www for May 23

Welcome to another edition of WWW  this month of May.  WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

Curently Reading:

The Grimoire: Lichgates

by S.M. Boyce

Recently Finished:

Sleeping Handsome

by Jean Haus

Will Read Next:

  

Summer"s Crossing by Julie  Kagawa

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Pandemonium

Title: Pandemonium (Delirium Series # 2)
Author: Lauren Oliver
Published February 2012
Hardcover 329 pages

I’m pushing aside
the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana
and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Well, well, well... Let me just say this: Pandemonium perhaps has one of the best cliffhanger ending among the trilogies I have read.. Ever!

The second book from the Delirium series, Pandemonium is once again narrated by Lena, but she is now changed: she's now an Invalid. She was able to go over the fence and meet the people from the other side and everything else becomes different in her perspective.

Lena becomes a stronger person after learning about Alex's misfortune, with the aid of new-found friends, Raven & Co. She gets to live the life of an Invalid, moving from one homestead to another. And soon, as the title suggests, a wild uproar and unrestrained disorder happened, bringing her closer to Julien - a new male interest who represents those who want America to be rid of Deliria. In a snap, pandemonium happens.

And then I died when I read the ending... OMG!! Seriously! How could Lauren Oliver do this? How, oh how and Why, oh why?? 2013 is still so far away! I have to read the next book Requiem immediately!

Delirium & Hana

Title: Delirium (Delirium # 1)
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre: Dystopian
Published February 2011
Hardcover 480 pages

Summary from goodreads.com

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that one love -the deliria- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. 

Lena Holway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy. 

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

A girl named Lena lives in a society where LOVE has been considered a disease and everyone has to go through a special treatment on their eighteenth birthday to be cured of the illness. She and her bestfriend Hana are having the time of their lives, following what the others are telling them to do and not-to-do. Little did Lena know that her friend escapes at night in order to attend parties or listen to music that was not approved by their state.

During their initial evaluation, something peculiar happened in the lab. Then she met Alex, the boy who would make her fall in love and ignore everything else that she had believed in. Together they created a world full of emotion and delirium. Lena's life was never the same again.

I thought Hunger Games was the best dystopian novel I have ever read.. Apparently, Lauren Oliver's Delirium takes the second spot on my Best Dystopian list. I honestly couldn't bring myself to stop scanning the pages after knowing about this dreaded disease - Amor Deliria Nervosa. (wow, that's quite a mouthful!)  And as crazy as it is, people condemn those who fall and fell in love because it is dreaded and can lead to your demise.

OMG... If falling in love causes death, I've died a million times already!!

Delirium takes my breath away. With every scene.. with every spectacle.. Every page was as intense as the previous page, keeping me on my seat. I applaud Lauren Oliver for creating a world that felt so real and surreal. SHe's a brilliant writer and a fantastic storyteller. I'm glad I have read your book, Lauren :)

THEY SAY that the cure for Love will make me happy and safe forever. And I've always believe them.

Until now.

Now everything has changed. Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.

---- Lena

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Title: Hana (Delirium book 1.5)

Author: Lauren Oliver
Published December 2011
Ebook 144 pages

In the world of Delirium, love is a disease. And like all eighteen-year-olds, Lena and Hana must take the cure. 

At the start of their last summer of freedom, they were the closest of friends. Until Hana made a decision that tore them apart... In Delirium, we heard from Lena. Now, Hana gets to tell her side of the story. And nothing is what we first thought. 

Hana is a powerful, moving and beautifully told original eBook short story, with a shocking twist that will leave you with your heart in your mouth.

To sum this one up; here's what I have to say:


Hana is the One who told the _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _   about _ _ _ _  and _ _ _ _!! 
How could you?! How could you?!



Here are the symptoms of Deliria:

“Symptoms of Amor Deliria Nervosa
PHASE ONE:
-preoccupation; difficulty focusing
-dry mouth
-perspiration, sweaty palms
-fits of dizziness and disorientation
-reduced mental awareness; racing thoughts; impaired reasoning skills
PHASE TWO:
-periods of euphoria; hysterical laughter and heightened energy
-periods of despair; lethargy
-changes in appetite; rapid weight loss or weight gain
-fixation; loss of other interests
-compromised reasoning skills; distortion of reality
-disruption of sleep patterns; insomnia or constant fatigue
-obsessive thoughts and actions
-paranoia; insecurity
PHASE THREE (CRITICAL):
-difficulty breathing
-pain in the chest, throat or stomach
-complete breakdown of rational faculties; erratic behavior; violent thoughts and fantasies; hallucinations and delusions
PHASE FOUR (FATAL):
-emotional or physical paralysis (partial or total)
-death

Friday Finds - May 11

Another  "It's Friday, I'm in love" weekend.

