THE FORSAKEN (Official Book Trailer)

Oh hai der, attractive stranger at 0:33. ;D

*mentally slaps self* Sorry. ANYWAYS. This is the official book trailer for Lisa M. Stasse's debut THE FORSAKEN which comes out next month! Woot. Expect an interview with the author ;)

The YAckers have reviewed again!

And this time, the book of the month was Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (the author's name is fun to type out, hehe). The Book Keeper this time around was Donna so she'll have the review up. You should check it out :)

Overall, I was really impressed with this book. The writing was clear and grown up but still lyrical...the story was unique and I like where the story ended. It's strong enough to stand on its own but leaves a bit of wiggle room for a sequel. But even if that doesn't happen? It's well worth reading. *nods*

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Release Date: June 5th, 2012

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Source: Publisher

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

Review: I have nothing bad to say about this book. No really, absolutely NO COMPLAINTS...I can't even come up with something because I unabashedly adored this book and I must be in possession of a finished copy STAT*.

Alina Starkov, I love you. For your badass ways and that you pick yourself up after you fall...which is a lot of times. Her character development from the beginning all the way to the ending (that ending!) was something to behold; she was a stronger, wiser version of herself and it was quite the journey for her (and this reader) to get there. I even teared up at one point. Actually, just thinking about certain parts of the book have made me choke up even after I finished reading it.

The Russian culture that served as a model for the world that Bardugo creates in Ravka is skillfully written and felt tangible throughout the story; I also appreciated the linguistic aspect of the story that the author provided with the Ravkan language--it's very cool to read about. The characters in this story were also well-done: all the major players of the story to the secondary characters were  developed and I never found myself bored with any of them. Even the minor characters added suspense and drama to Alina's tale of darkness and light. Oh, and don't even get me started on The Darkling. That is one hell of a character--he walks the tightrope between scary and awesome.

Final Verdict: The finely crafted world of Ravka, the stunning cast of characters (The DARKLING! Oh mai), the heartfelt romance and the heart-pounding adventure and fear make Shadow and Bone an absolute must-read for fantasy readers! I feel incredibly lucky that this book happened to land in my mailbox all those months ago; the beautiful writing and the prickly but still endearing main character are worth reading about if you're still not convinced.

Clickables: {main site} {blog} {twitter}

*I ended up buying a finished copy when I stepped into a Barnes & Noble the other day. I keep looking at it on my shelf because it's so much prettier in person and THAT COVER WOW. I love running my fingers over the raised font. Ok. I sound weird. I'll stop now.

BEA Day 3: In which I say goodbye to good books and good bookish friends

I'm a bit late on this recap so I'm jumping right into it: Thursday was the last day of BEA and I was already getting bummed that this year's event went by so quickly. I was a sad individual as I was on the train barreling towards NYC. (And if you're wondering, yes, I was late again. I missed an early priority signing. CURSES.) Once I got to Javits though, I went through the motions of leaving my bag, shelling out the three dollars so the hawk-eyed female guards bag ladies and heading back onto the second level of the building.

Since it was the last day, the energy levels were less chaotic. I had forgotten how nice the last days can be at BEA; Wednesdays are usually the days when the energy levels hit an all-time high since it seems to be when all the fantastic events and panels are occuring. Or maybe it's just me. Anyways. Since I missed the Alexandra Bracken signing, I decided to wait in the Autographing area for the Kristin Cashore signing where I already found a line forming for it. Lexie was there so I sat down next to her and waited...until someone pulled out a finished copy of CODE NAME VERITY. I freaked out, asked if there were any copies left and after asking Lexie to prettyplease hold my place in line, I speed-walked over to Disney-Hyperion booth and found this nice stack waiting. Sigh. I asked for a copy and they allowed me to take one! YAY. Then a thought occurred to me: I would love to be able to meet a contact I have over at Macmillan...so I swung by and asked if she'd be there. Yes, she would be. In a few moments, actually. But wait! Kristin Cashore line! Ah! Crap.

So I checked with the ever-patient Lexie if she could hold my spot for a while longer. She being the awesome individual that she is, said yes and I flew back towards the booth where I was told that they were wrong about the time; she'd be there at 10:30. Gah. But the Kristin Cashore signing STARTED at that time...and I didn't know if my contact would BE there all day. Grr. I risked it. I flew back to Kristin Cashore line (where I also managed to get a copy of NARC, woot) and once it was time for the BITTERBLUE signing to begin, it surprisingly went very fast (it also didn't hurt that I was near the front of the line, hehe). But BOOK DILEMMA. Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian's signing for BURN FOR BURN (another book I really wanted) was happening at that moment...it actually started at 10am, half an hour earlier than the Kristin Cashore line. At that point it was 10:45ish and the line for BURN FOR BURN was one of those scary-long lines...but I decided to risk it again and stood in line for it. Again, weirdly enough the line went really fast! So after cuddling my latest book, I hightailed it back towards Macmillan.

