NOVEMBER 9 by Colleen Hoover Book Review [Non-Spoiler]

Sunday, February 7, 2016







Title: November 9
Author: Colleen Hoover
Website: http://november9book.com/
Published by: Atria Books on 10th of November 2015
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Setting: Los Angeles, California
Format: Trade Paperback, 320 pages
Copy Source: Borrowed from Daniela :)
Purchase: NBS [PH] | Amazon | B&N
Rating: 5 Roses

Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.

I freaking cried a handful of tears finishing this book until 12:30 in the morning of February 3. Sorry, I just have to say the date even though it's far from November 9. HAHA

I knew deep down in my heart that Colleen Hoover will never make an easy character. She will not craft one that has no less than a dramatic past that may be connected to a series of downfall in that character's present happiness. I mean, I think it's her best formula and I never did like the way she wove it in her past novels that I have read, but I can certainly say that I loved how she made November 9 made me feel otherwise. This is my third CoHo novel, and I can finally say that finally, after three long novels, I finally found that one CoHo I can finally swoon about.

The moment that I finally got to the first glimpse of the connection between Fallon and Ben, my eyes went wide with disappointment, and in my head I was saying, "not again!", but I did not waver. I kept my mind open for the possibility that I still might like it, because all my friends loved it. I made the right choice because despite the first wave of disappointment, I found myself in tears and then I knew right then that whatever the ending might be, I already knew that this novel has captured my heart even with my initial distaste with the plot twist.

I felt both heartache and happiness and I was satisfied with both feelings. The fourth, fifth and last November 9 was definitely the ones that would broke your heart into fragments and it can only be mended by the truth found on the last remaining pages.

This book was not quite original, but unique in its own way. There's this one scene where Ben said that he would be insulted if their story is compared to One Day or Sleepless in Seattle since it is an entirely different concept to what they were doing. Which is true, somehow. Before Trilogy (movie) is the closest that I can think of. Maybe I'll do a separate movie review for that, so I'll talk a lot about it there.


All in all, this book was great. The dialogues are witty and the characters are lovable and memorable, plus the fact that Ben was a writer and Fallon was a reader and everything just falls into place for me and this book. Another book to place on my favorites' shelf. *wink*

Obsidian & Oblivion by Jennifer L. Armentrout Book Review

Thursday, January 28, 2016






















OBSIDIAN
Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring… until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something… unexpected happens.


The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.


If I don’t kill him first, that is.


OBLIVION
Experience the epic love story of OBSIDIAN as told by its hero, Daemon Black…

I knew the moment Katy Swartz moved in next door, there was going to be trouble. Lots of it.

And trouble’s the last thing I need, since I’m not exactly from around here. My people arrived on Earth from Lux, a planet thirteen billion light years away. Plus, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that humans can’t be trusted. We scare them. We can do things they only dream about, and honestly, we make them look weak as hell. ‘Cuz they are.

But Kat is getting to me in ways no one else has, and I can't stop myself from wanting her—or wanting to use my powers to protect her. She makes me weak, and I’m the strongest of our kind, tasked with protecting us all. So this one simple girl…she can mean the end for us. Because the Luxen have an even bigger enemy—the Arum, and I need to stay on my game.

Falling for Katy—a human—won't just place her in danger. It could get us all killed, and that’s one thing I’ll never let happen..



***REVIEW***

I've read Obsidian two years ago, and I was nearly done with the third book, Opal, when I stopped continuing the series. I have no reason behind that, I just suddenly forgot that I was reading the Lux series maybe because of my college life spiraling down or whatever, but I did stopped. I decided to reread Obsidian when I found out that Obsidian is written in Daemon's POV (Oblivion), and I read these two books, alternating between chapters because I think it'd be good to see same scenarios in different heads, that is Katy's and Daemon's.

I can't believe that even though I've already read Obsidian a few years back, it still didn't cease to enthrall me with its charm and kick-ass-ness (there's no such word, Ishie!). Reading it again for the second time, I still wasn't spared from Daemon's green eyes and I still fell for him over and over again (three times now, because I've read Obsidian twice and Oblivion once*wink*).

