Happy Easter Giveaway Hop

Up for grabs is this:

Description:
When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Rules:
*You must me at least 13 years old or have parental permission
*If you happen to win, you must respond to my e-mail within 72 hours before I pick a new winner.
*This giveaway is only for US entrants (sorry international peeps!)
*I will pick the winner via random.org and e-mail the winner to get their address. I will NOT share your address with anybody else.

That's all! Enter below

a Rafflecopter giveaway

"Waiting On" Wednesday(#16):Isla and the Happily Ever After

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a meme created by Jill at Breaking the Spine that features books yet to be released that we're really looking forward to. This week my book is "Isla and the Happily Ever After ".

Title: Isla and the Happily Ever After
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Released: September 17, 2013
Publisher:Dutton

From Goodreads:
From the glittering streets of Manhattan to the moonlit rooftops of Paris, falling in love is easy for hopeless dreamer Isla and introspective artist Josh. But as they begin their senior year in France, Isla and Josh are quickly forced to confront the heartbreaking reality that happily-ever-afters aren’t always forever.

Their romantic journey is skillfully intertwined with those of beloved couples Anna and Étienne and Lola and Cricket, whose paths are destined to collide in a sweeping finale certain to please fans old and new.

Thoughts:
I am kinda like "OMG OMG OMG OMG" just thinking about this book. For those of you who have read the series, understand the anguish of the waiting. Seriously, I had become a fan of the first two books over a year ago, and I thought by now this book would have already released. But, no...we have to keep waiting another good 6 months! "sign"

What are you "waiting on"?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I HAD To Buy...But Are Still Sitting On My Shelf Unread

Top Ten Tuesday-It is a meme created by aime at The Broke and the Bookish where you create a list of your top ten favorite of any given category. This week we are creating a list of books that we HAD to buy, but still haven't read.

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10.

That is my list! I actually had difficulties finding books on my shelf that I already haven't read. Most books that I hadn't read were either a gift or were won, but in the end I found ten! Almost all of these books are over 6 months old, but some are even older.

Leave a comment below to link me up to your list!

Unravel Me: Review

Author: Tahereh Mafi
Page Number:461
Publisher:HarperCollins
Source:A gift from a friend

Description:
tick
tick
tick
tick
tick
it's almost
time for war.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

Review:
My feelings for this book cannot possibly be put down on paper( or more correctly, my computer screen). I have to say, in this book Mafi took it to the whole new level. The first book seemed to receive mixed reviews, and I understand why. The beginning was kind of weird and slow, but then when you got to the ending...everyone was OBSESSED with the book. Including me. You can imagine my anticipation for the sequel.

We first have the amazing, unique writing of the book. For me, it took awhile to get used to in the first book. However, when I read the second book, I learned to appreciate the lovely descriptions and style of the writing. A quick example( right from the beginning of the book):

"The big ball of yellow might be spilling in the clouds, runny and yolky blurring into the bluest sky, bright with cold hope and false promises about fond memories, real families, hearty breakfasts, stacks of pancakes drizzled in maple syrup sitting on a plate in a world that doesn't exist anymore."

That was just one of many, many weirdly unique descriptions. But you seem to imagine the world in the book with a whole new perspective. I absolutely adore the writing, to put it simply.

The love triangle...I am seriously SO SO SO happy right now. If you have already read this book, and are team Warner...you will most likely love it too. If you are team Adam...well, you had your shot in the first book. But....just....hhfnnjdfjldmfkfnufbdu....in coherent form would be better, I suppose? Mafi plays with your emotions majorly in this book, more directly to the romance. I have undoubtingly not read another book that plays with your emotions as much as this one( at least with the romance). Usually, when there is a love triangle, you KNOW from the start who she/he's gonna pick. I seriously believed, judging from the first book, that Juliette would pick Adam till the end. BUT I AM SO HAPPY, BECAUSE WARNER GETS A SHOT WITH HER...sorta.

The characters. You can imagine in this book, that you are able learn SO much more about Warner. You get to know about his horrific past, his gentle side, and what made him into the man he is today. I LOVED that about this book. Not only can Mafi write an amazing plot, but deep, interesting characters. They are in no respect, perfect characters. But, that is what makes people want to learn more about them, what intrigues them. She also writes amazing secondary characters( I love Kenji).

