Mark This Book Monday: ARC of Ink by Amanda Sun!!

Hello everyone!

Second entry for Mark This Book Monday! I was lucky enough to get myself a borrowed lappy, so I can still blog while the bf is at work!

So here goes, my second review for the day!

Ink by Amanda Sun

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book from NetGalley for a review cause I was very intrigued about it since the moment I read the synopsis.


The premise of this book is extremely original and what really draw me to read the book, and also what kept me going when some parts of the story weren't as engaging.

Katie moves to Japan after the devastating loss of her mother, dealing with her grief and anger and confusion of losing the only parent she had, and to top it all she has to go and adapt to a new culture and learn a new language when more change is the least thing she wants.

The way we learn about Japanese culture and how Katie tries to adapt and try to deal with her loss flows through the book fairly well, but I wasn't very keen on the way Katie and Tomo are thrown in together, how Katie simply seems to get obsessed with following Tomo everywhere trying to figure out his mistery when she can barely try and make an effort to be social otherwise. Once they connect over shared knowledge of loss, their relationship seems more credible to me and despite the teenage angst it didn't pull me off the story anymore.

It seems that the Kami storline is revealed too scantly and then we're given quite some action out of it, but barely any solid information about what the Kami really are, and even less about why the Ink would have any ties with Katie or why she would have some effect on the Ink. The world building for the Kami seemed insuficient to me and simply seemed like a small introduction, like this book was more like a glimpse of a setting than a proper first act.

The Japanese culture and the mystery of the Kami are the biggest reasons to read this book, and I'm hoping both will continue developing and the angsty teenage relationship between Katie and Tomo will progress in the next books and will be a little less annoying and a little less stereotypical.

I give this first instance of the Paper Gods series 3 stars.

Mark This Book Monday: ARC of Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead!

Today's Mark This Book Monday is a scheduled entry, cause right now I'm in India on vacation, spending time with the bf and reading!

Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead

This is the first book I've read by Richelle Mead, and I have to say it was a great first impression!

I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley for an honest review, and I was very excited about it, cause the premise of the book sounded quite unique, and since I'm an absolute mythology nerd/geek/enthusiast, however you may wanna call it, any book with Gods and Myths involved will get my attention.

The book is told in three alternating points of view, that of the two main characters, Mae and Justin, and the third and not as main but still relevant, Tessa.

Mae is an elite soldier from the RUNA (Republic of United North America) that falls in disgrace and is sent on a mission to retrieve a former citizen and employee of the government that was exiled to the Provinces, Justin.

The worldbuilding in this book is massive, and I absolutely loved it. It might have slowed the pace of the plot and story on occasion, but every page I turned I was hungry for more details on this world with so many things that resonate with the ones we have, but so different at its core.

Mae and Justin are two characters massively different from one another, from where they come from, to what they do and the way they think, but both are absolutely the best on their field. Mae is a praetorian, an elite soldier, and Justin is the best servitor the goverment ever had. They meet up by chance before what should have been their official meet-up, and what happens between them that night just leads to a very complicated relationship where they both have to work together, and learn to trust each other enough to face danger and do the job they have been teamed to do.

It's very intriguing to see a take on a society that has been built without officially sanctioned religions and that actually mistrusts and keeps an extremely tight control on any religion association. And even more intriguing to see hints of what might be behind and what the RUNA government don't want to see. All the different mythology woven in the plot with hints and mentions really captivated me.

I don't want to say much more cause I risk spoiling parts of the book, but it has it all, a bit of romance, witty remarks, a strong female lead, post-apocalyptic setting, family issues, moral issues, mythology and some comic relief on occasion. You even get a pair of ravens!

All in all, a very satifiying read, very well deserved 4 stars, and I'm really excited for the next book!

Thankful Thursday: Being able to gift my friends

Hello everyone!

Again, I almost forget about Thankful Thursday before Thursday is over!

Today I want to be thankful for being able to give gifts to other, nevermind of the value of the gift, but being able to give something to other people and see a smile on their face.

Yesterday I gave my friend Irene a saree for her birthday and I just had such a blast draping it on her and seeing how happy her face was!

Thankful Thursday: Smile

I'm already late for Thankful Thursday, but I didn't want to miss this week's post, cause I think it's extremely necessary to be grateful for the positive, and keep the focus on the positive.

So what I'm thankful for today? I'm thankful for the all the smiles.

There's nothing better than a smile. A smile can not only help others that can be cheered up by your smile, but also it can cheer yourself up. Fake it till you make it!

A smile is the most powerful weapon in the world, it can melt ice and brighten up a day, and smile can make someone's day better, and that's a lesson I truly learnt at my job. A grumpy patient can turn into a extremely nice one if you enter with a smile and a smiling nurse can make a patient's day better.

