Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Oh, how Pinteresting! (1)

Oh, how Pinteresting! is a weekly meme hosted by The Vintage Apple.

I recently joined Pinterest and I love it! So here I'm sharing some of my finds with you :) The pics also include the ones I hearted on we ♥ it.

Aren't they adorable?!

This is so me! I even look and dress like her :P

So true!

So cute  For those who don't know, this is L from Death Note (anime/manga).

Love this! It's so spooky!

♥ winters!

This is so cute! 

Yumm!

One of my favorite quotes 

This is so me!

What interesting pictures have you come across lately?

WWW Wednesday (3)

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Q. What are you currently reading?


Love this one! 


The starting is pretty good. Lets see how it turns out. :)

Q. What did you recently finish?


Amazing book! Click here to read my review.

Q. What do you think you'll read next?


I got this for review by the author. It seems pretty interesting.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Book Trailer Tuesday (3)~Timeless by Michelle Madow

Book Trailer Tuesday is a weekly meme I found on Book Hounds YA.


Synopsis: IT'S A RACE AGAINST TIME.

In Remembrance, Lizzie and Drew changed the course of fate so they could be together. 

In Vengeance, Chelsea set fate back on its original, deadly path. 

Now, strange things keep happening to Lizzie. Things that are omens of darkness to come. A curse has doomed her to die an early death, just as she did in her past life. To make things worse, even if she can figure out who cast the curse, it's irreversible. There's only one option left for her to save herself. It's crazier than anything she's heard yet, and to do it, she'll need Drew and Chelsea's help.

Because to make things right, they must go back to when it all began …


Timeless (Transcend Time, #3)

Top Ten Tuesday (2)~Top Ten Favorite Kick-Ass Heroines

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic: Top Ten Favorite Kick-Ass Heroines




2. Susannah Simon from The Mediator Series by Meg Cabot


3. Hermione Granger from Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling


4. Lizzie Davenport from Transcend Time Saga by Michelle Madow








I can't think of anymore :P What about you? Who are your favorite kick-ass heroines?

Teaser Tuesday (5)~Timeless by Michelle Madow

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

My teaser is from:

"Thinking about how much I’d betrayed her made me feel sick. But I couldn't just not be with Drew, the person I’d been reborn to spend this life with."-pg.11 (ebook)

Monday, October 29, 2012

Books For Thought (1)~Do you ever get tired of the continuous series installments?


Books For Thought is a weekly meme hosted by LA Femme Readers.

Q. Do you ever get tired of the continuous series installments?

My Answer: Yes! So much so that I don't even read long series. 3-4 books are ok. But if it's something like the House of Night novels, then count me out. I don't like keeping track of so many books and by the time the next book comes out, I've already forgotten the previous book. Plus the wait is too torturous. Some series are really good, like Harry Potter, and you can't get enough of them. But if you don't have a good story, then please stop writing books just for the sake of continuing the series. The other thing I hate are cliffhanger endings. They're ok if the author answered some questions and left some for the next book. But if the author left everything for the next book, just to make sure that the reader would buy it, that gets on my nerves. It feels like the book wasn't complete, even if it was a part of the series.

What are your bookish thoughts?

Manga Mondays (1)~ Kaichou wa Maid-sama by Hiro Fujiwara

Manga Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read.

I love reading Mangas and watching Animes! But I'm still pretty new in the world of manga. My cousins are total anime-freaks. They know everything about every anime; it's almost crazy! So usually they are the ones who recommend me animes. And 2 of my friends at school love animes too. They are the ones who told me about Kaichou wa Maid-sama and I've been hooked since then!


Kaichou wa Maid-sama is about a girl, Misaki Ayuzawa, who is a brilliant and overachieving girl. She's the President of the Student Council at Seika High School, which was formerly a boys' school. The thing is, she hates boys. And since the school still largely consists of boys, she's determined to make it a better place for girls and to increase the number of girls in the school.


