Tuesday, December 31, 2013

A Monthly Round Up (1) : December

A Monthly Round Up is a meme hosted at Feed Me Books Now!!!. The purpose of this meme is to sum up the month's blogging in one post.

Woohoo!! I have been blogging for almost a month! You may think one month is nothing, well, that's because you have not started blogging. Maybe it's just the newbie in me talking, but I think blogging is a lot of hard work. Scheduling posts, decorating the site, gathering interesting contents, participating memes... There are a lot more to it than I originally thought about. I enjoyed it tremendously and I can't wait to continue on my journey here at Spare Reads.

Monday, December 30, 2013

Mini Review: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Fairyland, #1)

Author: Catherynne M. Valente
Illustration: Ana Juan
Series: Fairyland, #1
Publisher: Square Fish (Macmillan)
Release: May 10th 2011
Source: Purchased
Pages: 247 (paperback)
( Amazon | Goodreads )
Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.

With exquisite illustrations by acclaimed artist Ana Juan, Fairyland lives up to the sensation it created when the author first posted it online. For readers of all ages who love the charm of Alice in Wonderland and the soul of The Golden Compass, here is a reading experience unto itself: unforgettable, and so very beautiful.

I struggled quite a bit with this book initially. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is written using such a classic fairytale storytelling technique. Almost every line is meticulously constructed with a combination of rhythms, details, and old-fashioned phrases, so much so I felt it difficult and confusing to read in the beginning. As time goes on, I discovered that I have grown to really like Valente's writing. The wisdoms she infused in those riddle-like sentences are my biggest gain from this book.

Friday, December 27, 2013

Friday Share (3) : When Reality TV Show Meets Dystopian Society

Friday Share is a weekly meme hosted here at Spare Reads to spotlight 1-2 novels at a time based on a particular theme.

Woohoo! It's Friday again :) Happy holidays everyone! 

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays in the year and I hope you had as much fun with your family as I did.

Aside from eating all the delicious homemade gingerbreads, I also enjoy watching reality TV shows to kill my free time during this long winter break. Property Brothers, Kitchen Nightmare, ANTM... (I watch a lot of these...) I love the drama and entertainment in a good reality TV show.

Well, guess what, you can find traces of reality TV shows in books as well! This week, I would like to bring you the new edition of the weekly feature post Friday Share - When Reality TV Show Meets Dystopian Society. Excited? I know I am :P

ARC Review: Defy (Defy, #1)

Author: Sara B. Larson
Series: Defy, #1
Publisher: Scholastic
Release: Jan 7th 2014
Source: NetGalley
Pages: 336 (ebook)
( Amazon | Goodreads )
A lush and gorgeously written debut, packed with action, intrigue, and a thrilling love triangle.

Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.

The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn to protect?

I saw a good deal of mixed reviews regarding Defy before I finally started reading it. Naturally, I was a bit cautious when I flipped through the book, maybe even overthinking the details sometimes. Now that I have finished it, I'm glad to say that Defy was quite an entertaining read! It indeed has its own flaws and imperfections, but those did not stop me from enjoying it at all.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas!

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!
Remember, you are always loved and never alone.
Now go ahead and spread the joy :)

With all my heart,
Angel

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday (1) : Books I Hope Santa Brings

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, a different "top ten" topic will be selected and shared. 

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic is the Top Ten Books I Hope Santa Brings.

Happy holidays everyone! I hope you have been enjoying your holiday breaks. I, for one, am super pumped for Christmas. I can't wait for all the quality family time, delicious meals, and most importantly unwrapping presents :) Here, I would like to share with you the top ten books I wish to get this Christmas. Santa, did you get it right?

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Review: Ethereal Fury (Gemini Rising, #1)

Author: Jessica O'Gorek
Series: Gemini Rising, #1
Publisher: Cogent Publishing (self published work)
Release: April 13th 2013
Source: Purchased
Pages: 278 (ebook)
Amazon | Goodreads )
Angry at the human race and its methodical destruction of her resources, Mother Earth recruits souls who have just left their bodies to serve Her, and turns them against humanity. Gemini, a clan of paranormal beings, picked from these possessed humans, emerges. A powerful, rising force proceeds to carry out Mother Nature’s plan to systematically destroy towns, cities, states… and eventually, the world. Amidst the chaos, a forbidden relationship between a human girl, Violette, and Onyx, a lead Gemini, begins. They will both find themselves in the middle of a revolutionary war that will either save, or destroy our world.

I had high hopes for Ethereal Fury. It was both refreshing and exciting to find a paranormal novel that is not about vampires, werewolves, or angels. The concept of Mother Earth and how she plans to destroy human race due to our long-going destruction to the environment screamed originality and I couldn't wait to start it. Unfortunately, after a long reading struggle (I almost give up on this book 5 times), I have to conclude that Ethereal Fury was not what I have hoped at all and this left me very sour at heart. So, be prepared and let the rant begin.

Friday, December 20, 2013

Friday Share (2) : Oh My, those Cover Arts

Friday Share is a weekly meme hosted here at Spare Reads to spotlight 1-2 novels at a time based on a particular theme.

Hello everyone and happy Friday!

