Last Friday Finds of 2010

From Left to Right

The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell
In a Time of Treason by David Heck
Here, There be Dragons by James A. Owen
Tangled Up in Daydreams by Rebecca Bloom
Blue Moon by Peter Duchin & John Morgan Wilson

Books I've Read in 2010

January
Rekindled - Barbara Delinsky
Circle Trilogy by Nora Roberts

• Morrigan's Cross
• Dance of the Gods
• Valley of Silence

February

The Hundred Secret Senses - Amy Tan

Irish Born Trilogy - Nora Roberts

• Born in Ice
• Born In Fire
• Born in Shame

March

Twisted - Jefferey Deaver
More Twisted - Jefferey Deaver
The Lucky One - Nicholas Sparks

April

Clear and Convincing Proof - Kate Wilhelm

Airframe - Michael Crichton

The Mermaids Singing - Lisa Carey

May
Shopaholic Series - Sophie Kinsella

• Confessions of a Shopaholic
• Shopaholic Takes Manhattan
• Shopaholic Ties The Knot 
• Shopaholic & Sister 
• Shopaholic & Baby

June
The Third Twin - Ken Follett

Sands of Time - Sidney Sheldon

Impulse - Nora Roberts

For One More Day - Mitch Albom

Tuesdays With Morrie - Mitch Albom

July
A Long Fatal Love Chase - Louisa May Alcott
Dear John - Nicholas Sparks
The Last Song - Nicholas Sparks
Homeport - Nora Roberts

Bride Quartet by Nora Roberts

• Vision in White
• Bed Of Roses
• Savor The Moment

August

Angelology - Danielle Trussoni

A Painted House - John Grisham

WhiteOut - Ken Follett

Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy

• A Great and Terrible Beauty
• Rebel Angels
• The Sweet Far Thing

The Stanislaski Family by Nora Roberts  

• Taming Natasha
• Luring A Lady
• Falling for Rachel
• Convincing Alex
• Waiting for Nick
• Considering Kate

September

In Her Shoes - Jennifer Weiner

Paranormalcy - Kiersten White
Percy Jackson and the Olympians - series

• The Lightning Thief
• The Sea of Monsters
• The Titan's Curse
• The Battle of the Labyrinth
• The Last Olympian

October

Something Borrowed - Emily Griffin

Sanctuary - Nora Roberts

C. S. Lewis - Chronicles of Narnia

• The Magicians Nephew
• The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
• Prince Caspian
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
• The Silver Chair
• The Horse and His Boy
• The Last Battle

November

Public Secrets - Nora Roberts
A Little Magic - Nora Roberts
Halo - Alexandra Adornetto
Happy Ever After - Nora Roberts
Harry Potter -J.K. Rowling

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

December

I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It - Adam Selzer
Valentine Princess - Meg Cabot
The Lost Hero - Rick Riordan
Deep Waters: Lawless and Tilley - Malcolm Rose
The Body Farm - Patricia Cornwell
Evernight Series - Claudia Gray

• Evernight
• Stargazer
• Hourglass

Merry Christmas!

WoW: Afterlife

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I'm fairly new with this meme so help me out, friends.

I've decided to join this meme because I just want to share my anticipation for the Evernight series' final book - Afterlife - the story of Bianca and Lucas.

Title: AFTERLIFE
Author: Claudia Gray
Hardcover, 368 pages

Expected publication: March 8th 2011
Characters: Bianca Oliver, Lucas Ross, Bathazar More
 
This is what Goodreads have to say.

The fourth book in this electrifying vampire series has all the romance, suspense, and page-turning drama that have made Claudia Gray’s Evernight books runaway successes.

Having become what they feared most, Bianca and Lucas face a terrifying new reality. They must return to Evernight Academy, Lucas as a vampire and Bianca as a wraith. But Lucas is haunted by demons, both personal and supernatural. Bianca must help him fight the evil inside him, combat the forces determined to drive them apart—and find the power to claim her destiny at last.

