Teaser Tuesday (19): Hematite by Victoria Maderna and Frederico Piatti

For this week's Teaser Tuesday I am bringing you slightly less conventional teasers from Hematite by Victoria Maderna and Frederico Piatti. Instead of sharing teaser sentences, I'm going to be sharing two teaser panels since this is a graphic novel and not a traditional one. I've also already reviewed Hematite, which is another thing that makes it unconventional for me. I usually only post teasers for books that I'm currently reading and have yet to review, so that you guys can get properly excited about the teasers, but the art in Hematite is so beautiful and and I enjoyed the story so much that I just have to share. 

Isn't it just beautiful? Doesn't it give you October vibes. I am in love. Read my review of Hematite here

Top Ten Tuesday (13): Top Ten Favourite Places to Read

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This week's topic is top ten favourite places to read. Just like last week, I could only think of five favourite places to read. I'd say I can't finish these lists more often than I can, but I always try my best!

1. My bed

A classic. Always cozy. Always comfortable.

2. Couch

Another classic. It made the list for the same reason as my bed did.

3. Porch

I love reading on the porch when it's nice outside, its a great way to enjoy the sunshine while also getting some reading in.

4. Library

What better place to read than where you can be surrounded by books?

5. Beach

Again, lovely on nice days, and the sound of the water in the back is so calming.

So that's all for this week! It was a quick one. I'm going to be surfing other people's posts to find other nice places to read in hopes of widen my reading location horizons.

Red Magnolia by Lucy Holden

Title: Red Magnolia

Author: Lucy Holden

Series: The Nightgarden Saga (#1)

Publisher: Fehu Press

Expected Publication Date: September 15, 2021

Introduction

Looking for a fresh start, Harper and her brother Connor move into an old, run down mansion that seems to harbor history of curses, not to mention that something weird seems to be going on in the old cemented-up cellar. Nobody seems willing to let this history go, especially not Antoine, a mysterious man who seems hellbent on getting Harper and her brother out of that mansion, no matter what the cost.

Pace

This book, in epub. format, at least, is less than 200 pages, making this a very quick and fast-paced story.

Characters & Relationships

Generally, I liked all of the characters, but I have a few small gripes about Harper's friend, Avery, her interest in Harper's brother, Connor, and Harper's, in my opinion, weird acceptance of it. It seemed like the only reason Avery ever came around was to ogle at Connor, and she hardly actually seemed interested in being Harper's friend just for friendship's sake. Given that Harper just moved to town, it's fair to assume that she would take friendship with anybody, but it's hard to believe that she would just let Avery come around so often when she's obviously just interested in Connor, and I can see that becoming a conflict in later books (which I'm excited to see play out, if that happens.)

Vampire Element

The vampire history and origin story of the vampires in this book is pretty on par with other YA vampire books that I've read. I like that the vampires here have to drink human blood as opposed to going the "vegetarian" route with animal blood or other substitutes. I've grown used to reading about vampires that don't drink human blood because They're Good Vampires and Hate The Curse and Would Never Harm Anybody because that's Not Who They Are so I liked this more classic route.

Twilight Vibes (Slight Spoilers)

There are STRONG Twilight vibes in this novel. The party scene where Antione swoops in to save Harper from a bunch of scary men is stunningly similar to the the scene in Twilight where Edward does the same for Bella.

Even more similar was the way that Antoine made Harper say that he was a vampire instead of saying the words himself, just like Edward.

I'm definitely not saying that these similarities are a bad thing, I just think it's worth mentioning that they are there, so if you love Twilight, this book might be for you.

Conclusion

I liked this book. It was a very quick read and good for scratching a vampire story itch. I think depending on if you enjoyed Twilight might gauge how you feel about this book because as I mentioned, there are a lot of similarities. I shamelessly enjoyed Twilight, so this was a good book for me, and the similarities were welcome. I would like to continue with this saga and will be looking out for more from this author.

Stacking the Shelves (8)

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It's all about sharing books you've added to your shelves be it physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in a physical store, or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and of course ebooks.

I'm back with another Stacking The Shelves. in last week's Stacking the Shelves post I mentioned that I usually only post these when I add more than two books, but recently this blog has been helping me keep my mind off things that are making me anxious, so I wanted to share my shelves with you this week too, even though I only added two books to them.

This week I added:

Goodreads

Goodreads

I actually managed to finish all five books that I posted about in last week's Stacking the Shelves post, so I have already been able to jump in to Friday the Sixteenth. I'm about a 20% of the way through right now, and once I finish, the review will be up as soon as possible.

I haven't started reading The Grimrose Girls yet but I am so excited to. I'm definitely going to be cracking that one open as soon as possible. Both of these books are ARCs from Netgalley and I am so excited to share my thoughts on them. 

Happy reading everybody :)

First Line Friday (12): Friday the Sixteenth by Peter Coombs

First Line Friday is a bookish tag hosted over at Abstract Books that is used to showcase your favourite first lines of books.

There really is something to be said about a good first line, and I'm going to be using this tag from now on to showcase my current read's first lines.

This week my current read, and spotlight for First Line Friday is Friday the Sixteenth by Peter Coombs. I think this is a perfect time to post this book as my First Line Friday, because it's currently Friday the 13th. Posting about Friday the Sixteenth on Friday the Thirteenth just feels fitting to me.

Goodreads Synopsis

He stumbled across a web of lies. His conscience wouldn't let him walk away.

Andrew Packford, newly established as an antiques dealer, is enjoying life very much. He has a career that suits his laid back nature, a passion for antiques and business is booming.

Then, as is often the case, fate comes calling. While restoring an item of furniture he finds an old newspaper article together with a photograph of four people. Two men two women. He has no idea just how much these four strangers will change his life.

One of them kills people.

One of them turns a blind eye.

The other two might just be Andrew’s salvation.

The discovery opens a Pandora’s box and while a lesser man might have walked away, that is not his way. If he didn’t stand up for what he thought was right who would? Friday the Sixteenth is a gripping read with a memorable character at its heart.

-

"Friday the sixteenth. Two days before Sunday the eighteenth. He didn’t know it yet, but it would all start on Sunday and his life would never be the same again."

I love this as a first line. I think it's very effective at building suspense. Although at the time of writing this I'm only about 20% of the way through, this first line was successful at grabbing my attention.

I Kissed A Girl by Jennet Alexander

Title: I Kissed a Girl 

Author: Jennet Alexander

Format: Audiobook

Duration: 10 hours

Publisher: Dreamscape Media

Release date: July 3, 2021

Quick Review

This book was okay. I wasn't a huge fan of the insta-love between Lilah and Noa. I was hoping that throughout the book that their chemistry would grow, but in my opinion it stayed very surface level throughout the whole story, so although they are the protagonists, and the point of the story was for them to be together, it was a little hard to root for them because their attraction and affection towards one another felt shallow at best.

Despite not feeling a deep connection with Noa and Lilah, I still feel like the book was cute and lighthearted and perfect for a quick read (or listen, this was my first ever audiobook) when you're not looking for anything too deep or serious.

Waiting on Wednesday (10): Lugosi: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood's Dracula by Koren Shadmi

Waiting on Wednesday's is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. *It appears that Breaking the Spine hasn't been active since 2016, but I still want to credit them as the creators.

This is my 10th Waiting on Wednesday! I'm not sure why but I like keeping track of how many of certain posts I do. There's little milestones in my head, and hitting 10 is always one of them. So happy 10th Waiting on Wednesday.

This week I want to spotlight Legosi: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood's Dracula by Koren Shadmi

Expected publication date: September 28, 2021

Publisher: Life Drawn

Goodreads Synopsis

A biography chronicling the tumultuous personal and professional life of horror icon Bela Lugosi.

Lugosi, the tragic life story of one of horror’s most iconic film stars, tells of a young Hungarian activist forced to flee his homeland after the failed Communist revolution in 1919. Reinventing himself in the U.S., first on stage and then in movies, he landed the unforgettable role of Count Dracula in what would become a series of classic feature films. From that point forward, Lugosi’s stardom would be assured...but with international fame came setbacks and addictions that gradually whittled his reputation from icon to has-been. Lugosi details the actor’s fall from grace and an enduring legacy that continues to this day.

Why I can't wait

I've been wanting to read more biographies lately, and I think reading one about Lugosi is a great place to start. I'm also interested to see the graphic illustrations featured in it, I think they'll add a great flare to the chronicling of Lugosi