Wednesday, January 29, 2014

WWW Wednesdays (54) / Waiting on Wednesday (53): Wildflower

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?






Currently Reading:


Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
This book won a Printz Honor! Congrats, Rainbow!


Finished Reading:


Split Second by Kasie West (Pivot Point #2)
That was fast. I want more!!


Read Next:


In Bloom by Katie Delahanty (The Brightside #1)








Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, originally started by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that highlights upcoming book releases everyone is waiting on.

Wildflower
by Alecia Whitaker

Expected publication: July 1st 2014 by Poppy

Blurb (Goodreads):
The best songs come from broken hearts.

Sixteen-year-old Bird Barrett has grown up on the road, singing backup in her family's bluegrass band, and playing everywhere from Nashville, Tennesee to Nowhere, Oklahoma. One fateful night, Bird fills in for her dad by singing lead, and a scout in the audience offers her a spotlight all her own.

Soon Bird is caught up in a whirlwind of songwriting meetings, recording sessions, and music video shoots. Her first single hits the top twenty, and suddenly fans and paparazzi are around every corner. She's even caught the eye of her longtime crush, fellow roving musician Adam Dean. With Bird's star on the rise, though, tradition and ambition collide. Can Bird break out while staying true to her roots?


In a world of glamour and gold records, a young country music star finds her voice.





The first line on the blurb reminds me of my favorite artist. Apart from that, I love country music and books that are music-related. Most of all, the plot (plus the cover) won me over.

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What are your books this week? Share them with us!


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On the Blog:
This Week:
W: WWW Wednesdays (54) / Waiting on Wednesday (53): Wildflower
F: Book Review: Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry

Last Week:
Giveaways:
- ebook, INT. Swag, US.
- 1 book + swag. INT
- query or first chapter critique. INT
- SIGNED copy. INT
- ebook. INT

***

SOON!

Feb Feels: 7 days of Valentines debuts on Feb 9th!






Tuesday, January 28, 2014

ARC Review: Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd


Her Dark Curiosity
by Megan Shepherd

Series: The Madman's Daughter #2
Genre: YA, historical, gothic, mystery
Expected publication: January 28th 2014 by Balzer+Bray
(that's today; happy book birthday!)
Source: Publisher
Purchase: Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Book Depository
Local purchase: National Bookstore


Blurb (Goodreads):
To defeat the darkness, she must first embrace it.

Months have passed since Juliet Moreau returned to civilization after escaping her father's island—and the secrets she left behind. Now, back in London once more, she is rebuilding the life she once knew and trying to forget Dr. Moreau’s horrific legacy—though someone, or something, hasn’t forgotten her.

As people close to Juliet fall victim one by one to a murderer who leaves a macabre calling card of three clawlike slashes, Juliet fears one of her father’s creations may have also escaped the island. She is determined to find the killer before Scotland Yard does, though it means awakening sides of herself she had thought long banished, and facing loves from her past she never expected to see again.

As Juliet strives to stop a killer while searching for a serum to cure her own worsening illness, she finds herself once more in the midst of a world of scandal and danger. Her heart torn in two, past bubbling to the surface, life threatened by an obsessive killer—Juliet will be lucky to escape alive.

With inspiration from Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this is a tantalizing mystery about the hidden natures of those we love and how far we’ll go to save them from themselves.





My Thoughts:

*This review is based on the advance reading copy edition. There may be some changes to the finished copy.


The first book of this series, The Madman's Daughter, creeped me out. And even though it did, I'm still impressed on the overall story. I liked the twists and surprises the most. I didn't know what I felt or expecting before reading Her Dark Curiosity. I guess I have to brace myself to a darker and creepier sequel.

As I was reading chapter after chapter, I realized that I became more interested and curious than I was on the first book. This book provided answers as to why did Juliet's father has done inhuman things, not only because he's a madman, but also because there's a huge reason why he did, and that satisfies me more. The answers, I mean.

The twists and surprises that I liked from the first book continues and I also experienced the thrill and shock of the events. It made me turn the pages faster than I usually do. I kind of like myself being caught like that. It's because I know this will be a good book.

