Nooks and Crannies

Delirium (Delirium (Quality))

8:00 am 28 January 2014

Interesting concept but I felt like the whole "love is a disease" immediately just jumped to "love is a crime" and there wasn't any backstory in the whole novel that provided any insight. How did this kind of thinking escalate?

I'm reading Pandemonium as soon as I can and I only wish Lauren Oliver would provide more background to it. As i've said, it's very very interesting and has a lot of potential.

Shadow (The Paper Gods)

8:00 am 27 January 2014

This fell a little flat for me, as an introduction. I felt like the writer was trying a little too hard to create a distressing, depressing environment for Katie's feelings to anchor to but it just didn't work in the end. Even the use of various Japanese words and phrases sprinkles throughout the story seemed a little too much, too unrealistic when coupled with their English translations right below them.

Katie acts like she was the only one who lost something, and she seemed a little insensitive to the needs of her ailing grandparents. She seemed too selfish in those parts and that put me off for a while. The whole dynamics between the characters were well expounded, how the friendships around the characters worked was well-explained and that was one of the few redeeming factors of this story.

Although this added more dimension to the Paper Gods series, I feel like it felt a little short to what the author would've wanted to convey. It wasn't a bad introduction, but i think it requires more effort.

Timebound

8:00 am 26 January 2014

WOW I'm so glad I finally got around to finishing this book! I seriously thought I would get too frustrated and just drop but Rysa Walker has got me hooked at every word despite my agonizingly slow pace. Just thinking about the whole deal with time travel is enough to make my head spin but this book my Rysa Walker was definitely a good and worthy read.

The story starts a little simple, and slowly hops into more convoluted aspects of time travel. Kate's character, who I love so much because she's realistic about everything despite everything going on around her, is a feisty but shy girl. My favourite mix of a heroine. The convoluted parts may stem from the fact that my reading was spaced in long intervals (days, at most) due to personal circumstances, but in it's entirety it wasn't that difficult to follow. There are areas that seemed a little grey for me, like if Prudence on who's side, the ultimate plan of Saul and the Cyrists for the whole world and how those people who were going to be time-travelling and researching points in history came to be but I'm hoping that'll be answered in the next books. I also had my doubts on who Kiernan really was, and I was starting to worry that his character wouldn't be utilized well but Rysa Walker has weaved him really well into the story. Sure, he didn't get that much face time but there was something in the way that the story was written that you know it's believable.

I'm very glad that the story flowed the way it did, instead of a terrible and agonizing cliffhanger immediately at the end. The whole aspect of time travel, CHRONOS keys and changing the course of history greatly interests me (Whovian here) and this book would certainly be suited for someone interested in it. Ellie's Reading Nook

Ink (Harlequin Teen)

8:00 am 26 January 2014

This book started a little....off for me. First off, It immediately jumps into the story and throws the reader in a conversation filled with Japanese words which I didn't really expect. If it wasn't for the story being heavily anchored to Japan, i would've easily pegged this story as something many people on the internet would call a "weeaboo". I'm glad that Amanda Sun has managed to avoid that by making sure that the Japanese culture aspect of the story is nailed to the ground.

Katie Greene's mother died eight months prior to the beginning of the story, and due to her mother's will and her grandparents' medical condition, she has to stay with her mother's sister who resides in Japan. She has tried to live her life as average as she could, but an encounter with a mysterious guy named somehow changed her life forever. The whole dynamics of their relationship reminded me a lot of Twilight. Tomohiro being the dark and mysterious character that Katie must avoid if she wants any normality in her life. Despite the many attempts to avoid each other, they still manage to get very close. Many parts of the story did look typically "manga/anime"-ish what with the whole beach episode, but I didn't really mind it that much. The whole story also included the Yakuza, who were after Tomohisa's power. After that dangerous encounter, they managed to escape with the help of another one of Tomohisa's kind only this time they were made to pick between being together or separating for the good of themselves and everyone else. The whole "we're kami and we don't have to put ourselves in the shoes of human so let's just take over like before" opened up a little too late towards the end, which I wish was introduced earlier on.

The part where the author suggests that Katie was somehow connected to something so intrinsically Japanese as the "Kami" without even hinting at any Japanese connection to her was a little weird to me, but I guess that would be explained deeper in the later books. Ellie's Reading Nook

Enders

8:00 am 21 January 2014

ASDFLGHKSAKJ I am so glad I bought Starters and Enders together so I wouldn't have to sit and wait in anticipation until I can grab my hands on it. This book was so exciting the lack of proper lighting didn't even stop me from reading! Lissa Price is a genius and Starters has to be one of my favourite dystopia book in recent history. Full review at ellie's reading nook

Starters

8:00 am 20 January 2014

I am sooooo glad I picked up this series. It's so exciting and such a page turner! Starters is an action-packed book that's a great mix of Maximum Ride and The Hunger Games. The world painted by Lissa Price is vividly futuristic. The beginning of the story was a bit of a drag for me, but I guess it was just a catapult to all the action that happened in the future pages. Full review at ellie's reading nook

Crash (Visions)

8:00 am 19 January 2014

The cover initially drew me in to purchasing this book. To be completely honest, I couldn’t completely immerse myself in the story at first. How Jules seemed to just admit that she was in love with the son of her family rival happened so suddenly to me, perhaps it was because of the directness of the writing. It took me a while to get past it and I’m glad I didn’t put this book down. It’s got to be one of my favourite first books in a series. Sawyer and Jules were adorable together, and I got very excited towards the end... (full review here)

It's Not Summer Without You

8:00 am 15 January 2014

I liked the first book in this series but I wasn't sure where it would be headed. My observation upon reading the first couple of chapters was that it was going to be a little heavier and in-depth than the topics encountered in the first book. Susannah has died and everyone left that were close to her goes through various emotions in dealing with her death. This triggers many rifts and changes in the relationships between the Fisher boys and Belly. It was a little painful to read her being confused about her emotions and Conrad having to deal with it by himself because that's just how he does things. Read full review at ellie's reading nook

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

8:00 am 12 November 2012

I absolutely love how adorable this book is. Everything moves a little too fast though sometimes it is just how it is, right? 24 hours might seem like a long time and that's just what happens in this book. The writing is vivid, full of feeling and there are many sort of flashbacks to drive the point and emotions of the characters.

At first i thought, "Wow 24 hours seems a little too fast to fall in love with someone" but even that would seem like a long time if you put aside all the pretenses and actually open up to someone. Having the story set at the airport is very cute too, considering the many people who come in and out of airports daily. I like how both of the main characters hit it off easily, somewhat proving the fact that when you see someone you'll immediately know how your relationship would be like. No pretentious facades, just wholehearted and occasionally funny conversation through and through.

Who knows who you'll meet the next time you board a flight? A future good friend or maybe a love story might just start sprouting there :)

Deity: The Third Covenant Novel

8:00 am 11 November 2012

HOLY. DAIMON. BABIES. Jennifer Armentrout you are one great writer.

There aren't enough words to string perfectly all the emotions i felt throughout the book. It was even so painful to stop reading for other...normal daily things to be done because i really really want to know what's gonna happen next.

This is probably the best Covenant book yet. It answers so many things and opening up new questions in it's place. It shows the bizarre dynamics of a clash of personalities, intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships and so much more. Not to mention bigger things start happening (Apollo, Hades being HOT, Artemis being such a BAMF and Poseidon and his anger issues) around them and people are starting to show which side they're supporting.

I can't wait for the next book, i'm probably gonna die of booklust now. My heart has officially been ripped apart and put together again, by this book.

Beautiful Disaster (Beautiful, #1)

8:00 am 10 November 2012

Wow.

Seriously not what i expected at all. Travis and Abby didn't seem like the kind of people who'd get along at first but you can see how much Travis gets drawn to Abby and her to him as the story progresses. It conveyed a semi-realistic, not always relatable college atmosphere, but i like it anyways.

The dynamics between the relationships of the characters were also interesting, considering Travis seems to be ticked off by random things, sometimes i thought he was borderline. His initial "fixation" to Abby didn't really help in changing my perspective of him. Abby's inability to keep her decisions for a long time seems to parallel how most women go back and forth with their decisions and in this case, it's good for their relationship since she too seems to have a one-track mind. It helps her, and the other characters explore the consequences of their actions.

I wouldn't say Abby was gullible, but i would've liked her more if she wasn't so easily swayed, or were firm and honest with her intentions. Overall, it's a good read :)

SPOILER ALERT!

Pure: The Second Covenant Novel

8:00 am 8 November 2012

OHMYDEARGOD

This has been sitting on my shelf for so long and i insanely regret not pushing through the first couple of pages because...that was so awesome! That was even more a roller coaster of emotions than the first book, and i loved it! And the writing is superb- detailed yet clear, just enough to actually convey the exact things.

Alex's hot-headed and impulsive personality makes her a far from perfect lead, but that just gives her more density as a character. Her reactions were pretty realistic, especially the part where she turned to Seth when she felt rejected by Aiden. This book really made it difficult to choose between Aiden and Seth, their personalities just seemed to clash and they way they handle Alex are just so different. Yet you know they care about her all the same, despite Alex leaning more to Aiden and seem to be settling with Seth.

There was a balance with all the elements, it's just so damn good. Alex mourning over Caleb's untimely and unfortunate death was done just right, and her disobeying orders and actually fight alongside the people she cared for was just so like her. This isn't just about Greek Mythology for me, i like how the book manages to touch other issues like unfair segregation of the Hematoi (pures/halfs). It almost parallels with real-world issues.

Overall, i absolutely love love LOVE this and i can't wait to get my hands on the next book!

Timeless

8:00 am 7 November 2012

I like reading books from authors who i haven't heard of before, and i certainly did not "plan" on falling in love with Alexandra Monir's Timeless. Some parts of the writing were a little standoffish for a lack of a better word, but i'm guessing that's just to specifically detail the enormity of things it was describing. The use of "Windsor" was a little cliche but i tried not to pay any attention to that since it really conveys the whole historically and financially rich family image.

At first i wished there were more times for Philip to show Michele around, maybe compound their deepening relationship more and then i realized Michele has been dreaming about Mystery Man/Philip for a long time. When she traveled back in time for the first time, i literally had to hold my breathe in! The details were plenty and marvelous, eloquently written as well. The going-back-and-forth between past and present were exciting, and Michele made complete use of her time there and occasionally uncovering things on her own. I also like the efforts of inserting science into this.

There are so many things left unanswered. I'm so curious as to how Michele manages to pop into the times where she needs to be. I wish the next book explored this more and by that i simply can't wait for Timekeeper to come out.

Easy

8:00 am 6 November 2012

My first Tammara Webber book and i'm not disappointed. I always have high hopes when reading my first book of an author and this one was just excellent. Tammara Webber's writing is relaxed but descriptive, very contemporary indeed.

Easy not only explores Jacqueline's own personal experiences, with her friends and relationships but as well as real issues like rape. It starts out heavy, introducing many central characters and issues all at once and then lightening up, only to get caught in a pace again. I really like the incorporation of different fields of study and the Greek societies. As for the rape, considering it's a very serious offense, Tammara Webber has managed to convey it's horrid nature in a classy manner.

This book really blew me off the roof, because aside from the things i have already mentioned it's also what i didn't expect it to be. From the summary i assumed it would be angst-filled, cover to cover but fortunately Tammara Webber has managed to keep that on a tasteful amount as well. Some of those personal issues hit close to home.

Easy's realism and captivating story makes it a wonderful read.

Keep Holding On

8:00 am 4 November 2012

This is the first book that i have read from Susane Colasanti and i'm certainly not disappointed, her writing style certainly appealed to the entire feel of the story.

The story begins with Noelle's inner monologue regarding the things in her surroundings, mainly one Julian who she has been crushing on. With this kind of start, you'd think Julian would have more impact on the story than what was presented but, in all honestly i'm kind of glad that it didn't. I'm glad that focused a little less on her relationship with Julian and Sherae and a little more on her relationship with herself. Noelle has a strong, positive spirit and not the perfect, goody-two-shoes i would've disliked. The imperfections in her thoughts, her personality and her actions leading up to the end of the story just made her more realistic, more relatable.

Another thing that i liked was the exploration and eventual confrontation with her mother, which, though abrupt and seemed a little underdone, was a good path to take and now that major aspects of her life seemed to have turned out for the better then she can start working the tangles out slowly. (How i wish all cases were that easy)

So, lessons learned: Most of the time we can't change how people interact with us, but we can change how we let them affect us, that we have to take charge of our own happiness and instead of letting the bad things throw us down, we need to keep holding on to what's good.

The Evolution of Mara Dyer

8:00 am 4 November 2012

Just finished reading The Evolution of Mara Dyer and i must say, it hasn't failed to excite my senses. Michelle Hodkin has a knack for pushing and pulling your senses, a rollercoaster of emotions just as riveting (if not more) as the first book, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer.

In this sequel we experience Mara as things slowly start to unravel before her while not failing to explore her relationship with the people around her. Noah started out a little flat, he doesn't seem to clearly exist outside of Mara's circle but his character slowly gets undone as the story progresses. I absolutely adore the part where he's journalizing his thoughts for Mara, as well as his confession to her at their date. We also learn more about Jude and his sinister purposes, as well as other hidden antagonists and perhaps a plot that's beyond what we first thought of.

There's a lot more things in this book that is shrouded in mystery, and that just makes the wait for the third book a little unbearable.

Nooks and Crannies

Delirium (Delirium (Quality))

Shadow (The Paper Gods)

Timebound

Ink (Harlequin Teen)

Enders

Starters

Crash (Visions)

It's Not Summer Without You

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Deity: The Third Covenant Novel

Beautiful Disaster (Beautiful, #1)

Pure: The Second Covenant Novel

Timeless

Easy

Keep Holding On

The Evolution of Mara Dyer

Blog

Shelf

Timeline

Reading Challenge 2025

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