<<2011>> Huuuvitav, huuuvitav.

52.



Nimi: Spell Bound

Autor: Kelley Armstrong

Kuupäev: 28.07.2011

Lehekülgede arv: 400

Sisu: Savannah Levine is in terrible danger, and for once she’s powerless to help herself. At the conclusion of Waking the Witch, Savannah swore that she would give up her powers if it would help a young girl. Little did she know that someone would take her up on that promise.

And now, witch hunting assassins, necromancers, half-demons, and rogue witches all seem to be after her. The threat is not just for Savannah; every member of the Otherworld might be at risk. While most of her fellow supernaturals are circling the wagons at a gathering of the council in Miami, Savannah is caught on the road, isolated from those who can protect her and unable to use her vast spell casting talent, the thing she counts on most. In a story that will change the shape of the Otherworld forever, Spell Bound gathers Elena, Clay, Paige, Lucas, Jaime, Hope, and others, who soon learn that the greatest threat to supernaturals just may come from within.

Katkendid:

“Well, that was humiliating,” I said. “Tell you what, I’ll buy that new top for your Jeep if you promise never to tell anyone you rescued me from a drunk asking for spare change.”

***

I looked at him, his eyes dark, his voice harsh with determination. God, I loved him. I could insist I was okay with just being friends, that I’d find someone else and get over him, but I was fooling myself. There was no getting past this. I loved him, and fifty years from now we could be married to other people, never having exchanged so much as a kiss, and I’d still look into his eyes and know he was the one. He’d always be the one.

***

I honestly thought I remembered how to use the picks. But Adam knows me well. As with the self-defense lessons, I’d barely listened to Lucas’s tutorials because I figured I didn’t need them. After five minutes of fussing with the side door lock, I jangled the handle in frustration . . . and discovered it had been left open.
“You lost your spells, Savannah,” I muttered to myself. “Not your brains.”

***

“Did he say I could raise the dead?” Jaime said. “You know, my mom used to say that, too. Every time I cranked up my stereo.”

***

"Did you catch up to the guy?”
I shook my head. “Adam got a photo and we know his type—sorcerer, though that was obvious from the fog spell.”
“He seemed to recognize Savannah,” Adam said uneasily.
“And, for once, it wasn’t just someone mistaking me for my mother. He said my name. Made me feel special.”

***

I knew he scared her, though she tried to hide it. In life, Kristof Nast had scared most people. He’d been the heir to the most powerful Cabal in the country, a corporation that gained and maintained its position through raw, merciless ambition. According to everyone who’d known my father, he’d been perfectly suited to lead the company. Even my mother called him a ruthless bastard, though coming from her, that was a compliment.

***

I cried until I realized I was crying. Me. Savannah Levine. Breaking down like a little girl. I pulled back from Adam, my cheeks burning, my heart thudding against my ribs, the walls of the alley closing in, Adam standing too close, watching me too carefully.
I took a step away.
“Don’t, Savannah,” he said softly. “Please don’t run.”
“What am I going to do?” I whispered. “Without my powers, I’m—”
“Exactly the same person you are with them. Just a whole lot less dangerous.”

***

The next morning, I called one of my black-book contacts. Molly Crane, a dark witch. Molly always had time for me. Not because she was a good friend. Not even because she’d been good friends with my mother. No, Molly had time for me for the same reason I had time for her. I was useful. She was useful. Sometimes, in our world, that’s what it comes down to.

***

But demanding that the Cabals take action was like pounding on the door of a multinational corporation during a terrorist threat, asking what they planned to do about it. Yes, the Cabals would be concerned, but not because Joe Nobody wanted answers. If this activist or group posed a threat to business, they’d shoot them down . . . and shoot Joe, too, if he happened to be in the line of fire.

***

“I have one that claims the Pack ate an activist in New York State,” I said. “That’s what they get for coming around York State,” I said. “That’s what they get for coming around Stonehaven with their recruitment flyers. Clay must have mistaken them for Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

***

If the mousy girl in the photo wasn’t related to my witchhunter, I’d . . . well, I’d say I’d give up my spells, but it was a little late for that.

***

“Right. Skip the break-in. Make an appointment first.” He laughed.

***

I turned slowly. A Rottweiler stood ten feet away, growling. Bloody froth dripped from its open mouth. Great. Confronted by a rabid dog the size of a lion, while I’m armed with . . . I looked down. A pocket light.
“Um, Adam?” I called, as loud as I dared.
He stepped from the office. “Shit.”
That about summed it up.

***

“Do I have any blood spattered on me?” I whispered to Adam.
“Not that I can see.”
“Bit of brain? Strings of gore?”
“You’re clean. I think we just don’t quite suit the ambiance.”
I glanced around at the women in cocktail dresses. “I am wearing silk. I could strip down to it if that would help.”

***

He shook his head and downed the shot. I followed.
“Heli-skiing,” he said.
“What?”
“Heli-skiing. When this is done.” He waved. “This whole mess. When it’s over, I want to try heli-skiing.”
“In June?”
“We’ll have to find someplace cold. Maybe Switzerland. I always wanted to see Switzerland. That’s where we’ll go.”
“We?”
“It’s a long trip. Expensive. I need someone with a trust fund. Why else would I invite you?”

***

We shared a motel room again. We could only get one bed this time, so we decided to flip for it. At some point while searching for a coin we both ended up on it and, well, just never got up again. Next thing I knew, I woke curled up at the foot of the bed with Adam’s feet in my face. I pulled off his socks, left them by his face, and went in search of coffee.

***

“So,” I said, when I was finished telling them about the events in Columbus and the return of Leah O’Donnell. “The moral of this story is never to let Paige kill anyone ever again. She sucks at it, and I’ll have to go back and do it right.”

***

“You can’t—” she began.
“—do this. I know. You’re supposed to be the one harassing me.” I pointed at the chair. “Sit. Or I’ll help you.” She sat.
“Here’s the deal,” I said. “I want Veronica to stop trying to kill me. Yes, I know, that’s your mandate—rid the world of witches—but I’m starting to take it personally.”

***

The woman nodded. “She was on her final one when she was caught by the witch. She didn’t survive.”
The woman’s gaze dropped in fresh grief. I didn’t feel the urge to commiserate. Get killed trying to murder someone? That’s the kind of death penalty I can wholeheartedly endorse. I suspected that death was the motivation behind their eventual “enlightenment.” They hadn’t realized some witches were good; they’d realized some were dangerous.

***

There was nothing in it you wouldn’t expect, from the Buddha flowerpots to the wallpaper decorated with symbols that probably said, “If you bought this just because it looked pretty, may Buddha piss in your
coffee, you culturally ignorant moron.” I have no idea what they said, but I’m sure there was a henna artist down the street laughing her ass off every time they stopped by for fresh ink.

***

“You never know,” I said. “Maybe the people he hangs out with just lie on the bed together and surf porn sites on their laptops. Evolution at its finest.”
“Or its cleanest,” Kimerion said. “Human reproduction is so messy. All those bodily fluids.”
“Speaking of bodily fluids . . .” I pointed to the snail’s trail of putrefaction he had left in his wake. “Next time you need a dead body? Shopping is much better at the morgue. Cleaned up, stitched up, and prettied up. You’d look almost human.”

***

As he did, I spritzed him.
“My aftershave?” Adam said.
“It’s cheaper than my perfume.”

***

Speaking of which, you’ve gone a little off the playbook here, haven’t you? A young woman gutted in a stairwell is hardly going to be mistaken for a natural death.”
“That’s why you’re going up the stairs. To the top floor. Where you will leap to your death.”
“Are you sure? Because this building doesn’t look that tall. I’d hate—”

***

Now the problem would be telling Karl. I knew he’d tear a strip out of me. With Karl, that might be a literal strip. He’s always thought I’m an irresponsible and reckless brat, and deep down, I’m not sure he’s wrong. Right now, I was pretty sure he wasn’t.

***

The first time, I’d been captured with my mother. They’d come for her and I’d been home playing sick, so she’d had to protect me, which meant she couldn’t get away. She’d died without ever getting away.
The second time I’d been captured by my father. He’d been fighting Paige for custody and unable to tell his side of the story, so he took me. Then Leah convinced me he’d murdered Paige, and in a blind tantrum of spell-powered rage, I’d killed him.
Two kidnappings. Two deaths.
Who would die this time?