Jennifer L. Armentrout is just a genius in making hot male protagonists and seeing Obsidian again for the first time through a different perspective is just refreshing. Maybe you'd think that it would be boring because it's just the scenes from Obsidian just changing some stuff, but it's not. You would freaking enjoy Daemon's arrogant and cocky thoughts as he tries so hard to stay away from Katy but found himself doing the opposite every single time. As much as it is fun staying in Katy's malicious head, it is so much more fun in Daemon's undressing (HAHA) and brooding thoughts.

Katy is a representation of the book nerd in all of the bookworms in existence, mainly us. She's a book blogger and vlogger, who freaking met a freaking hot alien and the hotness is freaking all around that you just can't help but be envious. Like, hey, I review books too, where's my hot neighbor alien?! Katy, you are freaking lucky but unfortunate at the same time. I just know that you are in the center of a freaking war that not even Daemon is aware of yet (I think).

I admit that there are some parts that are way better told in Katy's POV, especially the fight scenes in the end. It is much more intense in Kat's because she is a fragile human that can die at any moment (which is totally impossible, though, because there are still other books in the series where she'll be POV'ing on once againg) and you can feel every pain searing through her.

I really love this series even though I'm not done with all the books yet. This is a gut feeling, but I know I will. *wink*

Rating: 5 ROSES


Best Books I've Read in 2015 & Goals and Challenges for 2016

Tuesday, January 5, 2016



I've only read a total of 37 books last year. Three more books and I would've completed my 2015 Goodreads Reading Challenge, deym! So out of 37 books, I can say that I fell in luuuurve with 8 of them. Two standalones and six books in a series.

In no particular order. I just can't choose which ones to go first and last. :P

by Jerry Spinelli

This is the first book that made me cry tons last year and I would definitely reread it this year. I love that this book is about individuality and it awakens the child in all of us. It inspires us to do good in others. This book should be read by everyone, child and adults alike, it's a must.

by Marissa Meyer

I haven't gotten into reading the next books in this series because I want to own the physical copy but I haven't had the chance yet to buy the next one, so I'll probably be reading Scarlet this year.
This book got me hooked! Who knew I would love a cyborg Cinderella that much? Even I can't believe that I did. I once cringe at the thought of that but I was thankful I read Cinder. You should def try it too. *wink*
by Jennifer Niven

Need a reminder that you are not alone? Read ATBP.
I don't suffer from any of the issues talked about in the book but I really loved the book anyway.


by Claudia Gray

Geeee. Paul Markov. Geeee. I love this book and I am still waiting for the next book. It's out in the local bookstores but it's still not available in any bookstores near me. UGH. I'm dying.
This book will take you places and I love those places myself. Ooooh Russiaaaa!!
by V.E. Schwab

I was stunned with this book. I love all the characters and I love the setting so much. This was my second book with parallel universe and at first I thought it would be boring and just the same as many other parallel universes out there but IT.IS.NOT! It is so AMAZEBALLS!
by Thalia Khalkipsakis

Time travel is different in this book, and I never thought about it that way before. It shed a light on how it  truly is to time travel, and here I am still hoping that I could travel, deym.

by Nicholas Sparks

I did not finish my #NSRead-A-Thon last year *saaad*. I only managed to finish 4 books, I think, of Nicholas Sparks, but I'm still on it this year, no one can stop me.
I really love The Longest Ride, both the book and the movie equally. I fell in love, like really fell in love with all the characters in the book. It is like The Notebook for me and I love it so much.

by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Lastly, my second to the last read of 2015, Illuminae. It's one hell of a roller coaster ride with fun pages and everything you want to find in a sci-fi novel. Complete with space ship schematics and files and stuff that is sooooo sci-fi-y! :D

__________________________________

I also did not finish my Popsugar Reading Challenge. I have no time to update it yet, but soon I think I'll add more books to that, but even with the addition, I don't think I was successful in that challenge. I should do better this year. *grins*

__________________________________

2016 READING GOALS



I am a full-time student by day and a part-time reader by night and free time, but my Goodreads Reading Challenge for this year is to read 50 books. Last year my goal was only 40 and I did not finish it in time, but I'm pushing it this year by adding 10 more. Study harder, though.

With this, here are my bookish resolutions for this year:

  • Read more on genres I've yet to explore.
  • Finish series
  • Save up to buy physical copies of books.
  • Read at least one non-fiction
  • Try audiobooks again.
  • READ.MORE. :D

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff Book Review



I was freaking excited when I received this book as a gift during our class christmas party. I had sore throat that time and i had a hard time speaking because my voice is super hoarse but when i opened the gift, I squealed an ugly squeal because the orange cover peeked and said "Hi!!!". I wasn't really expecting it because it's too expensive so it's a real shock.

So anyway, I finished this super thick book in 3 days I think? I read it with my classmate and I was forced to finish it one night because he finished it super fast, and I was like, "What the??". So I finished 400 pages or less in just one night.

I was astounded even when I started this book because it is really creative, and even though I only watched one star wars movie in my entire life, the book reminded me of that in the beginning. And then came Star Trek because of the space ships I think? and when I was in the middle, all I can think about is Legend by Marie Lu set in space.

This is my first sci-fi and I can say it's a good experience. I try all kinds of genre and reading my first sci-fi ever did not disappoint me. I prolly am going to watch all Star Wars movie in one go when I am already done with my holiday stuff with le fambam soon.


Title: Illuminae
Series: The Illuminae Files #1
Author: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Published by: Knopf Books for Young Readers on 20th October 2015
Genre: Sci-fi
Setting: Outer space
Format: HArdbound, 599 pages
Copy Source: Gifted
Purchase: NBS[PH] | Amazon | B & N
Rating: 4.5 Roses

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.
  • I cannot tell you enough how f*ckng beautiful this book is. Every bookshelf should own an Illuminae because it's really beautiful inside and out! Plus, all curse words are censored in black pentel pen like thing-y. I mean, what other book does that?! Yuhh, the awesomeness can't be contained, what with the schematics of the space ships, blowing of planets and all those cool intergalactic, interstellar whatever stuff that is going on inside this 599-page book! YOU.SHOULD.DEFINITELY.READ.ILLUMINAE!
  • This book is a crazy experience for me. Not the usual type of book I read all the time because the story is told in transcripted files from intercoms, cctvs, chatbox, and others. It was really cool even though I had a hard time following in the first half (I was bored, in other words), but after 200 pages, I think, I.WAS.HOOKED!
  • The second half was a real page turner. You can't even fathom the crazy stuff that happens along the way. So many deaths and shocking revelations that you never want to close the book until the end. And when I say SHOCKING REVELATION, you'll really get shocked big time. I don't want to spoil anything but there is a part in the book where I literally stood up and said HO-LY SHEEZ! with wide eyes and I had a hard time moving on after that. Guhhh.
  • I think it's been such a long time since I last read a book with relationships that aren't built on sexual tension. Ezra and Kady's relationship is a series of funny IM's and conversations that makes you want to smile or giggle or laugh. Their banter turned to not too sweet conversations in the span of the book. I tell you, this is the only book where you'll get OD'd with chat flirting.
  • The ending was way better than I thought it would be. It wrapped up in an awesome way that gave way to the second book which is really intriguing, by the way, because you know that there's a bigger war in play and Illuminae is just the freaking start. Illuminae blew my mind and I have no idea what more secrets and bam bam bam! the next book would offer! I.AM.EXCITED!!
  • All in all, PEW! PEW! PEW! Read or I'll shatter your space ship into tiny gazillion pieces!
    Glimpse inside the dust jacket and inside the book itself. Amazeballs *O*

Kiss Kill Love Him Still by Jamie Blair Book Review

Monday, January 4, 2016

Title: Kiss Kill Love Him Still
Author: Jamie Blair & Dawn Rae Miller
Published: 10th November 2015
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Format: e-ARC
Copy Source: The Fantastic Flying Book Club Blog Tour
Rating: 2.5 Roses

Jackson Landis kept secrets. It's how he got girls into bed, the grades he wanted, and a reputation for being the life of the party.

But now he's dead, and no one knows how or why. Especially not the four girls whose secrets he protected. Secrets so scandalous they could cause each girl to lose something valuable. Secrets so dark, someone may have killed for them.

The four girls - a campus drug dealer, an overweight bookworm, a closeted lesbian, and a spoiled princess have one thing in common – they’re terrified the things Jackson knew may not have died with him. As Reggie, Haddie, Val, and Livie try to piece together her own role in Jackson’s death, each girl realizes Jackson had some not-so-pretty skeletons of his own.

