October recapIt's the time of the month again. I know this is so cliche but really, time flies so fast! What happened with October?! Well, actually, A LOT. Read on, guys!

This month, I read and reviewed:
The Fairytale Apocalypse
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus #5) by Rick Riordan
This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith (posting review soon)
Reader (Daughter of Time #1) by Erec Stebbins (posting review soon)

And I plan to read these next month (fingers crossed):
Gone Girl (I need to do this, right?)
Love, Rosie (because the movie's coming out and I really want to watch it)
My True Love Gave to Me
Maybe a couple of sci-fi books (for Sci-Fi November)

This month I hoarded books again (which is against my rule of not buying/downloading until the year ends):
The Young Elites by Marie Lu
A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall
Trust Me, I'm Lying by Mary Elizabeth Summer
Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes
Adultery by Paulo Coelho
Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Magnolia by Kristi Cook
The Islands at the End of the World by Austin Aslan
Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson
Love, Rosie / Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern
In the Hall of the Dragon King (The Dragon King, #1) by Stephen R. Lawhead
My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by so many awesome authors (Laila sent me a copy)

And I talked about:
My short vacation in the beautiful Coron, Palawan
How I manage my TBR
My birthday (My giveaway is ending in a few hours but you can still join. GO!)
My favorite TV shows and movies I watched this month

I also interviewed:
Jacqueline Patricks
Allen Wyler

And I've read great posts from awesome book bloggers, too!
Melanie of Ya Midnight Reads reviews The Blood of Olympus
Francine of Not-So-Literary-Heiresses talks about reserving books
Amber of The Mile Long Bookshelf explains why she doesn't participate in blog memes
Ana of Tara! Let's Be Happy answers random and fun questions
Dre of Sporadic Reads lists down 10 books that have stayed with her
Lucy of Queen of Contemporary talks about leaving marks on books
Cait of Notebook Sisters lists down 10 types of bloggers

What to Look Forward to Next Month:
Sci-Fi November!!! I'll be posting some book reviews, an interview and probably some lists that involve mind-blowing sci-fi films. :)
Announcement of giveaway winner (that's tomorrow!)
A collab post with Ana of Tara! Let's Be Happy

Now that the recap is out of the way, let's talk about this post's title...

It feels like yesterday when I was ranting about how difficult it was to juggle work, life, and blogging. Things did improve fortunately... but I still get bad, super busy days. And it's just less than 2 months now before Christmas -- which is a very busy time in our household and in our workplace -- so I expect things to be a little bit harder in the next few weeks. What I'm saying is... maybe I need a co-blogger. Yeah, I actually need one (or two) but I'm not sure if there's someone out there who will be interested. I've been blogging for only 8 months (the first 2 months I wasn't even active) and I'm not "famous" level like most bloggers I know so this probably doesn't sound enticing to you. What will you be getting out of it? Well, I do get ARCs, though not physical, so there's that. You get a space (or more space if you already blog) for your thoughts about books, reading, and other bookish stuff. You can be part of something that's not big yet but is certainly growing. And you get ME. We can email, chat or talk over the phone about books and we can be friends for life.

If there is anyone out there who is interested, I thank you in advance. You can send me a message here and I'll get back to you asap. :)

So, that's my October. It was busy, eventful, exhausting on some days, and FUN. Now, tell me about your month. Leave comments, guys! :) And oh, Happy Halloween!

For the first time since I started this blog, I am not going to talk about books or reading. Today, I am going to share with you what I do when I'm not reading or working. And that is watching TV shows and movies. I've read a good number of books this month... but it's nowhere near how much TV and film time I've been getting.

So first, TV! I don't watch local shows (as in from the Philippines) except news but I watch a lot of US TV series. Fall and winter are the two great seasons to watch TV because that's when most popular and really good programs air. These are the shows that I've been watching since last month, and why:

TV shows

  • The Voice - I love Adam and Blake's bromance. And Gwen and Pharell are surprisingly awesome, too. I seriously think the contestants here are better than the ones in American Idol but yeah, the winners are not really famous.

  • The Walking Dead - Did you see that super intense season 5 pilot? I don't watch zombie movies but TWD is just so addicting that I don't even care about the gross creatures. The characters are so badass. This show does a good job on character development and foreshadowing, especially last season.

  • Grey's Anatomy - It's been eleven seasons... and I still love it! I thought I'd stop watching after Cristina left but I just can't because Mer and Alex are still there.

  • Scandal - Olivia Pope. 'Nuff said.

  • New Girl - When I get overwhelmed by all the drama of the above 3 shows, I take a break by watching Zooey Deschanel and the gang. Critics have been saying that this show had so much wasted potential and that it went downhill after two seasons but I love it. It makes me laugh A LOT and it's supposed to do that because it's comedy so I have no complaints. I love Schmidt and Winston, I literally cry laughing.

  • The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon and The Ellen Show - The amount of time I spend on YouTube is mostly divided between Jimmy and Ellen. They're just so funny!!!


Now, let's move on to the movies I watched this month. For the sake of categorizing which ones I liked the most, I will use star ratings.

movies

  • Night at the Museum 1 & 2 - Watched this to refresh, because part 3 is coming out in December. Really funny. Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan's tandem always gets me. 4 STARS

  • 22 Jump Street - funnier than 21 Jump Street and I almost died laughing at the closing credits. 4 STARS

  • Sunny - a Korean film about friendship and growing up. It's funny and heartwarming and sad. The soundtrack is a winner. 5 STARS

  • Edge of Tomorrow aka Live, Die, Repeat - made my head ache. Good... but seriously "repetitive" (pun intended). 3.5 STARS

  • What If - one of my favorites this month, and certainly one of my favorite rom-coms ever. I didn't know Daniel Radcliffe could be good at comedy but he brought it. 5 STARS

  • Are You Here - DNF. I just... I couldn't bring myself to finish it. 1 STAR

  • Wish I Was Here - This was funny in the beginning and then bittersweet in the end. 3.5 STARS

  • Expendables 3 - Also a DNF, but that's because I was sleepy when I watched. And well, okay, it wasn't as good as the first one. But I plan to finish it so I won't rate it yet.

