Book Haul #27

Hey guys! My post should have went up this morning, but since I was seeing Catching Fire today, I decided to post this afterwards to share my feels because there were so many!!!! Oh, my, you guys! This movie... I have no words. I literally thought that Twilight had doomed every single YA adaption, but no! This movie held its own and I loved every moment of it. I read the books ages ago and didn't re-read them because I didn't want to be disappointed by the movie, but I'm pretty sure that even if I had read 'em, I still would have enjoyed it thoroughly. It was so good that I wouldn't change a thing. I laughed, cried and was anxious to see what happens next and it was just.. fantastic! Anyhow, you're here for my haul, so let's get on with it, shall we? If you follow me on Instagram, you have already seen these, but this haul is so worth sharing again and again :) If you've read any of these, let me know what you thought!

Sentinel (Covenant #5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Everbound (Everneath #2) by Brodi Ashton (my review here)

French Kiss (Diary of a Crush #1) by Sarra Manning

The Edge of Never (The Edge of Never #1) by J.A. Redmerski (my review here)

The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines #3) by Richelle Mead

The Iron Traitor (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #2) by Julie Kagawa

Losing Hope (Hopeless #2) by Colleen Hoover

Hopeless (Hopeless #1) by Colleen Hoover (my review here)

Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2) by Katie McGarry

Something Strange and Deadly (Something Strange and Deadly #1) by Susan Dennard

That's it for me this week. I hope you guys enjoyed Catching Fire and if you haven't seen it, you'll see it soon. It. Was. Pure. Perfection!

Also, dear followers, if you want to win yourself a paperback of Lola and the Boy Next Door, do give your luck a try over here. Good luck!

What did you get this week? Leave your links below and I'll check out your goodies :)

In My Mailbox is a weekly event hosted by The Mod Podge Bookshelf and Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Review: Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead

Title: Gameboard of the Gods (The Age of X #1)
Author: Richelle Mead
Published: June 4th 2012
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
*An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review*

In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.

When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.

I have read 3 series by Richelle Mead and have yet to read a book by her that would be a disappointment. Seriously! I know I have given two stars to Frostbite (Vampire Academy #2) for instance, but it was just a rating based on how I felt it being a little weaker than the rest of the books in that series. If I didn’t delve on those things, I’d give them all 5 stars since her books seriously never disappoint. Gameboard of the Gods is the first book in one of my newest favorite series.

"We're pieces on a gameboard, Dr. March, and some of us are more powerful than the others. You. Me. Her. We're the ones that gods want. We're the ones they're fighting over." – page 443 of the ARC.

The story. In a futuristic world, Mae Koskinen is a praetorian – a fierce Nordic soldier who is a part of the RUNA’s military. What makes her so special is that she is a gorgeous, flawless castal. Castals aka pure bloods have suffered from different illnesses, but Mae’s beauty is untouched. Justin March is a servitor in exile. He is called back by his former bosses to investigate mysterious, unsolvable religious murders. He is a plebian aka a normal, mixed-blooded person. Along with them we have another MC – Tessa Cruz – a teenage girl who is an outsider from a province.

My thoughts. First of all, it was a beast! 464 pages full of action. I’m usually not that keen on third person POVs, but Ms. Mead really made it work. Through Tessa’s eyes we see the true colors of RUNA and thanks to her, we learn the most about RUNA as she’s in the same position as we are – a newcomer. We get this futuristic society in its complex world of religion and atheism, advanced technology and fake smiles. At first it all felt very complicated to me, especially since I’m not a native English speaker, but as the novel progressed, the more at home I felt in this world. I liked how the technology advancements were new and intriguing, but not completely incomprehensible to grasp for our minds. Also, the further I read, the more the mythology part came into the picture.