Which makes a girl wonder, who really wanted Jackson Landis dead?


Am I supposed to be impressed with this book? I was really intrigued at the synopsis. I really wanted to know who killed Jackson Landis, and the way the blog tour was executed made it more exciting to find who the real murderer is.

Finishing the book, I was really disappointed at how it ended. In my opinion, I think this book is better as a standalone. The ending sucked and making a sequel would be trying too hard to make it longer. Although I may never know right now if the sequel would be better than what I am imagining, but as of the moment, I'm giving it 2.5 roses. I really didn't love the story, at all, and the way it ended made my decision not to love it even more solid than when I was halfway through it.

I don't love the characters enough but I am curious as to who is the killer. Maybe I'm just going to google for spoilers when the next book comes out. Taaa!


Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover Book Review

Sunday, January 3, 2016


Title: Ugly Love
Author: Colleen Hoover
Published by: Atria Books on August 2014
Genre: New Adult
Setting: San Francisco, California USA
Format: E-book
Rating: 2.5 Roses

When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she doesn't think it's love at first sight. They wouldn't even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn't want love, she doesn't have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.

Never ask about the past.
Don't expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can't handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated.
Promises get broken.
Rules get shattered.
Love gets ugly.



______________________________________

Note: I wrote this short review after the long one below because I can't decide on what to rate Ugly Love. The review below is spoiler-free, but read at your own will. I just don't want to spoil you with the characters.

I am starting to hate stand-alones right now. It's a real challenge for authors to wrap up novels in a single book. I thought I would love this book by CoHo but I did not. I am starting to feel like I am picking the wrong books of CoHo to start with. I've read two books and I love the way she writes it and I love the cover but the story just never did it for me.

 All in all, this book is steamy and squeal-worthy in some parts. What drove me to finish the book, aside from Miles, is my curiosity. I want to find out why Miles is the way he was. Maybe this book was beautiful but it did not suit my taste since I hate women degrading themselves for men.
I enjoyed sweet and romantic Miles (and how he FLEW in love with me :P), as usual, just like with FSOG, the only parts I love were the sweet, romantic and billionaire Grey (LOL).

 I can't decide, so this book is actually 2.5 roses, all because of sweet and romantic Miles and the source of his brokenness (NICK BATEMAN IS AN ADDED BONUS TOO!), Cap and his wit, and the lesson about love, of course. There is no beauty if there is no ugly side to love, and that's just true.
______________________________________



I started this book on December 24 then I stopped.... I picked it up again on the 28th and finished it during our ride home from Ilocos on the 30th. I gotta tell you, it gets pretty awkward at times since I'm in a van with 14 other peeps and I am reading steamy scenes without their knowledge! There are also times when I want to giggle and squeal but I supress it because they might ask what I was reading and I don't want to broadcast to my family that it was Ugly Love. Haha, I have a bookworm cousin and she might know a thing or two about it.

So anyway, I am battling real hard with myself on what rating I am going to give this book, so I guess I am going to break it down first then decide at the end of this review.

Characters

Miles is a really hot guy that is worth all your saliva. He's pretty damn hot, srsly. But hotness aside, I love how his character unfolds in his 6 years earlier POV. You just can't resist both the past and present Miles, even though Miles as a character in the flashback POV seems too stalker-y and I found the poetic feel to it kind of creepy and it doesn't suit Miles at all.
He is f*cking sweet and sentimental, though. Gaaah! Add him to the listof my boyfies, a-kay?

Tate is... ugh. Why do you even exist if you'll just become a "liquid"? (Read to know what I mean)
She is a very weak character in this book. She's a protagonist, yet she's not worthy of anyone's time. There was no depth to her, she's just a "liquid" that becomes a slave to her "solid" Miles. She's just as obsessed as Miles was with Rachel (Miles' ex).

Corbin is someone I look forward to. There's more to him than just this book and I am curious. Please make a novel about him please, Colleen!

I thought Dillon would be a big part as antagonist but he's just a filler. Just to show how hypocrite Miles was.
.........

