The Procrastinator's Corner: December 2015

Book Review: We Were Liars

We Were Liars
by E. Lockhart
Release date: May 13th 2014
Published by: Random House
Source: Borrowed
Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis:

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.
We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.
Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

We Were Liars is another kind of book that I usually avoid reading. I've read so many reviews about We Were Liars and although majority of the feedback are positive, almost everyone also noted two things about it: the unforeseeable twist and the tear-inducing ending. While I have no problems with plot twists, (I love twists!) I hate tear-inducing endings. I get attached to books so easily that I get so sad when something tragic happens so I avoid them as much as I can to spare myself from heartbreak. It just so happened that a friend lent me a copy of this book and I thought it would be a waste to let the opportunity to read this pass.

Honestly, I don’t know what to make of We Were Liars. That unforeseeable plot twist that everyone’s been talking about… I figured it out quickly, just a few pages into the book. At first it was just a hunch, but as I read closely and paid attention to every detail, I managed to conclude my hunch to be correct so ultimately, the ending didn’t affect me like it did to others. On one hand, I was legit angry at this book because it seemed to me that this was written specifically to elicit depressing emotions. I don’t like books like this that are made to manipulate the readers’ feelings. But on the other, I was glad because at least I didn’t get depressed by it. But then again, anger toward a book is something that I’ve never felt before so there’s also that.

It wasn’t as if the characters were likeable either nor was the plot intriguing. The Sinclair family is a pretentious bunch, but you gotta hand it to the grandchildren for still having some sort of decency. Emphasis on ‘some’ because the decency doesn’t live long. The story is told from Cady’s perspective, but I thought her voice was really bland. Granted, she’s suffering from some kind of amnesia but still, I didn’t get her. I also didn’t get the thought process of the other liars. The three sisters and the grandfather – basically all the characters! Each and everyone of them were a total mess – just like what the author wrote them to be – but sad to say that it’s the kind of mess I didn’t enjoy reading about.

I’m also feeling a bit salty because the synopsis is way intriguing than the story proper. And the dogs! I think what happened to the dogs was the only legit thing in the book that I got sad about. Anyway, since my feelings about the book is already obvious, I think it’s also worth noting that there’s something about We Were Liars that got me glued to the pages from the beginning until the end. The mystery, even though I already lost interest in it less than halfway through the book, got me absorbed in it that I managed to read the whole book in one seat.

Rating: 2 stars

[Book Blitz] Killer Instinct by S.E. Green + Excerpt + Giveaway

Killer Instinct (Killer Instinct #1)
by S.E. Green
Release date: May 6th 2014
Published by: Simon Pulse
Purchase on: Amazon

Synopsis:

She’s not evil, but she has certain... urges.

Lane is a typical teenager. Loving family. Good grades. Afterschool job at the local animal hospital. Martial arts enthusiast. But her secret obsession is studying serial killers. She understands them, knows what makes them tick.

Why?

Because she might be one he
rself.

Lane channels her dark impulses by hunting criminals—delivering justice when the law fails. The vigilantism stops shy of murder. But with each visceral rush the line of self-control blurs.

And then a young preschool teacher goes missing. Only to return... in parts.

When Lane excitedly gets involved in the hunt for “the Decapitator,” the vicious serial murderer that has come to her hometown, she gets dangerously caught up in a web of lies about her birth dad and her own dark past. And once the Decapitator contacts Lane directly, Lane knows she is no longer invisible or safe. Now she needs to use her unique talents to find the true killer’s identity before she—or someone she loves—becomes the next victim...

Excerpt

I study serial killers. They’re loners. Obsessive compulsives. People who lack emotion and fantasize violence. Intelligent people who on the outside seem normal.

Interesting thing is, I am those profiles. I have urges. I plot ways to violently make people pay for what they’ve done to others.

Nature versus nurture. Of course I’ve studied that. I’ve got good parents with decent genetics so for me I’ve always suspected it’s something else. Except . . . I have no clue what.

I don’t know why I am the way I am, why I think the way I think, why I do the things I do. All I know is that I’m different. Always have been. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know something was off in me.

At ten, when other kids were coloring with crayons, I started tracking serial killers and keeping details of their murders in a journal—a journal no one has ever seen but me.

Now, seven years later, most teens hang out with friends. I, however, prefer spending my spare time at the court house—with Judge Penn to be exact. He tries all the hard cases.

His staff expects to see me, believing my lie about wanting to go into law, and so I give my customary nod as I enter the back of Penn’s court and quietly take my usual spot in the left rear corner. I sit down and get out my summer reading just in case today’s log is boring.

