Waiting on Wednesday (149): The Rain + Chasing Power

When was the last time I posted? I've been sick for the past 5 days... it feels a bit weird to finally be back to blogging something again.

Here are my WoW picks for the week!

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine

Title: The Rain by Virginia Bergin
Release Date: July 17th 2014
Published by: Macmillan Children's Books

Want? Add to your Goodreads list!

Summary (from Goodreads):

One minute sixteen-year-old Ruby Morris is having her first proper snog with Caspar McCloud in a hot tub, and the next she’s being bundled inside the house, dripping wet, cold and in her underwear. Not cool. As she and Caspar shiver in the kitchen, it starts to rain. They turn on the radio to hear panicked voices – ‘It’s in the rain . . . it’s in the rain . . . ' That was two weeks ago, and now Ruby is totally alone. People weren’t prepared for the rain, got caught out in it, didn’t realize that you couldn’t drink water from the taps either. Even a drip of rain would infect your blood, and eat you from the inside out. Ruby knows she has to get to London to find her dad, but she just doesn’t know where to start . . . After rescuing all the neighbourhood dogs, Ruby sets off on a journey that will take her the length of the country – surviving in the only way she knows how.

Why I'm waiting for The Rain:

As someone from a country struck by devastating typhoons every single year, I know how dangerous Rain can be, but exactly how dangerous is it in this book? What's in the rain? And how scary a premise is that? It's raining, but you can't drink it. You have plenty of water which you can't use. I can't imagine how it will be, surviving without water, if it's even possible. So this book definitely has earned big points from me in terms of eager anticipation! Talk about intriguing plot line...

Title: Chasing Power by Sarah Beth Durst
Release Date: October 14th 2014
Published by: Bloomsbury

Want? Add to your Goodreads list!

Summary (from Goodreads):

Sixteen-year-old Kayla was born with the ability to move things with her mind—things like credit cards and buttons on cash registers—and she has become a master shoplifter. She steals to build up enough money for her and her mom to be able to flee if her dad finds them again . . . which would mean grave danger for them both.

When she’s caught stealing by a boy named Daniel—a boy with the ability to teleport—he needs her help and is willing to blackmail her to get it. Together, they embark on a quest to find and steal an ancient incantation, written on three indestructible stones and hidden millennia ago, all to rescue Daniel’s kidnapped mother. But Kayla has no idea that this rescue mission will lead back to her own family—and to betrayals that she may not be able to forgive . . . or survive.

Why I'm waiting for Chasing Power:

While I fawn over how much I love the cover, let's talk about the plot. Over-all it sounds like an action packed thriller, and I like the sound of it. Teleportation, mind control. And why would the heroine be fleeing from her father? Intrigue, intrigue and more intrigue! And back to the cover! I really like the typography they used for the book title.

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So what books are you waiting for this week?

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ARC Review: Infinite Sky by C.J. Flood

You know when a prologue makes you feel sadness and pain all at the same time? And it's only the first page. That never happens to me. Until now.

Infinite Sky just did, in the first page, I knew I was in for a one of a kind read, and that I should brace my heart for a very memorable read.

Title: Infinite Sky (Infinite Sky #1) by C.J. Flood
Release Date: May 20th 2014
Published by: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher (Thanks Simon & Schuster Asia!)
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository

Summary:

A truly beautiful book about the summer that changed one girl's life, as her mum leaves home, travellers set up camp in the family's field, her older brother goes off the rails, and she falls in love for the very first time. Opening with a funeral, Iris is mourning the boy in the casket - but who is it? Sam, her tearaway brother, or Trick, her tentative boyfriend? Over one long hot summer, we find out just how their three lives were turned upside-down.

"Is it possible to keep loving somebody when they kill someone you love?"

I should've known. When I've read that line, I should've known that this is going to be one of those reads that gets in your skin and leaves you overwhelmed with emotion when it's all over.

