// waiting on wednesday: winter by marissa mayer

"Waiting on Wednesday" is an event, that happens every week and is hosted by Breaking the Spine. It spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication that I can't wait to get my hands on is Winter by Marissa Meyer. 

Title: Winter, (The Lunar Chronicles, #2)

Author: Marissa Meyer

Publication: 10th of November 2015 by Feiwel and Friends 

Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy

Synopsis: 

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend–the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?

Blurb:

This is it, guys! It's last book of the series! I kind of can't wait to know how Marissa is going to end the incredible series but at the same time I don't want it to end yet because the characters are so special to me. It's going to be one hell of a war to defeat Levana and I'm worried of the possibility that someone will die. Winter consists of 824 pages and a lot of things could happen. I hope that Winter starts off filled with action and is fast-paced because I've noticed that every book in the series tend to suffer with very slow start. It always takes me about 100 pages till I get really into it. I want to see Cinder become queen and Kai become emperor then rule the earth and moon. Of course, work on their relationship since they're now reunited. I hope sparks will fly and rekindle feelings that they once fell for each other. I long for the day Wolf and Scarlet gets reunited. It's going to be bitter-sweet. I also can't wait for Captain Carswell Thorne and Cress to develop their budding their relationship.

Have you read any of the books from Lunar Chronicles yet? If not, what the hell go pick it now! Are you as excited as me to get my copy of Winter? Let me know on the comments below.

// the reading habits tag

So I was scrolling through my Bloglovin' then came across the "Reading Habits tag" which which Amy from Between The Pages did a post on. I love doing tags so here I am making a post on it now. 

Do you have a certain place at home for reading?

Isha: I don't have specific place in my home for reading but I do most of my reading on my bed under a pile of pillows and my cosy duvet.

Hanna: I don't really have a certain place for reading. I can read at my mom's room, our couch in the sitting room or whenever I'm in the toilet (lol) but like Isha, I prefer reading on my bed with throws. 

Bookmark or random piece of paper?

Isha: I've been using a colour swatch for my bookmarks lately but whatever works really. Be it a piece of a paper or a candy wrapper lol.

Hanna: It depends, if I have a bookmark near me then I would use that. But most of the time I just use whatever is near me whether it be a piece of paper, hair grips, sticky notes. 

Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter/a certain amount of pages?

Isha: I never stop mid-chapter. It's an odd habit of mine. Plus it makes me uncomfortable if I do hahah.

Hanna: I HATE STOPPING MID-CHAPTER. It's like if I stop mid-chapter, I just feel like I'm gonna forget about what happened. I only stop mid-chapter if I'm super sleepy. But then the next time I read, I read the whole chapter again. 

Do you eat or drink while reading?

Isha: I like hot drinks when I'm reading because it keeps me up as well. I also eat bite-sized chocolate from time to time to ease the pain ahah. They're an essential kit.

Hanna: Nope, I'm afraid to get tea stains or food stains on Isha's books lol. She'd kill me. 

Multitasking: Music or TV while reading?

Isha: I never listen to music when I'm reading. How could people do that? I can read over the television in the background though.

Hanna: I honestly can't read whilst there's music or television playing in the background. I just can't concentrate. 

One book at a time or several at once?

Isha: People's ability to read multiple books at a time still amazes me. How do they do it? 

Hanna: I don't know but I prefer reading books one at a time. 

Reading at home or everywhere?

Isha: I could practically everywhere as long as I'm not in a moving vehicle. It always gives me headaches. Though, I prefer reading at home.

Hanna: Same with Isha. I don't really mind but I prefer reading if there's no background noise. 

Reading out loud or silently in your head?

Isha: Reading silently in my head. 

Hanna: Reading silently in my head.

Do you read ahead or even skip pages?

Isha: Sometimes I'm being sneaky and sort of read ahead a few pages where I'm at to get a sense of what's going to happen next heh.

Hanna: Ha! No, I'm not a cheater like Isha haha. 

Breaking the spine or keeping it like new?

Isha: I know everyone's like "If you break the books spine, it shows that it is loved". Nope, not for me. I prefer keeping my physical books looking like new.

Hanna: Well, if I break the spine of Isha's books, I know for sure that she will literally kill me. 

Do you write in your books?

