{Blog Tour} Book Review: Nevernight - Jay Kristoff

Title: Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle #1)

Author: Jay Kristoff

Release Date: August 9th 2016

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Age Group: Young Adult

Source: ARC for blog tour / purchased

Goodreads

Destined to destroy empires, Mia Covere is only ten years old when she is given her first lesson in death.

Six years later, the child raised in shadows takes her first steps towards keeping the promise she made on the day that she lost everything.

But the chance to strike against such powerful enemies will be fleeting, so if she is to have her revenge, Mia must become a weapon without equal. She must prove herself against the deadliest of friends and enemies, and survive the tutelage of murderers, liars and demons at the heart of a murder cult.

The Red Church is no Hogwarts, but Mia is no ordinary student.

The shadows love her. And they drink her fear.

The last book I read before Nevernight was in July. July. God, I am officially in a reading slump. So when I got this book in the mail and saw how big it was, I was intimidated, to say the least. I even remember thinking, "There's no way I'm going to like this book," as I wondered how I was going to fit reading it into my busy schedule.

The story begins with Mia, a girl who can wield shadows. She is born into wealth, until one day when her father is charged with treason and she is taken from her mother. Left for dead, she survives only with the help of a shadow cat. She comes across a man who teaches her everything she needs to know about using the power she was born with, and with his help, she will become the person she needs to be to avenge her family.

"But I'd still rather be called a cunt than a cock any turn."

Nevernight started out intense, and I understand how it may put off some readers. It can be a bit confusing, but to someone who's used to reading high fantasy, this is nothing new to me. There was this feeling of mystery that was kept all throughout the book, something I really enjoyed, because I like knowing that I don't know anything of what's going to happen when I read a book. Another thing I liked was how dark this book was. Especially with this reading slump I'm in, this theme is something that kept me interested.

Another thing I liked was the main character, Mia. She's fierce and brave, and she's not one of the reckless, "Nothing can kill me" type of hero who mindlessly faces enemies. She knows when her foe is stronger than her, and she knows that her life is more important than her pride.

"Never flinch." A cold whisper in her ear. "Never fear. And never, ever forget."

All in all, Nevernight is a very nice choice of book for someone who doesn't know just what to read to get out of a reading slump. Maybe that's just me, but high fantasy has always been my go-to genre when I can't choose what to read. This is a great beginning to a new YA fantasy series, and I'm surely looking forward to reading the next!

RATING:

Book Review: Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

Title: Fangirl

Author: Rainbow Rowell
Release Date: September 10th 2013

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Age Group: Young Adult

Source: Bought
Goodreads

Cath and Wren are identical twins, and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they're off to university and Wren's decided she doesn't want to be one half of a pair any more - she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties and let loose. It's not so easy for Cath. She's horribly shy and has always buried herself in the fan fiction she writes, where she always knows exactly what to say and can write a romance far more intense than anything she's experienced in real life.

Without Wren, Cath is completely on her own and totally outside her comfort zone. She's got a surly room-mate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can't stop worrying about her dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

Now Cath has to decide whether she's ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she's realizing that there's more to learn about love than she ever thought possible.

Fangirl was in my TBR list for a long time. It sounded like the story of my life, mainly because I've been referring to myself as a fangirl since I was thirteen, and it didn't hurt that it was written by Rainbow Rowell AKA the genius behind Eleanor & Park. Now that I've read this, I can say that I loved it... but it's not my favorite Rowell book.

The story introduces us to Cath, a girl who prefers staying in with her family and her fanfics because of her social anxiety, as she enters college without her dad and her twin sister Wren by her side. Wren has decided that college is the perfect time to meet new people and step away from Cath, so while she's busy getting shit-faced every weekend with her roommate - who is not her sister - Cath shuts out the world and keeps to her safe zone, full of Simon Snow fanfiction and solace.

Underneath this veneer of slightly crazy and mildly socially retarded, I'm a complete disaster.