The only thing that I didn't liked here was the love triangle. Yes, love triangles can ruin a good book. I mean, I liked the romance on the first book, but here? Juliet was irritating when it comes to boys. She might sound like a girl who thinks a lot about her decisions and choices but I have rather seen that she doesn't think that hard at all. She lets herself be swallowed by her feelings and puts the cons on the back of her mind. When she never should had. Because it ruined everything. My respect for her and the faith that I have for her feelings for Montgomery was gone. All the romance-related on this book was awful. Let me just stick to the plot of the story only.

The ending..well that's another story. It frustrates me--but not like the way the love triangle frustrates me. It's more like, I'm freaked out and I still don't know what should I really feel about it.

Her Dark Curiosity was the sequel I can describe with comparative adjectives. Darker, more interesting, more thrilling and surprising, creepier, and more frustrating (when it comes to the love story). The Madman's Daughter was good, but Her Dark Curiosity was better. I would give this book a rating of 4.5/5 but since the love triangle/love story had a wide exposure here and it turned out that I hated it, I'm giving this 4 stars. Still, Her Dark Curiosity was one of the sequels you'd ask for. 



Check out my review of The Madman's Daughter!

*Thanks to Megan and HarperCollins International for providing a print copy of this book in exchange of honest review!

Ratings:











Monday, January 27, 2014

Music Monday (21): All Too Well

Music Monday is a weekly meme created by yours truly. Let's talk about music..on Mondays!
Hey guys! Happy new week! Welcome to another edition of Music Monday. I decided that I want to share Taylor Swift's new single, All Too Well, in case you haven't heard it yet. I will also share my innermost thoughts and feelings about this song, so beware. ;)


This is the song that I loooooved so much.



So heart-breakingly beautiful.


So why did I decided to have an edition of Music Monday for All Too Well alone? Because there's a lot of things I wanted to say about this song, and I thought this meme is the perfect place to do so.

The first time I heard All Too Well, it occurred to me that this was such a long song. Not that it's a problem to me. The lyrics are honest, which is not surprising coming from Taylor, but as the song grew on me--which I never realized it did until I found myself wishing it to be the next track on my shuffled playlist, and if it don't I would play it anyway. I realized that I'm singing it with Taylor and it seemed like I was feeling the things that she felt when writing and recording it. I never had a boyfriend, and my heart never broke like hers did, but I felt it. 

There's a strong emotion coming from this song and I can feel it to my soul. There are few songs and artists can do this to me, but All Too Well..and Taylor Swift? Just perfect. I'm not even sure if I wanted to cry every time I hear this, or get mad and throw things, or let my heart break into pieces, or sigh out of the beautifully-written heartbreaking song.


The lyrics:
I walked through the door with you, the air was cold,
But something 'bout it felt like home somehow.
And I left my scarf there at your sister's house,
And you still got it in your drawer even now.

Oh, your sweet disposition and my wide-eyed gaze.
We're singing in the car, getting lost Upstate.
Autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place,
And I can picture it after all these days.

And I know it's long gone,
And that magic's not here no more,
And I might be okay,
But I'm not fine at all.

'Cause there we are again on that little town street.
You almost ran the red 'cause you were looking over me.
Wind in my hair, I was there, I remember it all too well.

Photo album on the counter, your cheeks were turning red.
You used to be a little kid with glasses in a twin-size bed
And your mother's telling stories about you on a tee ball team
You tell me 'bout your past, thinking your future was me.

And I know it's long gone
And there was nothing else I could do
And I forget about you long enough
To forget why I needed to...

'Cause there we are again in the middle of the night.
We dance around the kitchen in the refrigerator light
Down the stairs, I was there, I remember it all too well, yeah.

Maybe we got lost in translation, maybe I asked for too much,
And maybe this thing was a masterpiece 'til you tore it all up.
Running scared, I was there, I remember it all too well.

Hey, you call me up again just to break me like a promise.
So casually cruel in the name of being honest.
I'm a crumpled up piece of paper lying here
'Cause I remember it all, all, all... too well.

Time won't fly, it's like I'm paralyzed by it
I'd like to be my old self again, but I'm still trying to find it
After plaid shirt days and nights when you made me your own
Now you mail back my things and I walk home alone

But you keep my old scarf from that very first week
'Cause it reminds you of innocence and it smells like me
You can't get rid of it 'cause you remember it all too well, yeah

'Cause there we are again, when I loved you so
Back before you lost the one real thing you've ever known
It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well

Wind in my hair, you were there, you remember it all
Down the stairs, you were there, you remember it all

It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well


***

My thoughts and feels about the lyrics:

I walked through the door with you, the air was cold,
But something 'bout it felt like home somehow.
And I left my scarf there at your sister's house,
And you still got it in your drawer even now.