BUT. Misaki works at a maid-cafe to support her family, and one day the most popular and sexiest guy at school, Usui Takumi, finds that out. The manga follows the story of these too and how she manages to keep her job a secret to save her reputation in school. Oh and btw, Usui is in love with her ;)


I saw the anime first. I couldn't stop watching it! I had to do homework and I was having class tests then, but I just couldn't stop. But thank fully there were only 26 episodes so I was done with it pretty quickly. And then I missed it so much! :( Plus I was not satisfied AT ALL with how the anime ended. And when I searched I found out that there wasn't going to be a second season. I had to know what happened next, so I started reading the manga.

I've read from Volume 1 to Volume 8 and till now it has been awesome!! I really like the illustrations and the story. Sometimes it gets boring, but maybe that's just me, because I love reading Usui-Misaki scenes! Others just seem boring to me :P


I love all the characters! They are well-developed and distinct. My favorites include Misaki and Usui, of course. Other than those too, I like Hinata (who appears later on in the manga), he's so sweet! Yukimura; he's funny and cute! Sakura; she's so bubbly and fun! I love people like her. Kanou; I didn't like him at first, but then he changed and I feel sorry for the poor boy. Plus, he's hot! I also like all the Maid Latte maids and the 3 idiots.


I'm in love with Usui ♥ He's hot, mysterious, handsome, over-protective (sometimes) which is cute, caring and yes, a little perverted but he only does it to tease Misaki. He's such a dream boy and it's so cute, how much he loves Misaki! But his teasing and vagueness really annoyed me sometimes. I mean, come on dude! Tell her you love her and get it over with. But I guess he wants Misaki to say it so he keeps giving her mixed signals. I'll let you read it yourself to know where their story goes and if they end up together or not. I'm still finding out myself ;)


Thursday, October 18, 2012

Author Interview~Joanna Mazurkiewicz


Hey guys! Today I have Joanna Mazurkiewicz, the author of The Whispers of The Sprite, here on my blog and she'll be answering some questions. smile

Hi Joanna! Thank you so much for being here today.

Please introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Joanna and I am originally from Poland. I have been living in the UK for over seven years now. I work as an employment advisor and in spare time I write books.  I live in Cowbridge, a small town in South Wales near Cardiff with my boyfriend Bruce. I enjoy cycling around Welsh countryside and read classic and paranormal romance novels.

Would you please tell us a bit about your book?
My book is set in the welsh city of Swansea.  It’s about Ania a Russian girl who lives in London but needs to move to Wales to study.  While taking a walk one evening she was attack and since that day her life changes forever. I try to transmit a mixture of contemporary society with myths and folklore.  I don’t want to give too much away but this paranormal romance is filled with unexpected twist and turns and romantic scenes.

How did you become a writer?
I am not a full time writer as of yet but this is what I am aiming for.  I started writing when I was in school I wrote few children books which weren’t very good. Then I had a huge gap in my writing career,  when I went to University all my ideas hit me again and I started writing ‘The Whispers of the Sprite’ I have always wanted to create a fantasy novel. 

What inspired your book?
I was inspired by British folklore and other books, I had the idea in my head for a while but I never had time to finally put it down on the paper. I knew that I wanted to write a romance with supernatural creatures so one day I began writing and I never stopped.

Do you think you are like any of the characters in the book?
I think that I am very much like the main character; however she is braver than me.  I kind of shaped her based on my personal experiences.

Is writing the only thing you do?
I wish it was! No, I work full time as an Employment Advisor (I help long term jobseekers get back into work) but in the future I would love to become a full time writer. Sometimes it’s almost impossible to work full time and write.

What’s the one thing you can’t live without?
My laptop.

What’s your favorite genre? Do you read the same genre you write?
Yes. I love paranormal romance and fantasy novels. Sometimes I read contemporary fiction and classics

Do you believe in faeries or sprites?
Of course I do. In every legend there is a seed of truth!

What can the readers expect from the next book in this series?
The next book will be much darker. I will introduce few new characters and explain the Sprite community in more detail. Ania will try to help Gabriel but everything and everyone will be against her.  Her second year in the University will give her a lot of headaches. She will try to fix her difficult relationship with Natasha and will seek answers about her real parents.


