April Wrap-Up!

Four months! :)

I have been "seriously" blogging for four months now, and I think I deserve a little pat on the shoulder for surviving this long. Hahahaha... But honestly, I'm sooooo happy I have lasted four months in the blog world, and I hope I stay longer.

There had been unexpected change of plans this April... But I tried to update whenever I can. So, here it goes...

FIRST:

The books I have read in April.

It has been a slow April for me. I only read four books and one short story. Should I mention that I was kind of busy? 

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones International Trailer

Because of all the stress from school and all the work that needs to be done, my fangirl powers have diminished. I am sorry to say that I was not informed that they will be releasing the international trailer this Tuesday. I just randomly logged in on facebook to check on my messages, and what did I find?  The new trailer! But hey, at least I found out about it.

So, first thought: This is not a new trailer. These are clips from the previous 2 trailers that is just put into a  bit of sequence video and called it the "international trailer."

Maybe that's a bit true, but there are some additional scenes, you know... One noticeable addition is Simon's scene saying how he was the one always there for Clary and not him (Jace). I can't say I like this new trailer, but I don't hate it either. Neutral.

Thoughts? Comments?

BOOK BLURB: A Shade of Vampire (A Shade of Vampire #1)

A Shade Of Vampire by Bella Forrest
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads:

On the evening of Sofia Claremont's seventeenth birthday, she is sucked into a nightmare from which she cannot wake.

A quiet evening walk along a beach brings her face to face with a dangerous pale creature that craves much more than her blood.

She is kidnapped to an island where the sun is eternally forbidden to shine.
An island uncharted by any map and ruled by the most powerful vampire coven on the planet. She wakes here as a slave, a captive in chains.

Sofia's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn when she is the one selected out of hundreds of girls to join the harem of Derek Novak, the dark royal Prince.

Despite his addiction to power and obsessive thirst for her blood, Sofia soon realizes that the safest place on the island is within his quarters, and she must do all within her power to win him over if she is to survive even one more night.

Will she succeed? ...or is she destined to the same fate that all other girls have met at the hands of the Novaks?

***

Date Published: December 14, 2012
Format: Kindle Edition, 152 pages
Date Read: April 27, 2013
Rating: 3.5 Stars

Contrary to my pathetic excuse that I've had enough of vampire books already, I still read A Shade of Vampire with hopes that it will be at least good and different. And to my surprise, I liked A Shade of Vampire more than I thought I would.

Bella Forrest's interpretation of the vampire race is fresh and quite different from the others I've read or seen. And her words provided a vivid picture of what her vampire world would look like. The Shade, for instance, is one of the unique elements of the story that makes A Shade of Vampire stand out a little from the rest. Instead of living and blending in with humans, vampires here (or at least vampires under the Novaks) are closed off and separated from the real world, though they may occasionally come out of their sanctuary. Plus, I have not noticed that they have the ability to compel humans to do their bidding, which is a common thing for vampire stories nowadays. But the "drink my blood so your wounds would heal" is there, which kind of reminds me of The Vampire Diaries.

Feature & Follow Friday (2)

Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly meme

hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read!

QUESTION:

Is there a song that reminds you of a book? Or vice versa? What is the song & the book?

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Sorry, but I can't think of any song that reminds me of a book or vice versa... So this may seem a little too movie-ish and literal, but every time I hear Decode by Paramore, I am always reminded of Twilight.

The Bane Chronicles: What Really Happened in Peru

Cassandra Clare, along with her author friends Maureen Johnson and Sarah Rees Brennan, has teamed up to create a spin-off (sort of) of her The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series. This centers around the life and adventures of the famous warlock, Magnus Bane, known to be one of the favorites from the two shadowhunter series. The synopsis/blurb from goodreads says every possible brief detail about The Bane Chronicles. Here it goes...

******

What Really Happened in Peru

by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan

Goodreads:

Fans of The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices know that Magnus Bane is banned from Peru—and now they can find out why. One of ten adventures in The Bane Chronicles.

There are good reasons Peru is off-limits to Magnus Bane. Follow Magnus’s Peruvian escapades as he drags his fellow warlocks Ragnor Fell and Catarina Loss into trouble, learns several instruments (which he plays shockingly), dances (which he does shockingly), and disgraces his host nation by doing something unspeakable to the Nazca Lines.

This standalone e-only short story illuminates the life of the enigmatic Magnus Bane, whose alluring personality populates the pages of the #1 New York Times bestselling series, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series. This story in The Bane Chronicles, What Really Happened in Peru, is written by Sarah Rees Brennan and Cassandra Clare.

***

Date Read: April 20, 2013
Rating: 3 Stars
"short thoughts..."

For those who are really fond of Magnus Bane from The Mortal Instruments or The Infernal Devices, this might be a little disappointing. It succeeded with its easy humor and we got a glimpse of how deep Magnus can be when family or mortal love is mentioned. But the fact that it did not bring much satisfaction after reading the ebook really sucked.

Reaction upon finishing the book: "That was it!?", "What really happened in Peru? Nothing of great importance.", "Aaaaah! I hope this gets better."

A bit disappointing, but I still love Magnus. (view spoiler)[ It was not his fault that the reason was not disclosed by the High Council of Peruvian Warlocks.  (hide spoiler)]

View all my reviews

Stacking The Shelves (1)

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! Hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

*******
Bought:

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Requiem by Lauren Oliver

I know that these two highly anticipated books have been released last month, and I have been regularly visiting the book store for the past weeks just to check if they are already in stock. My visits always were tragic due to the unavailability of the books. Unfortunately, Clockwork Princess just arrived last Saturday (Requiem came in just a few days after its release). And because I had promised myself that I would buy these two books together... here I am, possibly the only fan to have bought the books a month after the release date. And I still haven't read them

Here are the books - still wrapped in plastic, never been flipped or opened.

Received: 

A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest (ebook received for review)

What Really Happened in Peru by Cassandra Clare (ebook received from a friend)

Four books for me this week. How about you?

Feature & Follow Friday (1)

Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly meme

hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read!

QUESTION:

If you could hang out with any author (living), who would it be and what would you want to do?

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This a very tough question for a girl with a lot of favorite authors. But if I ever get a chance to hang out with any author, I would have Melissa dela Cruz at the top of the list. Why? Mainly because she's a Filipina author making a big name not just in the United States, but internationally. Plus, I love her Blue Bloods series.

I would probably freak out first if I do get to meet Melissa dela Cruz, then proceed to fangirl mode after I get over the fact that I am going to hang out with her. I am going to ask her a lot of questions about her books, her secrets to success, how she juggles her personal life and her busy work, etc... We could hang out at her place and eat Filipino food, sing Filipino songs and be proud we're both Filipinos. Maybe we can invite Ally Carter (they're friends, right?) over after, and talk about their hot fiction guys and their awesome female leads, and we could have a girl's night.

Divergent Book 3 Title, Announced!

Finally! The question every Divergent fan has been asking has now been answered.

What will be the title of the third Divergent book?

There have been many guesses of what the title will be, a few of which were sort of believable, and some were funny (referring to DETERGENT). But no need to fret people, for Veronica Roth herself announced the third book's title in the "epic as a book trailer" video below.