Here's my newest Friday Finds edition for the second week of May :)

What great books did you hear about/discover this past week?

Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS.. hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Let me share you mine for this weekend. Enjoy!

Eve (Eve Series # 1)

by Anna Carey

Jabberwocky by Daniel Coleman

Loki by Mike Vasich

Hatter by Daniel Coleman

I didn't mean to post titles with "Names" on them. It was just coincidence that these were the books I discovered on Goodreads and purchased on Amazon.

Happy weekend everyone :)

book crazy

i think i'm getting crazy!

credits to zazzle.com for the picture

Ever since I got my Kindle, I haven't stop buying ebooks on Amazon and Smashwords. It's like an addiction. I can barely stop myself searching for more and more.

And eventhough I have enough on my plate, I still can't stop downloading Bestsellers and Top Raters when I access my amazon account. Geesh!

Now I've got over a hundred TBRs (To-Be-Read) books on my Kindle and I don't know where to start. I'm planning to organize my list but when I'm in front of my selection, I can't help but thumb through the pages of each one of them and the I let out a sigh.. I always say to myself: Oh yes, I'm gonna read this first... and when I get to another, I'd say again, No, I have to read this one first...

Ugh.. I'm getting crazy!

The Emperor's Edge

Title: The Emperor's Edge
Author: Lindsay Buroker
Kindle Edition; 197 pages
Published December 2010

Imperial law enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon is good at her job: she can deter thieves and pacify thugs, if not with a blade, then by toppling an eight-foot pile of coffee canisters onto their heads. 

But when ravaged bodies show up on the waterfront, an arson covers up human sacrifices, and a powerful business coalition plots to kill the emperor, she feels a tad overwhelmed. Worse, Sicarius, the empire's most notorious assassin is in town. He's tied in with the chaos somehow, but Amaranthe would be a fool to cross his path. Unfortunately, her superiors order her to hunt him down.  

Either they have an unprecedented belief in her skills... or someone wants her dead.

My very first taste of steampunk e-book and I actually LOVED it! Lindsay Buroker crafted a master-piece with lovable characters like Amaranthe, Sicarius and Maldynado.


A high fantasy novel in the era of steam - it simply has all the ingredients I am looking for in a story - magic, swordplay, politics, womanfolk and a little bit of romance on the side. The characters - simply amazing! A renegade enforcer (Amaranthe Lokdon), a deadly assassin with a good heart (Sicarius),  an evil & cunning commander (Hollowcrest), a lovestruck emperor (Sespian), a viscious team working in conspiracy (Books, an alcoholic ex-professor; Maldynado, an aristocratic ladies man, and Akstyr, a skeptic young wizard-in-training, who doesn't want others to know that he practices mental sciences)   and another group that is willing to do whatever it takes to take down the empire (Forge).. and don't forget the monsters or creatures that rip out the hearts of its victims!

From start to finish, I was at the edge of my seat, thinking about the strategies that Lokdon and Sicarius had done in order to ensure Emperor Sespian's well being, amidst all the chaos and poison circulating around the palace. Amaranthe Lokdon is a spectacular heroine, quick and witty, full of punk & steam (yeah literally), a little intimidating maybe, but is all business when it comes to protecting the Emperor. She's got a likeable persona even though she keeps on wearing her hair in a bun!

Sicarius, on the one hand, is still a mystery to me - although his relation to the Emperor has been discussed, I still believe that there is more to him than meets the eye. While I would love to see him get all goody-goody & lovey-lovey with Amaranthe, I think that Emperor Sespian and the lady enforcer look better together.

Maldynado, on the other hand, is quite a handful of a character. At first, I didn't really like him at all, but on the succeeding chapters, his humorous character has shifted into someone that can melt your heart and put smile on your lips.. He is truly a ladies man.. I'd love to read more about him on the rest of Lindsay Buroker's  trilogy.

The whole story is fast-paced, deep, a little dramatic in the end and a cliffhanger, too. The action scenes are imaginable (at least, to me!) and the dialogue will certainly never bore you. No dull moment at all.  But there was certainly something amiss in the end..

Where was the kiss?! Hahaha.. Just Kidding..

My bookmark rating for The Emperor's Edge: 5 stars!! An awesome feat! Kudos Lindsay Buroker :)

I already bought Dark Currents. I'll read it very very soon!! I promise!

Friday Finds (May)

TGIF! Thank Goodness It's Friday, I'm in love.

Here's ny newest Friday Finds edition for the month of flowers - May :)

What great books did you hear about/discover this past week?

Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS.. hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Let me share you mine for this weekend. Enjoy!

  

At Road's End by Zoe Saadia (Pre-Aztec series #1)

Book of Love by Abra Ebner (Knight Angels # 1)

Fateful by Claudia Gray 

   

Leopard Moon by Jenette Battista (Moon Series Book 1)

Sleeping Handsome by Jean Haus

Ian for Grey

OhmyGosh!!

I would totally watch out for this one! I've gotta grab a copy of this book ASAP..

This is the book that everyone's been gaga about! 

Originally a fanfiction based on Twilight - turned into an erotic  play of characters... 

And Damon Salvatore is gonna perform? that would  be Awesome!!!!

tuesday tease: Delirium

I hope I'm not yet late.. It's another awesome Tuesday! So welcome to our Teaser Tuesday!  This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

To participate you:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
(Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Okay here's my teaser:

They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness. That's bad enough. The Book of Shhh also tells stories of those who died because of love lost or never found, which is what terrifies me the most. 

The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have itand when you don't. 

page 6
Delirium  - by Lauren Oliver
(Kindle Edition)

dark shadows

Why, hello there, Barnabas. You haven't aged a bit!

Johnny Depp starring as Barnabas in Dark Shadows.. i have to see this. yay!

In theaters really soon... wanna watch!! who's with me?

help! latest TBRs

This weekend, I'll be having a vacation with my wonderful family and I've got to bring at least one book with me.. Problem is, I don't know which among these should I bring... Help me decide!!!

   

   

And Oh, before I forget, I was pretty lucky to grab a free preview of The Last Princess (which should be released on May 1st)..

I'm sure this is going to be a great book.. 

SO long people.. Hope to finally post my books reviews soon. The books (or e-books) i'll be sharing my opinions about will be posted sometime next week. These books are:

The Emperor's Edge by Lindsay Buroker

Ordinary Angels by India Drummond

Destiny's Revenge and Destiny's Wrath by Nancy Straight

The Willows: Haven by Hope Collier

Three Girls and a Baby

OhMyGosh.. That's a lot of books to review!! I'm cracking my brains now..

Happy Weekend everyone!

Bridger

Title: Bridger (Bridger series # 1)
Author: Megan Curd
Kindle edition; 258 pages
Published June 4th, 2011

Summary from goodreads.com

Ashlyn McVean doesn't believe in fairy tales. That is, until Ashlyn is thrown into the crosshairs of grudges her grandmother created long ago. After finding out she is one of two people able to cross between faerie realms, Ashlyn is faced with trying to understand her abilities, along with navigating a new relationship with her boyfriend, Liam. 

As if being on a centuries old hit list and dealing with crazed pixies isn't enough, her new abilities mean trouble for Liam. Knowing her new life puts everyone she loves in danger, Ashlyn must decide what's most important in her life between friends, family, love, and ultimately, realms.

Ashlyn's father died under mysterious circumstances a few days before Christmas. To hide away her grief, she spent some time with her friends Reese and Jamie, but soon she woke up in a hospital due to an egg allergy. That, and her grandma's aloofness to her drove her away to Ireland, the place where all the stories about magical creatures came to be. There she met some of her distant relatives and a boy named Liam, silent-type, mysterious and awfully cute. Soon they started a relationship that would literally bind them together - for whatever harm befalls Ashlyn, Liam would also experience the same. In Ireland, Ashlyn discovered that she is a hybrid - half-Changeling, half-faerie and also a Bridger. She plays an important role between realms and has abilities that normal people don't have.

I've been reading a lot of fantasy YA books lately and to say that I'm getting sick of it is an understatement. But still, I always find myself fully engaged in a particular story and do not want to stop. With Bridger, the elements of a fantastic read are there: faeries, Irish men, super Granny, shapeshifters, lovestruck bestfriend and a feisty loving daughter/heroine. Because of these elements, my thirst for reading never quenches, so there's nothing left for me but to enjoy this wonderful story.

