Teaser Tuesday Vlog (01): Waiting for the Nan

Please forgive me.. for I am still sic, hence I have no nose >.< ♣ 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!



"I think that's official custody, Mr Spolding," said Mrs Green, ducking around him. "Why don't you tell Phill all about it -- I've got to get into the shop!"

~nanny McPhee Returns; Emma Thompson

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Today's Release

Sacrifice (Mortal Path 2)
Dakota Banks
Publisher: Eos
Fantasy

A demon's enslaved executioner—a ravager of lives and souls—Maliha Crayne has been reborn, willing to sacrifice her immortality for a chance at freedom . . . and salvation. Now she has an opportunity to prevent the death of thousands—perhaps tens of thousands—to make up for the countless lives she has obliterated over the centuries. To do so, she must locate and destroy an evil cabal of madmen in possession of a weapon of unspeakable power—and survive the immortal assassins who are now after her blood. But it means reverting to the old ways and surrendering once more to the darkness. And if Maliha dies before the mission is accomplished, the hell she once knew will seem like a picnic compared to the eternal torments awaiting her.

Lost Empire: A Fargo Adventure

Clive Cussler

Publisher: Putnam Adult 

Action & Adventure

Sam and Remi Fargo, heroes of Spartan Gold, return in this extraordinary new adventure from the number-one New York Times- bestselling author.

With Spartan Gold, a daring thriller that Publishers Weekly proclaimed "solidly in the Cussler tradition, [and] sure to please new fans and old," Clive Cussler introduced husband-and-wife treasure-hunting team Sam and Remi Fargo. In their electrifying new adventure, the Fargos make a startling discovery that others would kill to keep hidden...

While scuba diving in Tanzania, Sam and Remi Fargo come upon a relic belonging to a long-lost Confederate ship. An anomaly about the relic sets them off chasing a mystery-but unknown to them, a much more powerful force is engaged in the same chase. Mexico's ruling party, the ultranationalist Mexica Tenochca, is intent on finding that artifact as well, because it contains a secret that could destroy the party utterly.

Through Tanzania and Zanzibar, into the rainforests of Madagascar, and across the Indian Ocean to Indonesia and the legendary site of the 1883 Krakatoa explosion, the Fargos and their ruthless opponents pursue the hunt-but only one can win. And the penalty for failure is death.

Filled with the dazzling suspense and breathtaking action that are Cussler's trademarks, Lost Empire is a stunning new novel from the grand master of adventure. 

Dark Peril (Carpathians 18)
Christine Feehan
Publisher: Berkley

A new Carpathian novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author.

Dominic of the Dragonseeker Carpathians is on a desperate mission, in the very heart of enemy territory. Solange Sangria is one of the last of the jaguar people. She has long been fighting to save women who are able to shift from the hands of the man who slaughtered her family and everyone she loved-her own father. They are two warriors who have lived their lives alone. Now, a the end of their time, they find each other, a complication neither saw coming.

Freedom: A Novel

Jonathan Franzen

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Literary

"The awful thing about life is this:" says Octave to the Marquis in Renoir's Rules of the Game. "Everyone has his reasons." That could be a motto for novelists as well, few more so than Jonathan Franzen, who seems less concerned with creating merely likeable characters than ones who are fully alive, in all their self-justifying complexity. Freedom is his fourth novel, and, yes, his first in nine years since The Corrections. Happy to say, it's very much a match for that great book, a wrenching, funny, and forgiving portrait of a Midwestern family (from St. Paul this time, rather than the fictional St. Jude). Patty and Walter Berglund find each other early: a pretty jock, focused on the court and a little lost off it, and a stolid budding lawyer, besotted with her and almost burdened by his integrity. They make a family and a life together, and, over time, slowly lose track of each other. Their stories align at times with Big Issues--among them mountaintop removal, war profiteering, and rock'n'roll--and in some ways can't be separated from them, but what you remember most are the characters, whom you grow to love the way families often love each other: not for their charm or goodness, but because they have their reasons, and you know them.

Romeo & Juliet & Vampires
William Shakespeare, Claudia Gabel
Publisher: HarperTeen
Teens, Classics, Horror

"You are deluded, Romeo. Vampires do not have the capability to love. They are heartless."

