Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Book That Made Me Cry

Top Ten Books That Made Me Cry

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they post a new Top Ten list  that bloggers are welcome to join in and answer. 

So maybe this list is going to be biased since I cry over mostly anything heart-melting… *tries not to be bothered over being called a crybaby* whatever. LOL.

Anyway, in no particular order, here are the top ten books that really made me bawl out.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Thought I'd Like MORE/LESS Than I Did

Top Ten Books I Thought I'd Like MORE/LESS Than I Did

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they post a new Top Ten list  that bloggers are welcome to join in and answer. 

Hello there!

So this week's Top Ten topic is about books the you liked more or less than you thought you would. Here's mine:

Books I liked LESS than I thought I would

FALLING KINGDOMS by Morgan Rhodes
- That cover seemed to promise an experience of blood and gore, sadly it's not as action packed as I thought it would be...

DUALED by Elsie Chapman
- Probably the most disappointing book I've read so far this year. I had a lot of complaints about it on my review, and to think I really thought the premise was an ideally creative one. *sigh*

REQUIEM by Lauren Oliver
- This was supposed to be the finale of the series... didn't feel like it.

SPLINTERED by A.G. Howard
- Another debut novel this year that I thought was going to be epic... not so much. :(

MONUMENT 14 by Emmy Laybourne
- I'm probably in minority on this one. I just didn't like the idea that the whole book revolved around a bunch of teenagers playing house in a superstore. I thought there was more to it than that.

Book Haul [24]

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My "Weekly Book Haul" is pretty much just like In My Mailbox by the Story Siren, This Week In Books by Pop Culture Junkie, and Stacking the Shelves by Tynga's Reviews and all the other titles with the similar concept here and there. This is a weekly post showcasing the books you received for the given week, either bought online or from a physical bookstore, borrowed from the library or from a friend, received for review or won from a giveaway, etc.

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Hello! It's been weeks since my last book haul post. I've been incredibly busy with work that I haven't bought anything recently. But here are the books that I had a few days ago:

TITLES:
REQUIEM by Lauren Oliver (Read and Reviewed)
CLOCKWORK PRINCESS by Cassandra Clare
THINGS I CAN'T FORGET by Miranda Kenneally (Read)
INK by Amanda Sun
THE COLLECTOR by Victoria Scott
THE PIRATE'S WISH by Cassandra Rose Clarke (Read)

Requiem by Lauren Oliver [REVIEW]

TITLE: Requiem (Delirium #3)
AUTHOR: Lauren Oliver
PUBLISHER: HarperCollins
PUB DATE: Mar 5 2013

Summary from Goodreads:

"They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past. But we are still here. And there are more of us every day.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings. Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it. But we have chosen a different road. And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose. We are even free to choose the wrong thing.

Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge."

Rating:

No!!! Please, no! That it so not the end of this series!

Golly, come to think of it, I’ve more or less started all my reviews from Lauren Oliver’s Delirium series with a “no” (see Delirium and Pandemonium reviews). I’m starting to think whether this is because I have an arguable explanation for saying so or it’s just my refusal to accept what’s at hand every time the books reach their endings... yeah, both.

[Be warned, this will contain spoilers from the first two books...and a bit from book three too. Okay maybe a lot. Sorry. I have to vent out some things.]

Let’s do a little recap... (I’ll make it quick, don’t worry)

We follow Lena’s story first through Delirium, where she is set on getting the cure for deliria, but then she meets a boy named Alex who shows her what love feels like. Falling in love with Alex made Lena decide not to take the cure anymore and instead run away with Alex into the Wilds, which first she thought was dangerous. In their attempt to flee Portland, Alex ends up being shot and left behind while Lena escapes into the Wilds.

This then follows on to Pandemonium where Lena is now living in the Wilds along with other un-cureds/Invalids. She thinks that Alex is dead. On the effort of trying to move on with her life, she takes on a mission for the movement against the DFA. Through her mission, she meets Julian, the role model of young individuals of the society, typically telling all the people that being cured is the right – and only – choice. So Lena, although grieving over Alex’s supposed death, manages to fall in love with Julian, which then leads to them running off to the Wilds together, that is after Lena rescues Julian and all that. I know... vague details. You’ll all get it once you read both books (if you haven’t yet that is). So anyway, although Lena is now happy having Julian with her, surprise, surprise – Alex is alive and has found his way back to her... and so here is where Requiem takes the lead...

