hook review day

so i  (christy) popped into the local barnes and noble to pick up the book If I Stay by Galye Foreman(recommended by my good friends, erica, stephenie meyer and possibly everyone else in the blogosphere), but got sidetracked and decided to peek at some first pages beforehand (also recommended by erica--see here--).

i have to say, i read books differently now that i'm a writer. what used to be fun is now work. what used to be funny is now cliche. what used to be. . .okay, you get it. i did my best to read these hooks as a reader. if you've read them, or have comments about what hooks you, please comment. oh, and yes, i've gone paranormal here, because that was my first love (as a writer). someday erica will step in and post about contemporary, her first love.

 based only on first page reads, here are several hook reviews:

 Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

I picked this book for two reasons:  I love the picture and coloring on the cover.  Unfair?  Perhaps, because how much input do authors have where their covers are concerned? (but of course i shouldn't be thinking about that, because right now i'm a reader)  I'm admitting to you that many books I've purchased over the years are mustardy in color.  They matched my bedroom.  (Ug...a horribly embarrassing confession.)  I also love the font and design of the title.  The font and design of the first pages did not disappoint.  The chapter titles appealed to me also, the first being:  Descent.

 So I turned and began reading.  I was hooked in just wondering who was speaking.  "Our arrival didn't exactly go as planned."  Whose didn't and why?  Obviously I assumed it was the angel on the cover.  Page one described the setting the angels descended on and the lone boy who witnessed it. 

The first page served it's purpose. I give it a YES, I WOULD TURN THE PAGE AND READ ON. I would read the first chapter before deciding whether to buy it or not. I am definitely intrigued to find how this paperboy from page one gets involved with the angels.


Intertwined by Gena Showalter

This one I picked up only because it's sequel which just came out called my name.  Unravelled.  I love the word.  I love the word Intertwined also.  So, okay, covers AND titles get me every time.

 This one is a little unfairly judged because there were two "cheater hooks" or previews/excerpts in the pages before the actual page one.  I should have skipped them for the sake of sharing an accurate opinion of the hook, but I didn't and I'm sorry.

Based on the first page it wasn't enough because I read on halfway through the second page.  Well, if I'm being honest, I guess it was enough to make me want to read on to find out what was really going on.  So, it's a YES, I'D READ ON.  Page one almost turned me off in the first paragraph because it started out with the MC upset about ending up in a cemetary and my first thought was that he just discovered he'd died.  Reading on I thought "whew" because he was still alive.  Although apparently by stepping  into a cemetary voices come alive in his head and the dead also come alive, or something.  I'd read on, especially since romance is promised in the future.


Fallen by Lauren Kate

Oh, I'm terrible at this.  Okay, so this one started with a prologue chapter.  I read the first page of that then skipped ahead and read the first page of the actual first chapter.  They were tremendously different.  Different voices, different time periods.  YES, I WOULD READ ON to find how one relates to the other.  As erica would say, JEESH. 

 Based on first pages alone, this is my least favorite of the book hooks i reviewed today.  Purely based on the historical voice in the beginning. I'd have to be in the right mood to read it.  And because the MC in chapter one is in a hospital where meds are discussed and, again, it was a mood thing for me. 

 I DO very much like the font of the title.  And the author's name. 


The Fallen 1:  the Fallen and Leviathan by Thomas E. Sniegoski

So now I have to admit that when I picked up the other Fallen (above) I thought it was this one.  You probably already knew that there are several books and series of books with this title.  I am behind in my reading.  I picked this one up a while back (over the summer), flipped through it, and wanted to go back for it ever since.

 I reread the first page and YES, WOULD READ ON and most likely WILL BUY and read this one for a complete book review in the future.  hint, hint...tune in one day in the next month or two.  I won't lie. It'll be a little while.  I'm busy, but it WILL happen.


That said, I would buy the last one purely because it's been on my mind for a few months.  BUT my favorite after reading hooks alone (for the most part) was the first one, Halo.  I'll get that one eventually and review it, too.  I would have bought that one tonight if my sole purpose for going to the bookstore wasn't to buy my book for next week's review.  (Read on for an explanation.)
now, i did eventually just buy the book i went for and will actually read the whole thing.  so next tuesday expect a completed book review of If I Stay by Gayle Foreman. 

and maybe another hook review or two in the near future.