Review: The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.

Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.

Emaline's mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?

Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going?

Sarah Dessen's devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning, and, finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer.



Thank you so much Razorbill Canada for allowing me on this blog tour! I am soooo excited! Thank you!!

Review

NOTE: quotes are from the ARC and can be subject to change.

I still remember being in grade 10 and one of my friends practically breathed Sarah Dessen, and who swore by Along for the Ride. Back then I was NOT a contemporary fan so I brushed it off. But now being a contemporary noob, I was sooooo excited to read The Moon and More. For a first timer with Sarah Dessen, I think I am disappointed.

When I started the book I loved it! It was light, fun, and simple. Everything seems so bright and colourful, and I called it "a perfect beach read". It was a novel that anyone could read without wrecking his/her brain (and that stayed true until the very end). I was so very excited and it just seemed like the perfect book for me (because it reminded me of Of Poseidon and the beach-y fun-ness). Wow beach-y fun-ness...what the heck is that Ash??? And you know what, I was super excited to dive into the father issue Emaline had with her father. It got be so pumped. I was raging. I never had father issues before or any parental issues (my parents are awesssuuummmm), but it was a topic that I think anyone could relate. It doesn't have to be a parent, it could be anyone. That feeling of disappointment and being let down is easily sympathizable (once again, not a word). Below you will find a rant by me, right after I read a little part of the book that enraged me. Note it is not edited. It was exactly what I typed when I read about Emaline's father.

Can I rant about Emaline's father. God where do I begin?
Have you ever been let down? Yes? Ever been let down soooo many times by the same person? Yes? Maybe? Well that's Emaline's father for you. He is a smart guy, with a great education background, but what a douchbag he is! He is a sweet talker, acting like he cares and at the moment that you needs him the most? He vanishes. Gosh I hate people who acts like that. One moment you think they've actually changed and cared for you but in reality he/she have been putting up a fake face and was lying to you the whole damn time. All those broken promises. I hate it. I mean if it is only once or twice, I get it. It is life and life sucks. But all the time? No. I don't buy that, not even one tiny bit. It is like giveaways. I know from personal and friends' experiences, that blogging world's giveaways have become somewhat unreliable. I mean of course there are still actual and true giveaways out there but there are so many other fake giveaways as well Nothing hurts more than waiting on something you love and then an email reply of "oops, blah blah blah, sorry, won't be sending this" excuses, excuses. Or no reply at all. OR the worst, promise you something else for compensation and don't deliver either. Two promises, broken.
I just can't deal with him. Joel Pendleton, you suck!

See how emotional I got when reading about Emaline's father? It got my blood pumping, fingers typing, mind ranting. It was the part of the book that I was passionate about, and curious about. When Emaline was with her father, it was awkward but things were interesting and I wanted to see where it goes. Plus when ever Benji was in the picture, I loved every single moment of it. Sadly, this book lacked many of the exciting parts.

Anyway, around half way through the book, I felt frustrated. Why?? Because I felt like one part of the book (not the father part) was unnecessary long and frankly boring! And you ask: what is this part? Well the romance, and the complication.

Stella Reviews: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

The Passage meets Ender’s Game in an epic new series from award-winning author Rick Yancey.

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

Thank you RazorbillCa/PenguinCa for sending this ARC! :D

Review

First of all, I had a little laugh, looking at how many to people immediately marked The Monstrumologist as to-read, once they finished off with this book. Let me spoil the fun, by saying that book is not like this book. That book was an eye (haha) opening experience, and left me thinking while I laid down to sleep every night. That book was perfection, and this was a little sub-par.

I never expected to give this book less that five-sparkly stars. I mean, come on, it's RICK YANCEY. The Monstrumologist is one of my all-time favourite books and Will Henry remains one of my all-time favourite book characters.

I can see the appeal of this book and I understand why most people LOVE this book, but in my opinion, there are better books out there that offer more intensity, more betrayals and more heartbreak. The two books/series I am talking about is the Chaos Walking trilogy and Ender's Game.

First, I would like to talk about what makes the Chaos Walking trilogy a better substitute:

A: It offers superior alternating POVs, switching between male and female. When Patrick Ness ends one of the perspectives, he stops at somewhere that leaves you thinking, and you almost have to put the book down and reflect on life for a good five minutes. I think that occurred a couple of times throughout The 5th Wave, but most of the other times, it stops at a cliffhanger. Cliffhangers are great and they gets your heart pumping, but that is quickly sputtered out by the other POV, which is in its build-up phase. That excitement inflicted by the cliffhanger is sent into hyperpolarization, which is a term used to describe neurons in our brain. It basically means my feelings for this spiked, an now, as I see a new POV is beginning and it is in its build-up phase, I get bored. My feelings about whatever exciting just happened, drops. It drops below even the boredom of the incoming POV. Because I know I have to sit through ~30 pages before I get back to that cliffhanger. Pretend the Resting Membrane potential is me reading, and something exciting happens and action potential occurs, but the disconnection of the POVs puts me in to a screeching halt and drop into hyperpolarization.
This is the exact reason why I steered away from A Game of Thrones. The anticipation dies after George R. R. Martin goes through about 15 other characters (exaggeration) before coming back to the one I was really excited about.