  • The Three Musketeers - If you've seen my recent tweets, you'll find that I.AM.CRAZY.ABOUT.LOGAN.LERMAN. Insane. I downloaded a gazillion photos of him to use as my phone, tablet, and laptop wallpapers. And I started looking up his other movies, like this one. Anyway, I grew up watching the cartoon version of The Three Musketeers and I also read the novel so I loved this. Logan was D'Artagnan and wow, that hair. 3.8 STARS

  • Stuck in Love - I watched this because of Logan and I thought I'd hate Lily Collins because they have a kissing scene but I ended up liking Lily. She really is a good actress, and she's freaking beautiful! I ship them. It's so weird though, to see Percy Jackson and Clary Fray kissing. Hahahaha! This movie is about a family of writers, and it's a great holiday movie. I loved it! 4.5 STARS

  • Transcendence - In my quest to watch more sci-fi films, I apprehensively picked this up. I don't trust Johnny Depp movies. I mean, I love the Pirates trilogy and Nick of Time but all the others bored me. This one wasn't boring but it was mind-boggling. 3.5 STARS

  • The Angriest Man in Brooklyn - I also wanted to watch more Robin Williams film and I thought, oh hey, there's Peter Dinklage! So I watched it and it was absolutely hilarious. It wasn't one of Robin Williams' best movies but it was still good and he was very funny, albeit angry. 4 STARS

  • The One I Love - I love Elisabeth Moss and this was very intriguing. You want mind-fuckery? Watch this. Seriously. I watched this in the afternoon and ended up thinking about it until dawn. 4.5 STARS

  • Fury - My boyfriend and I love World War 2 movies. And I love Logan, so we obviously had to watch this. I wasn't disappointed, I was even happy-ish in the end. But man, the stress! This movie has one of the most intense battle scenes ever! I loved it and I was squirming in my seat but damn, it was really, really stressful. 4.5 STARS


Whew! That was fun... makes me want to watch some more. Hahahaha!

Now, it's your turn. Tell me, what have you been watching this October? What are your favorite shows and movies? Have you watched any of these shows/films I mentioned? Leave your comments! :)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Allen_Wyler_Photo

Allen Wyler is a renowned neurosurgeon who earned an international reputation for pioneering surgical techniques to record brain activity.  He has served on the faculties of both the University of Washington and the University of Tennessee, and in 1992 was recruited by the prestigious Swedish Medical Center to develop a neuroscience institute.

In 2002, he left active practice to become Medical Director for a startup med-tech company (that went public in 2006) and he now chairs the Institutional Review Board of a major medical center in the Pacific Northwest.

Leveraging a love for thrillers since the early 70’s, Wyler devoted himself to fiction writing in earnest, eventually serving as Vice President of the International Thriller Writers organization for several years. After publishing his first two medical thrillers Deadly Errors (2005) and Dead Head (2007), he officially retired from medicine to devote himself to writing full time.

He and his wife, Lily, divide their time between Seattle and the San Juan Islands.

Get to know him more on allenwyler.com.




Hey, guys! I'm sharing my space to Allen Wyler, author of the medical thriller Dead End Deal. This is not-your-every-day thriller and it has a Jason Bourne vibe to it. Read on to know more about this book and the very skillful author behind it. Take it away, Allen!




GUEST POST:
Thanks for asking me to talk about Dead End Deal, a thriller that takes place in both Seattle and Seoul, South Korea.

Q: What inspired you to write Dead End Deal?
A: Good question. Like all my plots, the kernel came from a real life experience. At the time, I was working as the Chief Medical Officer for a start-up medical device company and was on a business trip to Seoul. As is often the case when traveling across numerous time changes, it was hard to sleep. At 2 am, while sitting at my hotel window looking at the lights of the city, I got to wondering how it might feel to be trapped in a foreign city without my passport, language fluency, or the means to escape. On top of that, what if I were accused of a felonious crime I hadn’t committed? What would I do? How would I manage to escape? The questions became so appealing, that I started hammering out a plot to encompass this situation. Because I love to put up roadblocks for my protagonist, the problem of how to reenter the United States without a passport became an interesting challenge. It was a fun book to write.

Q: How do you get your ideas for stories?
A: My ideas spring from various things that happen to me during a day. I can be doing just about anything and some small facet about it may spark an idea. More often than not, I mentally toss the idea around until it’s got so many holes in it that I reject it and move on. Rarely does an idea hold up to real scrutiny. But when it does, it’s one I believe I can work with. Cutter’s Trial, for example, is a non-thriller which will be released by Astor+Blue next year. It came from a malpractice suit against me years ago. It was, in fact, the basis for the first novel I ever wrote. My writing was so awful that I finally sent the manuscript straight to my computer’s recycle. But the idea stuck in the back of my mind and resurfaced every now and then. So once I’d honed my skills, I took another crack at it and believe it turned out much better. Or at least I hope it did. We’ll see.

Q: Where do you write?
A: I tend to lead a very disciplined life, which, I guess is a deeply engrained work ethic holdover from medical school, residency, and the practice of neurosurgery. A brain surgeon can’t decide to wander into the operating room an hour late or break from sterile technique, or not make rounds on post-op patients. I carry this regimentation over to my writing life. Being a morning person, I sit down at my computer each morning, seven days a weeks, to write. Some days I’m productive. Some days I’m not. But I always do some writing. It’s the only way I can get the first draft, which for me, is the most difficult. I don’t have a set amount of time to write, and when I’m done for the day, I know it.

Q: Is there something you need in order to write, such as music?
A: I prefer working in silence without distractions. Most often with a cup of coffee next to me. I tend to limit distractions because I know I am easily lured away from the task at hand. Funny, but when in the operating room, I usually had music going. I get asked how that could be. Well, unless I was dealing with an unforeseen complication, surgery was mostly manual dexterity task, so the music cut the drama. In contrast, for me at least, writing requires more concentration to be creative. Especially on the first draft. How should my character react? What would he say? Might sound paradoxical but when starting, say a brain tumor, I where I should end up and how to get there. When writing, such clarity isn’t always the case.

Q: Authors you admire
A: For thriller and mysteries the authors I admire most are: John Sandford, Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, Stephen King, and Dennis Lehane. I also read a ton of non-fiction and for that I admire any author who can make a dry subject interesting. I read constantly.





Thank you so much for sharing your time with us, Allen! Dead End Deal does sound amazing and as someone who loves Grey's Anatomy and Jason Bourne, this is really exciting for me. :)

And oh, four of Allen Wyler's ebooks (Dead End Dead, Dead Ringer, Dead Wrong, and Deadly Errors) are on sale for only $0.99 on Amazon and Barnes and Noble throughout the entire month of October! Now, isn't that a great deal? :)

Thanks for sticking around, guys. Let me know in the Comments if you've read any of Allen Wyler's works and if you love medical thrillers.
The Heroes of Olympus series has ended. And I was left with a broken heart. How do I move on?

Warning: This review is a mess of feels.

I had to get it out there. You can't say I didn't warn you.

After 10 books (yes, I'm including the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books) here we are. Gaea is waking up and seven demigods -- Greek and Roman -- unite to stop her from destroying the world. As someone who's waited for this for a whole year, I had to literally drop everything (mainly This is What Happy Looks Like, which was the book I was reading at the time The Blood of Olympus came out) just so I can start reading the series finale. I was confident that this will be the best book of the series, that Rick Riordan will rise to the occasion and NOT disappoint me. Did it satisfy me? Stick around to find out.

As in the previous books, there were alternating POVs. I have to praise Rick Riordan because not only has he made his readers love the awesome, brilliant, charming Percy Jackson (for more fangirling, please check this out) -- he's also manage to make us love six other demigods: Annabeth the wise girl, of course; Leo (who is second to Percy when it comes to awesomeness); charmspeaker Piper, the princess of the undead, Hazel; shape-shifter Frank (how he can turn into a swarm of bees is one of the world's biggest mysteries); and the wind and storm guy, Jason. I have to admit that I didn't like Jason before. I guess anyone who's read the series would understand. He's the son of Zeus/Jupiter who's like the most egotistical god. So Jason was this cool, alpha male and at one point, he was like Percy's biggest rival. Naturally, I am on Team Percy. But that's the thing with Rick Riordan. He's so good at character development that he makes us understand all these characters, makes us like and love them and root for them. And with seven demigods plus two more (Reyna and Nico) on the other side of the Atlantic, character development is no easy feat.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Bravo, bravo![/caption]

There were five POVs... and none of them Percy's. Or Annabeth's. Which was my BIGGEST ISSUE HERE. I can understand that other characters should get the limelight, and that this isn't PJO anymore so it's not just about Percy, and that it's so hard to divide the chapters equally into nine POVs so some had to take the back seat. But why Percy and Annabeth? WHY? I was seriously pissed off. I was hoping that there would be even just one chapter each for my OTP. But no, folks. I was left to resort to Percy's funny dialogues and kissing scenes as seen from other people's POVs. Arggghhh!!!
When Percy pulled away, Annabeth looked like a fish gasping for air.
'The Rivalry ends here,' Percy said. 'I love you, Wise Girl.”

Good thing there was Leo to fill the joke gap. The Leo chapters were the funniest... which was kinda ironic when you get to the ending. Oh, Leo...

And then there's Nico with his dark, deadly chapters. It is so great and depressing at the same time to get into Nico's mind. This kid has been through a lot, probably more than any of the other demigods. At least when Percy dropped into Tartarus, he had Annabeth. But Nico, he was mostly alone, but intentionally so. I'm so glad that we get to see Hades' son in a whole new light. So much character development went into Nico and that moment in the end with Reyna was just... wow. It's just amazing how Rick Riordan wrapped up and opened at the same time (does that make sense?) Nico's story.
Then she did something so unexpected Nico would later think he dreamed it. She walked up to Nico, who was standing to one side in the shadows, as usual. She grabbed his hand and pulled him gently into the firelight. ‘We had one home,’ she said. ‘Now we have two.’

And Reyna, oh I love her. She's so bad ass! Like Nico, she has her own ghosts (literally) and she's been through so much... but she's a praetor and she couldn't stand down. And I love that Nico gains a friend and a sister in her.

As much as I hated that Percy and Annabeth (and Frank and Hazel) didn't get their own chapters, I cannot complain about the pacing and writing and overall quality of this book. Some bloggers complained that the ending was open-ended and that may be true... but it also felt wrapped up enough for me. I don't need a new spin-off series (a spin-off to a spin-off, that's kinda confusing) and come on, these demigods have been through enough. Maybe a companion book will do or an additional chapter... where ALL nine demigods are united. I need that in my life.



It also helped that I read Percy Jackson's Greek Gods just a few weeks ago because most of the anecdotes and history behind the Greek gods, giants, and monsters are still fresh on my mind. A lot of the characters Percy mentioned in the said companion book were present in this finale. I felt like a history nerd while reading, really.

But the true measure of a book's greatness, in my opinion, is in how it affects the reader or not. If a book doesn't evoke emotion, then that's pretty pointless, right? I can tell you with certainty that The Blood of Olympus made me cry like crazy. Tears were falling down on my cheeks as I read the last few chapters.
'Legion, cuneum formate!’ Reyna yelled. ‘Advance!’ Another cheer on Jason’s right as Percy and Annabeth reunited with the forces of Camp Half-Blood.

‘Greeks!’ Percy yelled. ‘Let’s, um, fight stuff!’ They yelled like banshees and charged.

Jason grinned. He loved the Greeks. They had no organization whatsoever, but they made up for it with enthusiasm.

That wasn't even supposed to be sad, that was funny. And yet I was dabbing my eyes with my blanket while I read that part. It was so bittersweet. I had to read through tears. And all that time I was thinking of three things:

1. Oh god, it's ending.
2. Go, go, go, demigods! Kill Mother Earth!
3. Oh my god, it's ending!!! *ugly crying*

It felt so surreal. I've only started reading PJO and Heroes of Olympus in a little over two years but it felt so much longer than that. By now Percy and Annabeth, and all the others including Coach Hedge, were not just fictional characters. They're my friends, my family. Cliche, yeah, but readers would understand this. They're not real people, but I felt real pain when I finished the book. :(

Needless to say, I love The Blood of Olympus. If you haven't started reading the series, then lucky you. You're saving yourself from ALL THESE FEELS. I'm kidding of course. No I'm not. Seriously, you will go through all these BUT it will be worth it.

The Blood of Olympus deserves 5 stars, it does. But since I'm still a little bit pissed off that there's no Percy and Annabeth POV, I'm giving it 4.5 stars (0.5 is a big deal, you guys). If you've read the book, please leave a comment or tweet me and join me in my cryfest.

[caption id="attachment_826" align="aligncenter" width="198"]4.5 stars Give me Percy/Annabeth chapters and I'll give you 5 stars.[/caption]

P.S. There's a Blood of Olympus Fan Gathering happening this October 25 at Fully Booked in BGC. I want to go because I know I can fangirl all I want there... but I looked at the Demigods Philippines page and I saw very young faces. Kids! And I thought, I'm going to look like everyone's older sister there! Am I so old to be enjoying this Middle Grade books? And I don't know anyone who's coming so... should I still go?




As a reader and reviewer, I aim to write fair and honest reviews, both on this site and on Goodreads. Please read my Review Policy here.



Yes, today's my birthday and I am now on the latter side of my twenty's. I still can't believe it. Most of the time I just feel like a 21 year-old girl, fresh out of college and just learning how to live my life. I don't know how I got here, seriously.

But it's here. And though I am not in a celebratory mood, I am truly thankful that I got to this point in my life. I'm older, maybe a tiny bit wiser, and I have so much to be grateful for. This birthday in particular is special because for the first time, I'm celebrating and sharing my birthday with the book blogging universe. I don't know all of you personally, but so far my experience with this loving community has been humbling and really, really fun. I am so proud to be one of you, guys. My 8-ish months of book blogging has been super awesome because of you. So, thank you!

thank you salute
As a gesture of thanks to every single one of you who have written wonderful blog posts, left cool and nice comments on my posts, fangirled with me, and just generally shared a love for books with me, I'm giving two amazing books!

The first book is my extra copy of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith, which I reviewed yesterday. Isn't it lovely? Since shipping is not so cheap, I can only choose a winner from the Philippines for this one.

statistical probability of love at first sight

For international peeps, I've also got something for you! The wonderful people (a.k.a. Pam Labbe and Shay West) of Booktrope Publishing are giving away an ebook, Dangerous Reflections by Shay West, which I reviewed here. Alexis (the main character) and I share the same birthday!

Dangerous Reflections




Terms:
1. You must be at least 13 years old to join.
2. No cheating! Don't pick up entries for something you haven't done.
3. Please use a valid email address because I'll be sending you an email if you win. If the winner doesn't respond to my email within 48 hours, I will choose another winner.
4. I am not responsible for any items lost in the mail.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway




Thanks for joining and celebrating this happy day with me! Now, excuse me, I have to go eat cake. :)


eat cake
The whole of September, I read mostly fantasy and apocalyptic books. So I wanted to read something different, something more realistic. Maybe Gone Girl? I've wanted to read that for so long and I really should if I plan on watching the movie. But um, I was looking for something light and fun and maybe sweet... and I don't think Gone Girl qualifies as any of those things. While browsing my bookshelf, I saw my SIGNED (yeah, I had to emphasize that. Lols) copy of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. Now, that's more like it, right?

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

After reading Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Fairytale Apocalypse, and The 5th Wave, it was refreshing to read something that doesn't involve mythical creatures or fairies or aliens. This is the second Jennifer E. Smith book I've read (the first one was The Geography of You and Me). But as for realistic, how realistic is Statistical?

That depends on whether you believe in love at first sight or not. Me? I used to, when I didn't have a boyfriend yet. It's so funny, now that I've been in a relationship for so long, I've become more skeptical of this. Maybe because I now know that relationships take hard work and time and communication. But hey, I don't want to be cynical about this book. And if you believe in love at first sight, I totally respect that. For what it's worth, this book made me want to believe in love at first sight again.

It's not hard to like the main characters, Hadley (what a peculiar name) and Oliver. It was easy to understand them. Now that I think of it, the way they met was actually reminiscent of how Lucy and Owen (of Geography) met. And just like the two, Hadley and Oliver were mature teenagers. I guess when you're a teenager, you don't really think of yourself as young and reckless and immature. But you really can tell from their conversations that both Hadley and Oliver are smart, funny people.

