Friday, August 31, 2012

August Reviews Wrap-up

Friday, August 31, 2012
Here are the books that I read and reviewed this month. (They are catergorized by Leisure Reads and Review Copies.)

Leisure Reads

    

Review Copies


   


My reading speed became a bit faster this month. I actually read 13 books this month but I only review 9 so I guess, I should improve my reviewing skills next time. 

So stay tuned for more of my reviews this coming month!

Ciao!

Back to the Books Giveaway Hop (INT)


It's the time again, when kids groan to the sound of alarm clocks and teens are either ecstatic or dreading to go back to school. First day jitters is now invading the school air again, making students feel all sorts of emotions.

So before that day began, I decided to join Back to the Books Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Buried In Books. And because I want you guys to have a really nice day whether your at home or at school , I'm giving away a Book of your Choice worth $15. 

Thursday, August 30, 2012

First Frost Blog Tour: Review

Thursday, August 30, 2012





Title: First Frost
Author: Liz De Jesus
Genre/s: Young Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis:

Fairytales aren’t real…yeah…that’s exactly what Bianca thought. She was wrong.

For generations, the Frost family has run the Museum of Magical and Rare Artifacts, handing down guardianship from mother to daughter, always keeping their secrets to “family only.”

Gathered within museum’s walls is a collection dedicated to the Grimm fairy tales and to the rare items the family has acquired: Cinderella’s glass slipper, Snow White’s poisoned apple, the evil queen’s magic mirror, Sleeping Beauty’s enchanted spinning wheel…

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Frost wants none of it, dreaming instead of a career in art or photography or…well, anything except working in the family’s museum. She knows the items in the glass display cases are fakes because, of course, magic doesn’t really exist.


She’s about to find out how wrong she is.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Book Review: Divergent

Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Genre/s: Young Adult,  Fantasy, Science Fiction, Dystopia

Synopsis:

In a future Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Book Review: The Goose Girl

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Title: The Goose Girl
Author: Shannon Hale
Genre/s: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mystery

Synopsis

Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, spends the first years of her life under her aunt's guidance learning to communicate with animals. As she grows up Ani develops the skills of animal speech, but is never comfortable speaking with people, so when her silver-tongued lady-in-waiting leads a mutiny during Ani's journey to be married in a foreign land, Ani is helpless and cannot persuade anyone to assist her.


Becoming a goose girl for the king, Ani eventually uses her own special, nearly magical powers to find her way to her true destiny. Shannon Hale has woven an incredible, original and magical tale of a girl who must find her own unusual talents before she can become queen of the people she has made her own.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Book Review: My Soul to Lose

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Title: My Soul to Lose
Series: Soul Screamers Prequel
Author: Rachel Vincent
Genre/s: Young Adult, Paranormal Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis:

It was supposed to be a fun day, shopping at the mall with her best friend. Then the panic attack started and Kaylee Cavanaugh finds herself screaming, unable to stop. Her secret fears are exposed and it's the worst day of her life.

Until she wakes up in the psychiatric unit.

She tries to convince everyone she's fine--despite the shadows she sees forming around another patient and the urge to scream which comes burbling up again and again. Everyone thinks she's crazy. Everyone except Lydia, that is. Another patient with some special abilities....

Book Review: Savage



Title: Savage
Series: Daughters of the Jaguar
Author: Willow Rose
Genre/s: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, YA/NA

Synopsis:

The year is 1983. Christian is 22 years old when he leaves his home in Denmark to spend a year in Florida with a very wealthy family and go to med-school. A joyful night out with friends is shattered by an encounter with a savage predator that changes his life forever. Soon he faces challenges he had never expected. A supernatural gift he has no idea how to embrace. A haunting family in the house next door. A spirit-filled girl who seems to carry all the answers. An ancient secret hidden in the swamps of Florida. One life never the same. One love that becomes an obsession. Two destinies that will be forever entangled.

Savage is a paranormal romance with some language, violence, and sexual situations recommended for ages sixteen and up.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Guess what's in my Mailbox #2

Friday, August 17, 2012

Okay this post is for showcasing the book that I received and thanking the person who gave it to me. So, for this weeks, Guess what's in my Mailbox, I received two awesome packages from the Book Depository.




I won Divergent from Kristin of My ParaHangover when I entered her Summer Reads Giveaway Hop while I, also, won Before I Wake from Brittanni of Hope, Faith and Books when I entered her 1st Blogoversary Giveaway. Check out their blogs and follow them. You might also win one of their giveaways someday. :)




Six Weeks to Yehidah Blog Tour: Review


Title: Six Weeks to Yehidah
Author: Melissa Studdard
Genre/s: Young Adult/Middle Grade, Fantasy

Synopsis:

"The thing you would notice most was the rain, how the rain fell and fell and never seemed to stop. The sky was constantly swollen with it, then birthing it, swollen, then birthing again, and the hills, like greedy babies, suckled up all that rain. They shone and glistened green as the backs of frogs on bright green lily pads.

Annalise was ten then, old enough that she’d begun thinking about grown up things, like picking her own clothes out for school, yet young enough, still, to indulge in fanciful imaginings of enchanted trees and talking hills. Her best friends were the clouds that canopied her village and the verdant hills that hosted her most precious and outrageous dreams."

