Feature and Follow (17)

Feature and Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read! :)

Q: Activity! Who is your to-die-for book crush? What do you think they look like? Add an image to make us all happy.

A: Prince Kai from Cinder, Noah Shaw from the Mara Dyer series, Orion from the Starcrossed series, Augustus Waters from TFiOS, Jasper Dent from I Hunt Killers (also Howie,) Will from Angelfire, Vincent from Die For Me, Jon Glass from Unspoken (Haha!), Noah Hutchins from Pushing the Limits, Ash from Black City, Finnick Odair from the Hunger Games, Day from Legend, Tod from the Soul Screamers series, the Darkling from the Grisha series, Chaol from Throne of Glass, Cas from Anna Dressed in Blood, Seth from the Covenant series, Akiva from Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Daemon Black from the Lux series, Will Herondale from The Infernal Devices, Ash, Ethan and Keirran from the Iron Fey series, Garrick Taylor from Losing It, Kellan from Thoughtless, Wesley Rush from The DUFF, Warner and Kenji from Shatter Me, and Travis Maddox from Beautiful Disaster. Unfortunately, I won't be putting up pictures since I don't really like imagining actors or real people as guys from books. It kinda ruins the image for me...

Leave a comment with your FF post and we'll check it out!
We follow back. :)

Waiting on Wednesday (17)

Waiting on Wednesday/s are hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine in which you choose a book or books that you're excited and waiting for.

This week's Waiting on Wednesday book is:

Title: Splintered

Author: A. G. Howard

Publisher: Amulet Books

Publication date: January 1st 2013

Pre-order the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

(Summary from Goodreads)

Why I'm excited for this:

As you all know, I am in love with fairytale retellings! They're just one of my biggest weaknesses and when I saw the cover of Splintered, I was caught. That is seriously one gorgeous cover! And even better that the summary is super interesting! I love the darker Alice in Wonderland vibe that it just gives off. And you know how I like my fairytale retellings, dark, sexy and gruesome.

Leave us a comment with your WoW post and we'll check it out! :)

Louisse's Bookshelves! Wheeeee!

Hey, guys! I know I promised y'all a picture of my bookshelves and I've been trying to fill them up these past few months so that they'd be worthy of your eyes (haha!) I hope that they come to your liking because I looove them!

Shelf #1: Left side

Shelf #2: Center

Shelf #3: Right side

WHOLE VIEW:

Wheeeeee!!

Winners!!

We. Are. AMAZED. We can't believe how much people entered our giveaways! More than 400 people entered! Eeeep! Thank you all so much for all your support. We'd give you all prizes if we could but unfortunately, we can only have a few winners. To cut the suspense, here they are:

The winner of our BEAUTIFUL DISASTER Giveaway is...

Martina Koleva!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The winners of our 300 FOLLOWER GIVEAWAY are...

(PH only)

Cohlina Mae!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(INTL)

Emmalyn C. Salavaria!!

and

Karen Senoo!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to all the winners! Worry not, my lovelies, there will be A LOT more giveaways coming your way! Be very excited. ;) Winners, expect an e-mail from us in a bit. Please reply within 48 hours or we'll be forced to pick new winners. And please check your Spam Mail just in case.

Stacking the Shelves (10)

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews! It's where bloggers can share what they got for review, bought, borrowed, won or gifted (both physical and eBooks may be included! :D)

Here's what I got this week:

Bought:

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (Goodreads)

Insurgent: Collector's Edition (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth (Goodreads)

Rock Hard (Sinner on Tour #2) by Olivia Cunning (Goodreads)

Backstage Pass (Sinners on Tours #1) by Olivia Cunning (Goodreads)

Fated (Fated #1) by Sarah Alderson (Goodreads)

Thoughtless (Thoughtless #1) by S.C. Stephens (Goodreads)

For Review: (Print)

The Crown of Embers (Girl of Fire and Thorns #2) by Rae Carson (Goodreads)

Castles on the Sand by Emily Tippetts (Goodreads)

Arise (Hereafter #2) by Tara Hudson (Goodreads)

*ARC* Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer [Eeeeeeee!!] (Goodreads)

Not pictured-- 

Starling (Starling #1) by Lesley Livingston (Goodreads)

For Review: (eBook)

Scarlette by Davonna Juroe (Review) (Goodreads)

Love Sucks by Sage Collins (Goodreads)

Shadow Eyes by Dusty Crabtree (Goodreads)

Prophecy Girl (Lacuna Valley #1) by Faith McKay (Goodreads)

Thank you so much to Christine from HarperCollins, Ksenia from MacMillan, Emily Tippets, Davonna Juroe, Elizabeth DeJesus from Musa Publishing, Faith McKay, Fully Booked and of course, my parents! :D

What did YOU get in your mailbox this week? Leave us a comment! :)

Feature and Follow (16)

Feature and Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read! :)

This week's question:

Q: What blog are you thankful for?

A: See HERE. ;)

Leave a comment with your FF post and we'll check it out!

We follow back. :)

Being Grateful and Some Mushiness

Hi guys! I just wanted to do a brief post about being grateful. I can honestly say how insanely blessed I am. I have such amazing people surrounding me and supporting me in everything I do.

To my co-blogger:
Thank you so much, Ge for sticking with me. I couldn't have asked for a better co-blogger and I love you, sistah friend! ;)

To my two greatest supporters:
My parents. I love you both so much and I'm so grateful to have you as my parents, supporters and my benefactors. Hehe! MWAH!

To bloggers:

Also, thank you to the awesome bloggers who I've been talking to and getting to know over at Twitter. Special mentions to Kai from Amaterasu Reads, Precious from Fragments of Life, Nancy from Tales of a Ravenous Reader (who I always get awesome book recommendations from,) Leanne from The Selkie Reads Stories, Andye and Amy from Reading Teen, Dani from Book Whales, Kazhy from My Library in the Making, Maricar from Black Plume, Kate from Confessions of a Bookaholic, Jassie, Michelle and Nicole from The Twins Read, and Alyana and Tiffany from Read Breathe Read. You are all so great and thank you for everything! <3

To authors:

Thank you so much to Josephine Angelini who's always been there to support me and who's just generally awesome in every way. And whose books made me love Greek mythology all the more. You've helped me so much over the years and I am so honored to be one of your cheerleaders! Whoot! And also to Amanda Sun who I've gotten close with these past few months. You are a rockstar! I'm still anxiously waiting for your book. To Amy Plum as well, who has managed to give me a taste of Paris in the comfort of my very own home. You've given me a chance to visit an insanely beautiful country, so thank you. And who could forget Julie Kagawa whose books have managed to make me believe in anything and to whom I will always be a huge fan of. Without a doubt. To Leigh Bardugo who just makes being evil look so good and whose book has made me fallen so in love with Fantasy novels. And lastly to Michelle Hodkin whose books may have left an insanely huge impact in my life. Whose books I can never stop thinking about no matter what. Thank you. PENGUIN HUGS FOR EVERYONE!!!! >:D<

To publishers/publicists:

Thank you so, so much to Christine from HarperCollins. You are made of absolute awesome. And to Ksenia from MacMillan! You are absolutely lovely! You two ladies always make my days!

To a special bookstore:
Who could forget Fully Booked? I LOVE the people there! Every time I visit, I always feel so welcomed. Thank you sooo much! Especially to Lucy who's one of my Twitter BFFs. LOL! And to Gina and all the other awesome staff from their Greenhills branch. Heehee!

To everyone:
Thank you all SO much for everything. For your continuous support and for sticking with us this long. We're so grateful that the blogging community has opened its arms to us and has welcomed us so warmly. We're so glad to be back and we're definitely here to stay. We hope that you continue to stay with us for we have so many more things to show you. :) Without you we wouldn't have gotten this far so we are eternally grateful.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Review: Scarlette by Davonna Juroe

Title: Scarlette
Author: Davonna Juroe
Pages: 326 pages
Publisher: BumbleB Media, Inc.
Publication date: October 12th 2012
Source: eBook copy provided by the author (Thanks, Davonna!)
Buy the book: Amazon

Find the Beast ~ Find the Cure

Scarlette, an 18-year-old peasant, lives under a dark threat. A nightmarish creature lurks in the surrounding forest, killing the villagers one by one. When Scarlette's grandmother survives an attack, Scarlette learns that her grandmother hasn't suffered the bite of just any normal animal.

Now desperate, Scarlette searches throughout her province to find a cure. But there are those who want to keep their pasts hidden. As she begins to uncover the dark secrets of her village, Scarlette is befriended by a local nobleman and a woodcutter who share a gruesome history with the beast. To save her grandmother, Scarlette must unravel their mystery and solve an age-old crime. But as she pieces together the clues, Scarlette finds herself torn between the two men, both of whom want to be more than friends and hold the key to the cure.

What if Little Red Riding Hood was Real?