***

“What we do have is ambition. You’re about to be made a very generous offer, Savannah. One that will put you in a position”— Sierra’s lips pursed—“a position we don’t think you’re ready to undertake. Not alone, anyway. You need help. Our help.”
“So you’re threatening me with torture because you want to team up with me?” I sighed.

***

“Hey, Clay,” I said. Clayton Danvers. Elena’s mate. The Alpha’s bodyguard. The Pack’s enforcer. If I had to be rescued by someone, Clay would top my list.
“Took you long enough,” I said.
“You’re welcome,” he said.

***

“And this is a fair fight,” he said.
Sierra snickered. “Um, no. Hate to break it to you, but your girl there is spell-free these days.”
“I know. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair at all.”
Severin flew at Clay, who caught him by the shirtfront and whipped him against the other wall. “My mistake,” Clay said as Severin slid to the floor. “Apparently, it’s still not fair.”

***

“We want to negotiate,” Sierra said once I had her bound beside her brother. “We have answers you’ll want.”
“Then we’ll get them,” Clay said. “We’ll do it your way, though—the same way you got answers from that halfdemon in Albuquerque. And if you have any idea who I am, then you know that compared to me, you’re amateurs.”
I got his attention and mouthed, “Keep them alive.”
“Course,” he said aloud. “Killing them is easy. Real technique is seeing how long you can keep them alive.” He turned to the siblings. “Do you know why mutts don’t set foot on Pack territory?”
He told them. By the end of his story, Sierra looked like she was going to puke. Severin just sat there, his head down.

***

“He’s a demon,” I said. “Possessed.”
“News flash about two minutes late,” Clay said as he darted out of the demon’s way. “The glowing orange eyes were a tip-off.”

***

He threw open the driver’s door and climbed in. As he shut it, he noticed I was still standing there and put down the window. “Get in the damned car, Savannah. I’m not Adam. I’ll chase you once, and then I’ll make sure you don’t run off again.”

***

She let me go and wiped her cheeks as Lucas embraced me. “We’re going to fix this,” he said. “Someone has directly contravened the laws of demonic bargaining. And when we find out who it was, there will be an accounting and the effects will be reversed.”
“Can we sue for damages, too?”

***

“We’ll determine the exact parameters of the problem. It may be that not all your spells are affected.”
“And even if they are, we’ll deal with that,” Paige said.
“Yes, of course.” Lucas snapped his notebook shut and leaned forward. “We know how upset you must be, but your ability to cast spells is only a small part of who you are, Savannah. Remember how rarely you cast spells in your daily life.”
“Let me rephrase that,” Paige said. “Think of how rarely you need to cast them. Which excludes things like an unlock spell so you don’t have to dig out your keys.”

***

He lowered his voice. “Are you okay? I mean, I know you didn’t get hurt, but . . . are you okay?”
“Just kidnapped again. I’m used to it by now.”

***

I glared at him. “Yes, I’m not as smart as you, okay?”
“No, you’re just a helluva lot less considerate than I am.”
“Excuse me? Considerate? This from the guy who probably walked in here today without acknowledging a single employee, snapped at them if they dared say hello, told them off if they asked whether he’d like a coffee—”
“Apples and oranges.”
“Like hell. You’re rude and dismissive—”
“To people I don’t know and don’t care about. You’d never catch me treating Jeremy or Elena the way you treat Adam. Back then, Adam said that you couldn’t have a party, and explained why. Now, he says you need to come to Miami, and explains why. Both times he was right. Both times you went ahead and did your own thing. Both times you dragged him into it with you. At fifteen, that’s just teenage arrogance and rebellion. At twenty-one, it’s a complete and utter lack of respect for someone you’re supposed to care about.”

***

I let him make a few more notes, then said, “So, having diagnosed my romantic issue, are you going to suggest how I can fix it?”
Clay looked at me. “You’re asking for relationship advice from the guy who panicked and bit his fiancée when things went wrong?”
“Good point.”

***

“We’ll solve a mystery and squelch a Cabal war and a rebellion. Hopefully by dinner.”
I smiled. “It’s a plan"

***

“Cassandra?” I said. “Tell me you’re kidding.”
“Unfortunately, no,” he murmured.
“I heard that,” Cassandra said.
“I’m sure you did,” he said, then we both got in. “Hello, Cassandra.”
“Hello, Lucas. Not going to apologize for that rude comment?”
When he didn’t answer, she smiled. “Very good. A marked improvement.”

***

“Didn’t she die during that investigation?” I said.
“Being dead doesn’t necessarily stop anyone from causing trouble,” Lucas said. “As you well know.”
I lowered my voice to a mock-whisper. “Do you mean Cass? You know she hates being called dead. She’s in an altered state of parasitic existence.”

***

I laughed. Gazes shot my way. Chest first, face second, wrist third. A few guys broke from their packs and started to swoop in.
“What, they need a wristband to confirm that I’m hot?” I said.

***

“Hey,” I said, smiling as I crouched beside his table. “My friend over there really wants to meet you, but she’s shy. Do you think you could go and say hi?”
He scanned the packed bar. “Where?”
“Over there, behind those people. Brunette. Short skirt. Stiletto heels. Just wander over. She’ll notice you.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“No problem.”
He vacated the table. I slid onto a chair.
“Cruel,” Cassandra said as she took a seat.
“No, a creative manipulation of human gullibility and desperation. I thought you’d approve.”
“Never said I didn’t.”

***

Cassandra inched back. My phone vibrated. I checked discreetly and saw that I had a message—from Cassandra.
How badly do we need to speak to this woman?
I texted back, Wondering the same thing.

***

Bryce stopped short. “Savannah?”
“It’s not what it looks like, boss,” Salas said.
“And what does it look like?”
“That, you know, she seduced me to get to you. I’d never do that.”
“I didn’t think you would. Not unless your idea of seduction involves a split lip, torn clothing, and handcuffs.” Bryce paused. “Well, it could, but I’m sure that’s not what’s happening here.”

***

The next night, though, I was awakened by the sensation of visitors in my room. Two people stood beside my bed, arguing over the best way to decapitate me.”
“Nice,” I said.

***

"I’m experienced enough at stalking to recognize when I’m the one being stalked."

***

"It’s not nervousness. It’s maturity.”
“No, my dear, it’s not. But clearly this isn’t the place to have this conversation, so you will wait here, where I can have this conversation, so you will wait here, where I can assure you it’s quite safe. The one who is impervious to harm will continue on."

***

Anita didn’t answer. I tensed, ready to . . . Ready to what? Run in and shout, “Leave her alone, you bad people!”

***

I forced myself to relax, then thought of the easiest power. I forced myself to relax, then thought of the easiest spell I knew. The pen rose an inch, then dropped.
“Very good,” Cassandra said. “With practice, you might be able to poke someone in the eye with it.”

***

“A black mass?” I said. “For me? You shouldn’t have!” I hugged him.

***

“The lounge it is,” Adam said. “Flip you for the sofa.”
“Hell, no. I spent the night on a plane. I get the sofa.”
“Excuse me? I was up half the night researching that ritual for you. I deserve . . .”
We were still bickering when we reached the lounge and found . . .
“The sofa’s gone,” Adam said.
“It is? Good. I was starting to think I was even drunker than I feel.”
“Who the hell took the sofa?”
“I have no idea. When you find it, though, it’s all yours. I forfeit.”

***

I woke up with my butt vibrating.

Arvamus: Armastan seda, et nii palju kõiki jälle näha sai. Eriti Hope'i, Karli ja Clay'd. Jaz oli ka tglt omamoodi lahe... aga ma eelistaks, et talle ots peale tehtakse, sest Hope meeldib mulle rohkem.
Tühi tunne hetkel... nagu siis kui esimest korda Potter & FO lugesin... Ma tean, et üks raamat siin veel.... ja aasta oodata, kuid niiii tahan juba teada, mis saab. Kuigi mina ei näe selle raamatu lõpus mingit cliffhangerit. (Aga WtW lõpus nägin ma seda vist teiste raamatute eest ka. )
Aga super raamat oli! :) Witty ja clever. :)

Hinne: 10/10

53.



