2013

Monday, December 2, 2013

Buying Monday #1




Ufufufu~ akhirnya saya memutuskan untuk ikutan blog meme "Buying Monday" *maap Aul baru sekarangan aja ikutan hahaha*. Sebenernya sih konsepnya sama aja kayak STS yah, cuma karena STS kmrn itu rekapan dari 'dosa-dosa' beberapa bulan, jadi akhirnya saya putusin bikin post tersendiri untuk Buying Monday. Mostly adalah buku2 yang datang bulan lalu karena semuanya saya beli via online di BWB dan Book Depository, check this out yo :

Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales (B&N Fall River series)
The Exiled Queen - Cinda William Chima
Foretold - Carrie Ryan & Various Authors
The House of Hades - Rick Riordan
Allegiant - Veronica Roth
The Darkest Mind - Alexandra Bracken
The Iron Traitor - Julie Kagawa
The Hunger Games series - Suzanne Colins

Penampakan cover 'baru' versi UK seri Hunger Games which I really LOVE so much :D :

Okay, I just copy-paste them from previous post, obviously, tapi buku-buku ini yang datangnya bulan lalu. Saya mah selalu ngaco kalo purchase buku, lebih-lebih yang berbahasa Inggris xD. Abis baca satu beli baru sepuluh. LOL. Udah ngebet aja samber Allegiant cuma sekarang lagi sibuk baca 2 buku (Iron Knight dan The Two Towers)
So guys, mau ikutan meme ini? :)

  1. Follow The Black in The Books melalui email atau bloglovin'
  2. Buat post tentang buku-buku apa saja yang dibeli selama bulan itu, publish setiap hari Senin pertama di bulan berikutnya.
  3. Masukan link post tersebut di linky yang disediakan.
  4. Linky akan dibuka selama 8 hari.
  5. Bila ada yang memasukan link tentang book haul bulan berikutnya (bukan bulan yang ditentukan), maka link itu akan dihapus dari linky.
  6. Jangan lupa melihat-lihat book haul peserta lain! :D

What you've got last month? =)



Saturday, November 30, 2013

Stacking the Shelves [05]



Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosting by Tynga from Tynga's Review. It's about sharing all new books, physical or e-book form, you're adding to your shelf. They could be bought, borrowed or given to you.


I didn't post any STS post for ages yet I still received and bought books each month. So it's quite a pile ;)

Alice's Adventure in Wonderland & Other Stories (B&N Leatherbound Classic) - Lewis Carroll
The Throne of Fire - Rick Riordan
The Serpent's Shadow - Rick Riordan
Crash - Lisa McMann
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea - April Genevieve Tucholke
Girl of Nightmare - Kendare Blake
Deception - C. J. Redwine
The Eternity Cure - Julie Kagawa
The Demigod Diaries - Rick Riordan
Lola and the Boy Next Door - Stephanie Perkins
Shutdown - Heather Anastasiu
Catching Jordan - Miranda Kenneally
Wizard of Oz series Vol 1-5 - L. Frank Baum 

Jane Austen Seven Novels (B&N Leatherbound Classic)
Hans Christian Andersen Classic Fairy Tales (B&N Leatherbound Classic)
Through the Zombie Glass - Gena Showalter
Scarlet - A. G. Howard
The Girl of Fire and Throne - Rae Carson
Incarnate - Jody Meadows
The Demon King - Cinda William Chima
Dearly Beloved - Lia Habel
Bitterblue - Kristin Cashore
Unravel Me - Tahereh Mafi
Origin - Jennifer L. Armentrout
Ten - Gretchen McNeil

Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales (B&N Fall River series)
The Exiled Queen - Cinda William Chima
Foretold - Carrie Ryan & Various Authors
The House of Hades - Rick Riordan
Allegiant - Veronica Roth
The Darkest Mind - Alexandra Bracken
The Iron Traitor - Julie Kagawa
The Hunger Games series - Suzanne Colins

I especially LOVE this cover version of Hunger Games! Very shiny, gorgeous, just wow =D


I've been really happy with what I have gotten, 39 AMAZE-BALL BOOKS!!! YAY!

So what you got this week?
Happy reading and have a nice day guys! ^^

Elle's Little Updates and Confessions of a Moody-Procrastinator



Hi everyone~, how are you doing?

