Stacking the Shelves #17 April Haul

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and is a great way to showcase books you've recently added to your bookshelves. It is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

But for my STS, I'll be showing here only the physical copies of books I recently owned/borrowed/won. eBooks/eARCs will be showcased on my In My Mailbox posts.

Bought from National Book Store:

1. Hollow City (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children #2) by Ransom Riggs

2. Shatter Me (Shatter Me#1) by Tahereh Mafi

3. Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky #1) by Veronica Rossi

4. Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky #2) by Veronica Rossi

5. Into the Still Blue (Under the Never Sky #3) by Veronica Rossi

Bought from Fully Booked:

1. Maybe Someday by Melissa Kantor

2. To All the Boys I've Loved Before (To All the Boys I've Loved Before #1) by Jenny Han

3. Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

Won from HarperCollins Publishers:

1. Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth (SIGNED)

How about you? What's added to your haul? :)

Review: CHOOSING YOU by Allie Everhart

Choosing You
by Allie Everheart
Series: Jade #1
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Published September 21st 2013 by Waltham Publishing
Format Acquired: Kindle Book
Source: bought from Kindle Store
Purchase Links: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Kobo / Book Depository

When Jade is given a scholarship to an elite private college in Connecticut, she sees it as a chance to finally escape her painful past and get a fresh start. She’s determined to succeed and that means keeping her focus on school and not guys. But her plan falls apart her first day on campus when Garret, a rich prep school boy with swimmer abs and a perfect smile, offers to help her move in.

Jade tries to push him away, but she can’t deny her attraction to him and Garret won’t let her. Things quickly heat up between them, but then come to a sudden halt when reality hits and Jade realizes that a relationship with Garret may never be possible. He comes from a world of wealth where there are rules, including rules about who he can date. And not following those rules has consequences.

As the two of them try to overcome the obstacles working to keep them apart, Jade is confronted with another challenge. On her 19th birthday, she receives a letter that her now deceased mother wrote years ago. In it are revelations that explain her traumatic childhood but also make her question the past she’s been running from.

MY REVIEW

*This is the first EVER book I bought from Amazon Kindle Store and I was so excited to read this! I'm wasn't expecting that much but you know, it's the first time I hit the 'Buy now with 1-click' button not because it's free. (But it's on sale. Haha!)*

Once again, I was introduced to another annoying as hell character: Jade. She's a very bitchy type of person and I can't understand what she really wanted. Let me tell you why. Well, she recently graduated from high school and got a scholarship. During her first few days in college, she kept on blabbing how lonely she feels and how badly she wanted to make friends. But the problem is, she doesn't want to make friends with those who try to befriend her. Like WTF?! What's your problem? She's always been judgmental and I really, really hate her for that.

"I have no interest int being friends with any of these people. I'm here to get an education. That's it."

Garret is our swoon worthy guy on this book. I think he's really nice and patient with making friends with Jade but she can't even be nice to him. He hasn't done anything offensive or what to her and yet she's not accepting his friendship! Well, as time passed by, he finally became her friend. They spend time together and they were often mistaken as lovers. They spend time running together, since it's Jade's favorite past time; they spend time swimming, since Garret's on the swim team and it's his favorite past time. They had pancake dates every weekends, and then there's this practice hugging thing. I think it's really cute!

"I don't know why I'm trying to pretend I don't like him. We both know this friendship is starting to go somewhere. I'm just not sure what it is."

Their relationship developed from hey-you're-so-annoying to friends to lovers. But they never declared each other as his/her girlfriend/boyfriend. Then something happened and Jade hated Garret so much for that. I just hope she understood  him because even she also has secrets she doesn't want Garret to know! Another annoying thing about Jade is that she'a quite a dictator. She wanted Garret to stop drinking, as in STOP it for the rest of his life, like STOP the moment she told him! Hello?! He's not even your boyfriend and you can't tell someone to stop something he does in an instant and hate him if he doesn't! I believe he will, eventually, but it will take time! Come on, Jade!

I knew Jade has her own personal issues on why she's like that, but she can't treat everyone like that. She should't see generally because every person is different from another. If it weren't for Garret's patience and sarcasm, I would totally hate this book. He carried the story from the start until the end.

“Jade, you know I’m not safe out there.” He says it as if he’s really in danger. “Did you see all those girls running around in towels and robes?”

I roll my eyes. “I swear. The insults are coming, my friend. So tell your ego to get ready.”  

Well, the story ended with a freaking cliffhanger! And I have to admit that even though Jade is annoying as hell, I'm still looking forward to reading the next book.

MY RATING

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Allie Everhart

Allie Everhart writes about dating, love, and romance. Allie is the author of The Jade Series, a New Adult Romance that follows the relationship of Jade and Garret during their first year of college. The series includes Choosing You (Jade #1), Knowing You (Jade #2), Loving You (Jade #3) and Promising You (Jade #4). 

Author Links:

Facebook / Goodreads / Twitter

“I’m not much of a hugger.”

“Well, you need one, so don’t just stand there. Put your damn arms around me.” 

Tea-rrific Topic #2: Genre Dilemmas

When I started this book blog, it has always been YA books that I read. Particularly those that fall under science fiction, dystopian, utopian, fantasy, paranormal, and other out of this world genres.

I had developed a vast imagination on non human creatures and typically, I learned every single thing about them through cross referencing on the internet. What I loved most are books about vampires and werewolves. It's like no creature could get any hotter than Damon Salvatore and Jacob Black. I have always swooned over these guys when I first met them at the books. They triggered my love for paranormal books and I didn't regret that.

Since then, I always buy books about them. I read a lot of good books and enjoyed reviewing them on my blog. I was even sometimes lost of words to justify the goodness of a book. Then I was introduced to The Hunger Games. Unfortunately, I didn't fall for any of the guys (Gale Hawthorn and Peeta Mellark). Instead, I fell inlove with the heroin, Katniss Everdeen. A year later, I discovered Divergent and I couldn't get enough of the story, as well as the Dauntless characters of Four and Tris. Badass heroins were always the best!

But now, I am so sad to admit that I think they're not my cup of tea anymore. I don't know what happened. I recently became interested into reading Contemporary novels because they're more realistic and easier to relate to. These past few weeks, I chose to pick up light reads. Maybe this is because of so much stress college gave me, that I can't get my brain to work on extraordinary and futuristic imaginations. 

I'm not saying that I won't read books that fall under those genres anymore. I guess I need to take a break from reading those kinds of books. Anyway, I'd still be posting reviews of books about them, books I have read before I suffered this reading problem. Expect book reviews of the following YA titles:

• Ignite Me (Shatter Me #3) by Tahereh Mafi
• White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush #1) by Becca Fitzpatrick

Maybe one day I'd wake up and realize that I miss them. That I miss bloody nights with a vampire, howls of a wolf, magical dusts of fairies, enchantments of witches,  fallen angels, and more badass heroes and heroins. 

So, Are you experiencing genre dilemmas too? Tell me about it! By the way, what contemporary novel would you like to recommend for me to read? Comment them below! :)

Review: EVERBOUND by Brodi Ashton

Everbound
by Brodi Ashton
Series: Everneath #2
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Format Acquired: Hardbound
Source: Gifted from Precious of Fragments of Life
Published Janurary 22nd 2013 by Balzer + Bray
Purchase Links: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Kobo / Book Depository

Nikki Beckett could only watch as her boyfriend, Jack, sacrificed himself to save her, taking her place in the Tunnels of the Everneath for eternity — a debt that should’ve been hers. She’s living a borrowed life, and she doesn’t know what to do with the guilt. And every night Jack appears in her dreams, lost and confused and wasting away.

Desperate for answers, Nikki turns to Cole, the immortal bad boy who wants to make her his queen — and the one person least likely to help. But his heart has been touched by everything about Nikki, and he agrees to assist her in the only way he can: by taking her to the Everneath himself.

Nikki and Cole descend into the Everneath, only to discover that their journey will be more difficult than they’d anticipated — and more deadly. But Nikki vows to stop at nothing to save Jack — even if it means making an incredible sacrifice of her own.

In this enthralling sequel to Everneath, Brodi Ashton tests the bonds of destiny and explores the lengths we’ll go to for the ones we love.

MY REVIEW

"Stay with me, Becks. Dream of me. I am ever yours."

OMG! I've waited so long for this sequel and it's finally in my hands!!! *squeals* Even though this stayed on my shelf for a month or so. Lol. I know this was published about a year ago, but since my Everneath copy is paperback, I've waited for the paperback release of this book! But when I learned about the Pinoy Book Tours Christmas Party, this book topped my wishlist! Thanks to Precious of Fragments of Life for the copy! I got a hardbound, but I'll still be buying a paperback! :D

Jack took Nikki's place in the Tunnels of Everneath. That was a big sacrifice and I can tell how sad and guilty Nikki is for what he'd done. So she did everything she can to go after him at the Tunnels, even if it means asking help from the guy she hated the most -- Cole. Plus, time is running out and Jack's mom blames her for her son's disappearance. Good thing is, Will, Jack's brother, believes she's innocent. Well, since he knew everything about the Everneath and Jack's sacrifice for Nikki.

The only thing keeping Jack alive is Nikki. She has to hold onto him every night when he visits her in her dreams. She need to make him remember and give him glimpses of their memories together. It's just sad that even though they wanted to hold each other, they can't. It hurts so much, knowing you can see the one you love, talk to to him, but you can't touch him. And if ever Nikki gave up, she'll lose Jack forever.

"How am I supposed to do this, Jack?"

"Do what?"

"Live this borrowed life. Without you. Knowing that you're there because of me."

At the first chapters, you will see that Cole has been missing for months and not much was explained about this so I suggest you read Neverfall, an Everneath novella which happened right after Everneath. It's in Cole's POV so you'll understand better his feelings for Nikki and why he's doing all these things. (When I read Neverfall, I loved Cole even more. *winks*) Anyway, Cole somehow showed himself to Nikki unexpectedly. Nikki wanted to shove him away but then she realized that Cole is her only key to go to the land of the Everlivings so she had no choice but to talk to him. As usual, Cole tried his best to convince Nikki to come with him and reign at the Everneath.

"You showed me that relationships are worth sacrifices. I used to think they were fleeting, but I know better now. . .You made me a better person. I mean, a better immortal."

At some point, Nikki was able to convince Cole to accompany her to Everneath. To be honest, I find it a little bit icky on how to go to the Everneath. Damn, you have to swallow a strand of hair or a piece of an Everliving's fingernail! It's odd, but it's not a common way to travel to a different world. Usually you're gonna needa gem or something to do so, so I'm quite amazed how the author was able to put that up. Also, a lot more of Everneath was unveiled in this book. I saw a wider view of this world and I am amazed by how Ashton described every corner of it. There's even a map of Everneath at the first page of the book! Go grab your copy if you want to see and navigate the land of the Everlivings!

Yes, the sole purpose why Nikki took the risk of returning to Everneath is Jack, but in this book, Cole is the main guy. Seems like Jack can only pull it off at the Surface. But Cole? He can on both! Well, there was a short time where I was confused whether I'm Team Jack or Team Cole. Jack's words were just...so sweet. It's part of Nikki's flashbacks, though.

With his head still down, he said, "I waited for you."

"But it's a race. Why did you wait for me?"

He lifted his head so that his eyes met mine. "I always wait for you. . .I'm always waiting for you."

There's nothing bad I could say about Jack. There's nothing wring with him and I can say that his feelings for Nikki were true and sincere. Only a guy with a sincere heart would sacrifice himself like that. But I'm still Team Cole! I admit I have the "Second Guy Syndrome." LOL. And the following words made me swoon all over Cole. I believe his feelings for Nikki were real. I believe he's not using her for his own profit. I... I just believe that he's good deep inside.

Cole and I turned toward the water. "Ready?" I asked.

"We have no idea what we're jumping into."

"I know. But I don't have anything to lose."

"I do!. . .You have to know. . .If I lost you. . .Why can't you see that would be the end of me?"

And I loved that there's more action here. More story, and more twists! I really enjoyed the part where Cole and Nikki, together with Max and Ashe traveled on their quest save Jack from the Tunnels. Nikki's character improved so much. She's sad and in deep grief but she doesn't let her feelings get in her way to save Jack. Instead, those negative feelings gave her positive vibes and determination to save him. She's braver and smarter.

I can clearly picture out everything! The water, wind, and fire obstacles in the Everneath were Ashton's writing is so good and never fail to amaze my imagination. Plus, the ending! I didn't never saw that coming! I think that's the main twist in this story. And those words she said, so badass! I can't wait to see how she'll put those words into action!

“You know the Everneath?"

"Uh, yeah, I think I'm familiar with it."

"Good. Because I'm going to destroy it. I'm taking the whole. Damn. Thing. Down. Are you with me?

"Always. Forever.”

Gaaaaaah! I love this book so much and I can't wait to read Evertrue! Thanks to HarperCollins International for sending me an ARC of Evertrue!