We have an excellent cast of characters and they are all so very different, flawed and difficult to crack. (I didn't care for Tessa as much as I cared for Mae and Justing though.) I was a big fan of how Richelle managed to keep me invested in the mystery and keep the wheels spinning in my head, yet I didn’t figure it all out beforehand, especially who the god bidding on Justin was. That, I should have figured out sooner! I also loved how the romance between Justin and Mae was there, but they’re so proud and stubborn to admit their feelings (even to themselves) that we’ll have to have them fight their feelings for quite some time in this series. Maybe Justin and Mae's POVs, regarding the tone and the thoughts, melted together for me a little, but I still enjoyed them thoroughly. 

To sum up my thoughts, I’d say that if you’re looking for a read full of mythology, suspense, mystery, character-built and well-written plot with a touch of romance, pick this up! Richelle Mead has a way of writing books that suck you in like no other and don’t let go until you’ve devoured all of it with your nails bitten. I am eagerly anticipating what’s next to come in this crazy world where humans are the pawns of gods in this intriguing dystopian gameboard. This book is surely not to be missed!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Meet the author

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Book Haul #19

I don't remember when was the last time I was THIS excited to share my haul with you lovelies. Guess what?! I got a Kindle! And not just any Kindle. A Kindle Paperwhite. Uh-uh ;) I am really, really, really glad I got this baby. I actually didn't have an e-reader before so it's good to finally have one. It's brilliant! I asked advice from Jenni, Giselle and Jenny and they were all very helpful. Thanks, ladies! I also got a leather case for it. I've had it for a week and a half now and eeeek! I have the biggest smile on my face right now. I am just very happy with it at the moment and I hope I won't have anything to be disappointed about. I've been reading on it a lot (never mind my promise not to because I have exams coming next week already) and since it's warm and sunny outside, I've been sitting on our terrace every day after classes at uni or work and just taking time to relax by studying there and, of course, reading. Yay! It's a really good reading device and I honestly don't know how I survived so long withouth one. I definitely know now what I've been missing this whole time. Anyhow, here's a picture of actualy proof that I really got one lol.

As for the books, I've already read all of the physical ones, but I have a habit of purchasing physical copies in addition of books that I've enjoyed as ebooks. Just so I can re-read them I guess. Also, The Iron Fey box set was about 50% off for a day recently and I couldn't not get it. Love Julie Kagawa! She's a great author and Ash, Meghan and Puck deserve to be re-read. Pushin the Limits was one of my favorite contemporaries last year so of course I wanted it as a physical copy as well.

The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa (my review here)

The Iron Daughter (The Iron Fey #2) by Julie Kagawa (my review here)

The Iron Queen (The Iron Fey #3) by Julie Kagawa (my review here)

The Iron Knight (The Iron Fey #4) by Julie Kagawa (my review here)

Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits #1) by Katie McGarry (my review here)

Ebooks

Down London Road (On Dublin Street #2) by Samantha Young

Gameboard of Gods (Age of X #1) by Richelle Mead

Reboot (Reboot #1) by Amy Tintera

Thanks to Penguin and Netgalley for Gameboard of Gods arc and Jenni at Alluring Reads, Giselle at Xpresso Reads and Jenny at Supernatural Snark for advice on purchasing an e-reader. 

What did you get this week? Leave your links below and I'll check out your goodies :)

In My Mailbox is a weekly event hosted by The Mod Podge Bookshelf and Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Top 3 Bookish Moments of February

I can't believe it's March already and two months of 2013 are already over. Time flies at the speed of light. So what are my three bookish moments of February, you ask? Hmhhh.. Let me think. I believe these sum them up:

Finishing the Hush Hush Saga. 

Ugh, it's so frustrating that it's finally over, but it feels good, too, you know? I kind of lost hope when I read Crescendo (Hush Hush #2) and was afraid that maybe Becca doesn't have that much to say anymore in Finale (Hush Hush #4), but it was beautiful and emotional. You can read all about my thoughts in my review which I hope will be up before March ends.

Announcements by my favorite Ms. Collen Hoover.