As spunky young Annalise travels from one adventure to another, she learns ancient wisdom traditions and gains deeper and deeper insight into herself and her world. Eventually she must make the most important decision she's ever faced -- whether or not to return to the self she has always known.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Book Review: Reminiscence

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Title: Reminiscence
Author: C. Marie Mosley
Genre/s: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery

Synopsis:

Can someone’s entire life – the only one they have ever known – be a complete lie? The truth is out ... and Coralie Collier is about the find just what lies within that truth - the truth about herself, the truth about her heritage, and the truth about her purpose ...

In Reminiscence, lies a story of a natural born heroine, Coralie Collier --- she just doesn’t know it yet. Coralie lives a simple, almost boring life, that is, until things in her life start to get interesting. Outlandish dreams, bizarre and dangerous encounters, and missing pieces to her memory, are all incredibly important fragmented clues that could help Coralie in finding out her true identity. Along with these clues, and the help of an old family friend, maybe there is a chance for Coralie to find out what is going on around her before it’s too late … and her true purpose has been compromised. All of the characters’ lives within the story swirl around her – and they all know the truth - the truth about the lives they were all born to live... Could there be more to her life than she ever knew? Could there really be more to her surroundings than meets the eye?

Get drawn into Coralie’s world and explorations as she attempts to discover what secrets are hidden in her past and what journeys are in store for her future.

Wednesday, August 08, 2012

Guess what's in my Mailbox #1

Wednesday, August 08, 2012


The sun seemed brighter when I woke up this morning. Why? Because, I have three new books to read and they all came from joining giveaways.




I won The Goose Girl and Enna Burning in joining A Midsummer's Night Giveaway Hop hosted by Sam of A Journey Through Pages. She's really awesome so check out her blog.

And then I won Savage when I entered on Summer Reading Giveaway Hop hosted by Jessica of Jess Resides Here. I'm really glad I won this, because I had the chance to have a chat with its author, Willow Rose and can you believed she signed my copy. If that's not awesome enough, I don't know what is.

I'm a really happy girl right now. So excited to start reading all of this. :)

Book Review: Justice(Deck of Lies #1)


Title: Justice
Author: Jade Varden
Series: Deck of Lies Series
Genre/s: Young Adult, Mystery, Contemporary Fiction, Romance

Synopsis:

A House of Cards...

When you build an entire life on a foundation of lies, it only takes one truth for the whole thing to come crashing down. I never invited the truth in. I never went searching for it. I never had any reason to suspect that the two people I loved most were dishonest with me every second of every day.

I made one bad decision, and in a single day my entire world changed. If I'm ever going to discover the truth about myself and my parents, I have to trace all the lies back to their source. I have to try to find the truth that they're hiding.

The more I discover about myself, and my past, the more I realize that lies really are better than the truth. But now that I know the lies are all around me, I can't stop until I've discovered them all. I'll pull each lie away, one by one, and examine it to see what's underneath…until this house of cards crumbles into dust at my feet.

I just hope I can survive the crash.

Monday, August 06, 2012

Weekend Blog Maintenance

Monday, August 06, 2012

I will schedule a blog maintenance this weekend, August 11 to 12, to fix all the unwanted things on my blog. I may or may not change its design depending on the result of the template I'm tweaking.

I'm a bit frustrated with my design right now, because it looks cluttered and messy. Also, I just found out that my blog design is not compatible with every browser. So, as an IT student it is a big crime for me to commit. The sliding image, althought I loved it, it's a bit big for my liking. And lastly, I'll try to tone down the color, cause I'm guessing that some of the other visitors were turn off with the burst of colors and design.

So hopefully I can change it all without affecting my followers and my visitors.

Everything will resume on August 13, Monday   
So expect a better and cleaner look of Books For YA!.


Sunday, August 05, 2012

Book Review: Anna Dressed in Blood

Sunday, August 05, 2012

Title: Anna Dressed in Blood
Author: Kendare Blake
Genre/s: Young Adult, Paranormal Fantasy, Horror, Romance

Synopsis:


Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.


So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

Friday, August 03, 2012

Filipino Friday #3: Reading Habits and Book Format

Friday, August 03, 2012

It's friday again and you know what that means, right? Filipino Friday! Oh yeah! So last weeks topic is about School of Reading which is about how I began to love books and who inspired me to read. This Friday our topic is this:
Reading Habits and Book Formats. Where and how do you read? Can you read anywhere and everywhere, or do you need a certain place/mood/state of mind to get reading? Do you read more in the morning or at night or any minute that you can? Where and how do you usually read? Are you exclusively for print, or do you go for ebooks more than print? Have you ever tried audiobooks?

Believe it or not, I can actually read anywhere even in the loudest, most chaotic environment. I don't know, whenever I started reading a book, it's like I entered a portal to another world. I'm not exaggerating this, you can ask anyone who knows me.

I often read at night because I have more time in the evening. My morning is really busy because of school and house chores, you know, college life and all. And also there's something really peaceful in reading at night. Makes it easier for me to sleep.

And regarding about the format of book, I read both, printed and ebooks but preferred printed more. I just love the feel and smell of printed books and it's much easier for me to read since I don't have an e-reader or kindle. I can finish a printed book within 2 to 3 days regardless of its page but in ebooks, it would take me 1 to 2 weeks to finish it.

I haven't tried audiobooks yet but I would love to try if I have one.

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

Review Copy Clean up 2.0

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

I decided to join another month-long readathon event  because I still have so many review copies in my tbr list. This event was hosted by Nyx Book Reviews and Book, Biscuits and Tea and for the whole month of August we will read as many review copies as we can.

Here are the books I'm going to read:

        

GOOD LUCK to me!:)

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