From the shelf: The Star Dwellers

Title: The Star Dwellers
Author: David Estes
Genre: Dystopian, Romance
Date read: November 23, 2012
Dawn Rates: ★★★★★ (5/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

After rescuing her father and younger sister, Adele is forced to leave her family and Tristan behind to find her mother in the cruel and dangerous realm of the star dwellers. 

Amidst blossoming feelings for Adele, Tristan must cast his feelings aside and let her find her own way amongst the star dwellers, while he accompanies Adele's father to meet with the leaders of the moon dwellers and decide the fate of the Tri-Realms.

Will Adele be able to rescue her mother and make it back to the Moon Realm before the President and the sun dweller soldiers destroy her family?

Can Tristan convince the moon dweller puppets of the error of their ways?

Was Adele's lost kiss with Tristan her one and only chance at love

In her world there's only one rule: Someone must die.

My Review: (also in goodreads)

Once again got this e-book from an event at goodreads because I posted my review for The Moon Dwellers. This is the second book of the Tri-Realm trilogy.

Unlike the first book where I was confused and slightly bored at the beginning, this book is fast-paced and a page-turner. The kind of book where you would always wonder what happens next and that one would reluctantly put down.

Well, I think nobody should blame Tristan just for the fact that he's a sun dweller and the president's son, a choice he didn't make. But I guess he has to work harder for everyone to trust him. On a side note, Roc's wit and humor leveled up, that's for sure.

So many secrets were revealed in this book that it made my heart race the entire time and that trust is a big issue in this sequel.

Mind blowing and heart-wrenching moments (and for the purpose of everyone who didn't read yet I'll be a bit cryptic):

• The identity of one star dweller general. What a twist!
• Roc has an interest on....it got me on the edge of my seat, laughing.
• The secret of president Nailin concerning Tristan and Roc
• The video conference between Ben, Elsey, Roc, Tristan AND Anna, Tawni, Adele
• The star dweller spy for the sun dwellers
• Who was killed during the revelation of the star dweller spy
• The forum between the star dweller generals
• The reunion
• The unexpected death at the peace summit

I got teary-eyed at the aftermath of what happened to the peace summit as I was saddened by this, sometimes a tragedy paves way for something better.

And with that, I can't wait and most definitely anticipate the third book. (Plus I want to know the true meaning of Anna's note about Tristan and Adele). I could honestly say this would be the best book of the series so far. That was awesome.

Till the next read...

From the shelf: The Moon Dwellers

Title: The Moon Dwellers
Author: David Estes
Genre: Dystopian, Romance
Date read: November 21-22, 2012
Dawn Rates: ★★★★★ (5/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

In a desperate attempt to escape destruction decades earlier, humankind was forced underground, into the depths of the earth, creating a new society called the Tri-Realms. 

After her parents and sister are abducted by the Enforcers, seventeen-year-old Adele, a member of the middle-class moon dwellers, is unjustly sentenced to life in prison for her parents' crimes of treason.

Against all odds, Adele must escape from the Pen and find her family, while being hunted by a deranged, killing machine named Rivet, who works for the President. She is helped by two other inmates, Tawni and Cole, each of whom have dark secrets that are better left undiscovered. Other than her friends, the only thing she has going for her is a wicked roundhouse kick and two fists that have been well-trained for combat by her father.

At the other end of the social spectrum is Tristan, the son of the President and a sun dweller. His mother is gone. He hates his father. Backed by only his servant and best friend, Roc, he leaves his lavish lifestyle in the Sun Realm, seeking to make something good out of his troubled life.

When a war breaks out within the Tri-Realms, Tristan is thrust into the middle of a conflict that seems to mysteriously follow Adele as she seeks to find her family and uncover her parents true past.

In their world, someone must die.

My Review: (also in goodreads)

I got the book at a read to review event at a group I joined at goodreads. This book is the first of the series, another dystopian novel. At first I was confused as to what a sun dweller, moon dweller and star dweller were. The protagonist Adele is one bad-ass, distrustful loner who just cares about oneself. After all, living as a moon dweller would give you that mindset. The first few chapters seems confusing especially at how Adele describes her life and that comparisons to other things. It then passes the baton to Tristan, the other protagonist who like Adele, narrates the story in his point of view. The present situation is that this Tri-realm belongs to a world in the future where people live underground and that everything is bleak and gloomy for everyone.