Nimi: The Bronze Horseman

Autor: Paullina Simons

Kuupäev: 02.08.2011

Lehekülgede arv: 832

Sisu: The golden skies, the translucent twilight, the white nights, all hold the promise of youth, of love, of eternal renewal. The war has not yet touched this city of fallen grandeur, or the lives of two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha Metanova, who share a single room in a cramped apartment with their brother and parents. Their world is turned upside down when Hitler's armies attack Russia and begin their unstoppable blitz to Leningrad.

Yet there is light in the darkness. Tatiana meets Alexander, a brave young officer in the Red Army. Strong and self-confident, yet guarding a mysterious and troubled past, he is drawn to Tatiana—and she to him. Starvation, desperation, and fear soon grip their city during the terrible winter of the merciless German siege. Tatiana and Alexander's impossible love threatens to tear the Metanova family apart and expose the dangerous secret Alexander so carefully protects—a secret as devastating as the war itself—as the lovers are swept up in the brutal tides that will change the world and their lives forever.

Katkendid:

Deda said, “Can I even get another evacuation teaching post? I’m nearly sixty-four. It’s time to die, not move.”

***

“Your ice cream is still melting,” the soldier repeated helpfully.
Blushing, Tatiana said with haste, “Oh, this ice cream. I’m finished with it.” She got up and threw it emphatically in the trash, wishing she had a handkerchief to wipe her stained dress.

***

She smiled and said quickly, “I have another joke: ‘General, what do you think about the upcoming battle?’ ”
Alexander said, “I know this one. The general says, ‘God knows it will be lost.’ ”
Tatiana continued, “ ‘Then why should we try?’ ”
And Alexander finished, “ ‘To find out who is the loser.’ ”
They both smiled and looked away from each other.

***

“But I’m not an officer,” she pointed out.
“Yes, but I am.”
“You are?”
“Yes,” he said. “Alexander Belov, first lieutenant. Impressed?”
“Skeptical,” she said. Alexander laughed.

***

“And my grandparents are on a housing list to get another room when one becomes available.”
“How long,” asked Alexander, “have they been on this housing list?”
“Since 1924,” replied Tatiana, and they both laughed.

***

Alexander was silent. “Now you’re really tiny,” he said at last.
“I’m not tiny,” she returned. “You’re just outsized.”

***

He suggested she buy matches. Tatiana mildly scoffed at this, because, she pointed out — she thought cleverly — you couldn’t eat matches.

***

She smiled. “What do I do? Do I take the paper off?”
“Yes. You tear it off.”
“And then what?”
“And then you throw it away.”
“The whole present or just the paper?”
Slowly he said, “Just the paper.”
“But you wrapped it so nicely. Why would I throw it away?”
“It’s just paper.”
“If it’s just paper, why did you wrap it?”
“Will you please open my present?” said Alexander.

***

He called after her, “If you wanted to, you could call me Shura.”
Shura! That’s a marvelous endearment. I would love to call you Shura, she wanted to tell him.
“Who calls you Shura?”
“Nobody,” Alexander replied with a salute.

***

Dimitri exclaimed. “Why can’t we just give Leningrad up? Minsk gave up. Kiev gave up. Tallinn gave up, having burned to the ground first. The entire Crimea gave up. All of the Ukraine happily gave up!” He was getting himself into a terrible agitation. “What the hell are we doing killing all of our men to stop Hitler from coming here? Let him come.”
“But, Dimochka,” said Mama, “your Tania is here. And Alexander’s Dasha.”
“Oh, and let’s not forget me,” said Marina. “Even though I belong to nobody, I’m here, too.”

***

One morning when he came, he said, “I heard Dimitri’s been shot!”
“No!”
“True.” He paused.
“What happened? Did he go down in a blaze of glory?”
“He shot himself in the foot with his Nagant sidearm.”
“Oh, I forget,” Tatiana said. “He is not you.”

***

“Honestly, Alexander,” Tatiana said. “You didn’t travel all this way to clear the table.”
Alexander sat back down, turned to Zoe, and said, “I admit I’m a little tired. Could you help her?” He didn’t smile at her. Zoe seemed to like that even better, giving him a large smile, as big as her breasts, and reluctantly going to help.

***

“Alexander, and that’s not even the half of it,” Naira whispered. “Tania really doesn’t like us to talk about what happened in Kobona. We didn’t want to tell you before, but—”
“Oh, but that Dimitri is a right bastard!” Axinya exclaimed again.
Alexander sat back down. “Tell me quickly.”

***

Naira said, “Tanechka, aren’t you going to clear up, dear? We can’t wait for your pie. And some tea.”
Alexander’s hand squeezed her a little harder and moved up.
Tatiana clenched her teeth. In exactly one second she was going to moan right at the dinner table, in front of four old women.

***

Tatiana cried out so loudly that Alexander stopped, fell back on the bed, put his arm over his face, and groaned.

***

Tatiana put on a clean dress and ran to get the water from the well, and ran to milk the goat, and ran to exchange goat’s milk for some cow’s milk.

***

“Well, that will be all over Lazarevo tomorrow,” she said. “Could it be any more humiliating?”
“I would say yes,” said Alexander, leaning into her. “They could have come three minutes later.”

***

“How long have we been here?”
“I don’t know. Minutes?”
“Where’s your ‘precise’ watch?”
“Didn’t bring it. Wanted time to stop moving forward,” said Alexander, blinking and closing his eyes.

***

“Ladies,” Alexander said, his arm around Tatiana’s neck, “we’re newlyweds .” He raised his eyebrows. “Do you really want us in your house?”
Naira gasped. Dusia crossed herself. Raisa shook, and Axinya clapped her hands once in glee.

***

Dusia said, “God spare you from the horrors of the marriage bed.”
Keeping her face straight and glancing outside at Alexander, Tatiana said, “Thank you.”
Outside, Alexander was doubled over.

***

Tatiana stared at the Ural Mountains and made no reply.
Grunting, Alexander got up and turned to her. “That wasn’t a bad story, Tania.”
“Wasn’t bad? Why don’t you try?”
“I’m not much for making up stories.”
“Yes, you prefer to blow things up."

***

Shaking his head and sighing, Alexander said, “All right. I’ll come with you.”
“Stop it. Church is one thing, but no soldier husband of mine is going to a sewing circle. It’ll unman you."

***

Alexander held the cast-iron pan in front of her. “Tania, can you argue with me and put the filling in the dough at the same time? Or am I going to have to agree with you so you can make dinner?”

***

all great things worth having require great sacrifice worth giving

***

The next morning Tatiana was screaming from inside the cabin. Her shrieks carried to Alexander through the pines, over the sound of his ax falling down on the cracking wood. He dropped the axe and ran to the house to find her crouching on top of the high counter. Her legs were drawn up to her neck.
“What?” he exclaimed, panting.
“Shura, a mouse ran by my feet as I was cooking.”
Alexander stared at the eggs on the hearth, at the small pot of bubbling coffee on the Primus stove, at the tomatoes already on their plates, and then at Tatiana, ascended a meter from the floor. His mouth reluctantly, infectiously drew into a wide grin. “What are you” — he was trying to keep from laughing — “what are you doing up there?”
“I told you!” she yelled. “A mouse ran by and brushed his” — she shivered — “his tail against my leg. Can you take care of it?”
“Yes, but what are you doing up there ?”
“Getting away from the mouse, of course.”

***

“Tatiasha, you goose, mice can climb, you know.”
“No they can’t.”
“I’ve seen mice climb the pole of the commander’s tent in Finland, trying to get to the piece of food at the very top.”
“What was food doing at the top of the tent pole?”
“We put it there.”
“Why?”
“To see if mice could climb.”

***

In the isolation tent next to Alexander’s bed, he heard a man struggling for his every breath. Like Marazov.
“What’s wrong with him?”
“Oh, Nikolai Ouspensky? He’s lost a lung,” Tatiana said. She cleared her throat. “He’ll be fine.
He is a nice man. His wife lives in a village nearby, keeps sending him onions.”
“Onions?”
Tatiana shrugged. “Villagers, what can I tell you.”

***

Speechlessly he stared at her shining face.
“What the hell are we going to do?” he asked finally.
“We ,” she said, kissing him, “are going to have a baby! In America. So hurry up and get well, so we can get out of here.”

