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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

#40 Teaser Tuesday: Inferno



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!

My Teaser:

Langdon braced himself. A single shot rang out, ricocheting off the Trike's back fender, barely missing the base of Langdon's spine. - page 71, Inferno (Robert Langdon #4) by Dan Brown






I'm reading Dan Brown's Inferno this week. I still didn't know what I feel about this one. I hope this one is going to be better than the last one.

What's your Teaser Tuesday?

Review: Ink by Amanda Sun

Ink (Paper Gods #1)
by Amanda Sun

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Publication: June 25th 2013 by Harlequin Teen
Format: ebooks
Source: NetGalley
Author:  Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads
INK IS IN THEIR BLOOD.

On the heels of a family tragedy, Katie Greene must move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn't know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can't seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

When Katie meets aloof but gorgeous Tomohiro, the star of the school's kendo team, she is intrigued by him...and a little scared. His tough attitude seems meant to keep her at a distance, and when they're near each other, strange things happen. Pens explode. Ink drips from nowhere. And unless Katie is seeing things, drawings come to life.

Somehow Tomo is connected to the Kami, powerful ancient beings who once ruled Japan-and as feelings develop between Katie and Tomo, things begin to spiral out of control. The wrong people are starting to ask questions, and if they discover the truth, no one will be safe.

When Katie lost her mother, she had no choice but to move in with her aunt, Diane in Japan as her grandfather was battling cancer and had no way to look after her.  It all started when Katie accidentally eavesdropped to an argument between Tomohiro and Myu. Katie saw a drawing from Tomohiro’s sketchbook, and was surprised when the drawing moved! Katie was intrigued by him and she wanted to know the truth—how was it possible that the drawing can move? But strange things began to happen when she gets closer to Tomohiro. And as she began to learn the truth about Tomohiro and Kami (gods), Katie learnt that her life was now in danger. 

When I read the synopsis of Ink by Amanda Sun, I knew that I have to read it. I am a fan of Japanese culture and I was lucky to be received the arc through NetGalley. Of course, I didn’t expect to like the book so much. Katie sounded like the typical heroine who had to deal with a new environment when she moved from America to Japan and what with her romance interest who had a dangerous secret. But what makes me love this book despite some cliché is that the author had done a great job with mixing the story with Japanese culture. I love how the characters sounded Japanese instead of some Japanese wannabe.

I love the story with the drawing comes to life as I’ve never come across stories like this before. The plot building and suspense were really good. Ink was a mixture of thriller, fantasy, romance and a little bit of humor. I love both Katie and Tomohiro. I love their connection.  Their relationship sounded like something I would usually read out of a shoujo manga. Their relationship was sweet and adorable, although most of the times they teased each other a lot. I found myself giggling and kyaaa-ing (or what you call a fangirling moment) a lot, after watching how their relationship developed.

Ink is definitely one of the best Young Adult I’ve read. I love it so much that I am planing to purchase myself a physical book so that I can adore the beautiful cover for as long as I wanted to and enjoy the smell of the papers while I re-read the story all over again. And after that ending, I just can’t wait for the next book!

buy the book from The Book Depository, free delivery

Thursday, May 23, 2013

On Tour: Chronicle of the Mound Builders by Elle Marie - Review + Excerpt + Giveaway


Elle Marie is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours with her book, Chronicle of the Mound Builders. Please visit her tour page on CLP Blog Tours for more blog stop.

Chronicle of the Mound Builders
by Elle Marie

Genre: History, Fantasy, Mystery
Format: ebooks
Connect with Author: Website
Archaeologist Dr. Angela Hunter discovers an ancient codex at a Mississippian Indian dig site in the St. Louis area. Knowing the Mississippians, or Mound Builders, had no written language, she is determined to solve the mystery of the 700-year-old, perfectly preserved codex.

In the early 1300’s, an Aztec family is torn apart. A judge rebelling against the Aztec tradition of human sacrifice is cursed and escapes his enemies with his 12-year-old son. They travel from the Gulf of Mexico up the Mississippi River to settle in the thriving community of Migaduha, modern-day Cahokia Mounds, Illinois.

