HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE!

Tis' the season to be jolly, *falsetto voice* fa la la la ~ la la la *cracks up*

Anyway, Christmas already passed and the New Year awaits us in a few hours. Time flies really fast, eh? To share our Christmas celebration, we just had the usual family gathering which used to be chaotic and in an uproar, but this year only a few relatives showed up. Some of my aunts and uncles as well as my dad work abroad. Some of my little cousins were away from us. So in short, it was really serene and calm, but hey, we still enjoyed it with the chatter and FOOD. You can never go wrong with FOOD. <3 My mom, sister and I will have a simple New Year's Eve dinner celebration + watch fireworks light the sky<33 So excited!

I wish everyone a wonderful and epic 2015! Be happy and get wasted (just suggesting (;) 

NINE   B O O K S   O F   2014

Second part of this post is about my top reads for 2014!!!! I was supposed to do Jamie's end of the year survey, but while I was doing it, I realized how repetitive my answers were for I read a few books this year. Frankly, I admit that 2014 was a terrible reading year for me. 5 star books were so elusive this year. I don't know what I have been reading, but seeing my TEN 5-star ratings made me want to re-evaluate my choices in life. It didn't help too that I was so busy with college this year. Click on the covers for goodreads page.

I highly recommend all these to everyone! These books absolutely made my year epic and superb. Some of these are part of a series that I already started way back and some were from authors that I haven't heard before <3.

It's no secret to anyone that I am pertaining to Marie Lu. You already see that coming right? And the pun up there. Anyway, I may be typing this coherently but inside I'm still shaking with a lot of IS THIS REAL LIFE questions swirling. I mean, come on, your favorite in front of you signing your book, listening to your blabber, saying thank yous and smiling so sweetly IT IS TOO UNREAL, but it is real and I am feeling the hangover.

I've been in love with her debut series ever since I finished Legend. Then Prodigy (which is my absolute favorite of the 3). And then  down to the SOUL-SEARING last book which is Champion. I love all of these. But wait, there's more! We have The Young Elites which racked my brain and stomped over my heart (IT IS JUST THE FIRST BOOK! What more to happen on the next 2!!! I'm scared and ecstatic!) So you see, there are so many greatness of Marie Lu that makes her my ultimate favorite author (but Riordan, Ee, Clare, West, Wolf coming real close). And above everything, she created Daniel AltanWing (ULTIMATEST-NO-SUCH-WORD FAVORITE CHARACTER EVER!!!!!!!!!) I may have a lot like Percy, Penryn, Jem, June, Enzo, Nico, Caymen, Isis and a lot more but he really stand out.

So enough about my unwavering love for Lu ans her books, let's go to the actual book signing. It happened last Nov 23, 2014, Sunday. I didn't get to take a lot of decent pics since the venue was packed as in 700+ readers attending? Yeah, not getting any clear pic. I went to the event late about 12 nn and my number was 696! Damn. I don't know why I was laughing when I received my number, but yeah.. :D So around 2:30 pm Marie Lu arrived and almost everyone rushed in front to get a good look. There was no stopping everyone. The energy was so palpable and it really energized me. Let's get a good run down about the interview aka here are some facts. Note: some are non-verbatim. I recorded the whole interview (just sounds since I couldn't a good angle without an ipad/tablet blocking my view haha).

Sept 27, 2013 - With an itty-bitty book blogging idea and just my love for books and expressing my feelings as my armor, I clicked blogger.com and created a book blog. I felt like I entered a different world and totally felt out of place during my first months. But, hey, it got better eventually and now I am here typing my 1st anniversary post! ♥ Sadly, this post is not only for my blogversary but also my bid of mini-goodbye (let's save that later.)

Who would've thought that this blog would last for a year? I am a blogger since 15 but book blogging was something very different and scary for me at first. So when people started commenting on my blog - I TOTALLY FREAKED OUT. Questions like: IS THERE A BOOK BLOGGER HANDBOOK? WHAT ARE THE GOLDEN RULES IN BOOK BLOGGING? WHAT DO I DO NOW?? surfaced inside my head for the first 6 months! But as I told a while ago, it got better and so much fun!!

Thank you Stacie, Aimee, Val, Chiara, Mitchii, Becky, Emily, Cait, Lola, Rachel, Dre, Missie, Laura, Zoe, Naban, Olgia, Hazel aaaand to everyone (AS IN TO EVERYONE!!!) who've been on my blog reading or commenting! I am still in awe of this accomplishment of mine. I won't show stats, but I just want to tell everyone that THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU SO MUCH!! You guys are all awesome and wonderful. To those bloggers who nominated me for blog awards - THANK YOU!!! I haven't done anything about those, but I am truly grateful! ♥ 

The sad part is, I am typing this with a heavy heart. Unfortunately, I failed an exit exam in math and it is currently breaking my heart into pieces. It's depressing....so so so freaking heartbreaking for me. It sucks though, when my relatives start questioning my failure, "You're an engineering student but you failed a math exit exam?" I seriously don't know what will I say. I am a human, you know, it's not all the time that I'll succeed over everything, but I am going to be okay. I am going to be better; I am going to change for the better. I cried and cried already and that's enough tears, it's time to stand up and improve. I might not be all right entirely at the moment, but I know I'll feel better eventually. I am going to take another exit exam this coming term and I am going to be sure I am 101% prepared. I will do my very best and I won't disappoint my family and myself this time :D Excuse the dramatic part :'D I am not going to blog for the mean time until I feel like I can handle things in college + my other hobbies together. I won't be giving this up entirely because it became part of my soul already that is why I'll take a hiatus for the mean time (although I am already on a hiatus haha).

 Let's all be happy & positive!

I can not hold a book giveaway right now, but I will be giving away Marie Lu books on November because.........I'll be attending Marie Lu's book signing here in the Philippines this NOVEMBER! *squeeee* *squeee some more!* *squeeeeeeeeeee* favorite author, hello!!!!!!

This is not a very comprehensible, detailed review because I don't have the capacity to. HAHA. I am a bum right now, but let's discuss the movie shall we?

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This movie succeeds to remain ominous but highly entertaining. The maze, the glade, down to all the visual effects were all fascinating. I couldn't agree no more when they say that they really brought out the book to movie setting-wise. However, when it comes to the chair-grabbing and mind-blowing aspect, it was really lacking. It's not that it wasn't that enjoyable, but for some who seek for an all out action and "oh shoot thAT WAS INTENSE" I was really expecting more. The maze.. oh the maze... I hope they maximized the visual of the maze. All the running were pretty short. These are my only quibbles because the movie has really exciting, intriguing and surprising things to offer.

Congratulations to the whole crew of The Maze Runner for being #1 box office movie!! Now, I am ready for Phase 2 aka The Scorch Trials on Sept 18, 2015

but no shit guys. dylan is the bae bUT YOU CAN NOT JUST NOT SWOON OVER THIS GUY

Have you watched the movie? What are your thoughts about it? Did you get all heart eyes over Thomas Sangster like I did?

HELLO EVERYONE!!

→ I am so behind with blog posts. I haven't opened bloglovin for two weeks and I seriously missed lots of posts of you guuuys D: I am going to make up for it and try to hop from one blog to another. I am sad that I won't be able to attend to Manila International Book Fair....because of some reasons. It's a total bummer but I promised to myself that I am going to attend next year's book fair.

When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.

Never ask about the past.
Don’t expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated.
Promises get broken.
Rules get shattered.
Love gets ugly.

WHAT.
THE.
FU.
IS.
THIS.
(this is not poetry, Colleen. It's not and not and not!!!!)
SHOW SPOILER

"My new favorite flavor is Rachel.
My new favorite thing is Rachel.
I want Rachel for my birthday.
I want Rachel for Christmas.
I want Rachel for graduation."

The only good thing about this book is Cap/Sam.

“If that boy can't see what a good thing he could have with you, then he ain't worth your time.”

“Some people they grow wiser as they grow older. Unfortunately, most people just grow older.” 

“When life gives you lemons, make sure you know whose eyes you need to squeeze them in.”  

Rabid hole? Well, no spoilers!!! Shhhh. It has been weeks since I finished this book and up to now, I am still not sure if I am coherent enough to write a review. But one thing is for sure: I absolutely loved this. The hype surrounding this book really gave justice to my reading experience. Splintered delivers a brilliant retelling of Alice in Wonderland. It has a quaint, rich world building, a stunning plot, a can-I-just-split-my-heart-in-two kind of romance and overall evocative.

