it at first, but he can be very philosophical if he wants to be, which leaves the reader thinking. Stephanie is also a sweet girl,  but she gets impatient really quickly and therefore acts rather impulsively.
All in all, this was a great book with some flows which I thought could have been improved. I recommend this book t anyone who likes high fantasy and characters with plenty of comebacks. I can't wait to read the second book in the series!
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars!

Cogling Review Up

Hey,

Check out the Cogling book tour post for Jessica's review on the book HERE. It might be slightly delayed, but it's there now.

"Die Wellenläufer" (Wellenläufer-Trilogie #1) by Kai Meyer

Book Blurb (from Goodreads):
Ein magisches Beben erschüttert die Küsten der Karibik. Und in finsteren Piratenhäfen werden Kinder geboren, die über Wasser gehen können. Jahre später glaubt Jolly, dass außer ihr keine anderen Wellenläufer mehr am Leben sind. Bis sie Munk begegnet. Auch er versinkt nicht im Wasser – und kann aus Muscheln einen uralten Zauber beschwören. Ein rätselhafter Fremder, der Geisterhändler, schickt die beiden auf eine fantastische Reise. Gejagt von Klabautern, Ungeheuern und allen Seeräubern der karibischen See stellen sie sich einer tückischen Gefahr: dem Mahlstrom, einem dunklen Strudel, der die Barriere zwischen den Welten niederreißt.

Der Roman spielt Anfang des 18. Jahrhunderts unter den Piraten der Karibik. Die Heldin Jolly, ein 14-jähriges Seeräubermädchen, verfügt von Geburt an über ein besonderes Talent: Sie kann über Wasser gehen. Nach dem Untergang ihres Schiffes und dem Verlust ihrer Mannschaft findet sie neue Freunde: Munk, der sich auch die Kunst der Muschelmagie versteht, den Geisterhändler, der die Geister ertrunkener Seeleute als Sklaven verkauft, Buenaventure, ein Wesen halb Mensch, halb Hund. Doch die Gefährten haben einen mächtigen Feind – den Mahlstrom, einen meilenbreiten Strudel, der von einer teuflischen Intelligenz beseelt ist. Jollys Reise führt weit über die Karibik hinaus – geradewegs ins Mare Tenebrosum, die legendäre See der Finsternis.

My Review
I really enjoyed reading this book. 
It was a short read and had a great sense of humour. I actually wanted to read this book because it has pirates in it. A simple reason, but I absolutely love the way how pirates are portrayed in books and I also found the story revolving around kids that can walk on water to be very intriguing. The book started in the middle of the action so it wasn't boring at all. The world-building was also done really well.
The characters were also really interesting. There was definitely a lot of character development happening. When Munk first finds Jolly, she gets to know him as a friendly and happy boy, but then I was kind of shocked at the turn his personality took towards the end of the book. I thought that Jolly was a cool character because she is a girl pirate and that aspect was captured really well. I liked that she knew a lot about sea battles. My favourite character was by far the pirate Captain Walker. His humour was subtle and wry, which I really liked. Even though he is actually a side-character, he still has a really complex personality. Walker is the typical ruthless pirate and yet the more Jolly gets to know him, there seems to be more to him than that.
Another thing I didn't really expect to see in this kind of book would be the love triangle... square? I'm not entirely sure. Anyways, now that I think about it, I should have predicted it and Jolly's kind of coldish reaction to it.
Overall, the book did capture my attention, although I thought that the ending was kind of disappointing: the last chapter was boring to some extent. Nonetheless, the rest of the book made me want to keep on reading. I am looking forward to the next book! 
 I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

First Chapter Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday #9 - "Skullduggery Pleasant" by Derek Landy

Every Tuesday Diane @ Bibliophile By the Sea hosts a weekly meme called First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros. Basically, this is when you share the first and maybe the second paragraph of the book you are currently reading or want to read soon.

Teaser Tuesdays is a meme hosted by MizB @ A Daily Rhythm, where I need to open a book to a random page and pick two spoiler-free sentences.

• 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!

So I have recently stocked up on books from the library along with my friends and they really recommended this book to me. Their exact words were: "The sass is strong with this one." *gives book to me* :D

One - Stephanie
Gordon Edgley's sudden death came as a shock to everyone - not least himself. One moment he was in his study, seven words into the twenty-fifth sentence of the final chapter of his new book, And the Darkness Rained upon Them, and the next he was dead.  A tragic loss,  his mind echoes numbly as he slipped away.
The funeral was attended by family and acquaintances but not many friends. Gordon hadn't been a well-liked figure in the publishing world, for although the books he wrote - tales of horror and magic and wonder - regularly reared their heads in the bestseller lists, he had the disquieting habit of insulting people without realizing it, then laughing at their shock. It was at Gordon's funeral, however, that Stephanie Edgley first caught sight of the gentleman in the tan overcoat.

Teaser
"No, Mum, I'm... I'm reading the dictionary."
Even the brief silence from the other end of the phone was skeptical. "The dictionary?" her mother said. "Really?"
"Yeah," Stephanie said. "Did you know that popple is a word?"

What do you think? Would you read it?

"The Pause" by John Larkin

Book Blurb (from Goodreads):
Declan seems to have it all: a family that loves him, friends he’s known for years, a beautiful girlfriend he would go to the ends of the earth for.

But there’s something in Declan’s past that just won’t go away, that pokes and scratches at his thoughts when he’s at his most vulnerable. Declan feels as if nothing will take away that pain that he has buried deep inside for so long. So he makes the only decision he thinks he has left: the decision to end it all.

Or does he? As the train approaches and Declan teeters at the edge of the platform, two versions of his life are revealed. In one, Declan watches as his body is destroyed and the lives of those who loved him unravel. In the other, Declan pauses before he jumps. And this makes all the difference.

One moment. One pause. One whole new life.

From author of The Shadow Girl, winner of the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2012 Prize for Writing for Young Adults, comes a breathtaking new novel that will make you reconsider the road you’re travelling and the tracks you’re leaving behind.

My Review
I think that John Larking has done a good job for writing a book about a very serious topic.
This book is about a boy called Declan, who has a happy family, an amazing girlfriend, friends and everything he asked for. Yet he was willing to throw it all away after a mental breakdown. The Pause shows the reader what could have been if only he would have paused before the train came.
Like I said before, this is a very serious topic. Depression and suicide effect many people around the globe. I was honestly quite impressed at how well John Larking handled this topic and how he managed to write an enjoyable book about it as well as give a very clear message to the people reading the book. I really enjoyed reading this book, but I'm still unsure about what I really think about it.

I'm going to talk about the beginning first. Honestly, I was quite bored at the start. Nothing within the first 50 pages caught my attention. I put the book down several times until I decided to power through it. I'm glad I did that though, because after that it definitely became way more interesting. 

The concept of this book was unique, I haven't read something like this yet. As an example, the ending is left ambiguous because there seem to be two endings to this book and the reader is left wondering what actually happened. This veiled ending is something that I found really cool. The same goes to the content of the book. I liked that the story revolves around what could have been.
I thought that the characters were definitely very interesting. They all had different personalities and mind sets. I thought that John Larkin was fairly successful at portraying the mental states of the individual patients in the psychology ward. Declan's humour was actually really funny and was at times what kept the book going. Sarah on the other hand was a really sweet girl and I could really see her being together with Declan.
Overall I thought that the book was written in a matter of fact way, although it is still written our of Declan's perspective. However, I thought that the story and the writing wasn't very captivating and didn't really capture my attention. Despite that, I admire the message the author is sending through the book: "You will get through the dark times. There are many beautiful moments to live for."
I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Cover Reveal - "Goat Children" by Jordan Elizabeth

GOAT CHILDREN

A YA Novel with a touch of Fantasy

Book Blurb:

When Keziah’s grandmother, Oma, is diagnosed with dementia, Keziah faces two choices: leave her family and move to New Winchester to care for Oma, or stay in New York City and allow her grandmother to live in a nursing home miles away.

The dementia causes Oma to be rude and paranoid, nothing like the woman Keziah remembers. Each day becomes a greater weight and love a harsher burden. Keziah must keep Oma from wandering off or falling, and try to convince her grandmother to see a doctor as her eyesight and hearing fail, but Oma refuses to believe anything is wrong. Resentful of her hardships in New Winchester, Keziah finds herself drawn to Oma’s ramblings about the Goat Children, a mythical warrior class. These fighters ride winged horses, locating people in need, while attempting to destroy evil in the world. Oma sees the Goat Children everywhere, and as Keziah reads the stories Oma wrote about them, she begins to question if they really exist.

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GOAT CHILDREN will be released March 25, 2016 from CHBB.

This story means a lot to me.  Many of the events are taken from my own life when I helped out my grandmother.  She was one of my best friends and in many ways, my world.  It still hurts to think about how the dementia made her suffer.

As she would have said: without further ado, I present the cover for GOAT CHILDREN.  The talented Rue Volley created this cover.

I can’t wait to share this book with all of you!  You can mark it as TBR today on GoodReads. 

About the author: Jordan Elizabeth, formally Jordan Elizabeth Mierek, writes her nightmares in order to live her dreams. With an eclectic job history behind her, she is now diving into the world of writing. It happens to be her most favorite one yet. When she’s not creating art or researching her family tree, she’s updating her blog. Jordan is the vice president of the Utica Writers Club. She roams Central New York, but loves to travel. 

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