Angela recognizes the symbols as Aztec pictograms and begins to translate the story. However, other forces also want the codex and will do anything to get it. Can she learn the secrets of the chronicle before the tragic events of the past are repeated today?

I received a copy of Chronicle of the Mound Builders by Elle Marie from CLP Blog Tours as part of the blog tour.

Chronicle of the Mound Builders by Elle Marie was able to grab my attention from the very beginning. I later found out that two stories were told in the book. The first one was about Dr. Angela Hunter who found the codex in the sealed jar, and the other one was about Chipahua and his son, Tototl, who escaped from his enemy after his wife and daughter was murdered before his eyes as part as their practise to sacrifice human for their god.

It was confusing at the beginning where the characters were introduced as there were many of them. It was hard for me to understand what was going on at first when the stories switched back and forth between Angela and Tototl. But after a while, I got used to it and began to enjoy the story a little bit more. 

I liked Angela’s character. She was intelligent, dedicated and she had a good personality. I enjoyed reading the part where Angela was translating the codex. It was interesting to see the translating process from the pictograph. I get to learn a little bit about symbols and other thing like excavation. 

Chronicle of the Mound Builders is a good read with a mix of history, mystery, fantasy and a little bit of humor. I would recommend anyone who enjoys archaeology stories.

Buy the Book!

Book Excerpt 
Angela sat in her office, deciphering the mysterious chronicle. After returning from their trip to Tavern Rock the day before, the team had worked hard at the dig. Angela stayed until after sunset, accomplishing as much as possible while daylight held out. She felt she could spare a few hours to work on the codex today.

Like the previous two sections, the third also began with a title page. There were four symbols, grouped into pairs. She examined the first pair.


Although that upper left drawing looks like a pillow, I think it’s the Aztec symbol for stone. I’ve seen it in other codices. The panting tongue on the animal below could indicate a dog.

She looked up the word for stone – ‘tetl’ – and the word for dog – ‘chichi’. She rolled the words around on her tongue. Tetl-chichi. After some searching, she found the word ‘teochihua’ in her Aztec dictionary, which had a similar sound. It meant ‘he blesses it’.

That sounds nice, thought Angela. Maybe this chapter will be about a religious ceremony, like blessing a temple. Now let’s see what the next word could be.

The simple square represented a sheet of paper or book. I know what that is. The Aztec word for book is ‘amox’. The symbol below the paper was a common one, representing a house or calli. A temple was a ‘teocalli’ – god house – and a school was a ‘tepochcalli’ – learning house – in the Náhuatl language.

Let’s combine those sounds and see what we get. Amox-calli. It could be literal – book house, maybe referring to a library. Alternatively, the symbols could represent the sounds of the words. Angela found the word ‘amocualli’ in her reference, meaning bad or evil. That’s pretty close.

How do those concepts go together? she wondered. He blesses it – evil. But a blessing would be good, not evil.

She closed her eyes and thought hard. Perhaps the word for evil describes the type of blessing – an evil blessing. So the phrase might mean ‘he gives an evil blessing’ or ‘he curses it’.

Angela gasped. This chapter is about a curse!

Author Bio:

Elle Marie started writing at the urging of her husband, who always believed she was destined to be an author. After first publishing a nonfiction book, Living the Thin Life, she turned to fiction.

A visit to Cahokia Mounds sparked a fascination with the mysterious Mound Builders, about whom so little is known. What was their culture like? How did ordinary people live in the 14th century? What caused the civilization to vanish, seemingly overnight? She put her imagination to work and came up with a story line that put it all together.

By day, Elle works in the information technology field at a large financial services firm. She is a graduate of the Missouri University of Science & Technology and lives in the St. Louis area with her husband. Chronicle of the Mound Builders is her first novel.

On Tour: Appetites by Karen Frankola - Review + Excerpt


Karen Frankola is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours with her book, Appetites. Please visit her tour page on CLP Blog Tours for more blog stop and a chance to win a $20 Amazon gift card!