Tell us about your new projects.
I am planning to write another series after this one but for adults rather than teens.  I haven’t got the title yet but I have got some ideas that are flowing around my head. The next series will be gritty, quirky and it might include nymphs, so it will definitely be another paranormal romance. I hope it will appeal to  both women as well as men. 

That's great! Thank you so much for stopping by! It was a pleasure having you here today.

I hope you guys enjoyed this interview as much as I did! Click here to read my review of The Whispers of the Sprite. It's an amazing book so go add it to your To-Read shelf on Goodreads here, and once you read it, come back here tell me your views about it! smile

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Book Review~The Whispers of the Sprite by Joanna Mazurkiewicz


Title: The Whispers of the Sprite
Author: Joanna Mazurkiewicz
Series: The Whispers #1
Publisher: Self-published
Pub Date: October 7th 2012
Format: e-book
Pages: 262
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, YA/New Adult

Synopsis: Ania’s life has always been predictable. She moved from Russia to United Kingdom and settled in London for a few years with her overprotective mother Natasha. After getting away from the busy capital, she decides to move to Swansea. Her new home for the next three years is in the same area where she will be studying. While exploring the exciting new coastline, somebody attacks her. She barely survives and wakes up in the hospital without the slightest idea of who tried to kill her. Dark clouds begin to surround Ania’s student life as she opens her eyes while lying on the hospital bed and nothing seems to be the same. She starts seeing people that no one else can and soon realizes that the legends and stories about people of peace were always true even if no one believes in fairies any more. Gabriel keeps coming back visiting her in the early hours of the morning and Ania knows that the electrifying connection between them can cause problems. Sprites are forbidden to make any kind of associations with humans as they risk their life, but Gabriel doesn’t want to stay away even though  he is engaged to another sprite. Moreover, Ania’s ex boyfriend George enters the picture again with a longing to start over with her. Apart from being surrounded by a beautiful sprite, Ania believes that she has been followed by an odd older lady. After her housemate is attacked, she doesn’t believe that the event is a coincidence.  The mysterious tarot reading seems to be confirming that she will lose what she values the most. However, she has no idea yet what kind of danger she might be in simply because her heart reacts every time Gabriel is near her..

Rating: 7.5/10
Source: Provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much Joanna!
Cover Talk: I love the cover! It's so pretty and dreamy 

My Thoughts: I loved this book! I did not expect to like it this much. It had me hooked from the beginning. The synopsis of the book didn't really appeal to me so I was very unsure when I started the book. But I was blown away! This book is amazing!

The story is full of suspense, action and romance. I could not stop reading the book. My eyes hurt and I was so sleepy but I just had to read the book. It was so good! The story reeled the reader in and kept him reading till the end. The suspense of it all, I kept asking myself "What happened?" "Maybe the real villain is ____" "Who did that?" 

I love a good mystery! And that's what this was. A mystery. A paranormal mystery. But it also had romance in it. Oh I loved the romance! Gabriel ♥ Too bad he's too old for me (125 years old) tongue 

Ania and Gabriel's relationship was sweet. But Ania really annoyed me at times. Her decisions were sometimes so stupid and I was like "I wouldn't have done that!" But that's what made her character interesting too. Now everyone can't be like me, can they? tongue And it's always nice reading about someone different.

The characters were well developed and complemented the story. The writing was pretty good. But it didn't attach me to the book emotionally. Moreover, there were some expressions which were repeated often, for example "my heart reacts instantly" and "sticky air filled with passion". They bothered me a little (That's the only reason I gave the book a 4.5 instead of a 5.), but I was able to overlook them because I was so engrossed in the story.

The end was satisfying yet it left me wondering. Yes, this book had a cliff-hanger ending. But the writer left just the right amount of suspense so that the reader would look forward to the next book and revealed some secrets that would satisfy the reader as well. So I was pretty happy with the ending.

All in all, it was in amazing book! I'm really looking forward to the sequel (more like I can't wait!! grin) And I really recommend the book to people who like a good paranormal romance-mystery. Trust me, you will not be disappointed! A warning though, this book contains violence and sexual scenes so it's recommended for ages 16+. 