Isha: No, oh my god. Never.

Hanna: I don't want to be murdered by Isha so no hahah.

Now I tagged everyone reading this post right now :) What are you reading habits? Do we have any similar ones? Let me know in the comments below x

// book review + discussion: queen of shadows by sarah j. maas

Title: Queen of Shadows, (Throne of Glass, #4)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publication: 1st of September 2015 by Bloomsbury USA Children's
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: Hardcover, 656 pages 

Goodreads // Amazon // Book Depository

Synopsis: 

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past . . .

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.

Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.

Review: 

Before anything else, massive thank you to Raquel and to Bloomsbury for giving me the UK edition of this one <333

This review will be free of spoilers for Queen of Shadows but may include spoilers for the earlier books in the series. Okay, so I had mixed feelings towards reading this book. After a year of being deprived of my beloved Throne of Glass characters, I was dying to get my hands on it and start reading. But at the same time I was also dreading it because I had a feeling something bad was going to happen to my favourite characters. I am a massive Chaolaena shipper so you could imagine how anxious I was in having to read about Rowaelin.

I loved this book but I was also quite disappointed with it. Queen of Shadows is more plot-driven than it is about its characters. To the point that I felt there was very little character development. I couldn't get why Aelin/Celaena was hell bent on hating on Chaol and why she keeps on blaming him for every single bad thing that happens. I was also annoyed on how reliant on Rowan Aelin has become. She was literally looking for him all the time, kept on telling us how much she misses him and needs him. It was like a school girl crush. And I wanted to smack her because SHE. IS. A. BADASS. ASSASSIN. QUEEN who doesn't need no man to get things done. Another thing that doesn't add up is why she's so pressed on burying Celaena Sardothien when that girl is a part of her. She should actually be proud because that girl endured and survived a lot of things even if she doesnt even know she had fae powers yet. Despite the many things about her that annoyed me in this book, I will always admire her loyalty to her friends. She is one of the most loyal people when it comes to her friends. She looks out for them and will cut you if you mess with them. In QOS, she finds a new female companionship and I'm very glad she's found her.

Another thing I couldn't get at all is why Sarah turned Chaol into an asshole (pardon my language!) This was not the Chaol that she introduced into the first two books of the series. Like I do understand that Chaol/Celaena is over but I don't get why she needed to destroy Chaol's character to give way for the new ship. They could've ended things in a good way and not make the two hate each other to death (I mean they did have feelings for each other before) I also felt like we get little Chaol on this book and I wanted to read more about him so yes I was disappointed. I sympathised and felt for him because he suffered through so much here and I just wanted to give him a hug.

With Rowan, I tried not to roll my eyes a lot whenever he comes in the scene because I wouldnt be able to fully enjoy this book if I did that. I liked how he will do whatever he can to protect Aelin but what I didnt like was how at some parts of the book I felt like he was baby-ing Aelin. Like seriously, she survived seventeen years without you and she just managed fine, I'm sure she can handle things by herself. Like she wouldnt be alive till now if she wasn't good at what she's doing. He was also supposed to be the more understanding one when it comes to her but there was a part in the book where he was saying that this wasn't Aelin this was "Celaena" and that he couldn't reach her and hated it so I was like....... Although, I do have to admit there were certain parts I was swooning because of the things he was saying to Aelin. 

I also found the new characters introduced to this book really interesting. I can't wait to read more about them because their storyline is very intriguing. I just hope there just isn't too much characters introduced to the book to the point that we will get very little of the original characters we hold dear to our heart. 

My overall rating for this book is three stars and I'll most likely still read Throne of Glass 5. 

Have you read Queen of Shadows yet? How do you feel about it? Did you enjoy it? What rating did you give it?

// see dublin through our camera lens

To do a quick recap, I am currently in fourth year also called transition year in Ireland where we don't do any academics and just go on school trips and do workshops the whole year. My class and I are lucky to be taken out every Friday rather than being in school, which is in a way, is cool. 

Last week, my year and I went to Dublin to explore the Christ Church Area in the City Centre. We did a scenic walk of the city and even passed by one of the most prestigious universities in Ireland which is Trinity College Dublin. It is also by the way the oldest university in the country. They have a couple of sculptures around the campus and the one in the picture below always catches my eye so I decided to take a picture for you guys to see.

