January Random Reads 2015

This is where we pick a random book from our shelf to read within the month. Feel free to do more than one, but since a lot of people have a lot of books to read, only one is “required” for the meme.

How to join on Random Reads?

You can either use Random.org, eeny, meeny, miny, moe or you can simply close your eyes and point randomly at a book in your shelf. Easy Peasy 😀

Welcome to my first feature for Random Reads this 2015! If you haven’t read or heard about this, I’ve been doing this since October last year and this helped a lot to clear my unread pile without picking my favorites first. I tend to choose my most awaited books so a huge number are left unread on my pile. So for this feature, I’ve chosen to close my eyes and pointed randomly at a book in my shelf. I love that way in choosing (Nah. I’m just lazy! LOL)! Here’s what I got:

Name: The Burning Sky
(The Elemental Trilogy #1)
Author: Sherry Thomas
Number of Pages: 376 pages in Hardcover
Published: September 17th 2013
by Balzer + Bray
Genre: High Fantasy, Young Adult,
Romance, Adventure

It all began with a ruined elixir and a bolt of lightning.
Iolanthe Seabourne is the greatest elemental mage of her generation—or so she’s been told. The one prophesied for years to be the savior of The Realm. It is her duty and destiny to face and defeat the Bane, the most powerful tyrant and mage the world has ever known. This would be a suicide task for anyone, let alone a reluctant sixteen-year-old girl with no training.
Guided by his mother’s visions and committed to avenging his family, Prince Titus has sworn to protect Iolanthe even as he prepares her for their battle with the Bane. But he makes the terrifying mistake of falling in love with the girl who should have been only a means to an end. Now, with the servants of the tyrant closing in, Titus must choose between his mission—and her life.

I’ve heard a lot of wonderful stuff about this series and I’m very much excited to read it. I’ll probably read this after Tear You Apart since I got an ARC of it from NetGalley and it will be released on the 27th. So they’re expecting a review of Tear You Apart not later than the end of the month, I think.

I’ll try my best to squeeze the book this month for the sake of this meme. Wish me luck! Hey if you do have a Random Reads post, comment your link. I’ll try to check it out. 😀

Book Review: Snow Like Ashes

Name: Snow Like Ashes Author: Sara Raasch Number of Pages: 422 in Hardcover Published: October 14th 2014 by Balzer + Bray Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Adventure, Romance, Dystopia

“A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making. Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since. Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again. So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own. ”

I have set this aside though I really want to read it as soon as I’ve received the book. That’s being mature really ’cause I’ve sworn to read what I received first then so on. Unfortunately, I have a lot of books lined up to read so I needed to wait before I could devour this and I’m telling you, the wait is so worth it. I did enjoy the book. Though there are a couple of parts that got me doing my signature “WTF! face”. That involves eye rolling and sighing that blows my hair out of my face. Now, let’s get to the specifics before you assume that I didn’t like this at all. You’re wrong! 😀

The writing is so good. Kudos to Sara for giving her readers something out of Angels vs Demons and the like. This is a combination of a little of dystopia (I’ve added that on the genre part at the top) and high fantasy. I’ve expected a lot of world building since this is the series’ debut and I guess I am quite right. The world building was so wonderful and really exceptional though. The Season and Rhythm kingdoms were so originally depicted, I had so much fun imagining each (I think I like Autumn and Winter best).

Teaser Tuesday #19

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 this is how you do it:

1. Grab your current read.
2. Randomly open a page.
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.
4. 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!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This is for this week’s Teaser Tuesday:

Snow Like Ashes

by Sara Raasch

“”Please dear, you should be grateful you aren’t needed.” I whip to her. “Just because you’d rather be patching dresses doesn’t mean all women should want that.” Her mouth drops open and I pinch my eyes closed.”

“The soldiers stumble out of their room. Herod draws closer. The lock doesn’t budge, whether because I’m too twitchy or my hands are slick with sweat or I just need to practice lock picking.”

What are your thoughts about my teasers? 🙂 Anyway, you could share some teasers on your current read too. Comment the link of your own Teaser Tuesday so I can check it out and have an idea of amazing books that I would want to read.