Iris' is a good kid. A little bit lost and lonely, with her mother leaving them, but she's there to discover what life is like for herself with all the things changing around her, and with Trick's family camping on Silverweed, Iris' summer became something that will change her young life forever. Maybe Iris is too nice, maybe she is naive, maybe she's too trusting and only sees the good in people, but she's a better person than her brother or her father can ever be and I liked her for being like that, just a touch too innocent.

Most of the time I just find myself so exhausted seeing Iris' family. It's tiring to feel sorry, pity them and be angry all the while. I don't think it's enough reason to have your mother or your wife walk out on you to be cruel and prejudiced to other people. Trick and his family doesn't deserve that. Then sometimes I feel bad for Sam. What happened to the talented, creative boy? What happened to his family? It's a very confusing time for everyone because nothing was the same, and no matter how hard they try to get by, it doesn't change the fact that something was missing the moment Iris' mother was gone. Iris' father and her brother was expecting her to side with them, to understand why they're behaving the way they do, that she thinks the way they do, I'm not sure what to feel anymore. How will a girl, barely fourteen years old, understand all of that? And when bad things happen, just how much can Iris forgive and understand? How can she move past the hurt?

I can't imagine what it feels like to live the way Trick and his family does, to be constantly moving, not staying in one place long enough. Do you not want to have something permanent? Though they have their own prejudice against "country people" it was mostly brought on with how they were always treated. People are angry when they move, people get angry when they stop. What else is there to do? I still do not understand the hate coming from Iris' father, so when Iris befriended Trick, I felt like it was such a wonderful thing to happen. To try and separate themselves from all that was happening in their lives, to just be there, surrounded by the corn den, playing in brooks and just connect with each other. Why can't that be enough?

CJ Flood's Infinite Sky is a beautifully written coming of age tale. A story of an unlikely friendship that was something short of love, loss and its many forms, the void it creates and the struggle to fill it with something better. It's a story of grief and the ability to forgive and to accept that things just happen. It's a story of death and the power to move past the pain, sadness, regrets and loneliness it gives. It's a story about a summer that changed one girl's life. Infinite Sky is the kind of book that grabs your heart and squeezes really hard. I don't know how the author managed to write such a melancholic story and still manage to make it somewhat lovely and hopeful in its sadness. But it's the kind of read that makes you feel emotional, and in the end you might find a tear or two running down your cheek when you realize how much the story gets to you. It's got that quiet kind of sorrow mixed in with a kind of budding yet bittersweet romance that makes your heart ache just a little bit in the end.

Content (plot, story flow, character):

The .5 star was because Sam's and his father's attitude towards Trick's family was so horrible. Why? I feel so angry at them most of the time. You can't tell me because Sam's experience a difficult time in his life. Iris was suffering too, but she wasn't like that.
.5

Shining: Worthy of a Goddess' Love!

Book Cover:
The UK cover better conveys the feel of the story, but this one looks good as well!

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The awesomeness continues: 2 new YA Book signings this June and July!

It's a good year to be a Filipino Young Adult bookworm.

After the success of the triple powerhouse signing last April, National Bookstore is bringing two more AMAZING authors for their June and July signings! Who, you ask? Why the bestselling authors Jenny Han and Stephanie Perkins! How's that for AMAZING June and July?

JENNY HAN EVENT PAGE

Frequently Asked Questions

When and where are the book signings?
June 21, 2:00 pm, at National Book Store, Glorietta 1
June 22, 2:00 pm, at National Book Store, SM Cebu

When will the registration be?
Registration opens at 10:00 am on June 21 at National Book Store, Glorietta 1 and 10:00 am on June 22 at National Book Store, SM Cebu (in the store, NOT the events area). Each guest will be asked to fill out the registration form upon arrival. Separate registrations for each event is required should you wish to attend both events. First come, first served.

Is there a registration fee?
No. There is no registration fee.

How many books can I have signed? Is there a limit as to how many people can have their books signed?
You may have any number of books signed as long as they were purchased from National Book Store, Bestsellers or Powerbooks, and we do not have any preset limit as to the number of people.
However, although we will take every effort to get as many books signed as possible, depending on the number of attendees, we reserve the right to limit the number of copies per person or limit the number of people in line. First come, first served.