At first... YESH I'M STILL ALIVE. YAY!

... although this blog is pretty dead in state of coma *lesigh*

Seems like I could not keep the promise to improve this blog nor my reviewing skill this year. There were a lot of things happened on me these months which killed my blogging mood. For some reason I could not enjoy any activities aside of reading and watching some tv shows, that included blogging so yeah you see this blog is pretty dead. I feel so sorry and so sad because of it and I really miss this world where I can meet wonderful people around the world who have the same hobby with me.

FYI, I finally left the old problematic job behind and got a new one I've really wanted for so long and I move outside the town for it. But apparently the new job is really different from what I've expected and imagined it would be. I ended dislike it even at the first work day, grew really depressed and frustrated even I cried at the office. Tough life and I keep asking God what would He want with giving this job to me *lesigh*. But don't worry guys, I'm fine right now, crying has quite a great after-effect on me. I'll just move on and take the positive side of it, while I look for another nice job which I'd enjoy later and improve my skill in designing and visualizing. And of course, start blogging again!

So that's it guys. I hope I could see you soon in a new review or other post ^^. Have a dazzling day guys!




Tuesday, September 3, 2013

MOVIE REVIEWS : Percy Jackson and The Sea of Monster


Although I always hope for the best for any movies adapted from books, especially of those series I really really love, I also prepare myself to be a bit disappointed, because I know It's almost impossible to create a perfect movie adaptation from 400-500++ pages novels (except LOTR, of course) and people have different perception and imagination from each other.
I know it's just teaser movie poster, but I love this one than the original movie cover, pretty cool! =p
I was quite excited when I heard Sea of Monster were adapted into a movie considering the predecessor did not do well. In the Lightening Thief I felt I've lost Percy's and Annabeth's characters I love from the book but I was still excited though. After I watched the movie, I thought it was pretty okay and entertaining, more because I almost forgot the story of the novel, I read it several years ago. I was quite thankful I almost forgot it because they made a hella major change, it had very different storyline from the novel although the point was still the same (after I re-checked and re-read some part from the novel). It's understandable if most of Percy Jackson series fans were pretty disappointed because I felt that way as well. Here's my pros and cons list about this movie:

PRO (may contain spoilers):
- Annabeth was blond, finally
- the movie fixed Tyson's appearance to be more human and more nice-looking. He's cute and so in love with his brother in Poseidon, Percy, I like him =)
- the CG and effects were quite good, I especially loved how Hippocampus looks in this movie.
- I liked they cast Nathan Fillion as Hermes, with his two funny talking snakes called Martha and George. I was happy they're exist xD
- Thalia was exist in movie version, and how she resurrected *oops* in the end of the movie means there were a possibility for Curse of the Titan to be adapted into a movie as well.
- Clarisse did exist as well, though she's too pretty compare to how I've imagined her
- The movie is friendly enough and more general. I think this movie can be enjoyed by those who haven't read the books or watched the first movie.

CON :
- no matter how hard I want to understand, still, it's a waaaaaaaaaaaay different from the novel version, which is like always, book is always the best
- I didn't really like that Percy's and Annabeth's relationship were already warm and lovey-dovey. Where's the witty, sarcastic banter? I actually really wanted to hear Annie called Percy 'seaweed brain'. =_=
- Annabeth was, excuse my word, pretty useless in here. I've hoped him being more kick-ass and got more action scenes than just a smart-ass girl with a kind of demigod-tablet.
- Somehow I didn't really like the less-fierce version of Clarisse in here /:. She should be more biatchy and villain-like
- WHERE'S BLACKJACK???? Rawr! He should be appeared in this sequel, right? T^T
- Some demigod-traitors were already revealed in here and I was like "EEEEEH???? 0_o"
- I also disliked that Luke's last scene was shown more like comical scene /:

Such a mixed feeling, but well it's still enjoyable. Just forget the book and enjoy the movie.
I hope they would make the next sequel, The Titan's Curse so I could see Blackjack, Zoey Nightshade and Nico there.



Saturday, July 13, 2013

Stacking the Shelves [04]



Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosting by Tynga from Tynga's Review. It's about sharing all new books, physical or e-book form, you're adding to your shelf. They could be bought, borrowed or given to you.