Once I got there, I was told that my contact had just left since she wanted to walk around for a bit. URGH. It's in times like that you wish you could teleport. Since I had nothing pressing for the next hour or so, I stayed put...I did chat with another publicist who showed me the new cover for John Green's book (I like the new cover better) and then my contact came back! It was so nice to meet her :) Naturally we talked about books and we jumped to other subjects too. I was SO happy to finally meet her since I missed her at last year's BEA. After a while she and the other nice publicist I spoke to had to man the booth so I took it as a sign to leave and wander around for a bit until the Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton & Brenna Yovanoff signing...

Then I got there and holy cheesecakes, that line was ridiculous. I was handed a post-it where I was number #115 I think? That line curled too. It reminded me of Wednesday's signing for THRONE OF GLASS. I was hoping to get to the signing for SKYLARK but that didn't happen (there weren't any copies left by the time I got there). So since the CURIOUSITIES line was long, I unloaded my backpack and ate lunch until it was my turn to get my arc signed. Then I stood in front of the Merry Sisters of Fate and eeeeeeeeeee. :D

After that, I headed straight to the booth where David Levithan was signing arcs of EVERY DAY. THAT line was long too; I noticed a lot of people who asked others on line why YA signings were garnering so much attention. Say it with me: BECAUSE YA IS AMAZING, THAT'S WHY. ;P

This signing flew by too; it was more of I'm-signing-ok-next! kind of thing. Oh well. I understand v.v After that...well, I was done with my list of WANT books so I dedicated the precious time I had left to wandering all over the place. I ended up getting some other copies of books and the best surprise of all was acquiring an arc of LEVEL TWO. I think it may have been the last one too o_o! I walked by the S&S booth at the right time, it seems.

Le stack for Dia Three.

swag acquired all three days.

Highlights: The last day is usually the day when everything winds down. And it did but I ended up getting more on Thursday than on any other day. I also met my amazingly kind contact at Macmillan so that was a blast too. AND OMG MAGGIE STIEFVATER REMEMBERED ME FROM HER RAVEN BOYS SIGNING. Sigh. I was so flattered, lol.

Low points: BEA ended. I have to wait for next year because I never get to have as much fun or hang out with such like-minded bookish people when I do at BEA. Sniff. So that's all folks. Until next year...

BEA Day 2: In which I wake up late and run like hell towards Javits

So day two of BEA: I intended to wake up around 6am like I did the first day but...that didn't happen. My "five minutes more" nap turned into almost two hours more so when I woke up, it was almost 8am. I wanted to be at Javits around 9 but that wasn't happening...I don't remember the time of the train I caught but I got to Penn (I don't think I got lost this time) and alternated between running and walking really fast towards Javits (if you've ever been in NYC, you'll know that people DON'T MOVE; I wanted to bulldoze a lot of people out of the way but that would've been rude....).

I didn't get lost getting to Javits but will you believe me when I say that I didn't remember how to get to the baggage area? LOL. I ran up and down stairs three times until I found it. *shakes head* Moral of the story is to be on time and CALM THE HELL DOWN. Sigh. So after I finally paid for my luggage to be stored for the day (it was 9:40am at this point), I pretty much went straight to Sarah J. Maas' signing for THRONE OF GLASS. That line was long enough that when I got there, I couldn't even see the beginning...it was at the first table and next to it was this curtained area--that's where the line sort of looped back and forth... I did see some people give up and get out of line but I wasn't willing to since...well, I flew to Javits like a bat from hell. o_o I took the time to guzzle water from my bottle and eat some snacks. xD The line inched by and slowly but surely I got my signed copy of THRONE OF GLASS :D  *MC HAMMER DANCE*

Oh....now that I'm looking at my withered paper schedueles (so I can remember what happened), I realize that the Kristin Cashore signing was on the last day, not the second day. Oops :S Ignore the shiny finished copy of BITTERBLUE then? And...CODE NAME VERITY since I got that on Thursday too -_-;

Um. Anyhoo. Since I managed to make the ToG signing, I had a little more than an hour left before the 12:30pm signing for Marie Lu's PRODIGY. I remember walking straight to the Penguin booth so I could be there early. I sat/stood next to Jen who was really nice as we chatted about books and blogging. Lenore was on line too and we also talked for a bit. *waves happily* I was #20 something if I remember correctly so once the signing started, I got my copy very fast and then high-tailed it over to Diana Peterfreund's signing for FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS (a.k.a book with the prettiest cover evar). The signing started slightly late since the author had to move from her original table but she was so gracious so it didn't even matter :) After I got my signed copy, I dashed over to the Hachette booth where at 2:00pm they were schedueled to distribute 500 paperback copies of DAUGHTER OF SMOKE & BONE with a chapter sampler of the sequel. Um, hell yeah I was going to be there. A lot of people were crowding the booth by the time I got there and the publicists ended up giving out copies a few minutes earlier. SQUEE. I may have cuddled my shrink-wrapped copy to my chest and petted it. I may have.

