I WILL BE BACK.

Yes, folks, it's that time of the year! FINALS. The week teachers decided to put crazy hard exams into one entire week as a last stand before us students go off to go rot our brains in the summer goodness. :)

I'm going to be studying my butt off, READING (most of the time, mainly because I need to catch up for the blog), watching some anime (I've been long overdue for that stuff!), and just relax. I've been meaning to take a break, and I'll be back sometime the week after next week.

Well, I'm not really leaving, but I'm just going to be posting a lot less for the rest of this week and next.

Aaaand, if you're wondering what I'll be doing, it'll be a mixture of this:

Or...well you can just look at my tweets too, to get a better idea. :) Feel free to talk to me too! I'm going to be dying of boredom from all of this studying.


I'll miss you, lovelies! <3

Cover Discovery! Dualed by Elsie Chapman

Book: Dualed by Elsie Chapman
Publisher: Random House
Expected Publication: February 26, 2013
Information found on: Goodreads

Would you live through the ultimate test of survival?

The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.

Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.

This book just sounds so badass! I need this in my hands nowwwwwwww. <3

Review: One Moment by Kristina McBride

Book: One Moment by Kristina McBride
Publisher: Egmont USA
Pages: 272
Source: Review copy (Thank you, Netgalley and Egmont!)
Links: Goodreads | Amazon

This was supposed to be the best summer of Maggie’s life. Now it’s the one she’d do anything to forget.

Maggie Reynolds remembers hanging out at the gorge with her closest friends after a blowout party the night before. She remembers climbing the trail hand in hand with her perfect boyfriend, Joey. She remembers that last kiss, soft, lingering, and meant to reassure her. So why can’t she remember what happened in the moment before they were supposed to dive? Why was she left cowering at the top of the cliff, while Joey floated in the water below—dead?

As Maggie’s memories return in snatches, nothing seems to make sense. Why was Joey acting so strangely at the party? Where did he go after taking her home? And if Joey was keeping these secrets, what else was he hiding?

The latest novel from the author of The Tension of Opposites, One Moment is a mysterious, searing look at how an instant can change everything you believe about the world around you.

WHAT I LIKED:

• Adam, thank you for existing.
• Adam was probably the only character I enjoyed reading about in this book. An incredibly realistic character, he was sweet, caring, and vulnerable. He wasn't exactly the most swoon worthy man I've read about, but I really liked him.

• Um, addicting? Hell to the yes!
• Well, for the first 75% of the book, it was really addicting to read. Even though I totally knew how the whole book was going to play out, it was just really interesting to see Maggie put the pieces together.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

• Most of these characters were just as interesting as a piece of cardboard. (Excluding Adam, of course.)
• Totally flat and one dimensional, I felt that there were no layers or complexity in these characters at all. At the most, I could use a couple of adjectives to describe them but I don't want that! I want to be speechless and in awe about the characters, not bored with them.

• I was just... bored throughout most of it.
• This book was just so predictable, it's just sad. I figured everything out since the problem presented itself in the beginning. (Maybe I'm just getting super awesome at figuring this stuff out? I'm not trying to be haughty or anything, just saying.) 
• When Maggie wasn't trying to figure out what really happened, reading about her life just made me... well this .GIF can explain my face: 

THE VERDICT:

• Well, this was a pretty short review. I just feel speechless about this book. I don't really know what to say because there's nothing particularly memorable about this book. Obviously One Moment wasn't for me. It didn't touch me in the way it touched others, and it wasn't jam-packed with emotions like I had expected it to be. 
• So far, it seems like I'm in the minority for not liking this book a lot, but there's many other people who did! Give this book a try, and maybe you'll like it more than I did.

Galactic Haul (5/27/12)

I got these three lovelies! You can click the image and it'll lead to the Goodreads page. Many many many thanks to Random House and Netgalley! <3

(Sorry, I won't be doing any weekly recommendation or anything else. I'm not feeling too well.)

What did you guys get this week?

Review: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Book: Wither by Lauren DeStefano
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Pages: 358
Source: Library
Links: Goodreads | Amazon

By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

 When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out? Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?

Hesitant to read this because of all the mixed reviews, I came into Wither with my doubts but to my surprise, I ended up loving it more than I thought I would!

