Teaser Tuesday

This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

To participate you:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
• (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) * Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teasers

"You've  got a lot to say for a drunk guy."  

"Oh, Sage. I've got a lot to say, drunk or sober."

~ p. 187 of "The Golden Lily" by Richelle Mead

Abbi Glines Obtions Cover Reveal

Hi, everyone! This is my first time in participating in an official cover reveal. It's an exciting experience and I shall not waste your precious time for much longer, therefore, let me introduce you to Abbi Glines and to the first book in her new trilogy – "Options".

You've probably heard of (or even read) some of her books e.g. "Breathe", "Because of Low", "The Vincent Boys", "Existence" etc. Her third book in the "Sea Breeze" series (and may I add that the first two books were lovely) "While It Lasts" is being released today. Check it out, while you're at it!

Now, let us continue with the exciting news. I present to you the cover and the blurb of "Options":

Two paths.
Two completely different roads.
Each one standing before me.
Each one holding a different destiny.

In life you're just supposed to choose one path.
In life you're not given the chance at choosing one specific future.

Until now.
Until me.

Why am I different? I don't know. But I'm going to see those roads and walk down each one. When it's over I'll know which one to choose because I'll know my - options.

Expected publication is February 5th 2013. The cover was designed by Stephanie Mooney from Mooney Designs. You can find out more about Abbi's books by visting her website and be sure to add "Options" on to your to-be-read pile :)

Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Characters I’d Like To Switch Places With For 24 Hours

Okay. Here’s the deal. I’m not going to explain “why” with each character, I’ll just state it here that I know they have difficulties in their lives and sometimes it seems like these obstacles are completely insurmountable, but these gals are awesome! They’ve got great friends, they’re loyal, loving, kick-ass (even if they don't do that in the literal sense of this phrase, they're still bright, strong and witty) characters and it’d be fun and thrilling to spend a day in their skin and to get to know their situations even better. So that’s why I chose these characters, however, it was a difficult choice and I had to leave out so many good characters starting with Alex from the Covenant series, Tessa from the Infernal Devices series, Layken from the Slammed series, Samantha from “My Life Next Door”, Sydney from the Bloodlines series etc. I love all of them and I’d love to get a glimpse of their life for real. That’s the reason why I, again, drew these out of a hat randomly. All right, want to know who made it? Here you go:

You get why I think Ms. Granger is one of the most amazing characters ever, right?
Would love to experience 24 hours as her, although, I bet I'd get Harry and
Ron killed like in the first 5 minutes. Probably even less than that.

1. Hermione from the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
2. Rose from the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead
3. Georgina from the Georgina Kincaid series by Richelle Mead
4. Clary from the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
5. Katy from the Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout
6. Meghan from the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa
7. Sarah from the Moreno Brothers series by Elizabeth Reyes
8. Abby from Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
9. Nora from the Hush Hush saga by Becca Fitzpatrick
10. Aspen from What a Boy Wants by Nyrae Dawn

What do you think of these characters? Who would you add? Which characters did you choose? Leave a link to your TTT and I’ll check out yours :)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted @ The Broke and the Bookish

Pretty in Black

Original Title: Pretty in Black (Pretty in Black #1)

Author: Rae Hachton

Published: October 26th 2011

Add It: Goodreads

Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes& Noble | Smashwords

Some Things are Pretty. Some Things are Black. Love is both.

[Ellie Piper] She wanted to die. He arose from the grave. He was sent to kill her. She was trained to kill those of his kind. But fate had other plans. He searched for 119 years to find her. & There's no way in hell he's letting her go. Dead or Alive. They're fated.

[Marcus Marble] How far would you go to be with the one you love? Would you die for her? Would you kill for her? What if the only reason you're still alive is because of her? What if the reason you came back from the dead, was to be with her? But what if your job was to kill her, but you fell in love instead? And now you're being hunted by your own kind?

Destroy? Or be Destroyed?

I really liked the plot and the idea of this book. It was different and something I haven’t come across before, although it had some not-so-original elements to it, it was still new and fresh. It’s a bit gothic, mysterious, dark, edgy and it was all kinds of black and pretty. Also, it has a whole fantasy world to spice up the romance. I felt like the writing was a bit chaotic at times, but the author said on her blog that it’s just her style – on the contrary to say everything by explaining things, the readers have to figure these things out by themselves. It’s like a hidden message you have to decode on your own. Not sure how I feel about this, but it definitely gives room to my own imagination and thoughts.

“I never really wanted to die. But I followed through anyway. The pain in my heart was excruciating, and death was beautiful.”