A hundred pages in, I realized that this was going to be a long read, but a lovely one, like listening to a friend vent about her life for hours. Cath feels lost and alone in college, and at one point she even thinks of quitting and going home to attend community college, but soon her hard-edged roommate takes pity on her and said roommate's kind-of boyfriend befriends her, pestering her to unknowingly open herself up. 

Aside from her social (and romantic) growth, we also watch Cath grow as a writer. She learns that writing is not all fun and easy as with her fanfics, but that there are times when she will face a wall and have to write her way through it. She even learns, unfortunately, that not everyone who tries to get close to her truly wants to be friends with her.

Real life was something happening in her peripheral vision.

A hearty novel chock full of sisterhood and friendship and going out of your comfort zone, Fangirl will keep you entertained for hours. It made me wish I could write like Cath does when she's in the zone, focused and unable to distract for hours on end. The romance between Cath and Levi made me squeal and giggle stupidly, and the Simon Snow snippets between every chapter make me need to buy a copy of Carry On some time soon.

RATING:

Mini-Reviews {5}

Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children: The Graphic Novel

Author: Ransom Riggs

Release Date: October 29th 2013

Publisher: Yen Press

Age Group: Young Adult

Source: Bought

Goodreads

When Jacob Portman was a boy, his grandfather regaled him with stories of his fantastic life at Miss Peregrine's home during the Second World War, even sharing photos of the remarkable children with whom he resided. As Jacob grew up, though, he decided that these photos were obvious fakes, simple forgeries designed to stir his youthful imagination. Or were they...?

Following his grandfather's death - a scene Jacob literally couldn't believe with his own eyes - the sixteen-year-old boy embarks on a mission to disentangle fact from fiction in his grandfather's tall tales. But even his grandfather's elaborate yarns couldn't prepare Jacob for the eccentricities he will discover at Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children!

Graphic novels are even worse than hardcovers: they're beautiful and I want to pet them and read them but they're so damn expensive! That's the reason why this one's the only graphic novel I currently own. I was actually talking myself out of buying it but I just had to get one signed by Ransom Riggs when he visited my country years back. (Because yes, I read this back in *looks at Goodreads* 2014?! o.o)

Anyway, as this is the only graphic novel I own, this is also the only one I've read. I knew it would be a quick read but I didn't anticipate that I could read it in less than an hour. Wow. I seriously felt like I threw my money away but who cares because books are worth it! Also, the illustrations are really beautiful, just what I expected from Cassandra Jean whom I've been following on Tumblr for a long time now. 

What I appreciated most about this graphic novel is how I could revisit the first novel in half the time, especially since Miss Peregrine's felt too dragged out for me. I remember reading this before Hollow City, and now I can't wait to get my hands on the graphic novel for that second book so I can read it before I pick up Library of Souls!

RATING:

Title: The Beginning of Everything
Author: Robyn Schneider
Release Date: August 27th 2013
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: Bought
Goodreads

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life. 

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra’s ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures. 

But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one’s singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes?

I'd probably get hate for what I'm about to say, but I'm going to say it anyway: I am in the opinion that this book is overhyped. I read this less than a year ago but I can't even remember much of what happens in the book, only that it reminded me so much of a John Green novel, particularly Looking for Alaska (which is my favorite JG novel, by the way). Even Cassidy Thorpe's first appearance was so much like Alaska Young's, the cool, smart, hipster dream girl with a long list of secrets.

According to my notes, though, I did like how Ezra coped with the accident. He was hopeless, often dreary, but he kept it to himself instead of running around moping and screaming how unfair life is. Ezra and Cassidy's love story is also very similar to 500 Days of Summer, with Ezra thinking of Cassidy as his savior and heroine and her being somewhat strangled because of his expectations.

Just because I think this book is overhyped doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it, because I did. In fact, I plan to read it again, give it another chance. I had a worse tragedy in mind for the ending but when everything was revealed, it all clicked into place. It's not what most people would ask for, but I believe it did the characters justice, and for me that's what's most important.

MY FAVORITE PART was the overnight debate tournament. Now that is how nerds have fun.

RATING:

Title: An Abundance of Katherines

Author: John Green

Release Date: September 21st 2006

Publisher: Dutton Books
Age Group: Young Adult

Source: Bought

Goodreads

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. 

On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun - but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. 

Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.

At first I was only interested in reading this book because I loved Looking for Alaska, but then the cover got a redesign and I just had to own it in hardcover and naturally, I had to read it. I remember feeling up to something quirky when I picked this up, and boy, quirky was exactly what I got. 

Math is my biggest enemy. Like, I obviously love English (I love reading, duh), and Science is not so bad, but Math? Integral Calculus is what got me kicked out of two engineering programs, and although I totally - and finally - kicked the crap out of it last year, I still hate it. So to read a book that was filled with Math? My mind ran around in circles a few times while reading this.

Still, I really enjoyed it because it has John Green's signature wit, humor, and sarcasm that I will always love. No matter how inane their problems may be, his characters are always a redeeming factor in his books, and they sure are hilarious. This book made me want to go on a road trip, and I'm really looking forward to reading Paper Towns soon!

RATING:

Book Review: A Drop of Night - Stefan Bachmann

Title: A Drop of Night

Author: Stefan Bachmann
Release Date: March 15th 2016

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Age Group: Young Adult

Source: ARC from publisher

Goodreads

Seventeen-year-old Anouk has finally caught the break she’s been looking for—she's been selected out of hundreds of other candidates to fly to France and help with the excavation of a vast, underground palace buried a hundred feet below the suburbs of Paris. Built in the 1780's to hide an aristocratic family and a mad duke during the French Revolution, the palace has lain hidden and forgotten ever since. Anouk, along with several other gifted teenagers, will be the first to set foot in it in over two centuries.

Or so she thought.

But nothing is as it seems, and the teens soon find themselves embroiled in a game far more sinister, and dangerous, than they could possibly have imagined. An evil spanning centuries is waiting for them in the depths...

I picked up this book in my attempts to lessen the unread ARCs in my bookshelf, and man, I sure wasn't prepared for this. A Drop of Night had me at "underground palace" - just how were they able to build one back in the days when technology wasn't as advanced as it is now? And for what reason? 

I don't believe in the whole "people are basically good deep down" notion. I think deep down is where people are the worst.

The story starts by introducing us to Anouk, our rude and angsty main character, who seems to think her life is the worst even when she's surrounded by opportunities to do whatever she wants. I think this is the one thing I dislike about her; sure, her parents regretted adopting her the moment her baby sister was born, but to take out that frustration on basically everybody else, even those who were trying to be friendly and helpful, was immature and wasteful, especially for someone supposedly as smart as she is. But moving on.

The all-expenses-paid trip to Paris is her way out of that life. Although she has taken many such trips to different parts of the world before, she thought this one would finally allow her to leave her dysfunctional family once and for all. She is joined by four other gifted kids who have no idea just how they were chosen or what the criteria were, but soon, the trip turns into a deadly nightmare that they have to escape.

This book is told in two ways: by Anouk, and by flashbacks to medieval France when the palace was in construction. The flashbacks built up a good amount of suspense that had me pulling at my hair, thinking just what in the world these aristocrats were doing - and hiding - under there. But while the flashbacks cooked up the mystery, the story as told by Anouk in the present provided the action. I don't want to go into much detail in order to avoid spoiling this for anyone, but believe me when I tell you that this book is not what you're expecting it to be.

Overall, A Drop of Night is an action-packed book, some happening so fast I had to reread for me to understand what happened which may have actually watered down the excitement quite a bit. Still, it kept me on the edge of my seat, feeling like I was one of the kids they sent into the palace, avoiding traps and hiding in panic rooms. This is one book I would love to see on the big screen.

RATING:

Book Review: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist - Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Title: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

Author: Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Release Date: May 23rd 2006

Publisher: Alfred F. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Age Group: Young Adult

Source: Bought
Goodreads

"I know this is going to sound strange, but would you mind being my girlfriend for the next five minutes?"

