Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Cover reveal: Vengeance Bound by Justina Ireland

Today, I have the pleasure of a gorgeous cover reveal: Vengeance Bound by Justina Ireland!



Vengeance Bound by Justina Ireland
Expected Publication: April 2nd 2013 by Simon Pulse

The Goddess Test meets Dexter in an edgy, compelling debut about one teen’s quest for revenge…no matter how far it takes her.

Cory Graff is not alone in her head. Bound to a deal of desperation made when she was a child, Cory’s mind houses the Furies—the hawk and the serpent—lingering always, waiting for her to satisfy their bloodlust. After escaping the asylum where she was trapped for years, Cory knows how to keep the Furies quiet. By day, she lives a normal life, but by night, she tracks down targets the Furies send her way. And she brings down Justice upon them.

Cory’s perfected her system of survival, but when she meets a mysterious boy named Niko at her new school, she can’t figure out how she feels about him. For the first time, the Furies are quiet in her head around a guy. But does this mean that Cory’s finally found someone who she can trust, or are there greater factors at work?

As Cory’s mind becomes a battlefield, with the Furies fighting for control, Cory will have to put everything on the line to hold on to what she’s worked so hard to build.

I love the cover model, I think she has just the right fierceness! The snakes actually creep me out a little since I'm absolutely sure that it's cobra. *shudder* But the awesome blurb keep me on the edge of my seat! Can hardly wait for April 2013 to come!

Tell me, what do you think of the cover? :)

Monday, August 27, 2012

Monday Muse: Armchair Backpacker (#4) - India!


Hi everyone! First of all: YAY I'M BACK! WOHOO! Finally! *throws confetti* Thank you sooo much for all your lovely comments regarding my internet issue! So glad to be back and running! *beaming like sunshine* I missed visiting your lovely blogs and reading everyone's brilliant posts. I know that I must have missed A LOT during the short break. *hangs my head in shame*

Anyway, I hope you still have your backpack because today, we're going to visit....



India! The home of some nicest people I've ever met. For some reasons, I always think of elephant when I read India in a book or watch it in movie... so without further ado, this is amazing India, tour guided by an equally amazing blogger! ;)

(I apologize in advance for rather messy post. Blogger won't let me fix the space)

The bookie in action

Hi! My name is Pooja! I go by Ajoop on my blog,
 On books! I have been blogging for over six months and to say it’s been fun is an understatement!! I’m thrilled to be a part of Hilda’s new feature! I've been following Catch The Lune for ages. I absolutely adore Hilda’s blog and Armchair Backpacker is such a fun way to get the sights and tastes of various places from around the world brought to us :D

I live in Chennai (formerly called Madras), which is a metropolitan city in India. I live in the centre of Chennai, so I’m right in the middle of the traffic jams, flurry of activity, crammed stores and highways that lead into the tiniest roads and LOVE it! I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else! 

I can’t wait to show you around Chennai, the land of Kollywood (that’s the Tamil film industry!). It’s just the right time too! It’s not as hot during August as it is in May. We can flag an auto (provided you are prepared to bargain; the auto meters are always turned off) and check out some of the places I love!
 


[Some of the images are mine. I’ve left links to the source of the others!]

Places You Should Go To
 
The Beaches



source: indianbazaars.blogspot.com

Chennai is nothing without its beaches. With its creamy sands, expansive ocean, blue skies and the various vendors (sundal with ripe mango, anyone?), carousal rides and balloon shooting stalls. There’s also horse riding, a number of parrot fortune tellers, regular fortune tellers and kite-flying! Or of course, you may prefer to tread closer to the ocean, to just hang out and click lots of pictures! The Marina Beach is the most famous, though the Besant Nagar and Elliot’s Beach are preferred by some.


 
Senmozhi Poonga: “The Classical Language Park” 

A botanical garden recently set up by the horticultural department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. I haven’t gone there yet but I’ve heard it’s GORGEOUS. 



Also known as a “cross cultural living museum of art, architecture, crafts and performing arts of South India”. With various reconstructions of typical houses from various states and communities in South India, live demonstrations of various arts and crafts like weaving, pottery, puppetry and more, it’s an utterly charming artificial village. If you want to learn more about the culture of South India, this is an amazing place to visit for tourists and locals alike! 

Image from: http://www.cosmicpluto.com/blog/2009/03/page/3/

'Mahabalipuram 

If you’re the kind of person who is fascinated with history and love to explore, you will love this temple town that’s filled with historic monuments, sculptures, temples and rock-cut caves from the Pallava dynasty alongside beaches and resorts! 



Shopping

Image from http://newstoday.ntamilnadu.com/2011/02/chennai-corp-parking-meters-planned-on.html

Pondy Bazaar

It’s a HUGE market-type place overflowing with branded stores, several smaller stores as well as shops by the pavement (and… people! So many people!). Want to go shopping for clothes, utensils, bindis, hair ties, coffee powder or even flowers? Well, it’s all here! It’s filled with places where you can shop for clothes and shoes at low rates and there are eateries at every corner, in case you need to stop to catch your breath! 

It’s the pavement shopping that’s the most fun as they are overflowing with shoes, clothes, and more and when it comes to the prices, they
 expect you to haggle… at least a little! 


There are, also the malls, of which Express Avenue is by far the biggest. I'd highly recommend catching a movie at Escape Cinemas over there, though when it comes to shopping at a mall, I prefer Citi Centre because it's comparatively less crowded and has a Landmark which is my fave bookstore!

Library 


I was super excited to find out that iloveread.in, a Chennai-based online library has started the concept of Auto Libraries, where aside from displaying their ads on autos… they have also decided to leave behind books in these autos for passengers to discover! Moreover, if you happen to enjoy reading the book and haven’t quite finished reading the book at the end of the ride, you’re allowed to take the book home! 

Imagine discovering amazing books every time you step into an auto on your way to someplace! I’ve been waiting to spot an iloveread.in auto where I can find an Auto Read!
 


Another recent construction is the Anna Centenary Library, which is one of the largest libraries in Asia! It’s an awesome place that’s so quiet and has the best atmosphere ever. It’s easy to sink into the plush seats and get lost in the book you’ve chosen. I like the Children’s Fiction section the best because there is this artificial tree right at the center that I love sitting under! 




Food 


[From top left to bottom right] South Indian cuisine, Masala dosa, South Indian thali and mini-idlis!

This is South Indian cuisine for you! It's more rice-based, as opposed to North Indian breads like naan coupled with tandoor (yum!). 

Masala dosa is my favourite kind of dosa. It's dosa with a potato filling!

While I am not a big fan of idli, I do salivate over a platter of mini-idlis! They are so adorable looking and fluffy!

I love anything cheesy, so I tend to add cheese and ketchup to anything and everything: from noodles to even dosa which people find pretty weird but trust me... it's delicious! xD

Final Word

I hope you enjoyed my mini tour! There are probably places I've left out... It's impossible to cover them all! I hope you come visit sometime, we can talk books and hang out all day! Like Hilda, I'm kind of bad at directions but the people are real friendly so there will always be someone to point us to the right place when we get lost! :)







Aww, it's so fascinating that we both are bad with directions, Ajoop! x) And gosh, an auto? I have very similar vehicle like auto in Indonesia! Well well well... who knows that there is something more than these Bollywood actors and elephant in India? ;)

Make sure to check out Ajoop's beautiful blog, On books! because she writes the most creative reviews ever! I'm sure you're gonna love her and her blog the moment you step foot on her blog! x) Need another reason? Because Pooja is such an amazing person with very friendly personality. That's good enough reason to visit her blog, right? ;)
Looking at these pictures of delicious Indian food get me hungry... off to get some naan bread! Before I go, here's a map like usual!


Next week will be the last Armchair Backpacker post! *sob* Along with the post, I'm going to have a giveaway so stay tune! Next destination: TOP SECRET! Well, it's good to have no idea where you'll be sometimes, right? :)

Thank you for reading this post, and have a wonderful day, everyone! :)

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Cover reveal: Uprising by Jessica Therrien

Hi everyone! Today, I have the pleasure of revealing a gorgeous cover from equally amazing book: Uprising by Jessica Therrien!





All hail orange color!! And look at the hair! The gorgeous eyes! The way the wind plays with her hair! I just looove this cover so much. ♥


I can't share you the blurb of this book for now, but here's just tiny bits of one hundred reasons why I am obsessed in love with William, the love interest in this series. ;)


Teaser from book 1, Oppression:

“If you could sum up your whole life into a single flavor, what would it be? What do you think your life would taste like?”

I laughed. “I don’t know. That’s a strange question.” I thought about it though. It would have to be something bitter, but still sweet in a way, something that looked better than it tasted. “Maybe… semi-sweet chocolate?”

“Only semi-sweet?” he observed.

“I have my reasons,” I defended. “What about you? Something sugary and delicious?”

“Hmm, I have to rethink it. It’s definitely changed since I met you.”

He smiled at me, and I recoiled a little into the cushion seat of the booth, throwing my eyes immediately in a different direction—away from his.

“Peanut butter,” he decided.

“Why peanut butter?”

“I have my reasons,” he mocked.

“It’s not very sweet.” 

“No, but it goes well with chocolate.”

Check out book 1, Oppresion, on Goodreads! :)




If you have time, feel free to wander around my blog and read my interview with Jessica Therrien and my review of Oppression! Here's the link. Oppression is an original, refreshing take on Greek myth that I absolutely adore!

Thank you for reading, lovelies! I hope you're having a fantastic day! ;)

A little thing about Hilda!

I'm having difficulties with internet lately, and for unknown reasons, blogger didn't post my scheduled posts such as Monday Muse and my reviews. I'm sorry for everyone who has been waiting for Monday Muse to cheer up your day! I'll make sure to sort things out when I have decent internet access. Please please please don't be mad (or worse, disappointed) at me for the lack of commenting, posting, and reviewing lately. I miss you guys! *hugs* >.<

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Cover reveal: Taken and Altered Souls by Karice Bolton

Hello! Today, I'm so happy to bring you double cover reveal of Altered Souls series by Karice Bolton! Yes, you read it right lovely readers: double cover reveal! :)

Without further ado, here are the gorgeous covers:

 
Taken by Karice Bolton
Expected Pub: December 2012
Prequel (The Watchers Trilogy)

A Watchers Novella

Ana and Athen are enjoying the quiet life as a couple with only the minor dark demon infraction to rectify. Cyril and Arie are enjoying the newfound simplicity too. Things are perfect – too perfect.

They soon realize that something far more sinister is taking place in their world, and they must do their best to stop the evil from spreading. Determined to figure out who is tampering with the mortals’ fate they are unable to recognize that it’s a trap, and one of their own is the target.

This is where it all begins.




Altered Souls (Book 2 of The Witch Avenue Series) by Karice Bolton
Expected Pub: October 2012 

The realm of Altered Souls brings nothing but unrest, deceit, and pain forcing Triss to come face to face with heartbreak from her past.

Facing a betrayal like never before, Triss questions everything she thought she knew about her family, coven, and abilities.

With the help of Logan, she embarks on a journey enabling her to confront the dark side of magic and the person who controls it. Realizing Triss’s ancestors have been seduced for centuries by the dark side, Triss and Logan must ensure no more in their world fall victim to the realm of Altered Souls, even if that means ending the ones they love.



I think both covers are GORGEOUS. Really, I mean it in capitals. I especially love Altered Souls' cover! The dress and the setting is so beautiful! Aww, love the covers so much!









Karice Bolton is a paranormal romance/urban fantasy author living in the Pacific Northwest. All three books in The Watchers Trilogy are available now, Awakening, Legions, and Cataclysm. Lonely Souls, which is the first book in her new series Witch Avenue, was released in June 2012!

Karice married the love of her life who she met in high school, and she still can't get over how cute and funny he is. They have two English Bulldogs that are the cutest bullies in the world, and they use their cuteness to get what they want. Karice loves the snow and gravitates towards the stuff as often as possible! She enjoys skiing and tries really hard to snowboard, but often makes a nice little area to sit while everyone zips by on their board. She enjoys writing, and she also loves
to read just about anything with print.





What do you think of both covers? Did you pick your favorite among these covers? :)

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