As for the characters, I think Ellie was okay. She was lost. Well, not literally, but emotionally. Her sister had recently been murdered, her boyfriend had cheated on her, her Mother didn’t want to talk about her sister’s death and just didn’t act like her Mom at all, she lives in a trailer park, her Dad left them and now she's living with her Mom and her stepfather. She’s broken and wants to die. Elle feels like there’s nothing left for her and one day she goes to a graveyard and dreams about dieing. She thinks she did. But did she or was it actually a dream? Suddenly she hears a voice. A stranger’s voice. The moment she opens her eyes is the moment Marcus Marble comes to her life.

Marcus is a mysterious handsome guy who pops up in Ellie’s life in the most unexpected ways and I think he is absolutely fantastic! I loved every single second of the scenes he was in. He helps Ellie deal with her issues and gives her hope for a better life, a better future. They fall in love. It's beautiful. It's black. However, maybe they’re not destined to love each other since there are some things you can’t change even if you wanted to.

I like the world Rae Hachton has created and it’s nice to see that originality still exists in YA fiction. It was a good read and I enjoyed it a lot. I’d love to read the sequel in the near future and I’m glad that there’ll be at least two more books to come after the second one. Also, I think the covers are all stunning. It was a great start to a series. I’ve already read some thoughts on the second book and it seems like the second one is even better. Do I recommend? Yes, I do.

Rating: 3/5

Excerpts:

“Ellie, would you frolic in the land of forever with me?”  

His eyes glistened. I'd never seen eyes that bright or that green. His were emblazoned by a dark symphony. When he blinked, his lashes spread below his bottom lid like satin spider legs, a million wishes to be made upon them, in exchange for these nightmares.

“I have a broken heart, Marcus.”

His eyes twinkled greater than the stars above us. “I can unbreak it.”

Reading order:

1. “Pretty in Black“
2. “Black Satin“
3. “Raven in the Grave“
4. “Evermore“

City of Lost Souls

Original Title: City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments #5)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Published: May 8th 2012
Add it: Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes & Noble

The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace freed from captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing, so is the boy she hates: her brother Sebastian, who is determined to bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.

The Clave's magic cannot locate either boy, but Jace can't stay away from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith's magic has wrought - Jace and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other.

Only a few people believe that Jace can still be saved. Together, Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle bargain with the sinister Seelie Queen, contemplate deals with demons, and turn at last to the merciless, weapon-making Iron Sisters, who might be able to forge a weapon that can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. If the Iron Sisters can't help, their only hope is to challenge Heaven and Hell - a risk that could claim their lives.

And they must do it without Clary. For Clary is playing a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing not just her own life, but Jace's soul. She's willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

I think that there is a reason why Clary won the first heroine tournament and why Jace won the first YA crush tournament. They're both reckless fighters and don't know any boundaries when it comes to keeping their loved ones safe and sound, making them happy, doing what's right. As you know, last time we heard about them, Jace was missing from the rooftop and Clary was just saved by Simon from Lilith's wrath. This book starts about two weeks after the events that took place at the end of City of Fallen Angels. The Clave cannot find any information on Jace's and Sebastian's whereabouts, therefore Clary, Simon, Isabelle and Alec decide to do a little research on their own and that's when it all begins.

Honestly, being in Clary's head kind of got on my nerves a little. I know she's in love with Jace. I know she'd do anything to save him. I know he means the world to her, but come on! I already got that this new Jace (from now on I'll just point to him as Jace 2.0) is nothing like Clary's Jace. I love Clary and her bold, loving, caring, strong, beautiful personality and that wasn't always the case here. She was a wreck. However, the title says 'city of lost souls' so I think in some ways she was lost, too. Eh, whatever, I forgive her. She's great no matter what!

Jace 2.0. I would have loved to have read something from his point of view. I was a little disappointed by that, but I guess you can't really write in someone's POV when this person is being controlled by one's evil stepbrother, can you? It is what it is. Doesn't matter whether he's posessed, controled or un-controled, I still love him.

Sebastian, I have to admit, kept me on my toes. He wasn't that interesting in the last two books, but he sure got me interested now. I didn't think there could be a worse (or should I say better) villain in this series than Valentine, but Cassie Clare suprised me by creating an even crazier villain – someone who doesn't know the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, love and lust etc and who's determined to bring the world down bith a bang.

What amazed me was how Clare has created these two boys – Jace and Sebastian – raised by the same man and they've turned out to be completely different from each other. I've read in psychology that people's personalities develop until the age of four and from then on one's personality can only be influenced, but not changed entirely. Jace knows love and that's the most important thing there is to know in this world. Even if he's sometimes lost, he knows, feels and wants to be loved. Sebastian, however, is a totally different case and even though he intrigues me, he creeps me out, too. Wouldn't want to run in with him on a dark alley, that's for sure!

