Leap into Books Giveaway Hop

Hello everyone! Welcome to my stop of the Leap into Books Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Jinky is Reading.

Rules:

1. One winner will get a $15 gift card from Amazon.

2. Fill in the rafflecopter and that's it.
3. Open to everyone!

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Musings: The DNF Dilemma

Oh my God another post about DNF? Someone was asking me about the DNF and it got me thinking real deep. Why so many DNFs early on this year? Will I read the book which I DNF again after some time? I did actually. For example I was ready to abandoned this weird series about futuristic ship in space but after giving the third book another shot I found I actually like it.

Before, I started blogging I would feel no pressure to read and sometimes would probably DNF a book I didn't like without thinking about it twice. I'm one of those impatient reader and the need for the story to move in a brisk pace is certainly my utmost desire. I don't want to be stuck in pages of a book wondering what it is all about because yeah we have better things to do.

But when I started blogging and getting all this ARCs, I thought a DNF is strictly forbidden because we get the books for free. Yowza!

Seriously, forcing yourself to read something that you could have probably guess how it will going to end or a book which is not up my alley is such a torture! When I get impatient, I'll probably skipp the middle pages to get to the ending. So most of my DNFs are actually books that I've read the early chapters and the last three chapters. I would never ever just totally abandoned a book halfway without finding out how it'll end. No matter how much I hated the characters or the plot.

Phew, I'm glad that I have let those out of my chest. I feel that I need to explain what my definition of DNFs are. What about you guys? To DNF or not to DNF?

Waiting on Wednesday #63: House of Ivy and Sorrow

Waiting on Wednesday is a wonderful meme created by Jill from Breaking the Spine where we highlighted an upcoming release that we're eagerly anticipating.

House of Ivy & Sorrow
by Natalie Whipple
Paperback, 352 pages
Expected publication: April 15th 2014 

by Harper Teen

Summary from Goodreads:

Josephine Hemlock has spent the last 10 years hiding from the Curse that killed her mother. But when a mysterious man arrives at her ivy-covered, magic-fortified home, it’s clear her mother’s killer has finally come to destroy the rest of the Hemlock bloodline. Before Jo can even think about fighting back, she must figure out who she’s fighting in the first place. The more truth Jo uncovers, the deeper she falls into witchcraft darker than she ever imagined. Trapped and running out of time, she begins to wonder if the very Curse that killed her mother is the only way to save everyone she loves.

Babble:
I have never read Transparent or anything by this author before but this one looks really good. The mix of dark magic and a magic-fortified home is so tempting for me.

Review: The Secret Diamond Sisters

The Secret Diamond Sisters 
(The Secret Diamond Sisters #1) 
by Michelle Madow
ebook, 384 pages 
February 25th 2014 
by Harlequin Teen
ARC from Netgalley
Goodreads | Amazon| B & N | TBD

Savannah. Courtney. Peyton.

The three sisters grew up not knowing their father and not quite catching a break. But it looks like their luck is about to change when they find out the secret identity of their long-lost dad—a billionaire Las Vegas hotel owner who wants them to come live in a gorgeous penthouse hotel suite. Suddenly the Strip's most exclusive clubs are all-access, and with an unlimited credit card each, it should be easier than ever to fit right in. But in a town full of secrets and illusion, fitting in is nothing compared to finding out the truth about their past. 

I was tempted by that beautiful cover and the promise of a fun rags to riches story involving three sisters with their own distinct personalities. But after awhile, it gets tedious to read about how the girls cope with their changed lives and how awesome living in Las Vegas is.

I was expecting for some kind of quirky, funny antics but the sisters are just typical bland characters in my opinion. Savannah the youngest of the sisters is just so desperate for attention and wanted to please her new found friends so much. Coutney the supposedly more mature, smarty pants fell in love with their future stepbrother. And Peyton the oldest sister with a chip on her shoulder just annoyed me so much with her behaviour. It is no suprise that she fell in love with her bodyguard; Jackson.

And don't even get me started with the absent parents thing. Adrian Diamond is such a jerk that I'm surprised that the sisters are willing to put up with such an unemotional available father. Despite its promise of glitzy and glamorous Las Vegas, this book just felt short in my opinion. I'd rather watch reruns of The Gossip Girls to get my share of rich bitchy girls at their best and worst behaviour.