That's the thing about our main character, Alyssa. She has this eerie senses of hearing insects and flowers murmur cryptic messages. Nothing made sense at first. Her mom is stuck in Asylum for "weary minds." She keeps hearing things. And there are glimpses of her childhood that seems so blurry but bizarre. Alyssa is a character that is on the gray mark. I definitely liked her, but not the like as in we-can-be-bffs kind of way. She's bright and determined. Praise the heavens for not having a whiny and stubborn main character here. Once she got pass the first stage of confusion, she got herself into the rabbit hole and finally tried to find a way to stop their family's curse.

When I got to the Wonderland setting, my mind instantly was blown away. The vividness and intricate description of Howard's version of Wonderland made me shiver in delight and excitement. It's dark and haunting, but also whimsical and enticing. I get to picture the Wonderland creatures and also the human beings in clear prospect. So if you're expecting something like this:

Better lay it down and start imagining things to go on a maddening series turn of events and prepare for a little jarring romance. There, I said it. The romance didn't made me buzzy, I felt conflicted about it. There's a love triangle and I don't take love triangles in a light way. I treat love triangles like it is a plague. I just don't like love triangles. It made me woozy and edgy. And this book wasn't an exception, which leads us to the love interests: Jeb and Morpheus.

Jeb is the mundane love interest. He was a little overbearing and that ticked me off in a wrong way. But he's realistic and the bestfriend of Alyssa. As much as I hate love triangles, the childhood/bestfriend relationship knocked something in me. Morpheus is literally a moth that can transform into a gorgeous person (and he's darn inconclusive.) You can never tell! Do I like him? Yes. Yes because he is:

Author: Richelle Mead

Series: Vampire Academy #2

Date of Publication: April 2008

Add to Goodreads

½

Synopsis:

Join the Vampire Academy and Experience Augmented Reality. Click here and put your face on the cover of a best seller book. Are you tempted? Watch "Vampire Academy" come to life with your likeness! Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose...

It's winter break at St. Vladimir's, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy's crawling with Guardians--including Rose's hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if handto- hand combat with her mom wasn't bad enough, Rose's tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason's got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa's head while she's making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy's not taking any risks.... This year, St. Vlad's annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price... 

Previous post: SEE-REESE: Sea Breeze by Abbi Glines.

What is the whole series all about?

• Thomas, Minho, Teresa, Newt (All names came from famous scientists and also religion figure).

The Maze Runner (TMR #1): [3 point something stars]

This book really piqued my interest. For what is worth it, I devoured it in one day. I will be very honest, the book has a very solid world which I thought wasn't executed well. There were a number of things that bothered me, but the book got the intense, thrilling feeling of suspense. You just want to read it quickly to unravel more secrets and to know how will they escape the maze. I love tricky and twisting plots, it makes me think and mull over subtle details on the things happening and this book really had it 'til the last page. 

The Scorch Trials (TMR #2): [4 stars]

Ooooh, the series got better! If the first book is the appetizer, this is the main course. This book had me clutching on my e-reader because of the poignancy and vehemency of the events. The characters were bent to its finest, and I really felt bad for them. But they remained indomitable and solid 'til the end. The character development was very noticeable and it was not hard to love the characters for they still are funny and witty although some jokes were out of place. 

The Death Cure (TMR #3): [IDK-HOW-TO-RATE-THIS-BOOK-STARS] 

WHAT THE FREAK JUST HAPPENED? This is not a spoiler but to take caution, I sort of made the rest of this review invincible lol just highlight if you want: The answers! Where were the answers? It was like dumping a lot of problems and queries in two books to be just neglected in the ending! SAY WHAT? I loved Thomas, I do, but he was a freaking idiot most of the time and dragged others to hell and back. And the plot twist at the end? MY HEART BROKE T_T I was misty-eyed but still a little fierce over what happened all in all. I was disappointed, but the first hundred pages served as the saving glory. It was really the conclusion to this book that got my mind buzzing and reeling from lots of emotions mainly - hurt, baffle, annoyed and unsatisfied.

The solid and strong camaraderie & bond among the characters to work together was wonderful. All the characters were darn brilliant and remarkably strong-willed. I love Minho the most, he was funny and a born leader. Thomas on the other hand is a lovely character. The whole series was in third POV but more focused on Thomas' perspective. I had a few share of my quibbles and frustration over Thomas, and also Teresa, but I both like them 'til the end. The story progressed without much involvement of the romance. Very potent plot with so much twists and contortion. For someone who is engrossed with post-apocalytic and dystopian settings, I was really hooked and infatuated with the story and characters!