Teaser Tuesdays (TT) is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Book Beginning│Currently Reading : Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

Currently Reading #29

Name: Snow Like Ashes
Author: Sara Raasch
Number of Pages: 422 in Hardcover
Published: October 14th 2014 by Balzer + Bray
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Adventure, Romance

“A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.
Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since. Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.
So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own. ”

I’ve started reading this while struggling to finish Illusions of Fate. I’m sorry, but it got me jaded and I’ve resisted reading Snow Like Ashes for weeks now because of my TBR file. I can’t take it anymore. Lol! So I dug up reviews to set my expectations for this book since a lot is talking about it. I’m feeling so left behind. I got a five star, three star and a one star review so it will be fair.

Brilliant debut. Sarah Raasch gave fans of YA medieval fantasy exactly what they wanted. This book had a lot of action without being too bogged down in details and there was never a dull moment. I found the protagonist believable and I really enjoyed her love interest, Theron. He is exactly my kind of prince:) I am looking forward to the sequel -especially if it involves a lot of rivalry between Mather & Theron. Not huge on love triangles but love to see them acting jealous ;P
— Rachel of The Black Mage Author

Waiting on Wednesday #24

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

Name: Princess of Thorns
Author: Stacey Jay
Number of Pages: 400 in Hardcover
Published: December 9th, 2014
by Delacorte Press
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Retelling, Romance, Fairytale, Adventure

Game of Thrones meets the Grimm’s fairy tales in this twisted, fast-paced romantic fantasy-adventure about Sleeping Beauty’s daughter, a warrior princess who must fight to reclaim her throne. Though she looks like a mere mortal, Princess Aurora is a fairy blessed with enhanced strength, bravery, and mercy yet cursed to destroy the free will of any male who kisses her. Disguised as a boy, she enlists the help of the handsome but also cursed Prince Niklaas to fight legions of evil and free her brother from the ogre queen who stole Aurora’s throne ten years ago.
Will Aurora triumph over evil and reach her brother before it’s too late? Can Aurora and Niklaas break the curses that will otherwise forever keep them from finding their one true love?

Oh! Retellings. You know I can’t get enough of them. As you have figured on this book’s blurb, this is about Aurora whose mother is the famous Sleeping Beauty. I’m so excited about the book’s premise. Fairy tale retellings always give me a refreshing lift. Especially if it is a twisted version or the like. I know, the term refreshing is not anywhere near the word twisted, but that makes it more interesting right? Anything twisted is either amazing or horrible so I supposed this is on the amazing side of twisted. 😀

My Week in a Wrapped #6

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.

Nothing share worthy this past week. It has been dull. I have been on a routine (my daily routine really) like wake up, eat breakfast, go to work, come home from work, read a couple of chapters (current read), check notifications on my blog (and/or social networking accounts), do little house chores/mommy duties, try to read again and then finally go to sleep. Geez. That sucks right? LOL. No Halloween parties for me since I (still) need to work during the holidays. I only wish that I could have Christmas and New Year off from work (fingers crossed). How have you been this past week? 😀

Last Week On The Blog

• My Week in a Wrapped #5
• Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award!
• The Beauty of Books Tag!
• Last Hour for the SCT Journal Giveaway: Stone Cold Touch by Jennifer Armentrout
• Teaser Tuesday #16: The Iron Trial (Magisterium #1)
• Waiting on Wednesday #22: Anomaly (Schrodinger’s Consortium #1)
• Book Review: The Iron Trial (Magisterium #1)
• Book Beginning #4: Crown of Ice
• Book Blogger Hop: Halloween Edition

Book Review: The Iron Trial (Magisterium #1)

Name: The Iron Trial
Author: Holly Black and Cassandra Claire
Number of Pages: 304 in Hardcover
Published: September 9th 2014
by Scholastic Press
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Adventure, Supernatural

“Most kids would do anything to pass the Iron Trial.
Not Callum Hunt. He wants to fail.
All his life, Call has been warned by his father to stay away from magic. If he succeeds at the Iron Trial and is admitted into the Magisterium, he is sure it can only mean bad things for him. So he tries his best to do his worst – and fails at failing. Now the Magisterium awaits him. It’s a place that’s both sensational and sinister, with dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future.
The Iron Trial is just the beginning, for the biggest test is still to come . . .”

