Monday, May 24, 2010

Teaser Tuesday #6


Teaser Tuesdays are hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Here are her instructions:
Grab your current read, turn it to a random page and share two 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!

My new favorite class in school is Postmodernism in English Literature, because it features many authors I've always wanted to read anyway. One of them is Ian McEwan, who I've never read before, but enjoyed two film adaptations of his books immensely (Atonement and The Comfort of Strangers). My first Ian McEwan novel is Amsterdam, and it's fantastic so far. Here's the very beginning:

Two former lovers of Molly Lane stood waiting outside the crematorium chapel with their backs to the February chill. It had all been said before, but they said it again.
"She never knew what hit her."
"When she did it was too late."

"Rapid onset."

"Poor Molly."
"Mmm."

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Giveaway Winners - The Second Coming

Finally, I am posting the list of winners of David H. Burton's debut novel, The Second Coming! The winners will be contacted by David himself with information on where to download their ebooks. I am looking forward to reading your reviews! And the winners are...

Ryan G
Dr Bill Smith
Samantha
cpullum

Congratulations! Watch this space for another giveaway soon!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Review: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey


Again, I've been a bad blogger. School got the best of me and so my personal life (including this blog) suffered. Never worry, for I am never really gone! Now it's time to blog about books I've read in the meantime, comment on your reviews and do a vlog (look for one in a couple of days).

To kick off what I hope will be the greatest comeback since Mariah Carey, I am reviewing Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey. Jessica is an ordinary girl with a mysterious past - adopted from Romania when she was still a baby, she only knows of her American parents, while her Romanian heritage is a mystery. Enter Lucius Vladescu, a "foreign exchange student" from Romania, with the craziest idea: Jessica is to move to Romania, marry him and live as the greatest vampire queen the Balkans have ever seen.

Jessica's Guide is not to be confused with any recent YA vampire books (especially not the saga-I-shall-not-name). The approach here is much lighter, reminiscent of MaryJanice Davidson's Queen Betsy series. A chick lit in its core, the novel stumbles through multiple twists and turns and manages to come off as humorous and fun, if a little trivial. Lucius is a great character and it is through him that Fantaskey manages to sneak a little satire into the story. His perception of American culture is often funny and rings true. Jessica is spunky (of course!), but she also has her moments of humor.

All in all, Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side is a good choice for people who would like to try out a different approach to vampires. Edgy and fun, it still has an emotional scene or two, and an ending that is so mythical, it manages to wipe out almost every misstep in the books 350 pages.

RATING: 4/5

Thanks to Beth Fantaskey for providing me with a review copy of the book.