In My Mailbox #97

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.  It's a weekly meme where we all get to brag about the books and swag we got in the mail, for review, won in contests, etc.

So, this happened this week:

Katie's 1st day of Kindergarten!!!

And so I didn't get much reading done, nor have I been able to visit blogs much lately, but I'm working on that.  A solid three-day weekend should set me right again.  :D  But now I have even more to read...

For Review:

click on covers to be taken to the Goodreads page for each book

Finding It by Cora Carmack - I can't wait to read Kelsey's story!  These books are sooo much fun!

The Waking Dark by Robin Wasserman - Was surprised that Random House finally approved me for this on Netgalley, but oh so happy, too!  I loved her last book, and I'll be fitting this one into the schedule momentarily.


Purchased/Audiobooks:


click on cover to be taken to the Goodreads page for each book
The DUFF:  Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger - As soon as I finished listening to Shut Out, I knew I wanted more from this author, so I immediately downloaded the audio for The Duff.  I wish I could find the audio for A Midsummer's Nightmare because I've had that book on my shelf for ages, but no such luck.  :(

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson - I'm already listening to this one, and why did I not pick up this book sooner?!?  I know why...because I thought it was going to be a grief book, full of sadness and I'm rarely in the mood for a book that's going to make me cry.  But this is so not that book.  It's about a sister's grief, yes, but it's funny and poetic and clever and just so REAL.  Definitely going on the favorites shelf.

my Half-Price Books haul

Included in my HPB haul:

• ARC of Delirium by Lauren Oliver - I already have this entire series, but I love having different covers for books I loved, so I had to pick this up.
• Paper Towns by John Green - *sigh* I've only read The Fault in Our Stars, but after that, I'm a fan for life.  And a brand new PB for less than $5?  Must collect them all!  =)
• The Forest of Hands and Teeth trilogy by Carrie Ryan - I've been wanting to re-read this series for awhile, but my Nook Color went kaput and so went all my books.  I gave the thing to Katie to play Angry Birds and stuff on when it does work, but it's useless to me because it won't DL anything anymore and it only works when it wants to.  And right before it became an obsolete toy, I'd already switched to a Kindle, so yeah, I'd just rather have hard copies of the books in this series now.

Expect a big HPB haul next week, too, because they're having a big sale for Labor Day weekend.  Had I known that, I probably wouldn't have gone last weekend, but hey, more books, right?!?  :-P

So, that's my haul.  How about you?  What did you get this week?

The Week in Review:

Reviews:

• The King's Guard by Rae Carson (novella)
• The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon (audio)
• The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas

Current Giveaways:  So Many Books So Little Time Giveaway, in which I make some room on my bookshelves!!!

Promotional/Discussion Posts:  On Monday, I admitted my disbelief that The Book Thief is already a movie and I still haven't read it yet.  I teased Haze by Paula Weston on Tuesday and now I want to smack myself for reading it when the series isn't finished yet...oh, the inhumanity of it!  And I'm waiting on World After by Susan Ee this week, as you probably all are. =)  Plus, we discussed the effectiveness of blurbs on Thoughtful Thursday.  Elizabeth Miles stopped by for the Forgiveness or Fury Tour in which she dropped some knowledge on us in celebration of the release of the final book in her Fury trilogy.

Jen's Currently Reading/Listening To:

From angels to zombies. :)  But I love zombies, and I love this series.  Ilsa J. Bick is brilliant.  This is long, and there are so many POVs but it's going to be worth it in the end. I'm only 10% in but it's already pretty epic.

I am absolutely freaking loving this book.  It's just so real.  It's not just about grief but how you handle it and how you handle the guilt that comes from moving on with your life.  So. Effing. Good.

The Week Ahead:

Reviews:   Shut Out (audio), The DUFF (audio) & Haze



On Monday, April Genevieve Tucholke, author of the gothic horror novel Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea -- which I LOVED -- stops by for a guest post.


On this week's Thoughtful Thursday, I'll either be discussing the evolution of my bookshelves (if I get them organized enough to take a picture this weekend!) or I'll be ranting about the judgmental nature of some bibliophiles.

Win ARCs of Teardrop & The Eye of Minds - Ends Thursday

Like honest reviews & giveaways?  Be sure to follow us on Bloglovin' so you never miss out!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!!

So Many Books So Little Time Giveaway

I'm a compulsive collector of books.  I'm sure many of you can relate.  I receive a few ARCs for review, trade for others, or I find them along with my other purchases at the used bookstore.  I also buy entirely too many books when I find them on sale.  And there are even more unread ebooks on my Kindles.  Yes, plural.

So, it should come as no shock that I'm running out of room on my bookshelves again, despite the fact that mere months ago, I purchased another one for my office.  That makes two jumbo sized bookshelves and one standard bookcase, all courtesy of IKEA.

That's a lot, considering I started out with a self-installed set of three shelves when this addiction first overtook me.  I'd take a picture just to show you how bad it is now, but it's rather embarrassing.  I'll be cleaning and reorganizing them this weekend, kind of a preemptive fall cleaning, if you will, and then I'll show them off.

For now, I'd just like to clear off a few books that I just have no further need for.  I'm actually planning a series of little giveaways like this.  Shipping will be a bit of a pain, but hey, it beats buying another bookshelf that I have zero room for.  :-P

Anyway, this is where you come in.  Today, I'd like to give away two ARCs of upcoming releases that I'm just not going to have the time to get to anytime soon.  My hope is that whoever wins would be open to doing a guest review of each book here on the blog.  That's what ARCs are meant for, after all.  It's not absolutely required -- I don't know how I'd enforce that, anyway:  "Hey, you didn't review those books for me, give them back!" -- but it would be awesome.

This is the first in hopefully a series of giveaways to clear off my shelves.  Not all will be ARCs and not all will be newer releases.  In fact, probably most of the titles will be older ones, a lot of them entirely unread and therefore pitifully sad sitting there on my shelves untouched and unloved.  :(

So, here's what's up for grabs:

Teardrop by Lauren Kate
The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

Rules:

• This giveaway is US only.  Sorry, international peeps, but I'll have a giveaway for you guys soon.
• One entry per household.
• Entries will be verified.  Any entry found to be falsified will result in disqualification of all entries for that participant.
• Winner will be notified via email.  Winner will then have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected.  Please check your SPAM folder!!!
• I am not responsible for lost packages.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'm so excited to make some room on my shelves, and I'm super excited for one of you to win these and then tell me how they were!  I really wish I could read them myself, but there are just so many books and so little time!

Thanks for stopping by & happy reading!

Review: The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas

Title: The Burning Sky
Author: Sherry Thomas
Series: The Elemental Trilogy, book #1
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: September 17, 2013
Source: ARC received from publisher, from publisher via Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

It all began with a ruined elixir and an accidental bolt of lightning…

Iolanthe Seabourne is the greatest elemental mage of her generation—or so she's being told. The one prophesied for years to be the savior of The Realm. It is her duty and destiny to face and defeat the Bane, the greatest mage tyrant the world has ever known. A suicide task for anyone let alone a sixteen-year-old girl with no training, facing a prophecy that foretells a fiery clash to the death.

Prince Titus of Elberon has sworn to protect Iolanthe at all costs but he's also a powerful mage committed to obliterating the Bane to revenge the death of his family—even if he must sacrifice both Iolanthe and himself to achieve his goal.

But Titus makes the terrifying mistake of falling in love with the girl who should have been only a means to an end. Now, with the servants of the Bane closing in, he must choose between his mission and her life.

Man, that cover is awesome.  The original cover for this book was pretty great, too, because it highlighted the duality of the storyline, but I'm equally as happy with this cover.  That said, the description of the book from the trailer (below) captured my interest in this book much better than the summary from Goodreads (above). I'm all for some magic, but when it's a girl wielding magic while pretending to be a boy in a pretentious all boys school in historic London while also hiding from those who would do her harm in her own world, well, I'm going to be all over that.

I'm a fantasy fanatic.  I'm always looking for the next fantastic world I can escape to, one full of magic and mischief and mayhem.  And there was plenty in equal measures in The Burning Sky.  It took me a bit to become fully engaged in this story, but once the pacing picked up, there was plenty to keep me interested. This book was kind of the anti-Harry Potter:  a girl is taken from her magical world and brought to ours, where magic doesn't exist, to attend school while hiding from the Bane and his cohorts.  I'm not attempting to make a true comparison, just laying it out there so you get the gist of the story.  (And I'm not telling you anything that's not shown in the book trailer.)

A lot of my friends who shy away from fantasy tend to do so because the world and it's rules can become quite confusing. I don't think The Burning Sky is supposed to be a confusing book, but there were times that I found myself questioning the laws of the magic of The Realm or the Seer's predictions regarding Titus and Iolanthe.  I often overlook things in fantasy novels, assuring myself that it'll all make sense later.  But with this novel, I needed instant gratification, and so when I was confused about which Crucible was being used and which rules related to it because of the location and who it had previously belonged to, I inevitably started flipping back and forth in the book.  I needed everything in this novel to make sense in the here and now, not chapters later when everything had worked itself out already.  And upon further inspection, it did make sense...it was just easy to get ahead of myself while reading and lose track of some of the details.  Some of the paradoxes involving predicting the future still don't make sense, but I think that's just one of those things that I might never fully comprehend.

Iolanthe and Titus' first meeting is the result of a prediction.  I wasn't immediately enamored with either character, their initial mistrust of each other and overall demeanor leaving much to be desired, but as the story wore on, and more of each character's story was divulged, I found myself rooting for them, separately and as partners.  The romance didn't wow me, but it was sweet.  My favorite aspect, though, was probably one of the super villain's underlings.  The Inquisitor was ferocious in her search for the powerful mage who had wielded lightning.  Her ability to seek out the truth in one's mind knows no bounds, and the Inquisitor makes for a truly terrifying enemy.  Her existence and her power make me even more curious about the Bane and his rumored malevolence.

I think The Burning Sky only touched on some characters that could definitely use further examination as the series continues.  And I'd like a little more background and explanation as to how the magic works and exists in both worlds.  As you can see, I definitely want more, and I'll absolutely be picking up the next installment.  I'm hoping that, where this book seemed to focus more on world-building, the next will focus more on characterization.  I'm excited to get to know these characters better!

Rating: 

About the author:

Sherry Thomas writes both historical romance and young adult fantasy. On the romance side, she is one of the most acclaimed authors working in the genre today, her books regularly receiving starred reviews and best-of-the-year honors from trade publications. She is also a two-time winner of Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA® Award. On the young adult fantasy side, there isn't much to say yet, as her debut book is not scheduled for publication until September 2013. Sherry writes in her second language. She learned English by reading lots of romance and science fiction--every word Isaac Asimov ever wrote, in fact. She is proud to say that her son is her biggest fanboy--for the YA fantasy, not the romances. At least, not yet...

Find Sherry:

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

{Audiobook} Review: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

Title:  The Bone Season
Author:  Samantha Shannon
Narrator:  Alana Kerr
Series:  The Bone Season, book #1 of 7
Publisher:  Audible for Bloomsbury
Publication Date:  August 20, 2013
Source:  purchased audio
Purchase:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

It is the year 2059. Several major world cities are under the control of a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of Scion London, part of a secret cell known as the Seven Seals. The work she does is unusual: scouting for information by breaking into others’ minds. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant, and in this world, the voyants commit treason simply by breathing.

But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister even than Scion. The voyant prison is a separate city—Oxford, erased from the map two centuries ago and now controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. These creatures, the Rephaim, value the voyants highly—as soldiers in their army.

Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper, Warden, who will be in charge of her care and training. He is her master. Her natural enemy. But if she wants to regain her freedom, Paige will have to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives.

The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine—a young woman learning to harness her powers in a world where everything has been taken from her. It also introduces an extraordinary young writer, with huge ambition and a teeming imagination. Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut.

