Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Teaser: Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready



Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready


"There, it's official," he said. "No more guilt."
"He says, sitting in a confession booth."
Logan laughed again. Our hands were still intertwined.
"Can you feel me?" I whispered.
He gazed down at me. "I'll always feel you, Aura."
I closed my eyes as Logan kissed me. This time, in my soul, I felt everything.

p. 106

Monday, August 27, 2012

Sunday, August 26, 2012

New Books On My Shelf #55

New Books On My Shelf is the new label for my former In My Mailbox (The Story Siren) posts. I haven't done a post about new books in ages, so the books pictured below are new arrivals from the past weeks.



 E-ARCs

What's Left Of Me by Kat Zhang (Edelweiss) (read)
Speechless by Hannah Harrington (Netgalley) (read)
The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa (Netgalley) (read)




 Bought

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready  (currently reading)
Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready
Losing Lila by Sarah Alderson
Perception by Kim Harrington (read)
Aces Up by Lauren Barnholdt (read)
Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick (read)


So that's what I got. I'm positively surprised how many books I've already read. And I'm especially happy that I managed to read my new E-ARCs in time and have my reviews finished. Link me to your book hauls?

Friday, August 24, 2012

Holidays 2012 & Summer Reads

As you might've noticed, I'm back from vacation. It were two really awesome weeks of relaxing, swimming and reading with the best weather. Here are some pics and a list of the books I read. I'd like to see what you read in the last weeks. As always feel free to leave a link in the comments!






Summer Reading



Speechless by Hannah Harrington (really liked it.Maybe not as much as Saving June, but I got the message)
Perception by Kim Harrington (fast read. didn't enjoy the sequel as much as the first book though)
Aces Up by Lauren Barholdt (average read)
A Million Suns by Beth Revis (just wow!)
Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick (ok read. the protagonist infuriated me throughout the entire story)
On The Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta (can't believe I didn't read this masterpiece earlier)
What's Left Of Me by Kat Zhang (original story concept, but not my favourite read)



 Any book that you think I MUST read in the remaining weeks of summer?

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Coveresque feat. Love and other perishable items by Laura Buzo (US vs. Australian vs.German)



AUS                                                US                                       German

A new week and I've got three new covers for you. Laura Buzo is an Australian author who published her debut novel GOOD OIL in 2010. Some of you might better know it as LOVE AND OTHER PERISHABLE ITEMS, released in the US in the end of 2012. Before I came across the gorgeous US cover I hadn't heard about Laura's novel (sadly so, many of my favourite books were written by Aussie authors and I'm glad about every new finding).

The Australian cover promises a nice contemporary read. We see the two protagonists Amelia and Chris in front of a blurry background. It's a decent cover but nothing that would immediately attract my attention in a bookstore. But isn't the girl's smile beautiful? I really like her laugh.

The US cover is stunning in its simplicity. Love the colors and the motive + also the font is very cool. It was that cover that first drew my attention to the book!

As always I'm not very impressed by the German cover. The pinkish colors are too dominant for my taste and the cover as a whole looks more fitting for a middle grade story. You see that someone has put a lot of effort and creativity into the cover design though!

Which one do you like best?



Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Book Review: When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle




Title: When You Were Mine
Author: Rebecca Serle
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Books UK
Publishing Date: April 26th 2012
Length: 334 pages
Keywords: YA fiction, contemporary romance, tragedy, star-crossed lovers
Source: Publisher

Rosaline has been best friends with Rob since they were little kids. Recently, something deeper and more electric has entered their friendship, and when Rob returns after the summer break and asks Rosaline on a sort-of date, it seems they are destined to become a couple, just as Rosaline always knew they would be. The next day at school, a mysterious, beautiful girl arrives: Rosaline's long-lost cousin, Juliet. And suddenly it looks as if Rosaline might be about to lose her best friend AND her new boyfriend…

Summary by Goodreads 




A new interpretation of one of the most read tragedies in the world? Yes, please! Romeo & Juliet was one of my favourite reads in high school and is one of my favourite classics in general. The two doomed lovers dying a tragic death. It was always a story I found myself fascinated by. So you can probably imagine how excited I was to read WHEN YOU WERE MINE.

WHEN YOU WERE MINE is an amazing read, a fabulous YA contemporary romance with just the right amount of tragedy, drama and love. Some of you might say that a story like Romeo & Juliet can’t be copied so easily or that another retake only promises to be tiresome. Whereas the story follows the main events of the classic Romeo & Juliet, in the end it is only roughly based on it. This time it’s Rosaline’s story to be told.

Rosaline is the girl no one has really thought about much, until now. Rebecca Serle chose the famous tale of the two Italian cult star-crossed lovers and transformed the story to California with a pretty impressive storyline in mind. I loved to find out what of the original story she decided to keep and in how far she adjusted single details, added characters or wrote riveting new dialogues.

The book is divided into acts and scenes just like the original play and based on various tendencies and main events of Romeo and Juliet. The names of the WHEN YOU WERE MINE characters are very similar to the original names like Rosaline Caplet, Rob Montag, Juliet Caplet. That similarity bothered me a bit in the beginning, because just from the sound of their names, I imagined the characters to be copied, too (they are really not!). In the end I appreciated even that tiny detail, the names, that led to an excellent new telling about that ancient love story. Or better, the story of the girl who got hurt in the process and forgotten over the years.

