WAITING ON WEDNESDAY (13): THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR BY MINDEE ARNETT.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine that highlights our much anticipated books.

*04/2016 EDIT: Tweaking the format to match the new blog theme.*

Expected Publication Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: Tor Teen
Add to Goodreads

16-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare. Literally. Dusty is a magical being who feeds on human dreams.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder. The setting is Arkwell.

And then it comes true.

Now the Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

This is a very refreshing premise for me in YA. Though it sounds a little bit like the movies Inception and Monster's Inc, I couldn't wait to know how this story would be told and how much I would like or dislike it. It really sounds awesome!

What did you pick this week?

REVIEW: CARRIER OF THE MARK BY LEIGH FALLON.

Title: Carrier of the Mark
Author: Leigh Fallon
Series: Carrier Trilogy #1
Edition: Paperback
Publication: October 1st 2011 by HarperTeen
Source: Bought from FullyBooked
Pages: 342
Genre: Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy

Synopsis:

Their love was meant to be.

When Megan Rosenberg moves to Ireland, everything in her life seems to fall into place. After growing up in America, she's surprised to find herself feeling at home in her new school. She connects with a group of friends, and she is instantly drawn to darkly handsome Adam DeRÍs.

But Megan is about to discover that her feelings for Adam are tied to a fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that brought them together could be their ultimate destruction.

PURCHASE THE BOOK HERE:

Amazon 🔼 Barnes and Noble 🔼 Book Depository

Seeing mixed reviews about a premise so promising made me grab a copy. This is Leigh Fallon's debut novel and first of HarperTeen to publish from Inkpop website. It took me few weeks to read this because of my reading schedule and am just so proud to say that this is the first book I finished in one sitting. I am usually a slow reader. Reading this after so many dystopian books helped me relax and it really did refresh my mind.

Megan Rosenberg and her dad Caleb, moved from US to Ireland because of a new job. They've been constantly moving after her mom died in a car accident and she feels that this move would be just like what they've done before. Little did she know, her high school life will never be the same and her whole life would unfold in front of her.

I always adore a story when its built outside the usual. Paris, Egypt and this time, its in Ireland. I loved how Fallon describes the setting that it transports me. Plus the Irish accent is also something new and its so funny how my brain tries so hard to read with the accent! You wouldn't get lost in this world yet Fallon made sure that one would enjoy the journey.

The story had its ups and downs though. I tried looking at the story without having to compare but I just couldn't help it. The down part for me would be the strong similarities with Twilight and actually at one point, I was waiting for the story to reveal that someone could read thoughts too. And am glad it didn't because Fallon saved the best for last. The rest are the up parts especially the characters. I didn't really like Megan as much as I liked Aine and Rian but I am swooning over Adam! But my favorites really are the adults, Caleb and Fionn. They really captured my heart. Really. They showed so much compassion for their children and made me love this story more.

Shadow of the Mark will not be released until July of next year and I just couldn't wait for it to sway me off my feet again! This book is such a swoon-worthy light read that would make you smile and cry at the same time!

"I no longer wanted to feel displaced."

"Love is never worth giving up on."

"We can’t bet our lives away on something that might be. We can cross that bridge if we come to it."

REVIEW: DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE BY LAINI TAYLOR.

Title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Author: Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1
Edition: Paperback
Publication: September 27th 2011 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Bought from National Book Store
Pages: 448 pages
Genre: Paranormal, Romance

Synopsis:

Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

PURCHASE THE BOOK HERE:

Amazon 🔼 Barnes and Noble 🔼 Book Depository

Searching for this book took time because local book stores always run out of stock so when I saw it a couple of months back, I bagged it in a heart beat. It has been one of the most sought titles last year and I couldn't wait to see what the fuss is all about until two days ago.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone's mythical story resolves around Karou, a blue-haired teenager who lives and studies art in Prague. She draws creatures so vivid and perfect that her friends are in awe of her creativity. No one knows that what she creates are the creatures she considers family and that her life would unfold with a little help from an enemy she's supposed to kill but could not.

What I loved about this book aside from the gorgeous cover is how Taylor's way of writing. It is true that reading a story from different point of views makes it very crystal clear and you get to understand the story way better, that she nailed. The way she also used a different approach on angels and demons made it one in a million find. We can easily find angel/demons inspired story anywhere across the YA community but this one just stood out. It's exotic, brilliant and fresh.