I'm usually vary wary of hugely hyped novels.  I've been eagerly anticipating The Bone Season since I first discovered its existence, though, so I tried to avoid the hype as much as possible.  I didn't watch the trailer. I only read the reviews of a couple of my most trusted reviewer friends...those that I knew wouldn't spoil anything or lead me astray. And I avoided all mentions of this book on Goodreads, especially comparisons to other authors and mentions of book and/or movie deals. But I haven't been living under a rock, so I know that this book has been garnering some serious attention, no matter how blind I wanted to be going into it. I hope that by sequestering myself from nearly all references to this book, I can provide an unbiased opinion.

I actually listened to the audio for The Bone Season, and I enjoyed it immensely, probably more than I would have just reading it myself.  The first half of the story does tend toward the tedious, but Alana Kerr's emphatic narration kept it from feeling so monotonous.  Accents always make for pleasant listening in my experience, but Kerr's slight Irish/English accent really did make her sound like the Irish girl living in London that she was portraying.  This audio never lacked of emotion, but it was full of characters with voices to match their personalities.  I'm definitely a fan of Kerr's narration of this book, and I'm hopeful she'll narrate future books in this series.

As I said, The Bone Season gets off to a bit of a slow start, but it's due in part to an intense amount of world-building, and while some may bristle at that, I found it intriguing.  There's a secret society of voyants, a hidden city, and a world on another plane of existence that all have to be fleshed out, and while the details of these are indeed plentiful, they are entirely necessary in order to truly paint the picture.  It's such a dark, sad world, and I felt every bit of it as I listened to the story.

Paige is a nineteen-year-old girl, hiding what she is from everyone but those who employ her talents.  She longs for a normal life, but she knows that the path to safety is the one she's currently on.  Or, that at least it's the safest path of those available to her.  Until it isn't anymore.  And then she's thrust even further into the world of voyants and even crazier, ruthless angels who want to harness the powers of the voyants for their own purposes.

I wasn't particularly crazy about Paige's character or her situation in the beginning, but she's one of those protagonists that grows on you the more you discover of their story.  One thing that bothered me the most about her character though was her seemingly closed-mindedness, how difficult it was for her to accept that things could be anything but black and white, especially when it came to Warden.  And I think a large part of that is owed to her employer, as she proved she could think for herself there at the end.

Warden was a pleasant surprise.  Paige's relationship with her angel master is complicated at best.  Because although he assumes ownership of her in the beginning, he practically gives her free reign, as long as she causes him no trouble.  He teaches her, helps her master her gift, and seemingly, he asks for nothing in return. I wouldn't quite say Warden was enigmatic, for I saw through his guise from the beginning, but he remained such to Paige for most of the novel.  I did feel that the romantic relationship developed rather suddenly between them, though.  Not that I didn't see it coming, but essentially, Paige sees him as the enemy almost right up until the point he kisses her.  Most girls wouldn't kiss the guy they're trying to escape from unless it was a ploy to further their escape attempts.  But Paige was a complex character, and I think maybe she shut off those feelings, that possibility very early on.

Even so, I'm very interested to see what future books hold for Warden and Paige and the rest of the Seven Seals, especially after that explosive ending.  Samantha Shannon may or may not be the next whoever, but she is definitely a masterful storyteller.  The Bone Season was engaging and thought-provoking, and I'll definitely be picking up a finished copy for my shelves.

Rating:   1/2

About the author:

Samantha Shannon was born and raised in West London. She recently finished her degree in English Language and Literature at St Anne's College, Oxford, where she specialized in Emily Dickinson and Principles of Film Criticism.

In 2012 she signed a book deal with Bloomsbury Publishing to publish the first three books in a seven-book series, beginning with 'The Bone Season'. Film rights to the novel were optioned by Andy Serkis's London-based production company, The Imaginarium Studios, in November 2012.

Find Samantha:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Pinterest | Tumblr

Thoughtful Thursdays: Blurb, Blurb, Blurb is the Word

If you read the following, would your curiosity be piqued?

"Spellbinding complexity.  Deep, dark & intense."

Does that sound like the kind of book you'd be interested in? Or does that sound rather generic to you?

