30 November 2013

Stacking the Shelves


I've got a quite a bundle these past two weeks. I know I promised I'll post StS hauls every week from now on but life got in the way, again. So here's what I got these past two weeks. 


Bought:

Just One Year by Gayle Forman
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
(hardbacks)
The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp
World After by Susan Ee
Champion by Marie Lu
(paperbacks)

Won:

Golden by Jessi Kirby
This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers
Things I Can't Forget by Miranda Kenneally 

 I'd like to thank my dear friend +Tanja - Tanychy for giving me her (second) copy of This Is Not A Test. I actually won this book last year but never got it and Tanja remembered I didn't get it and offered it to me. Love you, girl. :*

I'm really excited to start these books, so much I don't know which one to pick first. I'm in a romantic mood right now so I think I'll give Just One Year a try first.


24 November 2013

Book Review: World After by Susan Ee.


World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)Book :World After (#2 Penryn and the End of days.)
Author: Susan Ee
File Type: Paperback
Release Date: November 21st, 2013
Publisher: Skyscape.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

synopsis:
In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?



WHAT ARE YOU, SUSAN?

My brain has officially exploded and it feels fantastic.
My heart is still racing. My brain, by the way is still exploding. There is an earthquake in my body and it still hasn't stopped affecting me. Mind you, this is 24 hours after finishing the book and additional six hours of sleep where I dreamt of Pooky bear.

....Pooky Bear.

If somebody asked me about my favourite character in the entire book, I'd have to say that it would be Pooky Bear. HANDS DOWN.
On second thought, I'd probably divide my love and give some to Paige too, because her role in the book moved my soul.
I'm an emotional child and Paige had me weeping my eyes out.
WAIT. My thoughts need some modification. I'll have to add Penryn's mom (WHAT IS HER NAME, ANYWAY?)too. World After could never be World After if not for her evergreen presence. She was creepy, hilarious and badass. VERY badass.

As for Penryn, I've always thought that she was a fantastic protagonist and she continues to live upto my skyscraper expectations, but sorry girley, your mom, sister and sword stole the show and also, my heart.

I won't go into much detail. There's a lot happening in this one. We have scorpion-beasts-who-are-part-human and their stingers. We have bad bad bad angels. We're taken to the 'enchanting' prison, Alcatraz and we're further thrown into a world, where humans aren't just the pests that are to be exterminated but also a sensational piece of entertainment. Personally, I would definitely not like to live in a world that is like the one in the book. It scares the shit out of me and I sure as hell do not wish to be an energy-lollipop or in simple words, food. THIS is definitely one of many positives of World After and the fact that the detailing, setting, atmosphere and feel of the entire storyline was successful in making me feel uncomfortable, in a good way of course, in more than twenty occasions, says more than enough about its awesomeness.

There is so much emotion bottled into this one tiny book. There is pain. There is wonder. There is fear. There is sorrow. There is hope. There is courage. There is BADASSNESS. There is longing. There is love.
Also, there is so much of humour.
I don't remember laughing so much during Angelfall, or maybe I did but I clearly don't remember. From Penryn's decision to name the sword Pooky Bear to her mother to Raffe *melts* and to finally the twins, tweedledum and tweedledee.

EVERYTHING WAS SO FUNNY.

Although, Angelfall had me cringing more with all those gruesome things running around, World After made sure that it wasn't far behind.
Like I said, I never want to exist in a world like that.

And now, Raffe.
I'M SORRY BUT WHY WASN'T THERE MORE OF HIM? You're breaking my heart, Susan. WHY MUST YOU FINISH THE BOOK SO SOON. I wouldn't mind if you wrote millions of pages! I'd read them all, even if they're crap. I love crap. But getting back to the point that I had initially raised: Why did you rob me off my Raffe? *weeps*
Friends, there was Raffe but it wasn't Raffe Raffe. He was there yet not there. AND THAT DOES NOT SATISFY ME,okay?
He's still cool though. BUT. I WANT MORE RAFFE.

The world is an unfair place.

