First Lines: January 2014

The first words you read can often set the tone for the entire story.  I thought it would be fun to keep track of the first lines of the books I read each month and share them with you.  Below are the first lines for all the books I read in January.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
"I remember being born."

 Waking Kate by Sarah Addison Allen

 "Kate was in the kitchen putting ice cubes on a plate of sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, two glasses of wine on the counter next to her, when she heard the evening news come on."

The Lure by Lynne Ewing

"The night heat melted over me, the quiet unsettling since the laughter had stopped."

Antigoddess by Kendare Blake
"The feathers were starting to be a nuisance."

Manor of Secrets by Katherine Longshore

"Adventure awaits."

The Shadow Throne by Jennifer A. Nielsen

"In my life, I'd had my share of fights, sometimes with fists, sometimes with knives, occasionally with a sword."

How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller

"My father never wasted his wisdom on me."

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
"To many, I was myth incarnate, the embodiment of a most superb legend, a fairy tale."

My favorite first line this month was from The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender.  I have not yet finished the book, but from the very first line it set up the beautiful and whimsical language that Leslye Walton favors and which lends a magical quality to this book.  

My least favorite line was from Manor of Secrets.  "Adventure awaits." was far too simple and boring for my taste.  Unfortunately, it was also indicative of the type of character that the book featured.  It was not terribly bad, but it certainly wasn't all that great either. 

Waiting on Wednesday (41)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is: Cress by Marissa Meyer which is due to be released on February 4th.
 

 Rapunzel’s tower is a satellite. She can’t let down her hair—or her guard.

In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker—unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.

 I listened to the first two books in this series on audio and they were fan-fricking-tastic.  I expect no less from this one.  I mean, just look at that cover - how phenomenal is that? Can't wait to see the three girls come together and wreak some havoc on Levana's evil ass. 
 

The Curse of Having a Life Outside of Books

My husband normally works shift work.  2 days (6am to 6pm), 2 nights (6pm to 6am) and then 6 days off.  Coupled with the fact that I am a teacher, working a "normal" schedule and that we have a 2 year old in daycare - this can make for some pretty hectic scheduling.  So, when he got loaded onto a course that would see him with basically the same schedule as me, I was pretty happy to have some tag team parenting time.  But, I am seeing a side effect that I hadn't anticipated.

Those night shifts were designated me time.  I would get the offspring into bed, turn off the tvs, grab my snuggie (yes, I have one of those and I love it - shut up) and read for the remainder of the night.  When he was working, I would go to bed earlier than him and have another 30 mins or so of reading time.  Now that we are on pretty much the same schedule all my habits are being jeopardized.

I started The Shadow Throne by Jennifer Nielsen last week.  Now, this is the series to her Ascendance trilogy and a book that I have been looking forward to for months - I squealed when I opened the mail to find the ARC waiting for me.  And yet, despite my love of this series and all things Jennifer N, it took me a week to finish.  Not because I didn't enjoy it, but because my husband was there - ALL THE TIME.

Don't get me wrong, I love dear hubby and none of this is really his fault.  He would never get upset at me if I preferred to read in another room to watching another hour or two of television with him - but I continue to fail to make that decision anyway.  Perhaps it is the curse of the military wife - the husband has spent so much time away that I know what it is like to regret not taking advantage of the time we had together to, well, be together.  I am constantly putting my reading down, so that I can watch yet another hour and a half long episode of Sherlock (not that the acting of Cumbersomethingsomething aren't equally stimulating).

I am finding this actually impacting my day to day living.  I can't seem to fall asleep the way that I used to, and when I do, I find myself caught up in the most mundane of dreams - working at a sardine canning plant or sorting socks by size, color and approximate time worn.  My memory is being impacted (see Cumbersomething comment above) and lazy (hence, not looking up the spelling of Benedict Cumbersomething's last name).  Lazy days on the couch munching popcorn and staring at the boob tube have sapped my will to do anything productive and the pile of correcting on my desk is starting to reach avalanche warning size.

With this course lasting until April, I have got to find something to break the rut.  So, I turn to you, dear reader, how do you escape the glowing lure of the television screen and the comforting warmth of someone to watch with?

Stacking the Shelves (25)

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

I used to do this post every week, but due to work and family demands I have had to become a little more selective on how many books I am requesting.  As such, this actually represents 2 or 3 weeks of books.

EBOOKS I GOT:

I am so excited about all of these books.  The Shadow Throne is the conclusion in a fantastic trilogy, We Were Liars is getting some great early reviews, I Kill the Mockingbird sounds like and awesome middle grade book and Lost Lake is my most anticipated adult novel in a long time. 

I lost a former student this week.  He was 16 years old.  To anyone who follows me, if you are thinking of harming yourself, please talk to someone.  I promise you, the world is a better place with you in it.

Waiting on Wednesday (40)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is: Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen which is due to be released on January 21st.
 

 From the New York Times bestselling author of Garden Spells comes a novel about heartbroken people finding hope at a magical place in Georgia called Lost Lake.

Suley, Georgia, is home to Lost Lake Cottages and not much else. Which is why it's the perfect place for newly-widowed Kate and her eccentric eight-year-old daughter Devin to heal. Kate spent one memorable childhood summer at Lost Lake, had her first almost-kiss at Lost Lake, and met a boy named Wes at Lost Lake. It was a place for dreaming. But Kate doesn't believe in dreams anymore, and her Aunt Eby, Lost Lake's owner, wants to sell the place and move on. Lost Lake's magic is gone. As Kate discovers that time has a way of standing still at Lost Lake can she bring the cottages—and her heart—back to life? Because sometimes the things you love have a funny way of turning up again. And sometimes you never even know they were lost . . . until they are found.

I cannot even explain to you how excited I am for this book.  I have had it bookmarked for ages, I have read the short story prequel, I have requested the ebook (still waiting to hear from you NetGalley!).  I have read all of Allen's other books and they are a regular go to gift for me when a friend has a birthday or just needs a pick me up.  It is simply a crime that I cannot read this book yet.  MUST HAVE NOW!

ARC Book Review: Manor of Secrets by Katherine Longshore

Title: Manor of Secrets
Author: Katherine Longshore
Publisher: Point (Scholastic)
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Rating: 3/5

Cover Impressions:  Pretty girl in a pretty dress with a pretty staircase in the background.  Nothing that stands out at first glance.  The tagline (on my ARC) is "Upstairs.  Downstairs.  Drama."  Which sends me into Downton Abbey territory - which I love.  The cover model even looks like a younger version of Lady Mary.

The Gist: Charlotte lives a life of luxury.  Sheltered in the manor by a cold and distant mother, she longs for a life of adventure.  Janie works in the kitchen under the tutelage of her mother.  Having spent a tumultuous childhood wondering where her next meal is going to come from, she clings to the only place that she has ever felt secure.  As the girls' paths cross their lives are thrown together.  Charlotte sees a manner of escape, Janie sees a lonely girl who has never known love.  Together they begin to learn more about each other, and themselves and seek to unravel the secrets of the Manor.

Review:
I will admit it.  I, Zabet Reading, am a Downton Abbey Junkie.  With the show off the air until next season, I was excited to read a book that seemed to follow that type of world quite closely.  In fact, I couldn't help but picture the characters and set from Downton Abbey.  (Of course, Charlotte was Lady Sybill despite the cover model's clear resemblance to Lady Mary.)  Manor of Secrets doesn't quite hold up to Downton, but then that is a pretty high bar to reach.  On it's own, it was an interesting story and a quick and easy read. 

The setting was beautiful and the author clearly delineated between the opulence and quiet of the upstairs and the simplicity and chaos that came downstairs.  Personally, I preferred the drama and quarrels of the servants' quarters to the cold and oppressing formality of Charlotte's world and could completely understand why she would want to escape it.  I would have enjoyed seeing a bit more of the "downstairs" back-story - particularly why Tess and Mollie hated Janie so much.  Had we had an opportunity to learn a little more about this history, I think the events in the second half of the book would have had more impact.  The first half of this novel was much stronger than the second.  In the first half we watch a sheltered young woman begin to break out of her shell and a romance that was clearly going to cause a great deal of turmoil.  By the second half, most of the secrets had been revealed and the reader was left to watch as the two girls tried to decide which path to take.    
 
I did find the plot a little bit predictable but it moved fairly quickly and the only moments of lag came from some eye-rolling dialogue near the middle.  The relationship between the two girls developed rather quickly for my taste.
The main characters seemed rather true to form: Charlotte was the clueless aristocrat who had no idea how much trouble she could cause for her servants in simply seeking a bit of "adventure" and Janie was trying to be kind to a lonely girl while still protecting her livelihood.  The side characters were interesting but not quite as fleshed out as I would normally prefer.    The men were all rather bland and I found Andrew's loyalty after Charlotte's scandal, to be a little hard to believe.  I think the book could have benefited from featuring a smaller cast, so that we could get to know each one a little better.
 
This is my first foray into Katherine Longshore's writing, though I am familiar with her previous books.  I am putting her on my "search for" list in the hopes that I come across her earlier work in a second hand bookstore. 

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 12 and up
Gender: Female
Sex: Kissing
Violence: Fist Fighting
Inappropriate Language: None
Substance Use/Abuse: None