#WWReadathon - Tease at Random Challenge & Giveaway

Welcome to the first challenge of the last day of the Wicked Winter Read-a-Thon which is...

Tease at Random

I love taking part in the Teaser Tuesday meme, but I've noticed how sometimes the teasers can be very different to what the book is actually like. So when April and Rebecca gave me the chance to create my own challenge I thought of this and immediately started to wonder what would happen if teasers were taken throughout a book - would they be close to the real story, or would it create a whole new one?

For this challenge I would like you to tease me at random from your current read. All you need to do is to divide your book roughly into thirds and then randomly select two sentences from each third (so six in total) and put them together to give a good tease.

You can either leave your entry in the comments or leave me a link to your blog post.

One winner will be picked at random to win either a £5 gift certificate from Amazon UK or a $7.50 Amazon US gift certificate (winner's choice) so be sure to leave your email, twitter or some other way for me to contact you.

My example is from Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare:

"Well, there's no accounting for taste," Tessa said sweetly, knowing he was trying to goad her, and refusing to take the bait. "What is one person's pleasure is another's poison, don't you find?" (pg 72)
His eyes were raking the room anxiously. She could sense the tension in him, a thrum just under the skin, like the fast-beating heart of a hummingbird. (pg 193)
"You know what this means to me," said Will. "Did you really think I'd delay?" (pg 405)

So go on...tease me :)


And the winner is...Melissa from Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf! Congratulations :)

The Sequels Challenge 2012

Mist over at Bookaholics Book Club has just come up with an awesome challenge that sounds perfect for me! It is based all around reading sequels which is ideal as I have a ton of series that I've started and then fallen behind on (some of which have now finished and have spin-off series of their own. Vampire Academy I'm looking at you!)

It isn't that I didn't enjoy the books that I've read, it's just I tend to get distracted by shiny new books and series and then before I know it I've got 4 or 5 books to catch up on in a series that I loved (like the Otherworld books by Kelley Armstrong). The other factor is series I start and then realise there are loads of books for me to read (*cough* Discworld *cough*).

The rules of the challenge are really simple: read at least 24 sequels next year! There will be a giveaway at the end of the year which for me is just an awesome bonus plus motivation to keep reading those sequels!

If you'd like to join, Mist's post can be found here.

Fall into Reading 2011

Fall into Reading is a yearly reading challenge hosted at Callapidderdays which basically involves making a list of books you'd like to read this fall (i.e. between September 23 and December 22) and then reading them.

I'll be tagging all my reviews as 'fall into reading' and a wrap up post will appear on December 22 showing how I've gotten on with the challenge. My list is divided into three parts: single books that are either not part of a series, or the only one I'm intending to read; new series where I haven't read any books; and existing series where I have read one or more books before. Appearing with the books I intend to read are also 3 books which I won't be reading but I will be posting my existing reviews for.

As this challenge is open to participants of all ages and some of the books I'm reading have titles that could be seen as inappropriate, I have decided to use this post as a summary. There are covers from the single books and from the first in each series for the new and existing. A full list of titles can be found by clicking here or on the Fall into Reading tab.

Single Books

1. Dying for Chocolate by Diane Mott Davidson
One I've had on loan from the library for a while, from an author that is totally new to me. I love the title and can't wait to get reading.

2. Beastly by Alex Flinn
Another one from the library that I borrowed after seeing previews for the movie. It looked really good, but I'm waiting to watch it until I've read the book.

3. First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost
I've recently read and enjoyed the first four Night Huntress books, and Spade is one of my favourite characters. I can't wait to read a book focused on him.

4. Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost
Another tie in to the Night Huntress series, this time focused on Mencheres who I'd like to know more about as he's a more mysterious character.

5. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Another library that has been mentioned several times before on my blog. One I definitely need to read!

6. Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane
Yet another one from the library this sounds really interesting with an unusual lead character. I'm a big fan of urban fantasy so I'm looking forward to this.

7. Confessions of a Vampire's Girlfriend by Katie MacAlister
This is the bind-up edition of Katie MacAlister's two YA novels Got Fangs? and Circus of the Damned. It fits into the timeline of the Dark Ones novels (36-43 on my list) but can be read alone hence it's position here.

8. Hook, Line and Sink Him by Jackie Pilossoph
Another one that has been mentioned before on my blog. I won this a while back and I really need to get reading :)

New Series

9-18. The Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine (10 books)
The biggest series on my list, which I own partly due to some incredible offers on the series and partly because I love the author's Weather Warden series. I can't wait to see how she is with YA.

19-21. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick (3 books)
I have the first two books in this trilogy and I'll probably pick up a copy of the last at the signing I'm going to next month. I've heard such great things so I'm hoping the books live up to the hype...and the gorgeous covers.

22-24. The Ellie Chronicles by John Marsden (3 books, with 7 additional reviews)
This trilogy follows on from the incredible Tomorrow When the War Began series. I'm hoping to read all three books, and also post my reviews of the 7 original books.

Series I've started

25-33. Otherworld Novels by Kelley Armstrong (9 books, including 4 re-reads and 3 additional reviews)
A bit of a mix with a series I've loved for years. I'll be posting my reviews of the first 3, re-reading the next 4 and reading the remaining 5 for the first time. I can't wait to revisit the Otherworld.

34-35. Chronicles of Nick by Sherrilyn Kenyon (2 books, including 1 re-read)
This is the YA spin-off series from the uber-successful Dark Hunter series focusing on Nick Gautier. I loved Nick in the adult books, and I'm looking forward to (re)reading these.

36-43. The Dark Ones by Katie MacAlister (8 books, including 1 re-read)
This is one of those series where I read the first one and loved it enough to buy the rest of the books...which I then forgot about and never got round to reading. It ties in with book 7 above.

44-49. Shifters Series by Rachel Vincent (6 books, including 4 re-reads)
A brilliant urban fantasy series. The first book is similar to Bitten from the Otherworld series, but it soon develops into a unique world. It's now complete and I desperately want to know how Faythe's story ends.

50-57. Black Dagger Brotherhood by J. R. Ward (8 books, including 1 re-read)
This has been heavily recommended, but like the Dark Ones I stopped after book 1. I can't wait to get reading them though: the enthusiasm of the die-hard fans is contagious!


This isn't in any kind of reading order, although I will read each series in order, so if you have any recommendations on what to read first let me know :)

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If you are also participating in the challenge, post a comment and let me know. It'd be great to see your lists :) If you are just finding out about the challenge now and want to participate click the button on the sidebar and it will link you across to the right page.