Then there were the 3pm signings I wanted to get to but DILEMMA: I had to choose between Dan Krokos and Libba Bray. I imagined Libba's line would be long but what I saw was worse than the Harlequin line. Sweet baby jesus, the line started from the booth and went all the way to the end of the building. And it wasn't even 3 yet. o_o I was literally the last person on that line. But then more people showed up and I'll admit it was nice to hook my thumb over my shoulder and say, "Yeah, the line ends here; you should sit behind me." xD Ahh. Then it was time for the signing to begin and the line crawled forward until it was my turn. Libba is so cool in person >_< She touched my wrist o_o

After that, I realized that Dan Krokos' signing was on the verge of ending so...boo. I would've liked to have made it but oh well; then I sprinted towards Julie Kagawa's line for THE IMMORTAL RULES and hurray it was long but not TOO long. I made it in time >D OH and where is my head today? I also met Margie on Wednesday who I found through twitter; we met in person at BEA for the first time and she was very friendly. I have to admit, one of the best things about BEA is meeting people you "know" virtually in person...the majority of times they're even more awesome in person. :)

Then...the line for Julie started moving! And I was in front of Julie Kagawa! OH HAPPY DAY. What was even better was that she knew who I was T-T  

AH. And now I end my tale of Day Two of BEA BLISS. I think the walls of text I wrote out are more than enough...if you've read all that, I love you and wish to give you a cookie. :) I apologize to the poeple I didn't mention in any of my posts so far; I have all your cards and I know I commented/tweeted most of you...

Le Stack of Dia Two.*

*so I mixed three languages at once...it happens ;b

Highlights of the day: Uh, everything I mentioned? xD

Low points: Missing one or two signings...especially the Dan Krokos one. But I can always get the book once it's out so it's not too painful. e.e

BEA Day 1: In which I wake up extremely early

So last week many of us in the blogosphere and the publishing world attended the Book Expo of America, an annual conference that has been held at Javits in NYC for three years now. I went for all three days and had a LOT of fun :) I think that this year was personally the best for me since I knew what I was doing (most of the time) and the atmosphere felt much calmer this time around. I guess the third time's the charm!

I'll try to be brief since I don't doubt that these kinds of BEA posts have been popping up everywhere lately. So. I was very anxious excited last Monday and I wanted to get as early as I could to Javits so I set my alarm clock for 5:50am. Why I thought this was a good idea? I don't know. I didn't want to risk getting up late so...yeah. There you go :/ I'm not sure when I fell asleep (I went to bed around midnight or so) but once my alarm rang, I sprang out of bed to get ready. Since I live relatively close to NYC, I took a train there (although as I commuted back and forth I began to wonder if maybe staying at a hotel would've been better) and walked from Penn Station to Javits. Now, let me tell you something. New York City is relatively easy to navigate: it's a life-size grid. The only thing that upsets this otherwise harmonious balance of straight parallel and perpendicular lines is Broadway, an irritating squiggle that slants its way through some streets. But since I'm nowhere near Broadway, I should be fine. Still, since I'm, well, me, I managed to get lost for a bit. Just like I did last year -_-;

But after letting myself relax for a few seconds, I found my way and managed to get to Javits around 9am. I did make a slight detour into West 35th street where I was stopped by a nice gentleman in a hardhat informing me about construction.

Me: Oh! Will there be construction for the next three days? *thinking about not getting lost*
Gentleman: *laughs* There's be construction for the next three months!
Me: D:

But he pointed out another way to go and after my profuse thanks, I skedaddled out of there to make it to Javits.  After getting my badge and leaving my bag with the ladies that guard them like hawks, I commenced Day One of BEA Bliss.

This year my list for books to get was much shorter: I only had 9 signings I wanted to attend and four of them were books that I NEEDED to get; the rest were only if I could. I missed a few signings but they weren't books that I couldn't live without so I didn't feel the sting too badly ;) I did regret not getting Julie Kagawa's THE IMMORTAL RULES but the line at Harlequin was hellishly long so I didn't even attempt to try my luck. (I did however get Julie's novel on Thursday--more on that later!) Happily though, I did make the rest of my signings. Here is the proof!

Le Stack.

My first signing was for Shannon Messenger's KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES and wow, it was so nice to finally meet Shannon in person! She's just as friendly in person as she is on her blog :) I actually lost Taschima before Shannon's signing and couldn't find the Autographing area so I went over to the Simon & Schuster booth to ask where her signing was. I ended up chatting a bit with publicist that I know from over there :D Then I speed-walked over to Shannon's signing.