Appetites
by Karen Frankola

Genre: Adult, Chick Lit
Format: Kindle
Connect with Karen: Amazon, Twitter
When Sarah suddenly hears from Harry, the Brit she almost married twenty years ago, she decides now is the time to change her life. Sarah has a great job in Manhattan, but she considers herself too fat to have a boyfriend. Harry is visiting New York in four months and she wants to turn back into the girl he fell in love with. Since she can never stick to a diet, she comes up with a drastic solution.

Sarah asks her sister Max to lock her up in her basement and feed her nothing but healthy meals. Max, a struggling waitress, agrees begrudgingly. She's skinny, but has her own set of appetites—for drink, drugs, and great-looking losers.

Sarah thinks a summer in Max’s basement will give her a new body, a chance to reconnect with Harry, and the friendship she’s long craved from her sister. But things quickly go wrong. Max's drinking leads her to neglect Sarah, who figures out how to get out of the basement. Sarah develops an obsession with Max's boyfriend and manages to fulfill a sexual fantasy by pretending to be something she's not.

Can Sarah turn back time with Harry or will she and Max kill each other first? Can either sister ever learn to say no?
I received a copy of Appetites by Karen Frankola from CLP Blog Tours as part of the blog tour.

Sarah and Max, two sisters were coping with their own addiction. Sarah was a binge eater, and Max was an alcoholic. When Sarah heard from her ex fiancé, Harry, who told her that he was coming to visit, Sarah decided it is time for her to lose her weight. It wasn’t very easy. After all, the temptation to eat something was very hard to control. Sarah came out with a drastic plan—to live in Max’s basement and she will be locked in the basement for months so that she won’t be able to go out. This will force her to follow her diet plan. The sisters weren’t exactly in a good term. They got into arguments a lot! But that doesn’t stop Sarah to fantasize about Max’s boyfriend. When Max’s drinking problem led her to forget about Sarah, Sarah figured out a way to escape the basement. Will her diet plan works?

Wow! I just couldn’t put the book down. I wanted to know how Sarah and her diet will turn out. I understand that it was hard to control eating with all the temptation around. But later, I found myself cheering for Sarah with her plan to lose weight. I wanted her to succeed with her diet even though her plan sounded bizarre. I enjoyed reading about the relationship between two sisters. While they are mostly fighting, I could see that they cared for each other. I wanted their relationship to get better because families are the one you can always turn to whenever you needed someone to rely on.

Appetites by Karen Frankola was definitely an interesting read. It tackled the issue of food and alcohol addiction, sisters’ relationship and how a long lost love can be a great motivation. What I didn’t really like was the graphic sex scenes. I think the book would be as good without the romance part getting too graphic.  But still, I couldn’t deny that Appetites was a great read. I definitely recommend any chick lit lovers to read this one.


Appetites Excerpt

Fridays were Sarah’s favorite day. She was the kind of person who counted down her vacation. Once she hit the halfway point, she would start to get depressed about running out of time. She could barely enjoy Sunday evenings because Monday was just hours away. So Friday was the only day she could really luxuriate in because the whole weekend lay ahead of her.

Friday was her easiest day, too. She almost always worked from home, like nearly everyone else at F&T. It didn’t mean you could goof off entirely, but Sarah was usually able to crank out most of her work in the mornings. The emails from Europe would stop by noon, and especially in the summer, the U.S. ones would slow to a trickle, meaning that an email check every 15 minutes provided the illusion of work. Usually at F&T, it was considered rude if you didn’t answer an email within the hour, and God forbid you didn’t get back to your boss within five minutes. And now there were those horrible instant messages that demanded a nano-second response, blinking at the bottom of your screen, like a too friendly waiter who kept interrupting your dinner. But they were much rarer on Fridays. At six, Sarah was able to power down and unplug.

The problem was, she hadn’t made any plans—not tonight, or Saturday, or Sunday. Most of her friends from work lived nowhere near her. It was one thing to get together for happy hour, but if someone in Manhattan had a weekend party, the thought of driving through the tunnel was exhausting. Adele, her best friend from F&T who lived in New Jersey, was busy this weekend. And Sarah didn’t have any non-work friends. When she’d moved into the condo, she’d imagined getting to know her neighbors and perhaps even finding someone to date. But when she went to the gym on weekends or the pool during the summer, no one ever seemed interested in exchanging more than a quick hello.