How artsy is that?

I've always admired the architecture of Trinity College. It's like stuck in time compared to the modern shops and building around it. 

The Dublin Castle marked the start of our tour of the Christ Church area. Unfortunately, there werent any tour guide available when we went so our teachers did their best in explaining the history and background of the place. 

This is the Dublin Castle, where a lot of historic shenanigans happened. I could give you a lengthy paragraph about its history but it would be boring so lets not go into that lol.

Our next stop was the Chester Beatty Library. Chester Beatty was an American lad who settled in Ireland after the World War 2. His hobbies included collecting art pieces from East Asia, Western Europe and Islamic places. 

I personally enjoyed looking at everything in there. There was one particular section that I really liked: there was a specific area where they showcased different book covers from back then. It was aesthetically decorated. It's very unfortunate that I wasn't allowed to take pictures  when I was inside the exhibition but I'm going to link their website here and you can check out their cool exhibition if you want.

And the last place we went to was the St. Patrick's Cathedral (Ireland has a lot of churches/cathedral in the country. The cathedral was in the shape of the cross, and you can check it out on Google Maps. It's named after St. Patrick because this was where he stayed during his spread of Christianity. I think this is also where they found his remains. It sort of had a Hogwarts vibe in my opinion.

This is the first thing you see when you come in. It was super pretty. Most of the windows were stain glasses which I thought was pretty cool. 

There was this section in the cathedral where we can use their iPads to get an overview of the whole cathedral, there were also puzzles and a place where you colour out the picture on the paper. 

Here's me trying to do the colouring thing.  

Here's me and one of my best friends. She's always photobombing my pictures. (*waves* Hi Lalaine!)

What do you think of my city? Would you consider visiting Ireland some time in your life? Thanks for reading!

// top ten tuesday: books in my fall tbr

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the fabulous people from Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic are the ten books I'm looking forward to read in this beautiful season of Fall: 

1. The Rose Society by Marie Lu

I can't wait to pick up where Marie Lu ended The Rose Society and to be with Adelina as she battles with her inner good and evil and her thirst for power. 

2. Illuminae by Amy Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

If you read my blog, you'd know that this is one of my "Waiting on Wednesday" books. I heard this book is huge, it has 608 pages and I can't wait to devour it.

3. Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman

A book set in my home state in America? Sign me up. She's actually doing a signing in Phoenix and I'm getting my family to get my book signed by her. Yay! It'll also be my first western YA novel so I can't wait.

4. Walk On Earth A Stranger by Rae Carson

From the reviews, I've read this book has a really badass protagonist and full of action packed scenes so I'll feel like there will never be a dull moment in reading this. She'll also be with Erin in the Vengeance Road signing so I'll have a signed copy too.

5. The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Thank you so much, Katrina of Bloomsbury for giving me this book! I cant wait to read the story of Kestrel and Arin.

6. The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

I was given by Bloomsbury a finished copy so massive thank you!

7. Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Victoria Aveyard said so many good things about this book so I can't wait to read it. According to Goodreads, this is a historical YA book and since I love History, I am looking forward to it.

8. Signs Point to Yes by Sandy Hall

I've never read any books by Sandy Hall but the cover is gorgeous and apparently the author writes some serious funny books so I'm giving it a try.

9. Trutchwitch by Susan Dennard

I can't believe after so many months of trying, UK Tor is finally getting me proofs of one of the most anticipated reads of 2016 so you could imagine the screaming and arm flailing involved.

10. Hothouse Flower by Krista & Becca Ritchie

I never got to finish this amazing book because of schedule so hopefully I find the time as I am very keen to finishing the series.

Will you be reading some the books that's on my list too? What are your fall to-be-read? Let me know in the comments below.

// book review + discussion: i'll give you the sun by jandy nelson

Title: I'll Give You the Sun
Author: Jandy Nelson
Publication: Walker Books 
Format: Paperback, 429 pages
Genre: Young Adult

Good Reads // Amazon // Book Depository 

Synopsis: 

A brilliant, luminous story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of John Green, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell 

Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.

This radiant novel from the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.

Review: 

Thank you to Department 51 for giving me this book in return for an honest review. 