What if I told you that those words were referring to coffee?  Don't believe me?  Behold:

I was in the break room at work the other day, waiting on my coffee to brew, and I happened to glance at a box of coffee next to the coffee maker.  And on the front lip, it said verbatim:  "Spellbinding complexity. Deep dark & intense."  (Coffee wasn't even mentioned on the box, though it is in the description on the website.)  And I thought to myself, that could be any number of books I've read.  In fact, it rather sounds like a blurb, telling you nothing but making it sound good all the same.

Well, that's how I personally feel about blurbs, anyway.  A book blurb means very little to me these days.  I used to be of the mind that my favorite authors would only blurb books that were similar to theirs or that would at least appeal to fans of their books, but now it seems like any and all authors' opinions are up for grabs, no matter the book's content.

In essence, a blurb is just further promotion for a book.  It's purpose is to entice the reader, either by what is said or because of who is saying it.  And that may work on some people, but I've never considered purchasing a book based on a blurb and vice versa.  If I had let a blurb effect my buying/reading decisions, I never would have picked up All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill, and I would have missed out on a fantastic time travel story:




Honestly, what the blurb says is pretty true, and I'll admit it, I read Becca Fitzpatrick's books.  And I liked them in the beginning, despite the stalker-like tendencies of the male lead.  But I know better now.  I'd like to say I'm much better read now, and that kind of story just doesn't cut it for me anymore, which is probably why I still haven't finished that series.  And I could have let the fact that this author blurbed a book that I was seriously interested in reading affect my decision to pick up the story, but I didn't.

Because blurbs mean zilch, nada, nothing to me.  They provide no useful service to me.  Their pretty, flowery words have zero effect on me and my reading decisions.  In fact, they kind of annoy me because it seems like they're trying too hard.


So, where do you stand on book blurbs?  Do you find them helpful when considering a new read?  Are they even remotely effective at selling you a book?

Forgiveness or Fury Blog Tour

The PLL Team is joining up with the preferred bloggers and getting ready for the September 3rd release of the final installment in the Fury series from Elizabeth Miles, Eternity, by hosting an awesome blog tour with the author.  The theme is Forgiveness or Fury. Each day the hosting blogger will pose a scenario to Elizabeth, who will decide how she would respond: with forgiveness and mercy…or with fury and vengeance? She will also be recommending YA books that specifically relate to the scenarios she discusses, so keep an eye out for some other good reads!

Without further ado, here's Elizabeth....

Thank you for hosting me as part of the FORGIVENESS or FURY Blog Tour! I’m thrilled about the release of my third novel, ETERNITY, the final chapter of the FURY SERIES. At each tour stop, I’ll be offering advice to teens on how to handle difficult situations (some of which come from the Fury trilogy itself), and I’ll recommend either forgiveness…or fury. I’ll also suggest a few of my favorite YA titles that tackle these difficult scenarios.

Today’s question is: My friend stole from a store but tried to pin it on me. Should I choose Forgiveness or Fury?

My advice: She stole a pricey lacy tank top -- not even in your size! -- and when her mom asked her about it, she said YOU took it from the boutique downtown. Her mom told your mom, and the rest is...you're grounded. Ugh. Totally unfair, but I'd advocate forgiveness in this case, as well as an open, honest conversation about what's going on with your friend. You never know what circumstances lead friends to make bad choices, but oftentimes what seems like a malicious action is actually a sign of a deeper issue. Ask her if everything's okay. (And tell her you won't serve as her scapegoat ever again.)

Great YA pick about a similar situation: Trinkets by Kirsten Smith
When I heard that the co-writer of She’s the Man and 10 Thing I Hate About You had written a YA novel, I knew I had to get my hands on it immediately. I wasn’t disappointed! This hilarious novel is about three girls who meet in a Shoplifter’s Anonymous meeting and take a detour on their road to recovery, learning that sometimes the things you steal aren’t as valuable as the ones you can get for free, if you work hard enough.

About the author:

Elizabeth Miles grew up in Chappaqua, New York, not far from New York City. She graduated cum laude from Boston University in 2004, worked for several years at the Boston Phoenix, and now writes for the Portland Phoenix, an alternative weekly newspaper. She has won several awards from the New England Press Association and was nominated for an Association of Alternative Newsweeklies Award. Elizabeth serves on the board of trustees of Portland Players, a community theater and second home. She loves pizza; she can often be found running around on stage while scantily clad; and a cold winter night in Maine is one of the creepiest and most beautiful things she can think of. Eternity is her third novel.

