Book Review: Under The Never Sky (Under The Never Sky #1) by Veronica Rossi

Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Year Published: 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 376
Rating: 

Spoilers Free!

Since she'd been on the outside, she'd survived an Aether storm, she'd had a knife held to her throat, and she'd seen men murdered.

This was worse.

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland—known as The Death Shop—are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent energy storms will. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild—a savage—and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile—everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must come together to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

Okay.. I am actually conflicted whether on giving this book 3 or 4 stars.. this time there is no in between..

I honestly enjoyed this book. I really like the world setting and development. I think it was unique and different. There were elements combination of sci-fi-dystopian and primitive-fantasy. It was like there was two worlds in the story. Both were very different, but related. And they were on earth. One lived in the security of isolated dome, and the other one lived constantly in danger of deadly storm (and other weird things) outside the dome. Both were also different in the sense of how they rule their own world.

Then the story plot and character development. I really like the idea of the story plot, but maybe there were quite many different things going on, sometimes I just had "what what what just happened?!" reactions. Still I adore the plot thou, think it was different and refreshing. And as for the characters, I love how complex they could be. But again there were quite many different things going on in these characters as well that also gave me "what what what?! She/He is what?!" reactions.

and here was my problem also why it can be 3 stars.. I pretty much enjoyed the first 280-ish pages and the last 50 pages. And pages between the first 280 pages to the last 50 pages were kinda let me down a bit. Somewhere along where they were on the run from the cannibal tribe and the saccharine-sweet-romance that was happening, there were slightly.....off a bit moments? well I don't know, I just felt that way.. but hey at least the last 50 pages towards the end, the story was kinda picking up again and it even surprised me.

Why it can be 4 stars.. the world setting and well.. mainly because I love the unexpected surprises that this book gave me. Quite many things, that I did not see them coming (nor even think).. and the ending, got to love that one.. Pretty good cliffhanger.. And I could not help to find myself wanting to read the sequel. So it got to be good ;)

yup, that's pretty much summed up everything ;D

Book Review (a slightly out of ordinary one): The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Spoilers Free!

Year Published: 2013
Publisher: Atria Books
Pages: 448 pages
Rating: 

Thanks NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with the eBook :)

I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.

Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.

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Since yesterday (15 Feb 2013), I am officially an emotional-wrecked! Thanks to a certain vampire tv series and its angst/tragic/beautiful ship that is my current ultimate OTP. YES! I am talking about you, #TVD S04E14!



And today, I finished reading this book (16 Feb 2013), and it just adds more emotional battle in my heart and soul..



I don't expect that I can be more emotionally-exhausted-and-drained after yesterday.. But it seems it's very much possible..

coz now I am just full of feels and emotions.. and I just don't know what to do..



Okay, so let's talk about this book..

WHAT WITH ALL OF THESE FICTIONAL CHARACTERS??? You guys ruin my life.. huhu (not that I am complaining thou..).. But still... what you guys have done to me?!

Nastya and Josh..... what I can say about them... I feel for these two so much.. Two people who were coming from two different worlds and have their own messed up lives with terrible histories.. They were facing their own demon and isolated from people around them.. Then it was like fate and destiny had their own plan to have these two met and saved each other..

This book has a very beautiful story line, amazing writing, and great character developments..

Like seriously, I don't know what to write, coz I just feel so much when I read this book.. It was like I could feel what these characters feel.. 

I love how are these characters were written.. especially for Nastya and Josh as the female and male leads in this book. How their characters were shaped from their painful pasts that had caused them to be socially isolated and misunderstood. Although, they were still very much admirable! How strong they were in facing uncertainties in life and how they fought and saved each other.. it was really beautiful and heartfelt.. It just seemed like they were different, but actually they were the same..I could also kinda relate to other characters in the book who were pretty awesome as well.

Then the story line.... I enjoyed the SL so much.. It was great and captivating! love how the writing kinda make the story easy to digest, but still without losing its charms and purpose..

I put this book in the category of New-Adult book.. This one works for me like charm! I love it! definitely goes to my favorite books category..

I got this ebook for review, and I most certain will love to buy a copy of this.. It was just such a beautiful read.. and wish I can hug the writer.... *sending Katja Millay a virtual hugs..*


This was (and still is) my favorite lines from the book:
"Maybe one day you'll come back, Maybe you never will and that'll suck, but you can't keep doing this. The blame and the self-loathing and the bullshit. I can't watch that. It makes me hate you for hating yourself. I don't want to lose you. But I'd rather lose you if it means you'll be happy. I think if you come back with me today, you'll never be okay. And I'll never be okay if you aren't. I need to know that there's away for people like us to end up okay. I need to know that there even is such a thing as okay, or maybe not just okay, maybe even good, and it's out there and we just haven't found it yet. There's got to be a happier ending than this here. There's got to be a better story. Because we deserve one. You deserve one. Even if it doesn't end with you coming back to me."

Maybe my only problem was just, I continued reading this book till finish after I watched a very emotional scene on TVD 4x14, especially Klaroline scenes.. and I just could not help to have Feels-Attack.. coz Nastya and Josh kinda remind me of Klaus and Caroline.. (in their own very way..)

And suddenly I think of this..... O(T^T)O



Sorry for this slightly weird review.. At the moment I am just having so much emotions going on for these four characters.. so it was kinda mixed and I just can not help myself to feel it that way.. hiks.. fictional characters you are going to be the death of me..



*Gifs are not mine, they are belonged to their respectful owners who are very awesome people! ;*

Book Review (SPOILERS FREE!): Cinder by Marissa Meyer (Lunar Chronicles Series #1)

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

SPOILERS FREE!

Year Published: 2012
Publisher: Puffin
Pages: 390
Rating: 

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, the ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizenwith a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

me after reading Cinder:

I can't properly function right now............. I just need to read the sequel at this second!....... (T^T)

Btw..... it's.....

SOLID FIVE GOLD STARS! (and maybe more.........)!

I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK! This book has exceeded my expectation!

At first, I was kinda reluctant to read this book.. It was just because it's a retelling story of Cinderella with Cyborgs in it.. and it did not sound appealing to me.. and oh dear God, how happy I am to be proven soooo wrong........ I thank everyone who kept forcing me to read this book.. I need to have a group hug..

This book goes easily directly to my all time fave books! This book is so amazing! ultra-awesome! It's Dystopian! It's Post-apocalyptic! It's Sci-Fi!

I love the story-line! Probably one of the best story-lines I ever read.. It has the right pace, right amount of action, mysteries, conspiracies, and romance, and importantly, great story development. What I like the most from Cinder was that although you can guess a certain thing, but it still can surprise and shock you, thanks to the great timing of revealing that thing..

One other thing that I really love is its originality. Despite of being a retelling book of Cinderella story, it still owned its story-line. It's original and unique. Totally no-where near Cinderella story.. xp

The characters......................... AMAZING Characterization of these awesome fictional characters, whether they are the antagonists or the protagonists.. You just can not help to get drawn with so much feelings to these characters.. Love how Marissa wrote these characters <3 I love Cinder and Kai chemistry, I just love these two characters a lot.. then there is also Dr. Erland, not so much of him, but he is one interesting character.. then Queen Levana, Adri, and Pearl, I hate these three characters with all my being.. haha..

I wonder what had Marissa Meyer been thinking when she wrote this book, how she got the idea.. Because I am still mesmerized by the world setting of this book.. and the story line... and Thank God, I already pre-ordered Scarlett, the sequel of Cinder.. Can't wait to read it.. The ending of this book was quite a cliffhanger!

If you haven't read this book, I strongly urge you to go to a bookstore or open any of book-shopping online website and get this book! It's really a great read! <3

January 2013 Wrap Up!!!

Hiya, so these were the books that I read in January 2013.. There were books that I didn't post any reviews, because maybe I want to review it soon I finish reading all the series or I really didn't like it (*cough* Losing It *cough*).. As for Beautiful Creatures, that was different story.. it was just because the movie is coming out this Feb ;)

It turned out that my January TBR list was kinda a failed-attempt.. I didn't read any classics or modern classics.. xp soooooo here they are....

LATE What's New #6 (Book Haul) post: December 2012 (Birthday/Christmas/New Year) and January 2013!

Sorry for the late post.. so I put my December 2012 and January 2013 book hauls in one post..