The plot is, of course, great, like every other part of the book. I could see what would eventually happen, but I didn't know how it would happen. And I can say alot of things surprised me in this book. There were so many twists and turns, tear-jerking moments, and just...everything good.

That is my extra-long review, so I'm not going to talk about the ending. You will just have to buy it to know what happens!

5/5

Dualed: Mini-Review + Giveaway

Author: Elsie Chapman
Page Number:304
Publisher:Random House Books For Young Readers
Source:Publisher

Description:
You or your Alt? Only one will survive.

The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.

Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.

My Mini-Review:
I'll be completely truthful. I didn't end up liking this book. I couldn't even finish it, which is alot to say for me, since I usually ALWAYS finish books. I even finished the Night Circus, which I ended up dispising( I know!). But, this book....was just annoying for me. By the description of the book, it sounded intriguing, though I thought there might be some technical difficulties to the plot. But, I thought that was expected of a debut author. Every writer makes mistakes, especially in their debut book. They always learn from their mistakes though, so I might pick up a different book by this author in the future, but this particular book just wasn't my cup of tea.

Since I received TWO books by the publisher( I am an ambuzzador), I will be giving away 2 ARCS of this book, since I have hopes that at least some of you will enjoy it. I just think it was me who has the problems, not the book itself, though it couldn't have been more touched up.


Rules:
*You must me at least 13 years old or have parental permission
*If you happen to win, you must respond to my e-mail within 72 hours before I pick a new winner.
*This giveaway is only for US entrants (sorry international peeps!)
*I will pick the winner via random.org and e-mail the winner to get their address. I will NOT share your address with anybody else.
Enter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Splintered: Review

Author: A.G Howard
Page Number:371
Publisher:Amulet Books
Source:Bought

Description:
This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

Review:
This was yet, another amazing book of the year. This book made me a tiny bit worried in the beginning, since I knew it was a grotesque re-telling of Alice in Wonderland. I thought somehow this book would mess up my perception of the actual Alice in Wonderland. It did not ruin my perception of the classic book. If anything, I barely thought about the classical book when reading it. You know the book is based off a classical book, but when I read it, I forgot entirely about that. Maybe because of the major difference in it, or maybe I was just too transfixed by everything.

The vivid descriptions in the book was an awesome part of this book. Yes, I know that sounds a bit weird, but it let me imagine how this Wonderland compares to the classic one. Trust me, there weren't very many similarities, but there were a few. Just, most of them were way more twisted or cruel. It made the story interesting to me.

The romance was very...interesting. What kind of ticked me off about it was the love triangle. I have mentioned before that I usually don't like love triangles simply because one guy gets left out 95%. In this story, Jeb and Morpheus are the victims of a love triangle. Of course, she has to choose one of them, and I'm glad in the end that she chose that guy. However, it also made me sad and angry that the other guy will be left out. As you may have noticed, I'm being a good spoiler free girl by not mentioning any names( you must read it to believe it)!

The plot of the story,and also the most important part for me is what hooked me from beginning to end. You were always kept on your toes guessing what would happen next. There were many surprising turns in the novel, which I LOVE! You could tell the author planned everything out carefully to make an intriguing plot. Again, I have to say the plot was the most interesting part to this novel, which is quite a complement in my case!

Now, the dreaded ending. The ending was...surprising. I like surprises, I do. But, this surprise devastated me, which isn't not entirely bad. Sad endings always makes books linger in my mind. While the ending ate at me for days, making me relive that moment again and again, the devious author was writing the sequel to the book( probably doing evil things in that one too). So, for a debut, this book deserves a standing ovation!

4.5/5

A Sincere Apology

Hi, everyone who may be reading this. I have an overdue apology to make, so here goes. I am sorry for being a very undedicated blogger of late. This whole term in school has been crazy, and I have had less and less time to keep posting throughingly. SO, that is my lame excuse, though true. BUT, good news is that the term ends soon, and I will be BETTER from now on. I am probably going to start planning everything out soon, so I don't have an excuse. I really need to try to work harder on planning my posts, but PLEASE bear with me!






And just because it's funny: