Teaser Tuesday: She’s So Dead to Us by Kieran Scott

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Last weekend…I couldn’t help it. I was antsy, and I wasn’t feeling up to reading anything out of the ordinary among my TBR list. I needed something fun, something real, something fluffy, even. And even if I still have a long line of ebooks waiting, I wanted a new one.

Don’t you hate it when that happens?

So…I gave in and bought myself a new ebook over the weekend.

She's So Dead to UsShe’s So Dead to Us by Kieran Scott

When having money is all that matters, what happens when you lose it all?
Perfect, picturesque Orchard Hill. It was the last thing Ally Ryan saw in the rear-view mirror as her mother drove them out of town and away from the shame of the scandal her father caused when his hedge fund went south and practically bankrupted all their friends — friends that liked having trust funds and new cars, and that didn’t like constant reminders that they had been swindled. So it was adios, Orchard Hill. Thanks for nothing.

Now, two years later, Ally’s mother has landed a job back at the site of their downfall. So instead of Ally’s new low-key, happy life, it’ll be back into the snake pit with the likes of Shannen Moore and Hammond Ross.

But then there’s Jake Graydon. Handsome, wealthy, bored Jake Graydon. He moved to town after Ally left and knows nothing of her scandal, but does know that he likes her. And she likes him. So off into the sunset they can go, right? Too bad Jake’s friends have a problem with his new crush since it would make Ally happy. And if anyone deserves to be unhappy, it’s Ally Ryan.

Ally was hoping to have left all the drama in the past, but some things just can’t be forgotten. Isn’t there more to life than money?

The title reminded me of zombies, but it wasn’t that. I love the cover, then when I read the sample, I knew I wanted the book. It’s been a while since I read something that was about high school and its complicated social groups that is actually good. So far, this one is a promising read — Ally is such a cool protagonist (and she probably uses good acne cleansers, too :P). I sure hope this doesn’t disappoint!

Here’s my teaser for this week:

She quickly reached for her putty knife, but it slipped out of her hand. We both grabbed for it, and my gloved fingers closed over hers. We froze. I stared down at our plastic hands, my heart pounding.

“Well,” Ally said. “That’s romantic.”

Sorry, I couldn’t help but post a longer teaser, this scene is just cute. :)

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Sample Fridays (3)

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Let’s start off Sample Fridays # 3 with…a logo! Yay!

Yes, it’s a play on Amazon’s logo and Kindle, since I get my samples from Amazon and I read it in Kindle (for iPhone). Hee.

Before I continue, just a sharing. I am still contemplating on getting a Kindle for myself since I seem to be reading ebooks more and more now. So last week, I was browsing and comparing the different ebook readers, namely, the Kindle, the nook, and the Kobo reader (thanks to Chachic for sharing the last one with me). I read reviews, weighed pros and cons and wondered if maybe, the other ebook readers are more worth it than Kindle. I was already leaning into the nook, but then it hit me:

  • I already bought books from Amazon.
  • If I get a nook, that would defeat the purpose of getting those books, right? I’d have to acquire them again.
  • I am really just an Amazon fangirl.

I still haven’t made a final decision, because I’m not even sure if I want to buy. The price drop in the readers ($189 for Kindle, $149 for nook WiFi and $199 for nook WiFi & 3G) made them even more tempting though.

Hmm.

But anyway. I’m not in a hurry. Onto the samples! Book covers and blurbs from Goodreads. :)

Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard

To impress the popular girls on a high school trip to London, klutzy Callie buys real Prada heels. But trying them on, she trips…conks her head…and wakes up in the year 1815!There Callie meets Emily, who takes her in, mistaking her for a long-lost friend. As she spends time with Emily’s family, Callie warms to them—particularly to Emily’s cousin Alex, a hottie and a duke, if a tad arrogant.

But can Callie save Emily from a dire engagement, and win Alex’s heart, before her time in the past is up?

More Cabot than Ibbotson, Prada and Prejudice is a high-concept romantic comedy about finding friendship and love in the past in order to have happiness in the present.