WHAT I LIKED:

• Thank goodness DeStefano knows what "world building" is.
• After a couple of horrors with some YA dystopian and YA paranormal lit, I've become more critical in the world building aspects of the books I read. Questions and doubts swirled in my head, as I wondered if Wither would just be another dystopian book with a pretty cover. WRONG! 
• This book has awesome, awesome, awesome world building. DeStefano manages to create a shockingly believable reality around the idea that men and women die in their early twenties.
• I also loved the way DeStefano described Rhine's "prison", if I may. It was luxurious, filled with mysteries and secrets among the household with pretty cool futuristic gadgets. Despite the glamour on the outside, DeStefano doesn't fail to give this "prison" an underlying cold and trapping atmosphere.

•  A big reason why I really liked this book was probably because of the writing.
• Honestly, there isn't anything that stands out in the plot. It's not action packed, exciting, or anything of the sort. YET, Wither is the kind of book that is completely engrossing and I couldn't put it down for a second. Why? BECAUSE the writing KICKS ASS.
• Excuse my language, but the writing seriously rocks. It pulled me in like a moth to a flame and didn't let me go until I had turned the last page.

•  Yay for sister wives and servants!
• Layered, complex secondary characters equals LOVE (from me). I adored each and every one of the characters in this book, from supportive Jenna to overbearing Cecily and sweet Gabriel and Deirdre. 

•  THIS is how an ending should be like.
• Wither wrapped up just beautifully and could end be a standalone just like that. Thank God it isn't as I personally have a few questions that need to be answered in the sequel, Fever.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

• I couldn't really connect with Rhine.
• I have nothing against Rhine. She's strong and has all that great qualities of a heroine, but she just felt really distant to me. 

VERDICT:

• Wither was just a gorgeous read. Hard to put down, I loved every minute reading this book. I'm totally looking forward to reading the sequel, Fever.

Cover Discovery! City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster

Book: City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster
Publisher: Harper Children's
Expected Publication: 2013
Information found on: Goodreads 

The girl with no past, and no future, may be the only one who can save their lives.

Nisha was abandoned at the gates of the City of a Thousand Dolls when she was just a child. Now sixteen, she lives on the grounds of the isolated estate, where orphan girls apprentice as musicians, healers, courtesans, and, if the rumors are true, assassins. Nisha makes her way as Matron’s assistant, her closest companions the mysterious cats that trail her shadow. Only when she begins a forbidden flirtation with the city’s handsome young courier does she let herself imagine a life outside the walls. Until one by one, girls around her start to die.

Before she becomes the next victim, Nisha decides to uncover the secrets that surround the girls’ deaths. But by getting involved, Nisha jeopardizes not only her own future in the City of a Thousand Dolls—but her own life.

Asian based world? HECK to the YES. ♥ I'm also digging the cover a lot. It looks freakin' epic if you ask me. My only complaint that it's getting published in 2013. Heck, it's only May 2012 over here! </3

What do you guys think of this? Lame idea? Pretty awesome?

Review: The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Book: The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Publisher: Speak
Pages: 277
Source: Library
Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Lennie plays second clarinet in the school orchestra and has always happily been second fiddle to her charismatic older sister, Bailey. Then Bailey dies suddenly, and Lennie is left at sea without her anchor.

Overcome by emotion, Lennie soon finds herself torn between two boys: Bailey's boyfriend, Toby, and Joe, the charming and musically gifted new boy in town. While Toby can't see her without seeing Bailey and Joe sees her only for herself, each offers Lennie something she desperately needs. But ultimately, it's up to Lennie to find her own way toward what she really needs-without Bailey. A remarkable debut novel perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Francesca Lia Block.

I've been on a contemporary craze lately, so naturally, I devoured this one in about a day and a half. From all the reviews, I kind of expected to be sobbing and going hysterical and loving this book to pieces.Well... none of those three things happened to me. *awkward moment*

WHAT I LIKED:

• It's insanely addicting.
• That sentence says it all! It's a really fast read and I admit that it was hard to put the book down at times. 
• I adored Lennie and the writing!
• Lennie's narration throughout the whole book just made everything better. It was vibrant and just plain out hilarious at times. I also loved the writing style. Incredibly vivid and descriptive, I really liked how Nelson portrayed things in this book. The kissing scenes, for one, focused more on the surges and jolts of pure elation Lennie was feeling rather than on the hot and heavy descriptions. (Though, I'm very sure it was hot and heavy for Lennie.)
• Lennie herself was a very well written character. (Please excuse my inability to describe things, I'm half awake as you read this.) She was just so realistic, and I connected with her instantly. I totally felt for her when she was going through horrible times, and I could understand why she made her mistakes. 
• She goes through major character development throughout the book and it was awesome to see her mature and blossom despite the tragedy that has affected her.
• The ending was just super cute.
• It was a great wrap up to this standalone, and the epilogue was adorable! I really liked how Lennie and her other significant half connected in the last few pages in the book, even though it felt just a bit rushed. (I explain more in the "What I Didn't Like" section.) 