Find Elizabeth:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

And here's a little about this final book in the Fury series:

Title: Eternity
Author: Elizabeth Miles
Series: The Fury Trilogy, book #3
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: September 3, 2013
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Secrets and revenge make for desperate measures and fateful choices in this gripping conclusion to the Fury trilogy.

The weather is mild in Ascension…but beneath the surface, everything is burning up.

The nightmare Emily Winters has been living through for months shows no sign of ending, as the Furies stay on the peripheral, slowly driving her crazy. Em feels...different. She’s angry, and never cold, and too strong. It’s only a matter of time before she turns into the thing she hates the most. Em needs to take her fate into her own hands, but without Drea’s help, or anyone to turn to, Em is quickly running out of options.

Crow’s involvement with Em has grown more complicated. His visions are taking shape—and it doesn’t look good for Em. But Crow has a plan, and he will do anything to save her. Anything.

JD misses the Em he used to know...and love. She doesn’t seem like herself; it’s like she’s hiding something. When JD begins to learn the truth, he is as scared as he is determined to help her. And Em’s survival may be dependent on his actions.

The Furies love to play games, but this time they’re deadly serious…and they hate to lose.

Tour Schedule:

8/26: Boekie's Book Reviews

8/27: Read My Breath Away

8/28: The Starry-Eyed Revue

8/29: Chick Loves Lit

8/30: Reading Lark

  9/2: PLL’s blog!

How would you have handled that situation?  Have you read or do you plan to read the Fury series?  I read the first book, but I haven't managed to get back to the series yet, though I am fascinated by The Furies.

Thanks for stopping by & happy reading!

Waiting on Wednesday: World After by Susan Ee

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selection is...

Title: World After
Author: Susan Ee
Series: Penryn & the End of Days, book #2
Publisher: Skyscape/Amazon Children's Publishing
Publication Date: November 19, 2013

In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

Ermahgerd...it feels like I've been waiting for this sequel for ages!  And I didn't even read Angelfall when it first came out.  But I have read it at least five times now -- it's seriously that good -- and now I'm ready to see what becomes of Penryn, Raffe, and poor little Paige.  Especially after that excerpt that was just posted with the cover reveal!  Speaking of which, you like?  I really, really do.  =)

Now that you know what I'm dying to read, what are you waiting on this week?  Feel free to share it in the comments or leave a link so I can stop by!

Teaser Tuesday #72: Haze by Paula Weston

Teaser Tuesday 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!

Here's what I'm teasing this week:

Title: Haze
Author: Paula Weston
Series: The Rephaim, book #2
Publisher: Text Publishing
Publication Date: May 22, 2013 (in Australia, not till 2014 in US)
Source: borrowed from Lauren
Purchase: Amazon | Fishpond | The Book Depository

Gaby Winters’ nightmares have stopped but she still can’t remember her old life. Still can’t quite believe she is one of the Rephaim—the wingless half-angels who can shift from place to place, country to country, in the blink of an eye. That she was once the Rephaim’s best fighter. That demons exist. That Rafa has stayed.

But most of all, she can’t quite believe that her twin brother, Jude, might be alive.

And Gaby can’t explain the hesitancy that sidetracks the search for him, infuriates Rafa, and sends them, again, into the darkest danger.

"My chest is heaving.  We're both trying to catch our breath.  His grip tightens on my arms. His eyes are strangely distant as he stares at me.  I can't read his expression and it's freaking me out a little."

-- p. 166

Oh, this book is sooo good.  I'm loving it, but I'm taking it slowly because I know that it'll be awhile before I get my hands on the next book.  Though, I'm supremely thankful to have a friend like Lauren who lent me her copy (procured from Fishpond) so that I can read this one earlier than it'll be released here in the states. =)  I mean, Shadows isn't even out here yet.  :P

What are you teasing this week?  Share it in the comments or leave a link so I can visit!