Can I bring old books or other editions of the books?
Yes, as long as the books were purchased from National Book Store, Bestsellers and Powerbooks.

Do I need to buy on-site?
No. You can buy books before or during the event.

Can I have other items signed?
No. Only books will be allowed to be signed by the authors.

Can we have our photo taken with the author?
Yes, you can have your photo with the author when she signs your book. However, we strictly allow one photo per person only.

How much are the books?
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (Trade Paperback – P395)
The Summer I Turned Pretty (Trade Paperback – P349)
It's Not Summer Without You (Trade Paperback – P349)
We'll Always Have Summer (Trade Paperback – P349)
The Complete Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy Boxed Set (Trade Paperback – P1,079)
Burn for Burn (Trade Paperback – P385)
Fire With Fire (Trade Paperback – P385)

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STEPHANIE PERKINS EVENT PAGE

Frequently Asked Questions

When and where are the book signings?
July 5, 1:00 pm, at National Book Store, SM Cebu
July 6, 2:00 pm, at National Book Store, Glorietta 1

When will the registration be?
Registration opens at 10:00 am on July 5 at National Book Store, SM Cebu (in the store, NOT the events area) and 10:00 am on July 6 at National Book Store, Glorietta 1. Each guest will be asked to fill out the registration form upon arrival. Separate registrations for each event is required should you wish to attend both events. First come, first served.

Is there a registration fee?
No. There is no registration fee.

How many books can I have signed? Is there a limit as to how many people can have their books signed?
You may have any number of books signed as long as they were purchased from National Book Store, Bestsellers or Powerbooks, and we do not have any preset limit as to the number of people.

However, although we will take every effort to get as many books signed as possible, depending on the number of attendees, we reserve the right to limit the number of copies per person or limit the number of people in line. First come, first served.

Can I bring old books or other editions of the books?
Yes, as long as the books were purchased from National Book Store, Bestsellers and Powerbooks.

Do I need to buy on-site?
No. You can buy books before or during the event.

Can I have other items signed?
No. Only books will be allowed to be signed by the authors.

Can we have our photo taken with the author?
Yes, you can have your photo with the author when she signs your book. However, we strictly allow one photo per person only.

How much are the books?
Anna and the French Kiss (Trade Paperback – P349)
Lola and the Boy Next Door (Trade Paperback – P349)
Isla and the Happily Ever After (will be released in August 14)

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So who's excited for these signings? I am! I'd love to meet other readers, book bloggers and book lovers, so if you're going, let me know!

And for anyone who's tweeting about both events, please use the hashtags #JennyHaninPH and #StephaniePerkinsinPH! Let's have these hashtags trend!

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ARC Review: Don't Call Me Baby by Gwendolyn Heasley

This book tackles that question: how much of your life can you share online? And what does privacy mean for a blogger who blogs about not just her life as a mom, but of her daughter's?

Title: Don't Call Me Baby by Gwendolyn Heasley
Release Date: April 22nd 2014
Published by: HarperTeen
Source: Publisher (Thanks Megan!)
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository
Buy from local bookstores: National Bookstore | Fully Booked

Summary:

All her life, Imogene has been known as the girl on THAT blog.

Imogene's mother has been writing an incredibly embarrassing, and incredibly popular, blog about her since before she was born. Hundreds of thousands of perfect strangers knew when Imogene had her first period. Imogene's crush saw her "before and after" orthodontia photos. But Imogene is fifteen now, and her mother is still blogging about her, in gruesome detail, against her will.

When a mandatory school project compels Imogene to start her own blog, Imogene is reluctant to expose even more of her life online...until she realizes that the project is the opportunity she's been waiting for to tell the truth about her life under the virtual microscope and to define herself for the first time.