As to the other characters, I loved Simon (and I don't get why I didn't love him from the very start, I was kind of annoyed with him, to be honest, but now he has become one of my favorite characters if not the most favorite), Magnus, Isabelle and Alec. I liked Jordan's and Maia's story in the previous book, but I think their POV's were just too much for me in this one. That was the thing that bothere me the most – too many POV's to keep myself emotionally invested in everyone's storylines. It was really hard to keep up.

As the heading states, this book was all about lost souls and I think that even if everyone didn't found themselves, they were pushed on the right path. Exept for Sebastian, of course. I liked this installment, I just wasn't that excited about it as I've been with the other ones in this series. I think it may be because as I said, there were too many POV's and also, I read it in bits as opposed to reading the whole book (or half of it) in one sitting. And I read a lot of snippets and spoilers from Cassie's tumblr. That was a mistake, too, I guess, since I knew some parts of it already. I think I'm not going to do that with Clockwork Princess and City of Heavenly Fire *hopes she can keep her curiosity to the minimum*. That being said, I still very much enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to reading the final book in the Mortal Instruments series. It'll be sad to say goodbye to everyone, though.

Rating: 4/5.

Excerpts:

“I never cared,” he said. “I wanted you anyway. I always wanted you.” 

“As far as I’m concerned, this is the worst thing that’s happened since I found out why Magnus was banned from Peru.” 

“Missing, one stunningly attractive teenage boy. Answers to 'Jace' or 'Hot Stuff” 

Simon rolled his eyes. “It’s a good thing we know the person who’s dating Magnus Bane,” he said. “Otherwise, I get the feeling we’d all just lie around all the time wondering what the hell to do next. Or trying to raise the money to hire him by selling lemonade or something.”
Alec looked merely irritated by this comment. “The only way you could raise enough money to hire Magnus by selling lemonade is if you put meth in it.” 

“You stole a boat,” she snapped. “What am I doing with you, you boat-stealing lunatic?” 

"Ah," said Magnus. "Nerd love. It is a beautiful thing, while also being an object of mockery and hilarity for those of us who are more sophisticated."

Reading order:

1. "City of Bones" 
2. "City of Ashes"
3. "City of Glass"
4. "City of Fallen Angels"
5. "City of Lost Souls"
6. "City of Heavenly Fire" 

One Day

I haven't read the novel, therefore, I cannot express my thoughts on the movie vs. the novel topic and since it's a movie review, I guess I shouldn't do it anyway.

One Day is a story about an ordinary girl Emma and her handsome reckless best friend Dexter. They start a beautiful friendship and every year there's one day they get together (or not, but they call if they're apart from each other) and see where life has taken them during a whole year.

I really liked the consept and thought it was beautiful. I know it's based on a book, that's why everything from the book can't be in it, but as I said, I haven't read the novel so I can't comment on what scenes made it and which didn't and I'm not upset about anything related to the book. However, I can tell you that I'm in love with Jim Sturgess! He's absolutely amazing and I am in awe of him. He was one of the reasons I liked this movie.

I know all of this is supposed to take place in Scotland and I don't really get why Anne Hathaway was cast. I can't say anything bad about her, she's a wondeful actress and I loved her on the Devil Wears Prada, but it was ridiculous that it's a movie about British people and they cast an american. She's an A-lister, so maybe that's the reason. Who knows.. What bothered me the most about this movie was her Scottish accent which at times was there and then all of a sudden it's gone. It was funny and the more this went on, the more it bothered me.

The movie itself was emotional and entertaining. It was a tragic, sweet and emotional; about friendship, love and the ups & downs of life. I loved the ending. I was upset and sad, but it seemed accurate.

Oh, and I liked all the nature clips. It was stunning! I've been to UK once (London and Torquay for three weeks), but I haven't been to Scotland before. I'd like to someday, it seems beautiful!

Footloose

I'm a sucker for dance movies and I'm a sucker for Kenny Wormald. I liked him back when he was on that MTV show (what was it called? Dance Life or something like that?) and I've been keeping my eye on him ever since.

Footloose is about a town full of sorrow and rules. Rules that are not meant to be broken since they weren't applied to youngsters when five teens were in a car carsh which ended with their deaths. Well, that's how most of the people feel.


Until they meet Ren McCormack (Kenny Wormald) - a young boy who's came to live with his uncle after the death of his mother. He enrolles the local highschool, makes new friends and falls in love. However, there's one thing he cannot do: stand by and watch the fun being sucked out of the young adults around him. He starts a small revolution of his own by wanting to legalize dancing.

That's a no-no for the local priest (Dennis Quaid) who's the father of Ren's crush Ariel (Julianne Hough). Ariel's brother Bobby was one of the five children who died in the car crash and she's been living a limited life under his father's rule ever since. However, maybe that's the reason why she's so reckless and exploring in the first place. 

