Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Teaser Tuesdays




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!

From The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin
The Fortune Hunter
"Was queen Victoria a kitten or a codfish?
Charlotte hesitated."

pg. 3

Monday, July 28, 2014

Musing Mondays

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it! 
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!


My publisher has a great giveaway happening right now, which includes a copy of their new release, Fred, and an ecopy of my novel, THE ROSE MASTER, as well as a copy of Flux. Sign up below!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Teaser Tuesdays

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!

Mr. Mercedes
From Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

 "This stirs a memory, and not a good one.
No, he thinks. No."




















Monday, July 21, 2014

Musing Mondays



Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it! 
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

The GoldfinchI just finished The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. It was a very good read. Here is my review, if you are interested!

Sunday, July 20, 2014

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt



 The Goldfinch
It begins with a boy. Theo Decker, a thirteen-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his unbearable longing for his mother, he clings to one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.

As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love-and at the center of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

 There’s a reason why this book won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. It is a marvel of language and story-telling.

This novel is such a complex story that it is difficult to give it a genre. Yes, it is literary fiction, but there’s a bit of everything in it, from comedy to thriller-like action. The best part of it, though, is the writing. Donna Tartt has a way of writing that always impresses. Once in a while it can come off as arrogant, I’ll admit that, but there are so many wonderful passages in this book that you can forgive her for some of the more highhanded moments. 

Theo, our protagonist, is someone we get to know intimately. He is so well written that he becomes part of our everyday lives. This is what an author has to strive for: a character that could easily walk down your street, with his own life and issues. Someone wholly alive. 

If you want to read a book that will leave you wondering how someone can write so beautifully, pick up this one.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Teaser Tuesday and a Giveaway!

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!
Mr. Mercedes
From Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

"'Hi,' she said. 'Welcome to the Early Birds Club.'"
"'Hopefully we'll catch a worm.'"










Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Rose Master by Valentina Cano

The Rose Master

by Valentina Cano

Giveaway ends July 31, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter to win

Monday, July 14, 2014

Musing Mondays- A Giveaway!

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it! 
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

I'm having a giveaway for my debut novel on Goodreads, so if you are interested in reading a Gothic novel that is a cross between Jane Eyre and Beauty and the Beast sign up below!

 


Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Rose Master by Valentina Cano

The Rose Master

by Valentina Cano

Giveaway ends July 31, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter to win

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Teaser Tuesdays

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!


My debut novel, THE ROSE MASTER, is officially out as a paperback today! Here is another teaser for all of you.
And if you want to get a copy click on the book's title below.

The Rose Master by Valentina Cano



Elsie yanked my arm towards her. “What do you mean you’ve been dismissed?” Her large blue eyes became even larger on her paling face.
I shrugged. “Her Ladyship no longer needs me in her household. She’s shipping me off to some relative’s home. Someplace called Rosewood Manor.”



Get your copy of this Gothic story which is a cross between Jane Eyre and Beauty and the Beast!

Monday, July 7, 2014

Musing Mondays

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it! 
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then


The paperback copies of my novel, THE ROSE MASTER, will be available tomorrow! If any of you are interested in buying a copy, go here!

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Teaser Tuesdays

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!


Since my novel, THE ROSE MASTER will be available in paperback on July 9th, I thought I'd share another teaser.

The Rose Master by Valentina Cano


"The day I turned seventeen, birds fell from the sky. A flock of them seemed to cross an invisible line in the air, a boundary of packed winter breezes that wrapped them up in a coat of ice, freezing whatever kernel of magic allowed them power over the air."

pg.1