Nick frequents New York's indie rock scene nursing a broken heart.

Norah is questioning all of her assumptions about the world.

They have nothing in common except for killer taste in music, but one awkward chance encounter turns into an all-night quest to find a legendary band's secret show in the mystic maze of Manhattan - and a first date full of falling in and out (and in and out, and maybe in and maybe out) of love.

I had one rule when it comes to book-to-movie adaptations: if I haven't read it, then I have no right to watch it. But a little before 2015 ended last week, I decided to break that rule and watched Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, and although I eventually found out that it's almost a complete one-eighty from the book, it did have me running to the bookstore as soon as I could. Good job, movie!

No, bitch, I mean you intimidate guys with a look or a comment before they can decide if they want a chance with you. You're so judgmental. Along with frigid.

Unlike the simple, whimsical tone of the movie, the book is filled to the brim with teenage punk and emotions that poured out of the page, and because I saw the movie first, it was like the book took the plot of the movie, laid it on paper, and colored it with crayons such as "Sweaty Club" and "Can't Get Over My Ex". Or to put it simply, the book is more emotionally complex than the movie, but that's definitely not to say it was a bad movie. I actually really enjoyed it, and Michael Cera with a bass guitar is surprisingly hot, and the soundtrack is amazing.

Feminism should be all-inclusive - it should be about sexual liberation, equal pay for equal work, and the fundamental girl right of boy2boy appreciation.

Just like Dash & Lily's Book of Dares, Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (I seriously have a love-hate relationship with these titles, ugh) is the kind of book that you can start and finish in one sitting because reading it is so easy, so comforting to read, like you're chatting with a long-time friend or curling up in bed with your headphones on on a rainy day. And I love how the authors made all of their characters, not just the main ones, jump out of the page, each of them unique and equally interesting.

I shouldn't want the song to end. I always think of each night as a song. Or each moment as a song. But now I'm seeing we don't live in a single song. We move from song to song, from lyric to lyric, from chord to chord. There is no ending here. It's an infinite playlist.

Perhaps the only thing I disliked about this book is how similar Nick and Norah sounded, so much so that most of the time I had no idea whose perspective I was reading - but maybe that's only another indication of how in sync they were, because I honestly believe your musical soulmate is one of the few - if not the One - for you, and believe me when I say that this book, even if punk music grates on your ears, is going to be your musical soulmate.

MY FAVORITE PART was the Marriott. Good heavens.

RATING:

Mini-Reviews: Camp Kiss; Unwrapping Liam; Hollow City

Title: Camp Kiss (Camp Boyfriend #0.5)
Author: J.K. Rock
Release Date: March 26th 2013
Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: Free for a time period

Goodreads

The Camp Kiss That Started It All...

Lauren Carlson, a fourteen-year-old expert on the cosmos, superheroes, and science fiction trivia has a crush on her longtime camp friend, Seth. Last summer she’d dreamed about upgrading their relationship to BF/GF status and this year she has a plan... if only her well-meaning cabin mates wouldn’t interfere before she’s ready. She hasn’t even adjusted to her new braces yet, let alone imagined kissing Seth with them. When a dare pushes her out of her comfort zone, will she and Seth rocket out of the friendzone at last? There’s only one way to find out...

If I remember correctly, I got Camp Kiss when the publisher offered it for free to promote the release of Camp Boyfriend, but I only had the chance to read it a few months ago (yeah, that's how long this review is overdue) when I actually picked up the series. If you're new to the series, I really recommend starting it off with this novella because it sure provides a lot of insight that you'll need for the first book.

Lauren Carlson is back at summer camp, but this year she's excited to be there for a different reason. When before she only wanted to spend time with her closest friends, this time she's also looking forward to seeing Seth, her long-time friend and recently-developed crush. She's unsure whether to act on her feelings or not, afraid it will ruin their friendship, but when her cabinmates dare her to kiss him, she doesn't have much of a choice.

A cute, light, and fun read, I love how the writing in Camp Kiss reminded me of the butterflies and giddiness I felt whenever I saw a crush back in high school. It's that nostalgic.

MY FAVORITE PART was the kiss. Sigh :3

RATING:

Title: Unwrapping Liam (Good Girls Don't #1.5)
Author: Gennifer Albin
Release Date: April 22nd 2014
Publisher: Self-published
Age Group: New Adult
Source: Free for a time period
Goodreads

Jillian Nichols and Liam McAvoy finally got their happily ever after, but Christmas with Jillian's parents strains their new relationship. Will they ever get a minute alone?

Will Tara ever accept her daughter isn't broken?

And what will happen when Jillian finally unwraps Liam's Christmas present?

The holidays have never been so steamy.

This novella came out almost a year after the first book in the series, so by the time I read it I was practically jumping up and down in my seat with excitement. In Unwrapping Liam we see more of Jillian and Liam together, but made hilarious and tense because they are to spend the Christmas holidays with Jillian's parents.

Under the constant scrutiny of Tara, Jillian's easy-to-hate mother, her relationship with Liam is put to the test. Their interactions are more heated with desire because they need to sneak around like teenagers or risk being judged and reprimanded by Tara, but of course they get caught and of course it's amusing, haha. But as expected, Jillian grew tired of playing by her mom's rules soon enough, and let's just say I wasn't able to look at Christmas trees the same way for quite some time after reading this.

Overall, Unwrapping Liam did a swell job of getting me pumped up for Teaching Roman (which, spoiler alert, I also loved) and making me wish I had my own Liam. Now, where the heck is the third book in this series?!

MY FAVORITE PART was Liam making pies. Sweet Jesus.

RATING:

Title: Hollow City (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children #2)

Author: Ransom Riggs

Release Date: January 17th 2014

Publisher: Quirk Books

Age Group: Young Adult

Source: Bought

Goodreads

September 3, 1940.

Ten peculiar children flee an army of deadly monsters.

And only one person can help them - but she's trapped in the body of a bird.

The extraordinary journey that began in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children continues as Jacob Portman and his newfound friends journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. There, they hope to find a cure for their beloved headmistress, Miss Peregrine. But in this war-torn city, hideous surprises lurk around every corner. And before Jacob can deliver the peculiar children to safety, he must make an important decision about his love for Emma Bloom.

Hollow City draws readers into a richly imagined world of telepathy and time loops, of sideshows and shapeshifters - a world populated with adult "peculiars", murderous wights, and a bizarre menagerie of uncanny animals. Like its predecessor, this second novel in the Peculiar Children series blends thrilling fantasy with never-before-published vintage photography to create a one-of-a-kind reading experience.

I was more disappointed than anyone when I read Miss Peregrine's and found it somehow... underwhelming, which is why cracking this sequel open came with a certain amount of hesitance. I think I finally picked it up when the book practically flew off my shelf and thumped me on the head (spoiler alert: it didn't, but wouldn't that be awesome.)

Anyway, reading Hollow City was definitely easier and more fun than the first book. Right off the bat, I could tell that it would be more exciting, with less dragging and more of what I love most about this series: action and adventure with a magical group of, uh, kids. We also learn that there is just so much more to the peculiarity of the world that Riggs has created, and I can't wait to see all of these in a Tim Burton film. Man, it's going to be awesome.

Strange, I thought, how you can be living your dreams and your nightmares at the very same time.

Another thing I liked about Hollow City is how it's more on the historical fiction side than the first book, and how there was just so much more going on in it. I don't know if you can tell by how many times I've used the word in this review but in a nutshell, this sequel is just that: more.

MY FAVORITE PART was that shocking, twisty ending. Definitely didn't see that one coming.

RATING:

Mini-Reviews: We Were Liars; The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

Title: We Were Liars

Author: E. Lockhart

Release Date: May 13th 2014
Publisher: Delacorte Press

Age Group: Young Adult

Goodreads | The Book Depository

A beautiful and distinguished family.

A private island.

A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.

A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.

A revolution. An accident. A secret.

Lies upon lies.

True love.

The truth.

I knew only one thing about We Were Liars before I read it: it wouldn't disappoint, and it truly did not. One is better off going into this book without knowledge of anything that happens in it, because it is a book meant to be experienced with an untainted mind. All you need to know is that it involves four brilliant kids who have their entire lives ahead of them, and they also happen to spend their summers in a private island.

We Were Liars is, quite frankly, a slow book. It is lyrical and confusing, and the easily-bored may even have a hard time finishing it. It's not for everyone, and even the author herself knew that readers would either love it or hate it; there is no middle ground. But if you do start reading it, I highly suggest just going with the flow, because you are in for a shock, I promise you that. 

I honestly have no idea what more to say about this book, so I'll end this by sharing that I finished reading this in the employee's lounge of my office, and that wasn't one of my best ideas because there were tears involved.

MY FAVORITE PART is that chapter. If you've read this, you know what I mean.

P.S. I'm giving away a signed copy of this book here! ;D

RATING:

Title: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

Author: E. Lockhart
Release Date: March 25th 2008
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Age Group: Young Adult

Goodreads | The Book Depository

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:
Debate Club.
Her father’s “bunny rabbit.”
A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15:
A knockout figure.
A sharp tongue.
A chip on her shoulder.
And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.

Frankie Laundau-Banks.
No longer the kind of girl to take “no” for an answer.
Especially when “no” means she’s excluded from her boyfriend’s all-male secret society.
Not when her ex boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places.
Not when she knows she’s smarter than any of them.
When she knows Matthew’s lying to her.
And when there are so many, many pranks to be done.

Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16:
Possibly a criminal mastermind.

This is the story of how she got that way.

Disreputable History was in my TBR list for a long time, but I only got around to reading it when #ELockhartinPH was announced. Having read We Were Liars first, I thought this one sounded lighter than my first Lockhart read, and it sure was, but it actually has its own dark tone - it's very subtle, but it's there. 

But if you don't want to get too critical, then it's enough to know that this book is another brilliant contemporary from E. Lockhart. The lady sure knows how to go deep into her characters' heads, and reading this as easy as sharing stories with a friend. This is the story of a bright girl blossoming into one hell of a woman, but it also shows that just because someone's whip smart doesn't mean she has it easy. An over-active brain can just as easily be a crowded prison, and Frankie, model student and, for the most part, a good daughter though she may be, isn't quite satisfied with how her friends and family treat her. She thinks they see her as fragile and predictable, and this book is basically her going to great lengths to prove to them that she's not.

Overall, Frankie's story is entertaining and imaginative, and aside from the protagonist, we get to know a lot of delightful characters through her eyes. The ending isn't what I'd imagined it would be at all, but it wouldn't be a Lockhart book if it were.

MY FAVORITE PART is

"It is better to be alone, she figures, than to be with someone who can't see who you are."

RATING:

Book Review: Legend - Marie Lu

Title: Legend (Legend #1)

Author: Marie Lu

Release Date: November 29th 2011

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Age Group: Young Adult

Goodreads | The Book Depository

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors.

Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles.

Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect.

Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Legend had long been in my TBR list, what with all the confessions of love I kept seeing online, but I put it off because who needed another ongoing series to crush their heart with the wait times? Definitely not me. But last year, Marie Lu visited my country for a book signing, and although I missed it, my good friend got me a signed copy, and I knew the waiting was over.

This story is basically a battle between two bests. June is the country's number one military prodigy; Day is the country's number one criminal. One can imagine that their paths should have crossed later rather than sooner, but the opposite happens when Day is suspected of killing June's older brother. Now armed not just with in-born talent but charged with the desire for revenge, June is assigned to go on a hunt for the infamous outlaw, but instead she finds reasons to doubt the side she's fighting for.

One thing I love most about Legend is how we get to be inside June's and Day's heads. We see just how different yet similar they are, not just in actions but also in thoughts, and we know exactly why they are worthy opponents and partners. And I especially love how they were pitted against one another - it's like WWE SmackDown.

I will hunt you down. I will scour the streets of Los Angeles for you. Search every street in the Republic if I have to. I will trick you and deceive you, lie, cheat and steal to find you, tempt you out of your hiding place, and chase you until you have nowhere else to run. I make you this promise: your life is mine.

But of course, we all know how this goes: girl falls for boy, boy falls for girl, and then they go on to do badass things and fight the bad guys together. Quite predictable as that part may be, I'd be lying if I said my heart didn't beat faster as I watched the romance between them grow. And that development is actually another on the long list of things that the author did well in this book; it wasn't too fast that it would've made me roll my eyes, but it wasn't too slow that I'd have been bored out of my mind, either.

In the end, Legend is nothing if not gripping, fast-paced, and exhilarating. It exceeded all of the expectations I'd had about it for years - although it did kind of lack a special something that I can't quite put my finger on - and now I actually kind of regret waiting so long before finally picking it up (and adding Daniel to my overflowing list of book boyfriends). Also, why the heck did I finish reading this without having a copy of the sequel at the ready?! Regrets, regrets.

MY FAVORITE PART was

"What a joke! Poor little rich girl's fallen in love with the Republic's most famous criminal."

They could've put that part alone on the back of the book and I would've still read it.

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{Blog Tour} Book Review: The Girl from the Well - Rin Chupeco

Title: Girl from the Well

Author: Rin Chupeco
Release Date: August 5th 2014

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository

You may think me biased, being murdered myself. But my state of being has nothing to do with the curiosity toward my own species, if we can be called such. We do not go gentle, as your poet encourages, into that good night.

A dead girl walks the streets.

She hunts murderers. Child killers, much like the man who threw her body down a well three hundred years ago.

And when a strange boy bearing stranger tattoos moves into the neighborhood so, she discovers, does something else. And soon both will be drawn into the world of eerie doll rituals and dark Shinto exorcisms that will take them from American suburbia to the remote valleys and shrines of Aomori, Japan.

Because the boy has a terrifying secret - one that would just kill to get out.

Three things made this book go straight to my TBR list: first is the perfect, creeptastic cover; second is the fact that the author is a fellow Filipina; and lastly, the title which reminds me of The Ring, AKA my favorite Japanese horror movie. The eerie atmosphere is set right off of page one, and even with the summary, I had little idea of what to expect from this story. It took its unexpected turns that kept me engrossed right until the last page.

On the onset of the book we are introduced to our quite-morally-confused ghost narrator who will later be known as Okiku. She is very much like the well-known Sadako, with the long black hair and creepy preferred haunting position, but instead of releasing a killer video unto humanity, Okiku hunts those who have murdered children to make up for her own death hundreds of years ago. Unfortunately, her avenging nature, although unique, takes the creepies down a notch.

Okiku has always distanced her ghostly emotions from the killers she hunts and even from the lost spirits that she helps, but something about fifteen-year-old Tark draws her to him. But before you think this is another case of  "ooh he looks so shiny and mesmerizing", this is actually "ooh he looks like he's got a demon riding on his back". (Not a spoiler, I swear.) Tark has carried a dark, heavy burden in him his entire life, but not even him knows exactly what it is. Having a deranged mother who's tried to kill him a handful of times certainly doesn't help, either. But when he and his workaholic father move into the same town as his cousin, Callie, the darkness making the boy suffer is no longer unnoticeable, and with unexpected help from Okiku, their journey to help Tark takes them to Japan, the place where it all started.

Although it failed to give me the number of chills I'd expected it to provide, that doesn't mean The Girl from the Well isn't easy to read in one sitting, because that's exactly what I did. It wasn't as scary as I would have liked but nonetheless, I can still recommend it to everyone looking for a different kind of read.

MY FAVORTIE PART is the unconventional and satisfying ending.

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