Favorite Quotes/Scenes:

'It's delicious,’ he announces, chewing my sandwich. 'I would like to stay here forever and die with you in my arms.'  
'I don't know. I think it's too cold for forever,' I say, smiling.

We are staring at each other, forgetting about the harsh reality and I can feel my heart reacting. He touches my cheek and the familiar electric current runs through me. His hands are warm, caressing my pale skin. His deep-blue eyes are filled with serenity and passion. I keep telling myself to breathe, but I am unable to exhale the air from my lungs. Then he leans forward and his lips touch mine, increasing the temperature in my body. He kisses me gently, trying to break his way through, testing to see if I let him in. His lips are sweet and warm. A few seconds later it is all over and he disappears once again, leaving me uncontrollably awake and trying to gather my wild thoughts.

About The Author:

Joanna Mazurkiewicz was born in Poland. She moved to United Kingdom when she was only nineteen and just finished high school. She had aspired to be a writer upon completion of the Harry Potter series but also enjoyed reading books like ‘Gone with the Wind’, ’Animal Farm’ and ‘The doll’. She graduated from Swansea University with a bachelor degree in American Studies. While studying in the UK she made a decision to start writing fiction in English. 
The “Whispers of the Sprite” is her first debut novel and she is currently working on the second book in the series. Joanna lives in Cowbridge, a small town in South Wales near Cardiff with her boyfriend Bruce. She enjoys cycling around Welsh countryside some of which has become the settings in her first series. 

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Short Story~Phantom by Isra



It was the family’s first night. The night was dark. A breeze rustled the trees that lined the far end on the 27th Street, and a full moon was up and shining clean white light over the proceedings. It was getting cold with every passing hour. The new family was preparing t sleep, when the lights in their room started fluctuating. There was a sudden cold that gripped the trio. The house shook for a moment.

“I’ll check what’s wrong.” frowned Mr. Jake.

“Be careful, honey.” Jake nodded once. The moment he left, all the disturbances subsided. Suddenly, a misty orange light that was filtering through the curtains from the street lamp outside the window, began to flicker.

“Come on, dear. Let’s go see where your father is.” Jake’s wife took her daughter’s hand as they started down the stairs….

The entire world seemed to sink beneath her feet as her eyes met the lifeless form on the floor. No stream of liquid flowed from the body. No signs of violence tattooed the flesh. There was only the fearful geometry of the man’s head… turned backward, twisted 180° in the wrong direction. It was Jake.

Far in Illinois, Sam Winchester woke up with a start.

“Why did you let me fall asleep?” Sam’s voice was hoarse.

“Because I’m an awesome brother. What did you dream about?”

Sam told Dean what he saw.

:That’s weird,” said Sam while scanning his laptop, after two hours of research.

“What you’ve got?” asked Dean as he sat on the bed.

“It’s this old town in Illinois. Many families come to live here, but they leave after  few weeks.”

“And that’s what’s got you worried, Sammy? Hah!” Cackled Dean.

“Yeah, very funny. A few houses are renovated. Here’s-“

“How many?”

“Not mentioned. That’s not the point, Dean. Two months ago, a family came to live in the town. A few members were killed. Same is what happened a year ago, and then five years back. Here’s an old legend.” Dean made a face when he heard Sam saying this.

“Look Dean. Our job is to hunt evil. We need to look into this. The vision I saw, and then after reading this, there’s definitely something supernatural going on there. The man must’ve been dead by now. It’s our job-“

“So what about the legend?” Dean cut him off.

“Early in 80s, residents of the town said that there lived a maniac who was a….lover.” Sam cleared his throat uneasily.

“I’m listening.” Dean smiled earnestly.

“Fell in love with a girl from the Radley’d place. People claimed he went out at night when the moon was high and peeped in the windows of the place. They say that any stealthy crimes committed in the town were his work. The girl died one day, and the dude never showed himself in public. Uh, that’s about it.”

“Poor fella.”

“They called him the ‘Phantom’.”

“Why that? Anyway, you think this phantom dude’s spirit’s got something to do with this?”

“I guess so.” replied Sam.

“Well then, let’s hit the road, Haley Joel.”