She also had to admit that she had a weekend full of nothing ahead of her because all she really wanted to do was stay horizontal in front of the TV and eat. She had never gotten back on her diet after her session with Barbara two days earlier. Just before she turned her laptop off, she decided to make one of her very sporadic Facebook visits. She had a friend request—probably one of those idiots from high school who had been pestering her to connect, even though they hadn’t exchanged more than two sentences at school. But when she clicked on the icon, a jolt ran through her body. The request was from Harry Jones.

She didn’t think she would ever see that name again. Confirm or Not Now? She took her hand away from the mouse and beat a rhythm on the desk with her fingers.

How often had she imagined hearing from him? Every few years, she would re-read his old letters, thumb through all the photos of their life together, and look yet again at the faded newspaper clipping announcing their engagement. She looked more closely at his profile photo. He was at the Great Wall of China and she could barely make out his face. But it was definitely him.

She had met Harry the summer after she went to London for a semester abroad. She signed up for a three-week archeological dig on the border of England and Scotland, looking for bits of Hadrian’s Wall. Five minutes into their first conversation, she knew they would soon be naked.

Maybe it was the long wavy brown hair, the mustache, or the soft brown eyes. No, she thought, closing her eyes for a moment. It was the smile that came so easily, complete with straight, white nice teeth—so rare for an Englishman. Then there was the way he spoke—like he was dictating a book, using long words she had never heard anyone say aloud before, in a Masterpiece Theater accent, minus the stuffiness. And then there was his body—he was a little shorter than what she typically liked, but he had a soccer player’s build, with just the right amount of muscle and an absolutely perfect bottom, as they called it. Confirm or Not Now? She got up from the desk and walked out onto her second floor balcony. There wasn’t much of a view; just a few trees sprinkled around the condo complex. She stared into the bright blue sky and thought about how perfectly their bodies fit together from that very first time.

The first night of the dig, everyone sat around the fire drinking beer. Her flirting with Harry had grown so intense that everyone else gradually moved away from them. Unfortunately, it wasn’t like either of them had a hotel room, or even a dorm room where they just had to get rid of a roommate. The organizers of the dig had brought three trailers for everyone to sleep in—the guys in two and the girls in one.

When the sky finally began to darken, Harry leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Let’s find a place we can be alone, alright?” She nodded. He grabbed the blanket they had been sitting on and they walked a quarter of a mile from the trailers, past where they had begun the dig, to a flat, grassy area behind a small stand of trees. He began kissing her, dropping the blanket. His tongue was firm and probing, but his lips were soft. She could stand there forever in the moonlight kissing him.

Author Bio:

Karen Frankola wrote Appetites to explore the hard choices women make in love and work. Karen spent much of her career writing very short stories at news organizations like CNN and MSNBC, so creating a novel was challenging. She now does a variety of writing for corporations and nonprofit organizations. Karen is lucky enough to work mostly from home, with her dog Rascal curled up under her desk.

Karen grew up near Pittsburgh, where she spent much of her childhood reading books in the cemetery that bordered her family’s backyard. Karen moved to nine different states and England. Some of her favorite jobs were teaching journalism at the University of Missouri, working as a television news director, and handling video shoots for Deloitte around the world. She also spent a summer repairing motors at a steel mill and hopes to soon publish a coming-of-age memoir about that experience. Karen and her husband Troy now reside in Durham, North Carolina, where they enjoy watching deer in the woods behind their house, lots of live music, beautiful biking trails, and great neighbors.

Karen is working on a sequel to Appetites and would love to hear what you think of it.

Friday, May 17, 2013

Runes by Ednah Walters Trailer Reveal!


I am delighted to join in trailer reveal for Runes by Ednah Walters hosted by Forbidden Passions Reviews. Take this chance to grab a copy via pre-release sale and enter a giveaway (US)!


