April Wrap Up

This is a feature where I post about my life, blog and books in one month

Can't believe it's the end of April already! It seems just yesterday I celebrate my birthday. Anyway, here's my recap of this month.

Release Day Blitz : An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

I am so excited that AN EMBER IN THE ASHES by Sabaa Tahir releases today and that I get to share the news, along with a special introduction from Sabaa herself!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author Sabaa Tahir, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a signed copies of the book and some of those awesome sword letter openers we’ve seen around courtesy of Sabaa, Penguin Teen, and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

A letter from Sabaa Tahir :

Dear Readers,

Today, my “baby” AN EMBER IN THE ASHES is finally out in the world! From inception to pub date, this journey took eight years. And what a journey it was: writing, rewriting, revising, editing, querying, submitting; Meeting other debuts, bloggers, booksellers and librarians, and hearing their thoughts on EMBER. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe the radness.

And now, the book is here! I am so excited to see it in the hands of readers. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. To celebrate release day, I’m giving away two signed, first-edition hardcovers of the book. Details below!

All my best,

Sabaa

About The Book :

Title: AN EMBER IN THE ASHES

Author: Sabaa Tahir

Pub. Date: April 28, 2015

Publisher: Razorbill

Pages: 464

Find it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Goodreads

Set in a terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, An Ember in the Ashes is an epic fantasy debut about an orphan fighting for her family and a soldier fighting for his freedom. It’s a story that’s literally burning to be told.

LAIA is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire’s greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution.

ELIAS is the academy’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias is considering deserting the military, but before he can, he’s ordered to participate in a ruthless contest to choose the next Martial emperor.

When Laia and Elias’s paths cross at the academy, they find that their destinies are more intertwined than either could have imagined and that their choices will change the future of the empire itself.

Book Trailer :

About Sabaa Tahir :

Sabaa Tahir grew up in California’s Mojave Desert at her family’s 18-room motel. There, she spent her time devouring fantasy novels, raiding her brother’s comic book stash and playing guitar badly. She began writing An Ember in the Ashes while working nights as a newspaper editor. She likes thunderous indie rock, garish socks and all things nerd. Sabaa currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family.

Author site :
WEBSITE | TWITTER | PINTEREST | GOODREADS | TUMBLR | INSTAGRAM

GIVEAWAY

Details :

2 winners will receive a signed hardcover of AN EMBER IN THE ASHES. US Only.

3 winners will receive a hardcover of AN EMBER IN THE ASHES and a Sword Letter Opener! US Only.

Ends on May 9^th at Midnight EST!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Top Ten All Time Favorite Authors (13)

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week topic is all time favorite authors. It's pretty hard for me since there's so many authors that I like (basically if I like the book, I like the author). Anyway, I manage to list write down the top ten, and here it is!

1. Rick Riordan

    I think you all can expect this. I love the Percy Jackson series, the Heroes of Olympus, the Kane Chronicles and his other books! And, of course, I love his wit and humor, aaand basically everything.

2. Kasie West

    Kasie West became my favorite author when I read The Distance Between Us, and so far, it's my favorite contemporary books.  I love how she write cute and adorable romance in her books!

3. Marie Lu

    I love the Legend trilogy by her, especially the writing style. It's pretty similar with Riordan's--that kind of writing style that made me hard to stop reading because every chapter always end with a cliffhanger.

4. Cassandra Clare

    I haven't read TMI yet, but I love The Infernal Devices! Cassie is really good in making an interesting plot, romance, friendship and hot boy.

5. Tahereh Mafi

    I actually just read Shatter Me a month ago, but I she's immediately became my favorite author because of her unique writing style! You really should check out her books.

6. J.K. Rowling

    I think most of you will write her name too. Harry Potter is my very first favorite book, so Rowling deserve a place in this list. If she didn't write it, I wouldn't like reading as much as I do now.

7. Jennifer E. Smith

    I only read two of her books, and even though I only rate it around 3, it's pretty addictive (not sure why, maybe because of her writing style). I really want to read her latest book, The Geography of You and Me.

8. Morgan Matson

    I actually only read Second Chance Summer, but that book is really beautiful. Not just it has an great family stories, but also it made me thinking about my family.

9. Rainbow Rowell

    I absolutely adore Fangirl! It's pretty unique, since basically it's about us fangirls. And the characters are adorable too!

10. Stephanie Perkins

      She is also became my favorite after I read Anna and the French Kiss. I love the way she write it, and of course, the setting!

So that's my top ten! What about you?

Review : The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Title : The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Author : Jennifer E. Smith
Genre : YA Contemporary
Publisher : Poppy
Release Date : January 2nd, 2012

GOODREADS | PURCHASE

Four minutes changes everything. Hadley Sullivan 17 misses her flight at JFK airport, is late to her father's second wedding in London with never-met stepmother. Hadley meets the perfect boy. Oliver is British, sits in her row. A long night on the plane passes in a blink, but the two lose track in arrival chaos. Can fate bring them together again?