I got curious with Mandy Hubbard when I put You Wish in my WoW for this week. This seems like a fun, normal YA/chicklit/sorta fantasy since Callie ends up being in the past. I bet it’s a dream, though. I just wonder how much similarity this book has with Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice? I hope it has a lot, and I hope it doesn’t disappoint.

Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis

I’d love a cup of coffee. I wish she knew how pretty she was. I wish I could drop this kid in the dryer sometimes. I just want her to be happy. I hope she didn’t find out what Ben said about her. I wish I knew how many calories were in a bite of muffin…

Joy is used to hearing Whispers. She’s used to walking down the street and instantly knowing people’s deepest, darkest desires. She uses this talent for good, to make people happy and give them what they want. But for her older sister, Jessica, the family gift is a curse, and she uses it to make people’s lives—especially Joy’s—miserable. Still, when Joy Hears a frightening whisper from Jessica’s own mind, she knows she has to save her sister, even if it means deserting her friends, stealing a car and running away with a boy she barely knows—a boy who may have a dark secret of his own.

I finished reading the sample of this last night, and it left me wanting for more! It seemed like a really good story, and it has a lot of good reviews, too! The capitalization of words that refer to their gift/curse kind of threw me off while reading, though — I mean, if you can Hear Whispers, it’s kind of hard to ignore that, right? See what I mean?

Beauty Sleep by Cameron DokeyBeauty Sleep: A Retelling of Sleeping Beauty by Cameron Dokey

The Princess Aurore has had an unusual childhood. Cursed at birth, Aurore is fated to prick her finger at the age of sixteen and sleep for one hundred years — until a prince awakens her with a kiss. So, to protect her, Aurore’s loving parents forbid any task requiring a needle.

Unable to sew or embroider like most little princesses, Aurore instead explores the castle grounds and beyond, where her warmth and generosity soon endear her to the townspeople. their devotion to the spirited princess grows as she does.

On her sixteenth birthday, Aurore learns that the impending curse will harm not only her, but the entire kingdom as well. Unwilling to cause suffering, she will embark on a quest to end the evil magic. The princess’s bravery will be rewarded as she finds adventure, enchantment, a handsome prince, and ultimately her destiny

Fairy tales! Beauty Sleep’s sample is charming, especially at the part where Aurore discusses how magic works in her world: “If you haven’t grown up here but come to live, one of two things can happen, of course: Either the magic leaves you alone, or it doesn’t. And if it doesn’t, it does the same thing to you as to the rest of us: It makes you more of what you are.”

Three samples only, since I was pretty busy this week. :) More for next!

If you also sample in Amazon (or even in Barnes and Noble or other sites), what have you sampled lately? Share them in the comments and I’ll check them out!

OH AND DON’T FORGET! Feed by Mira Grant giveaway is still ongoing — if you haven’t entered, then what are you waiting for? :D

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Sample Fridays (2)

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And it’s time for Sample Fridays! :) Sample Fridays is when I share three to five new samples I got from Amazon’s Kindle Store. Note that they’re not to-be-released books, but books that are already out that I want to get sometime, preferably soon. Sampling is a fun way to get to read the first few pages of the book to see if I really want it. :) So yay.

Here are this week’s samples!

The Rise of Renegade X by Chelsea M. Campbell

Sixteen-year-old Damien Locke has a plan: major in messing with people at the local supervillain university and become a professional evil genius, just like his supervillain mom. But when he discovers the shameful secret she’s been hiding all these years, that the one-night stand that spawned him was actually with a superhero, everything gets messed up. His father’s too moral for his own good, so when he finds out Damien exists, he actually wants him to come live with him and his goody-goody superhero family. Damien gets shipped off to stay with them in their suburban hellhole, and he has only six weeks to prove he’s not a hero in any way, or else he’s stuck living with them for the rest of his life, or until he turns eighteen, whichever comes first.