This book got over too fast. I'm sorry but this review is just pissing me off now. I AM SO ANGRY. They expect me to wait two more years for this? Two more years to wait for Raffe? And Pooky Bear?
Penryn's mom should just pop out from the book and do her thing. I'm pretty sure that the success rate would be pretty high then. Or Maybe, Penryn should start with her kicking ,Paige with her chewing and Raffe, well.... just about anything. Please, come to me fast. This wait will kill me. KILL ME.

"You came for me."

Note: THAT ABOVE is my favourite quote in the entire book and it's mocking me.





21 November 2013

Book Review: Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys


Out of the EasyBook:Out of the Easy
Author: Ruta Sepetys
File Type: Paperback
Release Date: February 12, 2013
Publisher: Philomel Books
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

synopsis:
It’s 1950, and as the French Quarter of New Orleans simmers with secrets, seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine is silently stirring a pot of her own. Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer. 

She devises a plan get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in an investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street. Josie is caught between the dream of an elite college and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans lures her in her quest for truth, dangling temptation at every turn, and escalating to the ultimate test.

With characters as captivating as those in her internationally bestselling novel Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys skillfully creates a rich story of secrets, lies, and the haunting reminder that decisions can shape our destiny.



I’m surprised by how much I liked Out Of the Easy.

Sepetys’ popularity in the GR community was the first thing that led me towards this book. I’m more of a fantasy girl these days and I wasn’t too sure if I was going to like Out Of The Easy, because sometimes it all comes down to a reader’s mood. I’ve found myself disliking books that wowed others and failed to work its magic on me and somewhere along the line, I started experiencing a reading slump. I was a tad apprehensive at first, but all my apprehensions ran away as soon as the book and I got it on.

The book’s strongest point is Sepetys’ writing. Her writing is so powerful and so engaging and so so so so..I don’t know..cool? I was into the book right from the start and would’ve finished the book in one sitting if not for my daily routine obstructing my route to the reading happyland. The tone of the book is perfect. It’s mysterious and calm. It’s like one of those times when I visited this hill station with my family for a tiny holiday of three days. That hill station was tiny but the scenery was spectacular. It was chilly and cozy and all we did was sit down as a family and stay in with hot cups of coffee and tea. It was one of those times where I felt that time stood still and that nothing in this world mattered except for what was right in front of me. It was peaceful and rejuvenating. It’s weird but while reading this book, I felt exactly the way I felt during that holiday. I don’t know what that says about me, but on a personal note, this is a book that pulled me back from my reading slump, even if it was for just a day or two, but at the end of the day, it did pull me back.
So YAY for me, I guess.

As for the characters?
I love it when I love each and every character of the book. Not all, but the ones who mattered. There were prostitutes, there were crime lords , there were people with double standards , there were people who had fallen too far and had no way of getting, there was an uptown girl who found a friend in another without caring about anything else but the person who she was befriending ,there were hot boys who drove bikes (OH, JESSIE.) , there was a chauffeaur who gave more than he took and was excited for others more than he was for himself, there was a cook who lived and let live and through her silence, gave the loudest cheers of love , there was an iron lady who beneath all her steel was the most sentimental and caring person to ever walk the face of this planet, and then at the end, there was a girl, who even in the darkest of times, never lost hope.

Josie Moraine is a fighter and the people around her are fighters in their own ways, too.

I love how the story was so simple yet when you think about it, it is also so very complex. It has so many layers to it. It has Josie’s inner struggle. Her aspirations. The mystery which frankly disappointed me, a bit. And then at the end, there is the city of New Orleans itself—‘The Big Easy’.

I get the title of the book.

Just saying.

Anyway, I think that Out Of the Easy is a fantastic book and that Ruta Sepetys should be proud of her achievement. Now if I may, I’d like to go and check out her other books because Ms. Sepetys, you’ve stolen my heart.

And I’m going to JIVE on it.





12 November 2013

Book Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Allegiant (Divergent, #3)Book: Allegiant
Author: Veronica Roth
File Type: Paperback
Release Date: October 22, 2013
Publisher:  Harper Collins Children's Book's
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

synopsis: The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories. 

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love. 

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.


 "But the fire, the fire. The desire to live. I am not done yet, I am not."

Veronica keeps screwing me over. It isn’t even funny anymore.

