Fastidious Reader

Got the paperback for the blog tour today! :) Yay! Brought it with me here in the office to read. ;)4.5 stars! :) review to come. Posted at Fastidious Reader.First of all, thank you to my fellow Pinoy, Dianne of Oops I Read A Book Again and Pinoy Book Tours for doing this book tour. I love your concept guys. For touring a real physical books all around Philippines, even if it's just one copy per book, it's so nice to have it that way. Honestly? I forgot all about the blurb when I got the book. So it's like starting it without any knowledge about the book. I know, I could've look at the back of the book. But I didn't until I was at least 5 chapters in. I was... amazed by the premise. It's new to the eyes. Well, my eyes. It's something I don't really think it'll happen. Or I didn't think one would create a world like that. I'm actually still wondering if this book is a dystopian book or a contemporary one. I guess it IS a contemporary novel with bits of Science Fiction and not dystopia since there's no Apocalyptic things happening in this book. Hmm.. So okay, I think we all thought of having clones right? Like you, I wished I got clones so I could divide myself. I actually want the Naruto kind of clones. :P Where I could get the knowledge of what my clone/s did after going back to my body. I want my clones to read all the books I've been meaning to read or watch the TV series I've been waiting for a long time or maybe sleep more or do my work for me. You know, all those things. Yes, I'm that lazy. LOL.But in here, Lizzie, Betsey and Ella are all clones. And no, they're not the Naruto kind. They're the kind where they've been researched thoroughly first and then experimented on human cloning. We all know that scientists are really trying to clone a human or I mean, the animals first before human. Anyway, Lizzie is the one who's talking in the book. I love that those three got their own personalities. That they still have their own minds, characters even if they are living as one. I like how Patrick still gave the other clones, Betsey and Ella, their own personalities and that over the course of the book, they started to stand up on their own. Actually, this book is more of a contemporary one. Since Lizzie fell in love, they were presented a situation that is a bit chaotic for their lifestyle since they are living as one person and not as triplets. I get it, I mean of course it's weird if you suddenly dated a person you don't like or that the person you like dated the others because the date time falls in their time. Their arrangement is strange but at the same time they did made it work before Lizzie met Sean Kelly.I like how it was done. The mysteriousness of the whole thing. The protectiveness of their mom. The lies. How they arrived at the truth. The closeness between the three clones. The support of Sean to Lizzie. What I didn't like was... maybe the way Lizzie felt to her mom after all of those things happened to them. I do get her for her reasons to feel that way... But I don't believe that's enough... Or is it just me? Oh well.Well, that's how it is. I love Cat Patrick's work on this one. Love the premise and characters. It's my first book of hers. And I think I'll be reading more of hers. :)

Short street basketball game. It's not shown in the anime. So pretty fun! :)

Pretty good. A bit short though but since it's a novella, pretty okay. I love how authors nowadays do the setting in Japan. Love the idea too. :)

Wow. This is pretty good. Light and fun. :) BTW, is it just me? LOL. I feel proud of Annie and I feel tears of happiness coming out of my eyes. >,

WOW. Need I say more? Well... review to come.I've been putting off this review for so long. And good memory is not (most DEFINITELY) my strongest suit in case of reading or in life, generally. Although I remember the STRANGE and RANDOM stuffs. :P In any case, enough babbling about things not associated in this book.Hmmm... When I first picked up Obsidian, Lux Series. I'm really not particularly fond of reading Alien kind of books. Since as I have mentioned in my review of Obsidian back then, when I think of Aliens, I thought of those gruesome movies I've seen. But after reading Obsidian, after falling for Daemon in Onyx, I know... I know that I'm liking the series.So when I saw that there's a spin-off... And that it's about an Arum, the counterpart of Luxens... I don't know what to think about. My friends said that it is an Adult novel because it was published by Entangled Publishing, which I think we all know they mostly publish Adult/Erotic books. So that being said, it's really not my alley since I mostly read Young Adult or New Adult. Not that I stay away from Adult books, I do read those, it's just I'm a bit picky about it...Who else are better to protect her against a Luxen than an Arum?BUT, when I started reading it, I am intrigued by Hunter, the Arum. I know that since this is a book about an Arum (they are well, evil, murderers), I know that Hunter will redeem himself by the end of the book. That's how it was always written. Bad boys turning into one of the good guys because they fall in love.What I liked about Hunter was that he proved that he'll be worth it. That even if he was bad, there's some goodness in him. I like how he is not really one of the bad guys. He just got his own way of dealing things.“Hunter's stomach was perfection—each taut muscle tight and totally lickable. Not that I'd ever licked a man's stomach before, but now I got why someone would want to. I was in six-pack heaven.” Serena, was someone that has... strong personality? Or should I say she's hard-headed. lol. Well, she's a bit annoying, but I guess when did I ever not get annoyed by female characters of Armentrout? *cough* Katy *cough* Well I like how she accepted Hunter for who he really was.In any case, this book is awesome. The plot is really interesting, gripping and makes you want more. Especially all those HOT make out scenes, love scene and the... foreplay scene? LMAO. Well, I know that you, Lux and Arum fans alike all read it by now, so I'm not really spoiling it, am I? It's BOUND TO HAVE THOSE ANYWAY. It's ENTANGLED PUBLISHING we're talking about! :PLove the book!! More please! And gosh, I loved that Daemon showed up just a bit! :)

