Happy Tuesday

Well, earlier today something nice arrived on my doorstep. 

 Hmm. What could it be?? 

Could it be a bomb sent to me by an enemy? hmmm.

Or something more sinister?

And so, I opened it. 

And lookie lookie...

My paperback copies of The Iron King, The Iron Daughter, The Iron Queen and The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa has arrived.

Thanks Dad for your credit card. :)

 I ordered this from The Book Depository three days before Christmas and I can't believe how smooth our transaction was. It actually arrived on time and to think that I ordered this during the holidays! Til' next transaction. :)

PS: Will make a review after reading. :)

EXISTENCE BY ABBI GLINES

I finished reading Existence by Abbi Glines last night. Truth be told, I wasn’t really expecting that much since I wasn’t even able to finish The Vincent Boys by the same author. This is a story about Death falling in love with a not so normal girl named Pagan. Yeah, I know it’s so cliche but honestly I found myself liking this a little bit as I got deeper into the story.

The characters were written well, I guess. I liked Dank a.k.a. Death. Damn!
He’s one sexy bastard!
I wouldn’t mind dying if he will be the last thing I see. haha. Seriously, he’s so sexy! I actually understand Pagan’s attraction towards his character. I also liked the way he was written here. Not the typical Death with his scythe and cloak but Death, the sexy rock star.

Pagan annoyed me a bit though. I mean, I get it, she likes him but I think she was just too clingy to the point of making her unnerving. Plus, the fact that she has a hot boyfriend who loves her and yet she’s attracted with the sexy Death. Well, I can probably sympathize with her. haha. Leif is hot but Dank is sexy! And I like my men sexy!

The supporting characters were okay I guess. I liked Miranda who is like the rich bitch girlfriend. She’s the bitch in their friendship and yet you can see how much she loves Pagan. She’s not the typical selfish bitch best friend. She’s only a bitch when the need calls for it. Anyway, she’s my favorite female character in the book.

The writing was just okay for me. Not bad or excellent. Just something in between. The first and middle chapters were really slow for me. The end was nice enough though. It caught my attention because of that cliffhanger. haha. And because of that ending I just can’t wait to get my hands on the second book of this trilogy.

Rating: 3/5 stars

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BEAUTIFUL DISASTER BY JAMIE MCGUIRE

I stumbled upon Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire because of a thread in Goodreads and Thea, a batch mate of mine from college who convinced me that it is a must read. Plus the fact that I just could not finish The Vincent Boys, so I read it even though I had second thoughts since I’m not really a fan of contemporary YA novels.

Anyhoo, the story centers around two dysfunctional people, Travis Maddox and Abby Abernathy. I liked the dynamic of these two people. I know the story is sorta cliche, good girl meets bad boy etc., but I swear it has a twist. I loved this book from the first page.Even the supporting characters were lovable.

I love Travis Maddox. He’s in this fight club thing where he gets paid to beat people up, he has tattoos, he smokes, he’s a heavy drinker, he rides a motorcycle etc. In short he’s the typical bad boy.
And as I’ve said earlier I have a penchant for bad boys and so yeah, I love him. haha.
Anyway, he lives with his cousin Shepley, another endearing character BTW, in their apartment. In one of his fight nights he meets Abby Abernathy, who is Shepley’s girlfriend, America’s best friend.

Well, Abby is typical good girl on the outside. Oooh, I don’t want to spoil this so you just have to read why it’s only on the outside. haha. She befriends Travis and somehow he mellows down. Eventually, they fall in love and start a relationship. You just have to read it to know how. haha.

I liked this novel a lot. It made me feel giddy and I think Travis is such a sweetheart. He may be violent at times but when he’s sweet, he could make your heart melt like butter. As for Abby, I found her annoying at times. There were times when I think she was just trying so hard to be good and it kinda ticked me off. But I loved her more when she turned into the “REAL ABBY” in one of the chapters.

I’d give this a 4/5 star rating. I love Ms. McGuire’s novel.

Currently reading Existence by Abbi Glines.
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CLOCKWORK PRINCE BY CASSANDRA CLARE

As I’ve said on my previous review, I have finished Clockwork Prince already and I think I owe this one a decent review too since I liked it that much. Again, the story centers around Downworlder Tessa Gray and Shadowhunters Will Herondale and Jem Carstairs.

I actually love this novel more than I loved the first one and I’ve already given 5/5 stars to the first one. haha. Anyway, it takes off after the events from Clockwork Angel. I love the way Ms. Clare writes. There are times when sequels ruin the entire series for me but this one did not. It actually made me crave for the third book which will be out later on this year BTW. 

Anyway, a lot of questions were answered in this book. And one of them is Why does Will act like a prick? haha. And I must say that part made me teary eyed. I ache for Will and I love him even more because of it. He’s a really good person and I think he deserves to be happy. And his letter at the end made me want to give him a hug. Oh yeah, I got the first print edition so I also have a copy of his letter to his family on his birthday. I liked Will more in this novel more than I did in the first one. He seemed more human even though he still acted like he didn’t give a care in the world.

What can I say about Tessa though? Hmm. I liked her here as well. She did have her typical heroine attitude I-can’t-decide-between-these-two-boys-because-I-want-them-both-and-they-want-me but then again, I think she was gutsy enough to choose in the end. Even though I still have this feeling that she hasn’t actually made her final decision yet. But still I think that took a lot of guts. We’ll see in the last book though.

Jem as always is flawless in this book. And it’s actually good to see his wild side in this novel. haha. Just read it. I don’t want to spoil anyone.