Ashlyn may have the fighting spirit of a faerie and changeling; but she also has a soft heart which beats for the Irish lad, Liam who had sworn to protect her. Whatever happens to Ash woulf also happen to her boyfriend. So it really fascinates me how both Ash & Liam would find their happy ending if one of them might die if the other becomes an immortal.

I love Memaw's character - a super-grannie-archer in my opinion. She bodes well with Ashlyn and she really has a strong personality. Reese is another character I'd love to get to know more.

The story is fast-paced although there are some parts where I felt that time moved really fast, that it left me wandering what happened on that missing premise.  Nevertheless, I can't wait to read the next book!

www wednesdays - 04/25/12

Welcome to another edition of WWW  this April.  WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?





Curently Reading:


BRIDGER by Megan Curd 

Ashlyn McVean doesn't believe in fairy tales. That is, until Ashlyn is thrown into the crosshairs of grudges her grandmother created long ago. After finding out she is one of two people able to cross between faerie realms, Ashlyn is faced with trying to understand her abilities, along with navigating a new relationship with her boyfriend, Liam. As if being on a centuries old hit list and dealing with crazed pixies isn't enough, her new abilities mean trouble for Liam. Knowing her new life puts everyone she loves in danger, Ashlyn must decide what's most important in her life between friends, family, love, and ultimately, realms.


Just started reading the first two chapters and it already sounds interesting! :)

Recently Finished Reading:

Back-to-Back Destiny stories:

Destiny's Revenge and Destiny's Wrath

  

Two exciting stories about two people destined to find each other after a lifetime of centuries.. 

Truly one remarkable trilogy.. I really had fun reading these.. Will post my review soon...

Will Read Next:

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

I've been meaning to read this for a looooong long time.. Finally, after sitting o my shelf for about a year, I'm gonna read Delirium.. just in time before they make this into a movie.. yay!

Tuesday Teaser: Bridger

Another awesome Tuesday! So welcome to our Teaser Tuesday!  This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

To participate you:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
(Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Okay here's my teaser:

Jerking out of her reach, I turned my back on her. "You're hiding something." 

"You're not ready." 

Bingo! "So there is something! You just yell at me for almost killing someone, but you won't explained what happened!"

Bridger by Megan Curd

page 13, Kindle Edition

the saga

 

The Saga that started it all...

{photo credits: http://swanstories.tumblr.com/}

Midnight Reflections

Title: Midnight Reflections
Author: PM Richter
Kindle Edition
Published November 2010

Julia's midnight reflections actually happened about four in the morning. She was far from home, lonely, watching a handsome man sleeping in her bed at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Robin, the handsome sleeping man, had put himself in terrible danger so she could solve a mystery. She had managed to rescue him, but now she was feeling guilty as hell.

Julia was playing a dangerous undercover role herself, working to complete her late brother's manuscript for a famous movie producer, while trying to find out why her brother was murdered. The other mystery was who this man, Robin, really was. She feared he might be much more than the simple mechanic he proclaimed himself to be. Can she really trust him?

Robin, while helping her in the investigation, actually is playing a role of his own, hiding his true identity, trying to win her heart.

Together, Julia and Robin manage to uncover information so explosive they are forced to flee a furiously angry and influential politician, who rules an army of people willing to do anything to get in his good graces. Even murder.

Here's my brief summary of the story.

Julia went to a county Los Angeles hospital when she learned that her brother was brutally beaten. She had her brother moved to Cedars Sinai - the hospital for the rich & famous. It so happened that Julia's car got towed due to illegal parking at the hospital. When she went to the impound yard to claim her BMW, it was dented and damaged. Luckily, Robin, the dazzlingly handsome guy Julia saw from the tow area, followed her and offered help when her car broke down.

Julia thought Robin was a mechanic. Little did she know that Robin was actually a big time lawyer and was the son of a well-loved senator. But Robin kept up with his disguise & even placed bets with his buddies that Julia would swoon for him in a matter of weeks.

As expected, the two crossed paths again when Julia decided to take her brother's unfinished business in Aaron Quijada's mansion, a famous movie producer. Her brother helped ghost-write Quijada's memoir but soon discovered something horrible & incriminating about his employer that's why he had been mysteriously silenced forever (but not until Julia heard his last words before dying).