There were two things I liked the most about this movie:

1. Miles Teller
2. the soundtrack

Miles Teller was amazingly awesome and he was the one to crack me up the most. The soundtrack consists of many great songs and introduced some new artists to me.

It isn't the best movie I've seen and there isn't that much dance in it (compare to some other dance movies, which reminds me that Step Up 4 is about to be released this week and I'm dying to see it already) and I'll probably not watch it againg (unless it's on TV), but it was still pretty entertaining.

Weigh in Wednesday

Light Blog Backround vs. Dark Blog Backround

I, myself, have always used a light backround. Well.. Okay, I had a dark theme for my tumblr back in the day when I first started it, but it was for like two days or something like that, so yeah.. You can say that I like light backrounds more. In my opinion, they're a little easier on the eyes and more traditional. That being said, I have come across some pretty amazing dark themes (e.g. this one). The thing with dark themes is that you have to make the text stand out, but it can't be anything neon or too light and hmh.. You know what, I just like to desing things. I like the visual effect. Even when I was little I didn't like to draw. I'm pretty good at it, but not excellent. However, I love to color. I don't think I'm great or anythig but I consider myslelf better in coloring than drawing and I've gotten some great feedback on it. I just love to color. And I like to desing things (not like clothes or jewellery or anything like that, although I did draw some clothes and outfits at the back of my notebooks in the beginning of high school), e.g. when we were supposed to do a group presentation in high school, I was always the one to design the presentation or make the posters. I like to desing blogs, too and just to try out different things. What I've come to realize is that I prefer lighter backrounds to dark ones due to the fact that it's hard to design blogs with dark backrounds. It is! I love when they look simple, but stunning and I haven't found a way to do it myself so that I'd be pleased with the result. That's why I'll go with the light backround choice on this one, although I love dark backrounds when it's done beautifully. (I also think that it depends on the mood: it's fun to change things up and I'll probably go with a dark backround for a change as well someday)

Winner: light blog backround

Weigh in Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren at Epilogue Reviews.

Teaser Tuesday

This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

To participate you:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
• (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) * Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teasers

This week I'm bending the rules a little bit since it's actually 3 sentences, but whatever! This is one of my favorite moments from this book.

“I have a broken heart, Marcus.”

His eyes twinkled greater than the stars above us. “I can unbreak it.”

 ~ "Pretty in Black" by Rae Hachton

The Intouchables

Silance.

I really don't even know what to say at this point.

More silence.

All right, this isn't much of a review if I continue to say nothing at all so let's just say that I absolutely loved The Intouchables. It's brilliant! It's hilarious, sad, memorable, amazing, well-directed, makes you think about life and capabilities, choices we make, it has the best actors and if you're interested in cultural aspects in a movie, then I can assure you that there is something for you, too.

It's a story about an elder rich man Philippe who's paralyzed from his neck to his toes. He's looking for a new nurse to take care of him and that's when Driss walks through the door. A black young guy who just got out of jail (and has the best sense of humour in the world) want's to get his papers signed stating that he has been to a job interview so he can get financial assistance. Philippe wants to hire him, because Driss doesn't take pity on him and he's tired of the type of nurses he has had before - dull, careful, sophisticated and with a well rounded education. He wants someone full of life and energy, someone who's not walking on his toes and trying to not voice his opinion.

Driss comes from a very poor neighbourhood and takes the job. It's amazing how well these totally different men become friends and explore the world together. They help each other a lot. They complete each other. It's like they're two parts of a soul that didn't even know the other one existed. It's a wonderful journey and believe me when I say that I don't remember when was the last time I laughed so hard when watching a movie and, to be honest, I think the whole audience laughed - it wasn't your typical humour, but it was still extremely hilarious. I liked the opera scene the best.

I loved that this film continued to suprise me. I thought I knew how it was going to end, but I'm so glad that I was wrong. Oh boy, I was  wrong, but I still had tears in my eyes at the end of the movie. I loved every single thing about The Intouchables and I can say that I recommend this movie to everyone from the bottom of my heart. It was absolutely fantastic!

Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Most Vivid Worlds/Settings In Books

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

It’s definitely one of the most vivid worlds I’ve ever read about and at times the description was too much for me and I couldn’t keep up with all of it. 

The Mortal Instruments (and The InfernalDevices) by Cassandra Clare

This series has it all: a secret world with Shadowhunters, demons, angels, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and faeries – just pick whatever you like! Plus, the Shadowhunters have their own little incredibly beautiful little country – Idris.

Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling

Who hasn’t read Harry Potter? Okay, that was a rhetorical question because some people probably haven’t, but if you have I’m pretty sure you agree with me on this one. Harry Potter has one of the most amazing worlds I have ever read about and I bet I will not forget it until the day I die. It’s absolutely wonderful!