Will's story (Slammed #3) will be out in April yay! Hopeless' paperback will be out soon, too. Oh, and the best thing eveeeerrr?? Holder POV of Hopeless will be out in July *dies* Yes, you heard me! *does a win-dance: uh-uh-uh   uh-uh-uh   uh-uh-uh-uh-uhuhhhh* You can read all about Holder's thoughts on it here.

Cover reveal for The Fiery Heart. 

Okay, let's get one thing straight: I am not, unfortunately, a fan of that cover, but I am glad that it was revealed. I think it's growing on me the more I look at it, but I'm still not a fan. I haven't read The Indigo Spell yet, but I will when we're closer to The Fiery Heart. This cover reveal means that TFH is really freaking coming and Adrian POV, baby!!!!! Win! *swoons* Yes! This is just uh-mazeballs! What do you think of that cover, though? Like? Dislike? Why so?

Anyway, these are my top three moments. Any memorable moments from your month of February? Any great books you read? Any awesome news? 

PS. If I won't answer to your comments or visit you back today/tomorrow, then know it's not you, it's me (lol), I have mid-semester exams at university and it's crazy, crazy, crazy right now. I should be back to commenting and seeing what you're all up to on Saturday.

Discussion: Vampire Academy Movie

Okay, so I'm a huge fan of the Vampire Academy series. I have done my fair share of re-reading, but never have I ever re-read books so many times as these six. I love them with all my heart and soul! Rose is one of the best female leads there has ever been (in my eyes, of course) and Lissa, Christian, Adrian, Eddie - they're all so fantastic that writing this and thinking about them makes me want to pick these books up from my shelf and devour the heck out of them. I cannot tell you how much I adore our sexy Russian Dimitri. He is .. yeah. Out of this world! Last night I was quietly minding my own business by reading and just hanging out on my bed when I updated my reading status on GR and felt the need to check out what's going on in the real world when I stumbled upon this HUGE news! I literally did a happy dance, squealed like a lunatic and had a 100 W smile on my face. Today, about an hour ago, I spilled the beans to my mom who was almost as excited as I was. Okay, that's a lie, but she was happy about it. And come on! She hates paranormal stuff, but she loves Vampire Academy. That must count for something, right? Anyway.. If by any chance you haven't heard from millions and millions of fans all over the world yet then let me tell you that the filming starts this summer AND WE HAVE ROSE, LISSA AND DIMITRI *dies of excitement*

Zoey Deutch as Rose

Let's start with Zoey. I love the casting and even though I don't know anything about the actors playing Lissa and Dimitri, Zoe was freaking awesome in Ringer. I can't wait to see her in Beautiful Creatures bringing her A-game in being the queen bee and trying to destroy Lena's life as Emily Asher. She is just plain awesome and I'm soooooo excited *clapps hands and laughs like a lunatic*

She can laugh and be the life of the party like Rose. If you watch any of her live interviews for Beautiful Creatures on youtube, for instance, she is always bubbly and fun. And she's got a great laugh:)

After watching Ringer (why was that show cancelled? Just when it got interesting... -.-) I know she can be sarcastic and snarky - the very definition of Rose Hathaway.

 

Zoey is versitile and can portray the depth of Rose's growth on the big screen, I know she can. 

 Oh, and this little scene in Ringer reminds me of a little someting in Vampire Academy. Just look at her face and the emotion on it. She will rock the socks off our feet, I am sure of it!!

You know.. I didn't know who to pick as my choice for Rose, but Zoey is fantastic. If you're a doubter, give her a chance. She is amazing and I can't wait to see her in this role:)

Lucy Fry as Lissa

I don't know much about her, but I know that this mermaid show she was on was pretty big in Australia and I think she has it all in the looks department to play Lissa, let's just hope she is as beautiful in her performance:) 

 

Danila Kozlovsky as Dimitri

Okay, so I know nothing about Danila, but I don't need to. If the casting crew thought he was great, then he must be, right? Plus, we can't have Ben Barnes,who I believe is the most wanted actor for this role like A. Pettyfer was for Jace Wayland. I think this choice is better though. I like Ben, but an American actor playing Russian guy isn't that believable, I'm sorry. 