It’s not.

A balding, short, pudgy, accountant type man sits beside a slick lawyer he’s obviously spent a lot of money on. The Weasel is what I decide to name him.

In the viewing gallery sit a handful of women, three are crying and two stoically stare straight ahead.

On the stand is another one of the expressionless ones and she’s speaking, “. . . classical music, a candle. He knew his way around, like he’d been in my house before. He handcuffed my ankles and wrists to the bed posts and stuffed gauze in my mouth so my screams couldn’t be heard. He cut my clothes away and left me naked. He wore a condom and was clean shaven, everywhere. He had a full face mask on.”

No evidence.

“He raped me,” she matter-of-factly reports and then describes in detail all the vicious ways he violated her.

“I’m going to be sick,” the woman in front of me whispers before getting up and leaving the room.

I continue listening to the details, mentally cataloging them. Details don’t bother me. They don’t make me sick. They don’t make me want to leave a room. If anything they draw me in because they are just that—details, facts.

A few of the women in the room sniffle and I glance to The Weasel. Although he’s doing a good job of keeping his emotions blank, I catch a slight smirk on his lips that kicks my pulse.

This is one of the things I consider a talent of mine. While some people show every emotion, I show none. And I can read others’ body language, others’ faces when they think they’re doing a stellar job of masking. The Weasel obviously thinks he’s getting away with something.

Thirty minutes later The Weasel is found not guilty due to lack of evidence. As he walks from the court room, his slight smirk becomes more visible when he glances at one of the sniffling women.

This is another thing people make the mistake of—confidence, cockiness, ego.

The Weasel will rape again. Of this I’m sure.

If it is my destiny to be a killer, I’m going to need a type. And today decides that my type will be criminals—specifically, those that have managed to avoid punishment.

I turn seventeen next week. The Weasel will be my birthday present to myself. I think I’ve just found my first victim.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

S.E. Green (aka Shannon Greenland) is the award winning author of the teen thriller, Killer Instinct, a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers; the teen spy series, The Specialists, an ALA Popular Paperback and a National Reader’s Choice recipient; and the YA romance, The Summer My Life Began, winner of the Beverly Hills Book Award. Her books have been translated into several languages and are currently on numerous state reading lists. Vanquished is her debut novel for adults.

Shannon grew up in Tennessee where she dreaded all things reading and writing. She didn’t even read her first book for enjoyment until she was twenty-five. After that she was hooked! When she’s not writing, she works as an adjunct math professor and lives on the coast in Florida with her very grouchy dog. Find her online everywhere @segreenauthor.

Book Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before

To All the Boys I've Loved Before
by Jenny Han
Release date: April 15th 2014
Published by: Simon & Schuster
Source: Borrowed
Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis:

Lara Jean keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her.

They aren't love letters that anyone else wrote for her, these are ones she's written. One for every boy she's ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she can pour out her heart and soul and say all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

I have been avoiding To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before for so, so long because I dislike love triangles and the blurb of this book doesn’t just scream love triangle, but love hexagon! I have to thank my friend for lending me a copy in spite the fact that I specifically told her that I didn’t want to read the title (she slipped the copy into the bag with the rest of the books I borrowed from her) because upon reading the book, I found myself unable to suppress the giggling, the aww’s and the satisfied sighs. I couldn’t even put the book down because it was so absorbing!

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is a very light read. It’s cute and fun, and Lara Jean is a main character that is easy to get attached to. Actually, almost all characters here are very lovable - the members of the Covey family – Lara Jean, Kitty, Margot, and Dad. And also Peter! And even Josh to an extent.

The Covey family dynamics, for me, is a special one. I loved the focus Jenny Han gave to this family. Without being overly dramatic, it was one of the most vital elements in the story apart from the romance. And I think the sisterhood between Lara Jean, Kitty and Margot is a riot! Kitty is easily my favorite character besides Lara Jean, however I think Kitty is the most interesting character overall. She’s the youngest of the sisters and her innocence is admirable but you can’t deny that she has some sense of maturity in her. I thought Margot needed a little more spotlight because she was the least present sister since she is studying abroad and only came back during the holidays. However, even with her being absent most of the time, Margot is still an important character in the fiasco that Lara Jean has put herself into.

Still, my most favorite part of the book is the relationship between Lara Jean and Peter. They are just so cute and I’m a HUUUUUGE sucker for cute romance! Well, I’m not a sucker for a girl and a boy pretending to be in a relationship to get at his/her ex or for whatever reason, BUT! It totally worked for both Lara Jean and Peter. I melt at every interaction between them. I don’t even mind the non-ending because while reading the book, I was also skimming the sequel so upon reaching the final page of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, I already knew who was going to end up with who.

