Trailer Tuesday: 29/07/2014

I think it's pretty clear by now that I have very mixed interests in fiction. On occasion I like a bright hearted romance story, but most of the time I like things a little darker with mystery, action or fantasy playing an important role. Today I have tried to demonstrate both sides of what I like by showing two trailers I have found recently. One seem quite bright and cheerful, the other appears dark without a doubt.

If you would like to see your trailer featured here, or would like to share one you found and loved, please send me a link to it via Twitter, Facebook or my contact form on my blog!



Since You've Been Gone by Anouska Knight



This is the light and bright trailer today. What caught my eye is cake. I love cake. I'm not a huge fan of baking, I enjoy it some times, but I'm no master baker. However, what I really liked about this trailer was that despite being made up of static images it still felt quite dynamic. I cannot stand trailers with static pictures and text. Often they seem like the sort of thing you could whip up in Windows Movie Maker with a few images pulled from Google.  Not this trailer, though! With a fresh and clean look, a sprinkling of word play and the right lines to make you interested, this trailer pique my interest.

Synopsis

How do you learn to love again?

In one tragic moment, Holly Jefferson s life as she knows it changes for ever. Now to the external world, at least she s finally getting back on her feet, running her business, Cake. Then she meets Ciaran Argyll.

His rich and charmed life feels a million miles from her own. However, there s more to Ciaran than the superficial world that surrounds him, and he too is wrestling with his own ghosts. Will Holly find the missing ingredient that allows her to live again and embrace an unknown and unexpected tomorrow?

Messenger of Fear by Michael Grant



Disorientated first person angles? Amnesia or ghost? Paying for misdeeds? Yes, this is what I like. Give me a nice dose of supernatural redemption any time. My favourite part of this trailer is the line about the game which you must 'Play or Pay'.  Chilling.

Synopsis

I remembered my name – Mara. But, standing in that ghostly place, faced with the solemn young man in the black coat with silver skulls for buttons, I could recall nothing else about myself.

And then the games began.

The Messenger sees the darkness in young hearts, and the damage it inflicts upon the world. If they go unpunished, he offers the wicked a game. Win, and they can go free. Lose, and they will live out their greatest fear. 

But what does any of this have to do with Mara? She is about to find out . . 

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Review: Build a Man

When I  started reading the book I was sceptical. Drama and romance make up the majority of chick lit and I've never been a great fancy of either unless they're accompanied by fabulous fantasy or a good dose of horror. After a while drama and romance all start to seem the same when you break the components down. There are formulas that work - readers like them - and they stick. I started reading Build a Man by Talli Roland thinking this book would be predictable and a sign that, yes, these aren't really my type of books. Yawn. However, the last 30% of the book had me tapping my screen like crazy (I use the Kindle App so no thumbing pages for me). I spent a good few hours reading without interruption because I want to know what happens. As a realist and part time pessimist I could believe that there was a (slim) chance that there might not be a happy ending. After a while happy endings just become so samey, as though in fiction land everything is always perfect with a happy-ever-after ending and I find that a little depressing because real live doesn't work that way. Nevertheless, this happy ending didn't disappoint me. Serenity made some massive mistakes and in a way she 'paid' for them. But more importantly she learned from her mistakes. Her shallow dreams of being a tabloid writer disappeared when she realised how 'dirty deeds' play an important role. I'll be honest - I wondered why she would have progressed to the second article given the attitude of Leza. But when you fixate on a dream for so long and convince yourself it's harmless, or even beneficial to the parties involved, the character's motivation is understandable.  

This story introduces the reader to Serenity. Her daily life involves being a reception for shallow and snobby women wanting cosmetic surgery. It isn't difficult to find yourself sympathising with her. The customers are rude and seem to have little integrity. Funnily enough, when Serenity's undercover we could say equally bad things about her. She lies, betrays a good man and even panders to a woman with a horrid mantra ('if it bleeds it leads'). Depending on your views of cosmetic surgery you may be like me and find yourself siding with her 'hippie' parents who would look down on Serenity's dream of becoming a tabloid writer. But people have to make their own mistakes to learn from them and this is a story of that. 

Roland does a wonderful job of creating characters which the reader will, no doubt, have strong opinions on. It isn't difficult to dislike Peter in this book. He is boring, unemotional, and just what you might wrongly imagine all doctors are like. It's clear in the beginning of the book that Peter is a poor match for Serenity, though she seems quite blind to it herself originally. I'm honestly not sure I could ever put up with a man like that. Maybe it is because of this that by chapter 6 I felt like I knew the direction of the plot. Jeremy is a much more down to earth sort of the character, and much easier to fall in love with, as reader, than Peter. This is why I felt so sorry for him when bits of his past are revealed. His relationship was ruined by a superficial partner and rather than thinking it's good that they ended, he believes if he looks good then he will attract the right partner. It seems strange that he thinks that by being more physically attractive he will find someone who truly loves him, but isn't this the same mistake many women make? I really like the reversal in this book. It could easily have been about a male doctor and female patient. 

To be honest the idea of the Build a Man column is great. Who wouldn't like to be involved in an interactive designing of the perfect man who is single and looking for love? In this book it's the characters that make it great. The plot is fun, but without such vibrant characters it would feel pretty flat. From the lovable Jeremy, uncaring Peter, detestable Mia and flawed Serenity, Roland includes an interesting range of character. This allowed me to feel more involved with the story. This is certainly a fun read and I would recommend this to anyone who likes the chick lit genre.

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