January Reads + Monthly Recap

It's been pretty tight at school lately. First week of January when we got back from Christmas break, we had another one week off from classes because of Sports Week. As a result, we are pretty much up to our necks with catching up to cover all our lessons in two weeks before exams which will be next week. So, yeah. Make-up classes here and there. It's wonderful how I can manage to find time to read. I must, or else I might break. Anyway, I'm very much looking forward to be done with midterms. I could really use a breather.

So for this month, I read:

New Header!

Okay. Random post. So I'd understand if you don't want to hear any of my chatter but anyway, I still have, like, 30 minutes left before I go to school and I can't think of anything else to do. Reading won't do any good since I don't want it to be cut short. And I am waiting for today's releases I'm dying to read, as patiently as I can. So I was just staring blankly at my notebook trying to write a review but, nothing. Absolutely nothing. I finally decided to just make a new header. FINALLY! I've been planning to do this for a long time but either I'm too lazy, or I can't think of how I'd like it to look or I'm just busy.

Funny how creativity and productivity always come when I am in a hurry. Or, well, not really, just that when I decided to be busy, I only have - checks time - 15 minutes left. REALLY? Why can't I be like this 6 hours ago? When my break started? Huh. Okay, straight to the end result:

Me and My Bookshelf (8)

 

This is where I feature the books I received, bought, gifted or won that are newly added in my physical shelf, which means no e-books and the like. It is usually posted on Saturdays.

I believe this is my first MMB this year. There are a lot of new releases I want to buy but let's face it, I'm a student with no job, I don't want to get myself broke. And I don't like asking my parents to buy anything for me. They do it because they want to, not because I want them to. Besides, if my mom may want to strangle me for splurging on books (even if it's my money I use, in a way) this time my dad might actually join her. Okay, totally kidding. But hey, you never know. They say they can't get me to part with my books. Of course I told them that I go out ALL THE TIME and don't spend the ENTIRETY of my time holed up in my room.

Anyway, these are the books I recently added in my shelf this MONTH.

Review: The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

The Sea of Tranquility
by Katja Millay
Published: November 13, 2012




I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.

Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.

Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1)
by Marissa Meyer
Published: January 3, 2012




Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Cover Reveal: The Retribution of Mara Dyer

It has a cover OHMYGOD!!! No synopsis yet but.. ahhh!! I'M FREAKING OUT.

The Retribution of Mara Dyer

(Mara Dyer #3)

Expected Publication: October 22, 2013

Isn't it gorgeous? Love love love it. I can't wait!!!

Ugh! Why does this have to be the last book? :(

For more news about the book, head over at Michelle's blog HERE.

Be Part of THE LIST

Calling all bloggers!

Calling all bloggers!
Entangled needs you! *points at you*
Be part of The List.

Here's what you need to know:
One of my awesome publicists at Entangled is compiling a list of bloggers.
Here are the requirements:
+ Do you have a blog?
+ Do you love to review books?
+ Do you want access to books before they release?

If your answers to these questions is a resounding "YES" then you're the right blogger for the job.

We want you! Now's a great time to join The List.
If you want to be a part of The List, here's what you have to do:

1. Add Til Death to your Goodreads TBR pile:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16129271-til-death

and

2. Leave the following in the comments section here:

a. Your Name
b. Your Blog URL
c. Your Goodreads Name
d. Your Email Address

Additional Option: URL to your blog post about this call for bloggers.

Priority will be given to those who help spread the word by creating a post on this call for bloggers on their blog. *smiles*

If you have any questions, head over here and let them know in the comments section and they'll reply right away.

Don't miss this exciting opportunity.

Be part of The List today.

Review: Avow by Chelsea Fine

Avow (The Archers of Avalon #3)
by Chelsea Fine
Published: December 11, 2012



Scarlet remembers. Everything. Her past lives, Tristan, Gabriel, Nate: she remembers it all--including how to get to the Fountain of Youth. But time is running out.

Heather and Gabriel have been kidnapped by Raven, while the curse that has plagued Scarlet and Tristan for centuries has shifted, putting the star-crossed lovers in more danger than ever before. Water from the Fountain of Youth is the only thing that can save Scarlet and her loved ones. But the water comes at a price.