When I saw this in Fully Booked in the Philippines, this book caught my eye immediately because of the really artsy book cover and I was tempted to get one (thankfully I was able to stop myself because i already had a copy back in Ireland). This book is about family, friendship, love and forgiveness and I loved every moment I was reading I'll Give You The Sun. 

The story was perfection! I was drawn to the plot of the book. The story is about twins who were inseparable before and now they were barely speaking and avoiding each other because of some incident that happened to them. It was thought provoking because how could two blood-related twins not talk to each other. This book was written in two-person POV and I loved it because we get an in-depth grasp of Noah and Jude's characters and get to know the two better. Noah talks more about their life before, whilst Jude talks about how their lives are now. This book is such an emotional ride. It made me laugh, made me insides jgkrcntnv inside and of course sympathise with the characters. Did I mention it has LGBT characters? It makes me so happy that there's starting to be a lot of gay characters introduced in YA novels since they're mostly treated as minorities. I've also highlighted a lot of quotes in the book (cos it's so relatable!)

“Reality is crushing. The world is a wrong-sized shoe. How can anyone stand it?” 

Jude and Noah both holds a special place in my heart. What I loved most about them is how they aren't perfect. They are flawed. And I have a weakness from flawed characters. Both of them have contrasting personalities and yes, they are my precious babies. Reading I'll Give You The Sun was like being there with them as things starts to unravel. I've read them break, become mean to each other and make mistakes. The romance isn't lacking either. This book will make you feel all sorts of feelings.  Noah and Brian then Jude and Oscar. They're just so cute and I want to protect them at all costs.

“I gave up practically the whole world for you,” I tell him, walking through the front door of my own love story. “The sun, stars, ocean, trees, everything, I gave it all up for you.” 

“Meeting your soul mate is like walking into a house you've been in before - you will recognize the furniture, the pictures on the wall, the books on the shelves, the contents of drawers: You could find your way around in the dark if you had to.”

“I'm thinking the reason I've been so quiet all those years is only because Brian wasn't around yet for me to tell everything to.”


As you can tell, I absolutely love this book! I can't tell you guys enough how amazing this book is. I LOVE IT SO MUCH. SO YES. GO GET THE BOOK NOW OR GO TO THE LIBRARY AND BORROW IT. EVERY SECOND YOURE NOT READING IT, YOU'RE MISSING OUT. 

// the one lovely blog award

Hey there! I hope things are going well with you. My friend SJ of A Tree Grows in Bookland tagged me on the One Lovely Blog Award :) This is my very first time being nominated for something so thank you so much girl :) 

The Rules:

1. Thank the person who tagged you! 

2. List the rules and display the award

3. Give seven facts 

4. Nominate 15 other bloggers and nominate them

5. Display the award logo and follow the person who nominated you

Since there are two people running this blog, Hanna and I will both be giving seven facts each. I hope this helps you get to know us better!

My awesome facts about Isha

1. I really, really, really love peanut butter. But I hate peanuts.

(c) photo credit

2. 

My favourite thing about Fall is the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks

3. The first ever series that I've read is the Twilight Saga. I was Team Edward by the way! 

4. I like One Direction! My favourite is Niall and I'm actually seeing them twice this October.

5. I'm such a Chaol trash. I even named my Macbook "Chaol". #noregrets

6. My current obsession is Lucky Blue Smith

7. A lot of people know me as Isha but my real name is actually "Patricia" oops. But please never ever call me that hahah

Hanna's seven facts:

1. None of you probably knows this except for my friends and my family, but my real name is "Johanna" but I don't really like it when people use my real name to call me. Let's just stick to Hanna lol. 

2. I have OCD. I don't like touching anything in public, for example the door handles or the thing you hold on to at escalators. I freak out cause you never know who used it before you and what they did beforehand. 

3. When I discover a new song, I repeat it over and over again. I'm currently repeating "What Do You Mean?" by Justin Bieber lol. 

4.  I am quite a sporty person. I play nearly every sport that's available in my school. I play badminton, basketball, athletics, etc. 

5. I love starbucks. I am like a coconut, brown on the outside (cause I'm asian lol) and white on the inside. HAHAHA. I mean I think everybody likes starbucks. But the way to my heart is starbucks. 

