THE LUNAR CHRONICLES: The Books, The New Story, and The Amazing Giveaway

THE LUNAR CHRONICLES

It was the year 2012 when the first book of The Lunar Chronicles, Cinder, came out. Four years later, the last book of the series finally makes it way to the shelves of our book stores. Time flies so fast, doesn't it? Now, with four books and two companion novels, The Lunar Chronicles is finally  complete.

I have actually read the first two books of The Lunar Chronicles a few years ago, the same year they were released. But due to some circumstances, I was not able to continue where I left off in the series. Now that all the books are available, maybe it's time to binge read the whole series.

If you are not familiar with the books I am talking about, well... I guess you should get yourself acquainted with them. Because once you start this series, you will become hooked. You will be wanting more and more of it. And there is no going back.

If you want to read them, here are the links to my review of the first two books, CINDER and SCARLET. I hope it helps.

So, what is The Lunar Chronicles all about?

NBS EVENTS: Sarah J. Maas Book Signing Event

Last week, National Book Store announced (here's the link) that Red Queen author, Victoria Aveyard, is coming to the Philippines for a book signing tour on March 2016. As if it was not enough, NBS has invited Sarah J. Maas to a book signing event just a week after Aveyard's event! Yes, the Sarah J. Maas, the creator of fire-breathing bitch-queen, is coming to the Philippines, too!

What: Sarah J. Maas Book Signing Event

When: March 12, 2016, 2 p.m.

Where: National Book Store, Glorietta 1

Registration starts at 10 a.m.

Keep on checking National Book Store event's page
for more updates on the details and mechanics of the event.

#LiveBoldly: ME BEFORE YOU (Movie Update)

I knew that the book was going to be a movie. I read about it when it was announced and I knew Emilia Clarke (Game of Throne's Daenerys Targaryen) and Sam Claflin (The Hunger Game's Finnick Odair) got the two lead roles for the film. But I was not a big fan of the book. I read it almost two years ago, and admittedly, it was a profoundly moving and a gut-wrenching book. It successfully stirred emotions and might even (most probably)  make you shed (a lot of) tears. The story was great and the characters were alright as well. But it was not my cup of tea (and I probably had a different taste back then), so I did not pay much attention to movie updates and whatnot.

So, surprise! Surprise! I was indeed surprised (sort of) when Jojo Moyes herself revealed the movie poster yesterday, and the movie trailer was released a day after (which is today!). Here is the poster:

LOVE BOOK #01: Love and Other Perishable Items

The first book in my February "Love Book" Reading Challenge is also the first book I read this month. If you are somewhat confused with this "Love Book" thing, here's a link to my previous post fully explaining the challenge. To sum it up, I'll read as many books as I can with the word "Love" in the title.

LOVE AND OTHER PERISHABLE ITEMS

Author: Laura Buzo

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Number of Pages: 243

Date Published: December 11, 2012

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Goodreads:

From the moment Amelia sets eyes on Chris, she is a goner. Lost. Sunk. Head over heels infatuated with him. It's problematic, since Chris, 21, is a sophisticated university student, while Amelia, 15, is 15.

Amelia isn't stupid. She knows it's not gonna happen. So she plays it cool around Chris—at least, as cool as she can. Working checkout together at the local supermarket, they strike up a friendship: swapping life stories, bantering about everything from classic books to B movies, and cataloging the many injustices of growing up. As time goes on, Amelia's crush doesn't seem so one-sided anymore. But if Chris likes her back, what then? Can two people in such different places in life really be together?

Through a year of befuddling firsts—first love, first job, first party, and first hangover—debut author Laura Buzo shows how the things that break your heart can still crack you up.

***

My Thoughts:

Basically, the book is simplistic in many ways. The story, the characters, the setting, the way it was written, even the cover - plain and average, nothing very special about them. There's no "wow" factor after reading it. But despite that, it was a surprisingly great read.