Attraction is a really strong force between two individuals and I can understand that about all the couples in this book. All relationships here are just attraction, physical attraction to be exact, and infatuation.
What I didn't see on the book was the development of feelings into something more than just attraction, into something more than just sex. Like, what did Tate like about Miles and vice versa? Oh wait, erase that, we all know why Tate fell in love with Miles. What I don't understand is why Miles fell in love with Tate. Haha. Yes, she has a kind heart, what else? Maybe she's sexy and good in bed? Hahaah way to go.
I just don't like Tate as a character. There was no depth to her and I kind of hate how she handles things. I hate the way she picks herself up then just lowers it down for someone else. I hate that. I really hate that. Miles knows how to be a boyfriend but he is disrespectful as a man, and Tate disrespects herself too much to allow Miles to disrespect her the way he did.

This is a standalone novel so I can understand that Colleen Hoover needs to compress everything in a certain number of pages, I just didn't like the way it was wrapped up. The epilogue kind of made up for some, though. It shows how Miles can really love a person when he really wants to love her. But his thoughts, though, still creepy.


Blog Update

Saturday, November 21, 2015

My last book review was published on September...

It's mid-November already and still, no sign of book review on the way! Ugh, wow. School must really brought me this joy of having no leisure time.

Hello! Gee, this is just an update so my blog won't get flies. I can't believe it's almost two months since my last book review on the blog, and as far as I know, I have no new finished books since then because school works are piling up on me. I read books on my spare time though but not enough to finish even a single book. Oh wait, I did finish TWO books. One is Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer but I didn't enjoy it so much and I haven't had the time to write a review about it. I could have written a lot about it though, sadly, the book is not fresh in my mind right now so I can't write about it. The other book I finished was Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier. I haven't had a review on it because I thought I would do a trilogy review. It was a good time travel book. I love those, although this book was kind of just about the world, time and character building, so the fun is only halfway across the book and I'm looking forward to the next book, although I haven't started on it yet. :D

Okay, so apart from the two books with no review, I started reading three books unintentionally.

BOOKS I STARTED, BUT HAVEN'T FINISHED...YET

I bought A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I vowed to read all of his heart-wrenching books so when I saw a pre-loved books sale at @bookhavenph (ig), I bought it and read it right after I received it. It was such a beautiful book and I am on the hundred and twenty-ninth page my heart is starting to slowly shatter itself into pieces. I can't wait to finish it, though and prove my theory about the title (Just like what I did on And the Mountains Echoed).

I read The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks when I saw my sister brought home this book from the library and I snatched it from her, remembering that I still haven't updated my #NSReadAThon and realized that I won't be able to finish my goal before the year ends. Pftt.

Lastly, I am reading my e-arc copy of Kiss Kill Love Him Still that The Fantastic Flying Book Club provided for the blog tour. So far, I am enjoying it and I still have no idea who the killer is.The scavenger hunt was already finished but you can still view the profiles of the potential killers of Jackson Landis, just click here.

CHALLENGE UPDATES
I am so behind all my challenges. Gee.
Goodreads challenge: 33/40 (83%)
Popsugar Reading Challenge: 19/50 *^* ( you can visit the full list here)


PROJECT ANNOTATIONS PH UPDATE

 On its last two readers by this time and hopefully, it would be finished before 2016 so we can open a few spots for other people who would want to annotate books with us! I'm so excited! If you don't know what this is all about, click here or read below:


Project Annotations Ph is a kind of little book club wherein we pass around a book per month. The book can be annotated (either on the pages of the book itself or using sticky notes–depending on the owner of the book) by each reader. Comments, thoughts, reactions, and short messages can be written, favorite quotes may be underlined or highlighted–anything goes. Each reader is given a week with the book. When this done reading, he/she will then send it to the next person. This goes on until the book is back to the owner.The goal is to make the reading experience more interactive and intimate despite the geographical distance between each reader.

So far, this is the pilot testing or sorts and I am the second person to read and annotate the book. I am doing this project with my fellow Filipino booklr friends Nickole (@ishieemouie), Alena (@dustypromises) and Ellen (@thereaderandthebook). The book we are working on is Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. I haven’t read the book yet, and seeing the annotations made by the previous reader just makes me all the more excited about diving into this.

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