MY RATING

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brodi Ashton

Because of two parents who were Greek myth geeks, I grew up thinking the latest fashion trends were inspired by Aphrodite, and a good conversational opener was, “So, which mythological character do you most resemble?” Despite these social shortcomings, I found a great husband who’s always my first reader. We live in Utah with our two young boys, who still have no idea why I'm at the computer all the time.

I received a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Utah and a Master’s degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics.

Author Links:

Blog / Facebook / Goodreads / Twitter

“I trusted you,” my voice shaky with anger and exhaustion.

“I know,” Cole said simply. “And now I have all of eternity to earn your forgiveness.” 

Review: HOPELESS by Colleen Hoover

Hopeless
by Colleen Hoover
Series: Hopeless #1
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Format Acquired: Paperback
Source: bought from Fully Booked
Published May 7th 2013 by Atria Books
Purchase Links: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Kobo

Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies. In this #1 New York Times bestselling novel by Colleen Hoover, author of Slammed and Point of Retreat, Sky meets Dean Holder, a guy with a reputation that rivals her own. Holder has the ability to invoke feelings in Sky she's never had before. In just one encounter he leaves her terrified yet captivated and something about him brings up a rush of memories from the past that she’s worked so hard to bury away.

Sky knows Holder is nothing but trouble and tries to keep him at a distance, but he is adamant about learning everything he can about her. Sky finally caves to his unwavering pursuit, but she soon finds out that Holder isn't the person he's been claiming to be. When the secrets he's been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky's life changes forever.

MY REVIEW

Okay. So, I read this book a long time ago, about 6 months ago.

Hopeless is the first New Adult book that I read. It introduced me to the world of contemporary romance fiction and well, I was pretty impressed. I read this because a lot of my blogger friends were raving so many good feels about this book, and how amazing Colleen is as a writer. So I thought I must give it a shot.

The story is about Sky, whose mom forbids her to use any form of technology in their life like cellphone, computer, internet, and even the television. I wonder how they would survive with that situation. Not that technology is really necessary, but they should atleast watch the news, right? The moment I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down. I was craving for more every single page I turn. I found myself deeply engaged with the story and I didn't even notice that tears were already falling down my cheeks. Colleen is an amazing writer when it comes to emotions. Yes, I say this even though I haven't read her Slammed series yet.

“My lack of access to the real world has been replaced completely by books, and it can’t be healthy to live in a land of happily ever afters.” 

Dean Holder. My first ultimate book boyfriend. He is such an amazing guy and I can't express how much I adore him. He's kinda mysterious at first, having this Hopeless word tattooed on his arm and I don't even know why of all words, he chose that. Being hopeless doesn't fit his strong and passionate character, right? But as the story goes on, I learned that he's also broken deep inside and he's very good at keeping it to himself. The moment he met Sky is also the moment he became fragile. I have no idea at first why Sky. What's with her? Then I found out that she's... alright no spoiler. Lol.

“Sky, if you’re wondering if I have commitment issues, the answer is no. Someday in the far, far, far away future…like post-college future…when I propose to you…which I will be doing one day because you aren’t getting rid of me…I won’t be marrying you with the hope that our marriage will work out. When you become mine, it’ll be a forever thing. I’ve told you before that the only thing that matters to me with you are the forevers, and I mean that.” 

Dean has always been gentle to Sky. He didn't take advantage to her. Not even once. Not even is he knows her past, her story. He's the gentleman of every girl's dream. I feel sorry for him, knowing his tragic past. Most of all, I feel sorry for Sky. I have no words to say, just tears. I don't even know what to do if I were in her shoes. Blocking out the memory of her past is not cowardice for me, but being strong enough to forget them. Maybe I would do the same thing. I don't know. She's so damn lucky to have Dean in her life. To have him from the very start. *winks*

“And while I could sit here and feel sorry for myself, wondering why all of this happened to me..I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to wish for a perfect life. The things that knock you down in life are tests, forcing you to make a choice between giving in and remaining on the ground or wiping the dirt off and standing up even taller than you did before you were knocked down. I'm choosing to stand taller. I'll probably get kicked down a few more times before this life is through with me, but I can guarantee you I'll never stay on the ground.” 

The love story between Sky and Holder is perfect. No instalove happened. But in Holder's case, there has always been something about Sky the moment he saw her. And Sky have no idea about Holder's interest for her. It's because he has always been gentle to her. No pressure at all. But he's always there for her and promised to protect her with all his life. They were both broken, but they gave each other the strength and hope they needed. Gaaaah! I just loved every single page in this book.