Julia's quest in finding the truth brought her to a world where nobody escapes alive. But during her journey, Robin was always beside her. In the end, Julia was able to find justice for his brother, but she felt she was blindsided when she discovered about Robin's true identity. Will she find love after all this time?


My review:


I must say, I literally started reading Midnight Reflections at midnight just to get the feel of it and boy, oh boy! I was hooked!

At first I thought this was a very heavy drama kind of story because I already cried on the first few paragraphs. Julia's love for her brother was so intense that you can't really help but cry after knowing what happened to the good lad. On the succeeding pages, my tears had dried up because the romantic kind of love between Julia and a "mechanic" was introduced.


I had a great 2 days reading this novel. I was so engrossed with the story that I actually thought I was holding a Nora Roberts book.. Yes, she's that good! P.M. Richter had me glued to my seat. Although I already knew who the main antagonist was, I still felt my blood rushed with excitement after taking in the strategy that Julia and Robin took in order to pin & apprehend Quijada. And I was very well pleased with how Julia and Robin settled things between them. Honestly, I didn't want the book to end.

I highly recommend Midnight Reflections to anyone and everyone who wants to read romance with a real story in it. Good job PM Richter.

Ordinary Angels

Title: Ordinary Angels
(Zoe Pendergraft #1)
Author: India Drummond
Kindle Edition, 311 pages
Published (first published April 3rd 2011)

Summary from goodreads.com

Most of Zoe’s friends are dead, but she doesn’t mind because they died long before she met them. Then one Tuesday night an angel takes her salsa dancing and turns her world upside down. Grim reality closes in when she discovers a body in her company’s boiler room and Higher Angels accuse her best ghost friend of murder.

Knowing she’s the only one who can stand against them, Zoe resorts to lying, stealing and summoning. In the end, getting blood on her hands forces Zoe to question herself. 

Content warning: Contains strong language and supernatural sizzle.

Zoe can see spirits, ghosts, phantoms, however you call 'em, while they are still unable to crossover to the other side. And she isn't afraid of them, because they are her friends. Although she's got a few real friends in her office, she doesn't really tell anyone about her ability to communicate with the dead.

Then one day, an extra-ordinary gorgeous mailman (Alexander) appeared in front of her desk and soon she realized that he was actually an Angel. Zoe's dead grandma didn't like Alexander, but they went on a date anyway. Soon, Zoe found out that her spirit best-friend Henry went missing (along with his collection of keys)  after a murder took place in the boiler room where Zoe usually takes her lunch.

Added to her dilemma is the discovery that her angel-boyfriend was actually under trial for interfering with the real mailman's timeline. And the Angels from the Higher order demanded for her presence in order to share her knowledge and views about Alexander. While on that particular celestial court, Zoe witnessed a necromancer feeding on the soul of another spirit and she helped free him. Soon thereafter, more ghosts and spirits came to her and sent her tokens of appreciations for freeing one of their owns. That is when Zoe got hold of a chaos dagger, which was the one weapon that could harm and kill Angels. It is then that she was called a Stalker for possession such deadly weapon.

My thoughts:
Regardless what the title says, this is not an ordinary read. In actuality, there are only a few stories I've read which revolves on Angels. Those I've read are quite serious and tend to focus more on the origins of angels, archangels, nephilims and the like. But with India Drummond's angelic story, I got a taste of what it's like to be in a celestial court, live in a heavenly hotel, fight with other Fallen Angels and deal with other paranormal objects in a fun, non-too-dramatic way. I liked how Zoe discovered her abilities one-by-one and became a Stalker in the end.

Relationship-wise, I'm not really particular with an Angel immediately falling in love with a mortal, and doing love scenes with him in just a couple of days. Maybe because I have this perception of Angels as gentle, conservative types, so reading about a celestial being falling in love at first sight was kinda new to me. However, noting the exalted forms of Angels really intrigued me. I'm curious how they are able to change appearances and shape-shifts.

After reading the story, I'm actually hoping for a sequel. I would love to read more about the lawyer Thomas and how the other angels came to be. I'd also want to know why Grandma isn't in favor of them and who left the chaos dagger for Zoe. Likewise, I'd love to see Henry's descendant fight alongside with Zoe.

Overall, I applaud India Drummond for her creative talent and her ability to pique my interest with her story. I'm sure I'm going to read more about her works very soon.

My rating for Ordinary Angels: 4 bookmarks :)