February Reading Challenge (Kind of)

After finishing my last book for the month of January, an idea just randomly popped in my head while I was deciding what book to read next. With the "Love Month" just hours away, I thought, "Why not read contemporary young adult or new adult romance books all throughout the month of February?' So, that was the plan... Contemporary and Romance books all month long.Until I decided to tweak the initial idea into another plan -  to read as many books as I can with the word "LOVE" on the title (regardless of the genre).

I know most of you probably has a February TBR List already, but if you want to join me, feel free. There are no official sign ups or anything like that. All you have to do is read a book with "Love" on the title, keep track of what you read, and share away. There are no restrictions to the challenge. Just to read as many "Love" books as you can. (Disclaimer: This was just a random last minute idea. I do not know if there has been or there is currently a reading challenge with the same idea as this one. If there was or there is, I have no intention of copying it.) 

NBS EVENTS: Victoria Aveyard Book Signing Tour

Yes, people! Your eyes are not deceiving you. National Book Store is once again bringing another beloved author to the Philippines to make a lot of Filipino fans happy. On March this year, prepare yourselves (and your wallet) for the arrival of the Red Queen author, Victoria Aveyard.

What: Victoria Aveyard Book Signing Tour

When: March 5, 2016, 1 p.m.

Where: The Gallery, Ayala Center Cebu

When: March 6, 2016, 2 p.m.

Where: National Book Store, Glorietta 1

For full details of the event and the discussion,

here's the link to the National Book Store event's page

But if you're too lazy to click and wait for another page to load, just read on.

Books of 2015 and A Look Towards 2016

Before anything else, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I know, I know... It's almost a month since 2016 started. But better late than never, right?

If you read my previous blog post, you probably know that I've been very busy last year. In fact, back in January, I already anticipated this and set my 2015 Goodreads Reading Challenge to only 30 books. Compared to my 50 last 2014, and 75 last 2013, that's not very promising. But at least I did not deprive myself of reading novels.

So, here it is - the rundown of every book I bought or read last year, and the things I would like to accomplish this 2016.

That "Random Post" explaining everything...

It is that time of the year again where we look back to the things we accomplished, paths and adventures we took, and of course, the books we have read for the past twelve months. This year has been one hell of roller coaster ride for me. It is the year of many accomplishments and a few downfalls. Nevertheless, it has been one great year. Despite the many hardships and problems encountered, I can still say I faced them proudly (although not very gracefully).

This blog post will generally be about the pressing issue the bothers me the most… my absence and the complete silence in my little blog. Yes, I was away, and I am truly and terribly sorry for not being able to post reviews or book hauls for the past few months. As I have said, many things have happened in the past couple of months (which you will know in a little while if you continue to read this blog post). I do not know how I will be able to manage reading, writing reviews, responding to comments and being up to date with all the bookish stuff while thinking of school requirements, studying for the boards and all that important life stuff that will help build your career in the future. So again, I apologize and thank everyone who came to visit the blog when I was away.

When January 2015 came, I knew I had to make a very difficult decision to leave the blog unattended for a while. I will be graduating on March, and I will be taking a professional board examination a few months after. To cut things short, I will be very busy studying and I really need to focus. Thankfully, I was able to graduate last March 2015, and I passed the Board Examination last October 2015. It took months, years even, of hard work, sleepless nights, a lot of sacrifice (Oh, the horror of not being able to read novels because of exams and recitations!), and heart-felt prayers. And now, I finally did it.

That is the main reason why I was not able to blog for several months. I was very busy, and I swear it hurts to see the blog very quiet. Also, the number of books I've read this year disappoints me (I will tell all about that in another post). However, I am back, and I am ready for another year (I think). Hopefully, my 2016 in the blogosphere will be way better than 2015.

To all those people who visited, followed, read, commented or whatever you did, thank you! May your new year be better than the last. And HELLO all the way from the Philippines.