Readers have fallen in love with Bianca and Lucas, and they will be thrilled to read this exciting conclusion to their romantic adventure

TCP: Shrek the Halls

For this week's Family Christmas theme in Tuesday Couch Potatoes, I choose Shrek The Halls. I know that this is not really a full-length movie, but it was a Christmas Special featuring Shrek with Fiona and their babies and friends celebrating the Yuletide Season. (TV-Movie or short-movie from a tv channel in the U.S.)

The story is about Shrek quietly living in the swamp with his family when the Christmas season arrives. Under Donkey's urging, Shrek reluctantly promises Princess Fiona a special Christmas surprise. Unknown to Donkey, this is Shrek's first Christmas, because "ogres don't celebrate anything."

So Shrek goes to the local bookstore to try to find a present for Fiona, but since he doesn't know what Christmas is all about, the shopkeeper gives Shrek a copy of Christmas For Village Idiots, a step-by-step guide to celebrating the holiday.

Shrek proceeds to follow the book's advice by decorating the house and getting a tree so he can spend a quiet Christmas Eve with his family, but Donkey brings the entire "family" to the swamp, ruining Shrek's plans.

I specifically love the part when Donkey realized that Shrek is going to great lengths to celebrate Christmas for the first time and then he said,

"'Christmas ain't Christmas until somebody cries', and that's usually me."

This is my share for this week 's Tuesday Couch Potatoes

Teaser: Body Farm

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

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!

"She wasn't hit by a car," I told him. "Her head's been twisted clockwise by ninety degrees!"

page 136 - The Body Farm

by Patricia Cornwell

Weekend Read - Dec 18-19

The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell

The fifth book from Kay Scarpetta novels

Hourglass - Claudia Gray

Bianca will risk everything to be with Lucas.

After escaping from Evernight Academy, the vampire boarding school where they met, Bianca and Lucas take refuge with Black Cross, a fanatical group of vampire hunters. Bianca must hide her supernatural heritage or risk certain death at their hands. But when Black Cross captures her friend - the vampire Balthazar - hiding is no longer an option.

Soon, Bianca and Lucas are on the run again, pursued not only by Black Cross, but by the powerful leaders of Evernight. Yet no matter how far they travel, Bianca can't escape her destiny.

Bianca has always believed their love could survive anything . . . but can it survive what's to come?

 

Hourglass - the third (!) installment from the Evernight series.

 

I've just finished Hourglass and I must say, I was more than surprised and intrigued for the next book. My gosh, it just goes to show that I really did not research for this book because I really want to feel the thrill and suspense and Bianca's overwhelming change and Lucas' determination to stay human.

I really enjoyed Evernight and Stargazer, but i think, Hourglass surpassed the first two books in the series by leaps and bounds. Claudia caught me offguard with a lot of surprises - Raquel a tomboy? Maxie the almost friendly ghost, Vic being cool about Evernight as a vampire school, Ranulf hobnobbing with Vic's family and Balthazar in a Chinese community..

Well, those minute details are freakingly awesome but the center of the universe revolved around LUCAS and Lucas alone. Forget Bianca!

Lucas has sacrificed a lot for their relationship and in the end, was about to become a vampire - something he did not ever, ever wished to be, even if his one true love was "once" a vampire.

No, no no.. I can't wait for the next book. Yes, there's a fourth book! While I was reading the second to the last chapter of Hourglass, I really thought it would be the end of the series, but nO!! The ending is a cliffhanger! I'm definitely happy because there's a fourth book and I can't wait for the next one - AFTERLIFE. The title itself is enough for me to anticipate another great book!

Another two thumbs up for Claudia Gray. Hourglass is definitely a good read. Beats the hell out of Twilight saga. The Evernight series is defnitely a much better catch, in my opinion. Don't throw tomatoes if you don't agree. This is my blog anyway so I can say what I want, LOL.

And so my rating for Hourglass is - 5 bookmarks! 

Stargazer by Claudia Gray

The vampire in me was closer to the surface . . .

Evernight Academy: an exclusive boarding school for the most beautiful, dangerous students of all - vampires. Bianca, born to two vampires, has always been told her destiny is to become one of them.

But Bianca fell in love with Lucas - a vampire hunter sworn to destroy her kind. They were torn apart when his true identity was revealed, forcing him to flee the school.

Although they may be separated, Bianca and Lucas will not give each other up. She will risk anything for the chance to see him again, even if it means coming face-to-face with the vampire hunters of Black Cross - or deceiving the powerful vampires of Evernight. Bianca's secrets will force her to live a life of lies.

Yet Bianca isn't the only one keeping secrets. When Evernight is attacked by the evil force of th wraiths that seems to target her, she discovers the truth she thought she knew is only the beginning.

Like Evernight, this second book, Stargazer is as exciting and cliffhanging as the first one. Although Lucas & Bianca spent most of the entire year with secret rendezvous, stolen moments & kisses, the fact that their love for each other never fade was really something to look forward to. The "fight" between vampires and ghosts were new to me and Gray's detailed story about them made me understand about wraiths and the undead.

But the best is yet to come. I'll surely start book 3 - Hourglass right away!
For Stargazer, my rating is - another 4 bookmarks!

Evernight - Claudia Gray

After the pandemonium that Twilight saga had caused a couple of years ago, I thought there was no other vampire story that would catch my attention. I know I was kind of biased, thinking Edward was the best looking vampire I met, but I realized, I didn't give myself a chance to broaden my horizon.

Then one day, I chanced upon Evernight by Claudia Gray. I didn't have any idea what this book was all about; I didn't even accessed Google nor Wikipedia for a glimpse. I was so intrigued about this boarding school that made Bianca ran away on her first day. And then she met Lucas and fell in love..

Bianca Olivier is a new student to Evernight Academy, a Gothic boarding school with "perfect" but predatory students. Ahe knows she doesn't belong but she can't escape because her parents are now teachers at the school. Bianca believes the best of her parents and trusts them about everything even when her brain tells her not to.

As school progresses, Bianca befriends Lucas, Raquel, a loner like her, and Vic, Lucas' roommate. She develops enemies, like Courtney and Erich, who are what Bianca calls "The Evernight Type". At a party, she befriends a handsome, popular, but friendly guy, Balthazar More.

Balthazar asks her to the Autumn Ball. There, she, Lucas and Balthazar get into an argument, and Balthazar leaves them alone. Outside, under the gazebo, she and Lucas kiss for the first time. Bianca gives in to temptation, bites Lucas and drinks his blood. After she realizes what she did, she screams for help. Upon hearing, Courtney comes out and says "Well, it's about time you grew up and became a vampire like the rest of us.".

At first, the story was a little dragging, that it took me about 7 chapters before I learned about Bianca's true identity. I got excited from there on. The end of the story was left hanging which is good because it allowed me to come up with my own theories about the Vampire academy.

So far, I enjoyed the first book, and I can't wait to finish the second one. Kudos to Claudia Gray :) I think I like her story more than Stephenie Myers'. With that, I give Evernight a 4-bookmark rating :)

teaser tuesday - Stargazer

 Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• 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!

For My Teaser Tuesday: page 107 - Stargazer by Claudia Gray

The ice cracked so loudly that it made me jump. As I watched, eyes wide, the frost etching its way across the window obscured the view outside, blocking the gargoyle and even the moonlight, but somehow I could still see.

The room possessed its own light, now. All the many lines of frost on the window broke this way and that, not at random but in a pattern, creating a shape that I could recognize.

A face.

Weekend Read: Evernight

 Evernight by Claudia Gray

A Little Magic

A LITTLE MAGIC...includes three of Nora's Irish favorite stories: Spellbound, Ever After and In Dreams.

Nora Roberts is a master at depicting both the legends and the lore of Ireland and the tender, enchanting passions of its people. Together for the first time in one volume, these delightful stories of magic and romance capture the everlasting beauty of this charming land -- and prove that this #1 New York Times bestselling author is truly "at the top of her game." (People)..
.
In Spellbound, a beautiful lady casts a thousand- year spell on the man of her dreams-- and unleashes a nightmare only love can conquer.... 

Ever After follows an enchanting woman as she journeys to an otherworldy land -- and introduces a handsome artist to the transforming power of love... 

In Dreams links a young woman to a stranger's past - and to the curse that has trapped him forever in the eternity of his own dreams..

TCP: Alvin & The Chipmunks

Yep, it's December - time for a new series of topics for Tuesday Couch Potatoes and this month is about films that are centered on the Family and as Kikamz call it -Christmassy.
For this week - our topic is - Family Adventure Movies.

For me, the family that watches the movie together, stays together - that's what I believe in. Whenever there's a feel-good family shown on TV or downloaded on the computer, I make sure that Hubby, our kids and I are gathered around the TV (or PC) so we can all watch and stay happy. So far, my kids' favorite is Alvin and The Chipmunks (1 and 2).

This is a really hilarious yet happy family movie, seeing how close the chipmunk brothers are and what they do to keep Dave as their "foster" father; even helping him with his zero-luck love affair. Kyle likes annoyingly cute but groovy Alvin while my bunso likes super cuddly Theodore. They love the part when David Seville would scream ALVINNNN!!

Here's a summary of Chipmunks Part 1:

Three chipmunks -- voiced by Justin Long (Alvin), Matthew Gray Gubler (Simon), and Jesse McCartney (Theodore) -- are kicked out of their pine tree home when it's chopped down and shipped to a record label's headquarters as a Christmas tree. They end up sneaking a ride with Dave (Jason Lee), a down-and-out song composer who's none too happy to discover he has new rodent pals.

Eventually, of course, the trio starts singing and inspires Dave to write a Christmas song that wows an oily label exec (David Cross). The rest is chipmunk history.

The Squeakquel (Part 2):

Charice was on it, what's not to love?

Alvin learns to overcome his arrogance and need for acceptance -- i.e. joining the football team -- and fulfill his responsibilities to his family. Alvin's brothers refuse to perform without him because their act has always been about teamwork rather than any individual. Eleanor begins to feel bad about her body image but learns to accept herself the way she is. The evil talent agent and school bully are both humiliated as punishment for their behavior. The movie portrays video games as a means to avoid social interaction and focus on more family time. 

and that's my Family Movie Adventure for this week.. Happy Tuesday!

Teaser: The Lost Hero

 Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• 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!

For My Teaser Tuesday:

Buildings crowded together inside high walls like a medieval town, way older than any place Leo had seen before. In the center was an actual castle - at least Leo assumed it was a castle - with massive red brick walls and a square tower with a peaked, green gabled roof.

"Tell me that's Quebec and not Santa's workshop," Leo exclaimed.

- - page 118 of The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

I Kissed a Zombie...

AND I LIKED IT...

Halloween is over but I still get a knack after reading this wonderful Young-Adult book from Adam Selzer. When I first saw the book, I said to myself "Yuck, kissing a Zombie? Ewww.." But my curiousity got the best of me, so I decided to give zombies a chance. And so far, I was not disappointed. I Kissed a Zombie and I liked it.. I really like the story.. Gonk rocks!

Picture credit: RandomHouse

Algonquin “Ali” Rhodes, the high school newspaper’s music critic, meets an intriguing singer, Doug, while reviewing a gig. He’s a weird-looking guy—goth, but he seems sincere about it, like maybe he was into it back before it was cool. She introduces herself after the set, asking if he lives in Cornersville, and he replies, in his slow, quiet murmur, “Well, I don’t really live there, exactly. . . .”

When Ali and Doug start dating, Ali is falling so hard she doesn’t notice a few odd signs: he never changes clothes, his head is a funny shape, and he says practically nothing out loud. Finally Marie, the school paper’s fashion editor, points out the obvious: Doug isn’t just a really sincere goth. He’s a zombie. Horrified that her feelings could have allowed her to overlook such a flaw, Ali breaks up with Doug, but learns that zombies are awfully hard to get rid of—at the same time she learns that vampires, a group as tightly-knit as the mafia, don’t think much of music critics who make fun of vampires in reviews

Friday Finds for December

here are some new books i've acquired and plan to read in the next coming weeks.. my Friday Finds!

From the creator of Percy Jackson and The Olympians:  two new series from Rick Riordan

The Lost Hero:

Heroes of Olympus

and The Red Pyramid from the Kane Chronicles.

and here are from David Keck:

In the Eye of Heaven

In a Time of Treason 

and lastly, from James Owen: 

The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica

 Here, There Be Dragons

Book I

If you'll notice, all of these are children's books! I was so happy when the last three (In the Eye of Heaven, In a Time of Treason & Here, There Be Dragons) were actually on sale in Book Sale! so I didn't have any second thoughts, I bought the three on a whim! For the two Rick Riordan books, The Lost Hero  & The Red Pyramid, i got them from National Bookstore :)

caspian

hmm.. I've finished reading the 7 books of Chronicles of Narnia, starting with The Magician's Nephew up to The Last Battle.

Inasmuch as I would like to share my reviews about this series, I'd rather keep my mouth shut - because I might say something offensive. Basically, the point is: I didn't enjoy the books..

BUT...

I really love how they were transformed to movies.. And if Ben Barnes looks as handsome as this as King Caspian, all the more reason I'll watch The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.. Caspian is utterly gorgeous!

Narnia

I'm re-joining Tuesday Couch Potatoes although I'm two days late. Nevertheless, I can't help but share one of our fave films with snow all over the place.. Yes, for this week's ON ICE theme, I choose the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe..

My kids simply love the movie. They have great respect for Aslan and my Kian finds Lucy Pevensie "cute but with big eyes".. Kyle loves the scene where Lucy meets Mr. Tumnus by the lampost with the ice crystals or snow dropping on their heads. Kyle says, they look cute.. hahaha..

Film synopsis below:

The film begins with the 1940 bombing of Finchley, London, during the Blitz. The Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, are in direct danger from the falling bombs.

The children are evacuated to the country home of Professor Digory Kirke. One day while they are playing hide and seek, Lucy discovers a wardrobe and enters a wintry fantasy world called Narnia. She spends a few hours in the home of the faun, Mr. Tumnus, who explains that Jadis, the White Witch, cursed Narnia, and it has been winter for one hundred years. In accordance with her orders, if a human is ever encountered, a Narnian must bring them to her. However, Tumnus likes Lucy and can't bring himself to kidnap her so he sends her home. When she returns, hardly any time has passed in the normal world, and when the other children check the Wardrobe, all they see is a normal wooden back - the portal is gone.

A few days later, Edmund follows Lucy into the wardrobe, and he meets the White Witch and her dwarf Ginarrbrik. She offers him Turkish Delight, as well as the prospect of becoming king if Edmund will bring his brother and sisters to her castle. After she departs, Edmund and Lucy meet again and return to tell the others. The Professor has a private talk with Peter and Susan; he does not understand why they do not believe Lucy's story and gives them three possible explanations of Lucy's behavior — madness, dishonesty, and sincerity — the others know she is neither mad nor dishonest, so she must be telling the truth.

On another day, while running away from the housekeeper in the wardrobe after breaking a window, the four siblings enter Narnia. They discover Mr. Tumnus has been taken by the Witch's Secret Police and meet talking beavers who tell them about Aslan. According to the beavers, Aslan is on the move to take control of Narnia from the White Witch. The four must help Aslan and his followers; it has been prophesied that when two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve sit in the four thrones, the Witch's reign will end.

Public Secrets

"Brian McAvoy discovers after three years that he has a daughter, and because her mother is unstable, he takes her back home with him and his fiance, Bev. Emma is immediately accepted and loved by her father's band. Bev acts like a real mother, and soon Emma has a baby brother to help her recover from the three years she spent with her abusive mother.

But after her brother dies in a botched kidnapping, nothing is the same. Bev and Brian split and Emma is sent to boarding school. The story skips around to different times, but Emma continually meets up with Michael, the son of the detective who investigated her brother's murder.