After that, I wandered around for a bit until my next signing which was at 1pm (Shannon's was at 10:30am--I did a lot of wandering and made some new acquaintances). Gretchen Mcneil was signing her sophmore novel, TEN, and I can't remember if I was on line with anyone since I was really pleased that I got her book, lol. Then I had nothing to do until 3pm for my two last signings. I had a problem though since Kat Zhang and Maggie Stiefvater were both at the same time o_o; But weirdly enough, it worked out--and I ended up getting another book before then! I had no idea Mike Holmes was signing a book and I was momentarily stunned (before I went to bed the night before, I was watching his show! Talk about surreal to see him in person O_O) when I walked past him around 2pm. His line was very long but I decided to risk it since my mother loves Mike Holmes and his show; I managed to get a signed copy of his book and a photographic evidence that I indeed met him. Then I ran like hell to get to the Maggie Stiefvater signing because I love Maggie's books and not getting THE RAVEN BOYS would be a mistake that would haunt me o-< I also jumped on line for Kat Zhang's WHAT'S LEFT OF ME and luckily I was able to acquire a signed arc as well. :)

The other books that I didn't mention were all from galley grabs that I didn't plan on; I was just there at the right time (which works for me!). Marie Lu's PRODIGY was being distributed at 10am (that's when I lost Taschima :'( ), I randomly walked past the Disney/Hyperion booth whereTHE DARKEST MINDS was being distributed and Ilsa Bick's SHADOWS & Iris Anthony's THE RUINS OF LACE were other unplanned encounters. My first day was more luck than anything else even though I had my list and map at the ready.


Highlights of the day: Finding Taschima within moments of stepping into Javits. I lost her soon after though at the Penguin booth when they were doing galley drops. The crush of people made it impossible for me to go through so I searched around the edges and found no trace of her. I ended up seeing her much later (I can't remember where however; it was all one glorious and bookish blur, haha). I also found myself with other old blog buddies and I met some of my fellow YAckers too! *waves to Holly, Angie and Donna* I also met Janice which was great because I was looking out for her >:D

Also, the Apocalypsies Event after the first day was over. Fun times were had by all and I got a lot of swag...which I didn't picture here...because I suck. Sorry. I'll fix that later :(

Low point of the day: Not being able to go to YAcker dinner that was planned ahead of time. -_- I would've liked to have gone but couldn't because of issues. Blargh. Maybe next year?

Note: There may or may not be pictures of me floating around on other people's blogs. If you happen upon one, please remember that I AM NOT PHOTOGENIC. I can't smile on cue so if I look pissy or anything but happy, I really am happy, lol. I just can't make my face work for pictures ;P

quick giveaway winner

.....is #17 Janicu!

Janicu, I've emailed you and you have 48 hours to respond! Congratulations!

And thank you to everyone that entered--I have more surprise giveaways planned so stick around ;)

It's that time again...

BEA. 2012. This will be my third year going. (I know, WHAT?) I'm still surprised to look at my calender and see that it's already June and that in two more days I'll be traveling to New York City again to reunite with some old blogger friends and meet up with some new ones. I haven't really mentioned my attendence for this event on this blog since I figured that the whole "BEA BEA BEA" buzz was getting a little annoying--and slightly saddening for those that can't join--but if you follow me on twitter (which I don't update nearly as much as I used to) you'll know that I've mentioned my excitement about going once or twice ;)  Ok, maybe MORE than once or twice....

If you are going, hurray! Maybe we'll bump into each other. Like the year before, I'll have this little guy hanging onto my backpack:

ROCKIN' BEA FOR THE THIRD TIME, MY FRIENDS.

I can't guarantee that I won't be awkward but I give good hugs  I'll try not to stand off to the corner all loner-y. If you spot my little penguin in the sea of people, come over and say hi! :D (If you want to. You don't have to, of course.  I should probably stop talking now.)

Um, anyways. xD So since I'm going to be traveling for a bit, the blog will be very quiet this week. I'll try to take pictures with my tempermental camera (seriously, I bought brand new batteries for my camera and NONE OF THEM WORK. I ended up using the old batteries from my t.v. remote and of course those are the ones that magically make my camera turn on. I don't understand.) to post later on.

Until then, my lovely readers<3

quick giveaway

I think it's time I did another quick giveaway. I haven't done one in a while ;)

So. Here's what's up for grabs:

An ARC of Hannah Harrington's SAVING JUNE! The copy is in excellent condition, I promise. :)

As this is a quick giveaway, I'm making the rules easy: it'll last from today (the 2nd) until 11:59pm EST tomorrow (the 3rd). I'll announce the winner on Monday. You do not have to be a follower to enter (although I appreciate it if you are!). This is US only.

To enter, please fill out this form here.

This giveaway is closed.