“When I touch you, I’m touching you because I want to make you happy. When I kiss you, I’m kissing you because you have the most incredible mouth I’ve ever seen and you know I can’t not kiss it. And when I make love to you—I’m doing exactly that. I’m making love to you because I’m in love with you.” 

Hopeless is a story filled with emotions. Mixed emotions. My friends who read this already warned me to prepare a box of tissue, as well as prepare myself for Dean Holder. I thought I was prepared enough, but no. I didn't expect Hopeless to touch my heart this way. And Sky, I felt her emotions all through out the whole story. There's a twist in the story I didn't expect. And it really shocked me. I was speechless when I read that part and I want you guys to watch out for that. This story is very realistic.

MY RATING

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Colleen Hoover

I love music. LOVE music. Namely The Avett Brothers, Lumineers, Pink, Eminem. I have eclectic taste? If you have any recommendations, send them my way!

I'm addicted to diet pepsi and could tell you in a taste-test which restaurant it came from. It's a serious addiction, I tell you. I get stoked whenever I get a message from goodreads saying I have a new friend request...so request me, dangit! If you want to know when I have new books out or just want to be inundated by random, pointless blog posts, follow me at www.colleenhoover.com 

Avoid my Twitter at all cost. It's propaganda.

Author Links:

Blog | Goodreads | Twitter

“Sky, I'm not kissing you tonight but believe me when I tell you, I've never wanted to kiss a girl more. So stop thinking I'm not attracted to you because you have no idea just how much I am. You can hold my hand, you can run your fingers through my hair, you can straddle me while I feed you spaghetti, but you are not getting kissed tonight. And probably not tomorrow, either. I need this. I need to know for sure that you're feeling every single thing that I'm feeling the moment my lips touch yours. Because I want your first kiss to be the best first kiss in the history of first kisses.” 

Fallen Angels unite: Becca Fitzpatrick in Manila!!!

HUSH. A moment of Silence please, as I present to you one of the most adorable author I've ever met! Let's welcome, Becca Fitzpatrick! It was such a privilege for us to be invited by the National Book Store to attend a forum where we can ask Becca about her books and writing, as well as sign our books! This is probably one of the biggest events I've been this year, so far.

During the bloggers forum, Becca was asked by some of us about her books, the Hush, Hush series and her upcoming books which are Black Ice and Sapphire Skies. She's kind enough to give us a glimpse about them! Plus, she told us that we were the first readers to hear about the plot of Sapphire Skies. Hooray for that!

Another thing I love about bookish events is that I get to meet again with my lovely blogger friends! I just love ranting and raving about books with them, I don't mind the noise, the squeals, and fangirling all over the characters we love! No dull moments with them. :)

Also, during the forum, Becca was asked a few questions like how Hush, Hush is different from other fallen angels books. She said that since she hasn't read other fallen angel books, she thinks that Patch is what drives the readers into her books because while reading reviews, most of the readers talk about Patch. Aside from that, she finally talked about the issue her books were compared to the Twilight series. She told us that it's okay because she loved Twilight. BUT she thinks it completely different in some way because she started writing Hush, Hush long before Twilight was published.

Here are some of our group photos and group selfies during the event. Group selfies were always the hardest to take. But in the end, we still manage to do it so... it's not hard at all!  We were able to fit our faces in. LOL

Me with Becca! I really love her hair! It's Taylor Swift-y like curls! I observed that she's not as bubbly like the other authors I met, but she's very adorable, kind and sweet. She's also very generous and down to earth. I like (no, love!) her personality.

Selfie with Becca and snapshots of my signed books! *happy dance*

The Pinoy Book Bloggers and Becca Fitzpatrick! Look at all those pretty faces!

The event didn't end that way... because the main highlight of this forum is when National Book Store, Simon and Schuster, and Becca Fitzpatrick generously gave each one of us an ARC of her upcoming book, Black Ice, to be released this October! This was really a BIG surprise to all of us and we are all so thankful to these people for this great opportunity.

Pinoy Book Bloggers, Becca Fitzpatrick, and our Black Ice ARCs!

After the bloggers forum, some of us headed to the public book signing to witness how many fangirls and fanboys attended to have their books signed.

And look! The NBS activity center was overflowing with fans! The total number reached almost a thousand! Here's a photo of Becca with her fans raising their books.

AGAIN, THANK YOU NATIONAL BOOK STORE, POWERBOOKS, AND SIMON AND SCHUSTER FOR MAKING THIS EVENT POSSIBLE!