***

After a commotion that lasted a good half hour, a bleeding and unconscious Dimitri was removed from the floor, and the orderly cleaned up the mess, complaining that he already had plenty to do without the wounded making more wounded out of perfectly healthy men.

Arvamus: Algus oli nii paljutõotav! Huvitav ja põnev ja saladuslik. Juhtusid asjad, mis viisid lugu edasi, tegid põnevaks. Aga siis surid kõik, kellel nende armastuse vastu midagi oli, ära, ja nad seksisid mingi 200 lehekülge jutti. Selle ajal jäi jutt liiga pikaks ajaks toppama. Ma tean, et tuleb näidata, et neil hea ja õnnelik aeg oli, aga see läks liiale. Raamat oli natukene liiga välja venitatud ja selle ajal ma tõesti mõistsin seda.
Aga oli tore näha, et türukust, kes sõja alguses kodus raamatut luges ja linnas jäätist sõi, selle asemel et sõja ajaks toitu varuda nagu ta isa palunud oli, sai noor ja tugev, enesekindel naine, kes suutis end Venemaalt välja smugeldada.

Hinne: 6/10 (tõsiselt yucked out olen kahjuks.)

Aga siis ei oleks need ju katkendid...

Täitsa tõsi jutt kõik.

54.



Nimi: Tatiana & Alexander

Autor: Paullina Simons

Kuupäev: 03.08.2011

Lehekülgede arv: 672

Sisu: A powerful story of grief and hope, a passionate and epic love story from the Russian-born author of the internationally bestselling novels TULLY and ROAD TO PARADISE. The world at war ! two people in love. Tatiana is eighteen years old and pregnant when she miraculously escapes war-torn Leningrad to the West, believing herself to be a widow. Her husband, Major Alexander Belov, a decorated hero of the Soviet Union, has been arrested by Stalin's infamous secret police and is awaiting imminent death as a traitor and a spy. Tatiana begins her new life in America. In wartime New York City she finds work, friends and a life beyond her dreams. However, her grief is inescapable and she keeps hearing Alexander calling out to her. Meanwhile, Alexander faces the greatest danger he's ever known. An American trapped in Russia since adolescence, he has been serving in the Red Army and posing as a Soviet citizen to protect himself. For him, Russia's war is not over, and both victory and defeat will mean certain death. As the Second World War moves into its spectacular close, Tatiana and Alexander are surrounded by the ghosts of their past and each other. They must struggle against destiny and despair as they find themselves in the fight of their lives. A master of the historical epic, Paullina Simons takes us on a journey across continents, time, and the entire breadth of human emotion, to create a heartrendingly beautiful love story that will live on long after the final page is turned.(

Katkendid:

“Son, when you grow up, I don’t want you to be a saint or a eunuch. I just want you to be careful. I want you to protect what’s yours at all times. You must be clean, you must be vigilant, and you must also remember that without protection, you will get a girl up the stick, and then what? You’re going to marry someone you don’t love because you weren’t careful?”
Alexander stared at his mother. “Up thestick ?” he said.
“She’ll tell you it’s yours and you’ll never know for sure, all you’ll know is that you’re married, and your horn is falling off!”

***

Alexander put down his fork. “Did you say moved? Moved where? Because Nikita is sleeping in our bathroom.”
“Who is Nikita?”
“Dad, you haven’t noticed that there is a man in the bathtub?”
“What man?”
“Nikita.”
“Oh. How long has he been there?”
Alexander exchanged a blank look with his mother. “Three months.”
“He’s been in the bathtub for three months?"

***

“Never seen him,” Harold said in a voice that implied that since he had never seen Nikita, Nikita must not exist. “What does he do when I want to have a bath?”
Jane said, “Oh, he leaves for a half-hour. I give him a shot of vodka. He goes for a walk.”
“Mom,” said Alexander, eating cheerfully, “his wife is coming to join him in March. He begged me to talk to everybody on the floor to ask if we could have our baths earlier in the evening, to let them have a bit of—”

***

"While I’m gone, stay here and grow yourself a lung."

***

“For some reason,” said Pasha, “everything.”
“Oh, fuck you! No one is talking to you. Why don’t you breathe through your pen and shut the fuck up."

***

Alexander walked away from them. They followed him. Pasha said, sighing with resignation at Ouspensky’s presence, “I think we should try to escape. What’s the point of staying here?”
Alexander snorted mildly. “There are no floodlights and no watchtowers. I don’t think it can be called escaping, Commander,” he said, pointing out a hole five meters wide in the barbed wire fence. “I think it’s called leaving.”

***

“Let’s kill him and run.”
“It’s Catholic Christmas tomorrow. Can we not kill him on Christmas perhaps?”

***

“Amen,” said Tatiana.
“Hey Men!” repeated Anthony.

***

“You’re full of shit. Who are you waiting for?”
“No one.”
“When do you find the time? You have a child. You have two jobs. And I live with you. When do you have time to lead a secret life?”

***

“Who’d take you,” asked Isabella, “if you died and left your son an orphan?”
“Why not?” said Tatiana. “He died and left his son an orphan.”

Arvamus: Umm... decent? Alguses oli liiga palju mälestusi. Kõik loetud, lihtsalt teisest POVst. Üle viskas. Lõpu poole, kui jälle tegevuseks kiskus, oli mõnus. Kuigi ma vannun, et Tatiana on kõige lollim ja närviajavam naispeategelane üldse.

Hinne: 7/10

56.



Nimi: Moominpappa at Sea

Autor: Tove Jansson

Kuupäev: 11.08.2011

Lehekülgede arv: 220

Sisu: When the Moomin family members need a change of scenery, they decide to take up residence in a lighthouse. As they discover their new home, the family also discover surprising, and wonderfully funny, new things about themselves.

Katkend:

"Mamma's lost!"
"Mammas don't get lost as easily as all that," sais Little My. "You can always find them in a corner somewhere if you only look."

Arvamus: Andis Muumidele täiesti uue dimensiooni, palju täiskasvanulikuma. Polnud just eriti huvitav, aga käis kah.

Hinne: 7/10

57.



Nimi: Bloodlines

Autor: Richelle Mead

Kuupäev: 25.08.2011

Lehekülgede arv: 421

Sisu: When alchemist Sydney is ordered into hiding to protect the life of Moroi princess Jill Dragomir, the last place she expects to be sent is a human private school in Palm Springs, California. But at their new school, the drama is only just beginning.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Bloodlines explores all the friendship, romance, battles and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive - this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone's out for blood.

Katkendid:

But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. I need you to get me out of this place.”
I was startled. This wasn’t about Jill?
“Out of Palm Springs?” I asked.
“No! Out of this place.” He gestured around him. “It’s like living in a retirement home! Clarence is taking a nap right now, and he eats at five. It’s so boring.”

***

“Adrian, we’re focusing on Jill here. This isn’t about your personal entertainment.”
“Not true,” he said, green eyes sparkling. “Everything’s about my personal entertainment. The world is my stage. Keep it up—you’re becoming a star performer in the show.”

***

As I drove away, I decided the Alchemists needed an entire department devoted to handling Adrian Ivashkov.

***

“Good news,” I told her as she blinked at me with sleepy eyes. “It’s feeding day.”
Definitely words I never thought I’d say.

***

Keith was just bringing the glass to his lips when Adrian said, “Mmm. O positive, my favorite.”
Keith sprayed out the wine he’d just drunk and promptly started coughing. I was relieved that none got on me. Jill burst into giggles, and Clarence stared at his glass wonderingly.
“Is it? I thought it was a cabernet sauvignon.”
“So it is,” said Adrian, straight-faced. “My mistake.”

***

“Tell me this, Sage,” he said, without turning back to face me. “Why the hell would someone put a building near the beach but not have the balconies face the water? They were built to look at hills behind us. Unless the neighbors start doing something interesting, I’m ready to declare this structure a total waste.”

***

“You wouldn’t know who’s a threat.”
Eddie shook his head. “It’s pretty easy, actually. I just treat everyone as a threat.”

***

“I should’ve coached you. That’s a standard trick question. You’re supposed to answer with things like ‘I get too devoted to my work’ or ‘I’m a perfectionist.’”
He snorted and crossed his arms. “That’s total bullshit. hWho’d say something like that?”
“People who get jobs.”

***

“You think Keith will write the note?” he asked in a low voice.
“He has to. The whole point of us being here is to keep her alive. Starving her to death kind of defeats the purpose.”