How is everything going? Bought any new books? Discovered any interesting music? I hope it has been a splendid week for you all. If not, well, it's almost over :P

Last Friday, I presented the first issue of Friday Share. If you haven't seen it, you can find it here. Hope you enjoyed reading it and maybe even looked into those books for a little bit. Today, I'm happy to announce the theme of the second Friday Share issue Oh My, those Cover Arts!

A couple of days ago, I came across a poll on Goodreads that asked about whether or not you would pick up a book based solely on its cover arts. I was like, heck yeah! I bet many of you have the same kind of obsession as I do. Those times when you walk into a bookstore and your eyes just instantly lock on to this one book. You may not know what it's about or the author who wrote it, but the cover is just simply gorgeous. For me, 9 out 10 times that book ended up on my book shelf. Here are some of my recent additions. Enjoy!

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday (1) : Cress (Lunar Chronicles, #3) by Marissa Meyer

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

I guess some of you may have already seen WoW posts in other book review blogs, but if not I totally recommend you to follow the link above to Breaking the Spine and check out what books other bloggers are sharing. For this week, I have decided to highlight Cress, the third installment in Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles series.



Cress (Lunar Chronicles, #3)
by Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Expected Release: February 4th 2014
Pages: 560
Amazon | Goodreads )
Rapunzel’s tower is a satellite. She can’t let down her hair—or her guard.

In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker—unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.
My Notes:

I enjoyed reading Cinder and Scarlet (the previous two installments) immensely and this is definitely one of my most anticipating books of 2014. If you are a big fan of dystopian society as well as fairytales retelling, you will definitely fall in love with this series. I can't wait to buy it, gosh just take my money! I want it NOW.


Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Novella Review: Poison Dance (Midnight Thief, #0.5)

Author: Livia Blackburne
Series: A Midnight Thief Novella 
Publisher: Lion's Quill Press (self published work)
Release: Sep 12th 2013
Source: Author
Pages: 84 (ebook)
( Amazon | Goodreads )
James is skilled, efficient, and deadly, a hired blade navigating the shifting alliances of a deteriorating Assassin’s Guild. Then he meets Thalia, an alluring but troubled dancing girl who offers him a way out—if he’ll help her kill a powerful nobleman. With the Guild falling apart, it just might be worth the risk. But when you live, breathe, and love in a world that’s forever flirting with death, the slightest misstep can be poison.


Poison Dance is the first self published work by Livia Blackburne. This novella serves as a prequel to Blackburne's upcoming novel Midnight Thief, which has been scheduled to release in July 8th 2014 (publisher: Disney-Hyperion). I must thank Livia for giving me such a wonderful opportunity to read her work. It has been an absolute joy and I was thoroughly intrigued. I know many of you are skeptical towards self published novels, but Poison Dance is certainly something worth checking out.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Review: City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)

Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments, #1
Publisher: McElderry Books (Simon & Schuster)
Release: March 27th 2007
Source: Purchased
Pages: 528 (ebook)
( Amazon | Goodreads )
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.


City of Bones is the first installment in The Mortal Instruments series and also the first published book by Cassandra Clare, now an achieving New York Times Best Selling Author who is widely known for her young adult/urban fantasy novels. The film adaption of this book was recently released in August 2013 though received "overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics". 

Friday, December 13, 2013

Friday Share (1) : Fairytale Explorer

Friday Share is a weekly meme hosted here at Spare Reads to spotlight 1-2 novels at a time based on a particular theme.

Hi, everyone! 

I hope you have been enjoying the Christmas shopping mania :) As for me, I was hooked on City of Bones for the past couple of days and I must say that it's absolutely AMAZING. I will post a review shortly.

With the beginning of a new year in sight, I thought it would be fun to share some interesting reads with you. Both those I have read and those I want to read. I will probably keep this as a Friday tradition and I hope some of them would spark your interests!

This week, I would like to present to you the Fairytale Explorer Edition! As you may have guessed from the title, all my recommendations today will revolve around a theme: Fairytale. There are a lot of YA books centered around fairytales: an adventure in the classic fairytale world, an alternative fairytale rewrite in modern time, or maybe a horror fairytale retelling, etc. I am particularly fond of this type of story and have sought out a couple of them that look quite promising.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Review: The Elite (The Selection, #2)

Author: Kiera Cass
Series: The Selection, #2
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release: April 23rd 2013
Source: Purchased
Pages: 323 (hardcover)
Amazon | Goodreads )
Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.


The Elite is the sequel to the #1 New York Times Bestselling novel The Selection by Kiera Cass. The series is set in a dystopian world and focuses mainly around the romantic relationships of the protagonist, America Singer, and the overall selection competition where the future queen of the country is chosen.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Author: Neil Gaiman
Series: Standalone
Publisher: William Morrow (Harper Collins)
Release: June 18th 2013
Source: Purchased 
Pages: 259 (ebook)
Amazon | Goodreads )
Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.

Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.

A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. It is a stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is the first Neil Gaiman novel I have read so far. Although unfamiliar with his work, I have indeed heard a lot of praises regarding his other novels. I was very curious and excited about his style of story telling and the fantasy world he built for us fellow readers. And after finishing the book, I would totally say that I for one will be following closely with Neil Gaiman's future publishing activities.