To get out of this mess, Damien has to survive his dad’s “flying lessons” that involve throwing him off the tallest building in the city–despite his nearly debilitating fear of heights–thwarting the eccentric teen scientist who insists she’s his sidekick, and keeping his supervillain girlfriend from finding out the truth. But when Damien uncovers a dastardly plot to turn all the superheroes into mindless zombie slaves, a plan hatched by his own mom, he discovers he cares about his new family more than he thought. Now he has to choose: go back to his life of villainy and let his family become zombies, or stand up to his mom and become a real hero.

This sounds like Sky High meets The Incredibles, in a book. All my geeky tendencies are tickled pink with this book — I’m excited. :) I’m not much of a fan of the cover, though, since it looks more like a graphic novel, but the first few pages seem very interesting. Although maybe I shouldn’t put this in as a sample anymore, as I bought it yesterday. :P Heee.

Swoon at Your Own Risk by Sydney SalterSwoon at Your Own Risk by Sydney Salter

It’s the summer before senior year and Polly Martin has sworn off boys. Who needs the hurt and confusion? Five recent breakups have left her with an unnatural knowledge of NASCAR, the ultimate hiker’s outfit, a student council position, the sixth highest score on the Donkey Kong machine at the mall, and a summer job at Wild Waves with ex #2 Sawyer Holmes.

Success seems a sure thing when Polly’s grandmother, the syndicated advice columnist, Miss Swoon, moves in for the summer. Polly almost doesn’t mind sharing a room with her little sister, Grace. Think of all the great advice she’ll get!

Everything is going according to plan except… Miss Swoon turns out to be a man-crazy septuagenarian! And then there’s Xander Cooper. If only he wouldn’t keep showing up at Wild Waves with his adorable cousins every afternoon — and what is he writing in that little notebook?

No advice column in the world can prepare Polly for the lessons she learns when she goes on a group camping trip (with three too many ex-boyfriends). Polly is forced to see people for who they are — a blend of good and bad qualities that can’t be reduced to a list or a snappy answer in a Miss Swoon column.

This sounds a bit like Judy Blume, for some reason. I read the sample already and it seems pretty interesting, because Polly feels like an endearing protagonist and narrator. Plus it’s a summer book, and I like summer books because I miss summer already. :(

Insatiable by Meg Cabot

Sick of vampires? So is Meena Harper.

But her boss is making her write about them anyway, even though Meena doesn’t believe in them.

Not that Meena isn’t familiar with the supernatural. See, Meena Harper knows how you’re going to die (not that you’re going to believe her; no one ever does).

But not even Meena’s precognition can prepare her for what happens when she meets—then makes the mistake of falling in love with—Lucien Antonescu, a modern-day prince with a bit of a dark side . . . a dark side a lot of people, like an ancient society of vampire-hunters, would prefer to see him dead for.

The problem is, he already is dead. Maybe that’s why he’s the first guy Meena’s ever met that she could see herself having a future with. See, while Meena’s always been able to see everyone else’s future, she’s never been able look into her own.

And while Lucien seems like everything Meena has ever dreamed of in a boyfriend, he might turn out to be more like a nightmare.

Now might be a good time for Meena to start learning to predict her own future . . .

If she even has one.

I’m not a fan of vampire fiction, even before Twilight, but I’m willing to read Meg Cabot’s try at this. I’m guessing Meena is named after that vampire lady that’s included in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen cast (I think she was originally from Dracula)? This book seems very interesting, although I’m not too crazy about the cover — it looks like those dangerous romance novels that I avoid in the bookstore. Heh.

Zombie BlondesZombie Blondes by Brian James

From the moment Hannah Sanders arrived in town, she felt there was something wrong.

A lot of houses were for sale, and the town seemed infected by an unearthly quiet. And then, on Hannah’s first day of classes, she ran into a group of cheerleaders — the most popular girls in school.

The odd thing was that they were nearly identical in appearance: blonde, beautiful, and deathly pale.

But Hannah wants desperately to fit in — regardless of what her friend Lukas is telling her: if she doesn’t watch her back, she’s going to be blonde and popular and dead — just like all the other zombies in this town….