Note : just made a new banner for my own version of STS, what'd u think? ;)

Wew, I haven't made an STS post for 2 months. I didn't get many books though, I restrain myself and try to be more selective on buying books, so yeah. I'll include books I've received in last 2 months into this post. Here they are :


The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Wither by Lauren deStefano
Heist Society by Ally Carter
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
From What I Remember by Stacy Kramer and Valerie Thomas
Queen of the Dead by Stacey Kade
Taken by Erin Bowman
Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris
Reboot by Amy Tintera
Rush by Eve Silver
Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
Beastly by Alex Flinn (kind of beaten cuz it's a used book I purchased from Better World and they sent one with bad condition. Ugh.)
Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins
Last Echo by Kimberly Derting
Timepiece by Myra McEntire
If I Should Die by Amy Plum
Bronze Gods by A.A. Aguire

I'm really happy with books I got, I've been really excited to get most of them. So far I've finished Sweet Peril and Unbreakable, both are SOOOOO AMAZING and I really love them! Heist Society, Wither, Hex Hall and Beastly are books I re-buy since I've sold the translation version of those books.

So those are new books for this week. What do you get this week?
Leave your links so I can check yours back =)



Monday, July 1, 2013

REVIEW : Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris


Unraveling

Author      : Elizabeth Norris
Publisher   : Balzer + Bray
Source      : Bought
Pages        : 464 (Hardback)

Summary from Goodreads :

Sixteen-year-old Janelle Tenner is used to having a lot of responsibility. She balances working as a lifeguard in San Diego with an intense academic schedule. Janelle's mother is bipolar, and her dad is a workaholic FBI agent, which means Janelle also has to look out for her younger brother, Jared.

And that was before she died...and is brought back to life by Ben Michaels, a mysterious, alluring loner from her high school. When she discovers a strange clock that seems to be counting down to the earth's destruction, Janelle learns she has twenty-four days to figure out how to stop the clock and save the planet.


Book Trailer :


Review :
This book has sat for more than a year on my shelf before I finally read it, and one of those books I decided to buy based on a pretty cover and a feeling that this book might be good. But of course, there was a bit hesitation because I actually had no idea what the story was about, the blurb and trailer didn't say much. I was afraid I wouldn't like this book though my friend loved this book and highly recommend it to me, until I read it myself. I feel really bad for abandoning this book for such a long time because it's REALLY GOOD! REALLY REALLY GOOD. I was glad that 'science fiction' tag is not only a bluff. I enjoyed reading this book so much, even brought my hardcover copy to my office (which obviously added a trouble lifting my heavy bag) because I wanted to know what would happen next. Well-paced and unpredictable, jam-packed with action and high stakes, with emotional, beautiful writing and engaging characters that will make you love them each page!

At first I was confused where the sci-fi and countdown-to-the-end-of-the-world part in this book, though it's still highly entertaining for me. At early pages we learn more about Janelle and her ordinary yet tough life. Also, it seemed more like criminal story because Janelle put a lot interest on her father's cases, and the last one is quite bizarre, involved a kind of bio-terrorism which put quite a disturbing image in my head. But then everything gets more exciting and becomes clear one by one after Janelle gets hit by a truck from nowhere, literally dead and gets resurrected by a mysterious boy named Ben Michaels. What's the connection between Ben Michaels, sort of bio-terrorism, and apocalypse? This book made me guessing a lot and yes, unpredictable. I really didn't see them coming and I really really LOVED that part =D

Since the start, I already fell in love with Janelle. I emotionally touched by her raw voice and thoughts, I easily connected to her interesting personality. She doesn't fake how tiring her life is and act a lot like normal girl who faces the same thing in the real world, still she love her family so much and takes a good care of them even her bipolar mother. Thankfully she's also surrounded by awesome people like her FBI father, her little brother Jared, and her best friend Alex and Cecily who helps her going through. It makes her grows a lot maturer and stronger, a bit cynical and sarcastic, also has a big curiosity because of her father influence. And of course there's Ben Michaels, the tragic beauty, but lovely Ben Michaels. I was so touched by everything he does for his friends and especially for Janelle *melting*. I think he's one of unique hero I've known and he's very complicated, not include his real identity, and I already add him to my too-long book-boyfriend list =D.
The secondary characters who keep showing up are very likable as well, like Jared, Struz, Cecily, Elijah and the others. They have their own unique personality that enrich the story. And just a warning, if you like one of them, just prepare your heart to badly break later. The ending part is so heart-breaking it brought tears on me, and made me want to start reading Unbreakable right away!