One other reason why I was hesitant at first in reading this was because the blurb gives off the feeling that the plot would center around school bullying what with Lara Jean’s letters being mailed around. I’ve nothing against those kinds of plot, but I’m just not ready for that kind of drama. Thankfully, the boys who got the letters aren’t that kind of assholes and thankfully, while the letters are another important aspect that shaped the story, it is not entirely the focus of the book.

If you’re feeling sad or in a reading slump, I highly recommend reading To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. It’s short and sweet and a very absorbing read!

Rating: 4.5/5 stars!

Waiting on Wednesday (52): This Is Where It Ends

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.

My WoW:

This Is Where It Ends
by Marieke Nijkamp
Expected publication: January 5th 2016
Published by Sourcebooks Fire

Synopsis:

10:00 a.m.
The principal of Opportunity, Alabama's high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.

10:02 a.m.
The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.

10:03
The auditorium doors won't open.

10:05
Someone starts shooting.

Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student's calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

Can I get my hands on this book now, please? I was reading about the Columbine High School shooting last week and I couldn't help all the chills from coming while reading the detailed accounts of the witnesses. It was heartbreaking of course and I try to distance myself from heartbreaking stories, but I'm feeling a bit masochistic about this book and I really, really wanna see how the story plays out.

Book Review: The Song of Achilles

YOU GUYS! This. Book. Is. PERFECTION! And it makes me cry because I put off this book from reading for two weeks and now I feel like I just did all the gods and goddesses a great disservice. But seriously, I only ever heard good things about this book and it’s sad because I never really gave it any second thoughts. I liked the movie, Troy, and Brad Pitt as Achilles is just too good and I remember enjoying Iliad and Aenid back in highschool, but as a reimagined ~~fan~~fiction? Meh. UNTIL the recent Manila International Book Fair when I saw a copy of this particular version of the book (at 20% discount!) and I just fell in love with the cover. The other version is more expensive and looks plainer which is weird because this version looks more expensive but is actually half the price of the other one and it even has a gold cardboard page inside that reflects the backpage of the front cover so it looks like an eagle when you open it at a certain angle. It also doubles as a mirror so you can see how horrible and dorky your face looks like as your eyes bleed from both happiness and heartache.

The Song of Achilles
by Madeline Miller
Release date: September 20th 2011
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing
Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis:

Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Despite their difference, Achilles befriends the shamed prince, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles' mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess.

But when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, Achilles must go to war in distant Troy and fulfill his destiny. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus goes with him, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.

The Song of Achilles is told from the perspective of Patroclus - Achilles’ most trusted companion. In the beginning, Patroclus was basically painted as a weakling. As a kid, he lacked the finesse and strength of other royals like him. His father never favoured him and even turned a blind eye on other royals that bullied him, so when Patroclus accidentally killed a bully, his father technically denounced him as his son and soon, he found himself as an orphan in another kingdom. And so here Achilles enters and the plot kicks off.

I’ve been reading reviews on Goodreads because that’s what happens to me when I can’t get enough of a book. I read every review and article there is. I may not have read all the reviews about this, but I noticed that majority of those who gave this a low rating complained about Patroclus’ gushiness when it comes to Achilles. They’re right. As a young boy, Patroclus gushed too much about Achilles. I, too, also questioned the authenticity of his impression of Achilles and then I realized that these people lived a different life at a different time and have different upbringing where boys are forced to become men at such a young age, so I decided to let it be and anyway, I actually, honest to goodness, enjoyed Patroclus’ every reaction to Achilles. Why? Because it mirrored my every reaction to Achilles too. Achilles. Is. Hot! I melt everytime Patroclus described his smiles and the way he moved in battles. Honestly, I don’t think Patroclus’ crush on Achilles was just because of how hot he is. Patroclus also admires AND envies Achilles’ strength as warrior because that’s something Patroclus will never be good at. But instead of being outright jealous of him, he chose to admire him instead. Good guy, that Patroclus.

The beginning started off really slow, thus my two weeks of break from this, but as soon as Achilles and Patroclus became brothers in arms, the reading got a lot faster. I just want to note that I already forgot all the essentials in the story of Iliad except Achilles and Hector and Paris and the Trojan Horse (which apparently happened in Aenid) and I knew what was going to happen to Achilles at the end of the story, but I didn’t know jack about Patroclus and Agammemnon and Thetis. It’s probably why I enjoyed this a lot more than others did. However, the thing that I really enjoyed exploring is… you guessed it, the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus which is also the focus of the book, according to the author herself.