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

I love how she’s created this world of vampires who have their own royalty, schools, councils etc. There are two kinds of vampires: moroi – the good ones who each control different elements such as water, fire, earth, air and the most rare one – spirit; strigoi – the bad ones who feed from moroi. Then there are dhampires – descendants of moroi and humans who protect moroi from strigoi. It’s really hard to understand at first, but once you read it, you just cannot get enough! 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This is the novel that introduced dystopian novels to the masses. It’s fantastic to think about how S. Collins has made this society look and even though I must say that sometimes it kind of creeps me out and depresses me how people can turn up like this, it’s still one of the most amazing books I’ve ever read and I’m simply amazed how well she’s created this future world. The Capitol of Panem is one freaky place, I tell ya!

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

I liked the first book which introduced us the world of compellers, witches, incubuses etc and I really liked the setting. The second book made us dig even deeper and it turned out to be even cooler.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

I haven’t finish it (I plan on finishing it whenever I get my book back from a friend), but I really, really liked the setting. Once a month a boy comes out of a box and he doesn’t remember anything from his life. Now that he’s finally made it, he must learn how to survive, because they’re all locked on a field in the middle of a maze. Everyone has to work together in order to survive, because they want a way out of there, to figure out how they even got there. Every night at the exact same time the walls close and whoever’s left out there will not survive, since there are creatures out in the maze that you couldn’t have imagined even in your wildest dreams (or nightmares.. yep, nightmare's more accurate).

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

I somehow haven’t gotten through the second book, I always end up reading half of it and then leave it unfinished, however, this series has a great world created by an author who started this book when he was just fifteen years old. How cool is that? This book also has one heck of a vivid world and it’s definitely worth exploring if you haven’t read this series yet.

Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne

I loved Winnie the Pooh when I was a little girl and there wasn’t a time when I wouldn’t have wanted to go to the Hundred Acre Wood and live and play there with Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Roo, Rabbit, Eeyore, Owl and Christopher Robin. It’s something I loved as a kid and still appreciate as a young adult since it was a huge part of my childhood. 

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

One of my favorite books! The story takes place in Japan which has this exotic culture and exotic people. I know it’s not the most realistic portrayal of Japan, but it’s still very vivid and creative. I love all the parties, costumes and customs. It’s definitely worth reading!

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

There aren’t enough words to express how much I love this book. It describes everything that’s wrong with the society and its standards perfectly and gives you something to think about for a long time. It’s a fairy tale of a young prince who visits different planets and learns things from roses, a fox, a king etc. It isn’t that long, but it is worth a lot more than a lot of the other books out there. The setting is absolutely brilliant!

Have you read any of these books? What did you think? What would you add? Which books did you choose? Leave a link to your TTT and I’ll check out yours :)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted @ The Broke and the Bookish

What a Boy Wants

Original Title: What a Boy Wants (What a boy wants #1)

Author: Nyrae Dawn

Published: April 6th 2012

Add It: Goodreads

Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Courtesy of watching his mom’s relationships, Sebastian Hawkins knows what girls need to do to get a guy. He has what he considers a PHD in hooking up. When he needs extra cash for a car, Sebastian starts up an online venture as The Hook-up Doctor, to anonymously help girls land the guy of their dreams. Of course, his services don’t offer a happily-ever-after guarantee. He’s seen firsthand getting together never means staying together.

And then he falls in love…

With the last girl he would expect…

Totally not in his game plan.

Suddenly, Sebastian finds himself muddled in the game he’s always prided himself on. He can’t even pick up girls at parties anymore! Why would anyone want to be in love when it turns you into a stuttering, screwed-up, mess with really lame stalker tendencies? Stalking? Totally not his gig.

But the Hook-up Doctor won’t let himself go down easily. He’s always known how to give a girl what she wants and now it’s time to figure out what a boy wants… and he definitely plans on getting it.

It’s fun to read male POV’s, because there isn’t that many out there, especially in YA genre. I think it’s better to kick off with the cons of this book, so.. What I didn’t like was that everything was so unbelievably predictable. I knew from the start who was writing these emails, I knew how it’d all end etc. It was very, very easy to predict the plot. I also thought that Sebastian was a little slow to pick up clues and didn’t get everything right away, but hey! We’re all different and it just takes a little longer for some people to realize things.

All that being said, I really liked this book. It was easy to read, the pace was fast and it made me laugh out loud as well as broke my heart a few times. I loved the growth of Sebastian and that even though he was a ladies man (at the beginning of this novel), he still cared about his friends and his Mom. I know some guys who think the world’s their oyster and they don’t have to do a thing and are always so full of themselves – that's not attractive at all. Sebastian tried to be there for the ones he loves and tried his best to make them happy.