A tear rolled down Jake’s wife’s face. It felt as if everything had changed with unnatural suddenness. She began to sob. She had no clue as to how many hours had gone past sitting beside her husband’s corpse. She needed help. She grabbed her daughter and took the keys that hung beside the door. She got the key inside the hole and turned. The door remained locked. Awkward. She tried again. Damn! Nothing. What was wrong? Did they receive the wrong key? Why wasn’t it working? She started banging, when she heard a car stop, probably near her house.

“Hey! Hey! Stop. We’ve come to help. Stand back.” Someone yelled.

There was a bang.

The lock mechanism was now in tatters, the wood surrounding it entirely pulverized. The door was now fallen ajar, as the lock had released. Two men stood in the doorway-one in a leather jacket, and the other, sasquatch.

“Uh… This is Dean and I’m Sam. We are investigators, we were passing through the town, had some work to do. Think we could help you?”

Jake’s wife started crying. The Winchesters tried to help her.

“We need to talk.” Said Sam to his brother, after being told what happened in the house. “I’m gonna check the house and see if I can find anything about the dude.”

“What will you do? Isn’t it obvious? His spirit hunts whoever moves in the area.”

“I need to find where he’s buried. We gotta burn the bones, dean.”

Sam Winchester had just covered some distance on foot when he noticed a house with bare ground-unholy ground. Fantastic! This was his place. He opened the door and searched the rooms. He found clues about who the Phantom really was. He came across an album on the floor. He picked it up and saw the young lover standing in front of the same house. There was a tree nearby. Sam rushed outside. There was no tree. That was his place to dig.

“So, what do you think? What is it?” asked Jake’s wife, back at the house.

“We’re not sure. We think it’s an old man’s spirit.” Dean shrugged. The woman kept nagging.

“You think such things exist?” she gasped?

“Yeah-“ As soon as he said this, they heard a creaking far up ahead. Lights flickered. Dean got his gun out. Suddenly Jake’s wife got pinned to the wall, so did her daughter. Dean sensed something behind him. He turned around and shot the spirit with rock salt bullets.

“Thank God!” Jake’s wife gasped as she fell, from the wall.

“Yeah, you can call me Dean.” He winked and smirked back.

“Watch out!”

It came again. A sizzling pair of prongs scratched the back of Dean’s head; a searing pain shot through his body. He fell to his knees.

“Hurry up, Sam!” He screamed.

Sam saw the bones. That was it. He threw the matchstick, and the fire lit up. He ran back towards the Radley place.

“Dean!”

He moved towards his brother and helped him stand up. Curious eyes saw the brothers.

“Listen, we…we are hunters. We came across the mysterious killings and we thought we might check in.”

“So…why was it doing it?” she managed.

“It’s like some unfinished job…business.” Sam shrugged, “Maybe you didn’t get something you wanted. It may be for love, revenge. In this case, he lost his loved one. His soul won’t rest, and so he takes revenge from whoever comes in this place. It’s not his fault. Life wasn’t just fair with him.”

“Yeah, Sammy says pansy stuff like that. I don’t have any sympathies for them.”

After that the boys hit the road and Jake’s wife called 911.

Discussion Post~Letting go of Books

I really have a hard time letting go of books. I have never given away or sold my books. I just love them too much! :(


But a few days ago, for the first time ever, I let go. I donated my books. Our school is working with this organization which provides books to unprivileged kids. I had A LOT of old books  piled up in my shelf which I had read a long time ago, and probably wasn't going to read ever again. So I donated them.

At first I wasn't that willing to do it. But then I thought about the kids who will receive them. Maybe some of them loved to read. Maybe they loved falling into a book and going on all these cool adventures but couldn't because they couldn't afford a book. Maybe I would be able to give them that. Share my love of books with them. And then I felt so good about donating those books :)

Here's a picture of the books I gave away:


Monday, October 1, 2012

Musing Mondays~4

Musing Mondays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

This weeks musing asks....

What distracts you when you really "should be reading"? ;)

My answer: School. Home-work. Exams. These are the only distractions that don't let me read. :-?

What about you? What distracts you from reading?
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