Review: Bloodlines

I feel like killing myself for not having read this much sooner.

Those days when I feel like I was suffocating from the lack of action from Rose Hathaway and Dimitri Belikov, one of my favourite fiction couple ever.
It can really do that to you, y'know.
Vampire Academy.
After the series ended off with a happy ending.
There seemed to be this, hollow feeling to me.
Like, "Damn, I'm gonna miss those Moroi and Dhampirs."
And this comes the part where I tell you how much I love Richelle Mead.
Because she knows how much the fans loved VA and came up with this spin-off series (which also includes 6 books *squeals*).
In addition to her awesomeness on that, she was spot-on to have Sydney star the new series.
I must admit, I was doubtful about that part when I first heard about it while reading VA.
It didn't occur to me the possible development there were for the Alchemists, who despised the vampire race in general, even the dhampirs.
Although I was totally for Adrian being the male lead for a change.
He deserved that after what happened in VA ;)

Set in the same world as with VA, Bloodlines follows the life of Sydney Sage, an 18-year-old alchemist, after The Last Sacrifice.
Having helped dhampir Rose Hathaway and others to escape a wronged judgement, Sydney has lost the trust of the majority of the Alchemists as they deemed her as a vamp lover.
Now she has to work hard to earn back their trust and protect her younger sister from having to lead a life like her own.
But it is hard to answer to the strict teachings of the Alchemists that all vampires all evil as she enter the lives of the Moroi princess, Jill Mastrano and "flippant, vampire party boy", Adrian Ivashkov.
From her initial reluctance to share a room with a vampire, the princess and her entourage grew on Sydney as she eventually bred a strong connection with them.
She got put in a worse position when she realised she feels a tingle when the party boy looks at her, and it isn't because of the Spirit magic he wields.

No doubt this book is a little less action-packed as compared to the books from VA, but it did not make it any less fun.
Richelle Mead did a great job of leaving vague hints here and there about shocking truths which were eventually disclosed.
It is not hard to follow Sydney's thoughts as she unravel each mystery, coming closer to the big question at the very end.
Besides the characters who were on the sidelines in VA, Bloodlines introduced a couple others with promising stories of their own I assume would surface in the upcoming books.
Like Trey, who I sensed a crush coming on Sydney despite his initial hostile attitude towards the smart girl.
Or maybe I'm just being wishful because I kinda liked Trey xP
There is also another thread leading to another group of people unknown to Sydney and possibly the vampire race too.
One that might set the races off balance as they dabble with the unnatural.
It is similar to VA not only in the sense that they are in the same world, but also they both started in a high school setting, where lots of drama unfolds.

In all, Bloodlines is something a VA fan must read.
Not that I would limit it to only those who liked VA, but it is highly recommended you finish the VA series before starting this one, so it would make more sense.

Title: Bloodlines
Author: Richelle Mead
Series: Bloodlines #1
Genre: Paranormal YA
Goodreads Description: When alchemist Sydney is ordered into hiding to protect the life of Moroi princess Jill Dragomir, the last place she expects to be sent is a human private school in Palm Springs, California. But at their new school, the drama is only just beginning.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Bloodlines explores all the friendship, romance, battles and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive - this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone's out for blood.

"My God, Sage. Your eyes. How have I never noticed them? The colour," he breathed. "When you stand in the light. They're amazing... like molten gold. I could paint those..." He reached toward me but then pulled back. "They beautiful. You're beautiful."

If you haven't read Vampire Academy yet, (oh my god, what were you doing??) there's a free sampler available here.
It contains the first five chapters of the first book of the Vampire Academy series, how generous is that x)
And if you have of course finished VA and am super interested in Bloodlines after my review, you can view the first chapter here.

Show the author some love by visiting her page and following her here, here and here.
The second book to the Bloodlines series, The Golden Lily, will be release on June 12th.
Can't wait for the release?
Join the giveaway here for an ARC of The Golden Lily.
It's international, ahh!
*excitedly runs around in circles*

Review: Green-Eyed Demon

Unbelievably awesome.
Got me hooked, if I wasn't already.