I have mentioned on my previous post that lots of things happened in December. I have my birthday then we also have Christmas and New Year which mean many big sales happening at my favorite bookstores here in Jakarta. I got myself some pretty awesome books during the sales and I also tried for the first time this great website that sells second hand books for a good cause (check better world books  out)! I bought two books from that website and they had arrived safely! Also I got discount coupons from book depository, so I used it as well and got pretty decent prices for books that I want. Also, Periplus is one of our local bookstores that sells imported books here in Jakarta and they have this new service called Periplus Online which just basically you buy books online, but they had big sales in December 2012 so I ordered some awesome books with unbelievably great deals! and if you visited their stores back than in December 2012, they also had major sales going on. Not to mention at Books&Beyond, they have 20% discount for all-items. Kinokuniya is probably the only bookstore here in Jakarta that rarely gives any discounts and their books is very expensive compare to the other two (Periplus and Books&Beyond), but I got one discounted book (and it was the only one copy left) there. So I guess I was pretty lucky.

Okay, let's roll!

I got Beauty Queens and The Gargoyle at Better World Books, those are two of my very first time bought second hand books. I am happy with their conditions and the service of better world books.

Most of the books above were on sales or discounted except for Days of Blood and Starlight (T.T), I bought that coz it was just pretty and the only one left..

Bought Bloodline, The Golden Lily, an Abundance of Katherine, Paper Towns, and This is Not a Test at Periplus Online Bookshop. They were on sales at the time. 

The Art of Fielding was probably the only book I got on sale at Kinokuniya. And it was the only copy left, so had to buy it.

not so sure about Wither and the rest of the series. But it was on sale, so I decided to give it a try..

and for my birthday, I got:

and

So now I have two copies of The Passage by Justin Cronin. Someone knew very well how much I love to fangirl over Joseph Morgan. And he loves this book and talked about it on his Twitter. So I probably will do a giveaway on my other copy of The Passage or just give it to my friend - haven't decided it yet.

and Caster Chronicles boxset in hardbacks is just AMAZING! one of those unbelievably gorgeous book covers! Love it! I finished reading the first book, see my review about it (click here)!

Alright then, I guess those are all the books I got in the past two months (I have problem on controling my impulse of buying books). Now I just need to read them all! 

Books mentioned on pictures:

- Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

- White Cat by Holly Black

- Red Glove by Holly Black

- Gravity by Melissa West

- The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

- The Princess Bride by William Goldman

- Shiver Trilogy: Shiver, Linger, Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

- Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

- World War Z by Max Brooks

- The Shining by Stephen King

- The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

- Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover

- Slammed by Colleen Hoover

- Book of Thief by Markus Zusak

- Wither by Lauren DeStefano

- The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

- This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

- Paper Towns by John Green

- An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

- The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

- Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

- The Caster Chronicles Boxset: Beautiful Creatures, B. Darkness, B. Chaos, and B. Redemption) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

- The Passage by Justin Cronin

Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

buy the book:
Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Spoilers Free!

Publisher: Little Brown
Year Published: 2009
Pages: 563


There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

I still can't get over the ending. This book was a roller-coaster journey. Full of twists and mind-boggling moments. Definitely my favorite!

First let me tell you about the cover. I am rarely talking about the cover, thou it's essential and one of those things that lure us to read a book, but it's never really a big of a deal for me. But all covers in the Caster Chronicles series are just amazing! They are GORGEOUS! Elegant, simple and enchanting! very delicious on the eyes! (haha, if that even a right english sentence). Oh well, as long as the message is clear, I LOVE the covers!

Alright, everything that makes a book very enjoyable to read, for me, you can get it from this book. The story is unique and original! Love the idea! I adore the idea! as for the story-flow, I found the first 100 pages of the book was a bit slow. But since then it was really picking up big time! My favorite would be the last 200ish pages towards the end.. Everything went crazy! SO GOOD!

Characters! very unique perspective! This is one of many books out-there that written from male-POV. But I like the fact that Ethan is just a mortal with no (actual supernatural/paranormal) power, just a plain good teenage boy. If it's a typical YA book, the person-POV of the book got to be someone with the power or the designated hero (Thou Ethan is kinda a hero in a way too). If this book was told from Lena POV, I don't think it would be as exciting as it is. I Love Ethan Wate, the lead male character of the book. He is just ordinary and smart, love that he stands to what he believes. I also love Macon Ravenwood, Lena's uncle and Link, Ethan's bestfriend. Lena is okay for me. Other characters, the Gatlin folks and all caster-clan (whether they're light or dark) members are really intriguing and interesting. Those characters annoyed me, intrigued me, and made me laugh. Love how the author wrote and developed their characters and all of their aspects..

Other thing that made me so excited to read the book is because this book is made into a movie! It will hit the theatre in February 2013. I believe it will be in the first week of Feb.. oh well, just check out the awesome movie trailer! Yes, are you excited?????! I know I am xp

Trailer #1

Trailer #2

Book Review: Tempestuous by Kim Askew & Amy Helmes

Tempestuous by Kim Askew & Amy Helmes

Publisher: Merit Press
Date Published: 18 December 2012
Rating: 

Thank you, Merit Press for a copy of this ;)

No one understood teen angst like the Bard, as authors Askew and Helmes prove with a hilarious twist on The Tempest

Working off her debt to society (not to mention her father), former prep princess Miranda Prospero now wears the crown of a spinning frankfurter at her job making Hot Dog Kabobs at a Minneapolis mall. When a city-stopping blizzard strands Miranda and the mall workers with the oddest of the die-hard shoppers, she decides to wreak vengeance on the social-climbing clique who froze her out. The townies and the preps line up for battle with whatever merchandise comes to hand, while a rent-a-cop searches for what may be an armed robber. Accidentally (and literally) stuck to Caleb, a rough-cut boy with a heart of gold who would have been beneath her notice just a month before, Miranda learns more about the human heart and human nature in one night than in all of the rest of her life.

About the Authors:

Kim Askew, co-author of Tempestuous: A Twisted Lit Novel, whose work has appeared in Elle and other magazines, is a content manager for the Webby-winning teen site www.FashionClub.com, for which she has covered the Teen Choice and MTV awards. Follow Kim on Twitter. 

Amy Helmes, co-author of Tempestuous: A Twisted Lit Novel, is co-author of Boys of a Feather: A Field Guide to American Males and is also a weekly contributor to The Rundown, a free daily e-mail service that keeps subscribers informed on what's new and cool in LA. Follow Amy on Twitter.

Both Kim and Amy think Shakespeare understood the young's true love and pain like no other, from Hamlet's sorry stepdad to Juliet's trauma drama, hence this literate farce, based on "The Tempest."

My Review:

I LOVE IT! Yaaaaaaahhhhooooooooooo!!!

Okay, I definitely heart this book..

Like seriously I love the simple story-line, I love the characters, I love the writing! 

The story line was simple, it was story about a girl who was punished by being employed at a Hot Dog Kebab counter at a food court mall. Then suddenly there was a lock-down at the mall because of bad snow-storm. And people were trapped inside the mall had to stay there until the next morning.. But for an overnight lock-down at a mall, surely lots of things happened there.. hehe.. what I meant by that was many fun things happened! ;)

*cute-typical-teen-romance (checked)

*crime mystery but not scary (checked)

*a bit of Lord of the Flies by William Golding (or not) ( even if it was, definitely without the killing, no one dead in this book, also it just happened and ended in a flash, coz there was so much fun going on in there)

*(evil or not so evil) clique-clash (checked)

*cute-fun-fresh-and-intelligent-banters (checked), I always love intelligent banters between characters whether it's in books, movies, or tv shows.. 

*teen-moral-messages (checked)

love the fast-paced story without any unnecessary things added to it. But maybe it was just too quick, because I really like it and wished there was more to it, but overall I am quite satisfied :)

the characters! BIG LOVE for all of them! hehe.. the relationship between Miranda and Caleb definitely reminded me so much of Dan and Blair (from Gossip Girl TV show-S3-S4-S5, the most beautiful, believable, and intelligent OTP ever!).. I just love the characters in this book, it showed how unique and lovable they were.. and Miranda, I love her development as a person.. *fictional hugs to awesome fictional character*

and the writing! It was just soooooo clever and not too teen-ish (if that even a proper english word). What can I say, I just love the writing, I mean it was really great, different (compare to other typical high school romance cute teen story books), interesting and intelligent. <3 <3 <3

Will definitely buy this book to support the author (will wait for the paperback version to come out!)

A very RE-readable book! I can just imagine myself, rereading this book for many times.. such an (extremely) enjoyable read!