Heavenly Saturday

Heavenly Saturday is a new meme hosted by Precious (*coughs* me) from Fragments of Life, which features verses from the Bible that can spark inspirations within our lives. Personally, I have experienced God in my life and I can attest to the fact that He is 'real.' If He isn't, I don't think I'll be where I am right now.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart

Lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him

And He will direct your path."

Proverbs 3: 5-6

Thank you to my friend Luce for the wonderful picture! :)

Angelic Friday (02-12-10)

Since the day I read Hush, hush, I've become so fascinated with angels and other divine creatures - fallen or not. I've decided to do host a new meme called Angelic Friday. Angelic Friday features books that explore the lives of angels, nephilims and fallen angels.

For today, I'm going to feature the book that started it all - the book that sparked and entirely kindled my fascination on angels: Hush, hush by Becca Fitzpatrick!

Book Description:

Romance was not part of Nora Grey's plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment.
But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those who have fallen -- and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.

First Impression:

I stumbled upon the Hush, hush while I was browsing the page of Shiver at the B&N site. It was included in the 'Customers who bought this also bought' part. 'The cover was so striking that I decided right there and then that I just have to buy it. The cover of Hush, hush is one of the most stunning covers I've ever seen. Plus, it really gave me a dark, dangerous and mysterious vibe.

My Thoughts:

Hush, hush is one of my favorite novels! I read this novel on a school night. I was barely able to sleep. And no, I'm not exaggerating! I really couldn't put this one down. I couldn't let Patch down.

Nora is a normal girl in high school. On a fateful day in Biology class, she gets partnered with a senior transferee who never talked in class - Patch - and on their first conversation ever, she gets creeped out. Patch seems to know a lot of things about Nora. To make things worse, he doesn't seem to care about their bio homework. With a tinge of annoyance and a sense that her bio partner is dangerous, she journeys through life as normally as she could. I got attached to Nora. She maintains her Nora-ish personality throughout the novel. And that's what I like about her.

Patch is the best badboy character I've ever encountered. Really! I've read lots of novels after Hush, hush but no other badboy can claim superiority above Patch. His character is strongly developed and is very realistic. He has this 'macho' identity. With a mouthful of innuendos and angelic allure, he can make any girl fall into temptation.

I really liked every bit of this novel. The plot was wow-worthy. Fitzpatrick weaved all the scenes in perfect order and released enough information regarding Patch's mystery at the right time. One of the things that I like about this is that there were lots of unexpected things that really surprised me. On the latter part of the book, many things were unraveled and I was left thinking: "I didn't see that coming! I never even thought of it!" I absolutely enjoyed it!

With a ton of questions, an admirer asking her out all the time, a school psychologist that tells her to stay away from her bio partner, a stalker, and Patch lingering beside her, alluring as ever, will Nora find out what's really happening around her before it's too late?

Hush, hush is a story of hope, chance and love. It opens our eyes to the fact that no matter how bad you are, there is always a chance for you to change for the better. No matter how hard we fall, we can always rise with a new surge of perseverance and hope. Love is found in the strangest places, in this case Nora found it in Patch - a guy she disliked in the beginning.

Hush, hush is a fast paced, thrilling and hypnotic novel that lures readers into the coldness of Maine where mysteries breed and secrets are unraveled in a maze full of twists and turns. Readers are bound to want the sequel - Crescendo that will be coming out later this year.

International Contests

Larissa at Welcome to Larissa's Life is having a 350 followers giveaway! Like most of her contests, this one is also open internationally. There will be 3 winners and for every 50 more followers that she get, she will add more winners!


There are 8 prizes to choose from:

Go here and enter!

Robby at Once Upon a Book Blog is having a January/February contest. You can win a book that came out last month or will be coming out this month. Go to her blog and comment! This contest ends on February 28.


Here are some of the books that came out last month or will come out this February:


Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers
Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder
Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson
All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab
The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard
Pretty Little Liars - Heartless by Sara Shepard
Boys, Girls, and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman
In A Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth
Getting Revenge On Lauren Wood by Eileen Cook

Wings at Story Wings is having an international 49 followers contest! For every 25 more followers, she will three more books to her awesome pile of prizes! As of now, there will be two winners.

The Prizes (More will be added soon depending on the followers she gains):

Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder
Going too Far by Jennifer Echols
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater
Shiver by Maggie Steifvater
Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
Firespell by Chloe Neil
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Darklight by Lesley Livingston
Fallen by Lauren Kate


Soooo many books to chose from!
Follow her and enter the giveaway here!

Reggie at The Undecover Booklover is turning 15 next month! To celebrate this special event, she's holding a Birthday Bash Contest!

One winner will take all of the following:

1 Finished copy of The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
1 Finished copy of The Sight by Judy Blundell
1 Finished copy of Voices of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn
1 Finished copy of Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready
1 Finished copy of The Line by Teri Hall
1 Finished copy of The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott
1 Finished copy of The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
1 Finished copy of Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken
1 Finished copy of Forget-Her-Nots by Amy Brecount White
1 Finished copy of Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Go here to enter!

The Book Resort is giving away a copy of Firespell by Chloe Neill!

Open internationally!

Ends on March 31.

 

An Opportunity for International Bloggers

The Bookologist and The Undercover BookLover started International Book Tours(IBT). This step will definitely help international bloggers by giving them a chance to access to certain books (most likely ARCs) that's bound to help the YA market grow globally. Spreading the word about authors is one of the purposes of IBT.

Most publishers don't send ARCs internationally, by participating in the tours here, bloggers who are not from US and Canada will be given equal opportunity.

As of now, here are the current book tours:

One-book Tour: Forget-her-nots by Amy Brecount White
Two-book Tour: Impossible by Nancy Werlin
Three-book Tour: Sing Me To Sleep by Angela Morrison
 
So, if you're interested in YA books and if you're willing to ship internationally, sign-up here!

If you have questions and concerns that you'd like to direct at IBT, go here.

Spread the word about International Book Tours and help us in fulfilling this bookish mission!

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

Book Description:

Love can be a dangerous thing....

 Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly, violet dresses, Hanna's tired of being the outcast, the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas in search of a new home.

But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects. As she tries to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul. Good thing for Hanna, she's far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one is safe.

First Impression:

After reading several reviews about this book, I was entirely convinced that Bleeding Violet is going to be a once-in-a-blue-moon-book. It tackles several issues that thrive within the unusual setting of Portero.

My Thoughts:

I don't think I've ever encountered a book that possessed all the elements that are present in Bleeding Violet. Dia Reeves truly is a talented author for weaving all these elements in her novel, successfully.

Bleeding Violet revolves around Hanna, a half-Finnish, half-American girl who longs to be loved. Armed with her swan and accompanied by the ghost of her dead father, Hanna journeys to her mother's house in a town in Texas. But Portero is an unusual place, stuffed with freaky-looking monsters, dotted with hidden doors and covered by a sheet of mystery. It's a good thing Hanna is a little crazy. Okay, she's probably insane. And that's what I like about her. But unlike other people with loose screws in the head, she doesn't deny that she's crazy.

Bleeding Violet explores the issues of identity. Hanna is biracial, living with the consequences of belonging to two different races at the same time. She struggles to fit in, to find a place for herself in the town of Portero and in her mother’s heart. Apart from this, the subject of mental illness is also manifested. After being diagnosed and misdiagnosed over and over again, the issue of Hanna’s sanity and insanity is somewhat still unclear. All she knows is that they probably diagnosed wrong and no shrink could ever truly understand what’s going on inside her head.

Her hallucinations fascinated me. There are times when I’m sure that Hanna's just hallucinating and there are other times that I doubt their being unreal. The hallucinations that struck me the most are the ones where Swan comes to life.

In this town, she meets a monster hunter named Wyatt Ortiga who she blackmails to take her hunting, so that she could prove to her mother that she can take care of herself. Wyatt and Hanna have a physical relationship. And as the days pass and as things get weirder and weirder, they have come to develop a relationship that is built on trust and forgiveness.

Strange things happen everyday in Portero. No one is ever safe. When Hanna finds out that something is utterly wrong with her now-nice mother, Hanna decides to fulfill her duty as a daughter, no matter how dangerous and deadly are the consequences.

Bleeding Violet is a dark, strange and unique read that will definitely blur the line between possible and impossible, sane and insane and right and wrong. This is a story that opens our eyes to the various supernatural tendencies that accompany the normal things around us, as well as the issues of identity and mental health.

I really liked this!

Thanks to my Mom for this copy. We had a deal. I succumbed to her persistence and agreed to participate in the "No Late Challenge" of hers. Every week - five weekdays - that I complete without being late, she buys me a book. It's a good deal, if you ask me.

Need by Carrie Jones

Lots of people love this book, and I must admit, I'm one of them. I like how Carrie Jones used the name of phobias as the title of each chapter and how she showed in every chapter how this phobia played a part in Zara's life. It was like breaking the novel into pieces of experiences that linked to one another like a chain.

Zara possessed characteristics that set her apart from other main characters. She's into amnesty international and freeing people - which is quite rare in teenagers nowadays. Plus, she's probably memorized every single phobia that is named. It was a bit strange but unique nonetheless. Since I read Need, everytime I encounter a name of a phobia, I think of Zara. She is a little bit like Bella of Twilight, in the sense that she always mentioned how cute, handsome and perfect Nick is. However, it doesn't reach Bella's level of admiration. But I guess, that is also essential in this novel. Zara, having gone through her days with the agony and misery of the death of her father, is a little unlike herself. She's lost spunk and happiness. She's a little bitter and too sad. So when Nick comes along, a spark lighted within her. Love awakens her. And when a girl is inlove, mentioning and thinking about how cute and perfect her love(Nick) is, is absolutely understandable. Zara's only human after all. Okay, almost only human.

The other characters of this novel were developed well. We get to see how they're like and how they live. But there are cases when I wish I could know more about the other characters. Apart from that, they are distinct.

Many times I was surprised with the little revelations in the novel. As I read it, guesses form in my head, but at the time of revelation, I found out that I guessed wrong and that my guesses were far from the truth unveiled. It's good to be able to read a novel like this that surprises me. I hate predictable stories.

Need is a chain of experiences that link Zara's life to weres and pixies that are human most of the time or are glamoured most of the time. It's filled with phobias, unpredictable revelations and pixie-hunting, tinged with hints of fur and gold glitter dust.

Wake by Lisa Mcmann

When I first heard of this book, I was really interested. Wake revolves around Janie and her special ability to get in the dreams of other people. This ability is strange but useful in many ways. I really liked Janie's gift despite its disadvantages. It's amazing to be able to know the hopes and fears of people in a very creative way. Janie doesn't find out through reading something personal. But she finds out through seeing them.

The pace of the book is fast. I liked Lisa Mcmann's way of writing. Brief but expressive. There wasn't a single moment that I was bored. I was completely dragged into Janie's world. Hectic, tiring and eventful. Every dream she ventured into had me flipping the pages madly.

Cabel's dreams are what really grabbed my attention. At first, I thought he was the opposite of what he is. But yay! I'm so glad that he isn't! He and Janie make a good couple. Always looking out for each other, without being a pain.

Wake is a roller coaster ride that sends you flying through dreams and nightmares, while breezing through hints of hopes and fears of the people being watched and of the watcher herself (catcher.) It's a thrilling, heart-pounding story that runs in full speed.