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

• I couldn't really get into the book till the end of it.
• The sentence says it all. I couldn't find myself emotionally attached to this book for God knows whatever reason, and because of that, I can't say that I loved this book.

•  The romance didn't feel very realistic to me.
• I don't know how to explain this very well, but in a lack of better words, this "love triangle" just didn't get to me. I didn't swoon over Toby or Joe. (Although their "reactions" in this book was quite amusing to read about.) My heart didn't race when Joe or Toby were having their moments with Lennie. Just nothing. 
• I'm a huge huge huge romance fan, so the enjoyment factor on The Sky is Everywhere slowly dwindled when I was reading this.

• Rushed solution + Huge problem = No-no.
• For a good chunk of the middle part, there was a big conflict between Lennie and said significant half. When the issue was resolved between them, I personally felt it was just rushed. It was basically, "I did this recap on our love life together, I forgive you, let's make out."

THE VERDICT:

• I came into this book with high expectations: I expected to cry my butt off, have my heart broken, love all the characters, and just love everything. Thanks to raving reviews (which I think I will avoid from now on since it influences my expectations), I couldn't enjoy this book as much as I had wanted to. The Sky is Everywhere is a great read, but it just wasn't for me.

Galactic Haul: The Awesome Lone Book Edition (5/19/12)

Galaxy Gazette didn't seem to work out for me LOL. So, now I'm just calling it a Galactic Haul, which is basically my book haul of the week, weekly recap and recommendation. :) Inspired by all the many different book haul memes~

This week, I believe I only got one book but it's one book that blew my mind away! (Edit: Just snagged some awesome books from my library! :)

For Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry 

(Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, Netgalley and Harlequin TEEN! ♥)

This book pushed me back into the contemporary genre, and I'm now craving more books like this! :D ♥ It's one of the best romances I've read. That's right folks, this book goes up with Sweet Evil. (And if you know me, you know I LOOOOOOVE Sweet Evil.)

And guys, like holy shit, Noah Hutchins is just freakin' hot on that cover. (I LOVE YOU NOAH, BBY ♥)

From the Library: The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, Wither by Lauren DeStefano, Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

The Sky is Everywhere sounds reallllly good. I'm craving contemporaries right now (Thanks a LOT, PTL) and this sounds just like what the doctor ordered!

Wither is an interesting lookin' dystopian and lot of my friends on Twitter are raving about it and couple aren't... I can't wait to see how this book turns out to be for me. :D

Darkness Becomes Her... just yes. Just YES. Mythology, silver haired girl with teal eyes, romance? Hell yes hell yes hell yes! ♥

Recap of this Week:

I reviewed Taste, Obsidian, and Kill Me Softly.

I updated my Bout of Books challenge page.

Weekly Recommendation:

Review: Taste by Kate Evangelista

Book: Taste by Kate Evangelista
Publisher: Crescent Moon Press
Pages: 259
Source: Review copy
Links: Goodreads | Amazon

At Barinkoff Academy, there's only one rule: no students on campus after curfew. Phoenix McKay soon finds out why when she is left behind at sunset. A group calling themselves night students threaten to taste her flesh until she is saved by a mysterious, alluring boy. With his pale skin, dark eyes, and mesmerizing voice, Demitri is both irresistible and impenetrable. He warns her to stay away from his dangerous world of flesh eaters. Unfortunately, the gorgeous and playful Luka has other plans.

When Phoenix is caught between her physical and her emotional attraction, she becomes the keeper of a deadly secret that will rock the foundations of an ancient civilization living beneath Barinkoff Academy. Phoenix doesn’t realize until it is too late that the closer she gets to both Demitri and Luka the more she is plunging them all into a centuries old feud.

Um. Hm. I'm at a loss for words (and it's not the good kind).

WHAT I LIKED:

• Taste actually had a unique paranormal twist!
• I come into this book expecting vampires galore, but I was completely wrong! (And so far off...) I love it when books surprise me like this, and this twist was pretty refreshing to read about than the usual angels, werewolves, etc.

• The world building = original.
• I can't go too into depth about the world building or else I'll spoil said paranormal twist, but I'm just going to say it was really cool. I loved reading about the world Evangelista created. It was addicting, and it made me crave for more!
• I really also liked the terms in this book! It seemed Russian inspired, and just really awesome. (I might be wrong about the Russian inspiration part though.)