I liked the Woodstock nickname, it was cute. I liked Aspen in general – she was cool, easygoing, selfless, honest and fun. The thing I liked the most about Pricilla was her straightforwardness and protectiveness. Jaden (oh, Jay) – I really liked him. I get the feeling that everything’s not okay with him at home (I think I’ll get to know if I’m right in the sequel which is from his POV, jeeeii!!), but the thing I like the most about him is that even if everything’s not alright, he is still awesome, cares about his friends' well-being and makes the best jokes ever.

As I said, I really liked this book, but I couldn’t find it in my heart to give this book a four, because I found it sooooo predictable and I really hate it when I know everything before the characters get to figure these things out by themselves. However, if you want an easy read with fun characters, you like male POVs, friendships, romance and love a little drama, then this is definitely a must read for you.

Rating: 3/5.

Excerpts:

“We're guys. Half the time, we don't know who we are. It helps things become a lot easier if we know who you are.”  

“I'll be like your bodyguard or something. Me Tarzan. You Jane.” 

“Our lips moved together perfectly. A perfect match. Because we had skills like that.” 

Reading order:

1. ”What a Boy Wants”
2. ”What a Boy Needs”

"Waiting on" Wednesday

"Waiting on" Wednesday is hosted at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. Even though it's a weekly event, I post my entries biweekly.

This week we have:

1. If I Lie by Corrine Jackson
2. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Weigh in Wednesday

Young Adult Fiction vs Adult Fiction

I like both! I like YA since it almost always has happily-ever-after endings and I can relate to most of the things that happen in YA books, but at the same time, there's a reason why it's called young adult fiction. The characters are teenagers who are on the verge of discovering themselves (I can definitely relate to that) and their place in this world, but sometimes they're too childish and whiny. Of course, that can happen with the characters in adult fiction, too, but it's more common that the adults are more calculate and reasonable, also, the romance is more believable since I do not know that many couples who've found each other in high school and are still happily married today. I don't know, I think I'm just a realist with a great imagination (I'm a Virgo, so that can explain a lot, too - we're usually very calculated and rational). While YA is always full of action, angst and usually the characters act before they think, adult fiction is more balanced. I like both: I like a great romance and since I'm very rational myself, I like books that take me out of my comfort zone and on an adventure I couldn't have imagined even in my wildest dreams. Moreover, when you look at my "read" pile, you can easily see that I've read more YA than adult books and there are a lot more YA novels that fall to my "favorite" category. So.. does that means we have a winner? I think we do.

Winner: Young Adult Fiction

Weigh in Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren at Epilogue Reviews.

Teaser Tuesday

This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

To participate you:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
• (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) * Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teasers

 "Ah," said Magnus. "Nerd love. It is a beautiful thing, while also being an object of mockery and hilarity for those of us who are more sophisticated."

 ~ p. 215 "City of Lost Souls" by Cassandra Clare

Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Books for People Who Like Adult Contemporary (or Mature YA) Books

Thoughtless by S. C. Stephens

Don’t fancy reading about cheating, but this book is so much more than that. What if the person you fall in love with, while in a commited relationship, is your soulmate? What if even when you love the person you’re with more than anything in the world is not your soulmate? What if friends grow to lovers and lovers grow to friends? What if you’re the only person in the world one can trust their whole life with? This is one of the best emotional stories I’ve read and I can’t even begin with how much I love Kellan Kyle. Ugh.. Definitely a recommend!

Love Unscripted by Tina Reber 

Haven’t we all dreamed of dating a handsome movie star? Well, Taryn hasn’t, but she’s going to get the chance to date one. Ryan and Taryn are the cutest little couple and they’re so great together. The only thing is that he’s Robert-Pattinson-famous and can’t even to a pub, shop, theatre, hotel without screaming fans already waiting for him. They follow him everywhere. Moreover, he’s surrounded by paparazzi 24/7. And there’s the fact that someone from his past is trying to break him up with Taryn. Can they take the heat, survive under the pressure and get their happily ever after?

Slammed by Colleen Hoover

Well, I didn’t read this one to be exact. Okay.. I read it, but I just went through it and didn’t read it correctly. But, I read “Point of Retreat“ which is the sequel to this book from Will’s POV (it’s not a parallel story to “Slammed“, it’s a sequel) and it was absolutely amazzzingg!! I loved  every second out of the sequel and I bet you will, too. Will’s just brilliant, sweet & hot and crazy in love with Lake. Not a chapter went by without me crying over this book. Also, if you're a fan of poetry, this book will melt your heart!

Bared to You by Sylvia Day

It's is like a better version of “Fifty Shades of Grey“. I know a lot of people love FSoG. In my opinion, it was okay, but the writing was poor and yeah.. Something was missing, although, Christian Grey is one hell of a guy! There isn’t that much kinky stuff in "Bared to You" and it was more to my taste than FSoG. It's is a story about two broken souls trying to commit to each other, but when they’re as broken as they are, will their relationship be as broken as well? Can this relation even exist?