Ms. Clare did not fail to make me hungry for the third and last installment as always. I love the way she wrote this book. The cliffhangers weren’t as annoying as cliffhangers should be. It didn’t actually leave me saying WTF?! It just made me want to read Clockwork Princess ASAP! I’d give this a 5/5 star rating again. If only I could give a 10/5 I would!

Clockwork Princess please hurry up!

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CLOCKWORK ANGEL BY CASSANDRA CLARE

These past two months I’ve been reading Cassandra Clare’s novels, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices. I’ve finished the four novels from The Mortal Instruments series, book five (City Of Lost Souls) will be released on May 8. Anyway, I finished Clockwork Angel from The Infernal Devices last Christmas so I think I should write a review now. haha. 

The Infernal Devices is a prequel to The Mortal Instruments. It is set during the Victorian era in England. The story centers around the lives of downworlder and shadowhunters Tessa Gray, Will Herondale and James Carstairs. Yes, some familiar names from the The Mortal Instruments will be mentioned in this series. 

Anyway, I can honestly say that I like this series more than I like The Mortal Instruments. First of all, I love the characters. Will is sarcastic, arrogant and everything your fathers warned you about in boys, almost like Jace from The Mortal Instruments and yes, I have a penchant for bad boys but he has his reasons for being the way he is. He’s my favorite character in the series. I love the way Ms. Clare wrote his story.

Then there’s Tessa, she didn’t annoy me as much as I expected that she would.  I really should work on being biased when it comes to female characters. Tsk.  Anyway, I love the development of her character. I think she’s one of those strong female characters since she’s not that indecisive not like some female heroines from other books. I mean, yeah, she was at first but when she decides whatever it is that she wants then that’s that. We’ll see in the next books though. Plus, she’s not that whiny and I love it.

And of course, there’s James “Jem” Carstairs, Will’s parabatai. I don’t really know why I like him that much. Normally I’m not really into the “nice guys” but somehow Jem had me . haha. And I love the way he’s also Will’s “conscience” in the entire series. They have this bromance thing going on since they’re parabatai and I love it. 

I think Ms. Clare did a great job in writing this novel. I love the development of the characters like the reasons why they act the way they do. I also like the supporting characters like Charlotte, Sophie and Henry. I didn’t like Jessamine though, I think she’s annoying and too bitchy. Ms. Clare is really good when it comes to leaving her readers with cliffhangers that makes you want to publish the next book yourself.Yes, she’s mean like that. haha. Anyway, I love it and I could not wait to read Clockwork Prince which is even better. Yes, I know it’s so much better since I’ve already finished it by the time I decided to write this review. haha. Bottom line is I can’t wait for Clockwork Princess. :)

I’m giving this a 5/5 star rating since I enjoyed reading this a lot.
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VENGEANCE BY MICHELLE MADOW

I finished Vengeance, the second book of the Transcend Time Saga by Michelle Madow, a few hours ago. It’s a short story told in the perspective of Lizzie’s best friend Chelsea. Again, the cover is absolutely stunning.

The story opens with Lizzie and Chelsea’s last conversation from the first novel.  Chelsea is angry at Lizzie because of her betrayal and she wants revenge.I actually like Chelsea’s character even though she’s suppose to be the antagonist of some sort. She knows what she wants and she’s determined to get it no matter what. I think she’s a strong character and I like the way she was written. She’s not exactly a 100% bitch, that’s Shannon for me, she’s just angry and I think that’s what makes her a unique character. Anyway, I like her and that’s all there is to it. It’s nice to look at the story from another perspective.

I just wished Michelle made this a little bit longer so that we’d be able to get to know Chelsea even more. I’d give this a 3.5/5 star rating. I liked this one but not as much as I liked the first one. I think this novel was too short but it was still an enjoyable read. Anyway, the cliff hanger at the end of the story just made me want to read the next one as soon as possible.

Publishers! Please publish the next one fast! I can’t wait. :)

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REMEMBRANCE BY MICHELLE MADOW

As some of you might have noticed I don’t really review the novels that I read chronologically. I prefer writing about the novel that I feel writing about at the moment. Anyway, Happy New Year everyone! First review for the year 2012!

I finished Michelle Madow’s debut novel Remembrance way back in December. And I think I owe this novel a decent review. To be perfectly honest I liked this novel a lot. The story is about reincarnation and making things right. Truth be told what got me to read this novel was the cover. The cover is simply gorgeous and I love it.

Reincarnation is another thing that caught my interest in this novel since I’ve never actually read a novel with that concept. I love the way the characters were written. Come to think of it, none of the female characters annoyed me in any way. Which is a good thing since I tend to get annoyed by whiny heroines. I love the whole “I-love-you-but-I-have-to-act-like-you-don’t-exist-to-protect-you” thing going on with Lizzie and Drew. I don’t know. I know it’s kinda cliche but I actually liked the way the author added it to the story. I actually find that very endearing. Or maybe I’m just really really weird? haha.

I actually liked Lizzie since she seemed so real. I mean she did like Drew or rather she has been attracted to him from day one but somehow she had mixed feelings and conflicts since her best friend is also attracted to the same guy. I mean, come on who wouldn’t be attracted to a hottie like him? Anyway, she just seemed so real as a person and I liked it.

Anyway, this is a must-read for those of you who believe in the reincarnation and stuff like that. Yes, the middle part of the story was somehow slow but I can guarantee you that the last chapters of the novel will make up for it. I’d give this a 4/5 star rating though. :)

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