With lives--and hearts--at stake, Scarlet leads her friends on a dangerous journey to the Fountain of Youth. Where eternal life is possible, but death is certain.

Don't Let It End Reading Challenge

RULES ONE… Read the FINAL book only in a series that you’ve been putting off, or dread reading. This can be ANY series-ending book – YA or non-YA from ANY year – but only the LAST book in the series will count for this challenge. So if you have a few books to read to end the series that you’ve been putting off, only the series-ending book will count toward the challenge. TWO… Write a review or post your thoughts about the book. It can be on a traditional blog or website, on Tumblr, Goodreads or Facebook. Just somewhere that you can leave a link to, in order to share your thoughts. THREE… Between February 14 and July 14 stop back and leave a link to your posts. Each month on the 14th I’ll be creating a post with a linky list so that you can link up each of your reviews or thoughts posts. On July 14th there will be a wrap-up post with a final giveaway for “successful” challenge participants – those who read at least ONE series-ending book and shared their thoughts.

DETAILS + It is open to EVERYONE with a place to post their thoughts online. + It is for books from ANY genre, though if your title is not young adult, please make that note in your Linky entry each month. + It is for books from ANY year, including 2013. + It is ONLY for the final book in the series. (Full-length books only, no after-the-fact novellas.) + There is NO minimum or maximum commitment. There is NO requirement to read each month. + You can join in at any time by signing up in THIS post and leaving your thoughts/review links in the current month’s post. + Books you read for other challenges CAN count toward this one. It just has to be the LAST book in the series. And they have to be read during the months of this challenge. + Every month there will be a GIVEAWAY and one winner will be chosen from that month’s participants for ONE series-ending Book of Their Choice.

Head over at FIKTSHUN to know more about this challenge.

If you're interested in joining, you can sign-up HERE.

BOOKS I READ

Forever (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #3) by Maggie Stiefvater
With All My Soul (Soul Screamers #7) by Rachel Vincent
Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare
Shadows in the Silence (Angelfire #3) by Courtney Allison Moulton
Spell Bound (Hex Hall #3) by Rachel Hawkins
Ascend (Trylle #3) by Amanda Hocking

Cover Reveal: The Seven Year King

The Seven Year King

(The Faerie Ring #3)

by Kiki Hamilton

Expected Publication: May 14, 2013

A deadly sacrifice, a heartbreaking choice, an uncertain future...

The Faerie Ring Series

I haven't started this series yet but I will, soon. I've heard a lot of good things about it and the covers look awesome, especially the third!

Review: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

An Abundance of Katherines
by John Green
Published: October 16, 2008




When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type is 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, washedup 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.

Happy New Year!

Let me just greet everyone a Happy 2013! I know, it's a little late but I was met head on with a lot of work since the start of this year. I'm still thankful, though. I'm positive this year will be a great and a very productive one.

Blogging and Challenges!
Since it's a new year, I figured even if I am busy with school and stuff I have to be more interactive in terms of reading and blogging. Last year, I make it a point to associate myself with other terms of social media even if it is just once a week. Well, it's practically everyday that I visit my GR, twitter, FB and other accounts but I rarely involve myself in discussions and such because I don't stay very long. I am also not participating in any memes if you've noticed. I'm planning to, but not now. Soon, I hope. But I am very excited because I decided to join reading challenges! I joined 5! Not counting my Goodreads challenge.

This is going to be a lot of fun!

 You can learn more about these HERE.

Feel free to join any challenge you find an interest in.

Oh, and for my Goodreads reading challenge, I decided to start small with 50 books. But I am definitely going to move it up sometime this year. I hope it's sooner! :)

Happy Sunday!

Review: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1)
by Richelle Mead
Published: August 16, 2007




St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger...

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

January Releases

New month, new year, new books! It's only January and already, I am having the time of my life anticipating  a lot of amazing books to add in my shelf. What's more fun than starting 2013 with these beauties, right? Here are some of the new releases I'm dying to read:

Splintered

by A.G. Howard

Published: January 1, 2013

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.   When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

Praise for Splintered:
"Attention to costume and setting render this a visually rich read..."
--Kirkus Reviews

Review: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Days of Blood and Starlight
(Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2)
by Laini Taylor
Published:




Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.

This is not that world.

Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?