Without telling too much about the story, I can tell you that much about WHEN YOU WERE MINE. The focus doesn’t solely lie on one love story. There’s more to that book than Rob loving Juliet or Rosaline’s feelings for Rob. It needs some time to discover in which direction the story is headed and that was what made WHEN YOU WERE MINE such a spectacularly enjoyable read.

A major plus is that WHEN YOU WERE MINE is not all about love, but friendship, too. You can imagine Rosaline must go trough many hardships and it’s an invaluable gift to have friends by your side. I’m sure you’ll love her best friend Charlie just as much as I did and highly appreciate the thread of their friendship’s story.

Rebecca Serle wrote her book with the knowledge that her readers’ would be expecting a certain outcome or start into it with predefined pictures of the characters Juliet, Rob and Rosaline. Of course Juliet would be the innocently cute girl who captured Rob’s heart, Rob her knight in shining armour and Rosaline the jealous ex not worthy of an own story.
Now Rebecca managed to shape the characters in a completely new and exciting way and I admit that Shakespeare couldn’t have done a better job. I was infuriated with the irrational, immature and mindless behaviour of some characters, moved by the emotional conflicts other characters had to go through and simply enraptured by the true major love story that hasn’t been told all that time.
 




1) of an essential character addition to the classic Romeo & Juliet cast
2) there’s always room for a new seven
3) it’s not fate that defines who we are and what we do, but our own choices
4) of the things that might not be visible yet, but that have always been there
5) it’s an amazing re-telling of Shakespeare’s drama





5/5 ***** WHEN YOU WERE MINE- The profound and adorable Romeo & Juliet retelling I didn’t know I had always been waiting for to find, devour, and love. Rebecca Serle makes YA and Shakespeare readers’ dreams come true.

YA contemporary readers, there’s no way around Rebecca Serle’s debut WHEN YOU WERE MINE. This Romeo and Juliet retelling is inspired by Shakespeare’s story, yet bears ever new surprises and turns the story way round. Rosaline’s been the star all along! 





* Have alook inside WHEN YOU WERE MINE. 


* Listen to the WHEN YOU WERE MINE playlist

* Visit www.rebeccaserle.com for further information about Rebecca Serle and her books.

* Thanks to Simon & Schuster UK for sending me a copy of WHEN YOU WERE MINE for review!




Monday, August 20, 2012

New Releases: August 20th - August 26th



August 21st


The Rise of Nine (Lorien Legacies #3) by Pittacus Lore
Heaven (Halo #3) by Alexandra Adornetto
Scrawl by Mark Shulman
The Raft by S.A. Bodeen
Beautiful Lies by Jessica Warman
Over You by Emma McLaughlin, Nicola Kraus


Look at these beauties being released tomorrow! I watched the I AM NUMBER FOUR movie but don't find time to catch up with the books. Am I the only one here?

I'm also pretty excited to be back at blogging!! Exams and move are completed and I returned from my holidays. Will do a post on my vacation and show you pics of my books' new home if you like to see them.


Friday, August 10, 2012

2nd Blogoversary Giveaway

Caring blogmum that I am, I went to my blog page for the first time in a week and scrolled down to see this:


 Miss Page-Turner's City of Books celebrates its 2nd BIRTHDAY today!!! Crazy, huh?
Thank you all for your enormous and continuous support! I wouldn't be blogging without you all. xo


I'm on vacation and totally lost track of time, but that's no excuse for not celebrating. So here's a giveaway for you all! The winner gets to pick one book from the list below, including my favourites in 2012 so far and the books I'm much anticipating. Or you can choose a book not on the list, under $ 10 USD from The Book Depository.



Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally
The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa
Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson (UK paperback)
When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle (UK paperback)
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (UK paperback)
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (pre-order of new paperback ed)
Until I Die by Amy Plum (UK paperback)
Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder (UK paperback)
Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale (Uk paperback)
City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare (UK paperback)


 * You enter for a chance to win one book of your choice from the list above or you can pick one not on the list for under $ 10 USD.
* INTERNATIONAL
* The giveaway starts on August 10th and will end on September 10th.
* Enter the rafflecopter from!
* Good luck :)


a Rafflecopter giveaway



Wanna see where I'm spending my holidays? I'm off for the beach and to read some more. Have a lovely summer!


Friday, August 3, 2012

Holidays 2012

It feels like time's flown by in a blink. Now that I'm done with my exams and moved in the new house, I'm leaving for two weeks of holidays in Denmark. I'm always looking forward to that time of the year when I can just relax on the beach and read all day long. After the long blogging break, I'm bursting with new energy and have lots of posts on my mind that I want to share with you on the blog. So right now I also REALLY can't wait to be back and start full-time blogging again (as full-time stalking YOUR blogs!).


Here's a list of what I'm taking with me. Hope to read half of it (being realistic).


What are you summer plans? Tell me in the comments and/or link me to your posts!!