The Capulets and the Montagues have some deep and essential differences. Blood differences. Of course, the Capulets can escape their vampire fate, and the Montagues can try not to kill their undead enemies. But at the end of the day, their blood feud is unstoppable. So it's really quite a problem when Juliet, a vampire-to-be, and Romeo, the human who should be hunting her, fall desperately in love. What they don't realize is how deadly their love will turn out to be—or what it will mean for their afterlives. . . .
This riotous twist on the ultimate tale of forbidden romance is simply to die for. 

Born to Bite (Argeneau Vampires 13)

Lynsay Sands

Publisher: Avon

Romance, Vampires

Legend has it that Armand Argeneau is a killer in the bedroom . . .

But with all three of his late wives meeting unfortunate and untimely ends, is this sexy immortal a lover or a murderer? That's what Eshe d'Aureus intends to find out. As an enforcer, it's her job to bring rogue vampires to justice, even if the rogue in question makes her blood race red hot.
Armand knew she was trouble the moment Eshe roared into town on her motorcycle, clad in tight black leather. She claims she's hiding from dangerous fiends, though he suspects something more. But after three wives who've all had trouble remaining, well, undead, Armand is reluctant to open his heart again. Then strange accidents start to happen, each deadlier than the last, and Armand realizes he may not have much time to prove he's a lover, not a slayer. 

Chosen (Anna STrong Chronicles 06)
Jeanne C. Stein 
Publisher: Ace
Vampires, Supernatural

Anna Strong's primitive vampire instincts are getting harder to control. And a new enemy wants to take advantage of that fact, for Anna has been chosen to shape the destiny of all vampires-and all humans.

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Study Smarter, not harder! Get better Grades in School

When I was in school, a couple of my teachers taught us the act of Mind mapping skills for our studies. It was fun! We could play with color pens and highlighting everything in our notes, plus we didn't get in trouble for scribbling our notes in class anymore.

Except sometimes I can go crazy with this skill. -_-"

Speed reading is also a good skill for any student, plus it's an extra skill for any book reviewers like me. I then to get distracted alot when it comes to reading before, but now, it's a skill I can't go without here and there. It has become a handy skill at work, that I could skim my way through the memos, instructions and other stuff that needs reading.

Now you also could master this particular skill!

Get The Best Grades With the Least Amount of Effort will show you exactly step-by-step how you can get better grades without busting your ***!
Imagine...

• No more late night studying or sleepless nights!
• No need for a tutor or the school counselor!
• No sucking up to your math teacher to get better grades!
• No more "last minute" cramming sessions the night before the exam!
• No more giving up TV, surfing the net, playing video games or going out with friends!

“THE SECRET GENIUS CODE - why students DUMBER than you ARE getting better grades...”

The price of Get The Best Grades With The Least Amount Of Effort is $27.

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Pay eSpeed = Get Ang Pow Packets (2010)

eSpeed is my current DSL provider. As much as they have been such a drag lately, I have to tell you all this. They are giving out free Ang Pow Packets when you pay your bills this week. Check out what I got!

Come on! it has a Phoenix Tail.. of course I be all giggly over it =^_^=

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Sunday Stealing: The Majorly Personal Meme, Part Two

Cheers to all of us thieves!
21. If you were to live your life without your best friend, what would change? The fact that we probably be married ;)

22. Tell us about a era of your life that you really miss. It was cheaper then.

23. Have you ever been betrayed by someone that came as a complete surprise? Without revealing the person, if yes, tell us about it. Yes! Trust this particular person and ended up getting back-stabbed by them. It was then I've learn a lesson where I can't even trust until they have proven they are trust able and to follow my instinct... be wary when others have cause to distrust this person instead of giving the person full trust without reason of a doubt.