Runes
by Ednah Walters
Seventeen-year-old Raine Cooper has enough on her plate dealing with her father’s disappearance, her mother’s erratic behavior and the possibility of her boyfriend relocating. The last thing she needs is Torin St. James—a mysterious new neighbor with a wicked smile and uncanny way of reading her.

Raine is drawn to Torin’s dark sexiness against her better judgment, until he saves her life with weird marks and she realizes he is different. But by healing her, Torin changes something inside Raine. Now she can’t stop thinking about him. Half the time, she’s not sure whether to fall into his arms or run.

Scared, she sets out to find out what Torin is. But the closer she gets to the truth the more she uncovers something sinister about Torin. What Torin is goes back to an ancient mythology and Raine is somehow part of it. Not only are she and her friends in danger, she must choose a side, but the wrong choice will cost Raine her life.

ONLINE SALE LINKS!
What reviewers are saying:

HOLY RUNES!I really enjoyed this story especially Torin *swoon*. Ednah did a wonderful job on Runes! It is a must read for fans of YA books!...Breanna - http://two-tall-tales.blogspot.com/

Wow! I’ve got to start by saying that it takes something original and excellent to surprise me, and this book did just that! I found myself about 75% of the way through the book with my mouth hanging open... Carrie Williams (Goodreads)

 Oh HOLY COW! This book was a mind blowing surprise! I loved the way it turned out and I am literally going crazy over the ending. I was not expecting it to turn out the way it did....Maida...full review May 23 - http://loveaffairwithabookreviews.blogspot.ca/



About Ednah Walters:

EDNAH WALTERS grew up reading Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys and dreaming of one day writing her own stories. She is a stay-at-home mother of five humans and two American short-hair cats (one of which has ADHD) and a husband. When she is not writing, she’s at the gym doing Zumba or doing things with her family, reading, traveling or online chatting with fans.

Ednah is the author of The Guardian Legacy series, a YA fantasy series about children of the fallen angels, who fight demons and protect mankind. AWAKENED, the prequel was released by Pill Hill Press in September 2010 with rave reviews. BETRAYED, book one in the series was released by her new publisher Spencer Hill Press in June 2012 and HUNTED, the third installment, will be released April 2013. She’s working on the next book in the series, FORGOTTEN.

Ednah also writes New Adult paranormal romance. RUNES is the first book in her new series. She is presently working on book 2, IMMORTALS.

Under the pseudonym E. B. Walters, Ednah writes contemporary romance. SLOW BURN, the first contemporary romance with suspense, was released in April 2011. It is the first book in the Fitzgerald family series. Since then she has published four more books in this series. She's presently working on book six. You can visit her online at www.ednahwalters.com or www.ebwalters.com.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter |
Don't forget to join in the giveaway (for US entrants only)!


Thursday, May 16, 2013

Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop



Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop
Featuring Lighthearted/Contemporary Young Adult Romance & Sweet, Clean Adult Romance
May 16th to 22nd


One lucky winner will get the chance to win one of the books:



  • Please enter your contact details in the form below to enter this giveaway. Easy!
  • This is an International giveaway as long as BookDepository.com ship them to your country.
  • One entry per person.
  • Winner will be notified via email.  Winner will have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected. 
  • I'm not responsible for any lost package.
  • Have fun! And good luck :)

Be sure to check out the other giveaway stops on this blog hop:

Monday, May 13, 2013

On Tour: The Folly At Falconbridge Hall by Maggi Andersen - Review


Maggi Andersen is now on tour with ABG Reads Book Tours with her book, The Folly At Falconbridge Hall. Please visit her tour page on ABG Reads Book Tours for more blog stop.

The Folly At Falconbridge Hall
by Maggi Andersen

Genre: Historical Romance, Mystery
Publication: December 2012 by Knox Robinson Publishing
Format: ebooks
Author:  Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Blog
Vanessa Ashley felt herself qualified for a position as governess, until offered the position at Falconbridge Hall. Left penniless after the deaths of her artist father and suffragette mother, Vanessa Ashley draws on her knowledge of art, politics, and history to gain employment as a governess. She discovers that Julian, Lord Falconbridge, requires a governess for his ten-year-old daughter Blyth at Falconbridge Hall, in the countryside outside London. Lord Falconbridge is a scientist and dedicated lepidopterist who is about to embark on an extended expedition to the Amazon. An enigmatic man, he takes a keen interest in his daughter’s education. As she prepares her young charge, Vanessa finds the girl detached and aloof. As Vanessa learns more about Falconbridge Hall, more questions arise. Why doesn't Blythe feel safe in her own home? Why is the death of her mother, once famed society beauty Clara, never spoken of? And why did the former governess leave so suddenly without giving notice?