I'm going to put more stuff about a neuron firing under the SPOILER tag.
[Observe a neuron firing below:

Playlist♥Giveaway: King's Crusade by A.D. Starrling

King’s Crusade

Seventeeen Series Book 2

AD Starrling

Genre: Supernatural thriller

The perfect immortal warrior.

A set of stolen, priceless artifacts.

An ancient sect determined to bring about the downfall of human civilization.

The exciting, action-packed follow-up to Soul Meaning and the second installment in the supernatural thriller series, Seventeen.

When a team of scientists unearth scriptures older than the Dead Sea Scrolls in a cave in the Eastern Desert mountains in Egypt, a mystery lost to the tides of time is uncovered. Heading the expedition is Dimitri Reznak, the Head of the Crovir Immortal Culture & History Section. But the monumental discovery is spoiled by evidence of looting and half the priceless artifacts Reznak has been seeking for centuries have disappeared.

Alexa King is a covert agent for the Crovir First Council. When she is approached by her godfather for a mission that could help elucidate the enigma of her lost past, she finds herself delving into the dangerous and shadowy world of secret religious societies. Assigned by Reznak to assist her is Zachary Jackson, a gifted human and Harvard archaeology professor.

In their search for the missing artifacts, King and Jackson stumble upon the existence of a deadly sect whose origins are as mystifying as the relics they are searching for. From North Africa to the doors of Vatican City itself, they unveil a centuries-old plan that aims to shatter the very structure of civilized society.

With the help of Reznak and a group of unexpected allies, King and Jackson must stop the enemy and uncover the astonishing truth behind the missing artifacts and King’s own unearthly origins before all is lost.

Smashwords     Amazon US ebook     Amazon UK ebook       Book Depository

Playlist

Hello and thanks for having me on your blog!  ♥

Today, I am pleased to present part of the music playlist for King’s Crusade, Book #2 of the supernatural series Seventeen. I say part, because the actual playlist has 61 songs on it! I’ve chosen my favorites and explained how they relate to the scenes in the book. You have been warned. They are LOUD! 

1.    Warrior by Disturbed

To me, this first song defines the protagonist of King's Crusade. Those lyrics send shivers down my spine and set the pace and flavor for the entire story. I had this on constant replay when I was writing the final battle scene!

A (Sponsored) Fashion Giveaway: Firmoo Sunglasses

Firmoo is the World's Most Popular Online Eyeglasses Store with 580K+ fans on Facebook. Their mission is to offer varieties of unbelievable cheap yet fashionable prescription & Plano eyewear to the consuming public. All of their eyewear is directly from affiliate factory, so the price is 85%~90% lower than that in the traditional brick-and-mortar stores. 

Follow Firmoo on Twitter and Facebook.

Note: I didn't receive anything from Firmoo except for emails ^^''. The sunglasses below are what I thought I would look best based on the pictures, style, and Firmoo handy-dandy online sunglasses tester. <---Haha, I got obsessed with it.

Interview (Vlog Style)♥Giveaway: The Savage Blue by Zoraida Cordova

A storm is coming...

The ocean is a vicious place. Deeper and darker than Tristan could have imagined. Beneath its calm blue surface, an ancient battle is churning —and no one is safe.

In the quest for the Sea Throne, Tristan has already watched one good friend die. Now he must lead the rest on a dangerous voyage in search of the trident that will make him king. But while Tristan chases his destiny, the dark forces racing against him are getting stronger, and the sea witch of his nightmares is getting closer.

Battling sea dragons and savage creatures of the deep, Tristan needs his friends' support. But they each have their secrets, and a betrayal will force Tristan to choose between his crown and his best friend Layla — the only girl he's ever loved.

Hiiii! Today I am sooooo honoured to have Zoraida stopping by for a Q&A session, what's cooler is that she did it in a vlog form!! Awesome! If you didn't know, I loooovee The Vicious Deep (the first book in the series), I myself did a horrible vlog review of it....aha...go check it out if you want here. Anywhooo~ Let's get started with Zoraida :D

Interview

Giveaway

Now time for the epic giveaway! At the bottom of the post you will see the prize packs, super awesome right? So why wait, enter now! :D