24. Do you ever think that is a good idea to hide your feelings? Yes... cause people would use it against you

25. Tell us about your favorite year when you were a student.Can't really recall at the moment.

25. When was the last time you were in a very good mood? What caused it? Last time I really talk to him.

26. Have you ever had a romantic relationship with a sibling of a good friend? err... no.

27. Tell us about the last thing that you did that you truly regret. Listening and believing some girl.

28. When did you laughed today? When Cleo, one of my kitten play tag with one of the older Kittens

29. Do you trust easily? Nope. Do you?

30. What do you care about that you wish more people would? Reading, The Homeless, The unemployed.

31. Is it easier for you to go without food or go without sleep? Without Food.

32. What non-alcohol beverage do you enjoy drinking the most? Milked tea

33. When you walk into a room full of strangers, generally how is your confidence? Depends

34. Does talking about sex with anyone but your lover make you uncomfortable? Depends.

35. Do you tend to believe members of the opposite sex mostly behave the same way? Mostly

36. Did you drink any alcohol this week? If yes, what? Nope.

37. Would you ever consider being a vegetarian? No! So many good food out there!

38. Do you believe that there’s always room in your heart for someone? Yes.

39. Do you believe in the concept of soul mates? Extremely.

40. Last week, we had a few players criticize our victim’s questions. Which is fine to do and we value your opinion. Would you ever consider writing questions for Bud and me to post on a Sunday Stealing? Not for this week o.o

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In The MailBox Monday 29-30/8/2010

Mailbox Monday & In My Mail is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday & In My mail  can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

These are the ones I got for last week =D Yup THAT many! Got them from friends, publisher, etc =D I'm just worried on how fast I be able to review them.

Bedeviled Angel (Works Like Magic 02)
Annette Blair

An enchanting new novel from a national bestselling sensation

At the Works Like Magick employment Agency in Salem, Massachusetts, matching clients in need with magical temps is a piece of cake, especially since sexy Chance Gordricson also happens to be heaven-sent. He's Kenya Saint-Denis's guardian angel. And when he's hired to keep an eye on her and the two surrogate children she's become saddled with, he just might fall prey to temptation.

Dial Emmy For Murder (Soap Opera Mystery 02) 

Eileen Davidson

Soap operas can get so dirty

Tabloids and fans are stunned when daytime soap opera star Alexis Peterson leaves her show. She's too busy with her new job as presenter at the Daytime Emmy(r) Awards to even notice. But when a co-presenter goes missing on award night, Alexis is determined to find who is killing Hollywood's biggest and brightest before another burns out... 

Exogenesis (Stargate Atlantis 05) 
Elizabeth Christensen, Sonny Whitelaw 

Global disaster threatens the Atlantis homeworld.  

Hostage Bride 

Janet Dailey

Beneath Tamara's cool beauty lay a dangerous secret--she had borrowed company funds for a desperate family crisis. But before she could return the money, ruthless entrepreneur Bickford Rutledge took over the firm. Bick was a handsome, hard-driving man who always got what he wanted--and he wanted Tamara. When he discovered the truth, he offered her a choice. She could escape the law's revenge--if she surrendered to the smoldering passion of the one man who ruled her destiny--a man who would own her, body and soul!

Going Too Far 
Jennifer Echols 

All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far...and almost doesn't make it back.
John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won't soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won't be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge -- and over....

Never Tease A Wolf 

Joan Johnston 

When a wolf threatens local ranches, Montana Fish and Wildlife agent Abigail Dayton must relocate the animal in an effort to save the endangered species. Abby knows the breed well: powerful, strong and lean, predatory. The description also fits rancher Luke Granger. She knows Luke's type - a man who's lived a hard, solitary life working the land. The kind of man who doesn't trust easily, but tempts a woman to risk everything

Barbie & The Beast
Linda Thomas-Sundstrom 

A Hairy Situation
Barbie Bradley was swept off her feet - literally. One moment the twenty-something was traversing Forest Lawn Cemetery in the dead of night with her best friend, the next she was thrown like a sack of potatoes over a man's shoulder. True, she and Angie had come to this odd locale for a singles party, but this wasn't quite how she'd planned to get picked up.
Hello Dolly!
Darin Russell found "Ms. Right" at work, which was suprising because girls in the cemetery were usually a tad, in a word, stiff. Not that this one couldn't stand to loosen up. She seemed particularly sensitive about being named after the Mattel toy, and before he popped the question he had to know how she'd react to his furry little secret. You see, though he had a tuxedo and a Porsche, he had more in common with the residents of the Miami Zoo than Ken. And if things went according to plan, Barbie was going to see his animal side. 

 Lord Wraxall's Fancy

Anne Lieff Saxby

In 1720, Lady Celine is summoned to the Caribbean island which he governs. During the voyage, Celine falls in love with Liam, one of the ship's officers, unaware that her father has promised her to the evil Lord Wraxall. But the dark dandy knows nothing of Celine's strong will or Liam's alliance with notorious pirates who sail the Spanish Main. Recommended for adults only. 

