Weekly Photo Challenge: Reward

Weekly Photo Challenge is hosted by The Daily Post,
where we publish a new post with a photo interpreting the weekly theme..

To the Blues and Beyond

This week’s theme is:

REWARD

– Reward is filthy with possibility: it could be your third grader’s beaming smile
after reading her first chapter book, a steaming mug of chicken soup after a long run in the cold,
a photo of your brand-new baby — your reward for patience during nine months of construction,
or your extended family gathered around the dinner table. .

After being left by the bus that we’re supposed to board and traveled for three
and a half hours to Subic, Zambales on our own this Wednesday, this was what greeted us.
Need I say more? Just look at those happy faces! 😀
(I think I’ll have a separate post for the adventure 🙂 )

“You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage
to lose the sight of the shore.”
—  Anonymous

Book Blogger Hop: February 27th – March 5th

This is from Billy of Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer

Do you like blog headers that are bookish or blog headers that are simply attractive?

I am so fond of beautiful headers! Whether it’s a bookish one or not. I think that should be the first thing a blogger should invest his/her time with. So obsessed about creating a header that will suit my blog just couple of weeks ago, I think, until I settle with the one I have right now. That’s the first thing that readers would see so I want it to be eye-catching enough. I have a long list of blogs, but here’s some of the beautiful headers I’ve seen on the blogosphere:

Book Update & Giveaway: End of Days (Penryn & the End of Days #3) by Susan Ee

This is for my friends who were not aware that the End of Days’ cover was already revealed. It was revealed the 5th of February on an article of Entertainment Weekly. Here it is sweethearts! 😀

Name: End of Days
(Penryn & the End of Days #3)
Author: Susan Ee
Number of Pages: Not sure yet
Published: May 12th 2015 by Skyscape
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Dystopia

End of Days is the explosive conclusion to Susan Ee’s bestselling Penryn & the End of Days trilogy. After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They’re both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn’s sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all. When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

Isn’t it amazing? 😀 The cover made me more excited for May and perhaps this would be perfect as a birthday gift for myself. A lot of my friends are also so excited about this. Especially my blogging twin Claudia. We’re planning for a joint review and I’m hoping we could do it this time. We’ve been planning to have a joint review for so long now so that’s another reason to be excited about. 😀

Susan Ee also posted an excerpt on her blog:

Here’s the best part. A giveaway, but this is not for international. Too bad..

Waiting on Wednesday #39

was started by Breaking the Spine and serves to showcase those books
that aren’t released yet, but that we’re eagerly awaiting.

Name: Becoming Jinn (Becoming Jinn #1)
Author: Lori Goldstein
Number of Pages: 384 pages in Hardcover
Published: April 21st 2015 by Feiwel & Friends
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance

Forget everything you thought you knew about genies! Azra has just turned sixteen, and overnight her body lengthens, her olive skin deepens, and her eyes glisten gold thanks to the brand-new silver bangle that locks around her wrist. As she always knew it would, her Jinn ancestry brings not just magical powers but the reality of a life of servitude, as her wish granting is controlled by a remote ruling class of Jinn known as the Afrit. To the humans she lives among, she’s just the girl working at the snack bar at the beach, navigating the fryer and her first crush. But behind closed doors, she’s learning how to harness her powers and fulfill the obligations of her destiny. Mentored by her mother and her Zar “sisters”, Azra discovers she may not be quite like the rest of her circle of female Jinn . . . and that her powers could endanger them all. As Azra uncovers the darker world of becoming Jinn, she realizes when genies and wishes are involved, there’s always a trick.

I was truly taken by the first sentence of the blurb. Can’t recall the last time or even if I’ve read about genies so I really think that this would be a treat. The entire concept would definitely set the book apart from all those usual vampires, witches and the like so I’m without a doubt excited to read this. I’ve also seen some friends from Goodreads who marked the book as-to-read. I guess a lot has found the book intriguing to wait for it too. And wait, I think the cover is nice. Not really striking, but interesting enough and look.. it compliments my blog. Lol! Almost matching my theme. Cute! 😀

Yeah. I know. This is the part that you’re looking forward to..
Check out the following giveaways 😀

This one’s from Goodreads and today is the last day to join this!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Becoming Jinn

by Lori Goldstein

Being released April 21, 2015

Giveaway dates:
Feb 01 – Feb 24, 2015

*INTERNATIONAL

giveaway details »

Teaser Tuesday #33

I’ve decided to join this ’cause I think it’s pretty fun and easy. Plus I really want to quote smart retorts, full blown bullying, words of wisdom, swoon worthy lines and the like without giving much to readers about the entire book. A quote or two won’t hurt I guess.

So here’s how it works:
1. Grab your current read.
2. Randomly open a page.
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences.
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!)
4. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists.