6. My favourite chocolate is Royce. (the best chocolate ever!) 

7. I am probably the most awkward person you'll ever meet lol. 

Anyway, I hope you guys get to know us better through this tag. I tag:

Brittany from Book Rambles

Alexandra from Twirling Pages

Aentee of Read At Midnight

Tikka of Fangirlconfessions

Melanie of One Less Lonely Blog

Of course, if you'd be interested to do this, I tag YOU too. 

Thanks for reading! 

// waiting on wednesday: illuminae by amie kaufman & jay kristoff

"Waiting on Wednesday" is an event, that happens every week and is hosted by Breaking the Spine. It spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication that I can't wait to get my little hands on is Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. 

Title: Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1)

Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Publication: 20th October 2015 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Genre: Sci-Fi, Dystopia, Fantasy

Synopsis: 

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes. 

Blurb:

I've seen a few arcs of Illuminae floating around twitter and they come in different editions and they're just so gorgeous! And two of my blogger friends have given this book a five star rating on Goodreads so now I really cant wait to get myself a copy of it. One of them even send "it cured their reading slump" so it must be really good. You can count the amount of Sci-Fi books I've read by the fingers in one hand and that's not a lot. I want to broaden the genres I read so I would give this book a chance. Illuminae is quite a big book actually, it has 608 pages! I also some pictures from people who got arcs that some of the pages have different designs or tweaks to it which I find really cool. Plus the story is told through e-mails and IMs, how could you say no to that?

Is Illuminae in your tbr as well? Are you going to get it when it comes out? Have you read any books by Amy Kaufman and Jay Kristoff? If yes, what would you recommend?

// first ty trip: lough key

None of you probably knows this but I am currently in 4th year or as they call it here in Ireland, "Transition Year". Transition year, from the name itself is that year where we basically have to "grow up" and become more mature. Everyone in my year gets to go on a lot of school trips, do work experience, have chill classes and basically have a stress free year. I am so excited that I am now a senior and I get to go to a lot of places in Ireland. 

Last Friday, our school decided to take my year to Lough Key Forest and Activity Park in Roscommon. I haven't been to Roscommon so I was really excited. Okay, I was a bit excited that I even did my research on the place the night before (don't judge me lol). The only thing that I didn't like that we had to be in 7 in the morning.

We finally arrived in Roscommon after a long two hour drive. It was absolutely freezing when we got there. The first thing we did when we got there was "Borda Borg". You basically go to different rooms where you have to solve problems based on mental, physical and sometimes both. My group consisted of Jericho, Lalaine, Danielle, Becky and myself. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures when we were doing it. But after doing for about two hours, we were really tired and sweaty. It was good fun. 

Lalaine, Jericho and I after doing the Boda Borg. We didn't give up until we got one stamp. The determination was real. After doing Boda Borg, we went for a stroll around the area.

 

This was the tunnels leading to the house. They were really dark and very cold. You can also see stalactites on the ceiling and I found it very interesting as it was my first time seeing one for myself. 

 
They built this very ugly looking tower in replacement of the house that got burnt down. We actually walked up to the very top of the tower (which trust me was a lot of steps). It was 157 steps all in all. I swear my legs were on fire after climbing that stairs. But it was worth it because the view at the top was very fantastic! Very picturesque indeed. You can see the castle and other islands where we were on. 

In the picture below, you could see what the manor looked like before it got burned down. It was obvious that it was worth a lot of money and it's such a pity that they never rebuilt it. 

We got pizza for lunch yay! If you didnt know, I'm a massive pizza enthusiast. It's basically the best thing that has ever been created. Here's a picture and I hope it makes you hungry. 

 The next thing on our agenda: Zip It. I was super duper excited to do this because I've never done this before. "Zip It" is an obstacle course  but you're basically hanging from 15 feet off the ground. I low-key felt like I was Tris from Divergent. It was all about being fearless. I got to do three of them wich where the white, blue and the orange courses. In my opinion, the blue was the hardest one. 

The trip was really memorable. I was able to experience something I've never done before and as well as overcoming my fear of heights, At the beginning of the year, I said that I would try out new things more. There were a few times that day when I wanted to just give up but I'm grateful I didn't. My one advice to you is to say "yes" to new adventures and to get out of your comfort zone every once in awhile. Thank you for reading :) <3