Eventually Emma marries another rock star, who is very abusive and when she finally runs, she goes to see Michael. When she finally kills her husband in self defense, Michael comforts her, and they finally become lovers. The romance progresses, and Michael helps Emma become who she really is, and helps her reconnect with her family after all of the drama they went through. He also reopens her brother's case, but when the men who killed her brother discover Emma is remembering that night, both she and Michael are in danger."

There are many characters in this book. And I believe you will love almost everyone of them. At least I do.

It’s one of the novels that span across a number of years. Emma McAvoy, the main character in this story, grows up in the story. The book starts when she was 3 and follows her growing up till the twenties.

Her father, Brian McAvoy, a rock-and-roll star, gives her a new life so to speak. And the other members in the rock band are permanent fixtures in the story, and in Emma’s life too. I love all the members because they are so unique in their way. And because they all love Emma simply because she is Brian’s child. It really is a nice story to see the dynamics between the members themselves and how they adjust to having Emma around with them.

Roberts is able to depict a very realistic view of the 60s all through the 80s. Although I wasn’t even born in the 60s, I learnt about how the situation was like just by reading the story.

There are many relationships in this story. Brian and his 2 wives, the rock band, Emma and our male character, Michael Kesselring.

Emma and Michael meet when they are in their teens and from then on, Michael harbours a crush for Emma. Nonetheless, they live in different countries, live different lives. Until they meet again. And Emma is caught in major trouble. That is when you see all the characters in the story banding together and supporting her through the whole episode.

I’m touched by this story because you can feel the love between all of them. Emma loves the band as an innocent child does and the members love her back all the more because of her innocence. In times of trouble, Emma uses her link to all of them to pull them together, just like how all of them bond together to help her through her personal crisis.

Michael, on the other hand, is a solid 2nd-generation cop. Through a multitude of reasons, he meets Emma and rescues her time and again. Their relationship really blooms when they meet again and Emma escapes from her personal nightmare.

I’d forgotten how much I liked this story until I picked it up again. It’s pretty long, but once you get started, it gets you craving for more. And like I said, you can practically feel the love and affection of the characters for each other. It’s a story that is innocent, sweet, realistic and yet affectionate somehow. It brings you through the different time periods as the characters grow and develop and that in itself makes it a worthy read.

If you have the time to pick up one of Roberts’ novels, pick this. It’s definitely one of the best in the series.

Halo by Alex Adornetto

Nothing much happens in the sleepy town of Venus Cove. But everything changes when three angels are sent from heaven to protect the town against the gathering forces of darkness: Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, a teenage girl who is the least experienced of the trio.

They work hard to conceal their true identity and, most of all, their wings. But the mission is threatened when the youngest angel, Bethany, is sent to high school and falls in love with the handsome school captain, Xavier Woods.

She defies the laws of Heaven by loving him. Things come to a head when the angels realize they are not the only supernatural power in Venus Cove. There′s a new kid in town and he′s charming, seductive and deadly. Worst of all, he wants Beth.

I can't honestly say that I particularly like the story - but I love it's book cover, particularly the wing-effect that goes with the scene. But with the story itself, I was not pleased. It was like Twilight all over again, but on the angelic side. I mean, the main heroine - who shouldn't be called heroine at all! - is so dependent on her knight in shining armour. I couldn't believe that the supernatural girl, Bethany the Angel, had to rely on a mortal boy to take care of her. (Bella, is that you?) Oh well, I guess you get the picture - two lovers head over heels in-love with each other - one is a mortal & the other is immortal.

Regardless of my review, this story can get you hook for a moment, on a day when you've got nothing to do but imagine you've got wings sprouting from your back and then poof! You let your imagination fly..

TT: Love in Time of Cholera

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:

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!

It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.
Dr. Juvenal Urbino noticed it as soon as he entered the still darkened house where he had hurried on an urgent call to attend a case that for him had lost all urgency many years before. -

page 7; Love in Time of Cholera
by: Gabriel García Márquez
From the Nobel Prize-winning author of One Hundred Years of Solitude comes a masterly evocation of an unrequited passion so strong that it binds three people's lives together for more than fifty years.