I received a copy of The Folly At Falconbridge Hall by Maggi Andersen from ABG Reads Book Tours as part of the blog tour.

Vanessa Ashley lost everything after her father’s death. Instead of moving in with her uncle, she decided to work and find herself a job. Vanessa then found herself a position as a governess at Falconbridge hall for Lord Falconbridge’s ten year old daughter, Blythe. Some questions arose as Vanessa began to learn more about Blythe and Lord Falconbridge. Why is it that no one spoke of Blythe’s mother, death? And why is it that the former governess left without any prior notice?

I must say that I absolutely adore Vanessa. I love how she refused to stay comfortably with her titled uncle, and instead, finds herself a position as a governess. Vanessa is a compassionate woman. I adore how she treated Blythe and win her heart. I enjoyed reading the interaction between Vanessa, Blythe and the Lord Falconbridge.

The Folly At Falconbridge Hall was a historical romance with a bit of mystery (although not too much). The romance part was a bit predictable, although I was surprised with Vanessa and Julian, Lord Falconbridge’s progress halfway through the story. I certainly wasn’t expecting that. But I love how the story was focusing more on Vanessa and Blythe at the beginning instead of Vanessa’s romance relationship. I think the author did a great job in building the story line. I also like how the author added in a little bit of mystery of the former governess’s sudden disappearance in the book. It certainly makes the story much more interesting. I couldn’t stop myself to know what had happen in the past, and what will happen next.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Review: The Espressologist by Kristina Springer

The Espressologist
by Kristina Springer

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult, Friendship
Publication: October 2009
Format: ebooks
Author:  Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Blog
What’s your drink of choice? Is it a small pumpkin spice latte? Then you’re lots of fun and a bit sassy. Or a medium americano? You prefer simplicity in life. Or perhaps it’s a small decaf soy sugar-free hazelnut caffe latte? Some might call you a yuppie.

Seventeen-year-old barista Jane Turner has this theory that you can tell a lot about a person by their regular coffee drink. She scribbles it all down in a notebook and calls it Espressology. So it’s not a totally crazy idea when Jane starts hooking up some of her friends based on their coffee orders. Like her best friend, Em, a medium hot chocolate, and Cam, a toffee nut latte. But when her boss, Derek, gets wind of Jane’s Espressology, he makes it an in-store holiday promotion, promising customers their perfect matches for the price of their favorite coffee.

Things are going better than Derek could ever have hoped, so why is Jane so freaked out? Does it have anything to do with Em dating Cam? She’s the one who set them up! She should be happy for them, right? With overtones of Jane Austen’s Emma and brimming with humor and heart, this sweet, frothy debut will be savored by readers.

Jane Turner worked a barista for a coffee shop called Wired Joe’s. She had a theory that she can tell a lot about a person by their favorite coffee drinks which she called it as ‘espressology’. She would jot down the person’s favorite coffee and personality in her notebook. Then she started to hook up some of her friends and co-workers by their coffee preference. When her boss, Darek found out about her talent, he made her to use her espressology and play as a match maker based on the customer’s preferred coffee to promote their shop.  But why was it that she can’t seem to find her own match?

I’m a fan of coffee. And I adore books that feature coffeehouse, cake house or anything like it. When I saw The Espressologist by Kristina Springer, I knew that I have to read this one. I enjoyed reading about Jane and how she matched her customers. I love that there were lots about coffee and I get to learn a lot types of coffee from this book. I think the author did a good job with the story and the plot. 

