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.

Book Haul [33] + A Message of Gratitude!

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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, everyone! Pardon the three-week absence of posts from my blog. One of the reasons why is that I am knee-deep in wedding preparations for most of my free time from work. I can't believe that in more or less six months from now, I am going to be married! It's exciting... and nerve-wrecking. I know I'm about to freak out or have a panic attack any moment now.

Anyway, here's my book haul, which has piled up for the weeks of not posting:

TITLES:

(from the Book Depository)
THE DESERT TALES by Melissa Marr
RENEGADE by J.A. Souders (read and reviewed)
THE IRON TRAITOR by Julie Kagawa (read and reviewed)
OUTPOST by Ann Aguirre (read and reviewed)
CREWEL by Gennifer Albin (read and reviewed)
ANTIGODDESS by Kendare Blake
MONSTROUS BEAUTY by Elizabeth Fama (read and reviewed)
ORIGIN by Jennifer L. Armentrout (read and reviewed)
 
(from Fully Booked)
A TOUCH MORTAL by Leah Clifford -Bargain Sale worth Php 100.00! roughly around $2-
CHAMPION by Marie Lu (read) -Signed Copy!-
ECLIPSE by Stephenie Meyer (read and reviewed) -Bargain Sale worth Php 50.00! roughly around $1-
SUNLIGHT AND SHADOW by Cameron Dokey

(from National Bookstore)
ALLEGIANT by Veronica Roth (read)
DECEPTION by C.J. Redwine
SERIOUSLY... I'M KIDDING by Ellen Degeneres (read and reviewed) 

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! 

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

        

The Short Second Life 
of Bree Tanner
(The Twilight Saga #3.5)
by Stephenie Meyer

Summary from Goodreads:

"Fans of The Twilight Saga will be enthralled by this riveting story of Bree Tanner, a character first introduced in Eclipse, and the darker side of the newborn vampire world she inhabits. 

In another irresistible combination of danger, mystery, and romance, Stephenie Meyer tells the devastating story of Bree and the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion. 

Bree Tanner can barely remember life before she had uncannily powerful senses, superhuman reflexes and unstoppable physical strength. Life before she had a relentless thirst for blood... life before she became a vampire. 

All Bree knows is that living with her fellow newborns has few certainties and even fewer rules: watch your back, don't draw attention to yourself and, above all, make it home by sunrise or die. What she doesn't know: her time as an immortal is quickly running out. Then Bree finds an unexpected friend in Diego, a newborn just as curious as Bree about their mysterious creator, whom they know only as "her". As they come to realize that the newborns are pawns in a game larger than anything they could have imagined, Bree and Diego must choose sides and decide whom to trust. But when everything you know about vampires is based on a lie, how do you find the truth?"

Rating:

I actually enjoyed this book. It was nice to get to see a new point-of-view rather than just Bella’s. Bree, despite having a petty role, is actually a strong character. I was surprised to see a love interest between Bree and Diego, a character that I also found to like. The plot was simple but it didn’t bore me. 

I like it when authors give minor characters somehow a say in what’s going on with the entirety of a story. Even if not knowing at all about what happened to them won’t affect whatever the ending would be, still it’s a good breather from all the tension going on in the actual story. And I really appreciate how this short tale entertained me. 

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

        

Breaking Dawn
(The Twilight Saga #4)
by Stephenie Meyer

Summary from Goodreads:


"Twilight tempted the imagination. New Moon made readers thirsty for more. Eclipse turned the saga into a worldwide phenomenon. And now, the book that everyone has been waiting for...


Breaking Dawn, the final book in the #1 bestselling Twilight Saga, will take your breath away."

Rating:

I loved a lot of things about this book: (1) Bella and Edward’s wedding; (2) Jacob’s perspective; (3) Bella’s pregnancy; (4) The division between the werewolves, (5) Renesmee; (6) Jacob imprinting; (7) Bella turns into a vampire and; (8) More gifted vampires in town! 

The whole thing got me psyched up on finishing this. The first half of the book was good enough since everything was rolling in, from the wedding to the honeymoon, to Bella getting pregnant, it was all very exciting. It slowed down a bit when it got to Jacob’s perspective but I savored it nonetheless. Jacob’s point-of-view was funny and new. 

But when it got to the part of Bella turning vampire and the whole Volturi drama, it slammed me to boring-mode. The only thing that got me through it was that there were new vampires in town and a lot of them had gifts, also I was anticipating the clash of the vampires against the Volturi. 

And then we reach the verdict. Damn! Where’s my fighting scene? Where’s the clashing? Not even a smidge? That was the disappointing part. I’m not a blood-crazy fool, people, but from what Meyer had set, it screamed: FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! But they eventually didn’t resolve to violence. I just expected much of it I guess. 

Well, in spite of my dismay I still liked this book. And I’m such a sucker for happy endings so, yea, that was good. 

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

        

Eclipse
(The Twilight Saga #3)
by Stephenie Meyer

Summary from Goodreads:

"Readers captivated by Twilight and New Moon will eagerly devourEclipse, the much anticipated third book in Stephenie Meyer's riveting vampire love saga. 

As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob --- knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?"

Rating:

Eclipse is definitely better than New Moon. I guess it’s because a lot had occurred in it. Victoria showing up, newly born vampires, the Volturi, Rosalie’s story, the whole vampire-werewolf truce; there’s just a lot to go around and it’s rather entertaining. 

Of course, Bella’s still there. I just wish she could’ve been lovable by now but I’m still annoyed with her personality. Although I have to admit that in spite of my growing dislike for Bella especially on the most-hateful-awful-scene-that-must-not-be-mentioned, the whole Edward-Bella-Jacob love triangle takes more vitality on this third installment of the Twilight Saga. 

What I love most about this book is the action-packed culmination. I anticipated a real throw down after the ever-gloomy 2nd book, and so to speak, Eclipse brought it. Yehey! Finally! 

And well, to conclude, I enjoyed this very much even though I’m still in question of this series’ unexplainably addictiveness. 

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

        

New Moon
(The Twilight Saga #2)
by Stephenie Meyer

Summary from Goodreads:


"I FELT LIKE I WAS TRAPPED IN ONE OF THOSE TERRIFYING NIGHTMARES… 


For Bella Swan, there is one thing more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella could ever have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of one evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may be just beginning..."

Rating:

To be honest, I felt Bella incredibly annoying. But I can’t blame a madly in love teenager who gets heartbroken, can I? 

I didn’t like this book that much because almost more than half of it had Bella sulking over Edward leaving her. I was about to stop reading this and just jump into Eclipse because of all the drama that Bella had going on. But the whole werewolf history and Jacob’s out coming gave me patience to suck up and deal with my irritation towards Bella. I also like the new idea of a sort of vampire government (the Volturi, that is) created by Meyer so that held me in place even more to finish New Moon. 

When I finally finished it, it turns out it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. But I still couldn’t get over my Bella-exasperation. 

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

        

Twilight
(The Twilight Saga #1)
by Stephenie Meyer

Summary from Goodreads:

"Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Bella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Bella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers find themselves balanced precariously on the point of a knife—between desire and danger. Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite."

Rating:

When I read this book in my college days, I was in my hopeless-romantic, giddy, fascinated-with-fictional-characters, wish-I-was-a-book-character self. So I absolutely adored Edward. Nevermind Bella for finding herself uninteresting, it was the Edward’s personality that got me hooked. 

I liked Meyer’s twist in the stereotypical vampires and werewolves’ tales and that’s another thing that had me enjoying Twilight. 

But pressing to the present, I seem to have outgrown from it. Possibly because of the many other characters that are alluring me now. *wink* 

Nevertheless, Twilight was a definite page-turner and despite all criticisms towards it, it was really fun to read. 

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

        

The Host
(The Host #1)
by Stephenie Meyer

Summary from Goodreads:

"Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed. 

When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans, is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too-vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind. 

Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves - Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love."

Rating:

This is such a tear-jerking book (or maybe I'm just too caught up in my emotions?). It's a great book combining fate, love, loyalty, thrill and survival. I love it more than I love the "Twilight Saga"; and finding out that it has a 2nd book made me absolutely excited to get my hands on them!