Before reading this, I’ve heard a lot of discussions from fellow bloggers that this is somehow a rip-off of the Harry Potter series. I know it is so damaging to compare. Either with books, movies and the like so I’ve decided I won’t compare it in any way. The mere fact that this is from Black and Clare really convinced me that this is something I would love.

The book didn’t disappoint. The writing is good. An easy read really though there are things that so complicated when you think of it, but eventually getting the points the authors want the readers to enjoy. This is totally not inspired with Harry Potter. Don’t be deceive by the rundown or the book cover perhaps. The world is entirely and amazingly different. As well as the characters, but we’ll discuss that later. The world building is something I haven’t read about.

Teaser Tuesday #16

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 this is how you do it:

1. Grab your current read.
2. Randomly open a page.
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.
4. 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!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This is for this week’s Teaser Tuesday:

The Iron Trial (Magisterium #1)

by Cassandra Clare + Holly Black

“Could he really learn how to fly? If you could fly, whispered a small treacherous part of his brain, it wouldn’t matter so much that you can’t run.”

“It flew straight and true, farther than a dagger should be able to go. Cal couldn’t take his eyes off it as it whirled at him, blade first. He knew he should do something. He knew he had to get out of the way. But somehow he couldn’t. His feet felt rooted to the spot.”

What are your thoughts about my teasers? 🙂 Anyway, you could share some teasers on your current read too. Comment the link of your own Teaser Tuesday so I can check it out and have an idea of amazing books that I would want to read.

Teaser Tuesdays (TT) is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

My Week in a Wrapped #5

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 busy week since I’m trying my best to juggle everything. Work, reading and a lot of other things. So much to do with so little time. Fortunately, I was able to fit them all. I was able to finished Winterspell, started and finished The Strange & Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender for my October Random Reads and currently reading The Iron Trial. Work’s still a bit tough on schedule and really tiring, but I was able to accomplished a lot in all fairness. I’m so proud of myself. LOL! Anyway, the highlight of my week was that I got a day off from work for my son’s 12th birthday. Since it falls right after his actual birth date, I didn’t have much time to prepare for the celebration. We just had a nice and super fun dinner with the whole family. Here’s a photo of my birthday boy, Heaven Alessandre ♥

Isn’t he such a cutie? 😀 He’s growing up pretty fast. Refusing to hold hands with me in public now. Sniff. Next year, he’ll enter a new pace of his life, which is being teen and I’m really hoping that I could turn back those days that he’s still in his diapers. Oh wait! I’m being emotional now. It seems like I’m getting old too. LOL. How’s your week? 😀

Last Week On The Blog

• My Week in a Wrapped #4
• ARC Giveaway: Invaded (Alienated #2) by Melissa Landers
• Swag and Book Giveaways + Book Tours : A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray
• Teaser Tuesday #15: Winterspell by Claire LeGrand
• Waiting on Wednesday: Atlantia by Ally Condie
• Book Review: Winterspell by Claire LeGrand
• Book Review: The Strange & Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
• Book Beginning #3: The Iron Trial by Cassandra Clare + Holly Black

Book Beginning #3: The Iron Trial

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader, where we share the first sentence (or so) of the books we are reading, along with initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Currently Reading #25

Name: The Iron Trial
Author: Holly Black and Cassandra Claire
Number of Pages: 304 in Hardcover
Published: September 9th 2014 by Scholastic Press
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Adventure, Supernatural

“From a distance, the man struggling up the white face of the glacier might have looked like an ant crawling slowly up the side of a dinner plate.
The shantytown of La Rinconada was a collection of scattered specks far below him, the wind increasing as his elevation did, blowing powdery gusts of snow into his face and freezing the damp tendrils of his black hair. Despite his amber goggles, he winced at the brightness of the reflected sunset.”

Technically this is a post for Book Beginnings on Friday and also a post from my own Currently Reading Meme. I’ve just fused the two. Honestly, I’ve skipped a post for my Currently Reading so if you’ll check for posts on this meme, you’ll probably end up confused since the last time I’ve posted is #23. I forgot to post #24 which was The Strange & Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender. I’ll just update that page.