I’ll tell you what I feel about Allegiant:

Allegiant isn’t as engaging as Divergent.
Allegiant isn’t as badass as both Insurgent and Divergent.
In fact, In approximately 400 pages, it was when I reached the two-hundredth page that things actually started move. Before that, the pace of the book was grossly tedious and I was struggling to get on track with it.

Some may debate that the start of the book was absolutely fine but here’s the thing, I’ve been busy for a while and I try to read every chance I get now and then but that disrupts my routine. But I have come across books which have compelled me to sit still and read the entire book in one sitting. And obviously, Allegiant didn’t do that for me until the two-hundredth page.
But Allegiant is something.
At the end of the day, it is the very end and THAT end. Oh my God.
That end hasn’t stopped screwing with my mind.
It’s safe to say that at a point of time, I had even thought about that end but I didn’t think that it would happen because it was just a passing thought, BUT I DIDN’T THINK THAT IT WOULD ACTUALLY HAPPEN.

Honestly, I’m shattered.
I don’t even know where to start from and where to end. That end keeps playing in my mind.
That end impacted my emotions in a huge way. THAT end screwed me over and I loved it.
That end made all the fucking difference.

But Allegiant isn’t just about that end. It’s also about several other things. Allegiant consists of Tris’ and Tobias’ PoV and I finally understand why Ms. Roth decided to bombard our minds with not one but two different perspectives. We met Tris in Divergent , when she was still trying to find herself and was still fighting to be brave. The circumstances changed her in a drastic way. She became sharper, stronger and deadlier. Life altering moments transformed her from this insecure flame to a full blown explosion and honestly, if Tris irritated the hell out of you in Insurgent, then you’re in for a surprise. Yes, I’ve forgiven her. And for those who have already read the book, they know exactly what I’m talking about and for those, who have yet to read the book, you’ll see.
As for Tobias? When we met Four in Divergent, he was this broody, strong and resolute guy who knew what was what and knew his way around a mess. He was HOT. He was fantastic. Tobias went through some life altering moments himself. As a child, as a sixteen year old and finally as an adult. You have to see, these things had to have affected him too and they did. You meet a broken man in Allegiant and it’s so refreshing to see how nicely this has been incorporated in the book. There will be times, when a person reaches a stage where you have to make decisions which can change your life in a split second. There will be times when the situation you’re in can lead to dangerous and deadly consequences. And these decisions and consequences shape your present as well as your future. These decisions and consequences can break you, but they can also, make you stronger. Appearances can be deceiving and it all comes full come circle in Allegiant.

Ms. Veronica Roth promised me a stunning conclusion. She promised me that the Allegiant would be worth waiting for. And trust me ,it is.






09 November 2013

Stacking the Shelves



Bought:


Every Day by David Levithan
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I wanted to read these two for such a long time and they finally arrived. I'm so glad. 

I also got some eARCs from Edelweiss. Thank you Harper peeps for auto-approving me two months ago. 

  

Click on the photos for more info. 

What did you get this week? 


07 November 2013

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor


Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers     
Publication date: September 27th 2011
My rating: 4 stars

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.
In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.
And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.
Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.
When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?
I'm well aware of the fact I'm 2 years too late. I get that but hey! I'm here now and that's what counts. 

I set out to write this review but I'm still not sure what to say. I keep thinking about the romance between Karou and Akiva. I'll explain my issues with it soon. 

First of, the whole paranormal world in Prague was interesting. The architecture, the art, the culture... even the people pretending to be vampires were fun. We meet Karou in a dark alley getting felt up by her ex boyfriend who's an vampire/actor. They broke up because he cheated on her and Karou doesn't want to see his lying face anywhere near her. Kaz doesn't feel the same way and follows her to her art school where he poses naked in front of her whole class. Awkward. She eventually gets her revenge, wishing Kaz gets nasty itches to scratch in  his most  private places. Her friend Zuzana's there to cheer with her. 

Karou's a blue haired girl who loves to draw strange characters with snake tails, bull heads and some human parts.  What you didn't know is those characters are real. They are Issa and Brimstone, her sort of guardians.  They deal with wishes and can open a portal to just about any place on Earth you could imagine with simply opening their door. Karou helps them acquire human/animal teeth for some reason she's still not aware of. She does try to get some info about her parents, herself, even about the teeth but Brimstone is not giving away any secrets. 