Name: Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Number of Pages: 417 pages in Hardcover
Published: June 4th 2013 by Henry Holt and Co.
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal

The capital has fallen.
The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne. Now the nation’s fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants […]

Here’s the Teasers 😀

My Week in a Wrapped #22

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

It has been a slow week. Still busy at work, but I’ve spent my spare time reading a couple of chapters from my current read and mostly playing Clash of Clans. I’m so addicted. You can Google it if you’re not familiar. It’s kind of complicated to explain the specifics. Lol! Though my current read seems interesting, I still feel that my blogging week is not that good. See for yourself. I only have scheduled posts posted this week and I can’t seem to collect my thoughts when I was doing my review of Siege and Storm. Anyway, I’m so excited for Wednesday. Aunt arrived from the US and Mom’s back from her Thailand trip so we’ll have our annual family gathering in Subic, Zambales on Thursday. We’ll be leaving Manila on Wednesday night though to avoid the insufferable traffic of the metro. I’m so excited to be out of the city and see greens and swim to blues finally. There goes my week. How’s yours? 😀

Last Week On The Blog

• My Week in a Wrapped #21
• Teaser Tuesday #32: Siege and Storm (Grisha #2)
• Waiting on Wednesday #38: The Wicked Will Rise
• Book Blogger Hop: February 20th – 26th
• Currently Reading│Book Beginning : Ruin and Rising
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Rule of Thirds
• Book Review: Siege and Storm (Grisha #2)

Book Review: Siege and Storm (The Grisha #2)

Name: Siege and Storm (The Grisha #2)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Number of Pages: 432 pages in Hardcover
Published: June 4th 2013
by Henry Holt and Co.
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal

Darkness never dies. Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long. The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

I started reading this right after I’ve finished Shadow and Bone since it left me wanting for more. It thrilled me expecting the second book would be much more enthralling. Though I have minor issues with the first book, I realized that’s not enough for me to stop there. I loved the world building and the plot has potential though I find some things confusing at first. So there. I moved on to the second book. Several friends has told me that the second book was a lot better than the first. I’m afraid I can’t agree with that. Let’s get to the specifics. Drum rolls please..

The writing was what I loved on Shadow and Bone and still, I loved it. There’s something in it that a reader would actually stick to the book no matter how lame the plot is. To be honest, that’s what happened to me. We’ll talk about it later. Let’s get to the world building first. The world of Grisha never fails to amaze me. Since Alina and Mal escaped the Darkling and have gone into hiding beyond The Unsea, the author has introduced the extension of the nation of Ravka. The True Sea and the places farther than that. Here’s an illustration of the extended world of Grisha by Keith Thompson:

Weekly Photo Challenge: Rule of Thirds

Weekly Photo Challenge is hosted by The Daily Post,
where we publish a new post with a photo interpreting the weekly theme..

Ridin’ Ponies

This week’s theme is:

RULE OF THIRDS

– For this week’s photo challenge, choose a subject,
then intentionally re-compose your image to obey the Rule of Thirds.
You can go a step further and experiment with your camera settings to see how to get lovely bokeh.

This was taken in Tagaytay when we celebrated my birthday. Too bad we didn’t get to ride since the waiting time was insane. Apparently, everybody wants to ride some ponies. 😀

“It’s a lot like nuts and bolts..
if the rider’s nuts, the horse bolts!”
—  Nicholas Evans

Currently Reading│Book Beginning : Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo

Currently Reading #45

Name: Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Number of Pages: 417 pages in Hardcover
Published: June 4th 2013
by Henry Holt and Co.
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal

The capital has fallen.
The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne. Now the nation’s fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army. Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives. Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova’s amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling’s secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

I love this book’s cover. So gorgeous! Don’t you think? 😉 This whole fangirling over the Grisha series started when I’ve chosen Shadow and Bone for my February feature of the meme Random Reads and man I’ve not regretted it. I usually just read the first book for my monthly feature then, schedule the rest of the books for later reads. It was different for the Grisha series though. I’ve read book after book until I realized I’m on the last installment of the series. Book review for Siege and Storm will be probably be posted tomorrow. For now, here’s a five star, three star and one star review respectively. Got them from book lovers on Goodreads. 😀

This book was everything and more. Where I had issues with certain things in the previous book, this one made up for it all. All the things I wish never happened or didn’t really understand in the previous parts; made sense to me in this one and that is what makes this such a brilliant conclusion. Overall, I think everything played out brilliantly, even if some things came as a surprise or a shock. I got the finality and conclusion a final book in a series should always contain. It was brilliantly written, intriguing and I will forever cherish it. Getting all emotional now…
— Nawall of Nawall Loves to Read

Book Blogger Hop: February 20th – 26th

This is from Billy of Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer

Is there anything that makes you not return to a blog
or not want to look at it even for the first time?

I think I’ve answered this question last week so.. Click here » Lol! Seriously, I can’t think of anything other than how the blog looks. ‘Cause if you can’t stand to look at it, how can you even return or check the posts that’s in it? Really. One more thing.. If the blog has a lot of drama. A lot meaning it’s in each post and all over the blog, you can’t even see sunshine. Do you ever feel sad too when you read something depressing though it’s not about you? Well, I do. I don’t want to be mean, but the world has enough drama of its own and there’s this rule “Think before you click.” If you want to rant about things, people and what not, I suggest you get a written journal ’cause whatever you post online will stay there. Even if you didn’t mean what you said. Even if you’ve deleted it. You can’t simply take it back. Especially if people have read it. Sad, but most people judge and only a few understands. So yeah. Let’s scratch the drama and let’s sing Hakunana Matata! Yes? Lol! 😀