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? [1]

It's Monday! What are you reading? Is a meme by Sheila @ Book Journey. And I quote her: "This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!"

Hello there! And I am back from my long weekend and Internet abstinence (my little piece of sacrifice for the Holy Week). How have you all been? Well, since I'm wanting to get organized about my reading schedule (I have been trying to do so for a year now but I can't quite stick to it all the time), I decided to take part in this meme. It might just help me get to all the books I vowed myself to read. So here goes...

RECENT READ

Like I just said, it's been a long holiday (from Thursday, March 28th to Sunday, March 31st), so I managed to finish up several books [although some where just short stories], so Yay me! LOL.

TITLES:

TABLE FOR TWO by Marla Miniano (Filipino Author, Short Story)

FAN GIRL by Marla Miniano (Filipino Author, Short Story)

THE ETERNITY CURE by Julie Kagawa (eARC from NetGalley)

REQUIEM by Lauren Oliver

I enjoyed the two short reads from Marla Miniano they're very simple and very easy to relate to. As for Julie's second book from the Blood of Eden series, I think it was a little too long for me, but still I really liked this one. Lastly, I read Lauren Oliver's Requiem (buddy read this with Maria @ Bookchilla), which was by far the fastest paced book among the three in the Delirium Trilogy. But I'm hoping there would be a spin off or something, because that seriously cannot be the ending... Please! *sob*

Book Haul [24]

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My "Weekly Book Haul" is pretty much just like In My Mailbox by the Story Siren, This Week In Books by Pop Culture Junkie, and Stacking the Shelves by Tynga's Reviews and all the other titles with the similar concept here and there. This is a weekly post showcasing the books you received for the given week, either bought online or from a physical bookstore, borrowed from the library or from a friend, received for review or won from a giveaway, etc.

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Hello lovelies! How are you this wonderful Saturday morning? Ah, the day has come for me to get some rest and relaxation after a horribly stressful week of work. But all is well and the week's assignments have been done and closed. Thank goodness!

And now let's move on to today's book haul post. Here are the gorgeous books that I got:

TITLES:
GIRL OF NIGHTMARES by Kendare Blake (arrived from the Book Depository)
FRAGMENTS by Dan Wells (purchased at National Bookstore)
DELIRIUM STORIES: HANA, ANNABEL, & RAVEN by Lauren Oliver (purchased at National Bookstore)
SPLINTERED by A.G. Howard (arrived from the Book Depository)
DUALED by Elsie Chapman (purchased at National Bookstore)

"Waiting on" Wednesday [7]

*"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Hello! Nice to see you again!

Let's get straight to this week's meme, here's my pick:

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I'd Like To See Made Into a Movie

Top Ten Books I'd Like To See Made Into a Movie

Hello fellow readers!

Well we all know any movie adaptation can never surpass the beauty of any book we read but it's nice to see them get turned into films anyway. So here's my list. Some are already in production or are being considered to be filmed and some aren't, either way, I love these books! ^_^

Delirium by Lauren Oliver. Hello?! Alex anyone? LOL.

Divergent by Veronica Roth. Action packed and awesome.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. An entertaining book with even more entertaining characters. Jace just never fails to crack me up.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer. I liked it better than Twilight and I couldn't help but shed a few tears now and then while reading it.

Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs. I always imagine this as a mushy chick flick. It's cute, romantic and... there's Quince! *wink. wink.*

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa. Now who doesn't want to see Ash and Puck come to life? 

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers. Female assassins! 'nuff said.

Blood Red Road by Moira Young. Makes me think of it as a female version of one of those Gladiator-like films only less brutal with an added romantic story. But action packed nonetheless.

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. It's no doubt that those who've read it call it the ultimate fairy tale retelling so yes I want to see this turned into a movie.