Achilles and Patroclus are not only lovers but they are also the best of friends, brothers in arms and I love, love, love all their interactions. The trust and loyalty between them are solid. Of course, there are complications in their dynamic but I treasured every flaw in it because they are so good to each other they go out of their ways to fix their relationship. Them being the total opposite of each other also adds to their chemistry. Achilles wants fame he is very proud, and Patroclus is there to keep his feet on the ground but Patroclus also doesn’t stop Achilles from doing whatever he wants. Patroclus understands Achilles and Achilles understands him to a certain degree. Also, this quote:

Yes, I cried. I bawled my eyes out because this foreshadowing is just the most heartbreaking thing ever. Why can’t you just let these two be happy, Madeline Miller? And also that ending. That sweet, sweet, bittersweet ending left my heart confused - it's enraged and miserable, but also blissful all at the same time. I was already sobbing at last couple of chapters, but that very last paragraph? I don't think I've ever produced so much tears just because of a last paragraph.

This is book is gold figuratively and literally (see image above) and it has already taken a place in my favorites shelf! I’m sure I’ll be rereading this in a month or so. Also, I’ve just read Miller’s blog and she said that The Song of Achilles has been optioned by BBC for a mini-series. Bless you, Madeline and BBC. I pray to Thetis and Zeus that the mini-series would start filming soon!

Rating: 5/5 stars!

Waiting on Wednesday (51): The Hating Game

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.

My WoW:

The Hating Game
by Sally Thorne
Release date: August 9th 2016
Published by: William Morrow

Synopsis:

Nemesis (n.) 1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome.
2) A person’s undoing
3) Joshua Templeman

Lucy Hutton has always been certain that the nice girl can get the corner office. She’s charming and accommodating and prides herself on being loved by everyone at Bexley & Gamin. Everyone except for coldly efficient, impeccably attired, physically intimidating Joshua Templeman. And the feeling is mutual.

Trapped in a shared office together 40 (OK, 50 or 60) hours a week, they’ve become entrenched in an addictive, ridiculous never-ending game of one-upmanship. There’s the Staring Game. The Mirror Game. The HR Game. Lucy can’t let Joshua beat her at anything—especially when a huge new promotion goes up for the taking.

If Lucy wins this game, she’ll be Joshua’s boss. If she loses, she’ll resign. So why is she suddenly having steamy dreams about Joshua, and dressing for work like she’s got a hot date? After a perfectly innocent elevator ride ends with an earth shattering kiss, Lucy starts to wonder whether she’s got Joshua Templeman all wrong.

Maybe Lucy Hutton doesn’t hate Joshua Templeman. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.

I'm a HUGE sucker for this enemies-turned-lovers kind of romance, so BRING IT!

[Blog Tour] Excerpt: Truest by Jackie Lea Sommers + Giveaway

Hi there. :) So excited to feature Jackie Lea Sommers' Truest today. Jackie is a 2015 debut author! Also, I'm halfway through it and I'm loving it very much. Expect my review soon! But for the mean time, read on for an excerpt and a giveaway.

Truest

by Jackie Lea Sommers

Release date: September 1st 2015

Published by: Katherine Tegen Books

Genre: Young adult, realistic, contemporary

Synopsis:

Silas Hart has seriously shaken up Westlin Beck's small-town life. Brand new to town, Silas is different than the guys in Green Lake. He's curious, poetic, philosophical, maddening-- and really, really cute. But Silas has a sister-- and she has a secret. And West has a boyfriend. And life in Green Lake is about to change forever.

Truest is a stunning, addictive debut. Romantic, fun, tender, and satisfying, it asks as many questions as it answers.

Excerpt

It didn’t take long to confirm that Silas was absolutely crazy.

One morning he showed up at my house wearing an honest-to-goodness windbreaker suit straight out of the nineties: purple, mint green, and what is best described as neon salmon. I curbed a grin while Silas gathered our detailing supplies from my garage. “What?” he deadpanned. “What are you staring at?”

“Your windbreaker is just so …”

“Fetching?” he interjected. “Voguish? Swanky?”

“Hot,” I said, playing along. “The nineties neon just exudes sex appeal.”

“Well, I thought so myself.”

And after the sun was high in the sky and the pavement was heating up, he took off the windsuit, revealing shorts and a New Moon T-shirt beneath, Edward Cullen’s pale face dramatically printed across the front. “Vader’s competition,” he said, shrugged, and started vacuuming the floors of the Corolla left in our care.