There are a few words I can use to summarize this book. Communication, understanding and letting go. Imogene had to put in more effort to connect with her mother and make her listen and listen well to what she has to say. In the book, Imogene used her blog to get back at her mother. In a sense, I can't blame her for what she did, because that's the only way she knew of to get her mother's attention and look at Imogene long and hard and think of how the blog is affecting her. Understanding, and this should come from both sides since Imogene's mom refused to listen to her, and Imogene refused to listen what her mom had to say. They had to understand what blogging means for the both of them, understand what they can and cannot share online and understand what the effects of using social media brings to their family. They had to understand that it's not just "mommylicious" and "babylicious". They had to learn to compromise, see what to let go and when it's time to let go, when it's time to change and try to live in the real world without having social networking invade what's supposed to be private. Because why wait for something online to affect you in real life? And it's not just Imogene, but her whole family as well.

This book reminds me of that trademark Gwendolyn Heasley way of making me hate her characters at the onset and gradually changing my mind as the story progresses. Though this book essentially is about blogging, I could not easily connect with Imogene or her mother at first. They both had their faults and committed mistakes that can't easily be forgiven. I am not a mother, and I couldn't bring myself to sympathize or put myself in Imogene's shoes, but I did feel for her at times. Why would you want to have a whole blog dedicated to you? Have strangers recognize you? Know things about you that people normally wouldn't know? I understand Imogene's desire to break free of the "babylicious" persona and be her own unique self apart from it, though sometimes I think she and her friend Sage, who has a vegan blogger for a mom, takes their "rebellion" too far to the point that they just sound petty, immature and juvenile. But they learned. Oh they did learn their lesson, along with their moms.

What I did like in the story though is amidst all the disaster and chaos both Imogene and Sage's rebellion has created, things happened that made them learn and discover things about themselves on their own. Sure there are misunderstandings and fights, but Imogene discovered what she and her family can do even if her mom doesn't blog, the reasons why her mother was blogging and why she couldn't just let go, that she can just be Imogene and not be babylicious, that she can have crushes too. Sage too, forged her own path. And though it was a little bit sad that they had to find out about these things separately, they both grew to be a little more understanding and kinder.

Dylan is so cute! It's hard to believe that an understanding and kind guy like him exists, but he was (sometimes) the voice of reason for Imogene. Sure there were a lot of awkward moments and their opinions differ from each most of the time, but their moments together, though simple and fleeting, were fun to read of! Imogene's grandmother was so cool, and I liked her father as well, levelheaded and calm even when things start to get ugly.

You don't have a story about blogging and not get blog posts as parts of the book! Don't Call Me Baby was peppered with blog posts that helped shed light and gave more insight to Imogene, her mom, and Sage's feelings, no matter how unpleasant they are. It helped give the characters more depth as well and what ultimately helped to make me like the book just a little bit more. Though I didn't get how the fallout of Sage and Imogene's relationship started and why it seemed to happen out of nowhere, the conflict moved the story forward, though it was abrupt.

Don't Call Me Baby is that kind of heartfelt read that felt a little ordinary and too typical at first that ends up giving you an "awww" moment and making you feel a little bit warm inside. It makes you think of moms and daughters, their relationships, the hit or miss, conflicts which are all part of growing up and being in a family. Gwendolyn Heasley attempts to explain what it's like to blog, how it can affect real life and how social networking can influence relationships in this lighthearted, quick, enjoyable story.

Content (plot, story flow, character):
Days after I finished reading this book, I still can't put my finger on what exactly it is that this book needs more to leave a stronger impression on a reader. I did enjoy the reading experience, but I feel like it needed to have more impact reading wise especially with the theme it tackles. Still a fun, steady read though.

.5
Okay: Liked, but The Goddess demands more!

Shining: Worthy of a Goddess' Love!

Book Cover:
Love the cover!

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ARC Review: Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott

I wish I liked this book much more than I did.

Title: Fire & Flood (Fire & Flood #1) by Victoria Scott
Release Date: February 25th 2014
Published by: Scholastic Press
Source: Publisher (Thanks Scholastic!)
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository

Summary:

Time is slipping away....

Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can't determine what's wrong, her parents decide to move to Montana for the fresh air. She's lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying—and she's helpless to change anything.

Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It's an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother's illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there's no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race.

The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can't trust the allies she makes. And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place?

Tella's older brother Cody is dying. They said there's no cure, and now she finds herself living in the middle of nowhere with her family, bored out of her wits with nothing to do. That is, until that mysterious blue box appears on her bed, until she gets instructions from a mysterious voice. It says she's a participant in the Brimstone Bleed, where if she wins she can get the ultimate price: a Cure for any kind of sickness. Now Tella's braving the jungle, making alliances and trying to stay alive long enough to win. But the longer Tella stays in the game, the more Brimstone Bleed seems to be more than just a game.

Admittedly, what drew me in to this book was the premise: a race with a cure for whatever disease as a prize. But a lot of things in this book didn't go as well for me as I thought it would. One of the reasons is my inability to connect with the main character, Tella. My dislike for her was immediate. She's selfish, shallow and vain at the worst possible time. Consider this: your brother is dying and all you care about is that you live in a secluded house away from civilization, with no internet. And will you even think of bringing a nail polish when you're joining a game where only one person will win? Also, come on girl, you're supposed to be in a race. Do you really have the time to fix yourself and be concerned with how you look? Her character makes you wonder how she can even survive the Brimstone Bleed. Granted, she did exhibit a bit of growth throughout the story, stronger, more sensible and even a little bit smarter, and that added to my drive to enjoy the story a little more.

Fire & Flood however, had a good set of secondary characters that provided much support and injected a lot of interest to the story. They helped move the story forward with their diverse personalities. I liked how I kept guessing who is a friend and who can possibly be a foe, each one of their motivations and reasons for being in the Brimstone Bleed. I also liked the gradual romance build up between Guy and Tella. They weren't even friends to start with, Tella looking so pathetic and desperate while Guy was withdrawn and mysteriously prepared. Their interactions with each other led to a gradual shift in their personalities. I loved how despite of all the secrets they still withhold from each other, there's a somewhat complete, clear picture of themselves. I'm more certain of Tella and Guy's alliances than everyone else's. They're not the star-crossed lovers type as well. They're determined and they fight, which isn't to say that their moments together aren't swoon worthy, because they are.

Fire & Flood had its moments, but the hurdle for me to get over my initial dislike for Tella and the disconnect I had with her personality dramatically lessened my enjoyment of the reading experience. Granted, there was development in her character, but flashes of her old personality comes back at the most inconvenient of times, ruining the moment. But I loved everything else in the story. I loved the Pandoras and their abilities, their relationships with the Contenders and how they're not merely tools to use in order to win the race. I loved how friendships were formed, that despite being contenders in the same race, they can all work together. I even loved how the antagonist showed up because he really is bad, and amidst all that is happening, with all of them trying to survive, there's still one who'd be evil and hateful enough to want to outwit everyone else by doing gruesome things.

I can't say that I'm surprised with the way the first book ended, as certain parts of the story are predictable (Titus' role, the betrayal and deaths of certain characters), but there are certain twists in the story that still managed to catch me off guard (Dink's identity, Guy's tattoo, it's meaning and the real reason why the race exists). Victoria Scott was able to keep back secrets and mysterious well enough to keep the story interesting going into the next book. With steady pace and enough action, Fire & Flood has a potential of being a good trilogy, I'm just sad that it didn't work well with me as much as I wanted it to, and it was because of the main character. I hope I  get to see Tella in a more likable light in the sequel.

Content (plot, story flow, character):

I tried to give Tella a chance, really. But you know how they're in the middle or the aftermath of a particularly intense scene and then she wonders what she looks like? How she keeps in worrying about the little insignificant things like wishing for a mirror while in the middle of a desert? Those times ruin anything she has built up in the story for me. I wish she was more likable, because that dislike seriously is what hindered my appreciation of the story more.

Okay: Liked, but The Goddess demands more!

Book Cover:
Awesome cover.

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Goddess Offerings (42) / Stacking the Shelves (24)

Taking some inspiration from Kayla at The Bookish Owl for the book poses! Anyway, I'm off to meet a friend to catch up, so in the meantime... here's my haul for the week! What amazing books did you get? Share them with me please! I can't wait to read these lovelies. As always, thanks to the generous publishers who gave me the opportunity to read these wonderful sounding novels!

Stacking the Shelves hosted is by Tynga's reviews! So leave a comment below and share your own haul!

For review:

Exile by Kevin Emerson
The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings
Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern
Free to Fall by Lauren Miller
The Cabinet of Curiosities: 36 Tales Brief & Sinister
The Things You Kiss Goodbye by Leslie Connor
Don't Call Me Baby by Gwendolyn Heasley
Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman

The Year of the Rat by Claire Furniss
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

We Are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt
The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone by Adele Griffin
The Secrets of Tree Taylor by Dandy Daley Mackall

Bought:

The One by Kiera Cass

Traded:

Vivian Divine is Dead by Lauren Sabel


Thank you so much HarperCollins International, Chyna of Lite. Rate. Ture., Simon & Schuster UK, Random House International and National Bookstore.

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Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

There was a warning at the back of this book, "If someone asks you how it ends, just lie.".
Heed that warning.

Title: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Release Date: May 13th 2014
Published by: Random House Inc
Source: Publisher (Thanks Random House!)
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository

Summary:

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.
Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

Cadence belongs to the Sinclair family, daughter of the youngest Sinclair and the first grandchild. They're a family of old-money Democrats, prestigious, with wealth and power. Blessed, perfect, beautiful. Except no one knows what happens inside the family, or in their private island off the coast of Massachusetts. No one knows that Cadence's father left her and her mom, that one of her aunts is a single mom, while the other lives with a guy who will never marry into the family because he's of a different race. No one knows that they use their children to be in the Sinclair patriarch's good graces, or that they all rely on family money. And no one must know. As a Sinclair, they have to look the part.

This is admittedly my first Lockhart book, and with friends going on and on about how well thought out her books are, I'm not entirely sure what to expect myself. The story sounds so deceptively simple, but it truly is not. I felt like I was in over my head while I was trying to go with the flow that was Cadence's feelings. It was tiring, the ups and downs, the flashbacks, exploring the web that connects each family member to another. Most of the time I felt like I know a lot and still don't know much, like I was barely touching the surface of what it was like to be a Sinclair. Dealing with Cadence's feelings when her father left and when her mother tried to cover up her misery with spending money, her encounter with Gat and her cousins was an experience in itself with the way E. Lockhart described those moments. Then I was gradually fed with subtle clues and hints that all is not well in the Sinclair family, that they're that kind of family, pretending to be okay outside but chaotic inside. And as Cadence tries to figure out the dynamics in the friendship that binds her to her cousins, The Liars, and her complicated feelings for Gat the outsider, things started to get bizarre and the lines between reality and hallucination starts to blur.

I discovered Gat and his worldly views and opinions, his anger and his passion, Johnny and Mirren and the issues they had to deal with in their lives, the pressure of being the first born grandson, of competing with his cousins, of inventing an ideal version of yourself and lying. Each character had their own fascinating side that you just want to explore, but all you see is what Cadence saw. And everything looks different in the eyes of a girl who lost years worth of memories, fragile, lonely, broken. I've developed a certain apprehension and confusion to Gat and his very inconsistent attitude, felt sad for Johnny and Mirren and there are reasons for that. They wanted to change the world, and change the world they did, just not the way they expected to.

There was a certain disarray of information in my mind because the story plays tricks on you. You understand what you're reading but it doesn't make much sense story wise. What was happening? Until the last fifty pages of the book presented itself to me and the story unraveled and I found myself reliving the story and piecing it the way E. Lockhart intended it to, and it was brilliantly exhausting and beautifully sorrowful at the same time. When everything starts to make sense, that's when you realize you have a heart and that it just shattered into a million pieces, thanks to the masterful way E. Lockhart has woven this story. No pretty words, no fancy twists or turns, just magnificent execution and honest writing you will feel in your bones.

You know when you've read a book so great that you find yourself incapable of transforming what you felt into words, coherent sentences and concrete descriptions of what you've been through? That's what I felt when I leafed through the last page of this book. We Were Liars literally made me speechless. I found myself staring at a wall for a good 60 seconds before I realized that my mind has just been messed with real good by a book.