The fact that they chose a Russian guy to play Dimitri is so fabulous that I could die of excitement right at this very moment. As Richelle said in her post that she couldn't tell the difference, yeah. I bet a lot of you won't, but even though I'm Estonian and my Russian is almost non-existant, then I can tell the difference. I'm sure not only Russian fans, but many others from Europe can and if it were an American trying to do an English/Scottish accent e.g., like A. Hathaway did in One Day, many of us would be disappointed. It sounds just too cheesy. Like.. I almost winced when S. Johansson did a Russian accent in The Avengers. It was too awful. Also, it doesn't hurt that he has dimples *sigh* So yeah, you can say that I'm glad;)

The only thing that bothers me a bit is the new title - Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters - but I can live with that as long as there's gonna be six movies, lol. I hope there will be, at least.

If you want to read about what Richelle had to say about all of this, you can do so here. This year is already gonna rock with Beautiful Creatures, The Host, Warm Bodies, City of freaking Bones, Catching Fire, Thor 2 and Iron Man 3 coming out on the big screen, The Selection and Delirium being pursued as TV shows, Teen Wolf being half as long as usual and now I can finally say that it's gonna be the most wonderful year of movies ever!!! Yay! =))))))))

PS. Sorry if there're more errors than usual, I didn't read it through, because I have to go study biochemistry, but I just wanted to gush and share this excitement with you, guys. Hopefully you are as glad as I am that things are finally moving forward.

Top 3 Bookish Moments of November 2012

This is a little somthing I'll try to do every month, but I'm kind of chaotic with all of my memes so I apologize in advance, lol. Anyway, the title says it all, but in case you're still wondering what the post is about then.. Umm.. Yeah. I'll try to post my 3 book related moments of the previous month starting with November. PS. They're in a completely random order.

1. Dual POVs.  Last month Richelle Mead and Jennifer L. Armentrout both announced that the next books in their series will be from dual point of views – Richelle's fourth installment of the Bloodlines Series, The Fiery Heart, will be from Sydney's as well as Adrian's POV and Jennifer will add Daemon's POV to Origin (Lux #4) in addition to Katy's. I'm so excited. I love both of these guys tremendously and couldn't be happier that they're included into telling the story to us.
2. Reading Charade by Nyrae Dawn. This book was pretty much incredible! I enjoyed every minute of it and re-read almost half the book as soon as I'd finished it the first time, because I couldn't get those heart-wrenching and emotional parts out of my mind. A definite recommend! You can read my review here, my interview with the always lovely and talented Nyrae here and check out what songs made it to my playlist for Charade here.
3. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones finished filming. It feels like yesterday when I watched pictures from the first day on set and gosh, I just want to see that movie so bad!! I've watched the trailer probably more than 50 times by now and I'm still in awe of it. Does anyone know where I can get myself a time machine? I'm in desperate need of one. This better not be the end of the world this year, because there're lots of great books to be premiered on the big screen in 2013 in addition to TMI's first novel and I cannot. freaking. wait!

So yep, these are my top three bookish moments of this year's November. What are yours? Any highlights that happened last month? :)

Top Ten Tuesday #8

 

Top Ten Favorite Kick-Ass Heroines

It was such a tough choice that I chose 10 of these lovely ladies and then put the others on a honorable mentions list down below. All of them deserve to be in the top ten and I think they're all absolutely fantastic! They've sacrificed a lot for their loved ones, been to battles beyond our imaginations, have great personalities and are just exceptional role models.

I'm not quite sure what captures me on this picture, but her kick-ass
attitude and determined expression definitely do our heroines
justice. Love it!