I like Hadley. She's brave for 1) deciding to forgive her father and 2) following her heart. That's easier said than done, folks. If I was in her position, I won't even be in that wedding! But that's just me... I still love that this book is not just all romance. It actually gave a lot of room for Hadley's relationship with his father. I hated her father, I did. But as someone who's lost her father to heart attack a few years ago, I know how it is to feel left behind and just... lost. So yeah, Hadley and her father's talk made me cry.
“You know what they say," Dad said. "If you love something, set it free."
"What if he doesn't come back?"
"Some things do, some things don't," he said, reaching over to tweak her nose. "I'll always come back to you anyway."
"You don't light up," Hadley pointed out, but Dad only smiled.
"I do when I'm with you.”

Oliver wasn't hard to love either. He's so witty! And he seemed really attractive and fun to be with. That's why when I found out why he was coming to London, I was shocked. Did not see that coming at all.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is set on a 24-hour period... but because Hadley had been through a lot, that one day felt like a long time. This is the second Jennifer E. Smith book that I've read and so far she's not disappointing me. With The Geography of You and Me, she made me believe that long distance relationships can actually work. This time, while I still don't believe in love at first sight and that it's good to talk to strangers (no matter how gorgeous the person is, practice caution ok?), I do believe in fate. I believe that when it's meant to happen, it happens. Four minutes can certainly change everything.
“What are you really studying?"
He leans back to look at her. "The statistical probability of love at first sight."
"Very funny," she says. "What is it really?"
"I'm serious."
"I don't believe you."
He laughs, then lowers his mouth so that it's close to her ear. "People who meet in airports are seventy-two percent more likely too fall for each other than people who meet anywhere else.”

Whether you believe in love at first sight or not, you will enjoy this book. Go ahead and read it! Don't have a copy yet? Hmmm... Why don't you visit my blog again tomorrow to see if maybe there's a giveaway? ;)




As a reader and reviewer, I aim to write fair and honest reviews, both on this site and on Goodreads. Please read my Review Policy here.


Vee of The Blah Blah Notebook tagged me again! Sorry it took so long, Vee! You know what's been going with me, but hey I made it. :)

The TBR (To Be Read) Tag was created by Dana of Dana Square and Rachel of A Perfection Called Books, basically because they're interested in knowing how what's in our pile and how we manage to keep up with our pile. You know what? I can't keep up with it! The books just keep coming and I'm running out of shelves and hard drive space. But this tag really looks fun so here we go.




How do you keep track of your TBR pile?
I don't. Hahaha! No, seriously, I don't. I used to, I had this excel file with all my unread books... but they just kept coming and it became tiresome to list everything down. I try to use Goodreads for this but my Goodreads TBR is not so accurate now. I have tons of ebooks on my Kindle, Moon Reader, Adobe Reader, Aldiko, etc. I also have shelves at home with that are organized by color, which doesn't help in tracking my TBR pile. My TBR's a mess, really. I have to do something about that.

Is your TBR mostly print or ebook?
Definitely ebooks. It's sad how much ebooks I read compared to print books. I've read 41 books this year and only 2 of those are in print format. Whuuut? Yes. I won't even try to explain myself.

How do you determine which book from your TBR to read next?
Book review requests and books for blog tours ideally should be on top of my list. I try my best to follow this rule. But I've been really bad at this lately. I usually choose the next book based on my mood and cravings. Reading is a very personal and emotional activity for me.

A Book That's Been On Your TBR List The Longest
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. I've already seen the movie and I loved it. It's sooo sad and beautiful and tragic. Just thinking of it makes me teary-eyed.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

A Book You Recently Added To Your TBR
The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey. I just finished The 5th Wave so yeah, I want the sequel.

The Infinite Sea

A Book In Your TBR Strictly Because Of Its Beautiful Cover
Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern. I love the typography. That's what I first thought when I saw this one. So it went to my TBR even before I read the synopsis. Will I read it? Leaning towards no, because of the reviews I read.

Say What You Will

A Book On Your TBR That You Never Plan on Reading
Dear John by Nicholas Sparks. I did plan to read this when I marked it "to-read" but then I read other Nicholas Sparks books and I realized, when you've read one, you've read all. No offense to Nicholas Sparks but his books share A LOT of similarities.

Dear John

An Unpublished Book On Your TBR That You’re Excited For
Oooh, this one's easy! My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by 12 amazing authors. Isn't this adorable? Look at all the names there! And it's coming out real soon so... yay!

My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories

A Book On Your TBR That Basically Everyone’s Read But You
That would be Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I feel such a loser whenever a friend or someone I know tells me how good this book is. Especially now that the movie's out and it's #1 on the US. Why haven't I read this? I don't know, really.

Gone Girl

A Book On Your TBR That Everyone Recommends To You
Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas. I'm going to read it before the year ends, that's for sure. *fingers crossed*

Dangerous Girls

A Book On Your TBR That You’re Dying To Read
Besides My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories, I'm looking forward to reading Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella. I've never read a Kinsella book that I didn't like so I'm sure this one will be good, too.

Twenties Girl

How many books are on your Goodreads TBR shelf?
Right now, 55. That's few, considering that the ones on my ebook readers and book review requests are not yet on my Goodreads TBR. Again, I plan to do something about that.

This was really fun! It reminded me a lot about how much organizing I should do. Thanks for tagging me, Vee! :)

Tagging the following people. I hope you're up for it!
Aimee of Deadly Darlings
Irish of Nocturnal Reader
Ana of Tara! Let's Be Happy
Mel of YA Midnight Reads
and anyone who wants to do this! :)
I'm back! :D

Okay, you probably know that by now, seeing as I've already posted two entries after my island hopping post. But this is the first post I've written since coming back from my vacation so yeah... technicalities. ;)

For those who are wondering, yes, Coron's amazing. It was like heaven on earth. The place is just sooo beautiful and cameras will not fully capture its beauty. Still, I tried. Here are some of the photos:
limetones in coron

white sand beach in coron

[caption id="attachment_789" align="aligncenter" width="538"]snorkeling That's me, surrounded by fishes![/caption]

Kayangan Lake

[caption id="attachment_787" align="aligncenter" width="662"]Kayangan Lake How amazing is this view?![/caption]

coron town

[caption id="attachment_785" align="aligncenter" width="391"]white sand beach in coron The beach is breath-taking![/caption]

white sand beach in coron

Trust me, it's a lot more beautiful in person so you have to come and visit.