- The first verse alone is like a door opening to story that was supposed to be private, but invited us all in. Coz you know, "something 'bout it felt like home somehow."


                                      Oh, your sweet disposition and my wide-eyed gaze.

- This is one of my favorite lines. I can really relate to it. Always the wide-eyed girl.


'Cause there we are again on that little town street.
You almost ran the red 'cause you were looking over me.
Wind in my hair, I was there, I remember it all too well.

- Just...hauntingly beautiful.


                              You tell me 'bout your past, thinking your future was me.

- That's a clever one. I don't know if I'd give the credit to the guy or Taylor. It's a shame the vision of their future was long gone.


Cause there we are again in the middle of the night.
We dance around the kitchen in the refrigerator light
Down the stairs, I was there, I remember it all too well, yeah.

- Sweet, sweet memory. Gets me teary-eyed.


Maybe we got lost in translation, maybe I asked for too much,
And maybe this thing was a masterpiece 'til you tore it all up.

- Somehow reminds me of her previously recorded songs, White Horse and Forever and Always.


Hey, you call me up again just to break me like a promise.
So casually cruel in the name of being honest.
I'm a crumpled up piece of paper lying here
'Cause I remember it all, all, all... too well.

- The climax of the song. I loved this part and many people have said that they did too. Was it bad to love a heartbreaking line? 


But you keep my old scarf from that very first week
'Cause it reminds you of innocence and it smells like me

- *sigh*


Cause there we are again, when I loved you so
Back before you lost the one real thing you've ever known
It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well

- I agree that he really lost that one real thing he'd ever known. Because Taylor is, for me. And I won't lost her in my heart. Even as the years go by, I will remember her. Because she's one of the few people that gave me reality even in the midst of dreaming and fantasizing about fairytales. (I often escape from reality through her songs and found myself in another reality. Yet it's not bad at all.)



This is  her recent performance of All Too Well, which is at the Grammy's 2014.




News spread around Twitter yesterday that she'll be releasing All Too Well as a single after her performance at the Grammy's. I am happy for another step Taylor is taking and that a lot of people (outside the Swifties fandom) will be able to hear this achingly beautiful song, but that's the thing. I'm going to share it with the world. All Too Well was one of the few things I'm treasuring. This song is like a gem to me, and call me selfish but I don't want to share it. It's like, you have this piece of you and you have no choice but to share it to the world when all you want is to keep it to yourself. That's what I felt, and still feeling.

So why did I wrote this post to tell how beautiful and how I loved this song? It's because no matter I wanted to keep this all to myself, I want to let it out and tell the whole world how proud am I to Taylor (I sound like her mother. But don't worry, it's a die-hard fan thing) for writing this song (oh gosh, does this make me look like a witch? Because I might as well said I'm glad that she experience such heartbreak. No, that's not it!) and even though it hurts too much, she's able to give justice to it, let her fans feel it, and get over it. Not to mention, write it in a clever and beautiful way--and I'm sure I have said that a hundred times already, but that's what I felt and I can't help it if it's really beautiful and heartbreaking and emotional and heartfelt and stunning.






Sunday, January 26, 2014

What's Cool? Celebrating Debutantes 2013 + Gayle Forman book signing!

I use Grammarly's plagiarism checker because copy-cats are not as Cool as this post! ;)

An anytime meme created by yours truly, where I share everything I think is Cool (plus, my Cool blog updates! ;)

January is soon to end yet Cool things just kept on happening since my last post of What's Cool? !

First off, Celebrating Debutantes 2013!



It's been an exciting and full of information about over 100 cool debut authors! I had fun reading their 13 random facts and interview questions. And I'm sure you did too, especially with the huge wave of giveaways!