***

“I’ve seen it all along, but it wasn’t until that night at Keith’s that I really understood what I was seeing. I saw how you looked at her. I know how you feel about her. So, what I
want to know is: how come we have to keep worrying about Micah at all? Why aren’t you just asking her out and saving us all a lot of trouble?”
“Because she’s my sister,” he said wryly.
“Eddie! I’m serious.”

***

“Well, there you go. Even a psychopath recognized your worth enough to want to kill someone else first.”

***

“Angeline,” said Abe. “This is Adrian Ivashkov.”
Adrian extended his hand, turning on that natural charm. “A pleasure.”
She took his hand after a moment’s hesitation. “Nice to meet you,” she said in her odd southern accent. She studied him for a few more seconds. “You look too pretty to be useful.”

Arvamus: Ütle, mida sa tahad, aga Mead oskab kirjutada. Põnev! Ja muidugi Adrian. (L)

Hinne: 9/10

58.



Nimi: Ambassador's Mission

Autor: Trudi Canavan

Kuupäev: 28.08.2011

Lehekülgede arv: 505

Sisu: Sonea, a Black Magician of Kyralia, is horrified when her son, Lorkin, volunteers to assist the new Guild Ambassador to Sachaka. When word comes that Lorkin has gone missing, Sonea is desperate to find him, but if she leaves the city she will be exiled forever. And besides, an old friend is in need of her help.

Most of her friend's family has been murdered - the latest in a long line of assassinations to plague the leading Thieves of the city. There has always been rivalry, but now the Thieves are waging a deadly underworld war, and it appears they have been doing so with magical assistance.

Katkend:

"What is an 'unsavoury character', after all?" His eyebrows rose and he looked around. "I'd find someone who smells bad unsavoury."

Arvamus: Mis mul öelda... Canavan. Hea.

Hinne: 8/10

59.



Nimi: Succubus Revealed

Autor: Richelle Mead

Kuupäev: 03.09.2011

Lehekülgede arv: 320

Sisu: In Georgina Kincaid, succubus and she-demon, #1 New York Times bestselling author Richelle Mead has created one of her most enticing characters. But with a shot at love, and maybe even redemption, is the ultimate seductress finally going soft? Like hell she is. . .

Georgina Kincaid has had an eternity to figure out the opposite sex, but sometimes they still surprise her. Take Seth Mortensen. The man has risked his soul to become Georgina's boyfriend. Still, with Lucifer for a boss, Georgina can't just hang up her killer heels and settle down to domestic bliss. In fact, she's being forced to transfer operations. . .to Las Vegas.

The City of Sin is a dream gig for a succubus, but Georgina's allies are suspicious. Why are the powers-that-be so eager to get her away from Seattle—and from Seth? Georgina is one of Hell's most valuable assets, but if there's any way out of the succubus business she plans to take it—no matter how much roadkill she leaves behind. She just hopes the casualties won't include the one man she's risking everything for. . .

Katkendid:

“I can make them.” Margaret was already going through the cupboards, seeking ingredients. “I’ve been making cupcakes before any of you were born.” Seth and I exchanged glances at that.

***

“Crazier doesn’t always mean harder,” I pointed out. “I mean, when Peter tried to make a ‘retro candle sconce’ out of a Pringles can last month, that was pretty crazy—but it was also pretty easy to deal with once we found his fire extinguisher.”

***

“Have you ever wondered how you’d look in a white beard and Santa hat?” Roman returned my look warily. “No, I have not.” I quickly explained how the Mortensen girls hadn’t seen Santa yet this year. He was already shaking his head before I finished the story. “Come on, Roman. They need to see Santa. And I know you don’t have any of those hang-ups like Walter does about multiple Santas existing together.” “Nope,” agreed Roman. “My hang-up is about preserving my dignity, no matter how good the cause. Besides, I don’t feel that guilty. If you really wanted them to see Santa, you could shape-shift and put us all to shame.” I scowled. It was annoying because it was true.

***

I paired it with a glittering necklace of white gold and amethysts that had been my Secret Santa gift to myself. I had great taste.

***

“I was about to go to Terry’s. Seth’s already there.” I didn’t bother asking where Ian was. He probably celebrated New Year’s on January third or something, just to be contrary.

***

“That was nice of you,” Roman said, when I explained what I discussed with Margaret. “It’s an easy thing for me to do that can help a lot of people,” I said. “No reason not to.” He shook his head, incredulous. “You shouldn’t even need a technicality to escape Hell’s reach. They should fire you out of principle.”

***

"And there are still things they need.” “Indeed. That pony collection isn’t nearly complete,” Carter mused.

***

Hannibal nodded his consent, and she turned to her laptop. “Name?” “Kyriakos,” I said, trying not to stumble over the word. “That’s what it was in the fifth century, at least. In Cyprus. Today he’s Seth Mortensen.” The judge arched an eyebrow. “I like his books. Didn’t realize he was one of ours.”

Arvamus: Kuigi ma teadsin Georgina lõppu juba 3. raamatu lõpuks, oli see pööre Sethiga päris üllatav. RO-MAN-TI-LI-NE! :)
Kurb muidugi, et seeria läbi nüüd. Oli väärt seda aega.

Hinne: 10/10

60.



Nimi: Blood Bound

Autor: Rachel Vincent

Kuupäev: 04.09.2011

Lehekülgede arv: 448

Sisu: By blood, by word, by magic...

Most can't touch the power. But Liv Warren is special – a paranormal tracker who follows the scent of blood.

Liv makes her own rules, and the most important one is trust no one.

But when her friend's daughter goes missing, Liv has no choice but to find the girl. Thanks to a childhood oath, Liv can't rest until the child is home safe. But that means trusting Cam Caballero, the former lover forbidden to her.

Bound by oath and lost in desire for a man she cannot have, Liv is racing to save the child from a dark criminal underworld where secrets, lies, trauma and danger lurk around every corner...every touch...every kiss.

And more blood will be spilled before it's over...

Katkendid:

Only two-thirty in the morning, and I already had blood on my hands. The most messed-up part of that? It was the hour that bothered me.

***

“Nobody writes anything down on paper anymore. But what’s the one thing people never leave the house without?”
Cam looked up from the skillet, challenging grin intact. “Underwear. Or would you like to prove me wrong?”

***

“Password?” she said, eyeing me expectantly.
I piled steak and peppers onto a tortilla and answered without looking up. “Zero-one-zero-four.”
Her finger hovered over the last digit, and I could practically feel her gaze on me. “That’s my birthday.”
“Huh. Weird.”

***

“Oh.” Cam’s brows rose in an almost-grin. “If I didn’t think it’d offend you, I’d offer to pay for your time permanently, just so he’d have to let you see me.”
I laughed, in spite of the circumstances. “As insulting—yet sweet—as that is, it only works with tracking jobs. I can track for other people, as long as they’re paying me.”
“Funny you should say that. I just happen to have lost touch with my kindergarten teacher. And my girlfriend from fourth grade. And the obstetrician who delivered me. In fact, I’m pretty sure I could keep you busy—and officially employed—for the rest of your life.”

***

"If I can deal with the reality, you can survive imagining it."

***

“Michaela is just angry. Anger does fascinating things to a woman—no two react the same.”
“Yeah, well, she’s overreacting. With a knife.”

***

“It turns out that Meika Cavazos is the one who started the rumor that I’m her husband’s bound concubine-slash-mole. She’s not allowed to kill me, so she’s hoping to have me hung as a spy. Or whatever the modern equivalent of that is.”
“The modern equivalent would be systematic dismemberment, followed by a bullet to the brain."

***

“I guess that’s at least one thing a woman can never understand—if you have a kid out there somewhere, at least you know it.”
“Yeah, I guess."

***

I laughed. “Most girls start naming their future children in junior high.” He glanced at me with both brows raised, and I shook my head vehemently. “Not I. But I will admit to putting almost as much thought into picking out the .50 caliber as you’re putting into this.”
His frown deepened, and his disappointment was almost palpable. “You’d rather have guns than kids?”

***

Another blink. Then Ruben held up Anne’s photo and pointed to the baby. “That is a little boy.”
“No, that is a little girl in a blue baseball cap. Evidently gender-specific physical traits aren’t so clear at that age. At least, not with the diaper on.”