Once you picked up a copy of this book and you started reading, you will not stop until you reached the last page. You will not stop until you find out what happened. You will not stop until you find out the truth. It's an honor to have experience the magnificence of E. Lockhart's writing through this one of a kind mystery thriller. We Were Liars is such a memorable read, leaving such an big impression on me that it will take a long time before another book takes its place in my heart.

My rating:

Content (plot, story flow, character):

This book has just set the bar high when it comes to my expectations for a mystery thriller read. It was so difficult to deal with my feelings after I've read We Were Liars. I felt lost and sad and just incapable of functioning for a good while. I have never received such a good shock to my system after reading a book. We Were Liars just lived up to my expectations and more! Wow, just... wow.

Stunning: Worthy of a Goddess' Praise!

Book Cover:
You know that cover is a fitting image to the story, but it still makes me sad when I think about it.

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Waiting on Wednesday (148): The Aftermath + Princess of Thorns

Long time no post! A lot of things happened recently and I'm just getting my blogging groove back, so here I am showcasing two books I am looking forward to read! Check them out and tell me what you think.

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine

Title: The Aftermath by Jen Alexander
Release Date: August 26th 2014
Published by: Harlequin Teen

Want? Add to your Goodreads list!

Summary (from Goodreads):

Sometimes, I dream that I'm someone else.

A girl with dark hair who doesn't worry about hunger

or thirst or running from flesh-eaters.

In her world, those sorts of things don't exist.

Since the spring of 2036, when the world changed forever, Claudia and a small clan of survivors have roamed the streets of a very altered Nashville: polluted and desolate, except for the ever-present threat of cannibal Hoarders. Together they must undergo punishing tests of endurance and psychological challenge sometimes with devastating consequences all just to live another day.

With food and water in dwindling supply, and with danger lurking around every corner, no one can be trusted. And as her world starts to make less and less sense, Claudia begins to realize something terrifying: she is just a pawn in some sort of game, and all of her actions are being controlled from afar by a mysterious gamer. So when she meets a maddening and fascinating outsider named Declan, who claims to be a game moderator, she must decide whether to join him in exchange for protection and access to the border.

If they play the game right, they are each other's best hope for survival and a life beyond the only world Claudia's ever known: the terrifying live-action game known as The Aftermath.

Why I'm waiting for The Aftermath:

Oh goodness me that summary is so interesting I want to read this book NOW! A future Nashville, decimated and dangerous with cannibals and hoarders. And all of it is just a game? How terrifyingly cool is that? I'm curious to know how the author can pull this story off. How does one control a person? And what kind of game is The Aftermath? Woah. Okay, questions are popping inside my head which means I'm excited for this book. These survival types of story gets me going and I have a feeling this one's going to be quite a read.

Title: Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay
Release Date: December 9th 2014
Published by: Delacorte Press

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Summary (from Goodreads):

Game of Thrones meets the Grimm's fairy tales in this twisted, fast-paced romantic fantasy-adventure about Sleeping Beauty's daughter, a warrior princess who must fight to reclaim her throne.

Though she looks like a mere mortal, Princess Aurora is a fairy blessed with enhanced strength, bravery, and mercy yet cursed to destroy the free will of any male who kisses her. Disguised as a boy, she enlists the help of the handsome but also cursed Prince Niklaas to fight legions of evil and free her brother from the ogre queen who stole Aurora's throne ten years ago.

Will Aurora triumph over evil and reach her brother before it's too late? Can Aurora and Niklaas break the curses that will otherwise forever keep them from finding their one true love?

Why I'm waiting for Princess of Thorns:

Sleeping Beauty's daughter? I've heard of retellings with main characters as the fairytale princesses but never their daughters. And I love retellings, so this one I will definitely look forward to reading. A warrior fey princess disguised as a boy? This somehow reminds me of Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series, which I greatly loved! They said this is like Game of Thrones meets Grimm's fairytales, which sounds fantastic in my ears! I will seriously be on the look out for this book once it comes out.

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So what are your WoW picks this week? Please share!

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