I'd like to thank each and everyone of you who supported this event. Thank you so much to Dianne of Oops! I Read A Book Again for being the ever-patient and best co-host! Let's make CD 2014 easier for us (you know what I mean *wink, wink*). To Jessica L. Brooks for the congratulatory, supportive, enthusiastic, and advertising tweets about CD. You're Cool! And last but not the least, the debut authors of 2013 who said the magic word "yes" in joining us in this exciting event and for donating for the giveaways! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! *hugs*


Celebrating Debutantes 2013 has come to an end. Again, for now. We'll celebrate debut authors of 2014 later this year. So if you're a YA/NA/MG debut author of 2014 or you want your favorite/anticipated 2014 debut author to join this event, let them SIGN UP TO JOIN HERE!


Want to take a look back on the authors we've featured in 2012 and 2013? Or do you want to learn more about this event? Click here.




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Last January 18th, National Bookstore held another exciting book signing event! This time, they brought us the New York Times Best-selling author of If I Stay and Just One Day duets, Gayle Forman!



Last March 2013, I've been to my first ever book signing event where I met Tahereh Mafi, author of Shatter Me trilogy. There have been several authors who visited the Philippines after Tahereh, but as always, I'm busy with college, so Gayle Forman's was my second signing. 



My co-bloggers are lucky to ask questions to Gayle and I really enjoyed listening to her answers. I learned that she loves reading contemporary books that's why she's writing them as well. When asked if she had plans to branch out of contemporary, she said that she loves writing about the world we live in, and that since some people see If I Stay as a paranormal book, she thinks she already branched out of the genre. She also said that she likes writing a love story that has life in it. Or, write about life. And that's what I saw in her books. I finished Just One Day a week ago, and her writing is just soo good. I felt the life in it--even when I read If I Stay duets years ago--and with the words that she said at the signing makes all sense. I knew then that this author doesn't only write because she has story to tell, but also because she wants to show her readers how life is and how we also should be. My respect to Gayle Forman grew. 

She said that yes, she's involved in the making of If I Stay movie, and that she read the script and cried several times. She said that it was embarrassing because she's the one behind the story. LOL She also mentioned that she have an upcoming novel called I Was Here that is set to release in 2015.


Photo from National Bookstore
Gayle with her fans (and their books) at the signing. So cute!
Gayle Forman definitely deserves to be in this Cool post. ;) :D


Thank you so much Precious of Fragments of Life for bringing me as your plus one! :D Thanks also to Elyssa for trading with me, and National Bookstore for another Cool event! One more Cool news from NBS.. THIS!!!



YEEEEEEEEEP!!!!


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Another Cool thing? I'm back with Netgalley! Months ago I stopped requesting from Netgalley because I don't have an e-reader and I became slow in reading ebooks and didn't get to review the books I've been accepted. Now I have a better e-reader app on my tablet and somehow I can now mange my to-review pile. Yay!




Even though I'm back with NG, I'm still controlling my requesting tendencies. :)


Thank you so much 
MTV Books, Albert Whitman Teen, Random House Kids, and Netgalley!


***


Last year, I joined Debut Author Challenge..and I have quite failed on it. I forgot that I actually joined a reading challenge! I forgot to read more debuts, and if I do, I always forgot to add my links. So that was uncool, but now I'm still up for this year's challenge and willing to not forget! XD



         2014 Reading ChallengeMichelle has read 8 books toward her goal of 50 books.
    
         
          view books


Another challenge that I failed was the Goodreads Reading Challenge. I aimed to read 50 books on 2013 but I only read 49. See, there's only one book left! Eeek! That was pretty understandable, though, because I've been busy for most of the year. This year, I challenged myself to read 50 books or more. As of today, I've read 8 books! Hoping to continue this Cool start. :)


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On February 9th 2014, I will be launching a new blog event called Feb Feels: 7 days of Valentines! This event is for the month of love, obviously. I will be having a week full of book reviews, interviews from YA/NA romance contemporary authors, playlist, giveaways, and more! Be sure to check this Cool February event out!






On the Blog:
This Week:
Sun: What's Cool? Celebrating Debutantes 2013 + Gayle Forman book signing

Last Week:

Giveaways:

- 5 ebooks. INT.
- 1st book (Silent Orchids) for FREE here
- 2nd ebook to win + swag. INT
- ebook, INT. Swag, US.
- 1 book + swag. INT
- query or first chapter critique. INT
- SIGNED copy. INT
- ebook. INT

***


2014 has just started but Coolness is already flowing. Hopefully it would continue to overflow--I am very prepared to catch it! ;)
So...what are the Cool things that happened to you? Received? Bought? Gifted?
Don't let it concealed within you, share the good news! :)






Friday, January 24, 2014

Cover Reveal: Orenda by Ruth Silver

When I first saw the cover of of this book, I fell in love with it. The blurb also made me want to read it. Let me introduce to you... Orenda!