***

“If you like the spheres of your life kept separate, tell her to go home. She’s the last thing we need to deal with right now.”
“Actually, she’s exactly what we need right now. Michaela, tell her what your Skill is.”
Meika scowled, but had no choice but to comply. “I’m a Traveler.”
“Congratulations. Go home and get a cookie.

***

Anne… “How is she?”
“Better than you.” Cam smiled. “Her heart never stopped. She’s fucking pissed at me, though.”
“Women get like that when you shoot them.”


Arvamus: Meeldis. Pole ammu selliste pööretega raamatut lugenud. Mõnus, kuidas kõik ühe suure ringi moodustas. Ja veel kui geniaalse ringi. Lugejat pole alahinnatud.
Ainus asi, mis alguse poole häiris, oli see, et Cam meenutas nii väga Marci. Armunud kutsikas.
Meeldis maailm ja selle ülesehitus - ainulaadne.

Hinne: 10/10

61.



Nimi: Original Sin

Autor: Lisa Desrochers

Kuupäev: 05.09.2011

Lehekülgede arv: 400

Sisu: Luc Cain was born and raised in Hell, but he isn’t feeling as demonic as usual lately—thanks to Frannie Cavanaugh and the unique power she never realized she had. But you can’t desert Hell without consequences, and suddenly Frannie and Luc find themselves targeted by the same demons who used to be Luc’s allies.

Left with few options, Frannie and Luc accept the protection of Heaven and one of its most powerful angels, Gabe. Unfortunately, Luc isn’t the only one affected by Frannie, and it isn’t long before Gabe realizes that being around her is too…tempting. Rather than risk losing his wings, he leaves Frannie and Luc under the protection of her recently-acquired guardian angel.

Which would be fine, but Gabe is barely out the door before an assortment of demons appears—and they’re not leaving without dragging Luc back to Hell with them. Hell won’t give up and Heaven won’t give in. Frannie’s guardian exercises all the power he has to keep them away, but the demons are willing to hurt anyone close to Frannie in order to get what they want. It will take everything she has and then some to stay out of Hell’s grasp.

And not everyone will get out of it alive.

Katkendid:

Luc blows out a frustrated sigh and eases my shirt back down. “For the love of all things unholy, what is it with you celestials? Will you please learn how to knock?”
“And miss the show?” he says, smiling at me as I yank at my shirt.
I extricate myself from Luc and stand.
“For an angel, you’re quite the pervert,” Luc says.

***

“Don’t his parents get sick of all those parties?” Mom asks.
“No, they’re good with it. At least they know where all their kids are,” Kate answers.
Kate’s boyfriend, Chase, is one of ten Gallagher kids, and every high school party since the dawn of time has been in their backyard.

***

Frannie shoots a glance at Lili, then picks herself up and runs down the stairs. “Matt, are you okay?”
I lie here at the bottom of the stairs, not sure how to play this. I should be hurt, but, of course, I’m not. “Um…yeah, I this. I should be hurt, but, of course, I’m not. “Um…yeah, I think so.” Maybe something small. A sprained elbow? A bump on the head? I sit up and wince, still not sure what should hurt.

Arvamus: Õige palju pettusin. Sisu oli üles ehitatud nende... lembestseenidele? Et kui palju nad ikka teineteist armastavad ja kuidas nad armastavad... Nalja ei saanud, tegevust nagu erilist polnud... Mõttelage. Esimese raamatu kõrval rubbish.

Hinne: 6/10

62.



Nimi: The Summer Garden

Autor: Paullina Simons

Kuupäev: 14.09.2011

Lehekülgede arv: 742

Sisu: From the bestselling author of The Girl in Times Square, comes the magnificent conclusion to the saga that was set in motion when Tatiana fell in love with her Red Army officer, Alexander Belov, in wartime Leningrad in 1941.

Tatiana and Alexander have since suffered the worst the twentieth century had to offer. After years of separation, they are miraculously reunited in America, the land of their dreams. They have a beautiful son, Anthony. They have proved to each other that their love is greater than the vast evil of the world. But though they are only in their twenties, in their hearts they are old, and they are strangers. In the climate of fear and mistrust of the Cold War, dark forces are at work in the US that threaten their life and their family. Can they be happy? Or will the ghosts of yesterday reach out to blight even the destiny of their firstborn son?

Epic in scope, masterfully told, The Summer Garden is a novel of unique and devastating emotional power that spans two thirds of the twentieth century, and three continents.

Katkendid:

Alexander called to his son. “Anthony, how would you like to live in a house that is also a boat?”
The child jumped up and down.
“Anthony,” said his mother, “how would you like to live in a snowy mountain retreat in the north of Canada?”
Anthony jumped up and down.

***

“What is that god-awful smell?” Alexander said when he came home from the marina.
“Mommy put mayonnaise in her hair,” said Anthony with a face that said, Mommy washed her face with duck poop.
“She did what?”
“Yes. This afternoon she put a whole jar of mayonnaise in her hair! Dad, she sat with it for hours, and now she can’t get the water hot enough to rinse it out.”

***

“Dad, why are they showing us their boobies?”
“I’m not sure, son. It’s a strange ritualistic custom common to these parts of the world.”
“Like in that journal where the African girls put weights in their lips to make them hang down past their throats?”
“Something like that.” Alexander scooped up Anthony into his arms. “But Mommy said the African girls make their lips big to get a husband. Are these girls trying to get a husband?”
“Something like that.”
“Daddy, what did Mommy do to get you to marry her?” Anthony giggled. “Did Mommy show you her boobies?”

***

“What? I don’t care. Anything you want.” His back was to her.
She pulled him away from Anthony. “It’s our marriage bed. It’s the first real bed you and I have ever had. This is very, very important. We need sheets that reflect this paramount gravity.”
“That’s a lot to ask of poor sheets.”

***

I’m twenty-five, still live at home, and despite all his promises and a ring, he just won’t marry me.”
“So why don’t you tell him to fish or cut bait, Mand?” asked Tatiana.
Amanda was quiet. “Because what if he cuts bait, Tania?”
Tatiana hoped that what she was thinking was not plain on her face, which was, Hallelujah.

***

3:00.
3:30.
3:53.
4:17.
Tatiana called Phoenix Memorial emergency room and spoke to Erin, who told her that no, Alexander had not been brought in bleeding and dead.

***

They said it wasn’t war. But Alexander disagreed. He said it was. A man came up the hill to his house wanting to kill him and hurt his wife. The man brought war to his house. Now he lay dead. These were the facts and they were not in dispute. Only the degree of force, and Alexander’s snap judgment, and Steve Balkman’s broken face were in dispute.

***

Shannon stared at Alexander. “Hey, man,” he said, “why don’t you just tell her you don’t want her working anymore? It’s so simple.”
Not looking up from his glass, Alexander didn’t answer for some time. “Shannon,” he finally said, “the three-dimensional, divide-and-conquer algorithm of why Tatiana continues to work is too fucking complicated for me to explain to you after six beers. Let’s just leave it.”

***

“Anthony, Anthony…” Alexander whispered, pressing his face to Anthony’s head, ifting him off the straw to sit him up. “Can you hear me, son? You are my life and your mother’s life. You will always be for me my three-year-old boy playing in the yard, cutting your hair to look like mine, walking like me, talking like me, sitting on my lap, bringing me ladybugs, bringing me joy, keeping me alive. That’s what I see when I look at you. Remember fishing together, Ant, when you were little? You have no idea how much happiness you brought me. You’ve made me nothing but proud your whole life. Now
come on, bud. You must get up and come with me. You will see, you will not fail—not you. You’ll be all right, but stand up, son. Come on, stand up, Anthony.”
The boy didn’t move.

***

“Daddy!” said Janie, jumping up and down. “I learned how to pee standing up, just like the boys. Are you proud of me?”
“Very proud. But I already have three sons. I need a baby girl, Janie.”

Arvamus: Kokkuvõttes meeldis. Sellise võimsa tunde jättis. Epopöa. Kogu see arend ja kasvamine ja tagasilangused ja jalgele saamised ja küik muu. Nii kohutavalt inspireeriv. :)

Hinne: 8/10

63.