Legend by Marie Lu. June and Day in the flesh is something worth watching. 

That's it for me. How about you? What book would you like to see turned into a movie? Let me know and I'll be sure to check it out.

Have a good day! 

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver [REVIEW]

      

Pandemonium
(Delirium #2)
by Lauren Oliver

Summary from Goodreads:

"I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame. 

Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite"

Rating:

I’m drowning in waves of moods and emotion with every part of Pandemonium... particularly the ending.

Let’s break it down:

Relief (by last few pages): Oh thank goodness they’re safe. Whew!

Happiness (seeing Alex’s name on the bottom of page): ALEX!!! *screaming uncontrollably*

Rage (flipping the page over thinking there’s more and finding it blank): O HELL NO!  THAT IS SOOOO NOT THE ENDING OF PANDEMONIUM!!!  Come on! *insert red faced emoticon with steam coming out of ears*

Impatience (looking at cover thinking I’m talking to Lauren Oliver): Are you seriously going to make me wait until next year to find out what happens next??? *annoyingly tapping fingers on table with my chin resting on my other hand*

Sadness (holding Pandemonium with both hands and staring at it expectantly): ...Does it really have to be that long? *on the brink of tears, desperately holding them back*

Weep (doing the puppy eyes): *sniff* *sniff* ...NO FAIR! *fail at attempt of not crying*

Distress (hugging Pandemonium and head turn up to the ceiling): PLEASE DON’T MAKE ME WAIT THAT LOOOOONNG!!! *bawling and begging*

... I know, not my best moments.

Now if you haven’t read the first book of this series, Delirium, I have to warn you that this may be spoiler-ish.

So, with Delirium, readers are introduced to Lena, a girl who strongly believes in the government’s initiative to rid the world of Deliria – love is considered a very contagious and dangerous disease. She’s the kind of girl who does what she’s told and is eager to finally get cured. That’s until she meets Alex and the rest is history. The time came when Lena doesn’t wish to take the cure anymore and attempts an escape into the Wilds with Alex. Unfortunately only one of them gets to cross over the fence bordering the city.

Now with Pandemonium, Lena is now an Invalid (as Alex was in Delirium). She takes on a new name and is working for the cause against the DFA. Her job is to watch Julian who is supposedly a role model to all, mostly of the young individuals of the society... and so here is where everything goes into hyper drive.  

 I have to admit that I almost put Pandemonium down while reading it. I felt like it wasn’t going anywhere and I started to question if the author just simply wanted to prolong the series. The constant shifting of “then” and “now” chapters were interesting but I didn’t see the point of it all. I know Lena had to adjust to her new life in the Wilds but I was getting really impatient with how long they were taking.

I thought this book was supposed to show readers how Lena was going to find a way to get Alex back but it showed me a deeper side of this dystopian novel. What I thought to be a series revolving on a love story had taken a different turn on the idea.  Also, the fact that Alex was said to be dead did not sit well for me. Hello?! I love the dude! Not cool to kill him! Just saying.

Anyway, I’m glad I decided to finish the book because all my questions and impatience with how long things were taking finally had answers near the ending. I know it’s a long wait but I can totally see why. It also serves justice to how Lena felt about her so-called new “friends”.

Another thing is: I know we’re introduced to a new guy here, Julian. But I have to say he did not win my heart over Alex. I hate Lena for even getting involved with Julian that way. *Grrr!*

Now with that torturing ending (go back to start of review for my reactions), Ms. Lauren Oliver, Requiem better be good!  *note grim face* LOL. I love your writing style. ^_^

Hana: A Delirium Short Story by Lauren Oliver [REVIEW]

Hana: A Delirium Short Story
(Delirium #1.5)
by Lauren Oliver

Summary from Goodreads:

"In the world of Delirium, love is a disease. And like all eighteen-year-olds, Lena and Hana must take the cure.

At the start of their last summer of freedom, they were the closest of friends. Until Hana made a decision that tore them apart... In Delirium, we heard from Lena. Now, Hana gets to tell her side of the story. And nothing is what we first thought.

Hana is a powerful, moving and beautifully told original eBook short story, with a shocking twist that will leave you with your heart in your mouth."

Rating:

One of the things I love about short stories (that’s partly involved in a series) is the change in perspective. True, I’ve come to love the main characters but having the experience of seeing a different side of any story is a breath of fresh air.

Now onto Hana. I don’t think I need to voice out how fabulous Lauren Oliver writes anymore, lyrical and sweet but not too deep in thought that readers might struggle to understand.

I find this book to be more serious than Delirium. For one, Delirium may be heartbreaking... it does not compare to the surprise I’ve discovered with Hana. The all but loyal friend that Lena sees has a dark side leering unknowingly. While my heart pains for Lena and Alex, I always know that things may still change in I haven’t lost hope in both of them, with Hana however, I feel betrayed and hurt. The story had its sort of finality in Hana’s decision.

Seeing Hana’s side of the story, of course I couldn’t help the altering of my impression over her. But at the same time I still want to know more of how her actions affected her later.

I know I won’t see much(or any at all) of Hana in Pandemonium but I hope to so at any given point of time in the future.

In My Mailbox [29]

Happy Easter, everyone!

It's been two weeks since my last IMM post and I definitely missed it. Want to know why I've gone MIA? well please see picture below...

Now aren't they adorable? For more details on them and everything else that happened for the last two weeks of my absence then feel free to read THIS POST. 

Alright, now moving on to the books. Here's what I got:

INTUITION by J. Meyers (FREE eBook)
INTANGIBLE by J. Meyers (eBook)
SPIRITS OF GLORY by Emily Devenport (eBook)
MONSTROUS BEAUTY by Elizabeth Fama (ARC, eBook)

PANDEMONIUM by Lauren Oliver (Hardcover)
ENTANGLED by Cat Clarke (eBook)
TORN by Cat Clarke (eBook)

I'm really excited to dive into these books. Have you read any of these? And of course I'd like to know... WHAT DID YOU GET THIS WEEK? 

Happy reading! 

*Thank you J.Meyers and Emily Devenport for the copies of your fabulous books. ^_^

In My Mailbox [28]

Hello, hello! I've got some awesome ebooks this week, along with an experimental design for this IMM's ebook haul presentation inspired by the Mac OS dock, which appears to be smaller than I expected it to turn out. Sorry 'bout that folks, my bad. O well, I'm going to have to work on it then. ^_^

The Seer's 7 Deadly Fairy Tales: A Compendium by Elizabeth Marx

The Lost Files: Nine's Legacy by Pittacus Lore

Treachery by Andrea Cremer

Hana: A Delirium Short Story by Lauren Oliver

Old Habits by Melissa Marr 

For Review:

Daphne and the Mysterious Girls Secret Bathroom Society by Robert Shields

NetGalley Grabs:

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

Tomorrow Land by Mari Mancusi

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Yesterday by C.K. Kelly Martin

Your turn...

What did you get this week?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Sequels I'm Dying to Read

Top Ten Tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

Top Ten Sequels I'm Dying to Read

    

    

1. Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

     - I can't wait to see how the Nightshade series ends!

2. Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale

     - I loved the first book, Austenland; and I love Shannon Hale so, yeah I can't wait to get to read this.

3. Stolen Nights by Rebecca Maizel

     - I felt sad about how Infinite Days ended so I really want to see how it would continue with this second installment.

4. Eona by Alison Goodman

     - I devoured Eon so of course I'm eager to read Eona. I'm just waiting for the paperback to be released since I bought the paperback copy of Eon. I want my books to match.

5. Fever by Lauren DeStefano

     - I'm eager to see the continuation of Rhine's story.

6. Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton

     - Not loving the cover but I totally dig this series.

7. Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

     - Major cliff-hanger on Unearthly! I badly want to know the answers to all the questions piled in at the ending of the first book.

8. Truth by Julia Karr

     - Now that Nina's marked with the XVI tattoo, she's in for more challenges than she has already faced. Can't wait for that!

9. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

     - Something tells me I'm in for more adventure.

10. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

     - Yes, this has been on my previous top ten but I really am eager to read this. I get so giddy thinking about it!