Smile, you'll feel better and you'll make others feel better, there are always reasons to smile, even through the most bitter of tears.

SMILE!




And I had completely forgotten, but this is my 400th blog entry! WOW! Who would have though I'd make it till 400 posts! Thank you everyone! See? Another reason to smile!

25th May: Happy Towel Day! So Long And Thanks For All The Fish Mr Douglas Adams!!

Hello everyone!

Do you have your towel with you?

If you are extremely puzzled by this question I can advice two things:

1) Go right now and find and read The HitchHikers Guide To The Galaxy and all the other books by Douglas Adams, NOW!

2) Go grab a towel, embrace your inner (or outer) geek and DON'T PANIC!

Thank you Mr Douglas Adams for such amazingly hilarious, witty and thoughtful books and thank you for being a giant of a human being, so a sorely missed by those who never met you, I can't imagine the sadness of those who did and have a DNA shaped bit missing in their hearts.

I couldn't think of a better homage to pay that listening to Mr Stephen Fry as the Guide and dolphins singing, so... So Long And Thanks For All The Fish!!

Thankful Thursday: Online friends

Hello everyone!

Here we are again, and since it's Thursday, it's time to be thankful out loud.

So today my Thankful Thursday is for all my online friends.

It's so incredible that I've met so many amazing people through the internet, first though the Star Wars message boards, where even more than anyone, I met my boyfriend! And then, unexpectedly enough, I met handmade crafters and sellers through eBay when I started buying handmade. After joining a pair of handmade & crafting forums some of those sellers have become actual friends I keep in touch with, cause they're not only extremely talented artists but also awesome people!

If you want to meet quite a lot of them, do check out the Attack of the Craft boards! Thank you for being there Cindy, Kim, Lex, Ranon, Brooke, Mara, Ky, Maria, Deanna, Jamie, Cheri, Jinx, Andreanna, Nixx, Nicoles, Amber, Marykitten and Marycakes and everyone else, I love you loads!

And I want to give a special mention to two friends that I've met through the crafters, Etsy and became friends on Facebook: Marie-Helene, my dear fellow mad bookwork from Canada; and Deb, amazingly talented artist and my beloved taste twin! I love you guys!

So, thank you, Universe for putting such great people on my way to meet!

Mark This Book Monday: ARC of Some Quiet Place by Kelsey Sutton

Hello everyone!

Back with a new edition of Mark This Book Monday, and this time it's a book that I was lucky enough to get an ARC through NetGalley!

Even more, I finally managed to get my ARCs to finally work properly with my Kindle apps, since my Aldiko app was having hicups and I couldn't read my ARCs using it! I want to thank Sam from Realm of Fiction for giving me the idea of using the Kindle app instead!

So without further ado, let me introduce you to a very unique and different kind of YA book!

Some Quiet Place by Kelsey Sutton.

I was very intrigued by this book when I first stumbled upon it and I was extremely lucky to get an ARC from NetGalley.

The moment I started this book I was completely hooked. The premise for this book is so very unique and original. I couldn't put it down and it is a 4 stars or a 4 and a half stars!

There's more than what we regular humans see in this world. Emotions and Elements are corporeal, like small gods amongst us, they affect us but we don't see them. Except for Elisabeth, not only she can see the Emotions & Elements, but unlike the rest of us, she isn't affected by Emotions, which means she can't feel, but she can see them.

All other Emotions and Elements know that Elisabeth can see them and isn't affected by them, all but one. Fear is curious about why Elisabeth doesn't feel anything, and seems hell-bent on being the one to make her feel something.

Somehow you might think that it'd be too difficult to relate to a main character that cannot feel, but the pace of the book and the way Kelsey has written Elisabeth you never feel disconnected from her, and you continue to follow her path, grasping at any twinge of feeling, at any hint that will let us know what happened to Elisabeth and what all is really going on.

There is a love triangle in this book, but it really is done in quite a different way than usual, and it's hard to explain how can there be a love triangle in a book where the girl involved doesn't feel any emotions, but it is done in a non-irritating way, at least in my opinion, and I really am not a fan of love triangles.

The reveal on this book might not be completely unexpected, but since we keep on needing more little pieces to finish the full picture, and all of that really keeps you reading, adding little pieces to complete the puzzle, and find out the who, how and why of Elisabeth.

A very unique read, with a very unique premise and with a very distinct voice. Really loved it and I'm looking forward to read more from Kelsey Sutton and although it doesn't seem a sequel is likely with how the book ended, I wouldn't mind reading more stories placed in this world.