Nimi: The Rogue

Autor: Trudi Canavan

Kuupäev: 30.09.2011

Lehekülgede arv: 495

Sisu: Sonea, Black Magician of Kyralia, remains deeply concerned about her son Lorkin, who has gone missing on assignment in the foreign land of Sachaka. Her problems at home remain as well, for there is a rogue magician on the loose, threatening the life of her friend Cery, leader of the Thieves.

Lorkin, living among the Sachakan rebels, does his best to learn about them and their unique magic. But the Traitors are reluctant to trade their knowledge for the Healing they so desperately want, and while he assumes they fear revealing their existence to the world, there are hints they have bigger plans.

In Sachaka, Dannyl has lost the respect of the Sachakan elite for letting Lorkin join the Traitors. The Ashaki's attention has shifted, instead, to the new Elyne Ambassador, a man Dannyl knows all too well.

And in the University, two female novices are about to remind the Guild that sometimes their greatest enemy is found within.

Katkendid:

Only when you know the other could easily leave you, do you appreciate it when he stays.

***

"So when are we leaving?" Merria asked.
Sannyl lifted an eyebrow at her. "We?"
Her face fell. "You're not taking me with you?"
He shook his head. "I can't."
"It's a habit of his," Tayend murmured, "Always leaving people behind."

Arvamus: Hea. :)
Ainult gei-üleküllus. (Pole nende vastu midagi, aga kust nad nüüd järsku tekkisid? Ühe raamatu jooksul 4 uut nägu... nagu tundub olevat populaarne neid armsaid geipaare nüüd igale poole sisse toppida... kuid mõned paarid lihtsalt on ajatud... Alec ja Magnus, Javier Felicityst jms.)
Mulle meeldis. Nii mõnus, et otsad kokku jooksid. Ainult et huumorit oleks võinud rohkem olla.

HInne: 10/10

64.



Nimi: If I Die

Autor: Rachel Vincent

Kuupäev: 01.10.2011

Lehekülgede arv: 352

Sisu: The entire school's talking about the gorgeous new math teacher, Mr. Beck. Everyone except Kaylee Cavanaugh. After all, Kaylee's no ordinary high-school junior. She's a banshee—she screams when someone dies.

But the next scream might be for Kaylee.

Yeah—it's a shock to her, too. So to distract herself, Kaylee's going to save every girl in school. Because that hot new teacher is really an incubus who feeds on the desire of unsuspecting students. The only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine, her boyfriend's needy ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr. Beck…before he discovers they aren't quite human, either.

But Kaylee's borrowed lifeline is nearing its end. And those who care about her will do anything to save her life.

Anything.

Katkendid:

“That's because Tod never brings anything but death and bad advice," I snapped.
"That's not true." Tod tried to grin, "Sometimes I bring pizza.”

***

“I'm dead, not impotent. Nasty rumors like that must be squashed before they gain momentum. Feel free to emphasize how very functional I am.”

***

“I wanted more firsts with Tod. But all I had left was a handful of lasts.”

Arvamus: Mu jumal, kuidas ma seda raamatut armastan! Nii emotsionaalne! Supersupersuper!

Hinne: 10/10

65.



Nimi: Seitsmes rahukevad

Autor: Viivi Luik

Kuupäev: 11.10.2011

Lehekülgede arv: 271

Sisu: „Suurtes ja hallides teeäärsetes taludes olid elanud kulakud ja raudsängijalgadesse kulda peitnud.” Selle lausega algab „Seitsmes rahu­ke­vad”, mille aegruumiks on sõjast toibuv kolkaküla.

Arvamus: Õõõõõh. Kas on olemas veel isekamat last?
Vähemalt mainiti kaks korda Türit.

Hinne: 5/10

66.



Nimi: Nullpunkt

Autor: Margus Karu

Kuupäev: 17.10.2011

Lehekülgede arv: 365

Sisu: «Nullpunkt» on aus ja ilustamata romaan 21. sajandi algusaastate Eesti koolinoorte elust. Peategelasel, probleemsest kodust ja halvast koolist pärit Johannesel õnnestub end ühte Tallinna eliitkooli sisse rääkida, kuid peagi avastab eluterve ja hea huumorimeelega poiss eneselegi üllatuseks, et erinevate kokkusattumuste tõttu on ta klassikaaslaste poolt jõuliselt heidikustaatusse tagandatud ning tema ees seisab vankumatu sotsiaalne blokaad. Esialgu proovib Johannes küll enda mainet päästa, kuid nagu rabalaukas üksida rappides vajub üha sügavamale ja sügavamale, kuni põhja enam pole ja lootust ei paista.

Kui tema elupüramiidi kolm peamist tahku – kodu, sõbrad ja kool – kokku vajuvad, avastab poiss, et elu ei ole sellisena enam elamist väärt ning nurkasurutuna, emotsionaalselt ja füüsiliselt läbiklobituna mõistab, et tal ei ole enam midagi kaotada. Ta jõuab nullpunkti. Ta ei taha enam elada, kuid leiab end kogudes enesetapule alternatiivse lahenduse: ta hakkab enda elu looma selliseks, nagu ise tahab. Johannes ei proovi muuta tingimusi enda ümber, vaid kohandab ennast just selliseks, nagu vaja. Ta töötab välja skeemi, kuidas saavutada populaarsus ja aktsepteeritus ning hakkab seda mineviku survest ja oleviku löökidest hoolimata jõuliselt rakendama.

Kirjanik Jim Ashilevi: «Nullpunkt» on raamat ülesaamisest. See on häbenematu ülestähendus ühest põrgust, kuhu «erilised» koolinoored päevast päeva saadetakse ja kust mõned neist iial välja ei tule. See raamat saavutab kõige raskema – sellest põrgust väljatuleku ja seda on raske pidada vähemaks kui suursaavutuseks. Õigupoolest võib raamatu kangelast kannustav tahe mõjuda küüniliste ja irooniliste stsenaariumidega harjunud inimesele võõristavaltki.

See on lugu ohjade haaramisest. Mitte oma elu välja teenimisest, vaid oma elu tegemisest. Otsusest olla see, kes oled. Otsusest olla hea. Tahtest olla õnnelik ilma, et keegi seda õpetada oskaks. See on saamislugu. Pole kahtlust, et see raamat jõuab vähemalt ühe noore inimeseni nagu köis sügavasse pimedasse kaanetatud kaevu. Ja mitte poomiseks, vaid selleks, et tulla välja päikese kätte. Sest kõigil on koht päikese all. Ja päikesel on sinust ükskõik. Aga sina armasta teda sellegipoolest, teadagi miks. Ja võib juhtuda, et kaevust välja tulles pole sind tervitamas päike, vaid lägane vilisev hall Eesti sügistalv. Siis hangid vihmavarju ja head saapad.

Katkedid:

Lõbu on toredam kui vaen. Isegi vaenlastega.

***

Issand jumal, kuidas aeg venib! Kool on selles mõttes hea leiutis, et pikendab meie noorusaega. Teate seda ütlust, et kui on lõbus, siis aeg lendab? Kool välistab oma loomusega juba üldjuhul igasuguse lõbu, seega hakkab aeg venima ja noorus tundub pikem. Aitäh, kool.

Arvamus: Vot see oli üks mõnusalt inspireeriv raamat! Meeldis see mõnus vaheldusrikas kirjelduslaad ja illustratsioonid, (A)

Hinne: 10/10

67.



Nimi: Piiririik

Autor: Emil Tode

Kuupäev: 03.11.2011

Lehekülgede arv: 197

Arvamus: Ei mäleta, millal viimati raamatu lugemise järel nii blank page oli.

Hinne: 3/10

68.



Nimi: One Day

Autor: David Nicholls

Kuupäev: 15.11.2011

Lehekülgede arv: 435

Sisu: Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways. So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that? And every year that follows? Twenty years, two people, ONE DAY.

Katkendid:

“You're gorgeous, you old hag, and if i could give you just one gift ever for the rest of your life it would be this. Confidence. It would be the gift of confidence. Either that or a scented candle”

***

He wanted to live life in such a way that if a photograph were taken at random, it would be a cool photograph.

***

Call me sentimental, but there's no-one in the world that I'd like to see get dysentery more than you.

Arvamus: Ohjeebus. Üks väga, väga hea raamat. Ei tea, kas lõpuga olla rahul või mitte. Aga mõnus oli lugeda ja tegelasi suureks saamas näha, arenemas näha.
Huvitav, kas nad ise olid sellest kuupäevast teadlikud?