GT: All-Time Favorites

For our last Girls Talk topic for October, it's all about the All Time Favorite books...Hmm.. this is really tough.. I really can't single out a particular one from my collection because all these books in my shelves are absolutely everything I liked & wanted..

I can mention a couple of books that has always been my favorite, that I cannot put down, like the Harry Potter series.. yes, that's my customized shelf over there.. something I made and hoped that my kids would soon love when they're old enough to read and appreciate books, like I did..

I love all Harry Potter books, despite the fact that it's a children's book.. so what? This book entertained me a lot and I literally could never put it down ever since I started with Philosopher's Stone. I remember when I first read HP, I was still living in an apartment and my room mate Sharon was the first one who bought HP.. I borrowed her book a week later & started reading it at 10 pm. And I read it the whole night and finished Philosopher's Stone until the wee hours of the morning (read: 4am!) good thing my work schedule at that time was 1pm till 9pm.. I was really sleepy when I went to the office and had memorized a number of spells (like Wingardium Leviosa) and practiced the spells on my officemates.. hahaha!

The same thing happened with Chamber of Secrets, I ended up reading the book until 5 am the next morning! I completed my collection just last year and I have recently re-read Deathly Hallows, in preparation of the upcoming last Harry Potter movie..

On the other hand, if there's another author who could keep me reading until dawn, that would be my favorite Nora Roberts. Her writing is simply hypnotizing.. Nora Roberts is still my number one favorite author and I love reading her trilogy books, especially the Sagas like the Bride Quartet series although I still have to wait for November for her last book (in the series) to be published. It just keep me asking for more and more..

And the recent trilogy I bought (from my latest powerpay) is the Seven Trilogy..

which consisted of Blood Brothers, The Hollow, and The Pagan Stone. I'm looking forward to finishing this series before the year ends. Like other Nora Roberts masterpiece, I am sure that I won't be able to put down this kind of treasure.

whereto?

TT: Deathly Hallows

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:

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!

"And then Death asked the third and youngest brother what he would like. The youngest brother was the humblest and also the wisest of the brothers and he did not trust Death. So he asked for something that would enable him to go forth from that place without being followed by Death. And Death, most willingly, handed over his own Invisibility Cloak."

GT: The Suspense is Killing Me!

if there's one author that can keep me on the edge of my seat, that would be Ken Follett, the master of suspense & intrigue. that's why i choose his books for this week's Girls Talk! - October 21 – Best book bet/s for suspense.

Actually, my first choice of author for suspense-filled books is Sidney Sheldon - truly the Master of the Game of suspense & twists an mysteries. i've read a dozen of Sidney's works, my favorites were If Tomorrow Comes, Stars Shine Down & Sands of Time - most of which have femme fatale characters. Sheldon's heroines are strong fighters and passionate. And of course, there's John Grisham and James Patterson, too!

But next to Sheldon for me comes Ken Follet. I've already read 5 of his books and last week, I went on a book shopping binge and bought 3 more.

Follett books I've read:

The Third Twin

Whiteout

Storm Island

Pillars of the Earth

World Without End

and the new books I've bought:

Code To Zero

Hornet Flight

A Place Called Freedom

Follett weaves believable fictional characters and the occasional bit of fact into one of the most captivating books I’ve read in a long time. Truly remarkable reads that would make you crave for more..

Here's a review of the latest Ken Follet book that I have recently read: WHITEOUT.

FYI: Whiteout (the movie) is not the same with the one Ken Follet wrote. It's a completely different story.. Whiteout which starred Kate Beckinsale is written by another author, Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber...

A missing canister of a deadly virus. A lab technician bleeding from the eyes. Toni Gallo, the security director of a Scottish medical research firm, knows she has problems, but she has no idea of the nightmare to come.

As a Christmas Eve blizzard whips out of the north, several people converge on a
remote family house. Stanley Oxenford, the research company’s director, has
everything riding on the drug he is developing to fight the virus – but he isn’t
the only one: His grown children, who have come to spend Christmas, have their
eyes on the money it will bring.

Toni Gallo, forced to resign from the police department in disgrace, is betting her career on keeping the drug safe; a local television reporter, determined to move up, has sniffed the story, even if he has to bend the facts to tell it; and a violent trio of thugs is on its way to steal it for a client already waiting – though what the client really has in mind is something that will shock them all.

As the storm worsens, the emotional sparks – jealousies, distrust, sexual attraction, rivalries – crackle; desperate secrets are revealed; hidden traitors and unexpected heroes emerge ..

I like this book a lot because every page is a real page turner.. it really keeps me at the edge off my seat, and I can't help but guess the out-come of every scene..I'd love to see this as a movie or a tv series! Ken Follet is indeed one of the best in his league!

kinse

 

I just got tagged in Facebook and I decided to blog about this book meme.

The rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that somehow changed your life. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes.

Tag fifteen friends, including me, because I'm interested in seeing what books my friends will choose. 

Here are my answers:

1. A Walk To Remember by Nicholas Sparks
2. Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan
3. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
4. Angels Fall by Nora Roberts
5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
6. If Tomorrow Comes by Sidney Sheldon
7. The Client by John Grisham
8. Whiteout by Ken Follett
9. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
10. Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
11. Like the Flowing River by Paolo Coelho
12. Love in the Time of Cholera by  Gabriel García Márquez
13. Lord of the Ringgs (trilogy) by JRR Tolkien
14. The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
15. Tangled Up in Daydreams by Rebecca Bloom

For this i'm tagging everyone!! (pasaway ako, hahaha)

just feel free to tag along peeps. i'm gonna read all your posts after this..

have a great weekend!

books on the way

lookie here!! my dear kumare, Dei tagged me this on my facebook account, informing me that she's gonna send these wonderful books soon! yay! i'm so excited!

Nora Roberts:

• Carnal Innocence
• Daring to Dream
• The Macgregor Brides
• Sea Swept
• Brazen Virtue

Michael Palmer:

• The Patient
• Side Effects

Deianira, or simply Dei is a booklover like me.. she was my schoolmate (in college), workmate, boardmate, kumare & a dear friend. 5 months ago, she decided to clean up her mom's attic and discovered her treasured clutters - lots and lots of books!! she then arranged them all and made a library out of them.. since she knows that i'm a big Nora Roberts fan, she called me up and told me that she's giving me these treasures.. my heart leapt with joy!! i can't wait to see, hold and read them..

thanks so much Mare!!

gt: Nic Sparks

Hi, this is actually Claire from claire2kity's My Everything... I decided to use this blog instead for our weekly Girl Talk since this blog contains all about books..

Welcome to my library, everyone :)

For this week, our GT topic is about: Book/s that made you cry and the one author that came to my mind instantly is Nicholas Sparks!  I bet everyone would agree! from his blockbuster books turned to movies, all that Sparks write is a masterpiece to me.. and all Sparks novels are actually tear jerkers, i always end up crying in the end..

I have read most of his books, specifically:

• The Notebook
• The Guardian
• Message in a Bottle
• A Walk to Remember
• A Bend in the Road
• Nights in Rodanthe
• At First Sight
• Dear John 
• The Lucky One 
• The Last Song

One of my choices is the "A Walk To Remember" which i have actually blogged in August as an entry for Tuesday Couch Potatoes. That's my most favorite Sparks book, i never got tired reading it again & again, even if it was a real tear jerker..

Coming in second place and currently my favorite is the one recently shown in theaters, my new favorite THE LAST SONG.. It is a story which revolves around the summer of Ronnie Miller's seventeenth year, during which she is sent to stay with her estranged father, along with his cute little brother, Jonah. Father & daughter don't actually go well together, but through their shared love of music, the duo reconnect. Then Ronnie meets Blaze, a goth girl who was inloved with a jerk named Marcus, who flirted with Ronnie, but Ronnie refused. Then she meets Will, an animal preserver and sparks flew momentarily. Then Ronnie discovered something horrible that might be connected to Will, so the two parted ways..

for more Nicholas Sparks, check out all about his works through this link which i blogged in April..

tune in again next time for our next Girls Talk :)