Cover reveal: Dead Girl Walking by Ruth Silver

Hello! Today I have the pleasure of sharing with you a GORGEOUS book cover:

Title: Dead Girl Walking (Royal Reaper)

Author: Ruth Silver

Expected Publication: Summer 2014

Publisher: Patchwork Press

From Goodreads:

In 1346, Princess Ophelia Dacre sneaks out of the castle to visit her boyfriend in secret. A perfect night cut short when she’s brutally murdered.

Ophelia is given the rare chance to become a grim reaper. She must become Leila Bele, cut ties with her old life, and follow the rules of the reapers. Her greatest adventure begins with death.

Purple! Purple dresses and purple... galaxy? sky? stars? Whatever, it's beautiful and I know you agreed with me! ;)

Tell me, what do you think of this book? :)

Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Title: Cruel Beauty
Author: Rosamund Hodge
Publication date: January 28th, 2014
Publisher: Balzer+Bray
Goodreads

From Goodreads:
Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

I was raised to marry a monster.

Nyx Triskelion lives in a world under the dome. Her country, Arcadia, is torn apart from the rest of the world, and the people can no longer see the real sky. It has been nine hundred years, and the people are still captivated in the dome. They are ruled by the Gentle Lord, the demon prince whose demons infest every shadow. The Gentle Lord is a cruel being who loves striking bargain to those foolish enough to bargain with him, and today, Nyx will be married to him.

Seventeen years ago, Nyx’s father struck a bargain with the demon prince, and in return, he has to marry his daughter to the Gentle Lord when she reaches the age of seventeen. Now his daughter Nyx, prepared with her knowledge about Hermetic magic and a blade from her twin sister Astraia, is ready to do anything it takes to kill the gentle lord and save Arcadia. But the task turns out to be more complicated than she thinks as she spends more days with the Gentle Lord and learns the truth that the demon prince might be prisoned too with them inside the dome…

Cruel Beauty captivates me right from the beginning. It is a wonderful debut that will resonate well to fans of dark fairytales. Though I went into the book expecting a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, I got glimpses of Blue Beard and Rumpelstiltskin tale as well. Thankfully the Blue Beard elements were not as horrifying as I thought or I would have run away in fear. Nyx is a character I will remember dearly. She is not your usual impossibly kind and ready-to-sacrifice-anything-just-ask type of heroine. On the opposite, she is feisty, impatient, and at times too wrapped up in her own problem to care for others. But aren’t we all sometimes? She has poison in her heart and she’s aware of it. Nyx is a dark and flawed character that is just right for the story. The Gentle Lord or simply called Ignifex is a character I warmed up almost instantly. It is just so cute that he falls asleep on the floor besides Nyx while he is waiting for her to wake up. What can I say, really. I’m weak against those playful and dangerous fictional guys. *cough* Adrian Ivashkov *cough*

I think the ending suits the nature of the story, but I think it can be tweaked a bit. I felt like I was furiously trying to grasp the characters I’ve fallen in love with when I reached the ending. Since I don’t see many people complained about the ending, I might be the odd one on this.

All in all, Cruel Beauty is a wonderful read and I was very happy when I picked up this gem. The book reminds me of Juliet Marillier’s Sevenwater’s works with the striking characters, lush setting, and easy-to-follow writing. The banter between Nyx and Ignifex also adds a nice touch to the story. I can hardly wait to read more books from this author. Rosamund Hodge is certainly an author I will put into my to-watch list!

I smashed my fist into his face.

The blow was hard enough that he fell over backward. … As he sat back up, I dropped to my knees. There was only one thing to do. I started to undo the top button of my dress, then simply ripped it open.

“I’m sorry,” I said, staring at the floor. “I just, my father made me promise to bring a knife, and—and—” I stuttered, acutely aware that I was half-naked in front of him. “I’m your wife! I burn for your touch! I thirst for your love!” I didn’t know where the terrible words were coming from, but I couldn’t stop them. “I’ll do anything, I’ll—”

I realized he was laughing.

4 cups of tea!
Wonderful characters and stunning storyline. Love it!

Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Title:  Fangirl
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Publication date: September 2013
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

From Goodreads:
Cath is a Simon Snow fan.
Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .

But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere. Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

 By the time I reached page 82, I’ve already fallen in love with Levi. (well, that was quick)

If you’ve read any book by Rainbow Rowell, you are instantly my best friend. It seems that she has a special book recipe which is absolutely delectable! The combination of awesome writing + relatable characters + swoonworthy hero is simply explosive. I wonder where I can order my own hero from Rainbow Rowell’s books. *wink wink*

Fangirl is a story about Cath, a freshman in college who is anxious about starting in a new place with new set of people and rules. Cath doesn’t enjoy new situations, and she has hard time adapting at first. Especially since her twin sister, Wren, has thought that it’s best for them to separate sometimes. Lonely and unmotivated, Cath dedicates her days and nights to writing fanfic about her favorite series, Simon Snow. Cath’s fanfic, Carry On, Simonis immensely popular to the point that it gets thousand of hits every day. Cath thinks she can live on her fanfic, not caring about her study or trying to make any friends in university, but well, maybe it’s not so bad to actually let her roommate’s-probably-boyfriend-probably-not invades her space sometimes. And maybe, just maybe, it won’t be so bad not to spend the night writing fanfic. But is Cath actually ready for change?

Aww, Cath. Before I started reading this book, I read reviews and saw lines raving about how Cath is dangerously relatable. And well, she really is! She is not a perfect heroine and that is perfectly awesome ♥. Cath, with her insecurity, her uneasiness with large crowd, and her tendency to pretend that problem doesn’t exist is just very mundane. It’s her way of protecting herself from pain and threats from other people. It’s so easy to identify yourself with her – she’s that real.

Story development I really appreciate from Eleanor and Park to Fangirling is the stronger parts for supporting casts in this book. Reagan – you go girl! I love Reagan’s bluntness and how she is harshly caring. That sound exactly contradictory, yes, but that’s Reagan, Cath’s roommate, for you. And those who know me well enough must have guessed correctly who stole my heart: Levi. Levi, the Reagan’s-probably-boyfriend-probably-not, is so sweet and enthusiastic that you can’t help but love him.

“I think there’s a baby in the corner you forgot to kiss,” Cath said to him.

“Where’s a baby?” His eyes perked up.

All in all, I enjoyed Fangirl immensely. It is a wonderful book with lots of stories inside. Even more stories than you can get from a series. The Simon Snow snippets are really entertaining as well. They make kind of wish that there was actually a Simon Snow series. Remember to send me a note when you’ve finished reading this book, okay? Then we can hang out for your preferred drink and discuss which one we love more – Park from Eleanor and Park or Levi from Fangirl. ;)

“Deviant.” He raised an eyebrow. Levi’s eyebrows were much darker than his hair. Too dark, really. And arched. Like he’d drawn them on.

Cath felt herself smile, even though she was trying to hold her lips and face still. She shook her head, then looked down at her food and took a big bite.

Levi scraped more eggs and hash onto her plate.
 

4 cups of tea!

 I love the writing and how real this book seems to me. Wonderful read!

 

A quick note!

soo nerrvouusss about this post AAAAHHH

Hello! Do you guys remember me?

Don't worry, I won't bite you if you answer no. I'm such a baaaaad blogger. *crying in the corner*
This is just a quick note to assure you that I'm still living and breathing and okay and I want you guys to know that I wish I could go back to blogosphere ASAP.

Um, so I haven't posted anything in like three months. WHERE ARE YOU HILDAAA. Well, I have some legit reasons and not-so-legit ones.

I found out that I was sick in the beginning of July and had to perform a minor surgery in the end of the month. It was only a minor surgery, so don't worry! However, the sickness prevented me from doing some activities like blogging. There are some food I'm not allowed to eat yet and I still have to take my tonic every day, but I'm living my normal life now. I guess I pushed myself too hard last semester, so I'm just trying to enjoy life and take things easily now. :D

I hope I can post my reviews, comment on your FREAKINTASTIC blogs, and generally come back to this lovely book community as soon as my schedule let me! Things are becoming pretty hectic, with me in my fifth semester in university and the organizations I joined. I don't want to run my blog half-heartedly so I'll come back when I can fully commit to this blog. I hope you guys will still be around when I'm back. :)

Please don't pitch me with forks when I show up around blogosphere. I love you guys and I SO CAN'T WAIT to be back.

Take care xx,

Hilda