Gabriel’s Inferno by Sylvain Reynard

This book is somewhat similar to BtY and FSoG since the male lead is more experienced and has fooled around while the heroine is more laid back. “Gabriel’s Inferno“ differs from the previous two books due to being more intellectual. There’s comparison to Dante and Beatrice and their lovestory which is similar to Gabriel’s and Julia’s. Also, this book doesn’t involve that much sex (while the sequel is supposedly more steamy in this category). I loved that Julia was very independent.

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Have I mentioned already that I love Jamie McGuire and Travis Maddox? I cannot possibly waint for “Walking Disaster“ (BD from Travis’ POV) to hit the stores! Travis, what the heck did you do to me? I love him. I love this story and I love, love, love Abby, Shepley and America (best freaking bff everrr!!). There’s fighting, drinking, dancing, sex, love, crying, laughing and friendship like no other. It’s really a beautiful disaster and either ment to blossom or end up in the ruins.

Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead

Ever heard of Rose Hathaway? What about Dimitri Belikov? Or Adrian Ivashkov? Oh, you have? Well, that’s just great, because Georgina Kincaid is like the grown version of kick-ass Ms. Hathaway and she’s a succubus trying to live a normal life in Seattle. She’s got the greatest friends who, of course, are demonic (and angelic) and make as sarcastic jokes as Adrian, she can change her appearence with little effort and has the greatest sex life. However, she’s graving for normality and stability. When she meets her favorite author – Seth Mortensen – she falls head over heels without knowing it herself. There’s also Roman – a handsome and exciting guy who she also ends up falling in love with. These two relationships are totally different. Who will she choose? Will she make her decision before it’s too late? Will she even make one? In addition to her love life you get to see how she kicks ass in her demonic life and read some one-liners that crack you up for minutes.

The Moreno Brothers series by Elizabeth Reyes

Looking for a hot-blooded stunning brothers (and their friends) who are protective as hell over their love interests? They’re sweet, honorable, strong, hot, romantic and get easily heated. They’re the Morenos: Angel, Alex, Sal and Angel’s friends Eric and Romero. They’re so similar, but at the same time so different. It’s a pretty fun series with some sad moments and I bet you’ll love all of these five men if you give them a chance (my favorites are Alex, Sal and Romero). The first and the third one are more mature YA, but the other three definitely fall to the adult contemporary romance category.

Easy by Tammara Webber

I haven’t read this one, but I own a copy and want to read it so badly already. I’ve heard only great things about “Easy“, especially Lucas. I’d love to read it ASAP!

The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher

I don't even have the words to describe how unbelievably mad this book made me. Or how sad. Or how happy. I mean.. I gave this book a three on goodreads, beacuse I absolutely hated this book so I couldn't possibly give it a five. But I couldn't give it a one either, because I absolutely loved it. It was so, so heartbreaking, so sweet, so fun, so emotional, so traumatizing. It was a great book. Even more, it was a fantastic book! It left me speechless. I was drowning in the ocean I had created with my own tears whil I was reading this book. It was so effed-up and so.. Eh, I don't even know what else to say, just read it! You won't regret it. The main thing I loved about it is that every choice we make matters and we ourselves are the cause of our happiness (or sadness). I loved this books so much and hated it so much that.. Yeah, no words. Read it!

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? What would you add to this list? What genre/book did you choose this week? Leave a link to your TTT and I’ll check out yours :)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted @ The Broke and the Bookish.

Friday the 13th: a deadly dose of Rose, Dimitri, Adrian, Sydney, Christian, Eddie, Lissa and Jill

So.. I didn't have the best week: got stinged by a bee last weekend and walked around like a heavily pregnant woman throughout most of this week, cut myself with a cheese knife and my Mom's car broke down due to an electrical fault while I was driving it. However, I had the best Friday the 13th!! I received two packages:

1. "Bloodlines" by Richelle Mead
2. Vampire Academy Collection (Three Volume Set) by Richelle Mead

The first time I read the Vampire Academy series was when I borrowed it from a family friend and it was fan-freaking-tastic!! I loved it and it's still one of my favorite series. I read "Bloodlines" at the beginning of this year but I think it was too soon after reading VA for the third time (!!) that I just didn't think of Sydney as an equal to Rose, although Sydney's more me in a sense that she loves books and knowledge, while Rose is the type of a person who jumps into situations without thinking. Moreover, I wasn't that big of a fan of the alchemists. Since then I've thought about it over and over and come to a conclusion that I was too harsh when it comes to the rating of "Bloodlines" (I think I gave it like two stars?). I love Richelle Mead to death and if you, too, are a fan of the Vampire Academy series, you should definitely give the Bloodlines series a try as well. Even my Mother loves VA series and she hasn't read "Bloodlines" yet so you can only imagine how excited she is (I made her read Jennifer L. Armentrout's books and she's reading "Half-Blood" at the moment so it may be a while before she picks up "Bloodlines", but I'm definitely waiting forward to share my thoughts with her). I ordered "The Golden Lily" months ago and received it last month, but haven't been able to read it yet. Now that I think about it, I'll probably read "Bloodlines" again before TGL and write a new review to it.