Hinne: 10/10

69.



Nimi: Rehepapp

Autor: Andrus Kivirähk

Lehekülgede arv: 200

Kuupäev: 17.12.2011

Sisu: Romaan eesti rahva raskest elust mõisahärrade rõhumise all. Rängas olukorras ei jää rahval muud üle, kui krabada endale kõike mida kätte saab, olgu siis naabri sahvrist, mõisaaiast või teede ristmikul vanakurja käest. Loomulikult on mängus ka kõiksugused kratid, tondid ja kollid, kes varitsevad põõsas, silmad põlemas, et paljukannatanud külainimestele veelgi kurja teha.

Arvamus: Meeldis väga. Hea eestlaste kujutamine. Vahetu, aus, tõetruu. Kõike ehk praegusele ümber kanda ei saa, aga briljantne. Huumorit oli korralikult. Mõnus asi ühesõnaga.

Hinne: 8/10

70.



Nimi: Crescendo

Autor: Becca Fitzpatrick

Kuupäev: 18.11.2011

Lehekülgede arv: 359

Sisu: Becca Fitzpatricku eduka romaani „Salajane” järg.

Sõna otseses mõttes elu eest võitlemine oli küll kurnav, kuid vähemalt sai Nora tänu sellele endale salapärase ja imekena kaitseingli! Kuid Patch on tabamatum kui iial enne (kui see üldse võimalik on), ja mis veelgi hullem, veedab üha rohkem aega Nora vihavaenlase Marcie Millariga.

Lisaks on kuueteistkümneaastasel Nora Greyl vaja kergitada saladuseloor oma isa surma asjaoludelt.

Arvamus: Noh... ma eelmist raamatut eriti ei mäleta, kuid see... oli isegi üllatavalt hea-. Ei olnud väga cheesy - meeldis, et see üeategelane jättis poisi maha, kui nägi, et asjad ei saagi sujuda, mitte ei jäänud tema külge rippuma.
Sügavust... eriti nagu polnud. Pöördeid see-eest oli... kuid raamat oli siiski... või tegelikult polnudki. xD Ühesõnaga, raamatut ei kandnud see poiss-sõbra/eksi pidev kohalolek. Teda oli, jah, palju, kuid mitte nii palju kui see tavaliselt olema kipub.

Hinne: 8/10

71.



Nimi: Silence

Autor: Becca Fitzpatrick

Kuupäev: 19.11.2011

Lehekülgede arv: 438

Sisu: The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for—and their love—forever.

Katkendid:

“I learned that I was either crazy in love with you, or putting on the best performance of my life.'

***

“Hey now, none of that. You know I don't have one evil bone in my body.
Only two hundred and six of them?”

***

“You're a liar!"
He turned around, his black eyes snapping. "I'm also a thief, a gambler, a cheat, and a murdered. But this happens to be one of the rare times when I'm telling the truth. Go home. Consider yourself lucky. You've got a chance to start fresh. Not everyone can say the same.”

Arvamus: Noh, ma kujutan juba ette järgmise raamatu sisututvustust. "Nora on viimaste kuude jooksul pidanud läbi elama midagi palju enamat ja erilisemat kui teised terve oma elu jooksul. Ta armus, kaotas oma mälu, ja armus uuesti. Kuid nüüd, kus ta on surematu, pole enam miski sama. Peale selle on Nora vaatevälja ilmunud Scott, kes mõistab teda viisidel kui ei keegi teine..."
Prsh. Jälle ei mingeid emotsioone. Kena jutuke lihtsalt...

Hinne: 6/10

72.



Nimi: Lovely, Departed

Autor: Lia Abel

Kuupäev: 19.11.2011

Lehekülgede arv: 470

Sisu: Love can never die.

Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?

The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses.

But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.

Katkendid:

My body went slack with disbelief. “You have got to be kidding. Where’d they find it?”
“I like to think it was Santa finally coming through on years of passionate but ignored childhood letters.”

***

“You bit him?”
Coalhouse made a sound of annoyance and turned away from Tom. “Same company,” he grumbled. “He went missing, what, two months before?”
“Month and a half, maybe. Not that it matters. Geez, how many times do I have to apologize?”
“You killed me, you loser!”
“It was an accident.”

***

“Stop it!” Chas shrieked, stomping her foot. “I will not have my boyfriend fighting if it’s not over me! Stop it!”

***

“The pink one, I think, but … do you have any dresses that are tight on you?”
Chas was losing her patience. “Tight?”
“Yeah, you know …” I rolled my eyes, but pointed to my chest. “Up here. She’s way smaller than you. Not that I’ve been looking, or anything.”
“Are you complimenting my girl’s boobs?” Tom muttered beneath the blanket.
I looked at the lump and deadpanned, “Yes, I am.”
The lump shifted in a self-satisfied way. “Thank you, you’re very kind.”
Chas tightened her fingers on the hangers and cut her eyes at me. “As if he grew them.”

***

I made my way over. “Chas, what are you doing?”
She regarded me with a grin. “Hosting a dance.”
“And where did you get permission to host a dance?” I asked, using the same tone of voice I’d have used if one of my little sisters tried the same stunt. Nora, back in the pink gown, gathered her laughter in her gloved hands.
“From the voices in my head,” Chas replied, chipper. “They’re always so nice to me.”

***

“Bram, tell Pamma that there’s no way I would want Michael Allister, ever.”
I ran this through my “girl talk” translator and said, “I could eat him, if either of you’d like- Seems like it might be the easiest thing to do."

Arvamus: Mm. Lugema hakkasin kuu v nii tagasi. Algus natukene segane, aga... Meeldis see, et väga palju ei ilustatud. Kehaosad tõesti kukuvad otsast seal. Uudne (kuigi siiski selgelt YA).

Hinne: 8/10

73.



Nimi: Storm Born

Autor: Richelle Mead

Kuupäev: 19.11.2011

Lehekülgede arv: 493

Sisu: Just typical. No love life to speak of for months, then all at once, every horny creature in the Otherworld wants to get in your pants. . .

Eugenie Markham is a powerful shaman who does a brisk trade banishing spirits and fey who cross into the mortal world. Mercenary, yes, but a girl's got to eat. Her most recent case, however, is enough to ruin her appetite. Hired to find a teenager who has been taken to the Otherworld, Eugenie comes face to face with a startling prophecy—one that uncovers dark secrets about her past and claims that Eugenie's first-born will threaten the future of the world as she knows it.

Now Eugenie is a hot target for every ambitious demon and Otherworldy ne'er-do-well, and the ones who don't want to knock her up want her dead. Eugenie handles a Glock as smoothly as she wields a wand, but she needs some formidable allies for a job like this. She finds them in Dorian, a seductive fairy king with a taste for bondage, and Kiyo, a gorgeous shape-shifter who redefines animal attraction. But with enemies growing bolder and time running out, Eugenie realizes that the greatest danger is yet to come, and it lies in the dark powers that are stirring to life within her...

Katkendid:

“I can summon and control materials that come from within the earth. Dirt. Rocks. Magma on occasion.”
“The magma sounds cool, but the rest…well, sorry. Not so impressive.”
Those golden eyes sparkled. “I could call down the stones that have built this keep and reduce the entire building to a pile of rubble within minutes.”
I glanced around us. “Yeah. Okay. That’s impressive.”

***

“Great. Now I’m fertile and hot. So what’s this mean? Should I be expecting daily attacks?”
“More like…organized attacks.”
“Groups?”
“Worse.”
“Worse than a group of guys trying to have sex with me? How?”
“For now, only creatures and gentry who can cross over in physical or elemental form will try. But we are weeks from Beltane, mistress. When the doors open…”
“Jesus,” I breathed. “Everything with a dick is going to come looking for me.”

Arvamus: Äärmiselt nauditav oli sellist väärt asja lugeda. Mead oskab kirjutada ja ta teeb seda väga hästi.:)
Leidsin, et äkki tänu sellistele raamatutele ja nende lugemisele mu fantaasia niimoodi lokkabki ja on võimeline selliseid maailmu välja mõtlema.
Meeldis vahelduseks iseloomuga kangelanna. (6)

Hinne: 10/10