Sometimes when I follow a series, I read on out of obligation.
Because I wanted to see how the series flows through and where the characters get to eventually.
Out of plain curiosity.
After I've read Red-Headed Stepchild, I was in doubt.
It had seemed to be a rather good read but the story line  was on shaky ground.
With The Mage In Black, it was the same.
Or maybe I was just disappointed I didn't actually get to see the mage himself in much action xP
Nevertheless, I continued on with the third book, hoping it would get much better.
I wasn't let down.

Green-Eyed Demon is definitely the best so far down the series.
Sabina Kane, wielding powerful Chthonic magic and strong combat skills from years of assassin training, has  finally come to face the one she never thought she'd ever fight back to just months ago.
The very one who brought her up as an assassin, a disgrace, and fed her with dark thoughts to resent the mage race.
In order to accomplish this very last mission she assumed she'd have as an assassin, she has the other two partners-in-'crime', forming the almost-informidable Team Awesome.
Adam Lazarus, the hot mage in black who taught her about love, and Gighul aka Mr Giggles, the demon minion who taught her about friendship.
This unlikely trio, with the help of the Hekate Council and various individuals of the dark races, fought deadly opponents and unexpected betrayal only to discover their biggest enemy has yet to show up.
Though, that's probably for the best, since once show up, they are nothing against him.
For he is invincible and whoever strike against him will be rewarded seven-fold.
Oops too much information ;)

Many characters have been introduced in this book.
Interesting characters with difficult pasts, who became a part of their entourage after clearing up misunderstandings and doubts.
Which happened a lot when it comes to Sabina.
With her wit that not everyone appreciates and nihilistic attitude, it's hard not to make some foes along the way.
But you'll eventually grow on her.
Because she's equally capable of love as with anyone.
Even though she might not have realised it yet.
She puts real feelings into each connection.
Unlike the person who was incapable of empathy she thought herself to be.

The story led up well with enough ass-kicking and humour in the right places.
And of course, it's good to see Sabina finally give in to the attraction between herself and Adam.
Much thanks to Gighul.
And this is not the only entertainment the mischief demon managed for us readers.
I believe many fans of the series love Gighul as much as I do.
Who knew you can create such a hilarious and lovable demon? x)

I was not very satisfied with the ending though.
How the 'heroine' saved the day.
It just, didn't make sense.
I almost snorted and shouted bullshit.
That's how bad it was.
But still, we had to have our happy ending right?
And that part didn't nearly defeat the greatness of the whole book so I shall choose to neglect the inferiority.
I would really like to see more explanation about that part in the next book though.

Silver-Tongued Devil, please be good.

Title: Green-Eyed Demon
Author: Jaye Wells
Series: Sabina Kane #3
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Goodreads Description: Things to do: 1. Rescue sister; 2. Murder grandmother; 3. Don't upset the voodoo priestess.

The clock is ticking for Sabina Kane. Her sister has been kidnapped by her grandmother, the Dark Races are on the brink of war, and a mysterious order is manipulating everyone behind the scenes.

Working on information provided by an unlikely ally, Sabina and her trusty sidekicks--a sexy mage named Adam Lazarus and Giguhl, a Mischief demon--head to New Orleans to begin the hunt for her sister. Once there, they must contend with belligerent werewolves, magic-wielding vampires and--perhaps most frightening of all--humans.

But as much as Sabina is focused on surviving the present, the past won't be ignored. Before she can save those she cares about most, she must save herself from the ghosts of her past.

"The thought of you facing all that by yourself - the idea of you dying alone - made me more terrified than I'd ever been in my life."

The last book in the series, Blue-Blooded Vamp, is set to release on 1st June this year.
Keep an eye for it!
And have you realised the titles of the first three books in the series depict Sabina, Adam and Gighul respectively?
I'll have to see who's the supposed devil and vamp in the coming books :D

Visit the author's page and follow her here and here for more news on Sabina Kane and upcoming releases.

Judge A Book By Its Cover #2

It's Sunday again!~
Here's my second post of Judge A Book By Its Cover, and it's featuring the book which I'd saw on Netgalley few days back.
Yeah, the one which I just had to get it even though I was feeling guilty about not reviewing books fast enough already.
Ready to see what book got such appeal over me? ;)

Title: One Moment
Author: Kristina McBride
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Cover Design: Can't find any information on the web! :(

It took me a second glance to decide I really wanted this actually.
People who know me would know there's basically three main reasons why I pick up a book.
1. The blurb sucked me into their world.
2. It's part of a series I'm interested to follow.
3. The cover attracts me.