How awesome does this sound? Zombies! I saw this book while looking at The Book Smugglers archives, and they got me at the word zombies. :P The cover looks simple but effective, too. Look at that barbie cover — can you imagine her being a zombie?

Shadowed Summer by Saundra MitchellShadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell

Iris is ready for another hot, routine summer in her small Louisiana town, hanging around the Red Stripe grocery with her best friend, Collette, and traipsing through the cemetery telling each other spooky stories and pretending to cast spells. Except this summer, Iris doesn’t have to make up a story. This summer, one falls right in her lap.

Years ago, before Iris was born, a local boy named Elijah Landry disappeared. All that remained of him were whispers and hushed gossip in the church pews. Until this summer. A ghost begins to haunt Iris, and she’s certain it’s the ghost of Elijah. What really happened to him? And why, of all people, has he chosen Iris to come back to?

I’ve been seeing this book in the blogs I follow in the web, so I finally gave in and got the sample. I haven’t read it yet, but from the looks of the blurb, it’s about ghosts, and from the looks of the Amazon reviews, it’s comparable to Twilight. I hope it isn’t like that, though — please no more of that. But hm, if it has the same story as Twilight, does this mean Iris will fall in love with a ghost? Interesting.

So that’s it for this week’s samples. I am still on my YA kick, and I can’t help it. I just like them so much. :) But because I splurged on the Kindle Store this week, I can’t really spend so much up until the next few weeks. I have a feeling I’ll just end up sampling and sampling and sampling. Oh well. :)

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Sample Fridays (1)

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NOTE: I’ve been thinking on how to organize this blog and add more content in this blog, so for the past week, I’ve been looking and reading about book blogging and taking note at what people do to their own blogs. So here’s something I thought of doing weekly, just to add more content in the blog. Yay. :)

I’ve mentioned it before here: I love sampling. Ever since Mina told me about sampling in Amazon‘s Kindle store, I’ve been sampling like crazy. I love that I can read the first few pages of the books to help me decide if I really want to read the whole thing. Sometimes blurbs can be misleading, and reviews, too. Sometimes we need to read the first few pages of the book to know if it’s worth reading, and we can’t always read them in a bookstore. What better way than in the convenience of an ebook reader? (Okay, wait, I’m not sure if that made sense :p)

Oh and did I mention? Samples are free. :D

So presenting…Sample Fridays! Every Friday, I’m going to post about five to seven samples I got from Amazon’s Kindle Store this week, to share what I’m eyeing and contemplating to get. Note that these aren’t unreleased books, since you can’t sample those yet, but books that I just spotted while jumping around in Amazon. :D All blurbs are from Goodreads. :)

Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Lily Sanderson has a secret, and it’s not that she has a huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. Unrequited love is hard enough when you’re a normal teenage girl, but when you’re half human, half mermaid like Lily, there’s no such thing as a simple crush.

Lily’s mermaid identity is a secret that can’t get out, since she’s not just any mermaid – she’s a Thalassinian princess. When Lily found out three years ago that her mother was actually a human, she finally realized why she didn’t feel quite at home in Thalassinia, and she’s been living on land and going to Seaview high school ever since, hoping to find where she truly belongs. Sure, land has its problems – like her obnoxious, biker boy neighbor Quince Fletcher – but it has that one major perk – Brody. The problem is, mermaids aren’t really the casual dating type – when they “bond,” it’s for life.

When Lily’s attempt to win Brody’s love leads to a tsunami-sized case of mistaken identity, she is in for a tidal wave of relationship drama, and she finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily-ever-after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned.

I liked Tera Lynn Childs’ Oh. My. Gods. (review coming soon), and I just finished reading the sample earlier, and I kind of have a feeling how this would turn out, but I’m still curious, nonetheless. :) Plus, mermaids? That’s something I haven’t read before. I’m curious. :)

Violet Eyes by Debbie Viguié

When a storm brings the dashing Prince Richard to her family’s farm, Violet falls in love at first sight. Richard also gives Violet his heart, but he knows his marriage is destined to be an affair of state, not of passion. For the king and queen have devised a contest to determine who will win their son’s hand in marriage.