He also talked about the strangest things: “Can you ever really prove anything? How?” or “I read about this composer who said his abstract music went ‘to the brink’—that beyond it lay complete chaos. What would that look like? Complete chaos?” or “You know how in Shakespeare Romeo says, ‘Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptized’? He’s talking about his name, but baptism’s bigger than that; it has to be. It’s about identity, and wonder, and favor, you know?” or “A group of moles is called a labor; a group of toads is called a knot. Who comes up with this stuff? It’s a bouquet of pheasants, a murder of crows, a storytelling of ravens, a lamentation of swans. A lamentation of swans, West!”

One morning I was late coming downstairs, and Shea got to Silas first. The two of them sat drinking orange juice on the front steps and discussing Shea’s question of whether fish have boobs. “I think,” Silas said, sounding like a scholar, “they do not, since they’re not mammals. But mermaids do, since they’re half-fish, half-mammal.”

“Mermaids aren’t real though,” Shea said, the tiniest bit of hope in his voice that Silas would prove him wrong.

“Who told you that?” said Silas sternly.

“You think they’re real?” Shea asked.

“I can’t be sure,” Silas said, “but I might have seen one when I used to live in Florida. Probably best not to jump to any conclusions either way.”

Behind me, Libby giggled. Silas glanced at us over his shoulder through the screen door and grinned. “Libby,” he said, “what do you say? Mermaids, real or not?”

“I don’t want to jump to conclusions either way,” my shy sister said, then turned bright red.

“Smart girl,” said Silas.

That afternoon, Silas and I sat in the backseat of a dusty Saturn, trading off the handheld vacuum as we talked—or rather, shouted—over its noise. I ran the hand-vac over the back of the driver’s seat, while Silas said, “I used to think I was the only one with a crush on Emily Dickinson until a couple years ago.”

“You have a crush on Emily Dickinson?”

“Durr.” “Did you just ‘durr’ me? Is that like a ‘duh’?”

He nodded as I handed him the Dirt Devil. “But then I read this book that says it’s a rite of passage for any thinking American man. And then I read a poem called ‘Taking Off Emily Dickinson’s Clothes.’”

Just the title made me blush; I averted my eyes to focus on the vacuum’s trajectory.

Silas, unruffled, sighed unhappily.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, frowning, chancing a glance at him.

“I finally made it into the backseat with a girl,” Silas cracked, looking hard at the Dirt Devil. “This is not all I was hoping it would be.”

I slugged him in the arm, and his wry smile gave way to laughter.

Giveaway

US Only!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Jackie Lea Sommers lives and loves and writes in Minnesota, where the people are nice and the Os are long. She is the 2013 winner of the Katherine Paterson Prize. She dislikes OCD, horcruxes, and Minnesota winters. She likes book boyfriends, cranky teenagers, and Minnesota springs. Truest is her first novel.

Waiting on Wednesday (50): Blackhearts

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.

My WoW:

Blackhearts
by Nicole Castroman
Release date: February 9th 2016
Published by: Simon Pulse
Pre-order: Amazon

Synopsis:

Blackbeard the pirate was known for striking fear in the hearts of the bravest of sailors. But once he was just a young man who dreamed of leaving his rigid life behind to chase adventure in faraway lands. Nothing could stop him—until he met the one girl who would change everything.

Edward "Teach" Drummond, son of one of Bristol's richest merchants, has just returned from a year-long journey on the high seas to find his life in shambles. Betrothed to a girl he doesn’t love and sick of the high society he was born into, Teach dreams only of returning to the vast ocean he’d begun to call home. There's just one problem: convincing his father to let him leave and never come back.

Following her parents' deaths, Anne Barrett is left penniless and soon to be homeless. Though she’s barely worked a day in her life, Anne is forced to take a job as a maid in the home of Master Drummond. Lonely days stretch into weeks, and Anne longs for escape. How will she ever realize her dream of sailing to Curaçao—where her mother was born—when she's stuck in England?

From the moment Teach and Anne meet, they set the world ablaze. Drawn to each other, they’re trapped by society and their own circumstances. Faced with an impossible choice, they must decide to chase their dreams and go, or follow their hearts and stay.

I don't think I've ever read a YA book about pirates before and now one with Blackbeard? The Blackbeard? Granted, this is about Blackbeard pre-piracy but even so, he is probably the most famous pirate ever known (and the only one I know). Also, when you read the early reviews, you just won't help but get excited about it.