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 would 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/}

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: 3.5 bookmarks :)

WWW April 2012

Welcome to another edition of WWW for the first Wednesday of 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:
The Emperor's Edge by Lindsay Buroker

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.

Recently Finished Reading:

The Light of Asteria (Kailmeyra's Last Hope)

by Elizabeth Isaacs

I'm not sure I liked the story because I was agitated with the long-winding tale of extreme love-at-first-sight (Nora and Gavin of the Frey). I was just a little bored because I felt that certain scenes were a bit too long for my liking. There's a bit similarity with the composition of characters - being a part of a family who live with their mates, having mental powers like reading one's thoughts, super-duper protection given to the female lead - but no, the lead stars are not vampires but they were Elves..

Hmmm.. Surprisingly though, I finished reading it and i'm looking forward to reading the sequel. For now, I'll settle for a 3-star rating.


Better Off Dead by Matthew Rowe

Hilariously funny & witty! I really enjoyed reading this. Check out my book review here: Better Off Dead

Will Read Next:

I'm definitely interested in reading: The Willows: Haven (by Hope Collier)

Here's a brief summary:

When tragedy strikes, seventeen year-old Ashton Blake sets out on a cross-country road trip, leaving the comforts of Malibu for the mountains of Kentucky. Along the way, she encounters Gabe Willoughby—the mysterious drifter with eyes like the sea and a knowing smile. Getting to know Gabe raises questions about her past. But no secret can be buried forever, and Ashton soon finds herself in a world where water is air and myth becomes reality.
Just as Ashton comes to accept her newfound heritage, she’s summoned to fulfill a treaty laid down centuries before — a treaty that will divide her love and test her loyalty. In the end, her future isn’t her biggest concern, her humanity is. To run may mean war, but is she strong enough to stay?