To be reunited with her prince, Violet must compete against princesses from across the land. It will take all of her wits – and a little help from an unexpected source – if Violet is to demonstrate the depth of her character and become Richard’s bride.

This is a retelling of the Princess and the Pea. I love retellings, and The Princess and the Pea is one of my favorite fairy tales. I’m curious at how this would fare. It seems like something I’d find in local bookstores though…maybe I should search around Fully Booked again. Reminds me a bit of Gail Carson Levine…don’t you think?

Donut Days by Lara Zielin

Emma has a lot going on. Her best friend’s not speaking to her, a boy she’s known all her life is suddenly smokin’ hot and in love with her, and oh yes, her evangelical minister parents may lose their church, especially if her mother keeps giving sermons saying Adam was a hermaphrodite.But this weekend Emma’s only focused on Crispy Dream, a hot new donut franchise opening in town, where Harley bikers and Frodo wannabes camp out waiting to be the first ones served. Writing the best feature story on the camp for the local paper might just win Emma a scholarship to attend a non- Christian college. But soon enough Emma finds the donut camp isn’t quite the perfect escape from all her troubles at Living Word Redeemer.

In a fresh, funny voice, newcomer Lara Zielin offers up a mesmerizing, fast-paced narrative full of wit and insight.

I saw this on one of the Teaser Tuesdays this week, and the title got me curious immediately. Plus isn’t that just the cutest cover? I read the sample this week, and I think it’s very interesting. I’m curious at how they’ll discuss the religion aspect here, especially with the female minister. I hope they tackled religion well here. Aaaand I think I’ll stay away from Krispy Kreme when I get to read this. :P Too tempting.

After the Kiss by Terra Elan McAvoy

This moment changes everything.Becca has been head-over-heels for Alec from the instant they met. He’s a brainy jock with a poet’s heart—in other words, perfect for her.

Camille is careful with her words and protective of her heart, especially since Chicago. Then a new boy in her new town catches her off guard with a surprise kiss.

Too bad that new boy is Becca’s boyfriend, Alec.

Camille and Becca have never met, but their lives will unravel and intertwine in surprising ways as they deal with what happens after the kiss.

Ah, good old contemporary YA. This sounds like those friends falling for their best friend’s boyfriend and stuff, but only, the two parties don’t know each other. Very, very interesting, and I hope the sample doesn’t disappoint.

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris– the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She’s determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts fiercely alongside her. Now Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves and finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax– but loving him means betraying her sister and has the potential to destroy all they’ve worked for.

Thanks to my friend Grace for telling me about Jackson Pearce (who is only two years older than I am, wow). I think this is also a retelling? I remember reading a story about Snow White and Rose Red…or is that a different one? Anyway, I’m curious about this, and I have a feeling that there’s a werewolf in this store. I’m reading Jackson’s As You Wish right now, and it’s been very enjoyable so far, and I think this will be a good one as well. Plus the cover’s really pretty. :)

So that’s it for this week’s samples. Have you read any of the books above? What do you think about them? Do you have any books you’d like to recommend for me to sample (and drool for? Haha).

Happy weekend, everyone!

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Print vs. Electronic

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Lately, I noticed that I haven’t been touching my to-be-read pile at home. Sure, most of them haven’t been covered with plastic yet, and I’m too lazy to do that, plus my room is a mess so it makes digging for other books kind of a hassle. I feel kind of guilty for buying all those books and not reading them, and yet, I still want to acquire more books. How crazy, right? I wish I could say that I could get around reading the other books that are there, too, but I’m not. Somehow, the longer they sit there, the more I don’t get to read them. I have books that I haven’t read that I bought way back 2006.

CRAZY.

But I’m still reading, as you can see by my active Goodreads account. How? Ebooks.