Overall, if you are a fan TV series like 24, Fringe, X-Files or Veronica Mars (I just copy it from everywhere else. I actually haven't watch any of them, yeah I'm so lame =_=), a fan of Sci-fi, Criminal and even Dystopia with great main characters, and don't mind reading "F" word that scatters like everywhere, you really don't want to miss this series! Romance doesn't take a big part in this book, remind you, but in my opinion, for this book small portion doesn't lessen the meaning =). I even think to start hunting some of TV series above because of this book ;p. Thank you Liz Norris for writing such an amazing series!

Happy reading! =)



Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Wishlist Wednesday #28



Wishlist Wednesday is a book blog hop where we will post about one book per week that has been on our wishlist for some tile, or just added (it's entirely up to you), that we can't wait to get off the wishlist and onto our wonderful shelves.
This blog meme is hosted by Pen to Paper, if you want to join please visit here to find more about this meme.

Nearly Gone
by Elle Cosimano
Expected publication: March 25th 2014

Summary from Goodreads :
Bones meets Fringe in a big, dark, scary, brilliantly-plotted urban thriller that will leave you guessing until the very end.

Nearly Boswell knows how to keep secrets. Living in a DC trailer park, she knows better than to share anything that would make her a target with her classmates. Like her mother's job as an exotic dancer, her obsession with the personal ads, and especially the emotions she can taste when she brushes against someone's skin. But when a serial killer goes on a killing spree and starts attacking students, leaving cryptic ads in the newspaper that only Nearly can decipher, she confides in the one person she shouldn't trust: the new guy at school—a reformed bad boy working undercover for the police, doing surveillance. . . on her.

Nearly might be the one person who can put all the clues together, and if she doesn't figure it all out soon—she'll be next.

Nearly Gone won't be released until March 2014 but I'm already excited to read it. It sounds like a great read about a girl with a lot of 'dark' secrets yet suddenly she gets involved in one crime scene and have to work together with a hot, bad boy who's working with police, just exactly my thing! =D

Anyone also considers this book to be on your TBR list?
What's your wishlist this week?



Tuesday, June 25, 2013

TTT #12 : Top Ten Books I've Read So Far In 2013



Top Ten Tuesday is a feature/weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. It's the best and fun way to share lists of certain topics with other fellow bloggers. If you want to participate, please visit their blog for further information! =D

I made my own TTT's banner with kind of vintage feeling. I'll use that from now on. What do you think of it? ;)

I only have a little reading time per day because of my full time job (and because I'm a crappy procrastinator and also suddenly I'm not really in the mood to read any book) so I have accomplished just less than a half from the target of Goodreads reading challenge until I had reducing number of book I'll read this year. Sigh. And I have tendency not to read the new release right away and let them piled up on my shelf so yeah probably most of books from this list are not new releases.

Top Ten Eight Books I've Read So Far In 2013


The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead
I love this series very much, and it's because of Adrian Ivashkov. I tell you enough ;)

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
I've never thought I would love this series before but I do! The best paranormal romance series I've read this year! And yes it's because of Kaidan Rowe ;)

Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins
The sequel of Sweet Evil and it's more amazing than the predecessor! Love this so much =D

The Host by Stephenie Meyer
I have hesitated a lot to read this book because of intimidating book size (the version I've read is huge and thick) and I finally read it before the movie hit the theater. And guess what, I love it! =)

Through The Ever Night by Veronica Rossi
Another sequel I've waited the most, and it's even more intense, amazing and also heart-breaking than before! Totally awesome!

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
Maybe it would be in everyone's list. I love how Clare did to 'solve' the most beautiful love triangle ever in this book. Love Will Herondale very much!

Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris
Just finished this book yesterday and wow I feel bad for abandoning this book for more than a year, can you believe it?! Because this book is really cool and awesome, everybody should read this book! And yeah BEN MICHAELS FOR LIFE! =D

Noah by Elizabeth Reyes
This book offers a controversial love story between younger guy and much older girl (age gap almost 10 years old) and I used to feel awkward about it. But the author did a good job turning it to be a sweet love story ever. Love it! =)

Yep, only eight of them because I don't read many books this year *sobs*

What do you think about books above? Are some of them also in your list?
So what books are in your list this week? =)



Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Rapid Fire Question


Yay! Dapet tag dari sodara sepupu saya Zenia untuk ikutan Rapid Fire Question! Thank you so much~~~ it looks so fun! =D
So rupanya ini adalah semacam meme pertanyaan berantai yang diadakan sama salah satu anggota BBI, dan ternyata saya bisa ikutan juga walopun masih belum jadi anggotanya.
Anyway, sebenernya saya udah bikin draft pertanyaan dalam bahasa inggris, tapi asli agak susah and a bit awkward gitu, jadi saya putuskan pake bahasa asli kita saja Bahasa Indonesia.

So, let's check this out, yo!

1. nambah atau ngurangin timbunan?
berhubung saya setahun ini lagi doyan banget ma YA novels, saya cenderung nimbun untuk buku2 impor, tapi sayangnya diimbangi dengan mengurangi timbunan buku terjemahan saya untuk bantu maintain hobi yang baru. Jadi... both lah =)

2. pinjam atau beli buku?
mungkin cenderung beli, saya org yang lebih suka 'punya sendiri' daripada pinjem org lain. Mangkanya ngga kaya2, wkkk.
Lagian pengalaman beberapa kali pinjem buku temen cuma yang tertentu aja yg kebaca, sisanya dibiarkan berdebu di meja dan berakhir dibalikin tanpa dibaca.

3. baca buku atau nonton film?
I like both, tapi kayaknya lebih banyak menghabiskan waktu baca buku. But yeah, I like both =)

4. beli buku online atau offline (ke toko buku yang temboknya bisa disentuh)?
offline kalo beli komik dan beberapa novel tertentu, online kalo buku impor, secara di tempat saya ngga ada toko buku impor juga.

5. (penting) buku bajakan atau ori?
kalo untuk koleksi saya lebih milih ori. bajakan yang sebangsa e-book cm buat screening kalo saya ngga yakin sama buku tertentu atau saya pengen tau soal buku tersebut tapi *ehem* males beli. Tapi tetep aja kayaknya lebih milih ori, kebanyakan e-book saya malah ketimbun aja ngga kebaca-baca dan saya ngrasa agak ngga nyaman baca ebook =p

6. gratisan atau diskonan?
sayang bgt saya ngga pernah beruntung untuk dapetin buku gratis dari semua giveaway yang saya ikutin, tapi mau bgt kalo dikasi =)
saya juga suka banget kalo ada event diskonan, apalagi di toko buku impor, hehe.

7. beli pre-order atau menanti dengan sabar?
sekarang kayaknya saya lebih milih pre-order di bookdepo terutama daripada menanti dengan sabar, walopun akhirnya toh sama aja datengnya malah lebih lambat daripada bukunya sendiri masuk ke toko buku impor di sini. Kalo pre-order biasanya lebih murah daripada beli biasa.

8. buku asing (terjemahan) atau lokal?
kalo ngomongin soal novel, percaya ato ngga, sejauh ingatan saya, saya ngga pernah sekalipun baca buku yang dikarang pengarang lokal. Entah kenapa, mungkin karena uda skeptis duluan *maaf para penulis, no offense ya =)*. Jadi untuk ini saya lebih milih buku asing.

9. pembatas buku penting atau biasa aja?
penting dong. Rasanya sayang kalo ngliat kertas yang terlipat buat batas buku gt

10. bookmark atau bungkus chicki?
gyaaaaa BIG NO WAY klo pake bungkus chiki! pake bookmark lah atau pakai potongan kertas gt.

Terus pertanyaan dari Kak Nia :

1. pernah nyoba audiobook? kalau belum, apakah tertarik? kalau sudah pernah, apakah masih tertarik?
ngga pernah nyoba dan sayang sekali masih belum tertarik. Kayaknya saya bisa langsung ketiduran kalo dengerin story telling, hehehe~

2. selain alasan review dan/atau ringkasan cerita di cover belakang dan/atau nama pengarang, apa yang mendorong buku itu dibaca atau dibeli?
udah pasti dong, COVER.
Saya org yg judging book by its cover akut, suka bgt ma cover yang bagus dan cantik =p

3. kapan saja baca buku? setiap ada waktu luang? sebelum tidur? atau ada waktu khusus?
setiap ada waktu luang, sebelum tidur, dan kalo ada waktu (luang) khusus =D. Di kantor aja saya bawa buku kok buat ngisi kalo ada waktu kosong pas istirahat ato pas nunggu.

4. buku apa yang dibaca langsung dari awal sampai akhir tanpa istirahat (kecuali untuk makan dan mandi dan urusan kamar mandi atau hal-hal emergency)?
Harry Potter! =)

5. buku apa yang meskipun ada versi filmnya tapi memilih untuk tidak menonton versi filmnya? Dan buku apa yang tidak dibaca tapi lebih langsung menonton filmnya?
kayaknya kalo adaptasi dari buku yang udah saya baca, saya selalu tertarik untuk nonton filmnya. Kalo buku yang tidak/belum baca bukunya tapi lebih milih langsung nonton filmnya.... agak jarang sih tapi mungkin yang deket ini Great Gatsby kali ya.

So that's my answers =)
Saya ngga ngasi 5 pertanyaan balik karena kayaknya udah terlambat saya ngeposnya but still it's fun =)
Happy reading guys! ;)



Tuesday, May 21, 2013

TTT #11 : Top Ten Favorite Book Covers Of Books I've Read



Top Ten Tuesday is a feature/weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. It's the best and fun way to share lists of certain topics with other fellow bloggers. If you want to participate, come visit their blog for further information! =D

Maybe it's a bit shallow or just because I love arts, but for me, cover probably is one of the most important aspect that can make me decided if I would read or purchase certain book or not. I do a lot judging book by its cover though I know it's wrong. Bad cover will make me quite bad mood and though the story might be nice, I could loss any interest on the book. Yeah that's me =).
With no particular order, here's covers of books I've read that I love :

Top Ten Favorite Book Covers Of Books I've Read


Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
I always love color combination of black, white and red like Article 5 cover, plus a boy and a girl who are facing the devastated city, so fascinating!

Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Unlike most of others, I prefer this cover version than the hardcover one. This is very cool and have more sci-fi feeling.

Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren
Look how puh-ree-tee this cover is! Love how it has meadieval feeling in it. =D I was so eager to read this book just because the cover (and thankfully the story is as beautiful as the cover! =D)

Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi
This series has very pretty cover, and I really love this one. Love the color and Perry in there! =D

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer L. Smith
Another black-white-red combination, this book was really catching my eyes at first sight. and I really LOVE the fun and interesting typography =)

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
Actually I'm cheating, I read the translation version with very different cover which is quite okay, but I really love the original version especially this UK one, for the entire books of this series. It's really creative, looks cute and intriguing at the same time

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
I love how they arranged the picture and the titles and makes St.Clair 'mysterious'. Quite simple and lovely.

Matched by Ally Condie
This is one example how something simple could be so attractive. I really love this cover! (though I didn't really love the story =p) And it goes perfectly with the storyline. So fascinating!

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
One of simple but really fascinating cover. Actually it has very less touch but the picture, the mysterious and dark feeling inside and the fonts are perfectly combined it makes this book very intriguing and makes people very curious about this book. LOVE!

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
I really love this series's cover, especially Clockwork Princess. I feel the designer pulled out their best effort and did their best to design the covers. So breathtakingly beautiful!


... and suddenly I realize I picked some certain color tones and I swear I don't do it on purpose. Do you notice it? ;D
Is there any cover you also love from what I pick above? What do you think about them?




Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Wishlist Wednesday #27


PhotobucketWishlist Wednesday is a book blog hop where we will post about one book per week that has been on our wishlist for some tile, or just added (it's entirely up to you), that we can't wait to get off the wishlist and onto our wonderful shelves.
This blog meme is hosted by Pen to Paper, if you want to join please visit here to find more about this meme.



Allegiant
by Veronica Roth

Summary from Goodreads :
What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?

The explosive conclusion to Veronica Roth’s #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

OF COURSE I CAN'T WAIT TO READ ALLEGIANT! =DDDD
I already could not wait to read Allegiant after I finished with Insurgent. I'm really happy with the gorgeous cover (btw, I'm really curious with the wave instead of any symbol, does it mean anything?), the gorgeous title and expecting the great conclusion as well!

What's you WW this week? Are you already excited to read Allegiant like me? =)

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

REVIEW : The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead



The Indigo Spell

Author      : Richelle Mead
Publisher   : Razorbill
Source      : Bought
Pages        : 401 (Hardback)

Summary from Goodreads :
In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, the Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive—this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone’s out for blood.

Book trailer :
This book has a LOT of trailers which have a LOT of Sydrian moments! YAY! Just check THIS out, will ya! ;)

Review :
May contain spoiler from Bloodlines and The Golden Lily though I try to minimize it, so if you haven't read The Golden Lily of even haven't start this series, you might want to skip this review. If you want to risk, just go ahead ;).

As quite a big fan of VA and Bloodlines series, of course I was as really excited as the others to read The Indigo Spell (I even watched the trailers, SIX awesome trailers over and over again!), so when this book came I immediately push aside the other books I've planned to read at that time and read this with ridiculous excitement. I couldn't wait to meet the beloved characters here, a.k.a Sydney and ADRIAN, the ADRIAN IVASHKOV, gosh now positively I love him more than Dimitri! =D
Anyway, of course I loved this book! At first I was afraid the relationship between Sydney and Adrian would be back forward or be awkward because of unfortunate event at the end of The Golden Lily, but thankfully it's all still very normal, as normal as Sydney and Adrian have been before with all funny, witty, swoon-worthy moments, mostly from Mr. Ivashkov =D.

Like always, I really enjoyed how Mead carefully and steadily developed everything in each volume. Sydney, for some reason, has been taking a special place in my heart since I read about her for the first time in Blood Promise and I admire her more in this book! Sydney grows more rebellious and involves deeper in magic world as she starts to question the Alchemist' reliability. She grows more endearing and 'stronger', and also she finally follows her heart regarding to irresistible Adrian Ivashkov. I think I can't thank Ms. Mead enough for created a creature as 'perfect and imperfect in the same time' as Adrian! I love seeing him grows a lot maturer and steadier, far away from a rich-spoiled-drunkard boy in VA. His love to Sydney is very strong and unwavering, he never stops supporting Sydney and always be there for her and I loved to see how Sydney, though in a kind of denial, mutually responds to it. Their adorable interaction is my most favorite part, reading them made me smile widely and swoon heavily! I was soooooo glad finally Sydney takes a very important decision developing her relationship with Adrian to the very next step! =DDD

One thing that actually quite a disappointment of this book for me is Marcus Finch. I was expecting his appearance would twist some aspects, well a little part in me hoped he would be Adrian's rival (I know I was being very rude to beloved Adrian to have a thought like that *while hiding from raging fangirls*) or anything that would make the story be more exciting since he seemed having a special promotion pre-publication. In reality, maybe Adrian has landed a good punch on him but otherwise he almost has no meaningful role even at some times I annoyed at how he thinks and behaves. But I know how genius Richelle Mead is at shocking us so I still have this faith Mead would develop Marcus' role in the future books.

Now I'm very thrilled to read The Fiery Heart, since we'll see the story from Adrian's point of view as well! WOW! =D. I can't wait to read what would happen to Sydney and Adrian after unexpected thing happened at the ending. Mead also has promised us an important scene as powerful as in Shadow Kissed, which quite worry me. I also can't wait to dive into the magic world with Sydney as I found it's very interesting. Can not wait until November! =D



Monday, April 29, 2013

REVIEW : Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins


Sweet Evil

Author      : Wendy Higgins
Publisher   : HarperTeen
Source      : Bought
Pages        : 453 (Paperback)

Summary from Goodreads :
Embrace the Forbidden

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?

This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels.

Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She's aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. It isn't until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He's the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

Review:
I need to confess that at first I decided to buy Sweet Evil because of the cover, look how pretty it is! For the story, actually I didn't expect too much, I even have prepared myself I might not like this book because from the revealed summary, the story could go wrong like some other books about Angels and Demons. But maybe it's a perk of not expect anything on the first place, because this book is surprisingly very AMAZING! I totally fall in love with the story!
The story is well-balance, not too complicated, not too paranormal, even feels a bit more contemporary, but it's still very intriguing and fascinating, thanks to Wendy Higgin's exceptional writing skill! The characters are so wonderful and charming in their own way and talking about the chemistry between them especially the romance between Anna and Kaidan, WOW! Even the 'almost' moments can be so steamy and sexy *fanning myself*. Glad to find another refreshing Angel series which is quite unique and original, evil yet sweet in the same time, the title tells it damn right! =D

Higgins took a different side of Nephilim and mixed it with seven deadly sins concept (and she even added some sins). It's very interesting and I enjoy every detail of it. They are sons and daughters between demons and humans and they have a purpose in this earth, to spread bad influences to humans in this world based on their demon-parents job. This concept was actually the one that make me a bit worried at first. I really love Anna's characters and can easily relate her to myself. I loved and respected her for being such an angel, so genuinely good, and not that sickening kind of good, innocent and sweet, willing to control herself to refuse any bad temptations. But then she meets Kaidan Rowe, a nephilim, a son of Demon of Lust who literally flips her world almost upside-down. While I read this book, I was actually waiting for the moment when Anna would disappoint me, like turned to be a new bad girl since she was mandated to be one, lost all the goodness in her in the name of love to Kaidan. Well, I can't actually blame her though because who won't be in love to a hot, perfect bad boy like him??? Instead, every page made me so excited, I didn't find any single disappointing moment. I even grew to love Anna and Kaidan more on each page! Thanks God! Anna is still the good Anna although she grows stronger and more determined than before and Kaidan totally stole my heart. I found myself rooting for the forbidden love between Anna and Kaidan, I sympathized him so much and felt bad for everything that happened on him and other fellow nephilims.
The support characters are also very wonderful. I really liked Patty and Anna's demon father. He's very cool! I also especially enjoyed fun moments we met other nephilims like Kopano, Blake, Marna and Ginger.

I used to be a bit worry about this, but in reality thankfully I wasn't. One thing you should know, Higgins subtly included some religious (Christianity) aspects in this book. So obvious but yet not too overwhelming so it can be enjoyed by all people. And what made me so grateful is that she did it with a lot of respect. I didn't find it offending at all and the Christian side of me still can enjoy it as a part of fiction's flavoring. Thank you so much, Wendy Higgins! =D

Right now I'm impatiently waiting for my copy of the sequel, Sweet Peril. The ending was very heartbreaking and my heart bled for Kaidan actually, yeah he successfully makes me so cheesy *sobs*. I really can't wait to know what would happen with Anna, Kaidan and the other Nephilims on the next book! =D
Of course I have to highly recommend it to everyone, though considering some steamy scenes in this book (and Kaidan is son of Demon of Lust, you can guess what would you find then) maybe this book is more suitable for older young adults. However, this book is well worth to be read so don't miss this awesome debut series! Oh, and maybe you want to read two special chapters from Kaidan's POV that you can find on here (chapter 1) and here (chapter 26). Trust me they are so swoooooooooon-worthy! ;D
Happy reading! =)


Saturday, April 27, 2013

Stacking the Shelves [03]



Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosting by Tynga from Tynga's Review. It's about sharing all new books, physical or e-book form, you're adding to your shelf. They could be bought, borrowed or given to you.

Actually I planned to make monthly STS, but the pile is getting high so I make another one STS this month. Awesome books I got from last 2 weeks :

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare *I'm already finished this and one word : AMAZING! =D*
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Dark Triumph by Robin LaFever
Perchance of Dream by Lisa Mantchev
Immortal City by Scott Speer
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Fire by Kristin Cashore
Revived by Cat Patrick
The Selection by Kiera Cass
Delirium Stories by Lauren Oliver
(I didn't include Social Suicide because it's already at last weeks STS =))

With these, finally I got two complete series :

Aren't they sooooo pretty??? =D
I'm sad they have to end but so happy because they look really good together! I just need a bigger bookshelf so I can exhibit them properly. Yum!

Those are what I got, what do you got this week?
Happy reading, everyone! =D