teaser tuesdays 3

Teaser Tuesdays 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!

"I know before she says it. “Beck’s not coming back.” I hear nothing else because the world goes black."   Larkstorm - Dawn Rae Miller

I'm really liking this book so far! Sorry for my lack of posting, I've just started a new job and have a really important exam in 5 weeks so I don't have much time for blogging at the minute! However once this exam is over I'll be free 5 days of the week so I'll have plenty of time for reading and reviewing :)

review: the other life - susan winnacker

THE OTHER LIFE
Susanne Winnacker
Release Date: February 1st 2012
Publisher: Usborne
Pages: 320 pages
Source: bought

Rating: 4 out of 5

"3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life. 98,409,602 seconds since the heavy, steel door had fallen shut and sealed us off from the world.

Sherry has lived with her family in a sealed bunker since things went wrong up above. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find a world of devastation, desolation…and the Weepers: savage, mutant killers.
When Sherry’s dad is snatched, she joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua – an Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers. But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all?"

When I read the summary of this book, I was immediately intrigued. Underground bunkers, savage mutant zombies and a romance? Right down my street! I read this book in the space of a couple of hours, once I had started reading I couldn't stop. It was fast paced and enjoyable to read.

I really liked the characters in this book, reading the first chapter, I was sold on the idea of a family at breaking point, being confined to a small space for 3 years would cause tension and Susanne captured family discord perfectly. Sherry I also found was a good main character, and Joshua, well who doesn't love a cynical, gorgeous male who's also out for revenge?

One part of the book I really liked was the flashbacks to 'The Other Life'. I found it interesting how they showed you a little about how the virus started and also gave valuable insights into Sherry's character; they helped endear me to her.

The ending was interesting and had a few twists, which I was unprepared for and left off nicely for the sequel. I would definitely give this a read if you are a fan of dystopia/zombies, as while not completely original or groundbreaking it was a really enjoyable read.

review: fever - lauren destefano

FEVER
Lauren DeStefano
Release Date: February 21, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 341 pages
Source: bought

Rating: 3 out of 5

"Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Rhine and Gabriel may have escaped the beautiful prison of Wither’s mansion, but they are far from escaping danger. First they’re chased for stealing a getaway boat, and then the fleeing pair ends up in the eerie den of Madame, an old woman who collects girls and sells them to the highest bidders. Worst of all, Vaughn, Rhine’s sinister father-in-law, seems to be on her trail every step of the way. Rhine remains determined to get to her brother in Manhattan—but the road they are on is long and perilous.

Now that Rhine has finally regained her freedom, what lengths will she need to go to in order to keep it?"

Honestly, I was soooo excited to read this book as Wither probably has made it onto my list of favourites. I'm not sure if because I was SO hyped for this book and created unrealistic expectations, that it fell flat for me? I was pretty dissapointed! Lauren picked up immediately from where she left off, and I was excited to see where she would take this. However I found whilst reading the plot didn't really seem to go anywhere, and the pacing was really slow. I feel bad saying it, but this left me bored. It wasn't really an exciting read, as Rhine and Gabriel just seem to wander, with occasional exciting points.

I was dissapointed with the characters aswell, Rhine seems to have to carry the story. Whilst I connect to Rhine and find her a good main character, I was dissapointed at the lack of development in Gabriel. I was hoping we'd find out a little more about him but we don't really. However I did like finding more out about Jenna, and Rhine's realisation that she didn't know her aswell as she thought she did.

Another factor that dissapointed me was the lack of romantic development between Rhine and Gabriel, it felt like instead of there actually being feelings between them, they were just together by coincidence. Maybe this could easily be explained by what they go through throughout the book, but as I'm quite a romantic I was a little disheartened!

I will say the last quarter or so of the book was definitely the saving grace. There were interesting plot developments which completely gripped me. The reappearance of Linden was welcome, as I will admit I have a soft spot for him! I was practically in tears the last few chapters of the book, I just wish it had been the same throughout! The ending sets the way for an interesting conclusion to the triology, and despite the slight dissapointment I found Fever to be, I will definitely pick up the next. I would highly suggest if you haven't already, to read the first novel Wither, definitely a 5 out of 5 in my books (no pun intended!)