Feature and Follow (5)

Feature and Follow is a feature hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read

This Week's Question :

Here is €/£/$100,000. Buy something. Anything at all! What would be the first thing you choose, and why?

Well, I think I'll spend the money for travelling to everywhere because I love it. And of course, buy many many books and books-related things! (I think we all will)

What about you? Share your FF :)

Top Ten Inspiring Quotes From Books (12)

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

So this week topic is inspiring quotes. It's pretty hard for me since I'm not one that memorize quotes from books. But here it is!

"Life is a book and there are a thousand pages I have not yet read"

- Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

"Hope is a pocket of possibility"

- Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

"It's not the changes that will break your heart; it's that tug of familiarity"

- The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, Jennifer E. Smith

"Just because you'd left something behind didn't mean that it had gone anywhere"

- Second Chance Summer, Morgan Matson

"Tell me there is still good in the world. Tell me there is still hope for all of us"

- Champion, Marie Lu

"No one can hate you with more intensity than someone who used to love you"

- The Blood of Olympus, Rick Riordan

"Sometimes it's the little things that bring that special someone back to us in some small way"

- The Distance Between Us, Kasie West

"Fear doesn't shut you down; it wakes you up"

- Divergent, Veronica Roth

"You can't live your life for other people. You've got to do what's right for you, even if it hurts some people you love"

- The Notebook, Nicholas Sparks

"The more you know who you are, and what you want, the less you let things upset you"

- Anna and the French Kiss, Stephanie Perkins

What's your top ten inspiring quotes?

Review : Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title : Shatter Me
Author : Tahereh Mafi
Genre : YA dystopia
Publisher : Harper
Release Date : October 16th, 2012

GOODREADS | PURCHASE

I have a curse
I have a gift

I am a monster
I'm more than human

My touch is lethal
My touch is power

I am their weapon
I will fight back

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior. 

Feature and Follow (4)

Feature and Follow is a feature hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read

This Week's Question :

Have you ever read a book you thought you’d hate but loved? Or vice versa?

Well, when I first bought Shatter Me, I have a feeling that I won't like it. Dystopia isn't my favorite genre, and the whole striketrough thing didn't help either. It has been sitting in my bookshelf for around 4 months before I have the courage to read it, and I END UP LOVE IT!

I'm glad I read it because if I didn't I won't meet Warner, and now I'm halfway with the second book.

What about you? :)

Top Ten Characters I'd Like to Check In With (11)

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

1. Percy Jackson and everyone from Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan

    Because, even it's the last book, Rick still ended The Blood of Olympus with a cliffhanger. I really really want to know about everyone's expression when they found out that he is still alive. Will Piper and Jason hug him so tight? Will Annabeth judo flip him?

2. Day and June from the Legend trilogy by Marie Lu

    Everyone who have read Champion must be know why I want to check in with Day and June. The epilogue is an open ending (for me) with so many possibilities.

3. Tobias Eaton from the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth

    I haven't read Allegiant yet, but I know how it end. How does Tobias living his life after you-know-what?

4. Caymen and Xander from The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

    Since this is like on of my top favorite contemporary ever, I want to know more about Caymen and Xander, especially Caymen's life after she discovered her grandparents. Does she live with them? How is Caymen and Xander's relationship going?

5. Will Herondale and Tessa Gray from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

    I just love them and want to know how their marriage life is (even though we probably got that in The Last Hours).

6. Ellie and Graham from This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

    I know that we get a sequel soon (it's called Happy Again), but the sequel start a year after the end of the first book, so I'd like to know how they're doing in that one year.

7. Harry Potter and friends from Harry Potter by J.K.Rowling

    I want to know their life after the last chapter of Deathly Hallows but before the epilogue!

8. Hazel Grace from The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

    I want to know how Grace is doing after Gus died. Does she meet someone else? (That doesn't mean I didn't ship Hazel and Gus, but Hazel deserve to be happy)

9. Taylor Edwards and her family from Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

    How do the Edwards doing after they lost their father? And how is Taylor relationship with Henry?

10. Anna and Etienne from Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

      I love them both, and I want to know more with their college life!

So that's my top ten! What about you? :)

Blog Tour : Love, Lucy by April Lindner (Review, Favorite Quotes, Giveaway)

Title : Love, Lucy
Author : April Lindner
Genre : YA contemporary
Publisher : Poppy
Release Date : January 27th, 2015

Book Links :
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository | iTunes

Summary :

While backpacking through Florence, Italy, during the summer before she heads off to college, Lucy Sommersworth finds herself falling in love with the culture, the architecture, the food...and Jesse Palladino, a handsome street musician. After a whirlwind romance, Lucy returns home, determined to move on from her "vacation flirtation." But just because summer is over doesn't mean Lucy and Jesse are over, too. 

In this coming-of-age romance, April Lindner perfectly captures the highs and lows of a summer love that might just be meant to last beyond the season.

Insurgent : Movie vs. Book

After had a week full of tests and projects, I've been going out a lot in the weekend with my friends which resulted in watching Insurgent twice. I kinda regretted it, actually, since the movie is a bit disappointing.