Did I already tell you how freaking beautiful these books look? Oh, my! They're such eye candies and I love that "Shadow Kiss" (my favorite out of the six in the VA series) has a purple cover. Purple's my favorite color and the cover's so unbelievably stunning! They all are.

Okay, I've been here for too long now and I'm off to read "City of Lost Souls" by Cassandra Clare which is the fifth installment of the Mortal Instruments series and has been sitting on my bookcase for such a long time now. I don't like to read books/series that I really, really like while reading other books (although I do tend to read many books at a time) and I've been waiting for a great time to relax and just read this book by one of the most amazing authors and today's the day I get to do that: it's raining cats and dogs outside so there's really nothing else to do and I sure as hell don't mind :)

I can't wait to re-read the VA series and get started on the Bloodlines series (again). Love you and hope you have a great week ahead of yourselves :)

Gabriel's Inferno

Original title: Gabriel's Inferno (Gabriel's Inferno #1)
Author: Sylvain Reynard
Date published: April 18th 2011
Add it: Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes & Noble

Enigmatic and attractive, Professor Gabriel Emerson is a man tortured by his past. Though he takes great pride in his prestigious role as a Dante specialist, he knows he is a magnet for sin, especially lust.
When the virtous Julia Mitchell joins his graduate seminar at the University of Toronto, she alters their lives irrevocably. Through their connection, Gabriel begins a journey that forces him to unravel the mysteries of their past entanglements, as well as face his many demons.
A sinful exploration of sex, love, and redemption, "Gabriel's Inferno" is a beguiling intelligent romance filled with intrigue, seduction and forgiveness. Told through witty, dark humor, the narrator relates a captivating tale of Gabriel's odyssey through the Inferno.

I’ve read the Fifty Shades Trilogy by E. L. James and read the first novel of the Crossfire series by Sylvia Day. I thought “Fifty Shades of Grey“ was just okay, “Bared to You“ on the other hand, I loved, it had a better writing style and it was just.. I don’t know. It had something extra. Now that I’ve read “Gabriel’s Inferno“ I can say that I liked this one the best.

“Gabriel’s Inferno“ has a strong female lead and this is something I enjoy. Gabriel has his past and Julia, too, but they fit together perfectly. This book wasn’t all about love and Gabriel teaching his love interest about love and passion. No! It was intellectual, about gaining trust and redemption. I liked that they both were damaged, but not completely ruined. And what I liked the best was how the author combined Dante’s and Beatrice’s story with theirs – it was a perfect combination.

I felt bad for Julia for how she was brought up and I can’t possibly imagine how that would affect someone, but I’m glad she turned out to be a great, honorable, strong woman with little flaws of her own. Gabriel, on the other hand, was sometimes a true SOB, but he always made up for his mistakes by doing something unexpected or extremely sweet.

What I also loved was that they had a past and neither of them had been able to overcome it. They had shared only a kiss and slept under the moon, but it was still influential enough to leave a mark on their hearts for forever.

I enjoyed that this book was all about these two lovers, but that was also the thing that bothered me the most. I would have loved to see different aspects of their lives and pasts and some other characters than their family or the two co-students of Julia from Uni.

As for the rating, it wasn’t exactly a 4 for me, but I don't want to give it a 3 either, because in my opinion, it had a more fluent style in writing and a better plot line than FSoG and the characters weren't as damaged as they were in BtY. So I guess I should solve this dilemma by giving it a 3.5 rating. I liked this book and I’m pretty sure I’ll read the sequel as well. By the way, the author has hinted that there might be a third one and some of it might be written already.

Rating: 3.5/5

Excerpts:

“Kindness is never wasted.”  

“You, of all people, deserve a happy ending. Despite everything that happened to you, you aren't bitter. You aren't cold. You've just retreated a little and been shy, and that's okay. If I were a fairy godmother, I would give you your heart's desire in an istant. And I would wipe away your tears and tell you not to cry.”

“Bad things happen to everyone. Not that this was an excuse or a justification for wronging another human being. Still, all humans had this shared experience — that of suffering. No human being left this world without shedding a tear, or feeling pain, or wading into the sea of sorrow.”  

“I’ve always had a terrible weakness for beautiful but sad things.”

Reading order:

1. “Gabriel’s Inferno“
2. “Gabriel’s Rapture“