Tristan's line "I fear for her, a girl I don’t even know." and the fact that they had this inexplicable connection got me curious and slowly interested in the story (thus the 4 and 1/2 star review) about the Tri-realms where as he quotes: "We call ourselves a democracy, but rule like a dictatorship." I love Roc's witty humor and Cole's sarcasm. 

If I would look and judge it by the cover, it would slightly disinterest me but this book gave took me into a wild roller coaster ride of emotions from utter disgust of the way the sun dwellers are living, remorse on what happened to Adele's family, Tawni and Cole's genuine friendship, Roc and Tristan's friendship, to heartbreak over what happened to Cole and my heart is racing as I turn the page. Loved the book and I can't wait on what happens next. If there was a paperback (or hardbound) version of the book, I will definitely purchase it.

And because of that, I earned the privilege to read the second book of the series "The Star Dwellers". Thank you David, I will definitely buy the book and I hope there is a hardbound copy ^^

Till the next read...

From the shelf: Have Baby, Will Date

Title: Have Baby, Will Date
Author: Andrea Pasion
Genre: Filipino Chick-Lit
Date read: November 10-11, 2012
Dawn Rates: ★★☆ (2.5/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

From the shopping list of Denise, 28, freelance pro photographer/new mommy:

1. Film for stock (you never know when digital will backfire)
2. Garbage bags XXL (for all those plastic kubyertos and takeout boxes for one)
3. Pills (last time you forgot them, well...)
4. Condoms (you can't be too sure - just in case he doesn't have any)
5. Calcium supplements (among other vitamins OB-Gyne prescribed)
6. Stretchy tops (didn't realize your tummy could balloon so much)
7. Maternity pants (never ever succumb to tent-like dresses)
8. Disposable diapers (lots and lots of them)
9. Breast pump (no, it's not a foreplay trick)
10. Infant formula (but breast milk is still best for babies)
11. Coke in cans (for your babysitter who makes more money than you, by the way)
12. Lipstick (the really nice, luxe kind, to make you feel better because it's not going to be over soon - it's only the beginning)

For on-the-go shutterbabe Denise. one night of fun quickly turns into a life extraordinary as she assumes a new title: Mommy. Er, make that: Single Mommy. With a demanding career, a brand new baby girl, and very little breast milk, she needs all the help she can get, including that from Coby: Father of the Child. No one said motherhood was easy but single motherhood sure raises the bar!

My opinion? This book is the kind of book that you could read in one sitting and I'm not lying if I say that. A typical feel-good book, it follows the life of Denise who got (forgive me for this) knocked-up just because she forgot the pill. Is the father of the baby a bastard? Wrong. He's a doting father and even offered marriage but I guess the protagonist didn't want long term commitments. This is the kind of book that you could read in a 3 hour trip or in my case an hour. The plot is cute and I was curious, yes. It is the kind of story that isn't so stressful, reading this book was a breeze.

Till the next read...

From the shelf: Beautiful Creatures

Title: Beautiful Creatures
Author: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Romance, Witches
Date read: October 19-21, 2012
Dawn Rates: ★★★★ (4/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

There were no surprises in Gatlin County. We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.At least, that's what I thought.Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.There was a curse.There was a girl.And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

My opinion? I wanted to read the series even before Beautiful Chaos came out. But it seemed like I didn't have the time then...so, here I am now minutes after reading the first book giving my review of it. The male protagonist Ethan Wate (also the narrator of the story) is 16 years old. Yeah~ this is a paranormal YA novel AND yeah~ the character is almost 10 years my junior...seriously~ Anyway, situated in a small town named Gaitlin, here comes the typical "new-girl-in-a-place-where-everybody-knew-everybody-and-a-small-town-boy-who-wanted-to-live-away-from-the-town-he-knew-his-whole-life" scenario. She has this mystery vibe to her and that's where the plot thickens (another same-same situation). Truthfully, the beginning was a bit bland not until I made it to page 65 where they saw the locket in what it seemed to be like a token of distant past, a certain past which involves the mysterious Genevieve - Ethan couple. Interesting. The book captured me when Amma said, "you are not ready"  I thought, ready for what? HUH? What makes it different from the rest? The way the story builds up making you want to ask a thousand questions. Though I wouldn't give it a perfect score, it got better and better as I turned the page. This book at first was so-so but it became so addicting. The mystery in this novel extends to numerous possibilities. I wouldn't spoil it but I felt sorry for Macon Ravenwood, his character may be annoying but still...

