Happy birthday, Alex!!!

It's my blogging buddy's birthday today!!! YAY ALEX. I hope you have an awesome day filled with presents and cake!!! FELIZ CUMPLE Y QUE LO PASES GENIAL AMIGA ♥

Best Books of 2014

I still can't believe that 2015 is right around the corner. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN. O_O Anyhoo, I think my reading count for this year is even lower than last year's! But I won't dwell on it. 2014 has been a crazy year for me on all fronts BUT I still managed to read a decent amount of books.

Most Surprising Read of 2014

I know, I know. I didn't review this but I was pleasantly surprised to see how much of an improvement CROWN OF MIDNIGHT was in comparison to THRONE OF GLASS. First of all, we get more Chaol. (TEAM CHAOL 4EVA.) And everything that I felt ToG was lacking, CoM had! If you're curious, you can read my review of ToG here. 

Most Heart Wrenching Read of 2014

I'm holding off on reviewing this until we're closer to its release date but I'LL MEET YOU THERE was soooooo good you guys. I haven't read any of Heather Demetrios' other books but UGH THIS STORY. SKY AND JOSH, MY BABIES. They go through hell but they come out so much stronger and wiser in the end. ♥ You can read the first five chapters on the author's website.  

Best New Discovery

I have such an author crush on Rainbow Rowell. Omg. I had read her first adult novel way before I tried FANGIRL but this book. I recommend this book every chance I get. I LOVE IT SO. 

Prettiest Words 

I set GRACELING down for a bit (I'll finish it I swear!) but does that mean I can't appreciate how incredibly well written this book is? HELL NAW. I finally understand why Kristin Cashore has so many fans. Also, Katsa and Po are so adorable. I just want their faces to collide into each other xD 

Best Comic of 2014

I tried comics this year! And so far it's been a good experience. :) SAGA is amazeballs. It features everything you could imagine: space travel, numerous and ambiguous villains, POC characters, shifting points of view, romance, family drama....you name it, it's probably in there. What really struck me was that as far out as the characters are and plots are, SAGA is really about two people trying to raise their daughter in a crazy world. It's an excellent series and I def recommend it. 

Best Cover of 2014 

 

ANYA'S GHOST has a great cover. I thought it was clever that the ghost is "tangled" in Anya's hair. 

I'LL MEET YOU THERE doesn't feature any close ups of people's faces or have any models on the cover. Instead, it has these fun motel signs that are relevant to the story and it invites any type of reader to pick the book up. I hope everyone picks this up once they get the chance to!!

Most Swooniest Read of 2014

There were plenty of books I read this year that had swoon but ISLA had ALL the swoony moments. I adored this book so much when I first read it and I feel the same way about it now. 

Overall, my favorite read of 2014...

No question about it. I abso-freaking-lutely loved this book. I even bought the pretty UK edition and it is my precious. 

So how about you? What was your favorite read of 2014? Or your most suprising/swooniest/etc? Let me know in the comments :D 

Fables, Vol 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham

Publisher: Vertigo

Release Date: May 22, 2012

Source: Library 

Authors(s): Bill Willingham

Illustrator(s): Lan Medina, Steve Leialoha, Craig Hamilton & James Jean 

Synopsis: When a savage creature known only as the Adversary conquered the fabled lands of legends and fairy tales, all of the infamous inhabitants of folklore were forced into exile. Disguised among the normal citizens of modern-day New York, these magical characters have created their own peaceful and secret society within an exclusive luxury apartment building called Fabletown. But when Snow White's party-girl sister, Rose Red, is apparently murdered, it is up to Fabletown's sheriff, a reformed and pardoned Big Bad Wolf (Bigby Wolf), to determine if the killer is Bluebeard, Rose's ex-lover and notorious wife killer, or Jack, her live-in boyfriend and former beanstalk-climber. 

Review: Thank you, Hello Giggles, for having an article about comics that listed Fables as one of the many recommendations one should try. Fables was a quick read for me and I enjoyed how the creators took all the characters from the fairy tales we know, twisting them into these complex and more fully fleshed characters. 

While there is an entire cast of characters, Snow White is the star of this first installment. And with good reason! Gone is the sweet young woman who sings as woodland creatures surround her in the forest. This Snow White is a hardened, sharp-tongued woman who kicks ass in her position as deputy to the mayor of Fabletown. She has some ovaries of steel, man. As we learn more about her backstory--including her divorce from her prince husband--we start to realize that Snow's past is less picture perfect and more horror story. The story hints at some dark times but Snow proves herself as a force to be reckoned with. 

Her sister Rose Red and Bigby Wolf are the other two characters that leap out within the story. While the story doesn't immediately portray her in a positive light, we as readers are left wondering what are Rose Red's motivations for being so reckless and what caused her disappearance. Bigby is another intriguing character; he's not known for being a good Samaritan in the original story of The Three Little Pigs but he proves to be more than a decent detective and a possible love interest for Snow. (I hope that Snow and Wolf become a thing because I ship it. ♥ ) They were great as they worked together to solve Rose's apparent murder but they CLEARLY have chemistry. The rest of the supporting characters--Rose's ex lovers, the prince, and the rest of the fairy tale characters--don't overtake the story in this first comic but we learn enough of them to realize that they all have their own backstories and interests that are sure to be explored in future installments. 