Pretty pretty cover! :) Just noticed it now. And it'll be released on May 2013?! Aw, man. Last book! Can't wait for this one. Wonder what would happen to Vincent. Since in the second book, it was such a cliffhanger...Hmmm... If I Should Die is the last book of the trilogy Revenants by Amy Plum. Story was about revenants. Revenants are prettified zombies. Er... The summary is like this, they die to help/save others and then resurrect after a couple of days as long as their bodies are not burned. And of course, there's the Numas. They are the complete opposite of Revenants or the Bardias, they kill people. They murder them in cold blood.So then the story in this third book, continued without much of a preamble from the ending of second book. I think it was just days after Vincent was taken by Violet. The Bardias and Numas believed that Vincent is the Champion. The one who'll save them from Numas. And Kate, I honestly didn't expect anything from her. I don't expect that she'll be able to save Vincent which leads to me asking for a spoiler about whether Vincent will be back for good in the middle of the book. The story is good. But a bit boring at some parts. If I will be asked if I enjoyed reading it the answer would be so-so? lol. I mean I still liked it but I do wished that some parts are not that long. Ending's pretty good. Didn't expect some of the twists. Kate's character evolved, I believe. But as usual, the guy is like "Don't do this or that. I don't want you getting hurt." The usual drama of guys who are a bit overprotective. In Vincent's case, I quite understand why he felt that way. Overall, yeah, story's great. But I feel there's something that is lacking. So 3 stars only. And yes, I'm satisfied with the ending.

Another DNF for me... I don't quite get why. This is a dystopian/science fiction kind of book. I mostly enjoy reading this kind of book. This... leaves me confused. Cause first pages, it says it's 20xx. So I knew it's on the future. But then when the girl was introduced... The setting of the place she's in, it's like historical. :o And the dialogues are just so-so. It's really weird for me and I can't get into it. I wish I could like it like the other readers who gave it a 4-5stars. >.< Maybe it's because it's a culture I really don't know of. I don't think I have heard of Amish nationality or whatever you called it. It's really not just for me. Sorry.

I'm a HUGE fan of Kelly Oram, no matter what people say about some of her books. So it is not really a surprise that after reading The Avery Shaw Experiment, I got this dopey grin plastered to my face. Yeah. I love this book. I love Grayson. I love Avery. Of course, including Libby.I'm not yet even on the middle and just started reading it back then, when I know for SURE I am going to love it. I know! I keep repeating myself. But hey, my review, my rules. lol. Anyway, I get what people or readers said about Avery being annoying because of her being naive and that the story was a stereotype kind of book and a cliche. Big words for me to understand (got my Merriam-Webster Dictionary on-hand while reading some of the reviews). LMAO.But for me, it totally works. The way how Avery was created, her character, her naivety despite being a nerd or a genius, her being annoying sometimes, fitted the whole story. It was explained as to WHY she was like that. Why does she feel like that. WHY she was doing the 'experiment' in the first place. I long understand that some genius people really do have a stupid moments in their life. There will always be something a genius might not know. Even if they are, yeah, a genius.So yes, I totally get all of it. I love how Grayson tried to change Avery. How they became close afterwards. How Grayson starts to have feelings for Avery. And NOT just as a big brother but a LOT more. Yes, I do feel annoyed with Avery, well slightly (so little it's not really distinguishable that I really was annoyed), when she doesn't understand some things about her own feelings. But, as I have mentioned earlier, it all fitted for the story.The story is perfect for the both of them. I love Grayson. ^^ yeah... well, nuff said. :P Libby is so good too! I love how she stand up with anyone for Avery. And I love how pushy she was to Owen. I love her character! I want a story for Libby and Owen! Thanks to Kelly Oram and all the other authors out there for making reading so fun and worth our time! :) I do wish TBD would carry the book so I could order the paperback. :)

Disappointed. As much as I love Magnus... I am expecting MORE to this Bane Chronicles. But as of now, it keeps getting my hopes up. And I still want to think that on the nezt one, there'll be SOMETHING. Something that is worth knowing, fun to read, so Magnus that I just want to keep on reading the book forever. I mostly scan the first part, the description over boring stuffs. I mean, the place is Paris, it's supposed to be a fun place but when I was reading it, I was bored by all the descriptions. I just want the lines and the real story behind this book. Marie Antoinette is surprisingly... a weak character. lol. Literally. Figuratively, whatever. Anyway, please... please... make it worth my time and reading the next installment, next month! PLEASE! I know Magnus is worth it, but the story is not really THAT engaging. I feel like something is wrong there. >:(

Woot! I really like Kuroko! :))) He's so cool. Wish the second season show already! :)

I haven't started the manga yet. But I am almost done with the anime. And I must say I am completely hooked with this anime/manga! :)

Got it! :) Thanks Edelweiss and Penguin Group (Dutton)! :)

I knew it would leave me hanging like that AIA book. Now I am like Hazel, wanting to know what happened next. If she died too like Anna in AIA. I hate you, John Green for ending it like that. >:( Whatever.And as much as I really wanna hate John Green, I don't. Not really. Like the AIA book (this book is just a fictional book and doesn't really exist, it was just mentioned in TFOS book), I know that it just feel right to end like that. It's appropriate. Although it just leave me wanting to know what happened with the other character... I'm okay with the ending. The Fault in Our Stars got really high praises from almost everyone I know from Goodreads. My real life friends (those who had already read the book) says that I would love the book and will cry like they did. Well, yeah I was expecting it to be so epic. WHAT? Put yourself in my shoes and of course you'll expect something high from it.Did my expectation meets the book's praises from everyone? Well, yeah! But not that much. I mean, first part of the book, I'm waiting for the crying part. And got nothing. But that's okay. I told myself, it's just the first part, of course there's no crying yet. Middle part, still got nothing. Although I'm quite satisfied with how the story is developing.I love Augustus, love Hazel, I like them together. I like how they try to be with each other even with all the sickness they both got. So yeah... Slightly last part (maybe between the middle and last part of the book), I got a bit shocked. Because well he relapsed. I guess that it is a possibility even though they cleared you at first and still clear for a long time. Also, I don't like how Gus told his friend (forgot his name) and Hazel to make an Obituary for him. It just breaks my heart. Still does whenever I think of it, like right now. I'm a bit teary eyed remembering how and what they wrote for him in case he dies. I would never be strong enough to write about my loved ones for their funeral. I would never be strong enough to tell them to write one, in the first place. But that last part? I freakin' cried. WHY?! Why... It's just so sudden. I turn the next page, on the next chapter... HE DIED?! WHY?! JUST. LIKE. THAT. I was like. WHAT?! :((( and then I love the letter he made for the author of AIA. It was really for Hazel. How he felt for her. It's just so... heartbreaking. Because he's gone and all that. And I feel what Hazel was feeling while reading the letter. I feel like there's more to the letter when it got cut off. Yeah. It ends with the letter. But I really feel that there's still some message left. I do think it was cut because Hazel dies too. Yeah. Sad. :(I don't really like reading books where one of the main characters die. That's why I never read Nicholas Sparks books anymore. But anyway... The plot of this TFOS is really good. The characters are well created, well-thought. It shows what happens to people who have cancer. How they feel. I know it might not be what they REALLY think because they might lose hope... but this book is about learning to live while you can. Hoping that one day you'll be okay. That SOMEONE is still there to love you unconditionally. Who support you without question asks because they love you so much. It's not just about the person who got cancer. It's also about the people around them. Their loved ones trying to cope, it might always be rough... but again... Don't lose hope. I know it is hard. SO hard and SO EASY to just give it all up. But if you could still can... DON'T. I might be interpreting the book wrong... but that's how I felt after reading it. So that's just my opinion and you are entitled to yours too. :)

Eeppp... What?! SIX BOOKS? Er... Okay. I'm late for the news. Or maybe I just forgot all about it... But seriously? Six Books? What would happen? Sigh. REVIEW:For the last three books... Of course, including this one... I always gave out 3 stars... I am a very big fan of Vampire Academy in which Bloodlines originated from. So I feel kinda bad that I'm not rating this series higher. I wanted to... but there's just something in this series that really bored me to the point where I read this for days, one time, for a whole week or two. But although I got bored by this book, yet again, I think this one is a bit better than the last two. Well, yes, I still rate it 3 stars. The story or plot is not that appealing to me. I do read magic stuffs, I read magical stuffs, but ugh. I don't know. I can't explain WHY I am not gushing over this series.I like Sydney Sage even before this spin-off. And who wouldn't like Adrian Ivashkov? Of course I do too. So when they were introduced in the Vampire Academy series... I feel like I know them already before Bloodlines start. SO, imagine, in this book, I feel like I didn't know them AT ALL. I feel like the characters were re-written all over again. But maybe, that's just me feeling that way. Cause I certainly got friends who liked the books. I like how story got something going on. I mean actions. And thrill. Oh. I think that's what's missing. VA is full of actions and thrill whereas Bloodlines is more like... theoretical, if it were based on lessons. And I am NOT a fan of theoretical subjects. I want the actions. Oh yeah, I like how Sydney finally decided to go a BIG STEP higher. How she finally thinks for her own good and for her loved ones. I like that she finally embraces things. I was like, "Finally!" and I kinda don't like it when she's being stupid. lol. Well, that's geniuses for you. Stupid when it came to emotions. I hated how she's so undecided about Adrian. There's this line of Adrian, too, saying that Sydney was giving him 'mixed signals'. I was like, 'Huh. Remember Rose? You told her that too, Adrian.' >.< Anyway, for fans of VA and Bloodlines, a definitely must read because it's so much better than the first two in my opinion. That's saying something. :P

WHAT happened next?! :oThis book is like a mixture of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and The Maze Runner by James Dashner. The Hunger Games because there is TESTING in this book, see the title? LOL. Well, THG basically got testing too. But unlike THG, I get why they have Hunger Games. In The Testing, I don't understand why they have the testing. Is it because the resources are scarce? I mean if they are trying to rebuild their country, Colony in fact, aren't they going to want all the people they could get so they could help the colony regrow to what it's state before the War?So sure, they also do the Testing to select the future leader for the United Commonwealth but still, it's just a bit weird (?) that they do it like that. If someone could explain it to me well, please do comment. >.< Or maybe I'll have an epiphany later when I'm done with this review and about to sleep. :)In any case, the world building is great. I quite like it. I find the other parts, gross like it should be, I felt connected whenever Cia do something for herself or Tomas when they are on the fourth part of the test. The way it was written is good too. It compels me to read it (I know! It took me a long time to read it because I am easily distracted by some things. >_< but you do get my point, don't you?) and wanted to finish it fast but yeah, end up reading it for 4 days or so, because I got work.Oh yeah, I did mention that it also resemble The Maze Runner, well just because of the reason WHY they have that. Why there's testing, why the people in TMR were also evaluated and they use reasoning, I mean there's an ulterior motive for the better good of the country, or so the antagonists tells us. That it would help us in the long run that's why we do the tests.Overall, I quite like it, although the ending leaves me a bit hanging and I already wanted to know what would happen after discovering the Transit Communicator's record. >.< Please let me read the second book! And thank you to Netgalley for letting me read the book.P.S. The romance is OKAY. Not really the focus of the story I believe. But I think it's just there just because. *shrugs* Either way, I'm fine with it.

I don't actually know what to think about this book. Pretty good. But it's a bit boring unlike the first one, Frost. BUT, I do admit that I freakin' like Adam. I liked him from the start of this series. I knew or maybe I hoped that in the end they'll be together. I don't like Gabe that much, actually. And I am glad that it's not insta-love, for a change.And I did suspect something about THAT girl. And... and... uh, one thing I don't like in the book is that some of the characters are too stubborn for their own good. I don't like that... >.< I hate it when one would say that you should not do this because it'll might get you hurt and one would answer back that it will not and that he/she wanted to help and they keep on pressing the issue. UGH. DISLIKE it.Anyway, I'm off to read the third book next week, maybe. :)