Seventeen moons, seventeen years,

Eyes where Dark or Light appears,

Gold for yes and green for no,

Seventeen the last to know.

My favorite line: “Mortals. I envy you. You think you can change things. Stop the universe. Undo what was done long before you came along. You are such beautiful creatures.” - Macon Ravenwood

Till the next read...and when I say next, on to the next novel in the series (Beautiful Darkness)
Do you smell lemons and rosemary? ;)

Hikaru's Library

Yes~ I was even surprised myself that I took the time and allotted a section of this blog for my book reviews (a newbie at that). Just a brief review of this addiction (maybe it was~)  I love books. I love reading. I am one of those children who'd rather have a book for her birthday than a barbie doll...or polly pockets (maybe not polly pockets, they were the only girly thing I loved). I am one of those children that would willingly write a book report that would be submitted next week but would be done in a day. I am one of those people who would rather have people giving me books plus writing a dedication on it for me. That makes my heart melt.

I have been reading as long as I can remember. Although, I didn't preserve some of my 3 year old books *sigh* Milton the monster and his squeaky tummy, The Lost Kitten *sigh* most of them are still with me.

And thus, I decided to blog about it:

Hikaru's Library, yep...Hikaru has always been my favorite Japanese name and I wished I had that name. These pictures were taken on January 1, 2012, the day I took liberty on (finally) organizing my books.

A shelf for some of the popular authors of this time: Dan Brown, Paulo Coelho, Nicholas Sparks, Suzanne Collins, Rick Riordan

Back story: I have all of Rick Riordan's series (Percy Jackson series, Kane Chronicles, Heroes of Olympus series) yes~ I'm a fan. And that Paulo Coelho book, Brida? It was a gift from a dear friend, Ms. Liz.

Summit Media's W.I.T.C.H. series, I haven't completed the series and this was popular way back when I was in high school (10 years ago)

I had my fair share of Archie comics. But of course I'm biased to the Betty and Veronica series

This was my first "grown-up" book report in the 5th grade. Charles Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" The pages are sort of crisp and tattered.

Here are some non-fiction books

My college books

Here are some pre-teen books, Harriet the Spy leading the bunch

I love this series! Ann Martin's "The Baby Sitters Club" series. This was even made into a movie. I collected these books when I was in elementary-high school. A character there has a name same as mine.

Actually, it was my sister Marion and my best friend Dianne who read Francine Pascual's "The Unicorn Club" series. Jessica Wakefield and her friends.

And I was more into Francine Pascual's "Sweet Valley" series. And yea~ I had that phase.

This was mostly my brother TJ's baby books.

Some of my random novels

I collect manga too! (A japanese comic book) My favorite is "Yamato Nadeshiko Schihenge" or known internationally as "The Wallflower"

This book has been with my mother a long time. I think they were still children? Her favorite story here is "Teeny Tiny" The book is too old that the pages are yellow and crisp

I love the Filipino author Bob Ong's books. They are hilarious but also serious in a way.

Here are some of my books below the manga shelf. Yes~ I have the Twilight series (haters, so sue me) as you can see I also have the Harry Potter series. Don't ever, ever ask me to take sides coz I couldn't compare the both of them. They are of different genres. And I acknowledge that once not too long ago, I was in a phase where I was in love with Edward Cullen. To make things light, I want the Harry Potter treasure chest but it costs 7,000 PHP OTL (donations are most welcome, my birthday is coming up. LOL~)

I also have Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" series but only up to book 9. 

Here are my books

Bookshelf number 1

Bookshelf number 2

It took me 5 hours to organize the books (maybe more). I organized the books based on classification (e.g. Childrens, series, pre-teens, manga etc). My mom even told me that I could open my own Booksale shop. She even told me that if I buy any more me and my sister's room would be more of a library than a room, that I would stack books on the floor again (that is why she bought Bookshelf number 1) All recent books were in the bookshelf nearest to my bed (Bookshelf number 1). The weird thing is when  my sister or brother borrows a book without permission, when I come home I could sense if someone has gone through the bookshelves.

This is my ritual whenever I buy a new book:

1. I feel the cover

2. I smell the pages

3. And most importantly, I read the last chapter. LOL~

I don't know why but I love the smell of old books, the older the better; maybe its because of the paper. Maybe leather-bound books smell good in an old library.

Oh~ and I love whoever wrote this that I re-blogged it in here last year. Entitled: Date a girl who reads

I could go on and on babbling about this but I guess, this is all for now.

Till the next read...