As for the mystery revolving Rose Red, the story actually took enough twists and turns that I didn't see it coming! Maybe I should have because there were enough clues but I'm blaming how much fun I was having with this first installment that blinded me to the obvious trail of clues. 

Final Verdict: Fables is less Disney and more gritty. I had a kick with how subversive the story was and how Snow is portrayed as this tough badass who takes no prisoners. I'm excited to learn more about her character and what else will happen with her continuing story. I also really like how the creators are threading together these fairy tales to create plot lines that go beyond what you'd find in the original stories. Fans of Once Upon a Time would definitely enjoy this series. I'm also curious to learn more about the Adversary. This "enemy" was mentioned briefly but my curiosity is piqued. 

a hodge podge of random

I think we're all used to my erratic posting by now so onward with the rest of this blog post!

I don't know about you all but I'm rather glad 2014 is coming to an end. 2014 has given me so many emotional roller coaster rides that I'm wondering how I'm still standing right now. I won't go into details but over the course of this year, I've questioned myself and my decisions (about my career mostly but about other things too). Of course my reading has been affected and for the first time in my life*, I haven't read past 10 books in an entire year.

I would have thought this scenario to be impossible. Me, not read more than 10 books in a year? HAH. I used to read 10 books a month, like c'mon. But here I am. I'm still in a weird mood about reading and my pace is still slow but I'm chugging along. The point I'm trying to reach is that in the course of this year, my blog has also been something I've questioned over and over. Should I stop blogging? Is this fun anymore?

Sometimes the answer to both these questions is Yes and No. Yes, I should stop because it's not fun anymore. But then sometimes I think: No, I shouldn't stop because--yes!--it is fun. Right now I'm leaning towards not stopping because I DO want to post and I DO have some ideas for blogging topics as well as a ton of reviews I need to write. And of course a random post or two. I don't want to put this blog to rest yet. But do you know what I am putting to rest?

The silly stress I feel about not posting. And the nonstop apologies for not blogging enough. I feel the need to apologize over and over because I did have an audience at one point and I am sorry for not being consistent. But at the same time, I'm not a weekly newsletter nor a newspaper nor a research database. I'm just a person and I don't *have* to update constantly. So with that said, this is my last apology for not being consistent. I do intend to continue this blog for the time being but I'm not forcing myself to be on a schedule. As for anyone who's still commenting or visiting my site, I will always appreciate the time you take to stop by :)

To end this post on a much needed lighter note, some awesome book-related news**!!!

A NEW RAINBOW ROWELL BOOK NEXT YEAR. And it's about Simon and Baz. COMMENCE THE FLAILING.

image source 

Yes, I blew up the image because it is epic news and thus deserve to be seen. O_O

Also Rachel Hartman's SERAPHINA (which I totes adore) is coming out in paperback and SIGH I need it in my life. It's also going to be available in Spanish and of course I need that too. More info about this news here---you can see SERAPHINA in her paperback glory and *o*

*excluding the early years when I was a baby or couldn't understand the written word....because you know :P

**this is old book news but I haven't had the chance to post/fangirl about it. Haha, FANGIRL. Get it? See what I did there? I'll stop. :)

Have you seen this awesome short film?

If you've watched the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, you'll immediately recognize the actress who played Lydia, Lizzie's fun-loving and (initially) boy crazy sister. I SHIP IT is a great film and I don't think I can explain its awesomeness but now that it's about frienship, breaks ups and awesome HP wizard rock! Definitely worth a watch, so sit back and enjoy :) 

Monthly Wrap-Up: November 2014

November 2014: A weird, stressful month where I barely read but I did have a few good moments.

I won't even begin to list all the stress-inducing events that occurred in November but what topped my list was my massive tooth pain which ended up becoming an emergency root canal. Yeah. Fun times. Couple that with my growing lack of interest in reading and well... November was not very productive for blogging. BUT I did manage to read one book!

And it was Anya's Ghost, a YA graphic novel that I really liked. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Snapshot of November: 

• I wondered where October went. No really, 2014 is resembling a sort of sneeze: it was sudden and now it's pretty much over! November flew by even faster than October which is unbelievable. 
• Two Sunday Five posts where I updated ya'll about life. 
• I posted the day before Thanksgiving about what I was thankful for. 

Next Month's Reads: 

I haven't the faintest idea, to be honest. But we'll see what strikes my fancy.

What's going on with me: 

source

• It's official, I've fallen into the vortex of fanfiction but I can't say I'm not happy. I LOVE the stories I've been reading and I'm late to the dramione party but better late than never!!!
• I'm actually happy that November is over. My birthday came and went without any fanfare and idk, it was just very blah this time around. My coworkers were adorable and actually surprised me with a cake and a card signed by everybody though so that perked me up! :D
• December is here and so is the Christmas cheer!!! I've been much more festive for the holidays in 2014 and Christmas is no exception. Happy to report that my Christmas shopping is done! Now I need to prepare the presents ^_^
• I have to visit the dentist again to continue my treatment for my teeth...but I am more than ok with this. The dentist I was recommended is great and has an angel hand. 
• I signed up for my classes for spring 2015. Yay! Now I need to see how I'm going to pay for these classes....boo! :P

So tell me friends, how was your November? And how is your December starting off?