This would be the third case because when I first saw this book and read the blurb, I didn't really think I would request it as, it just didn't seem like my kind of book.
In the end, the cover still won me over.
I would say great job, whoever was the cover artist ;)


Since we're onto books I've found on Netgalley, why not show some other pretties I found there as well? :D



Now I feel like requesting more books, haiz.

To Reflect

A post by Misa from The Magic Attic enlightened me about a recent drama happening in the book blogging world.
Apparently a book blog which has accumulated a significant number of followers engaged in a form of plagiarism yet was seemingly unwilling to acknowledge her faults.
I mean, come on.
Beautifully Invisible is right when she pointed out that the first 'apology' post The Story Siren made was directed not towards them, the victims of the plagiarism affair, thus making her sound unremorseful about the whole event.
From what I see, she was merely afraid of losing the respect she had gained over the year of the bloggers, as well as sponsorship of free books and ARCs from authors and publishers.
There, she earned points for bowing herself down to the BB community, saying how sorry she didn't set a good example as a leader.
But the thing she needed to do was to address the victims.
So she made a second post to "clarify".
I may be biased, having came to this matter from a negative POV towards The Story Siren, I admit.
But I simply don't eat what she said.
This coming from someone who posted about, who posted against plagiarism two years ago.
I know many bloggers have expressed their thoughts on this matter and compared the two posts made two years apart but I really can't help but want to highlight this ridiculous behaviour once again.

From her post on plagiarism made 16/04/2010:

Plagiarism isn’t just copying and pasting word for word and passing it off as your own. It can be taking someones work and changing around the sentence structure, getting out your thesaurus and changing a few words here and there... basically taking the central idea tweaking it and passing it off as your own work.

And now, from her clarification post made 24/04/2012:

I thought only content could be plagiarized. Changing a few a words around with a thesaurus, or simple copying and pasting content. It seems as though taking a general topic and rewriting it is plagiarism. That is simply my own ignorance on the matter, and I should have known better.

Seems like someone slapped herself in the face big time.
What a joke.

Many bloggers showed their concern for this topic on their own blog, some with really great arguments I must say, but since I've got the links from Misa's post anyway, I shall not link 'em from here.
What you should really do, is show some support for the two blogs who have been plagiarized from.
They made up some really good posts about combating plagiarism as well, totally worth a read.
Although, I must say they're two strong females, being able to come up with long posts with concrete proofs and arguments, leaving The Story Siren almost helpless in defending herself.
Definitely not someone to be rifled with.
I can only hope this drama would die down without further implications.


Another thing I want to link to from all these was actually an email, which I have no idea why it's being linked to this event, written by Kristi from The Story Siren to an 11-year-old blogger.
From the email, I gathered that this kid pushed her way into the blogosphere, shamelessly requesting books from authors and publishers repeatedly, causing some people to bring this matter to Kristi to be settled.
Which kind of reminds me of myself.
Of course, I didn't dare send multiple emails to authors and publishers for review copies.
But I guess I should somehow feel ashamed entering the various giveaways and not reviewing the books I've received from the generous bloggers.
Although 90% of them did not actually ask for reviews in return.
However I believe it's a courtesy, especially if the book came from the author himself/herself, to do so.
And also, there's the 10%.
Not to mention the authors who thought highly enough of me to have sent their books for me to review, or accepted my request to review their books.
And while I'm still writing out this post, I'd actually went to Netgalley to browse through the selection of ebooks available for request.
When I was auto-approved, I can only say Oops I did it again :/
Can't believe I just added on to the countless number of books I've to read and review.
I'm working on prioritizing them though.
Of course those with requests would go first.
Just hope my guilt would be enough to make me focus on these and finish them up real soon.
I can only put my library-borrowed Bloodlines aside for the moment.

Keeping An Eye #1

This would be something like the meme Wishlist Wednesday on many book blogs.
Except I'm obviously too lazy to keep it up every week.
So instead I'm aiming for a fortnight post.
Let's hope I can keep it up :D

The very first book I'm featuring for Keeping An Eye would be Hemlock, to be released May 8th 2012.
At least in the US, that is.
I have no idea how long it would take, if ever, to reach Singapore.

Title: Hemlock
Author: Kathleen Peacock
Series: Hemlock #1
Genre: Fantasy YA
Goodreads Description: Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered.
Since then, Mac’s life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac’s hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy’s killer: A white werewolf.
Lupine syndrome—also known as the werewolf virus—is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control.
Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy’s murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy’s boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk.
Kathleen Peacock’s thrilling novel is the first in the Hemlock trilogy, a spellbinding urban fantasy series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love.


Need I say more?
The description to this first book of a fantasy series is gripping enough, with lots of unanswered questions waiting for the readers to discover.
It doesn't sounds like the good-old girl-meets-boy and boy turns girl's world upside down with his dazzling smile and deadly intent.
I'm usually more Team Vampire rather than Team Werewolves but this blurb really got to me.
Will definitely be keeping an eye on this one ;)

Just one thing, though.
Really curious why the paperback version is called Deadly Hemlock instead of just Hemlock.
And erm, the paperback cover sucks.
Oops.
Hope I can get the hardcover one when it's available!

Judge A Book By Its Cover #1

Judge A Book By Its Cover is a weekly feature I plan on posting every Sunday so as to show my love towards pretty covers and give some credit to the awesome cover artist, or publishers if I can't find specific information.
Don't count on me to post on new books every week though, because 1. we don't have weekly new books with lovely covers and 2. I'm too lazy to search for new books every week x)

So, to kick off this exciting new feature, I went to my goodreads to-read list and selected this one title which cover I instantly fell in love with.

Title: Born At Midnight
Author: C.C. Hunter
Series: Shadow Falls #1
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Cover Design: Angela Goddard (love her YA designs!)

And yes, part of why it was on my must-read picks was because Midnight was in the title.
Aww.
Not to mention the purple and pink colour scheme and oh, the cover's just so perfect, right?








The other books in the series obviously followed the same design which is plain gorgeous.
And did I mention how the keywords in the title was the same as I what I used to use for my blog urls?
Midnight, Dawn, and I was so tempted with Dusk when Cheryl suggested it, once again.
But nah, no fun following the series :P

Giveaway: The Hunted

@ The Magic Attic

I've actually came across this post last week and was thinking damn, I must have this.
And a week crawled by and it slipped my mind to blog about it.
Oops.

Anyway, I'd wanted to wait until I've posted about it because yes, it earns extra credit and also, I really wanted to share about this book.
Granted, this was the first time I've heard about this book but it doesn't sound like just any vampire fiction.
Well, okay, maybe it does, with it's old ordinary-girl-meets-handsome-guy routine but there's just something I couldn't quite place that appeals to me.
Plus, it has achieved rather high ratings on Goodreads.
Definitely a series I can't miss.
Hop over?

Goodreads Description:
Elena Manory is by no means an ordinary teenage girl. Being born with the ability to heal herself from any injury, and with the knowledge that on her eighteenth birthday she will become a Vampire, Elena is aware that she is more than a little different from other girls her age. It isn’t until she meets William Granville, an alluring and impossibly handsome vampire, that she begins to question her destiny and what secrets the Institute of Magical Intervention and her adopted family have withheld—secrets that could change the fates of not only her own life, but of the lives of all the immortals. As events spiral out of control, William may be the only person Elena can place her trust in. He, and Elena’s magical family, must fight to save her, joining forces to defeat a common, deadly foe. For William, it is his chance to save the girl that he has searched eternity to find.

Review: Intuition

Title: Intuition
Author: J. Meyers
Genre: YA paranormal
Goodreads Description: Luke and his twin sister Sera have unusual abilities. Hers is a gift—she can heal with a touch of her hand. His is a curse—he can see the future but he can’t do anything about it.

On a hike up the mountain, Luke has a vision unlike any other—one that leaves him terrified. Knowing that it will come true—and that he must do everything in his power to stop it—leaves his own future uncertain.




I never was a big fan of short stories but I thought I might try my luck with this one.

This is actually a prequel leading up to the main story, Intangible.
It didn't rock me or anything, but it did give me a sneak peek as to what to expect between the twins, Luke and Sera.

It was really more of an introduction than anything else.

Letting you into the little secret that have been kept closely between the twins, in fear of facing isolation and being treated like freaks.

But it fulfilled its purpose.

It kept me wanting for more.

Although it was not quite enough to make me beg for it.. yet.