Book Blitz & Giveaway: Shattered Worlds

Hi, everyone! Today I'm having a Book Blitz for the Shattered Worlds Box Set.

Shattered Worlds 
Publication date: February 26th 2014 
Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult 

Read these bestselling tales of survival against the odds, dark worlds, dystopian regimes and heroic rebels. 

Shattered Worlds features six full-length novels from bestselling authors. Immerse yourself in post-apocalyptic civilizations and bleak near-futures where hope still lives. 

Featured authors and books are:

Elle Casey: Apocalypsis

Shalini Boland: Outside 

Zoe Cannon: The Torturer’s Daughter 

Scott Cramer: Night of the Purple Moon 

Sarah Dalton: The Blemished 

Katie French: The Breeders

Goodreads | Amazon | B & N | Kobo | Smashwords

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Review: Fire & Flood

Fire & Flood (Fire & Flood #1) 

by Victoria Scott 

ebook, 320 pages 

February 25th 2014 

by Scholastic Press

ARC from Netgalley

Goodreads | Amazon| B & N | TBD

A modern day thrill ride, where a teen girl and her animal companion must participate in a breathtaking race to save her brother's life—and her own. 

 Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can't determine what's wrong, her parents decide to move to Montana for the fresh air. She's lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying—and she's helpless to change anything.

Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It's an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother's illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there's no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race. The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can't trust the allies she makes. 

And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place? 

I never expected to be so blown away by Fire and Flood despite the early hype saying that it is the next The Hunger Games. And although it lacks the grittiness and the war torn setting of that well known book, I'm glad to say that the adrenaline rush in this one makes it quite hard to resist. And compared to Katniss, Tella is a much more likeable character for me what with her naivety and her willingness to make friends much more easily. She's definitely the underdog in this race without prior knowledge of what's going on and any apparent ability or talent. (Unlike that bow slinging Katniss).

                      " I was always the girl who'd rather cheer from the sidelines than participate in something that'd make her sweat. I'm not a softball star or a volleyball champion or someone who knows her way around a basketball court.
                      But I can run like the wind."

Rather than listing all the similarities between these two books, let me just pointed out why I like this book so much.

1. There's plenty of kick-ass chicks in this one. Tella; the main character is certainly severely outshine by Harper that beautiful killing machine. 

2. Every Contender gets a Pandora which is a genetically enhanced animal created to help them in the Brimstone Bleed. And each animal has some kind of powers. There's a lion who can breath fire. So cool!

3. Instead of going alone through the race, our girl; Tella decides to team up with some highly unusual characters. But they work as a team. I love them. 

4. Tella's Pandora fox is amazing!

5. I did not see that twists in the story when it ends. Wow, talk about some explosive revelations!

However, the instant love between Tella and Guy just really confused me. I just feels as if their romance just come out of nowhere? And Dink's obsession with Tella is just super creepy. And as much as I like how the author explains the origins of the Brimstone Bleed, I JUST WANTED MORE and I don't think it's good enough reason for someone to go through all this trouble of creating a race just to exact revenge. 

Waiting on Wednesday #62: Stolen Songbird

Waiting on Wednesday is a wonderful meme created by Jill from Breaking the Spine where we highlighted an upcoming release that we're eagerly anticipating.

Stolen Songbird (The Malediction Trilogy #1)

by Danielle L. Jensen
Expected publication: April 1st 2014 

by Strange Chemistry 

Summary from Goodreads:

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

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

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

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

Babble:
I just love high fantasy and this one sounds really good.

Review: Perfect Lies

Perfect Lies (Mind Games #2)
by Kiersten White
eARC, 240 pages
Published February 18th 2014

by HarperTeen

ARC from Netgalley
Goodreads |  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | TBD

Annie and Fia are ready to fight back.

The sisters have been manipulated and controlled by the Keane Foundation for years, trapped in a never ending battle for survival. Now they have found allies who can help them truly escape. After faking her own death, Annie has joined a group that is plotting to destroy the Foundation. And Fia is working with James Keane to bring his father down from the inside.

But Annie's visions of the future can't show her who to trust in the present. And though James is Fia's first love, Fia knows he's hiding something. The sisters can rely only on each other - but that may not be enough to save them. 

This is a hard one. I really, really like Kiersten's earlier work and Mind Games was one of my favourite for last year. But now that I have the chance to look back and really reflect, I realised that Kiersten's writing just didn't click with me this time. I tried so hard to like this series and ended up being slightly confused on why had I like the first book so much. It's really quite a stretch for me to read about characters that get on my nerves. And boy, Fia just got on my nerves big time. Since the book alternately switch POV's between the two sisters; the blind Annie and the crazy Fia, I flipped through most of Fia's part rather quickly.

I know we're supposed to feel sorry for her but she's so unlikeable. She thinks about killing people, or hurting people all the time. And when she's not into violent thoughts, she's into dancing. What? I was wishing most of the time that someone will eventually shoot her to end her misery.

And Annie? I just don't connect with Mary Sue. And she's pretty much one. I know she's blind and all that but being too dependent on people around her just makes it hard. In the first book she's holed up in the special school controlled by the Keane Foundation but now that she's escaped, she is rather useless even with her visions of the future. Thankfully, the story is really short because it's only 159 pages on ebook. Otherwise, I might just go crazy and ended up just like Fia.

February New Release Giveaway Hop

Hello everyone! Welcome to my stop of the February New Release Giveaway Hop hosted by Giselle from Bo-ok Nerd.

Rules:

1. One winner will get a book which is released in February from The Book Depository. Some of my pick for this month is shown below but you're free to choose any book as long as it's released this month.

2. Open to everyone where The Book Depository ships to. 

3. Fill in the rafflecopter and that's it.

 
 

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FF Friday #17

Hi, everyone! It's time for another Feature and Follow Friday.

Q: Find a "new to you blogger" and feature their button on your post this week. Tell us why this blogger stands out to you.

On, my. There's so many new bloggers that I just discovered this year. But Kristen's;  My Friends are Fiction caught my eye from the beginning. I just love their lego themes and those buttons are so adorable. You guys should also check out their lego version of popular YA book covers. So damn cute!

 

Musings: New Year New Design

If you guys have been following my blog for some time, you'll probably notice how often I seemed to change everything up on my blog. A little here, a little there. For almost 3 years, I've been using free blogger template from various sites such as Plumrose Lane, TheCutestBlogintheBlock and others that I can't really remember.

Now with the year 2014, I've decided to finally find a real blog designer to help me out and the result is amazing. I'm no techie and Photoshop just annoyed me so this is perfect. Stephanie and Jessica from Hopeless Romantics help me in no time at all and the best part is that it's so affordable!

If you guys are thinking that a custom blog design is going to cost you an arm and leg..well think again. Check out their portfolio since they have been designing other blogs which also look amazing! I can't stop gushing. What do you guys think of the design? Now on to my next quest; to rename the blog or move it to Wordpress. Oh, dear..I'm going to need a lot of help with that one.

Book Blitz & Giveaway: Cornerstone

Hi, everyone! Today I'm having a Book Blitz for the book Cornerstone by Kelly Walker.

Cornerstone by Kelly Walker 
(Souls of the Stones #1) 
Publication date: November 30th 2013 
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult 

Epic Fantasy combines with Young Adult romance in this stunning new adventure set in a richly developed medieval world. Second Stone and Broken Stone are now available! Also be sure to look for Jaded Stone, the thrilling prequel to the Souls of the Stones series. 

When Emariya Warren learns enemy forces have captured her father, she’ll do anything to save him. Anything. Even marry a mysterious prince she knows nothing about in order to rally the strength to arrange a rescue. During her journey to Torian’s foreign castle, Emariya comes face to face with her mother’s killers–and a deadly secret. 

Not only does Emariya possess a powerful but unexpected magical gift passed down through each of her families, the prince she’s promised to marry possesses a third, and an ominous prophecy has warned the three gifts must never be combined.

If she breaks her promise to marry Torian, she won’t be able to save her father and if she keeps it, she may bring a curse upon everything she holds dear. Determining which choice is best won’t be easy, but when she meets the gorgeous prince who may desire more than just her heart, she realizes she will have to fight just to have a choice at all. 

Her heart wants him desperately. Her head begs her to run. If she doesn’t want to share her mother’s fate, she’ll have to find a way to untangle the truth from the lies in time to save herself.

Discover the heartbreaking betrayals, fascinating magic and fated love of Cornerstone.

Goodreads | Amazon| B & N | 

 Kelly Walker is a YA and NA author of several romantic titles, including the Souls of the Stones series. She has an unhealthy appreciation for chocolate, and a soft spot for rescued animals. Her best lessons on writing came from a lifetime of reading. She loves the fantastical, and the magical, and believes a captivating romance can be the most realistic magic of all. Kelly, her husband and her two children share their Virginia home with three dogs who walk her, and two cats who permit her to occasionally share their couch.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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Review: The Tyrant's Daughter

The Tyrant's Daughter 
by J.C. Carleson 
ebook, 304 pages 
February 11th 2014
by Knopf Books for Young Readers
ARC from Netgalley
Goodreads | Amazon| B & N | TBD

When her father is killed in a coup, 15-year-old Laila flees from the war-torn middle east to a life of exile and anonymity in the U.S. Gradually she adjusts to a new school, new friends, and a new culture, but while Laila sees opportunity in her new life, her mother is focused on the past. She’s conspiring with CIA operatives and rebel factions to regain the throne their family lost. Laila can’t bear to stand still as an international crisis takes shape around her, but how can one girl stop a conflict that spans generations? J.C. Carleson delivers a fascinating account of a girl—and a country—on the brink, and a rare glimpse at the personal side of international politics. 

It is certainly interesting to read about the so-called 'the other side' where we get to experienced first hand how the families of a fictional middle east dictator survived the aftermath of a fallen kingdom. And the fact that this book is purportedly written an ex-CIA officer just intrigued me.

I can't imagined how someone so young can go through all that and still retain her sanity. I mean to discover that your own father is responsible for the death of countless lives is harrowing. And as hard as Laila tried to adapt to her new life, she can't seemed to shake that sense of dread and responsibility that haunts her small family. At first, you can't help but feel sorry for Laila but as the story progress and we get a glimpse of how other families from her own country tried to live in the U.S., it just annoyed me that she didn't do more for them. It took her awhile to finally stand up to her mother who still desperately clings to the notion of life of luxury despite living in a rundown two bedroom apartment. And her younger brother is so clueless and still thinks of himself as the rightful prince to the lost kingdom.

I can't help but think that this is more of an in-between book. We only get glimpses of Laila's life after she left her country and before she actually went back there in the end. I mean the conditions of her family's return isn't that perfect and I get the feeling that it's more like choosing between the lesser of two evils but to realize that this book is partly inspired by real life situations disturbed me greatly. 

Review: Siege and Storm

Siege and Storm (The Grisha #2) 
by Leigh Bardugo Hardcover, 
432 pages 
Published June 4th 2013
 by Henry Holt and Co.HarperTeen
Goodreads | Amazon| B & N | TBD

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long. The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her--or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm. 

I wanted to write a long and gushing review on how I enjoyed this book so much but since so many people have beaten me to it maybe it's better if I start my review with the most appropriate GIF for this book.

I can't believe I've been putting off reading this book since June last year. It's been 6 months! Now after finishing it, I just feel so overwhelmed with happiness, sadness, excitement and a whole other feelings that's hard to described. This book is much, much better than the first. And the introduction of new characters just takes the excitement to a whole new level. 

Creating a dangerous pair of crazy warrior Grisha twins (otherwise known as Tamar and Tolya) is just pure genius. And the devilishly handsome and totally unpredictable pirate ehem...privateer also known as Sturmhond either makes me want to whack his head so much or kiss him. 

An example of how outrageously funny Strumhond is.

                He shook his head. "And I'm notoriously immune to tales of woe. So unless your story involves a talking dog, I don't want to hear it. Does it?"
                "Does it what?"
                "Involve a talking dog."
                "No," I snapped. "It involves the future of a kingdom and everyone in it."
                "A pity," he said.

The love triangle  (more like a square to me) is totally acceptable. The only gripe I have is the relationship between Mal and Alina which is filled with ups and downs. But really I had to hand it to Mal for being so totally loyal to Alina even after all that has happened between them. His undying faith and love to Alina moves me to tears. God, I really can't wait for the next book to see who Alina will finally choose. Mal, the Darkling or maybe Sturmhond?