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

• Phoenix McKay, please put a sock in it.
• If you don't get my saying, it's basically "shut up". Good Lord, this girl whined for days and days and days on end about her past. Half of her dialogue was filled with inane, stupid questions and much much sniffling. 
• And that whole "I need to put up an armor so no one can get close to me" kind of thing? Yeah, I've seen too much of that already. I understand that her past was heartbreaking (and it was a bit for me), but she needs to live and move on.

•   Oh joy, there's two dimensional characters! *sarcasm intended*
• The cast of Taste completely fell flat for me. There was hardly any character development with the main cast and it just didn't work for me. They all were extremely simple and easy to figure out, which is not my cup of tea.

•  Show, don't tell!
• Remember how I said Phoenix was just filled with all these questions? Yeah, a good majority of them was asking to explain this new world she was in, and lo and behold, the answer was... that's right, you guessed it: information dumping! 
• Instead of the information dumping, I really wished she showed more of the world instead of through words exchanged in conversation. I'm a huge fan of world building in books, and I just felt let down when I was reading this.

•  The writing was... okay.
• I don't obsess over the writing like I do with world building, but the writing was mediocre at best. It was very simple, and the dialogue between characters didn't feel natural at times.

THE VERDICT:

• Taste had a lot of potential but unfortunately, it just didn't live up to it for me.

Review: Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross

Book: Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross
Publisher: Egmont USA
Pages: 331
Source: Review copy
Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Mirabelle's past is shrouded in secrecy, from her parents' tragic deaths to her guardians' half-truths about why she can't return to her birthplace, Beau Rivage. Desperate to see the town, Mira runs away a week before her sixteenth birthday—and discovers a world she never could have imagined.

In Beau Rivage, nothing is what it seems—the strangely pale girl with a morbid interest in apples, the obnoxious playboy who's a beast to everyone he meets, and the chivalrous guy who has a thing for damsels in distress. Here, fairy tales come to life, curses are awakened, and ancient stories are played out again and again.

But fairy tales aren't pretty things, and they don't always end in happily ever after. Mira has a role to play, a fairy tale destiny to embrace or resist. As she struggles to take control of her fate, Mira is drawn into the lives of two brothers with fairy tale curses of their own . . . brothers who share a dark secret. And she'll find that love, just like fairy tales, can have sharp edges and hidden thorns.

First off, this is such a gorgeous cover with an amazing amazing amazing title! If you know me, I'm not the kind to gush about covers, but this is just beautiful. Although, the real question is... is the story as beautiful as its cover?

My answer would have to be... YES!

WHAT I LIKED:

• The writing is just flawless. I am not kidding.
• Like I'm not one to gush about covers, I'm also not one to gush about writing. Never have I read a book where the writing was one of my favorite points! The writing in Kill Me Softly was beautiful. It flowed seamlessly and drew me in like a moth to a flame. I have so many favorite passages from Kill Me Softly. 

• Cross knows how to write some damn good romance scenes.
• Better yet, Cross knows how to write some damn good romance! There was a very very strong case of instant love and a rather twisted love triangle in Kill Me Softly, but you know what? Cross actually made it work. 
• Although I wasn't a fan of the instant love between Mira and Felix, I definitely adored the blossoming relationship between Blue and Mira. The sexy times was just oozing with sexual tension...very well written sexual tension.

• Blue: my favorite color to wear and my favorite character!
• I love Blue. Hard to like at first, he eventually grew on me and I ended up loving each and every bit of his character. He definitely made me swoon at least once or twice in this book, and he's just so sweet when he wants to be.

•  This is the best fairy tale retelling. EVER.
• The world building of Beau Rivage is so awesome. Cross gets major points for originality. I love the meshing of all the curses and fairy tales and how Cross just spun everything into a wonderful fairy tale itself.

• I loved the crazy twist near the ending and the ending itself!
• I won't say anything about the jaw-dropping shock, but it really surprised me. It's probably my favorite part of the book. The ending itself made me feel very jittery and antsy (the good kind) and concludes in a nice fashion.

 

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKED:

• Mirabelle Lively is anything but lively and interesting.
• Okay, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure that Lively is her last name but my point is... I couldn't like Mira. She was an unreasonable, close-minded character who made the most illogical choices! However, it's not really her fault. She's been sheltered her entire life, so it didn't make her an all bad character... for the most part.

 

THE VERDICT:

• Kill Me Softly is probably the best fairy tale retelling I've ever read. The prose was mesmerizing, the romance was absolutely delectable, and it was hard to put down! Kill Me Softly was simply magnificent, and I don't think anybody should miss out on this.