I had good intentions this year to post at least twice a week….well that worked for the first few weeks of the year and then I don’t know what happened.  Actually I can’t believe it is February already, where did January go? 

So my teaser that I should have posted on Tuesday made it to Thursday, but it is still a day that begins with the letter T! 

Today’s teaser is a new series by author Diane Kelly called Death, Taxes and a French Manicure.  The main character is Tara Holloway, an IRS special agent (in Dallas!) out taking down those tax evaders, like Capone.  She is in Texas and grew up in East Texas (Nacogdoches to be specific) and is a take charge woman that can shoot her way out of a situation if necessary.  But heaven forbid it should mess up her manicure!

This book is a romantic mystery with a LOT of witty dialogue.  Heck the first sentence of the book had me laughing and I knew I was in for a treat.  If you are looking for a new series, definitely check this one out.  The second book in the series Death, Taxes and a Skinny No-Whip Latte is due out March 1st and the 3rd book, Death, Taxes and Extra-Hold Hairspray will be out in July.  I cannot wait!  Oh and I just saw on her website that she will be signing copies of that second book on March 10th in Arlington, I’m planning to be there!

So I’m going to offer 2 teasers – the first is the first sentence in the book.  The other will chosen at random.

Chapter One – Some People Just need shooting

When I was nine, I formed a Silly Putty pecker for my Ken doll knowing he’d have no chance of fulfilling Barbie’s needs given the permanent state of erectile dysfunction with which the toy designers of Mattel had cursed him.

from page 61:

Her eyes moved from my face to the pink Cadillac visible through the glass front of the clinic.  “What is it this time?  Makeover gone horribly awry?”

Today I’m going to give you two teasers….If you know me, you know I love Cozy mysteries.  They are light and usually a quick read for me.  One of my favorite authors is Elaine Viets who writes two different series.  The one I’m teasing you with today is from the Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper series.  The latest book is Death on a Platter.

This is from page 131:

She was almost inside her flat when one of the names hit her: Our Lady of the Sheets?  What kind of religious order was that? Was it a charity?  An order of sisters?

The second teaser is from a new series, the Cookie Cutter Shop Mysteries, by Virginia Lowell.  The second book in the series is A Cookie Before Dying.

This is from page 99:

While Spunky paced between the door and the window, Olivia closed her eyes.  She had done her duty, which ought to help her relax and fall asleep.  She envisioned wading into a chocolate lake dotted with pink and yellow sugar sprinkles.

I’ll be posting a review for this book along with a giveaway, it was a really good book!

Light under the House by Aaron and Donna Dawson

“Sarai Ravensbrook has never known power. She has never been in control of anything in her world. She has lived in the shadow of her step father and uncle’s abuses to both her mind and body. All she has ever wanted was to have what was hers, to control her own destiny. But when a beautiful and mysterious woman comes into her life, Sarai is guided down a strange path….a path that will lead her to a queen from the ancient past and to a destiny that is finally her own….or is it?”

Sarai Ravensbrook, the sly John Quince, the wise Dr. Levi and Tanis. All are characters involved with the Levi family and the secret lying just beneath their house that could potentially ruin them. A secret that an ancient evil will stop at nothing to uncover. Light Under the House by Aaron L. and Donna Dawson, chronicles the lives of the Levi family for a generation, taking readers on an exciting and thought-provoking journey.

This page-turning story is set in the late 1960s during a period of cultural rebellion, with a flashback to Biblical times, as well as a flash-forward to the 1980s and the present (2005). The events of this allegoric novel are interwoven within several themes that create cohesion for the story. Messages of courage, forgiveness, faith, the power of consequence, and the hope of redemption are all found within the pages of Light Under the House

Teaser:

Trying to take her mind off of her present situation, she pawed through the bag and grasped hold of the small leather wallet her mother had given her for her thirteenth birthday.  She pulled it close to her chest  and let a new batch of tears fill her eyes.

Today’s book is Real Vampires Hate their Thighs by Gerry Bartlett (who happens to live in the Lone Star state with me!)

This book is #5 in a series and I will admit I haven’t read books 1-4 but I have a feeling it is ok I just miss out on some of the back story between the main characters.

Synopsis:

Today’s teaser comes from page 172:

“You’ve been an excellent client, Glory. Despite a few glitches, your weight loss has been truly remarkable.  I should have asked you to do a video diary for me.”

Wow, I cannot believe it has been 2 weeks since I posted anything.  Bad me!  I have been reading but just haven’t felt like writing.  Have you ever had those days weeks?

Today’s Teaser book is one that I am reading for my bookclub.  It is Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgens

From the back of the book: 

So when journalist Chastity O’Neill returns to her hometown, she decides it’s time to start working on some of those feminine wiles.  Two tiny problems: #1 – she’s five feet eleven inches of rock-solid girl power, and #2 – she’s cursed with four alpha male older brothers.

While doing a story on local heroes, she meets a hunky doctor and things start to look up.  Now there’s only one problem: Trevor Meade, her first love and the one man she’s never quite gotten over – although he seems to have gotten over her just fine.

Yet the more time she spends with Dr. Perfect, the better Trevor looks. But even with the in-your-face competition, the irresistible Trevor just can’t seem to see Chastity as anything more than just one of the guys….

Today’s teaser comes from page 282:

“Could you tell?  That he was, you know….gay?”

I haven’t gotten to this page yet but now I’m curious as to who they are referring to in the cast of characters.  I don’t think it is a major character though.

Happy Reading and I have a book review and interview with the author coming up very soon!

Not sure where Monday went but it is Tuesday again and time for a teaser from the book I’m currently reading:  Bossypants by Tina Fey. 

From the dust jacket:

Before Liz Lemon, before “Weekend Update”, before “Sarah Palin”, Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream:  a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle school gym teacher.  She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.

She has seen both these dreams come true.  At last, Tina Fey’s story can be told.  From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon- from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.

Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we’ve all suspected: you’re no one until someone calls you bossy.

Now for the teaser part:

Page 161

Photoshop itself is not evil.  Just like Italian salad dressing is not inherently evil, until you rub it all over a desperate young actress and stick her on the cover of Maxim, pretending to pull her panties down.

Comments:

I just started the book this morning on my train commute to work and while I was reading it was a VERY fast read and it feels like I’m having a conversation with the Tina Fey we see on TV or in the movies.  If you like Tina, check this book out, so far it is pretty funny!

I don’t remember who’s blog I saw this on today, but it was someone’s!  I’m just too lazy to go back and look.  But I did this last week and it might be the same blog.

Anyway, what you do is flip to a page in the book you are reading and share 2 sentences with us…make sure it isn’t a spoiler!

Today’s book for me is New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts)

Page 183 – “You have me, always.  Don’t cry anymore.  Don’t cry now.”

Ok so that is 3 sentences…but is it really?  they are so short how can it be considered a sentence?  Well I guess if it has all the parts needed to form a sentence it is…but just doesn’t seem like it should be a full sentence.

I got this from Carrie at In the Hammock who got it from Miz B at 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

The book I’m reading is one that I mentioned last week (but just not getting around to starting) Pleating for Mercy by Melissa Bourbon.  So far the book is a good one!

pg 112

“Whoa.  I’m not a plumber, I’m a – “
The pipes moaned again, louder this time.