Anyway, one of the books I read while I was in Coron was The 5th Wave (nice segue right? ;-) ). I read a little of it but mostly I listened to the audio book, which I got for free along with my 30-day Audible trial.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="317"] Click the photo to read synopsis or to buy the book. :)[/caption]

The 5th Wave was one of the most hyped books of 2013 and I can see why. I wanted to love the book; I really thought I would. But I was so conflicted after reading it and that's not a good feeling. I prefer my books to leave me feeling happy because of how things turned out, or sad because I didn't want it to end -- not relieved because it ended. Unfortunately, that's kind of what I felt after reading The 5th Wave.

BUT, BUT, BUT I didn't hate the book. The proper and organized way of explaining my thoughts and feelings would be a list, and I'd like to start with the not-so-good things first just so we can end on a happier note. :)

NOT-SO-GOOD THINGS:

1. The confusion
I get that this book is supposed to be mind-blowing with all its mysteries and mind-f*ckery and what-not. I'm down with that and hey, mind games are awesome. But in moderation please. Several times, I felt so confused by everything that's happening (or what I thought was happening) and I had creases on my forehead while listening to the audio book, which isn't very nice when you're in public transportation. I was repeatedly shouting WTF and what, what, what in my head. I had too many unanswered questions -- the biggest of which is, why kids?

2. The stress
Have you seen Kelley's (of Oh, The Books!) post about stressful reads? This is one such book. It stressed me out, and in a way that's a good sign because that meant the book affected me. But there's too much tension and problems in this book. The world as we know it is ending, how stressful can that be? Rick Yancey did a good job of making me feel whatever the character is feeling. Maybe too good of a job there, Mr. Yancey.

3. The pacing
So the book started out a bit slow. And do remember that I was listening to the audio book which made things a bit slower for me as opposed to when I'm reading. Then it picked up pace. And then it slowed down again. For a really long time it was just slooow. And then something happened and I said to myself, finally! Too bad it didn't last long. It dragged on some more until I started wishing that it would be over already. That made me feel bad because I really wanted to be excited about The 5th Wave, you know?

4. The romance
I believe in romance, I do. I believe that sometimes, all you need is love, love, love. But this romance element in The 5th Wave that makes me want to go and sing "We found love in a hopeless place..." seemed a little unrealistic and CREEPY for me. I won't go into the details but if you've read the book, you'll understand why I would think that. Kind of sad, because at first I enjoyed it and then later it freaked me out.

GOOD THINGS:

1. World-building
Now on to the more positive points...
The world-building in The 5th Wave is nothing short of EXCELLENT. Rick Yancey rocked it. I could totally picture what the camps, the houses, the characters looked like -- all because the author didn't shy away from the details. Normally I'd skipped the descriptions and all that but in this book the details felt purposeful. The vividness made it a lot scarier.
And oh, that scene at the highway? Totally reminded me of The Walking Dead. Actually the book mostly reminded me of TWD. Sure, there are no aliens in TWD but there are untrustworthy people, too. Lots of them.

2. Character development
As I've said, Rick Yancey doesn't scrimp on the details. And yay for us, readers, because here we got the full sense of what the characters are like. Listening to the audio book also helped in establishing the characterizations because of the voices and the narration. I liked both narrators, Brandon Espinoza and Phoebe Strole, although I was a little bit confused during the first part of Brandon's narration.
I usually like the male characters in books more than the females but surprisingly, I really liked Cassie's POV. She didn't sound whiny to me and I know that if I ever find myself in the same situation as hers, I don't think I'd be as brave or fast or cunning as her.

3. The very unique approach to an alien invasion
We've all seen alien-themed films and most of us probably think aliens are just... meh. With their funny faces and pointed ears and wobbly limbs and occasionally monster-ish appearance, who finds them scary? We're always bound to crush them anyway, right? Uh, no.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="277"]E.T. E.T. phone home?[/caption]

The aliens in The 5th Wave are scary, and what's even more troubling is the idea that people don't know what these aliens look like. They can look like a really hot guy, for instance, and you'll never know. Tell me if that isn't freaky enough.

So, there. I expected The 5th Wave to be great but um, it fell short for me. Mostly because the confusion and stress drove me nuts. But I'm still looking forward to book 2, The Infinite Sea, because I'm really itching to know what happened to this one character. Do I recommend this book to others who haven't read it yet? Yes! I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either. And it's movie adaptation is rumored to come out in 2016 so there's more reason to read it. I've seen pretty great reviews of it and I am perfectly aware that my opinions are not yours so who knows? You might end up liking this book more than I did. Let me know if you do, or don't. :)

[caption id="attachment_338" align="aligncenter" width="143"]3 star rating Good but not great, eh?[/caption]




As a reader and reviewer, I aim to write fair and honest reviews, both on this site and on Goodreads. Please read my Review Policy here.
Slam Book with Jacqueline Patricks

Yesterday, I posted a review of the awesome book called Fairytale Apocalypse . I loved the book and I really think you should read it. And oh, don't forget to join the giveaway when you check out my post!

Today, as part of my stop for the blog tour organized by Lola's Blog Tours, we are graced by the presence of the author of Fairytale Apocalypse, Jacqueline Patricks. She's going to answer my Slam Book and also sharing an excerpt from Fairytale Apocalypse so stick around!




Jacqueline PatricksAbout the Author:
As a teen, writing became my passion, and like most aspiring writers, my work was terrible, immature, cliched drivel. I enlisted in the Army, attended college for my creative writing degree, became a paramedic for twenty years (one of the few at the time with a degree), then switched careers into IT. Crazy, huh? Throughout my life, I've traveled far and pushed myself hard, striving to try almost anything at least once (except skydiving unless the plane is on fire).

I write like I live. Come and explore my imagination.

You can find and contact Jacqueline Patricks here:
- Website
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Goodreads
- Amazon Author Page




NICKNAME:  Jinx
AGE:   44
ZODIAC SIGN: Leo
DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN 3 WORDS:  Passionate, Loyal, Creative

FAVORITES
COLOR: Blue
ACTOR: Tom Hiddleston
ACTRESS: Sigourney Weaver
SONG: Too many to pick one
BAND/SINGER: Sid17
BOOK: I have to pick one???
MOVIE: Aliens!
BOOK-TURNED-MOVIE: Thor (more myth/comic turned movie)
BOOK/MOVIE QUOTE: “Mostly.” –Newt from Aliens
FICTIONAL CHARACTER: Loki (Of course!!!)
FOOD: Pizza
HOBBIES: reading and sleeping
GUILTY PLEASURE: writing fan fiction (not as much time anymore)
PET PEEVES: People who don’t follow clear directions.

LET’S GET PERSONAL! *aka obligatory cringe-worthy questions*
Note: I don't know how other countries do it, but in the Philippines, these questions are always, always included in a slam book. :)
DEFINE ‘LOVE’: Infinite, patient, compassionate, understanding, passionate—love is the reason we exist.
WHO IS YOUR CRUSH? My real life crush is my husband. My fictional crush is Loki.
WHERE/WHEN DID YOU MEET? 12 years ago online, then had our first date at Starbucks since there’s one on every corner.—I met Loki at the movie theater. *sigh*
WHO IS YOUR FIRST LOVE? My first fiancé, who shall remain nameless.
UNFORGETTABLE MOMENT: The first time I saved a life as a paramedic during my 21 year career.
MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT: Oh, man, let’s just say it involves a port-a-potty during pre-dawn darkness and a closed toilet lid.
IF YOU COULD BE ANYTHING/ANYONE/ANYWHERE RIGHT NOW, WHAT/WHO/WHERE WOULD YOU BE? I’d be a millionaire living in Maui writing full-time.

THE REAL STUFF…
1. What inspired you to write the Fairytale Apocalypse? The world-building is excellent so I was wondering, where did you get your ideas?
Great question! I was inspired by one of my favorite movies of all time, Labyrinth. I used to write fan fiction for it and FA was an offshoot of that creative vein. Of course, with FA, I wanted to create my own world, magic, rules, and such, which I've only just begun to explore. There's so much more to the Fae world that's going to be explored in the next books. One of the things I love to do with building a world is to blend it with the real world. The real world is so rich with inspiration. It's just a matter of learning how to reinvent it. I do that a lot with FA using Scottish Gaelic as the Fae ancient language for magic. More of that will be explained as I go along.
2. Do you believe in fairies?
I believe not so much in fairies but other worlds. I believe there is so much more to the universe that we, as humans, have yet to explore and understand. We haven't even peeled back the first layer. So, yes, fairies could be possible.
3. Which character can you relate most with?
I'd say Kagan. It's ironic, but I tend to relate more to my male leads than my female characters. It's the same for my sci-fi series, The Brajj. I relate more with Captain Lewis. Probably because I've worked in male dominated jobs for over 20 years, and I've gotten to know how men think and speak casually. While I'm still a girl at heart, I've come to understand men very well. So writing male characters is more a matter of understanding character motivations rather than making them 'sound' male.
4. If this book gets picked to be a movie, which actors/actresses would you want to play Kagan, Lauren and Tessa?
LOL, I wish! You know, I haven't thought that far ahead. I would have no idea who would play whom. I love Hugh Jackman. Then you'd have to have light and dark females for Lauren and Tessa, preferably younger than Jackman. Since they're fraternal, they would've have to look that much alike. Not even sure where to begin for them. If any readers have ideas for the twins?
5. Any advice for aspiring writers?
Don't let the haters get you down! Keep writing, working, and improving! It's an entirely new world for writers. Take advantage of it because who knows where things are going to be five or ten years from now. It's an exciting time!

I love, love Jacqueline's answers! I'm so intrigued with the embarrassing moment. ;) And yeah, Hugh Jackman as Kagan is spot-on!

As promised, we're sharing an excerpt from Fairytale Apocalypse, and I'd like to say that this is one of my parts of the book. Enjoy!




“Get out of my way, Paul.”

Still covered in blood, sweat and filth, Kagan pushed off the armory’s door frame where he’d been leaning the last few minutes since they’d left the battle. Tensing, he prepared to intervene should Tessa need him; however, his presence seemed to have been forgotten, and he watched as their bodies strained around each other but never touched in an awkward dance.

Tessa tried to sidestep the large man, but Paul blocked her again, his arms outstretched. “Think 'bout what you’re doin'.”

“I am.” She feinted far left, then dodged right.

His bulkiness ended up faltering against her speed and flexibility. Paul’s cussing amused Kagan, who smirked and relaxed his stance on the jamb.

Paul laid a restraining hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t touch me!” Tessa pivoted and gripped his wrist, twisting his arm beyond its natural angle.

His torso moved in the direction of her arm lock, but he didn’t step back. Kagan saw pain in Paul’s brown eyes, but he never released the smallest sound acknowledging it. They stared each other down, Paul’s jaw muscles jumping and bunching beneath his stubble while Tessa pushed his arm farther into the lock.

Paul leaned in close to Tessa, his voice so low Kagan barely heard him. “You don’t need to do this.”

“The hell I don’t!” She shoved him so hard he fell onto a stack of food boxes on a nearby table, scattering them like roaches. A few burst open, exposing a type of curved, dried pasta Kagan once ate covered in vibrant orange cheese sauce, bland but satisfying. Seeing it again made his stomach growl. Later, he sighed, partially resigned to never eating again, best to deal with this first.

Turning from the stunned Paul, Tessa started gathering supplies, heedlessly stuffing them into a large olive-green rucksack. No words passed between the three for several moments, only the sounds of metal and pre-packaged containers being slide into the bag filled the room. Paul shook out his arm and exchanged a guarded look with Kagan. Cocking a brow, Kagan frowned at Paul, who continued to brush off his dignity.

Paul mouthed—Well?—at him.

As if she’ll listen to me. Cautiously, Kagan approached her from behind, grateful that his facial markings had faded shortly after he’d sworn his vow to her. “Tessa.”

She jumped, face agog with shock as if she didn’t recognize him in that instant. Her long brown hair hung in matted hanks, a few frizzy strands drifting about her head like a wretched halo. Dirt and dried gore painted her face, making her dilated chestnut eyes appear black. He knew he looked no better, could feel his clothes and hair stiffening as the blood dried. But Tessa—

She was gruesome. She was magnificent. His cock twitched, hardening, urged along by the coppery taste of mortal blood lingering on his tongue. He could hardly restrain his urge to strip her naked, slam her against a wall, and bury himself inside her carnage-soaked body, to forcefully take her as done in ancient times when their worlds existed as one in harmony. Thrusting, pounding, dominating, his ears begged to hear her scream his name in—

“What?” she snapped, pulling him from his lust-addled delusion.

Damn Fae bloodlust! Frustrated for numerous reasons, he growled at her and quickly stepped back to clear his nostrils of Tessa’s primitive scent. Mentally slapping himself, he wished for a cold spring in which to dunk his overheated hormones. He pinched his nose, then cleared his throat. “Whatever your plan to rescue Lady Lauren, you’ll not attempt it without me.”




That's it! Thanks for checking out my tour stop for Fairytale Apocalypse. I'm really excited for the second book. :)
fairytale apocalypse bannerWelcome to my tour stop for Fairytale Apocalypse by Jacqueline Patricks! To check out other stops, visit Lola's Blog Tours. :)

When I first saw the invitation for Fairytale Apocalypse's blog tour, my TBR was already bursting at the seams. But then I read the blurb.

"A romance of apocalyptic proportions..."

I knew then that I had to join the tour.

I'm glad I did. This book is amazing. I can't think of any book or even a movie that I can compare it with because it's just so unique and fresh. I loved a lot of things about it... and I though I should do this review with a list. So, here are 5 things I loved about Fairytale Apocalypse:

1. The perfect mix of fairy tale and apocalypse
Based on the title (duh) and the blurb, you get the sense that this book involves both fantasy and survival. It just amazes me that one doesn't overpower the other. There's just enough magic, adventure, apocalypse, and not overwhelming romance. Actually, there isn't much romance, not as much as I expected. But on the parts where there is romance, it was palpable. I felt it. This was such an emotional book. I felt everything there is to feel: excitement, dread, sadness, love, lust.
feels
2. The connection between Lauren, Kagan, and Tessa
I was a little bit confused in the beginning because I couldn't understand the connection between the three main characters. But once I did, it was, wow. Which leads me to the 3rd point...

3. The twists and turns were shocking and surprising.
No generic plot twists here. Just when I was expecting something to happen, something else comes in and BAM! Reading this book was like riding a roller coaster -- fun and scary at the same time, and you never know when it ends!
plot twist4. Great world-building
Both the mortal and Fae world were vividly painted and it was not hard to picture everything. It was particularly easy to distinguish the Fae world from the mortal world because of the author's clear, lively descriptions. The Fae world, though beautiful, is also dangerous. And the mortal world, which used to be bursting with life and energy, is now barren and even more dangerous. Jacqueline Patricks really did a great job on the world-building, and all the details she put in were vital to the context of the novel. There were times that I felt like skipping the details but I'm glad I stuck around because those things proved to be important at the end.

5. The cliff-hanger ending
Relax. The ending was a cliff-hanger but it was a proper ending. You can even say, happy ending. But yes, it was a cliff-hanger, which left me with questions. Normally I'd see this as a con, but in this case, I'm passing this off as a good thing because 1) I got the ending that I wanted and 2) there's so much more to look forward to in the next book. Yay!

The only thing I didn't like in this book is Lauren and her childishness/selfishness. She infuriated me 90% of the time. But I know now that it was necessary for her to be this way so that in the end, her change has more impact.

If you're looking for an exciting read, Fairytale Apocalypse is a good choice. I haven't read Jacqueline Patricks' other works but after this, I'm definitely interested in reading another book of her.




Jacqueline PatricksAbout the Author:
As a teen, writing became my passion, and like most aspiring writers, my work was terrible, immature, cliched drivel. I enlisted in the Army, attended college for my creative writing degree, became a paramedic for twenty years (one of the few at the time with a degree), then switched careers into IT. Crazy, huh? Throughout my life, I've traveled far and pushed myself hard, striving to try almost anything at least once (except skydiving unless the plane is on fire).

I write like I live. Come and explore my imagination.

You can find and contact Jacqueline Patricks here:
- Website
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Goodreads
- Amazon Author Page




Oh, hey, if you want a SIGNED copy of Fairytale Apocalypse (I know I do) and a $100 Amazon gift card, you should definitely join this giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway






Come back tomorrow for my interview with Jacqueline Patricks and -- wait for it -- an excerpt from Fairytale Apocalypse! :D




As a reader and reviewer, I aim to write fair and honest reviews, both on this site and on Goodreads. Please read my Review Policy here.