Based on both the Grimm and Perrault versions of Little Red Riding Hood and set against the terrifying, historic Beast of Gévaudan attacks, this dark YA retelling blends two epic legends, giving the fabled girl-in-the-red-cloak a new, shockingly real existence.

(Summary from Goodreads)

Review:

I first came across Scarlette on Reading Teen's blog when Amy reviewed it, and of course I was curious. I've always been a big fan of fairytale retellings and oddly enough I've always preferred them as gruesome and disturbing as possible (that's probably why I loved Kill Me Softly so much.) It did feel like a match made in heaven when Davonna Juroe tweeted me and we chatted so casually about her book and how excited I was to read it, and imagine my surprise when she offered to send me a copy. I wasn't only surprised but delighted as well! I bit into Scarlette faster than you could have said "apple sauce".

Scarlette did not lack the shock factor that most Little Red Riding Hood retellings needed. When you stick a man-killing wolf in a small, simple town, you know things are about to go down. You can actually really see the struggle of the people and their need to rid their town of the evil beast wrecking havoc. I honestly pitied the people, there was so much abuses happening and so much poverty and I felt that how the people were being treated by the soldiers who "came to rescue them" were very unjustified. And trust me, you'll also feel insanely sorry for Scarlette with the amount of sufferings she's experienced.

I think that my biggest issue with the first parts of the book (this issue was resolved near the middle) was that Scarlette was a really pitiful person. She cried a lot. A lot. And I was really glad that she was able to find her big girl panties in the not too far future. I do understand that she was going through a really tough time and I can't really fault her for them but I'm happy with how she progressed as a character. She started off with a small simmer but ended with a big BANG.

Other than the fact the you, yourself, will be asking the question: Who IS the Big Bad Wolf killing off all the people? (Because trust me, that's enough to consume you throughout the whole book. Davonna Juroe just knows how to keep you at the edge of your seat and guessing.) Scarlette's lovey-dovey life was pretty sweet. I think that she was looking for a person who was willing to love her since it was hard for her to find that love in some places. I honestly don't know who I wanted her to end up with, the Baron or the simple woodcutter. Even though I already know how the book ends, I'm still not sure who she was meant to be with... for me.

Scarlette is a big break from the normal Oh.-I'm-falling-in-love-with-a-Paranormal-creature-would-do-I-do? kind of books we have now. If you want a book that will sink it's claws (*pun pun*) into you and leave you absolutely breathless with exhilaration, then this is the book for you.

Rating:

.5

Waiting on Wednesday (16)

Waiting on Wednesday/s are hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine in which you choose a book or books that you're excited and waiting for.

This week's Waiting on Wednesday book is:

Title: Goddess (Starcrossed #3)

Author: Josephine Angelini

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication date: May 28th 2013

Pre-order the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

After accidentally unleashing the gods from their captivity on Olympus, Helen must find a way to re-imprison them without starting a devastating war. But the gods are angry, and their thirst for blood already has a body count.

To make matters worse, the Oracle reveals that a diabolical Tyrant is lurking among them, which drives a wedge between the once-solid group of friends. As the gods use the Scions against one another, Lucas’s life hangs in the balance. Still unsure whether she loves him or Orion, Helen is forced to make a terrifying decision, for war is coming to her shores.

In Josephine Angelini’s compelling conclusion to the masterfully woven Starcrossed trilogy, a goddess must rise above it all to change a destiny that’s been written in the stars. With worlds built just as fast as they crumble, love and war collide in an all-out battle that will leave no question unanswered and no heart untouched.

(Summary from Goodreads)

WHY I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED FOR THIS BOOK:

Disclaimer: This post may include excessive fangirling. But if you want the more subtler post, click HERE.

Moving on...

This was me when I saw the cover...

OH. MY. FREAKING GODDESS!!!

Easily the most beautiful cover out of all the books in the series. Those covers just keep getting better and better.

And this was me when I read the summary:

Thank you, Rebecca for saying it so eloquently.

I've always been a HUGE Starcrossed fan and an even bigger fan of Josephine Angelini. The Starcrossed trilogy is one of the best books I've ever read and even though I'm pretty sad to see it go, I'm pretty excited to see how Josie wraps it all up.

And now for the wait...

Cookie Monster is bored...

And now I'm crying.

I would gladly give up my left arm just to get an ARC of Goddess. I want need this book. NEED.

But while we're all waiting together, let's watch some kitten cuteness!! :D

Leave a comment with a link to your WoW post and we'll check it out! :)

Book Trailer Reveal: Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout

We are absolutely honored to be presenting to you the book trailer of Jennifer L. Armentrout's Opal. I've only just begun reading Obsidian even though my neighbor, my former debate teammate and even my mom has continuously told me to read, and I am! :) I am absolutely freaking loving it!! Oh, Daemon~! Well enough chitchat, here is the Opal book trailer you were promised:

Is it getting hot in here or what? *fans self*

Title: Opal (Obsidian #3)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Publication date: December 11th 2012

No one is like Daemon Black.

When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.

But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.

After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.

Together we’re stronger... and they know it.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

About the author:

USA TODAY Bestselling author, Jennifer L. Armentrout, lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She also writes adult romance under the name J. Lynn.

Find Jennifer on: Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website | Blog

Review: Losing It by Cora Carmack

Title: Losing It
Author: Cora Carmack
Pages: 204 pages
Published on: October 15th 2012
Source: Bought eBook from Amazon
Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Virginity.

Bliss Edwards is about to graduate from college and still has hers. Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, she decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible-- a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half-a-brain would ever believe. And as if if that weren't embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theatre professor. She'd left him naked in her bed about 8 hours earlier.

(Summary from Goodreads)

Review:

Losing It is the perfect example of a feel good book. It's light, fun and extremely entertaining. When I wasn't laughing my head off, I was wringing my blanket to death. There were parts of the book that really got me frustrated with the characters that I just wanted to knock some sense into them. But I absolutely adored this book.

I honestly liked Bliss as a character, she wasn't the cliched witty type of protagonist nor was she whiny or annoying. She's the type of girl who's focused and has goals set for herself, she wasn't indecisive and knew exactly what she wanted. Though I did feel bad for her because she did feel like she was getting pressured to get her cherry popped. It must've been pretty frustrating to be a 22-year-old virgin. But honestly? I did find it pretty amusing.

And helloooo, sexy Professor Taylor, you can totally educate me anytime. *wink* Bliss and Garrick's "first night together" was definitely one of the funniest experiences I've ever read about. I swear, if I had been drinking something while I was reading that part, I would've spit it out laughing so hard. I don't know whether to feel sorry for Bliss or just hide my face, laughing. Poor, poor Garrick though.

I hardly ever read books that involve theater in them and I really enjoyed that aspect of this book. (Hint: That's how Garrick and Bliss met.) You really see the determination of each character to reach the top especially in such a competitive world. And oh my, Garrick acting is probably the sexiest thing I've ever read. I'm resisting the urge to fangirl right now.

It's not always you'll come across a book with a teacher/student relationship in it and honestly, I'm glad I was introduced to this one. Obviously when you have a book like this, you'd expect a lot of drama and angst and there were parts of the book that were moderately dramatic. I was relieved that their relationship wasn't blown out of proportion. I also really liked the fact that Bliss's friends were pretty supportive of her and Garrick's relationship even though there was a part of the book that will get you pretty worried. Not spoiling!

Losing It is probably one of the sweetest books I have ever read and if you ever feel like you need a break from a really depressing book or you need a book you'll be able to relate to, then Losing It is for you! You'll have a lot of fun times reading it and I guarantee that it'll make you smile. :) (And my mom totally approves of it! Haha!)

Rating:

.5

Stacking the Shelves (9)

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews! It's where bloggers can share what they got for review, bought, borrowed, won or gifted (both physical and eBooks may be included! :D)

Here's what I got this week:

Bought: (from Fully Booked)

The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #1) by Julie Kagawa (Goodreads)

Days of Blood and Starlight (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1) by Laini Taylor (Goodreads)

Inbetween (Kissed by Death #1) by Tara Fuller (Goodreads)

Unearthly (Unearthly #1) by Cynthia Hand (Goodreads)

Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor (Goodreads)

And one of our local bookstores, National Book Store, is having a Warehouse Sale this week! I just got back a few hours ago from it and look at the amount of people who went:

Intense, I know. O.O

And here's my haul from the sale:

Bought: (from National Book Store Warehouse Sale)

The Necromancer (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #1) by Michael Scott (Goodreads)

Hell Week (Maggie Quinn: Girl vs. Evil #2) by Rosemary Clement-Moore (Goodreads)

Melting Stones (Circle Reforged #1) by Tamora Pierce (Goodreads)

Bright Young Things (Bright Young Things #1) by Anna Godbersen (Goodreads)

Ascendant (Killer Unicorns #2) by Diana Peterfreund (Goodreads)

Of Love and Evil (Songs of the Seraphim #2) by Anne Rice (Goodreads)

Kin (The Good Neighbors #1) by Holly Black and illustrated by Ted Naifeh (Goodreads)

