Monday Muse: The Hunger Games, Official Illustrated Movie Companion by Kate Egan

 

Why did I read this book?

Let me tell you one thing: I’m beyond excited to watch Hunger Games. I mean, Hunger Games is awesome. It is one of the best books I’ve ever read, aside from the epic Harry Potter series. I still remembered the time I jumped in happiness when they announce that Hunger Games will be made into a movie. Sure I frowned at the casts, since my Peeta is kind of different with Josh Hutcherson and my Katniss somehow looks tougher… but well, mostly I’m just granted that now more people will soon know how awesome Hunger Games is. I cried in happiness when Taylor Swift, who is my favorite singer, finally released her song, Safe and Sound, for Hunger Games soundtrack. Oh, just imagine my excitement when I watched music video for Safe and Sound. I practically spent a day texting everyone I know that Safe and Sound is one of the most beautiful music video ever!

I don’t usually buy or read a movie companion, and this is my first time buying one. This book is quite informative. I enjoyed pictures from the movie, and it’s really fun to learn more about Suzanne Collins. I guess the most I enjoyed from this movie companion is pictures of Capitol residents. I have to admit that in my mind, Capitol people are people with zero fashion sense and full of silly outfits. I can’t be more wrong. The fashion amazes me. It’s outrageous, but somehow, it is also pretty. They use bright and hideous colors, colors I don’t think I will ever wear in real life, but the color palettes fit right as Capitol’s colors. They look like dolls, people who are only seen in fashion magazines and runways. I don’t think that the costume designer can do a better job on it!

Since they said a picture paints a thousand words, you can see for yourself:

 

 

 Aren’t they look *ehem* stunning?

I think it might be a great idea to wear Capitol fashion for Halloween this year! I may would be the lady with fancy nail polish. If you know what I mean…

It’s too bad that there aren’t many good photos of Katniss and Peeta in this book. Since I’m Team Peeta, it’s kind of unacceptable. Anyway, Liam Hemsworth as Gale makes me intrigued to have a Gale poster in my bedroom. Now I know why Katniss is torn between Peeta and Gale... err, my new love for Liam Hemsworth is a different topic I guess.

 What do you think of the Capitol fashion movie companion book? Are you as excited as me to watch the movie? :)

Author Interview with Jessica Therrien and Review: Oppression

I'm super excited to have Jessica on my blog today! She's super amazing and her debut, Oppression, came out on February! It's awesome and I really enjoyed reading it! I'm really glad that I also get the chance to interview Jessica

 The interview

Oppression is your debut novel (WOOHO!). Tell us, how did it feel when someone informed you that Oppression was going to be a book? 

When I got THE email, if felt like my heart shot into my throat…followed by lots of jumping, flailing and screaming (I accidently smashed a snail…poor snail). It was very surreal. I didn’t really know what to do with myself.

Where and how did you get the muse to write Oppression? Surely you didn’t make a visit to Hades, right? ;) 

My husband was my muse. He is my William. It was fun to write about love when I was actually falling in love myself. The Greek myths were also an inspiration, although they were only used as a basis for my story. 

I know that some authors say they give a piece of their soul to every character. Which character gets the most of your soul? 

Elyse. No question. I feel like she is a part of me. A lot of the emotions she feels throughout the book are my emotions. It was hard to write my first novel without giving my main character a big part of my soul. I really couldn’t help it.  

When you were a kid, what did you want to do when you grew up? 

I wanted to be a doctor. Then, when I was a teenager I wanted to be on Broadway. I’ve always loved musical theater. I would still love to act. 

Broadway is so cool! Maybe we can see Jessica act someday! What book has made you wish you were the one who wrote it? 

Divergent by Veronica Roth. As I was reading it, I was so enthralled, but I was also really jealous, lol. I couldn’t believe how good it was. Everyone who likes YA should read it.

 Imagination-escape round!