Like with every other story, things get messy after 'the guy' shows up.  A mysterious angel attacks Karou in the streets of Marrakesh. I'm just going to stop here for just a second cause I feel like I should say this. Everybody knows I love a good romance but in this case I prayed for less. I didn't want to read about feelings when there's so much to see in this crazy paranormal universe. Everything was going along fine till Akiva showed up. And they were attracted towards each other right from the start. 

I was so ready to hate the second part of the book because of the dreaded romance but the craziest thing happened. I started liking the whole Karou and Akiva thing. The flashback scenes saved it. If it weren't for them, I would've pegged it as another insta-love. 

So, if you're up for some quality paranormal fiction, pick up Daughter of Smoke and Bone. You won't regret it. It's full of magical creatures, drawings, fights between good and evil and of course, a steamy romance. 

04 November 2013

Monthly To Read List: November 2013 + October recap


I'm really glad November is not filled with a lot of books I really want to read though it does have two books  I'm dying to read. 

November New Releases:


Sydrian are SPOILER having sex in The Fiery Heart and half of the book will be in my prince Adrian's POV. Who doesn't want to read that? 
I still haven't read Prodigy but I have it so I'll get to it once Champion arrives. I heard there's a killer cliffhanger in the end of Prodigy and that's the main reason I still haven't read it. But soon! 
My body is not ready for World After. *insert give it to me gif* Raffe! OMG! Can't wait! I'll just stop before I start fangirling over here. TBD better dispatch it soon or I'll freak! Apparently there are copies in UK bookstores right now. 


As you can see I'm cutting back on new releases because I just don't have the time to read every book I find interesting. In stead I think I'm going to read some of the books I've had awhile. I'm not entirely sure why I haven't read them till now but I'm going to try and read at least 4 of them till the end of this month. 

I've decided to divide them into 2 categories- sequels and new series. 

Sequels: 


I read Blood Red Road months ago and was suppose to start Rebel Heart but changed my mind and eventually forgot all about it. Oops. 
Started reading The Dream Thieves after it arrived but I was ambushed with work and abandoned it. I'll read it soon because the fifty pages I read were very interesting. I have a hunch I'll like the sequel more than the first novel. The same thing happened when I was reading Maggie's Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy. 
If I don't read Siege and Storm and Crown of Midnight by the end of this year I'll consider it a failure.  They were one my top 10 most anticipated sequels of 2013 (mental) list. 
Some people might think I'm weird for not reading Clockwork Princess already. What can I say, I saw the family tree on the inside of the dust jacket and found out who Tessa ends up with so I was mainly angry at myself for being so careless. 

New Series:


I already halfway through Daughter of Smoke and Bone and I'm loving it. I can't believe I haven't read it sooner. My friend +Lynn Kho was pushing me to read them before but I guess it just wasn't the right time. 
The Diviners and In the Shadow of Blackbirds are both historical and kind of creepy so I just had to have them. 
I won an ARC of Stormdancer last year but never read it. This summer I had to buy an UK hardback because it was only 3euros. I'm loving the cover of Kinslayer. It's so pretty! Have to read them if not this month, then at least by the end of this year. The whole samurai and steampunk combo screams awesomeness.  

Sorry for the lack of posts yet again. We've been really busy. 

Zemira's reviews: 

Devyani's review:






02 November 2013

Stacking the Shelves



I haven't posted the books I got since September 1st. Sorry about that. I usually love to do this type of posts cause I want to see what other people bought but life often gets in the way of blogging. 

I recently finished my first, real, grown-up job and I was so glad to finally find some time to breathe, I didn't read as much as I used to. 

Since I didn't have enough time to read/review/blog from late August till pretty much now I can't really remember which books I received in the meantime but I'll try my best in the future to include some of them in next week's haul. 

These are the books I got this week



Bought:

The Diviners by Libba Bray
Stolen by Lucy Christopher
Where She Went by Gayle Forman
Love Story by Jennifer Echols

All used and ordered on Awesome Books. Check out the prices on their used selection. You can also check out one of my earlier hauls HERE to see the other second hand books I ordered on their site. All were in great condition. 
Sorry if anyone finds this as a type of advertisement. It isn't. I'm just trying to broaden other people's horizons with some alternative choices for book ordering.  

Won:

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay