Currently Reading #7

Splintered (Splintered #1)

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

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I’m so fascinated with the cover when I’ve stumbled upon this book. So gorgeous! This is love at first sight. I can’t even put it into words. I’m so judging the book by its cover. Ha! Ha! Plus it says, “Welcome to the Real Wonderland”. No-brainer with what comes into my mind when I’ve read that. It’s Alice! Then, the rundown confirmed it. Somehow, fairy tale adaptations are my favorite. Especially if the author comes up with an amazing twist. I’m really so thrilled in reading this.

Book Review: Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1)

It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

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I’ve read a lot of wonderful reviews about this and that’s mainly the reason I have tried reading Angelfall. It excites me knowing that there’s this Angel series that’s so intriguing and somehow different from the cliché plots. I admit I’ve been venturesome in reading this. I’m really not into apocalypse associated books, either pre or post. I find it depressing. I was drawn to this just by the mere fact of the overwhelming positive feedback from a lot of readers, but I found this short of what I’ve really expected.

Waiting on Wednesday #5

I’m not certain if I’ll be glad about this or what. Pretty torn. I must admit, I’m a little disappointed when I heard the news. The anticipation is killing me and then this happened. This week’s WOW feature would be a new book from my favorite, Marissa Meyer.

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Mirror, mirror on the wall,

Who is the fairest of them all?

Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now.

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I’m not being bipolar and stuff, but I’m so thrilled when Marissa introduced her new masterpiece. Dated June 16, she posted a blog announcing the news. She will be having this full-length novel about the wicked tyrant of the Lunar Chronicles coming in January next year. The 27th of January 2015 to be exact. If you are wondering who she is, you must be living under a rock, sipping your pink lemonade and staring to nothingness. That could have been dull.

According to Marissa, Fairest will be delving into the back story of Queen Levana. It will start when she’s 15 years old and will cover about 10 years of her life, it will end about a decade before Cinder. They also confirmed that it will also feature the early version of Cinder and Winter as little children and a back story of the scientist, Dr. Erland.

Let’s put S to Dessert

I have been browsing my Instagram and blog feed for desserts I would love to try for the Foodie part of my blog since I haven’t explored new food joints for God knows when. I’m caught up in reading pretty much all the time and work, of course. Yeah. Lame. So I’ll just go daydreaming and feeling jealous about these mouth watering goodness that’s all over my feed.

This is from Class 302, which is an authentic Taiwanese place from California. Not your plain crispy cream puff though. It comes with a cream tube that you’ll have the pleasure of squeezing cream right into your puff. Pretty fun right? And, yummy too! Got it from IPhoneSeeFood.

Stop, Look and Capture #2

Here’s a weekly dose of me being out there and capturing moments. Who would have thought simple strolls would become this incredible?

Book Recommendation: Stolen SongBird (The Malediction Trilogy #1)

Aside from the books lined up for me to read, I’m still in search for books that would give me the urgency to finish all that’s lined up. Also, apart from books that’s been published way back, but left unread by yours truly, I want to have some fresh series on my list too. Here’s one..

For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.

Cécile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity.

But something unexpected happens while she’s waiting – she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and married. She begins to make friends. And she begins to see that she may be the only hope for the half-bloods – part troll, part human creatures who are slaves to the full-blooded trolls. There is a rebellion brewing. And her prince, Tristan, the future king, is its secret leader.

As Cécile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer’s daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.

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Currently Reading #6

Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1)

It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

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I’m pretty enthrall about this book since I am always fascinated with stories about angels. Well, after the smash hit of The Mortal Instruments for that matter. The rundown of this book is so intriguing. Like you can feel it will be unlike any other Angel books that you might have read. Not the usual goody good Angels perhaps. The book cover is equally interesting. Dark, bold and captivating. I can’t think of any other cover that will suit the outline of AngelFall better. I also suppose this would be action packed and I can’t help not to expect much since there were a lot of good reviews that I’ve read.

Book Review: Alienated (Alienated #1)

Name: Alienated (Alienated #1)
Author: Melissa Landers
Number of Pages: 344 in Hardcover
Published: February 4th 2014 by Disney-Hyperion
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance

“Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them.
Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket. Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing, though: no human boy is this good-looking.
But when Cara’s classmates get swept up by anti-L’eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn’t safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara’s locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class.
Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she’s fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life—not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet.“

I may have not put so much faith on this book, but hey I like it. Remember when I was so uncertain to read it because of a nearly unanimous discouraging reviews about the book? Yes. The concept and plot is pretty worn out. You know, the usual. Girl meets unusual boy. Romance forbidden. You and me against the world. Stereotype, but then again I was drawn to it. I agree that it’s not really a hard core SciFi book that you would expect it is or maybe not yet, and that’s where disappointments pour through. Cmon. You don’t expect a book to be SciFi just by the mere mention of an Alien. You’re not stupid like that. Are you?

Somehow, there’s something interesting about how it is written. Those kinds of books that won’t let you feel that this is another book you could read when there’s nothing else to read. Like you have no choice, but to read it. Just for the sake of having something to pass your time with. It’s a feel good book. Light, humorous and brilliant in fact though it started in a slow pace.

Waiting on Wednesday #4

Waiting in vain. I have been waiting for this and it feels like ages since I have read the last book from this series. I’m quite so drawn in rereading all of them in fact. I’m featuring the last book from the series The Heroes of Olympus for my WOW post this week.

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Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the “Argo II” have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen-all of them, and they’re stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood-the blood of Olympus-in order to wake.
The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it “might” be able to stop a war between the two camps.
The Athena Parthenos will go west; the “Argo II” will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea’s army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over.

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Book Recommendation: Dorothy Must Die

I’ve just stumbled upon this masterpiece and I’m so looking forward to reading it. I don’t think this would fall under the Waiting on Wednesday category since it has been released, so I’ll have it posted as a recommendation. I haven’t got my copy yet and I can’t wait to get one. I know. I know. I still have tons of books to read, but I can’t help being thrilled about this. It’ll feel like finally getting your hands on a long lost teddy bear. 😃

The prequel is released the 12th of November, 2013 and it has 196 pages on it. Dorothy Must Die is released 1st of April, 2014 and it has 452 pages. Both of them were published by HarperCollins.

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After returning to Kansas, Dorothy Gale has realized that the dreary fields of Kansas don’t compare to the vibrant landscapes of Oz. And although she’s happy to be reunited with Aunt Em, she misses her friends from the yellow brick road. But most of all, Dorothy misses the fame and the adventure. In Kansas she’s just another prairie girl, but in Oz she was a hero. So Dorothy is willing to do anything to get back, because there really is no place like Oz. But returning to the land she left comes at a price, and after Dorothy is through with it, Oz will never be the same.

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