If you were a Greek Goddess, who do you think you would be? 

I would be Aphrodite, goddess of love, of course!

If you could ask for one thing in life, and it’s ANYTHING, what would you like to ask for? 

This is the hardest question so I’m going to be vague…love & happiness forever. 

It’s a beautiful and pleasant day like every day. Suddenly, your parents tell you that you’re not human (surprise!). What creature would you be? 

I’d be a descendant…you’ll have to read Oppression to know more about what that means ;) 

If you could live in a different time in the history, what time would you pick? 

I’d live amongst the Native American Indians before America was discovered. That time in American history is my favorite. Plus, maybe I’d meet some of my ancestors!

What has been your best moment being an author so far? :) 

The reactions from readers have been the best part. One advanced reader said she read Oppression in four hours, and another emailed me after she finished RE-READING it! It was the best feeling.

Thank you for answering the questions, Jessica! You're incredibly awesome and your answers are epic! 

Wait... there's more before I end this post! Yes, my review of Oppression! :)

Follow Friday!

Hello! This is the second time I do a Follow Friday. Follow Friday is a fun weekly meme hosted at Parajunkee & Alison Can Read. So question of the week is:

Have you ever looked at book's cover and thought, This is going to horrible? But, was instead pleasantly surprised? Show us the cover and tell us about the book.

  

The Perks of Being Wallflower's cover (left one) doesn't exactly draw me in. I'm not a big fan of the color used in the cover. Plus, I know that the legs on the top right corner is supposed to be the representation of wallflower, but it kind of creeps me a bit actually. I picked this book because my friends highly recommend this and I like the title. I prefer the cover on the right side. I love the handwriting and the pink, white, and black color. I get around my cover prejudice and really like the book anyway. Can't wait to watch the movie! Logan Lerman and Emma Watson! My dream comes true. :)

 

Don't forget to leave your FF link so I can return the favor! Happy weekend! :)

Review: Faery Tales & Nightmares by Melissa Marr

3.5 stars

Melissa Marr’s writing is one of the main reasons I decided to read this book. I always love the way she builds the world in her books. So vivid, enchanting, and beautiful. Even though the story is too dark for my taste, her way of creating details in her story never fails to enchant me. There are twelve dark yet beautiful short stories in this book.

My favorite story in this book is Winter’s Kiss. The moment I read the story, I’m completely hooked up. It’s a story about a princess who has frost breath. When she laughs too freely, she will freeze her surroundings. She is lonely because no one enjoys her gift, and she decides to take a journey to find a place where her gift can be useful. Then she meets an ice-bear and they instantly become friend.

Winter’s Kiss is such a lovely story. It’s romantic and very fairytale-like. I really like ice-bear, they seem so cute, warm, and fluffy so it’s no question that this short story is my favorite. Other stories don’t captivate me as much as Winter’s Kiss, but there is one story that made me cringe in horror. Its title is Transition and it is a vampire story. The story is inspired by a party which Melissa Marr attended when she was in a dead-end town. This is really dark and full of gory details. While Winter’s Kiss is like the representation of fairytale in this book, for me Transition is what you’re going to call a nightmare. The story is absolutely awesome, but the darkness in the story is too much for me.

I think you’re going to enjoy this book even if you’re no fan of Wicked Lovely. Like I said before, Melissa Marr has a gift of telling stories. This is fairly recommended for fans of Wicked Lovely series, but I guess this book is really one for people who seek enchanting and eerie tales. 

Well over half of these pages are taken up by Wicked Lovely world stories; the rest of the pages are reserved for other worlds. These are stories pulled from lore and nightmares, set in places I’ve visited and places I’ve imagined. I hope you enjoy them. 

–taken from the introduction page in the book– 

Website * Goodreads * Amazon * Book Depository 

 I rate this book:

Four cups of tea. Amazing! Love the book, it’s simply awesome. I love the tea flavor!  A strong recommendation.