1. Rose Hathaway (Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead)
2. Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins)
3. Karou (Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy by Laini Taylor)
4. Alex(andria) Andros (Covenant Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout)
5. Hermione Granger (Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling)
6. Clary Fray (The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare)
7. Meghan Chase (The Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa)
8. Nora Grey (Hush Hush Saga by Becca Fitzpatrick)
9. Beartice Prior (Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth)
10. Anna Whitt (Sweet Trilogy by Wendy Higgins)

Honorable mentions:

Sookie Stackhouse (Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris)
Sydney Sage (Bloodlines Series by Richelle Mead)
Lena Duchannes (The Caster Chronicles Saga by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl)
Nikki Beckett (The Everneath Trilogy by Brodi Ashton)
Katy Swartz (The Lux Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout)
Theia Alderson (Falling Under Series by Gwen Hayes)
Georgina Kincaid (Georgina Kincaid Series by Richelle Mead)
Tessa Grey (The Infernal Devices Series by Cassandra Clare)
Grace Brisbane (The Wolves of Mercy Falls by Maggie Stiefvater)


Do you agree with my list? Would you add anybody else? Who did you pick as your top ten kick-ass heroines? Leave your links below and I'll check out yours :)

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

Top Ten Tuesday #7

 

Top Ten Bookish People You Want To Meet (Authors, Bloggers, etc.)

Let’s say I’d host a dinner party and got to invite 10 so called bookish people. Here's what I'd do: host a dinner party for these ten writers and since I had such a hard time choosing them, I’d throw a banquet after the mentioned dinner in honor of this fabulous community of writers, bloggers and book lovers in general. I’d gladly invite guests of honor and every fellow blogger who’s interested in addition to these ten authors from different eras. Want to know which ten authors I’d be delighted to have dinner with? Check out their names as well as the guests of honor below. As for the bloggers, I’d let in anyone who’d be interested to join us and have a great time.

Doesn't this seem like a magical place for our
dinner? If Hogwarts is not available, this
would be the perfect place! Beautiful and intimate.

1. Agatha Christie to solve the mystery of 'how to stop internet piracy'
2. Oscar Wilde to make us think about different shades human nature
3. Jennifer L. Armentrout to make us swoon over hot aliens and teach us how to write heart-stopping cliffhangers
4. Wendy Higgins to tell us about temptation and how to avoid it
5. Colleen Hoover to teach us how to make the best out of the worst
6. Cassandra Clare to tell us how TMI movie is going and when are Godfrey and Zegers finally going to meet in person and *ahem* perhaps give as a few hints on The Dark Artifices series..?
7. J. K. Rowling to share information on what Harry, Ron and Hermione are doing at the moment (because we’re all dying to know) and tell us if Draco has gone off the dark path (I sure hope he has). Oh, maybe she could talk with whoever's leading the Hogwarts these days and we could throw this get-together there! That, in fact, is a fabulous idea!
8. Harper Lee to make a speech about the moral aspects of the society and the difference between the right and wrong
9. Richelle Mead to take Dimitri, Adrian, Christian or Eddie as her date *swoons* and give us an insight to The Indigo Spell and what’s to come
10. Jamie McGuire to share a snippet of Walking Disaster and give us a few tips on how to leave one’s past behind and make a better person out of oneself

Honorable mentions:  Julie Kagawa, Tammara Webber, Abbi Glines, Elizabeth Reyes, Becca Fitzpatrick, Tina Reber, Veronica Roth, J. D. Salinger, Jane Austen, Maggie Stiefvater, S. C. Stephens, Mark Twain, William Shakespeare, Nyrae Dawn, Tarryn Fisher, Gwen Hayes.

Care to join us? If so and you could bring a date, who would you pick (in addition to the previously mentioned fabulous authors)?

P.S. Leave a link to your TTT and I'll stop by and check out your list of bookish people you're dying to meet :)

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

Cover Love: August 2012

Here's a new monthly feature I'm hoping to participate in every month. I haven't been that consistant lately when it comes to participating in different memes, but this is a monthly event so it shouldn't be so hard, right? I hope my inconsistanty won't continue and I'll be able to pull myself together, although, I don't think that's happening, since it's so, so hard at Uni right now and I have no idea how I'm going to get through this semester. Okay, I'm starting to walk off the main road here. Let us continue with this beautiful feature.

Don't judge a book by its cover? Well, that's exactly what I'm going to do right now: give these pretties a thumbs up based on their covers. Fasten your seatbelts and jump on the train to give these books multiple look overs since one obviously isn't enough.

P.S. I'd be delighted if you could tell me your opinion on these covers and whether you agree or not. Also, what are your favorite covers from last month?

In August I read 12 books (actually I'm reading one right now, but I finished over a half of it in August and there isn't that much left so.. yeah. 12 books it is) and these are the books that made it to my list:

Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

Published: November 13th 2008
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository 

Why? Out of all Victoria Secret's models I've always thought Adriana Lima was the prettiest and somehow this girl on the cover reminds me of her. In addition, the back cover is purple and it's my favorite colour. I also like the intensity in this girl's eyes and it matches the pace, emotions and action in this book perfectly. It's my favorite one in this series when it comes to storytelling, plot etc and the cover is freaking gorgeous!

Divergent (UK version) by Veronica Roth

Published: May 3rd 2011
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository 
 
Why? As I stated in my review, this version of the cover speaks volumes about the storyline and Tris in general. She is so brave, has a great combination of selfishness and seflessness in her, Tris is a great competitor and friend, but she doesn't exactly belong with the others. She thinks differently and on the cover she is sitting and watching, which is exactly what she does in the book: she observe takes notice of things and people around her. Also, Tri is discovering the world on through her own eyes instead of listening to others. And the three birds have their on special meaning. Moreover, the future Chicago on the backround is perfect. I ust love this cover, it's so beautiful and kind of poetic.

Lengths by Liz Reinhardt and Steph Campbell

Published: August 9th 2012
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

Why? As a new adult contemporary book, it needs to have a kick-ass cover in order to stand out. It does. It absolutely does. The guy portraying Theo is gorgeous and surfing is definitely one of the key points in this book. The cover is pretty steamy and this book has all kinds of action in the romance field. This book definitely got my attention thanks to the cover at first.

While It Lasts by Abbi Glines

Published: July 21st 2012
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble 
 

Why? Abbi's Sea Breeze series is trending as #beautfulcovers in my book. I mean.. Really! Look at these covers! They're beautiful and they, too tell you a story on their own instead of just being pretty. Once you're finished with a book you can instantly tell how different items on the cover are connected to the storyline. For instance, Cage is bringing the sexy back and there are many scenes where he is not wearing a shirt and Eva conjures up a cristal clear picture in your mind exactly like the cover and you can't help but be week in your knees and want to get a real look youself. The cover is actually pretty simple, but it's definitely inviting and sexy. Furthermore, it has kind of a sunny atmposphere, which describes the bright moments of this book perfectly.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Published: December 2nd 2010
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository 

Why? I literally bought this book because of the cover and based on its looks. Yeah, I'd heard of it before and the praise has been overwhelming, but I wasn't sure I'd like to read it. Whenever I finish this book, you'll be able to read my thoughts on the storyline, but the cover, in my opinion, is pretty darn cute. The Eiffel Tower? A gorgeous girl? A guy? Great colours? A sweet and cute vibe its giving off? Heck yeah I wanted to read it. Plus the over all design was unique: the pages are cropped and everything is so.. Idk. I like it.

Cover Love is an original feature at I’m Loving Books (she also makes kick-ass banners and buttons). At the beginning of every month, I round up all of my favorite covers from books I’ve read the previous month and tell you what I love about them!