The Best Laid Plans
Sidney Sheldon

The latest from the indefatigable Sheldon is full of manipulators, dirty dealers, and dastardly rascals, all snatching at power--political, financial, sexual, or all the above; in other words, business as usual in Sidney's World. The Best Laid Plans begins with the meeting and mating of Oliver Russell, a promising young attorney-cum-gubernatorial candidate, and Leslie Stewart, the beautiful go-getter who is running his public relations campaign. Just as the pair is about to be wed, Russell's mentor, Senator Todd Davis, offers him a deal he can't refuse: marry my daughter and I will make you president. Russell accepts and Stewart vows revenge. The lion's share of The Best Laid Plans revolves around the young pol's rise to power and Stewart's byzantine plotting to bring him to grief. Russell gives his phony wife plenty of opportunities because, like every fictional president (and some real ones), Russell has an unruly libido. Reading this book is like waiting for a train wreck, bracing for the inevitable collision; but to Sheldon's credit, the titanic scandal that ends the novel is not quite what you expect...

To Take a Queen

Jan Smith

In 1314, as a bitter Highland winter draws in, Lady Blanche McNaghten, the young widow of a chieftain is rediscovering her taste for sexual pleasures. Then fate throws her into the path of Black McGregor, a sworn enemy. Can their mutual lust for each other diminish the natural antagonism?

Cry Wolf
Wilbur Smith

The year is 1935, shortly before World War II. The "Wolf of Rome", Italy's army under Mussolini, is poised to invade Ethiopia, whose army is not only ill-equipped, but also severely outnumbered. Desperate to save his troubled land, Emperor Haile Selassie enlists American Jake Barton and Englishman Gareth Swales, two risk-takers who both share a taste for danger and the thrill of adventure. The mission seems simple: Deliver four ancient refurbished armored cars and Vicky Camberwell, an American journalist, in exchange for a hefty weight of gold. But soon Jake and Gareth realize that this is just the beginning of a long, harrowing journey that will take them from the sea to the scorching deserts of Africa to the peaks of its treacherous mountains, where a dramatic struggle to stay alive awaits them...

Purge

Sofi Oksanen

Soon to be published in twenty-five languages, Sofi Oksanen’s award-winning novel Purge is a breathtakingly suspenseful tale of two women dogged by their own shameful pasts and the dark, unspoken history that binds them.
When Aliide Truu, an older woman living alone in the Estonian countryside, finds a disheveled girl huddled in her front yard, she suppresses her misgivings and offers her shelter. Zara is a young sex-trafficking victim on the run from her captors, but a photo she carries with her soon makes it clear that her arrival at Aliide’s home is no coincidence. Survivors both, Aliide and Zara engage in a complex arithmetic of suspicion and revelation to distill each other’s motives; gradually, their stories emerge, the culmination of a tragic family drama of rivalry, lust, and loss that played out during the worst years of Estonia’s Soviet occupation.
Sofi Oksanen establishes herself as one the most important voices of her generation with this intricately woven tale, whose stakes are almost unbearably high from the first page to the last. Purge is a fiercely compelling and damning novel about the corrosive effects of shame, and of life in a time and place where to survive is to be

The Order (Nexus)
Nadine Somers

As Tamara and Max enter a twilight world of depraved practices and unspeakable rituals, the race is on to prevent the ushering in of a slave society over which the Contessa di Diablo and her debauched acolytes will reign supreme.

Candy

Terry Southern, Mason Hoffenberg

Banned upon its initial publication, the now-classic Candy is a romp of a story about the impossibly sweet Candy Christian, a wide-eyed, luscious, all-American girl. Candy –– a satire of Voltaire’s Candide –– chronicles her adventures with mystics, sexual analysts, and everyone she meets when she sets out to experience the world.

Lust Killer
Ann Rule

To his neighbors, Jerry Brudo was a gentle man whose mild manner contrasted with his awesome physical strength. To his employers, Jerry was a fine worker. To his wife, he was a good husband. And to the Oregon police, Jerry Brudo was the most hideously twisted killer they had ever unmasked.

The Venus Throw: A Mystery of Ancient Rome

Steven Saylor

Saylor (Catilina's Riddle) has established a fine reputation with his mystery novels set in ancient Rome and starring Gordianus the Finder, an early PI. In his fourth adventure, in 56 B.C., Gordianus is visited by Dio, his teacher of Greek philosophy 30 years earlier in Alexandria, who is now on an Egyptian delegation to Rome. Dio, whose fellow delegates are being killed, fears being poisoned; so Gordianus offers him an untainted dinner. Poor Dio dies that night anyway, stabbed and poisoned. Gordianus looks into the doings of his late teacher's companion, the eunuch priest Trygonion, who had accompanied Dio that evening. A beautiful, sex-hungry widow accuses Gordianus's neighbor, a young, loudmouthed lawyer, of murdering Dio, and she hires Gordianus to prove her charges. Saylor gives the widow a gloriously handsome, incest-inclined brother and sets his tale simmering with eroticism, adding engrossing historical filler about Roman law, politics and goddess cults. The result is a talky, absorbing brew of Rome's decay.

The Judgement of Caesar: A Novel of Ancient Rome
Steven Saylor

Perhaps this superb historical novel will be the breakthrough Saylor richly deserves. His previous nine entries in his Roma Sub Rosa series (Roman Blood, etc.) convincingly recreated first-century B.C. Rome through the eyes of a clever and empathetic detective, Gordianus the Finder, whose pursuit of truth has enmeshed him in complicated political intrigues involving such legendary figures as Julius Caesar, Cicero and Pompey. The 10th installment, set in Alexandria, once again features Caesar, now maneuvering between the two rivals for the Egyptian throne, Ptolemy and Cleopatra, in an effort to consolidate his own claim to rule Rome. Gordianus's reputation as an honest fact finder, and his familiarity with the centers of power, make him a valuable asset to all three leaders, even as he grapples with a bitter personal loss. The mystery—the identity of the poisoner who claimed the life of the royal taster and almost killed both Caesar and Cleopatra—is a subplot that appears only late in the book. That the reader is engaged throughout despite this is a compelling testament to Saylor's growth as a writer and to his seemingly effortless ability to imagine characters who feel real. Longtime fans will find the evolution of Gordianus's personal relationships fascinating, but the backstory is not so complex as to bar new readers from entering Saylor's world.

A Gladiator Dies Only Once 

Steven Saylor

As in The House of the Vestals (1997), Saylor's previous collection featuring Gordianus the Finder, these nine carefully researched stories cover the early phase of the ancient Roman sleuth's career, affording fans the chance to witness the growth of some important personal and political relationships, including Gordianus's connection with the legendary orator Cicero. Though Saylor's novels in this acclaimed series allow him more scope to describe settings and develop his secret Roman history, he still manages, especially in the book's highlights, "The Cherries of Lucullus" and "The White Fawn," to suspend disbelief and make all his characters feel real. Some story mysteries prove to have a noncriminal resolution, but the twisty fair-play plotting that marks Saylor's best novels (Catilina's Riddle; A Murder on the Appian Way; etc.) is very much in evidence, especially in "Archimedes's Tomb" and "Death by Eros." A partial chronology and historical notes round out this excellent volume. 

Arms of Nemesis 
Steven Saylor 

Set in 72 B.C., during the slave revolt led by Spartacus, Saylor's ( Roman Blood ) second historical mystery follows Roman PI Gordianus the Finder to the resort of Baiae on the Bay of Naples. The cousin and factotum of Marcus Licinius Crassus, the wealthiest man in Rome, has been bludgeoned to death, apparently by two slaves who have run away. An ancient Roman law decrees that when a master is killed by a slave, the remainder of the household's slaves must be slaughtered. Gordianus and his adopted son Eco have three days to find the real murderer and save the villa's other 99 slaves. A convoluted plot reveals fraud, embezzlement and arms smuggling (spears and swords traded for silver and jewels); sensuously written subplots hinge on arcanic poisons and clandestine love affairs among a cast that includes a Crassus's second-rate philosopher-in-residence and a retired actor who doubles as a female impersonator. Richly detailed bacchanalian feasts and mesmerizing visits to the Sybil at Cumae lead to the spellbinding conclusion, reached during fierce gladiatorial combat. 

 

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