Altar of Eden by James Rollins (Goodreads)

Everything is Obvious: Once You Know the Answer by Duncan J. Watts (Goodreads)

Love Bites (Vampire Kisses #7) by Ellen Schreiber (Goodreads)

Taurus Eyes (Star Crossed #2) by Bonnie Hearn Hill (Goodreads)

Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams (Goodreads)

Blood Promise (Vampire Academy #4) by Richelle Mead (Goodreads)

Arizona (Beautiful Dead #2) by Eden Maguire (Goodreads)

Banished (Banished #1) by Sophie Littlefield (Goodreads)

Whisper (Whisper #1) by Phoebe Kitanidis (Goodreads)

Kiss of Life (Generation Dead #2) by Daniel Waters (Goodreads)

Passing Strange (Generation Dead #3) by Daniel Waters (Goodreads)

Thank you Fully Booked, National Book Store and my parents! <3

Leave a comment with a link to your StS post and we'll check it out! :)

Feature and Follow Friday (15)

Feature and Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read! :)

This week's question:

Q: Books are turned into movies all the time! Turn it around. What movie would make a great book?

A: I think that Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, The Iron Fey books by Julie Kagawa, Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini, Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo and Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor would make awesome movies!!

A: Oops! Wrong answer! Hehe I think that In Time would make an awesome book! :)

Leave a comment with a link to your FF post and we'll check it out!

We follow back. :)

Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Shadow and Bone (The Grisha Trilogy #1)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Pages: 353 pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Published on: June 5th 2012
Source: Bought from Fully Booked
Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

(Summary from Goodreads)

Review:

Shadow and Bone is a treat for any Fantasy fan out there. The world Leigh Bardugo crafts in it is completely astonishing and will take over every crevice of your mind. Vivid and expertly built, anyone would want to get lost in the beautiful Ravka. I for one would like to give up humanity and become a volcra, but that's just me.

The vividness of Shadow and Bone made the very fantastical experience all the more realistic. The descriptions that Leigh Bardugo put in the book with explicit detail really added to the beauty of it. And the map that's included in the book is so beautiful.

We have Alina Starkov, a simple girl in love with her best friend, traveling through the Fold to get across Ravka. And then BAM! her world is suddenly turned upside down where she is no longer that simple girl anymore. Alina possess a great power that can either save Ravka... or destroy it. The lines are no longer clear for Alina and when she meets the Darkling, it gets even more blurred.

When I was reading the first few parts of Shadow and Bone, the first impression I had of Alina was weak. Especially when I saw how much she cared for Mal but was forced to tolerate him flirting with other girls. I really felt sorry for her. But what I really admired about Alina was that she tried. There was a clear effort in her struggle to be a stronger person, this was during the time when she lived with the Grisha. I've always appreciated that sort of transition.

I absolutely fell in love with the Grisha. I cannot even comprehend how astounding the concept of the Grisha are. The Grisha are basically these people who are "gifted" with different kinds of powers. There's the Corporalki, the Order of the Living and the Dead (the Heartrenders and the Healers,) who are just below the Darkling in the Grisha Order, then the Etheralki, the Order of Summoners (Squallers, Inferni and Tidemakers,) and lastly the Materialki, the Order of Fabrikators (Alkemi.) There's a structured caste system within the Grisha but that doesn't mean that not everyone is important because they're all important and they all have a role to play in their society. Oh, and they also wear this really cool cloak called "kefta" which just sounds so cool, I need to steal one of these from the Grisha. They sound so comfy.

Now, I'm pretty sure everyone is curious about the dark and dangerously sexy Darkling. Well I can't really tell you much about him except that he's dangerous and sexy and if you put those two words together, you get: dangerously sexy. Because he is. Dangerously sexy. And he's also one BAMF, enough said. As much as I know that I should dislike him, I can't because deep, deep inside of me, I know that he's a good guy. Note: deep, deep inside of me. I think he's just misunderstood and that just because he commands the dark that people immediately assume that he's evil. Pssssh.

I loved Shadow and Bone and I will never stop loving it. It's literally one of the most unique and enthralling books I have ever read. The idea is completely fresh and absolutely tantalizing because it's  served in a platinum platter still hot and delicious. You will seriously love every single moment of this book and you will just eat it right up!

Leigh Bardugo creates a novel that bursts through the darkness and outshines other novels of this genre. This fresh and new contribution added to the Fantasy genre is welcomed with nothing but open arms and warm smiles. Trust me, you need this book and you'll need the sequel as well. I have nothing but high praise for this book and you will too.

Rating: