It's 2015! And yes, I'm still alive.

Soooo... *looks around* *shrugs* Well, guess who's back! And for good this time, I hope. I think I'm getting better at striking a balance between work, school, and reading, so let me try to get back to blogging, as well. Posts will be significantly lesser than they were before the slump, but they'll come ;D

Anyway, for my first post this 2015, I thought I'd look back on the previous year, book-wise. I horribly failed  my 2014 Goodreads reading challenge, which was a shame, but I'd rather read than dwell on that loss lol. But before I get back to my current read, let me present to you (in no particular order) my...

 

1) Kiss the Sky by K.B. Ritchie
       The Addicted series is one of my favorite NA series and this spin-off jst made me fall in love with the characters even more! I'm totally left behind because of the reading slump but the upside is that now, I have Hothouse Flower and Addicted After All to binge-read one after the other.

2) Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
       Ah, this book. This book. I read it twice last year, which I'm pretty sure shows just how much I loved it. In fact, I will be reading it again some time this year because I need to review it!

3) Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
       And this one! Good lord. This is, without a doubt, my favorite Perkins book. I remember having my heart in my mouth the entire time I was reading this, and I certainly can't wait to revisit the story soon.

4) Melt by Selene Castrovilla
       Can someone please remind me to prepare myself before I start reading a Selene Castrovilla book? Maybe then my sanity would be ready for the devastation her words never fail to bring me.

5) The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
       So I finally got around to picking up Julie Kagawa's books and holy cow, what brilliance I'd been missing. The ending to this third book is epic enough to be a series-ender, but thank heavens it's not because I'm positive I'd have gone mad if it was.

6) The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa
       Aaaand here comes the series-ender. (Although it's quite not because of the spin-off series lol whatevs)

7) Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong
       This is my first Kelley Armstrong book, and it surely did not disappoint. Let's not even talk about that ending because I still can't even.

8) To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

       Two words: Peter Kavinsky.

9) Wings by Elizabeth Richards

       Thanks to this post, I'm now reminded that three of my favorite series ended last year. *sniff* Anyway, the Black City trilogy is something I'm planning to re-read because I feel like I rushed through all three books the first time around. 

10) Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

       W-what do you mean, no more Warner?! No!

11) Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi

       And no more Aria/Perry?!?! Nooooooo!

12) Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

       Another year, another Dessen book that I loved so much, I couldn't review it. Ugh. I have a third book by her buried somewhere in my pile of books - I should get to that one soon.

13) Just One Day by Gayle Forman

      This is one book that needs to get the movie treatment. That'd be real awesome. I've also read Just One Year, but Just One Night is still sitting in my Kindle shelf, waiting to be opened.

14) White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

       Last but not the least, this baby. The sequel's been on my shelf for months since I borrowed it from the ever awesome Louisse but I've yet to read it (eeep so sorry I haven't returned it!)

And that's it! I'm looking forward to more great reads this year; I just hope I find more time for them. But what about you? What were your fave books from last year, and what titles are you excited for this 2015? Please do share them with me in the comments because God knows I need to add more books to my to-read list!

It's My Second Blogiversary!

Just like last year, I'm going to keep this short because, as you've noticed by the lack of posts recently, I am even busier this time around (and also because I'm still no good at the mushy stuff). First of all, thanks to my PH book blogger friends who I haven't seen since July! I miss you guys, and I'll see you next month ;D Second, thanks to the authors and publishers who make books possible. No matter how occupied I am, I will always be yearning for words, and you are the people who make sure my needs are met. The work you do is invaluable, so please continue being awesome. And lastly, thanks to you, for still being here and dropping by my blog. I am truly grateful.

And to complete this celebration, here are two giveaways!

2014 Debut Authors Bash feat. Sashi Kaufman

This year, I'm glad to be part of the 2014 Debut Authors Bash, and even more glad to have Sashi Kaufman, author of The Other Way Around, on my blog! I really adored her book, and I hope that my featuring her here will help spread the word out even more. But before we get to my interview with Sashi, here's some info about her book:

Title: The Other Way Around

Author: Sashi Kaufman
Release Date: March 1st 2014

Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab
Age Group: Young Adult

Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository

Andrew has seen a flash of his future. (Dad: unfinished PhD. Mom: unfulfilling career. Their marriage: unsuccessful.) Based on what he's seen, he's uninspired to put a foot on the well-worn path to the adulthood everyone expects of him. There must be another way around.

After a particularly disastrous Thanksgiving (his cousin wets Andrew's bed; his parents were too chicken to tell him his grandmother died), Andrew accidentally (on purpose) runs away and joins the circus. Kind of.

A guy can meet the most interesting people at the Greyhound station at dinnertime on Thanksgiving day. The Freegans are exactly the kinds of friends (living out of an ancient VW camper van, dumpster diving, dressing like clowns and busking for change) who would have Andrew's mom reaching for a third glass of Chardonnay. To Andrew, five teenagers who seem like they've found another way to grow up are a dream come true. But as the VW winds its way across the USA, the future is anything but certain.

The path of least resistance is a long, strange trip.

1. Where did you get the idea for writing The Other Way Around?

I think the idea really came from the fantasy of running away, rejecting what you’ve been told about adulthood and finding a home in an unlikely place. That and a strong connection to Andrew’s voice is what got me started on this story.

2. The Freegans in your book were really interesting. Were there people in your life who inspired you while you were writing these characters?

I’m a middle school teacher and a lot of my students want to know if they (personally) are in my book. The answer I give is that they’re all in the book. Little bits and pieces of the people I know get incorporated into characters. The Freegans themselves are pretty closely related to people I knew and loved when I was a student at Oberlin College. A lot of their beliefs and ethics and silly behaviors come right from people I lived with in a student cooperative that was Vegan and known for being pretty politically radical. Though, truth be told I was always one of the most straight-laced people living there.

3. If you were in Andrew's shoes, would you also have run away with a bunch of strangers?

Ha! Probably not. It’s really hard to say because I had a very balanced and warm home life not at all like the dysfunction and borderline neglect Andrew experiences. He may not be physically neglected but he is emotionally neglected by his parents.

4. What books do you think are similar to The Other Way Around?

Ooh that’s tough. I think I took some inspiration from writers’ whose style I admire more than similar books. A.S. King is one of my heroes -I love the way she writes adolescent voices. Also maybe Papertowns by John Green. An earlier version of this book is From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler -which was one of my favorite running away books as a kid.

5. If/when you go on a roadtrip, what kind of music do you listen to?

Embarrassing things. Old pop songs, whatever is on the radio. I’m a great appreciator of a good song but a terrible connoisseur. I know so little about music. If I choose something myself, probably bluegrass. I do love me some bluegrass music. 

About the author:

Sashi is a middle school English and science teacher who lives in Portland, Maine with her husband and daughter. She is also an amateur trash picker.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Giveaway!

{Blog Tour} Spotlight + Giveaway: Proxy - Alex London

Title: Proxy (Proxy #1)
Author: Alex London
Release Date: June 18th 2013

Publisher: Philomel
Age Group: Young Adult

Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository | National Bookstore

Knox was born into one of the City’s wealthiest families. A Patron, he has everything a boy could possibly want—the latest tech, the coolest clothes, and a Proxy to take all his punishments. When Knox breaks a vase, Syd is beaten. When Knox plays a practical joke, Syd is forced to haul rocks. And when Knox crashes a car, killing one of his friends, Syd is branded and sentenced to death.

Syd is a Proxy. His life is not his own.

Then again, neither is Knox’s. Knox and Syd have more in common than either would guess. So when Knox and Syd realize that the only way to beat the system is to save each other, they flee. Yet Knox’s father is no ordinary Patron, and Syd is no ordinary Proxy. The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test both boys’ resolve, and shine a blinding light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay. Some debts, it turns out, cannot be repaid.

Giveaway!

{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.

RATING: