Sunday, October 16, 2011

Review: Sirenz by Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman

Sirenz (Sirenz #1)

Hardcover: 280 pages
Release date: June 8th, 2011
Publisher: Flux
Source: Author
Goodreads Summary: Bickering frenemies Meg and Shar are doing some serious damage at a midnight sample sale when the fashionistas find themselves arguing over a pair of shoes-with fatal consequences. One innocent bystander later, the girls are suddenly at the mercy of Hades, Lord of the Underworld himself. To make them atone for what they've done, Hades forces the teens to become special-assignment Sirens, luring to the Underworld an individual whose unholy contract is up.

Finding that delicate balance between their fashion addiction and their new part-time job in the eternal hellfire biz turns out to be harder than Meg and Shar expected, especially when an entire pantheon of Greek deities decides to get involved. Then there's the matter of the fine print in their own contracts...

“Be careful of your wishes and who you tell”, this quotation would be the main idea of the story of Sirenz.

Frenemies Meg and Shar are fighting over a pair of shoes when they find it in a midnight sample sale. But what they don’t expect is to get in a serious, dangerous consequence with an innocent bystander. After a second they were on the hands of Hades-the God of the underworld. To make them atone from what they done, Hades gave them a new part-time job on becoming a Sirens, luring to the Underworld an individual whose contract is up.

At first, I was not that eager to read it, and because I’m not an aficionado of fashion but when I catch sight of the name of Hades I begun to wonder what it would be if a strong, vicious god of the Underworld become a fashionista--and given the fact that I really adore Hades of all the Gods and Goddesses in the Greek Mythology.

The book was made in just 275 pages but the story is packed of details, it ends in a good way, it does not need a sequel--but if ever they would do I’m glad--and definitely a clear-cut, trouble-free to read. Meg and Shar have a different personality, Meg was the silver-tongued one, and she could get a person to get along with her. While Shar was the total fashionista, she has those beautiful features that could totally bring somebody’s attention. There friendship was not in the affable way, but as they come to their task together, they get to realized that they really deserved each other as friend and that they have similarities too. It was fun to read their journey on becoming Hades Sirens temporarily--if they’ll pull their assignment. Especially if involves a penalty whenever they break the rules.

I learned a lot from this story. How a person should control oneself from behaving towards another person. How a person should take the consequences out of his/her actions and to correct what he/she have done. These are the few things that I learned from Sirenz.



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Amazing! Loved it.


Friday, October 14, 2011

On My Wishlist (10)

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It’s where we list all the books we desperately want but haven’t actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming. It’s also an event that you can join in with too – If you want to know more, click here.


Dear Bully: Seventy Authors Tell Their Stories

Dear Bully: Seventy Authors Tell Their Story 
Paperback: 352 pages
Release date: September 1st, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Goodreads Summary: You are not alone

Discover how Lauren Kate transformed the feeling of that one mean girl getting under her skin into her first novel, how Lauren Oliver learned to celebrate ambiguity in her classmates and in herself, and how R.L. Stine turned being the “funny guy” into the best defense against the bullies in his class.
Today’s top authors for teens come together to share their stories about bullying—as silent observers on the sidelines of high school, as victims, and as perpetrators—in a collection at turns moving and self-effacing, but always deeply personal.
Forbidden



Forbidden by by Syrie James and Ryan M. James
 Paperback: 411 pages
Release date: January 24th, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Goodreads Summary: Syrie joined forces with her talented son Ryan to co-write her next novel, Forbidden. The book is about a 16-year-old girl who comes into unusual powers, only to discover that she's half-angel... and her entire existence is forbidden. 

Alec MacKenzie is fed up with his duties to watch and, when necessary, eliminate the descendants of his angelic forefathers. He chose Emerson Academy as the ideal hiding place where he could escape and be normal for once. He hadn't factored Claire Brennan into his plans...
 Their love is forbidden, going against everything Alec has been taught to believe. But when the threat to Claire's life becomes clear, how far will Alec go to protect her?

Flat-Out Love

Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park 
Paperback: 391 pages
Release date: July 28th, 2011
Publisher: Createspace
Goodreads Summary: Something is seriously off in the Watkins home. And Julie Seagle, college freshman, small-town Ohio transplant, and the newest resident of this Boston house, is determined to get to the bottom of it.

When Julie's off-campus housing falls through, her mother's old college roommate, Erin Watkins, invites her to move in. The parents, Erin and Roger, are welcoming, but emotionally distant and academically driven to eccentric extremes. The middle child, Matt, is an MIT tech geek with a sweet side ... and the social skills of a spool of USB cable. The youngest, Celeste, is a frighteningly bright but freakishly fastidious 13-year-old who hauls around a life-sized cardboard cutout of her oldest brother almost everywhere she goes.

And there's that oldest brother, Finn: funny, gorgeous, smart, sensitive, almost emotionally available. Geographically? Definitely unavailable. That's because Finn is traveling the world and surfacing only for random Facebook chats, e-mails, and status updates. Before long, through late-night exchanges of disembodied text, he begins to stir something tender and silly and maybe even a little bit sexy in Julie's suddenly lonesome soul.

To Julie, the emotionally scrambled members of the Watkins family add up to something that ... well ... doesn't quite add up. Not until she forces a buried secret to the surface, eliciting a dramatic confrontation that threatens to tear the fragile Watkins family apart, does she get her answer.


What's on your wishlist for this week? 

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Review: Between the Land and the Sea by Derrolyn Anderson

Between the Land and the Sea

E-book: 261 pages
Release date: March 19th, 2011
Source: Author
Buy it on Amazon
Goodreads Summary: Something extraordinary is lurking in the deep ocean waters off the coast of Aptos, California. Just a few weeks after moving to the beach town, sixteen year-old Marina has nearly drowned twice, enchanted the hottest guy in high school, and discovered a supernatural creature. If she can manage to survive her increasingly dangerous encounters with unpredictable mermaids, she might just be able to unlock the mystery of her past and learn how to appease the mysterious forces that seem to want something from her... and maybe even find true love along the way.

Between the Land and the Sea is about a girl named Marina, a talented 16-year old artist who moved in her aunt’s home in Aptos, California to spend a year in high school. She has spent all her life being homeschooled while traveling the world with her father. When the duty called for Afghanistan, her father decided that Marina should not go with him this time and live with her aunt and cousin in Aptos to have a normal teenage life. Little did she know that Aptos will uncover the mysteries of her mother’s life, her whole identity, and unexpectedly find the love she has never felt before. 

I always thought there should be more mermaid books to be written and published. I’ve always been a huge fan of fantasy books although Contemps and Dystopias own my heart. Between the Land and the Sea would be one of the best mermaid books I’ve read. 

I really liked Marina and her way of dealing with the mean girls who are bullying her. I think it’s the coolest way possible to fight back without breaking a sweat. I also loved the minor characters especially Evie, Cruz, and Megan. And of course there’s also Ethan. I know guys like him in YA are cliché, but who cares. He’s amazing and wonderful and still my favorite character. I wish I get to know more about her father, though I guess I will on the second book. 

I have so many good things to gush about this book. I loved the plot and the characters and the way the author masterfully described things. It is very descriptive but not in a way that the readers will tend to be bored, but instead thoroughly absorb every word. The romance was absolutely fun to read. I didn’t expect the suspense and it didn’t help that I was all alone in the middle of the night. 

Aside from the romance, the mystery was what kept me reading until one in the morning. The plot was quite predictable, but there came a point when I had to stop for a full minute to grasp what I just read. I imagine this is what using crack’s like. I could hardly stop going through its pages and even chose it over memorizing my speech. Not that I regret or blame it. 

Overall, I loved this and I can’t wait to start the second book. Thanks so much to the author for providing an e-copy in exchange for an honest review. 

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Monday, October 3, 2011

Mini Challenge: Top 5 Books

I

I had a tough time narrowing down my favorites to top five. But anyways! Here are the top 5 books/series that I've read so far this year.

(In no particular order)
 Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness

On the Jellicoe RoadThe Piper's Son
On The Jellicoe Road and The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta
I know they're two different books... but they're both written by Melina Marchetta! I'm so glad I discovered her works just before graduation. I'm one of her biggest fans and I can't wait til NBS gives in and take her here in the Philippines. :DDD
Divergent (Divergent, #1)
Divergent by Veronica Roth
I'm a HUGE fan of Dystopians and this one stood out for me this year. I love it as much as I do THG and 2012 can't come soon enough!
Anna and the French Kiss
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
This is the best contemporary YA I've ever read. I finished this three times in a span of a week. I love it that much.

Where She Went (If I Stay, #2)
Where She Went by Gayle Forman
Three words: Adam freaking Wilde *swoons*

What are the top 5 books you've read this year?


Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday: Everybody Sees the Ants and Night Beach

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Everybody Sees the Ants

Everybody Sees the Ants  by A.S. King

Hardcover: 288 pages
Release date: October 3rd, 2011
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Goodreads Summary: Lucky Linderman didn't ask for his life. He didn't ask his grandfather not to come home from the Vietnam War. He didn't ask for a father who never got over it. He didn't ask for a mother who keeps pretending their family is fine. And he certainly didn't ask to be the recipient of Nadar McMillan's relentless bullying, which has finally gone too far.

Lucky has a secret—one that helps him wade through the daily dysfunction of his life. Grandad Harry, trapped in the jungles of Laos, has been visiting Lucky in his dreams—and the dreams just might be real: an alternate reality where he can be whoever he wants to be and his life might still be worth living. But how long can Lucky remain in hiding there before reality forces its way inside?
Printz Honor recipient A. S. King's distinctive, smart, and accessible writing shines in this powerful novel about learning to cope with the shrapnel life throws at you, and then taking a stand against it.
I LOVED A.S. King's Please Ignore Vera Dietz!! It's one of my favorite books I've read this year and I'm looking forward to this one.

Night Beach

Night Beach  by Kirsty Eagar 

Hardcover: 324 pages
Release date: February, 2012
Publisher: Penguin Books Australia
Goodreads summary: For Abbie, the ocean is a refuge and the only place she feels in touch with her wilder, truer self. But when her step-cousin Kane returns from a surf trip with something to conceal, she learns that what the sea wants, the sea shall have … A page-turning gothic thriller from award-winning author Kirsty Eagar. 

"It’s about art, the ocean, and the very dark things that feed the creative process … There’s surfing in there, and a look at the idea of ownership. But mainly it’s about a girl called Abbie and a guy called Kane."
 
This one sounds compelling... And it's Kirsty Eagar's! I haven't read a book of hers but they're all getting rave reviews. I'll start with Raw Blue next week.


What are you anxiously waiting on this week? Just leave a comment of the link to your WoW post!
Don't forget to enter our First Ever Giveaway if you haven't!
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