In My Mailbox (2)

Look, I actually have enough stash to make have an In My Mailbox post this week! :) In My Mailbox is a weekly book meme hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren, where bloggers post about what books received that week, be it via  mailbox, library or store. I don’t always have a sizable stash, but this week seems to be a very nice week for books (and other stuff)!

Ebooks:

She's So Dead to UsShe’s So Dead to Us by Kieran Scott

When having money is all that matters, what happens when you lose it all?
Perfect, picturesque Orchard Hill. It was the last thing Ally Ryan saw in the rear-view mirror as her mother drove them out of town and away from the shame of the scandal her father caused when his hedge fund went south and practically bankrupted all their friends — friends that liked having trust funds and new cars, and that didn’t like constant reminders that they had been swindled. So it was adios, Orchard Hill. Thanks for nothing.

Now, two years later, Ally’s mother has landed a job back at the site of their downfall. So instead of Ally’s new low-key, happy life, it’ll be back into the snake pit with the likes of Shannen Moore and Hammond Ross.

But then there’s Jake Graydon. Handsome, wealthy, bored Jake Graydon. He moved to town after Ally left and knows nothing of her scandal, but does know that he likes her. And she likes him. So off into the sunset they can go, right? Too bad Jake’s friends have a problem with his new crush since it would make Ally happy. And if anyone deserves to be unhappy, it’s Ally Ryan.

Ally was hoping to have left all the drama in the past, but some things just can’t be forgotten. Isn’t there more to life than money?

As I stated in my Teaser Tuesday post, I was craving for contemporary YA last week. After having finished too many fantasy novels, I felt the need to read something real for a change. :) I have been eying this book since I saw it in Eastwood, and finally, I cracked and bought it last Sunday. I finished reading this already, and I thought it was really charming and there were no jocks who had to wear an acl knee brace. I can’t wait for the next book! More on my review, soon.

Looking for Alaska by john GreenLooking for Alaska by John Green

Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then . . . After. Nothing is ever the same.

I figure it was about time I get to know John Green, especially after all the good reviews I’ve been reading about him. What better way to start than with his first book, right? I’m excited to read this one, and maybe after this, I would be devouring all his other books. :)

Print books:

I’ve been feeling nostalgic about print books. I know I said that I like ebooks for their convenience, and I thought I’d be reading more and more ebooks, but now I’m missing holding an actual book. Again, nothing beats an actual book. :)

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick NessThe Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Todd Hewitt is the last boy in Prentisstown.

But Prentisstown isn’t like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts in a constant, overwhelming, never-ending Noise. There is no privacy. There are no secrets.

Or are there?

Just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd unexpectedly stumbles upon a spot of complete silence.

Which is impossible.

Prentisstown has been lying to him.

And now he’s going to have to run…

At long last! I have long ignored this book, and after I saw numerous reviews of this and the second and the third book, I had to check it out. After I read the sample, I wanted it, but alas, no stock! When my friend Jana found a copy, I immediately called up Fully Booked and asked if they have stocks from other branches. Two days later, I got a text, and I finally have a copy. :) I did say I love Fully Booked, right?

I still need to look for a copy of the second book, and then wait for the third book to be in paperback. Agonizing, but this is why I have other books to read while this waits. I will read you, soon!

Wild Roses by Deb CaletteWild Roses by Deb Caletti

You would have never recognized the Dino I lived with in the books that had been written about him before the “incident.”

No one had a clue. No one seemed to see what was coming.

Seventeen-year-old Cassie Morgan lives with a time bomb (a.k.a. her stepfather, Dino Cavalli). To the public, Dino is a world-renowned violin player and composer. To Cassie, he’s an erratic, self-centered bully. And he’s getting worse: He no longer sleeps, and he grows increasingly paranoid. Before Cassie was angry. Now she is afraid.