Orenda
by Ruth Silver
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Expected Publication: Spring 2014 by Patchwork Press

Blurb (Goodreads):
A sword wielding girl, an eternal suit and an alternate universe.

Lil has a gift, one she never thought possible as she finds herself awake after a strange dream with the tell-tale sign that what she dreamt was in fact real. The dreamscape, was more than just a premonition it happened. She’d been momentarily tossed into another dimension. Where most would consider her crazy, not her best friend Bray.

In another reality, one similar and yet slightly different Willow has been kidnapped by the sorceress turned demon, Eilith. Rawlie, Willow’s friend and companion crosses to our universe for help and brings Lil into his world. Filled with frightening creatures and magical elements, Lil demands to go home, until she discovers Bray has been taken by Eilith as well. Unable to watch her best friend die, she joins forces with Rawlie, Jamie and the others to hunt down Eilith and rescue those they care about.






Displaying Ruth Silver author photo.jpgAbout the Author:

Ruth Silver attended Northern Illinois University and graduated with a Bachelor's in Communication in the spring of 2005.  While in college, she spent much of her free time writing with friends she met online and penning her first novel, Deuces are Wild, which she self-published in 2004.  Her favorite class was Creative Writing senior year where she often handed in assignments longer than the professor required because she loved to write and always wanted to finish her stories.  Her love of writing led her on an adventure in 2007 to Melbourne, Australia.  Silver enjoys reading, photography, traveling and most of all writing.  She loves dystopian and fantasy young adult stories.  Her debut novel published by Lazy Day Publishing and Patchwork Press, ABERRANT, was released April 2013.  The second novel in the series, MOIRAI, continues the saga. ISAURA, is the final installment in the ABERRANT trilogy. Ruth has been actively writing since she was a teenager.  Her current writing projects include a YA science-fiction fantasy series, ORENDA, and a YA/NA paranormal series, DEAD GIRL WALKING. Both novels are due for release in 2014. She currently resides in Plainfield, Illinois.




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Are you ready for the lovely cover? Scroll down now!







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Weehee! Let me know what you think about the cover and the book as well!







Wednesday, January 22, 2014

WWW Wednesdays (53) / Waiting on Wednesday (52): The Winner's Curse

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?






Currently Reading:

Just One Day by Gayle Forman (Just One Day #1)
Gayle's writing is just sooo good. Makes me don't wanna finish the book yet.

Finished Reading:

Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd (The Madman's Daughter #2)
I didn't expect I'd like this book. Still not sure what to feel about the ending, though. Review on January 28th!


Read Next:

I'll skim first Pivot Point by Kasie West, then I'll read Split Second (Pivot Point #2).






Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, originally started by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that highlights upcoming book releases everyone is waiting on.

The Winner's Curse
(The Winner's trilogy #1)
by Marie Rutkoski

Expected publication: March 4th 2014 by Farrar Straus Giroux

Blurb (Goodreads):
Winning what you want may cost you everything you love 

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. 

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. 

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. 


Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.




I don't think I'd add this book on my to-wait list but I heard a lot of great things about this it, especially from the people I trusted. So I think I should try (and I'm pretty excited about it)!

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Do you have any books that you think you should try as well? Share them below!


P.S These giveaways are still open for you to join!
- 1 copy. US/Can only.
- $10 Amazon GC. INT.
- SIGNED postcards. US only.
- 5 ebooks. INT.
- 1st book (Silent Orchids) for FREE here
- 2nd ebook to win + swag. INT
- ebook, INT. Swag, US.
- 1 book + swag. INT
- query or first chapter critique. INT
- SIGNED copy. INT
- ebook. INT


***

Feb Feels: 7 days of Valentines
Book reviews, top picks, author interviews, giveaways and more!

SOON!



Are you a YA/NA contemporary romance author/publisher and willing to donate for
Feb Feels giveaway? Email me at: michelleshoutsrandom.blog AT gmail DOT com !
(Don't worry, I'll add your Twitter/Facebook to follow on Rafflecopter!)