I didn’t like ebooks the first time I heard of them, because I know that there’s nothing like the feel of a real book on my hands, and I know I can’t read on a computer all day. However, I found out that I can transfer ebooks to my iPod video a few years ago (long complicated process — if you want to know, email me so I can tell you how), and then I started sort of liking ebooks. When I finally got an iPod Touch, I downloaded the Stanza app and loaded even more ebooks.

And then I discovered Kindle for iPhone, and I got even more hooked. It’s good enough that Stanza can load my books, but Kindle for iPhone gives me a chance to sample books, and get the books I really, really want, without waiting for my dad to come home after I get my book orders shipped to him. It’s fast, convenient, and I find myself reading more and more books and wanting more and more books (what’s new), and sometimes I can window shop for books on Amazon all day.

Crazy.

I’ve been contemplating on actually getting a Kindle, because face it: I like books. I don’t have enough shelf space (yet). Most of the books I want to read won’t get here until how many months. And well…the Kindle looks pretty nifty. But am I really willing to stop having actual books and put them in a single ebook reader?

I’m not so sure.

But in the spirit of putting one against each other, let’s have a little pros-cons list, shall we?

Ebooks:

  • Ebooks are easier to carry around. Well, at least if it’s in a single gadget, and it can fit in my bag. Plus I can carry a lot more books in one bag with an ebook reader. I mean, imagine having your library in the ebook reader, and it’s not even bigger than 6 inches. See?
  • Easier acquisition. From my experience with Amazon Kindle store, I get my books in a few seconds. No shipping fees. No long waits. I get to read what I want almost immediately. Shipping to the Philippines is always a huge expense, and don’t get me started about Customs.
  • Less paper. Not that print books are a waste, but sometimes I get guilty over getting books that I don’t really end up liking and just storing them there. Ever since we got flooded, I’ve been wary about having too many books at home because it eats up a lot of shelf space and I can’t save them all. Ebooks are sort of more environment friendly. I say sort of because ebook readers still need electricity, and that kind of still leaves a carbon footprint (did I use the term right?).
  • I can read in the dark. Well, at least for my iPod. I know the Kindle isn’t backlit, so I wouldn’t be able to do that if I get a Kindle, so it’s not a pro for that gadget. I’m pretty sure the iPad is backlit, too, but I don’t really want that. Anyway, ebooks in my iPod help me read wherever — before sleeping, in the car, even when it’s dark. Reading nonstop, yes? Of course that is bad for the eyes…and who wants to wear protective glasses just to reading anyway?

Print:

  • There’s nothing like the smell and feel of actual books. Do I have to explain this? Even old books have a distinct smell. Having an actual book on your hand to read is just priceless.
  • The anticipation of the book’s arrival when ordering or finding it in the bookstore is exciting. I’ve had those “OH MY GOSH THERE’S THE BOOK I HAVE TO GET IT!” moments a lot, and there’s nothing like finding the last copy of the book you want in a bookstore. Or waiting for the shipment of books to arrive and opening the box and flipping through the pages…and well, it’s just exciting.
  • Pretty covers, illustrations and colors. Ebook readers don’t have that. Sure there are PDFs, but it’s not the same thing sometimes.
  • Books can be borrowed. Actual books can be shared easily. Ebooks, not so much, unless you do it the bad way. Plus books can be swapped, sent somewhere and just spread around the world. Again ebooks, not so much.
  • It’s easier to commute carrying a book and not a gadget. I don’t like calling attention to myself when I’m commuting, especially in the streets of Manila. Whenever I try to read using my iPod, I hide it in my bag. I’m not afraid to pull out an actual book out in the open, even if I’m on a jeep.

From the looks of it, I seem to be leaning more on actual books. Which I probably am, but I can’t deny the convenience of ebooks, right?

So here’s a philosophy I came up with, but I’m not sure if I will be able to follow through (yet). I get ebooks if I want to read something but I’m not sure if I really, really like it. If I absolutely love it, or if it’s my absolute favorite author, I wouldn’t mind buying the book, even if I have the ebook version already. There’s nothing like too much support to authors we support, in my opinion.

Now let’s see if I actually really want a Kindle. But that’s for another post. :)

So what about you — print or electronic?

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