Although Espressologist were categorized as a romance, I didn’t see much romance between Jane, the main character and her love interest, Cam. I wish there were a little bit more interaction between them as they were supposed to be the main characters. However, I do think that Espressologist was a light, fun, cute and entertaining read that any coffee lover would enjoy.

buy the book from The Book Depository, free delivery

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Review: Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1)
by Laini Taylor

Genre:  Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Publication: September 2011 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Format: Paperback, 418 pages
Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

I was asking myself why I haven’t read this book sooner. The story was amazing. Not what I had expected to read at first, judging from the summary. I was constantly disappointed in most angel & demon books I read, but not in Daughter of Smoke & Bone.

Karou (meaning hope) is one of my favorite heroines. She’s smart, brave, funny and independent. It was very hard not to like her. Karou may look like she’s leading a normal life at first, but wait until you met her adoptive family – Brimstone, Issa, Yasri, Twiga, and Kishmish. Karou had been running errands for Brimstone until one day when she was attacked by an angel, Akiva. Wait. What? Why would an angel wanted to kill her?

I really like with Laini Taylor’s writing. The portraying of places, characters and event was really good and vivid. The story was beautiful. The pace was perfect. I love the mysterious surrounding around Karou and her adoptive family. I love that there wasn’t too much hint of romance at the beginning. The story was focusing more towards Karou’s identity and advancing towards the journey to find out who Karou really are, why was she staying with her adoptive parents and what Brimstone and the other was trying to hide from her.

Like I said, Daughter of Smoke & Bone was definitely not what I had expected.  The story was beautiful and unique. It was one of the best fantasies/paranormal I read so far. I totally recommended this one. I'm looking forward to read the next book.

buy the book from The Book Depository, free delivery

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

#39 Teaser Tuesday: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer


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!

The bell rang, and I looked at Noah as he leaned in and brushed his lips against my ear.
He whispered into my hair, "It was worth it."
- page 250, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, Michelle Hodkin




I'm reading The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer this week. I am still at the beginning of the story, so I'm not sure what to feel about it so far except that I'm loving the mysterious setting. But then I accidentally read some spoiler while flipping through some random pages DX Now I'm very curious to know what was happening to Mara.

What's your Teaser Tuesday?

Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Delirium (Delirium #1)
by Lauren Oliver

Genre:  Dystopia, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Publication: February 2011
Format: Paperback, 441 pages
Author:  Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads
They say that the cure for Love will make me happy and safe forever.

And I've always believed them. Until now. Now everything has changed.

Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.

Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, when she falls in love.

This book has been sitting on my shelf for quite some times. I wanted to read Delirium for its positive reviews and beautiful cover (although my sister finds it a bit creepy). But I was hesitant to read the book because of the thickness. I was worried that I wouldn’t like it so much and I would be tortured to finish the book. I’m glad that I didn’t feel that way. Haha.

In Delirium, love is considered as a disease. The heroine, Lena was supposed to go through an assessment before a procedure to cure her from deliria disease. But days before her procedure, Lena met Alex and she fell in love.

Delirium pace was a little bit slow to my liking. I had a hard time getting into the book at the beginning where we were introduced to the disease. I just couldn’t grasp the idea where love is considered as a terrible disease. Really?  But I started to like the book a little more towards the end. Like any of the readers, I liked Hana more than Lena. Hana sounded much stronger than Lena. I liked her personality. But after a while, I began to like Lena a little more bit when she grew up and decided to fight back. But then, the story ended with a cliffhanger…

Overall, Delirium was quite a nice book on forbidden love. I do think that Lauren Oliver’s writing is beautiful. Even though I didn’t really like how Lauren Oliver ended the book with a cliffhanger, I had a feeling that the next book, Pandemonium would be much better than Delirium.  I’m looking forward to read the continuation.

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Clear Your Shelf Giveaway Hop! (INT)


Clear Your Shelf Giveaway Hop!  
May 7th – 13th

Clear your shelf giveaway hop is back! It is time to clear my shelf to make rooms for other books. To sign up, please enter your contact details in the form below, and pick the book of your choice. Here's the prize:


  • This is an International giveaway. However, I cannot accept any participation from Israel.
  • One entry per person, please.
  • Winner(s) will be notified via email.  Winner(s) will have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected. 
  • I'm not responsible for any lost package.
  • Have fun! And good luck :)

The winners of Clear Your Shelf Giveaway Hope are Nurmawati Djuhawan, Diana Fong and Rose. Congratulation!!

Thank you for participating.

Be sure to check out the other giveaway stops on this blog hop:




Friday, May 3, 2013

Review: Immortal Eclipse by Sherry Soule

Immortal Eclipse
by Sherry Soule

Genre:  Fantasy, Mystery, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Publication: April 19th 2013 by Moonlight Publishing, Inc.
Format: Paperback, 360 pages
Author:  Website, Twitter, Goodreads
A devoted fashionista and practical New Yorker, Skylar Blackwell doesn’t believe in the supernatural—until she inherits Summerwind Mansion. . . .

When her uncle is brutally murdered, and the cops seem uninterested in following up the case, Skylar journeys to California to seek answers. Her search for clues is soon overshadowed by haunting nightmares of a young woman also murdered in the house.

Now the inhabitants of Summerwind are mysteriously dying, leaving no evidence as to how or why, and Skylar finds herself in a deadly race against time to expose the killer—before they strike again.

The problem is . . . whoever it is may not be human.

Armed with only wit and Pradas, Skylar begins questioning the servants, but the growing list of suspects includes the sexy and brooding caretaker, Dorian, a man desperately trying to forget his tragic past. And a major distraction for Skylar.

Determined to play detective—instead of the fashion police—and unravel the dark history of the mansion, Skylar is plunged into an otherworldly mystery that not even she can explain away. As the boundaries between reality and dreams blur, Skylar’s greatest challenge is to stay alive long enough to learn the truth.

I received an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Skylar Blackwell inherited Summerwind Mansion from her deceased uncle, who she believed was murdered. When Skylar lost her job, she decided to go to California and find out the truth behind her uncle’s death. But it seemed that she wasn’t welcome to the Summerwind. Almost everyone warned her to leave the place. Then Skylar began to dream about a young woman. Strange, mysterious things began to happen including a few more deaths, but Skylar decided to risk her life and investigate what really happen in Summerwind Mansion.

I was intrigued by the summary. Mystery with paranormal romance? That sounded exciting! Skylar was a fun character. She was brave and curious enough to stay and wanting to discover the mystery behind Summerwind. I like how was described as a fashionista. I’m not a fan of fashion or branded names, but I think it was fun to see that part of Skylar. There are times when I think that Skylar sounded more like a teenager than 25 years old. But what got me frustrated with Skylar was how she decided to leave Summerwind and head back to New York but decided to stay in Summerwind to solve the mysterious death, in just a few seconds. I would be fine if this happen only once.

The love interest of Skylar was Dorian. I didn’t really like was the instant lust Skylar had towards Dorian. However, I like how Dorian wanted Skylar to stay in Summerwind and in the same time, he wanted Skylar to leave the place for her safety. It kinda makes me wonder if Dorian was the good guy or the bad guy. It helped a lot with the mysterious setting the author was aiming for. But I wish that the author didn’t drag this setup for too long. I love the other supporting characters a lot. The author created the characters each with their own purposes. But I wish that there were a lot more of Emma and Victor. 

Immortal Eclipse was creepy right from the start. I enjoyed the eerie and mysterious atmosphere surrounding Summerwind. I think the author did a great job portraying the mansion. The plot and the story progress were good. I really like how the author built the mystery and suspense throughout the story. The writing and short chapters make me wanting to read more and find out what really happen with the mansion. Immortal Eclipse was definitely an enjoyable, eerie, mysterious read with a dash of romance.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Spring Fling Giveaway Hop


Spring Fling Giveaway Hop
(May 1st – 7th)

One lucky winner will get the chance to win one of the books:



  • Please enter your contact details in the form below to enter this giveaway. Easy, right?
  • This is an International giveaway as long as BookDepository.com ship them to your country.
  • One entry per person.
  • Winner will be notified via email.  Winner will have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected. 
  • I'm not responsible for any lost package.
  • Have fun! And good luck :)

Be sure to check out the other giveaway stops on this blog hop:

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