The first chapter of Intangible looks promising as it dove into the vision Luke Saw, which set the plot for the story.

And it ended well in an cliff-hanger, leaving readers intrigued.

Of course, the best part was that the prequel Intuition + the first chapter of Intangible is available free at Smashwords (for anyone who can access the Internet), Amazon (for Kindle users) and Barnes and Noble (for Nook users).

Not enough to turn you on?

Just look at the covers!

Jeez I'm such a sucker for pretty covers.

And Intangible is something I would rate 4 stars out of 5, based on the cover solely.

I'm hoping to raise that up even higher when I get to read it ^^
Looking at the overwhelming positive ratings and responses on Goodreads, I'm sure I won't be disappointed.

"Shall she be the first to die, Seer?"

Goodreads Description:
Twins Sera and Luke Raine have a well-kept secret—she heals with a touch of her hand, he sees the future. All their lives they’ve helped those in need on the sly. They’ve always thought of their abilities as being a gift.

Then Luke has a vision that Sera is killed. That gift they’ve always cherished begins to feel an awful lot like a curse. Because the thing about Luke’s ability? He’s always right. And he can’t do anything about it.

Find out more about the author J. Meyer over here and follow her here, here and here to receive more updates.

If I'm not wrong, she's currently working on the next book in the series.

How exciting! ;)

Review: Anna and the French Kiss

Yum.

St. Clair is funny, smart, a nice guy.
Nope, definitely more than a nice guy.
A natural charmer, and his charisma goes deeper than his mere appearance.

Anna is beautiful.
She has to be, St. Clair had said it to her more than one time.
A lover, in the City of Lights she searches for her true soul mate.

Anna and the French Kiss got me falling in love with France.
The city, the language, the people.
The culture.
I would say Stephanie Perkins have sketched a beautiful image of France, for someone who hasn't visited France before.
Although I may not be one to say, since I haven't had a chance yet either.
But I would swear there in my lifetime I must go there at least once, if not for a wild (and hopefully romantic?) getaway, for the places.

I love how the setting is in France, but both protagonists are actually Americans.
With one British cute guy.
And it's not just American chicks who can't resist a British accent y'know ;)
St. Clair is just, so easy to love.
Although it is rather infuriating when he kept sending mixed signals to Anna.
There were a lot of ups and downs in the book, and in their relationship.
But the events flowed well and the year was gone before anyone realised it.

In all, Anna and the French Kiss kept me breathing along with Anna, feeling like a love-struck teenager with St. Clair's every touch (although, technically, she is one), crying each time he came so close only to run away from her.
A sweet novel starring a cute couple.
It's hard not fall in love with this one.

Title: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Genre: Contemporary YA
Goodreads Description: Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home. As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

For the two of us, home isn't a place. It's a person. And we're finally home.

After you finished the book, you might wanna visit the author's page.
(I really liked reading through the FAQ page~)
Or maybe show her some support by following her here, here and here.
I did all 3! Wee~ ^^

Can't wait to get my hands on Lola and the Boy Next Door, and I'm already totally looking forward to the release of Isla and the Happily Ever After.
Especially since the latter seems to be the follow-up story of a supporting male character in Anna, despite Stephanie Perkins' sealed mouth about the content.
So, I guessed it.
But according to her, it's a good guess.
Well, let's see come Fall then ;)

Morganville Madness

Welcome to Morganville.

You'll never want to leave.

And even if you do ... well, you can't.

Sorry about that.

I really love Morganville Vampires' introduction x)

So anyway, I have talked about this series countless times.

How it rose to be one of my favourites quickly when I first read Glass Houses a few years back.

And then I came to be waiting for the next title in the series, never wanting it to stop.

Like many other residents.

But we never did had to wait too long.

Because Rachel Caine's a renowned fast writer and her work are never less than perfect.

Yeap, Black Dawn, the 12th book in the series is soon to be released~

Well, at least in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

It'll take some time to come here to Singapore but no doubt it would arrive.

And before the highly anticipated book is released, I've learnt from Literal Addiction that there would be a 12 Days of Morganville Madness blog hop going on from April 20 to May 1, just in time for Black Dawn's release on 2nd May.

Hop over to Literal Addiction to learn about the schedule of events, and then to Page Turners Blog for the first stop in the blog hop.

Enjoy the reviews, interviews and giveaways! ^^