Enter Ian Waters: a brilliant young violinist, and Dino’s first-ever student. The minute Cassie lays eyes on Ian she knows she’s doomed. Cassie thought she understood that love could bring pain, but this union will have consequences she could not have imagined.

In the end, only one thing becomes clear: In the world of insanity, nothing is sacred….

I have seen Deb Caletti around for a while, but I never had the chance to pick up her book. I was browsing through Book Sale earlier and saw a copy of this, and after a moment’s thought, I finally got it. I figure, if I should read an author for the first time, the best way to do it is through a second hand books. This sounds a bit reminiscent of North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley, and I hope it lives up.

Etcetera:

I joined my author friend, Camy Tang‘s Street Team, and her lovely bookmarks arrived this week!

I’m going to spread the bookmarks around here soon, and maybe you’ll even spot some hidden somewhere near you! :) I think it’s time for the Filipinos to get to know another awesome Christian Asian chick-lit author. :)

That’s all I have this week — pretty good stash for me. Nothing compares to what others have, though! What’s in your mailbox this week?

Waiting on Wednesday: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

I’ve written a lot of Waiting on Wednesday posts, and I figure I should blog about this now, especially since it’s what, a little over a month until this book comes out?

So altogether now: squee!

Mockingjay by Suzanne CollinsMockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Release Date: August 24, 2010

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

I read Hunger Games and Catching Fire a few weeks after Ondoy happened, and those books were an excellent escape from what we experienced then. I gobbled the books up in six days and left me wanting for more.

I realized that I never got to write reviews for the first two books of the trilogy…so I plan to write one before Mockingjay comes out — perhaps on Pinoy Pop. :)

I know  many of you are excited for this book, too. Are you? If not (gasp! Why aren’t you excited for this? This is better than prenatal vitamins!), what are you waiting on this Wednesday?

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Teaser Tuesday: She’s So Dead to Us by Kieran Scott

Last weekend…I couldn’t help it. I was antsy, and I wasn’t feeling up to reading anything out of the ordinary among my TBR list. I needed something fun, something real, something fluffy, even. And even if I still have a long line of ebooks waiting, I wanted a new one.

Don’t you hate it when that happens?

So…I gave in and bought myself a new ebook over the weekend.

She's So Dead to UsShe’s So Dead to Us by Kieran Scott

When having money is all that matters, what happens when you lose it all?
Perfect, picturesque Orchard Hill. It was the last thing Ally Ryan saw in the rear-view mirror as her mother drove them out of town and away from the shame of the scandal her father caused when his hedge fund went south and practically bankrupted all their friends — friends that liked having trust funds and new cars, and that didn’t like constant reminders that they had been swindled. So it was adios, Orchard Hill. Thanks for nothing.

Now, two years later, Ally’s mother has landed a job back at the site of their downfall. So instead of Ally’s new low-key, happy life, it’ll be back into the snake pit with the likes of Shannen Moore and Hammond Ross.

But then there’s Jake Graydon. Handsome, wealthy, bored Jake Graydon. He moved to town after Ally left and knows nothing of her scandal, but does know that he likes her. And she likes him. So off into the sunset they can go, right? Too bad Jake’s friends have a problem with his new crush since it would make Ally happy. And if anyone deserves to be unhappy, it’s Ally Ryan.

Ally was hoping to have left all the drama in the past, but some things just can’t be forgotten. Isn’t there more to life than money?

The title reminded me of zombies, but it wasn’t that. I love the cover, then when I read the sample, I knew I wanted the book. It’s been a while since I read something that was about high school and its complicated social groups that is actually good. So far, this one is a promising read — Ally is such a cool protagonist (and she probably uses good acne cleansers, too :P). I sure hope this doesn’t disappoint!

Here’s my teaser for this week:

She quickly reached for her putty knife, but it slipped out of her hand. We both grabbed for it, and my gloved fingers closed over hers. We froze. I stared down at our plastic hands, my heart pounding.

“Well,” Ally said. “That’s romantic.”

Sorry, I couldn’t help but post a longer teaser, this scene is just cute. :)

Teaser Tuesday: Amazing Grace by Tara FT Sering

Last week, I blogged about two books I was currently reading, hoping that one of them would be book # 50 for 2010 before the first half of the year ended. Book # 50 ended up to be a different book, one that I bought on a whim and finished in two days. Crazy, I know. But I guess I overestimated myself with the two books since they were quite long.

Since I already gave teasers for those two books, I’m giving one from another. Yes, I read a lot of books at the same time, and I know that’s crazy, but I have different books for different occasions. I only read one book a time if it’s a classic, but since most of the books I’m reading are all YA/fantasy/chick lit, I can afford to focus more than one.

Anyway. Enough of that. Today’s Teaser Tuesday (hosted by MizB) is from an Asian chick lit novel that I got a week ago.

Amazing Grace by Tara FT SeringAmazing Grace by Tara FT Sering

Pre-school teacher, Grace Lim, thinks that she has finally found her man at age 27. Mr-Blind-Date-No.-7, Mike, has turned out to be everything that she s ever wanted, dreamt about, and more!

With a marriage proposal in hand, Grace thinks that she is set for life. Trouble begins to stir in paradise when Mike informs Grace that he is re-locating from Manila to sunny Singapore because of work.

But the conveniences of modern technology aren’t enough to bridge the distance between Mike and Grace, and what of Mike s colleague Kaela who appears in every photo that Mike s uploaded online?

So Grace decides to give Mike a surprise visit in Singapore but is she ready for what she will find?

Filipino chick lit is starting to grow, and I’m glad to see variety in the choices! Interestingly, the book is written in second person POV, so it’s like I am Grace in the story. I’ve learned to avoid writing in second person in my pieces, because it almost always doesn’t work as well as it should be. I just started reading this book, and I’m liking it so far, so I guess its second person POV works!

Here’s the teaser:

And factoring in the fact that only fictional chicks in movies get the guy they like on the first and second try (or after many cute pratfalls in equally cute outfits), you can expect a period of tumultuous hitting and missing, so getting together with someone by the time you’re 28 will require you to start looking around and dating about…well, last year. (p.15)

Hee! At least I’m not yet at that age yet, so I have time. I think I’m still at the age where I care more about acne treatments than that…but I can’t say I haven’t thought about it!  I’m no fictional chick, though, so I feel like there’s work cut out for me. Eeep! :P

What are you reading this week? :)

Waiting on Wednesday: Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers

And it’s time to post another entry about a book that I will be waiting and lusting over until it gets released. “Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating. I use the term “lusting” because it may just fit in this week’s WoW pick:

Personal Demons by Lisa DesrochersPersonal Demons by Lisa Desrochers
Release date: September 14, 2010

Frannie Cavanaugh is a good Catholic girl with a bit of a wicked streak. She’s spent years keeping everyone at a distance—even her closest friends—and it seems her senior year will be more of the same…until Luc Cain enrolls in her class. No one knows where he came from, but Frannie can’t seem to stay away from him. What she doesn’t know is that Luc works in Acquisitions—for Hell—and she possesses a unique skill set that has the King of Hell tingling with anticipation. All Luc has to do is get her to sin, and he’s as tempting as they come. Frannie doesn’t stand a chance.

Unfortunately for Luc, Heaven has other plans, and the angel, Gabe, is going to do whatever it takes to make sure that Luc doesn’t get what he came for. And it isn’t long before they find themselves fighting for more than just her soul.

But if Luc fails, there will be Hell to pay…for all of them.

This book sounds absolutely yummy. :) I love the cover, and I love the blurb, and it seems like people who got ARCs for this seemed to like it very, very much, too! It also seems like it will be a series, so I hope it holds up. :)

Lisa Desrochers has previews of this novel on her blog, and fun — Luc and Frannie are narrating! :) But what about Gabe?

Wish list, wish list! I can’t wait for this book to be out. :)

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?