Teaser Tuesday[44]: That Time I Joined the Circus by J.J. Howard

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!

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And the book this week is!:

That Time I Joined The Circus by J.J. Howard

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Scholastic Inc. (Point)

Publish Date: April, 2013

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Lexi Ryan just ran away to join the circus, but not on purpose.

A music-obsessed, slightly snarky New York City girl, Lexi is on her own. After making a huge mistake--and facing a terrible tragedy--Lexi has no choice but to track down her long-absent mother. Rumor has it that Lexi's mom is somewhere in Florida with a traveling circus.

When Lexi arrives at her new, three-ring reality, her mom isn't there . . . but her destiny might be. Surrounded by tigers, elephants, and trapeze artists, Lexi finds some surprising friends and an even more surprising chance at true love. She even lucks into a spot as the circus's fortune teller, reading tarot cards and making predictions.

But then Lexi's ex-best friend from home shows up, and suddenly it's Lexi's own future that's thrown into question.

With humor, wisdom, and a dazzlingly fresh voice, this debut reminds us of the magic of circus tents, city lights, first kisses, and the importance of an excellent playlist.

Excerpt:

“I opened the bag and I did have to laugh. It was one of those grab bags of remainder books they sell at little used bookstores. This one was full of slim Regency romances.

‘Nice!’ I told her. ‘I love these things. And I go through them so fast.’” (ARC, pg. 126)

(I used this quote mainly because, aside from landing on the page with it, I thought it was funny, and something that at least I can relate to. Maybe some of you can too, even if not with that particular genre?)

So, how is everyone doing so far this week? And what are you reading right now, if anything?

Manga Review: Awkward Silence, Volume 2, by Hinako Takanaga

Genre: Yaoi, Contemporary Romance (including sex)

Rating (Out of 5): ~4.5

Publisher: SuBLime (related to VIZ Media)

Publish Date: October 30th, 2012

Volumes: 4+

Spoilers?: Some.

Buy it here: Amazon. Book Depository. Barnes and Noble. Powells. RightStuf!.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Too shy for love.Satoru and Keigo had plans to go away on vacation together, but Keigo got stuck with mandatory baseball training camp. Shy Satoru has something important to say to Keigo, so he decides to break into the training camp in the middle of the night to see him.

Reads R to L (Japanese Style) for mature audiences.

Review:

I’m kind of obsessed with a few different series right now. And this is one of them. (Also: Jiu Jiu.)

It’s just so good. I’m surprised by how good it is, and I’m loving it. I’m loving this series so much.

So. The first storyline in this volume was mainly focused on Tamiya and Satoru, the main couple. Tamiya has to stay at the school for mandatory baseball camp, and Satoru gets lonely; also he believes that Tamiya thinks he’s upset with him, when he’s not, he just can’t express emotions well. So Satoru sneaks into the school to talk to Tamiya. Also, there’s a rumor going around the baseball team that the school is haunted.

This was mainly a sweet, cute, hot story for the two, which was nice. And we got to meet Satoru’s parents, who are awesome. Particularly his mom, who is also expressionless at all times, even though her husband and Satoru can tell what she’s feeling. It’s rather adorable, really.

For the rest of the volume, Satoru notices that Kagami, someone on the student council, maybe has feelings for his childhood friend, Yu. So, Satoru and Tamiya try to push them along. This takes up a good amount of time, since there are some mess-ups, as well as Kagami denying it. Although, the reader sees that it’s true (as does Yu, wink wink).

I like all of the characters, really. I like Satoru and Tamiya, and seeing their relationship develop further, and I’m intrigued by what’s happening between Yu and Kagami. I also really like seeing Satoru’s parents, who we saw more of throughout the volume. I really like his mom, his mom and his father seem really cute together, and I liked seeing how Satoru and his mom got along, seeing as how similar they are. I hope they show up even more in the next volume, and that we meet Tamiya’s parents.

I’m just really enjoying the ride this series is taking me on. The characters are good, I love Satoru’s expressionlessness, the storylines are good, the smut is good. It’s all just really good, great; I’m loving it.

The volumes are being released rather slowly, since we’re pretty much caught up with Japan, but the next volume is already out, and I should be getting it soon.

Novel Review: Easy by Tammara Webber

Genre: NA Contemporary Romance

Rating (Out of 5): ~4-4.5

Publisher: Penguin (Berkley)

Publish Date: May 24/November 6th, 2012

Spoilers?: Minor.

Buy it here: Amazon. Book Depository. Barnes and Noble. Powells.

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Rescued by a stranger.
Haunted by a secret
Sometimes, love isn’t easy…

He watched her, but never knew her. Until thanks to a chance encounter, he became her savior…

The attraction between them was undeniable. Yet the past he’d worked so hard to overcome, and the future she’d put so much faith in, threatened to tear them apart.

Only together could they fight the pain and guilt, face the truth—and find the unexpected power of love.

A groundbreaking novel in the New Adult genre, Easy faces one girl's struggle to regain the trust she's lost, find the inner strength to fight back against an attacker, and accept the peace she finds in the arms of a secretive boy.

Review:

This book was fantastic. I really quite loved it.

I was expecting to like it, though. I’ve heard a lot of good things about this book, and I’m glad that I pretty much agree with it all. This was a really good book, and it went by much too fast.

Jacqueline gets assaulted one night, almost raped, but saved by Lucas, a boy in one of her classes but whom she never noticed before. Before that night, though, she’d gotten broken up with by Kennedy, her boyfriend of, like, four years.

I liked Jacqueline enough. She wasn’t my favorite, but she didn’t bother me, and I suppose I liked being in her head. I liked how she handled the situation of almost getting raped, particularly how she took defense classes afterward (even if she had to pushed to do it).

I hated the guy who did it, I didn’t like her ex-boyfriend at all. That’s really all I have to say about that.

I did like Lucas. He’s sweet and strong and nice and smart and just generally great. Another reviewer mentioned that he was too perfect, which I agree with. What with all of the stuff he’s capable of doing: being a tutor, a good cook, having a broken past life and growing up very well from it (even if he hasn’t fully moved past it), being a student instructor in a defense class, looking like a stereotypical bad boy, including lip ring and riding a motorcycle, but actually being very smart. Even the fact that he had his eye on Jacqueline before the incident and was there to save her twice. I mean, no one like this exists, okay? I would love it if it were true, but it’s rather unrealistic. And I’m okay with that, really. Even though I know he’s too perfect, I loved him quite a bit. I can overlook his too perfectness.

Now, about his broken past. I was not expecting his past to be quite what it was, and I can say that I’m happy about that. I liked having that a surprise, and I’m really happy with how unexpected the reason behind it was. It’s rather horrible, and I feel really bad for him because of it (in a, I want to hug and kiss and comfort him, way).

I liked Jacqueline and Lucas together. And I liked the sexy scenes between them, too.  I also liked the fact that they didn’t have sex right away, that Lucas pushed them toward not doing it right away, and that they didn’t have to have that in order to feel so close.

One thing that I know bothered another reviewer, and that I’ve noticed in several other books as well, is the fact that, during a sexy scene, Lucas got her off but wouldn’t let her return the favor. Now, it didn’t really bother me at first, but it did when I realized that it’s happened in several other books as well. And I don’t really understand the reason behind it. I mean, I understand that it’s romantic for the guy to put the girls’ needs before his own, but I feel that it makes sense for a girl to want to return the favor, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, and there shouldn’t be anything wrong with it.

I mean, is it supposedly romantic for a guy to get a girl off, whether by his hands or his mouth, but not when a girl does the same to him? Because I think that’s wrong.

Anyway. I really liked this book. I loved the romance, the whole book went by much too quickly. And I am planning to pick up another of Webber’s books, although I’m not sure when, or which one yet.

Wishlist Thursday[2]: The Summer I Became A Nerd by Leah Rae Miller

Wishlist Thursday:

The Summer I Became A Nerd by Leah Rae Miller

Genre: YA Contemporary (Romance)

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Publish Date: May 7^th, 2013

Buy it here: Amazon. Book Depository. Barnes and Noble. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

On the outside, seventeen-year-old Madelyne Summers looks like your typical blond cheerleader—perky, popular, and dating the star quarterback. But inside, Maddie spends more time agonizing over what will happen in the next issue of her favorite comic book than planning pep rallies with her squad. That she’s a nerd hiding in a popular girl's body isn’t just unknown, it's anti-known. And she needs to keep it that way.

Summer is the only time Maddie lets her real self out to play, but when she slips up and the adorkable guy behind the local comic shop’s counter uncovers her secret, she’s busted. Before she can shake a pom-pom, Maddie’s whisked into Logan’s world of comic conventions, live-action role-playing, and first-person-shooter video games. And she loves it. But the more she denies who she really is, the deeper her lies become…and the more she risks losing Logan forever.

Why?:

I believe this is Miller’s debut novel, and I haven’t really heard anything much about it, but it sounds super adorable and like something that I would like. I mean, a girl living a double life? Including already having a boyfriend, but then meeting an adorkable guy, with comic books and LARPing? How could I possibly resist? I can't, that's how.

So I have high hopes that I’ll enjoy this one, and that it’ll be a fun, lighthearted, possibly quick, read. It could also go in the very opposite direction, of course, but I’m staying optimistic. I’m looking forward to reading it.

Teaser Tuesday[43]: Live Through This by Mindi Scott

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!

--------------

This week’s book is!:

Live Through This by Mindi Scott

Genre: YA Contemporary (Romance)

Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Simon Pulse)

Publish Date: October 2nd, 2012

Buy it here: Amazon (or paperback). Book Depository. Barnes and Noble. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the outside, Coley Sterling’s life seems pretty normal . . . whatever that means. It’s not perfect—her best friend is seriously mad at her and her dance team captains keep giving her a hard time—but Coley’s adorable, sweet crush Reece helps distract her. Plus, she has a great family to fall back on—with a mom and stepdad who would stop at nothing to keep her siblings and her happy.

But Coley has a lot of secrets. She won’t admit—not even to herself—that her almost-perfect life is her own carefully-crafted façade. That for years she’s been burying the shame and guilt over a relationship that crossed the line. Now that Coley has the chance at her first real boyfriend, a decade’s worth of lies are on the verge of unraveling.

In this unforgettable powerhouse of a novel, Mindi Scott offers an absorbing, layered glimpse into the life of an everygirl living a nightmare that no one would suspect.

Excerpt:

“I can’t see anything at first as my pupils adjust, but then I’m startled by the messy hair, red eyes, and tear-streaked cheeks of the mostly naked person blinking back at me in the mirror.” (Hardback, pg. 158)

So, what are you reading right now?