The characters she created are all magnificent. From brave Karou to poor little Kishmish, she managed to make an entire race of Chimaera that completely blew my mind! What made Karou and Akiva perfect would be their imperfections. They were created in perfect symmetry. One is a demon with a good heart and one is an angel that kills. Though you'd sense the insta-love that would annoy you, at the end, everything is justified. And I think I love Madrigal better.

This rating would have been a perfect five but at the end of the book, Taylor back tracked and I feel like its a completely different book. It took me a while to remember what happened earlier because of it. But aside from that, I loved everything!

Old yet new. Angel and Demons on a whole new exciting level. Another story that made me cry and made me laugh. Laini Taylor did an awesome job in wowing me and leaving me aching all over. Fantastic, mythical, romantic depiction of an ancient supernatural phenomenon. And am glad I won't go through that excruciating pain of waiting for Days of Blood and Starlight because it will here soon!

"Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well."

"Hope can be a powerful force. Maybe there's no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic."

STACKING THE SHELVES (03): THE OCTOBER 2012 HAUL EDITION.

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that showcases newly acquired books or goodies we bought, received or borrowed during the week.

I've gone overboard again and completely blew my book budget so for the whole month of November, book buying ban will be in effect. It saddens me because Reached, among others, will be released by then but I just have to discipline myself and learn how to stick with the budget allotted for books. So this would be my last post for this meme but I'll see you on December. *finger's crossed*

I was lucky to get a copy of Every Day from a pre-loved book seller online. The book is just recently released as you all know so I was ecstatic to purchase it half its original price plus it's still in a very great condition. Then Unspoken was gifted to me by a friend. It was like we exchanged gifts because I also bought a gift for her. It was supposed to be The Raven Boys but when I learned that we have copies of Unspoken locally, I asked her to get it instead.

I have a line of books to purchase but as I've said, book buying ban will be effective next month. So all I could do as of the moment is to be jealous of you guys! :)

BOUGHT:
🔼 Every Day by David Levithan

GIFTED:
🔼 Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan

But please check out my Spill the Feels post: How do you take care of your books? Comment on it and let's talk!

SPILL THE FEELS (01): HOW DO YOU TAKE CARE OF YOUR BOOKS?

Where I share all my bookish feels about certain topics I find intriguing, fun or controversial. Basically my two bookish cents.

Hi guys! Alison from Alisoncanread.com has a page on her blog for some interesting discussion posts and I was inspired by it to make my own. The moment I started book blogging, I've got so many questions I wanted to ask those who have been blogging for quite some time. Well, not just blogging tips but a lot of random book-related things as well. So for my first attempt, I wanted to ask you guys this:

HOW DO YOU TAKE CARE OF YOUR BOOKS?

I can say that I'm a little obsessive-compulsive when it comes to my things and it started way back when I was little. Aside from the things I've received as a gift or as a prize, every little thing I have is a product of hard work. So when it comes to books, I treat them as a very prized possession.

So here are my own ways, probably weird ones, of how I take care of them:

1. I put them on a shelf/case high enough so nothing could bite into them like mice, roaches or any other destructive insects (I don't have anything like that in my room thank God!) and so no water would ruin them like floods (we have a lot of that here in the Philippines) or accidents (while I am cleaning the room, while I am drinking). You get the picture.

2. The shelves that I am currently using are the ones I wall mounted myself and I wipe them with a dry piece of cloth weekly to avoid dust.

3. As much as possible, I don't make dog-ears and I just open them wide enough for me to read so I could also prevent it from ruining the spine.

4. When I travel and I need to bring a book, I put them in a book bag or big pouch to avoid getting any marks on the cover.

5. No highlighting.

6. I religiously make sure there are no finger prints left (especially the shiny covers) on the cover before covering them.

7. Plastic cover is what I use but I used to do it like how a dust jacket covers a hardbound book, but as time passes by, the tapes turn yellow and leaves a disgusting mark.

This is my Tuesdays with Morrie book and look at those ugly tape stains! Ugh!

So as an alternative, I seal them now, like this.

Examples of my sealed books. All of them are covered this way.

This method doesn't prevent the papers from turning yellowish but it does prevent it from getting dusts in between the pages and from easily getting old. When I pull an old book to re-read, its as fresh as a brand new one.

So those are some of my ways on how I take care of my books. I told you am a little OC but what do you think? It would probably sound too much but what about you guys? Do you have any special way of taking care of them?

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY (12): ALTERED BY JENNIFER RUSH.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine that highlights our much anticipated books.

*04/2016 EDIT: Tweaking the format to match the new blog theme.*

Expected Publication Date: January 2, 2013
Publisher: Little Brown & Co.
Add to Goodreads

A story that starts with a girl and a boy. A girl who loves a boy so much , she'll risk anything for him. And a boy who knows only one thing--- kill anyone who stands in his way.

When you can’t trust yourself, who can you believe?

Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

This would be the first Jennifer Rush book that intrigued me and I am kind of excited because I've heard so many good things about her other books! And look at that gorgeous cover! Isn't it very appealing? Only few more months of waiting!

What did you pick this week?

STACKING THE SHELVES (02): THE D EDITION.

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that showcases newly acquired books or goodies we bought, received or borrowed during the week.

*04/2016 EDIT: Tweaking the format to match the new blog theme.*

So much for staying under a book budget? So this week, I totally blew it and got these gorgeous copies. Well, it is really difficult to find copies here especially the ones I want (and new releases) so when I learned that Fullybooked have them in stock, without hesitations, I had them reserved! But enough with the explanation. Here's my small but awesome (for me!) stash:

BOUGHT:
🔼 The Diviners (The Diviners #1) by Libba Bray
🔼 For Darkness Shows the Stars (For Darkness Shows the Stars #1) by Diana Peterfreund

GIFTED:
🔼 Something Strange and Deadly (Something Strange and Deadly #1) by Susan Dennard

I've been eying For Darkness Shows the Stars and Something Strange and Deadly for quite some time now and I actually believed that it would take a while before I could get my hands on them. Okay, look at those covers, I was drawn because of the gorgeous covers especially For Darkness. There's just something to it that hypnotizes me. I'm also glad my friend gifted me Something Strange for my birthday and that The Diviners is in paperback!

Yay! Am making this my favorite meme now! Let me see your new books please!

REVIEW: PARTIALS BY DAN WELLS.

Title: Partials
Author: Dan Wells
Series: Partials #1
Edition: Paperback, International
Publication: February 28th 2012 by Balzer + Bray
Source: Bought from FullyBooked
Pages: 470
Genre: Dystopia, Sci-Fi, Romance

Synopsis:

The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws have pushed what’s left of humanity to the brink of civil war, and she’s not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will find that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them—connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.

PURCHASE THE BOOK HERE:

Amazon 🔼 Barnes and Noble 🔼 Book Depository

I've had this for quite a while and I'm glad I didn't rush myself to read it or delayed too much. The timing (especially on my reading schedule) was perfect that I get to savor each page with such eagerness not only to finish but to completely live in its world even for just a week or so.

The world is destroyed by a war and the human race is decimated by the airborne RM virus brought by Partials. They are human-like projects with altered genetic codes suited for battle and they're created by ParaGen. Set in 2076, newborns get to live only a few days. Humans at the brink of extinction, The Senate made the Hope Act, making all sixteen-year-olds reproduce. Knowing her friend is pregnant and that no newborn survives, sixteen-year-old medic Kira Walker, embarks on a suicide mission to find the cure.

Another book that took me a week to finish because I initially had issues with it. Hundred pages in, I thought I'd leave it for a moment so I could put myself together and get in to it fresh enough. The story at some point bored me that I couldn't almost pick it up but as soon as I get right back to it, I found the spot I've been looking for. The world Wells have created isn't so far from materializing. With the war on going which is backed up by advanced technological breakthroughs, I thought it may probably happen. It is scary to ponder on but I fought it and focused on the story and world building. I only have one question, why does it always have to be New York?

Another thing that I kind of question is Kira. Correct me if I'm wrong but she's not a full-pledged medic then as you go deeper, she becomes an extensive virus/genetics researcher. I didn't really buy it but there are a lot of things I adored about her. Her noble intentions for the human race, her crazy ideas, her boldness, her confidence, her love for her friends and her ability to know and weigh which are the right things to say. She is definitely one of the strongest female protagonist lining up with Katniss and Lady Katsa among others. And I think Marcus' character complimented her. He's funny personality and rational thinking balanced with Kira's in more ways that made their romance work. And just like Xochi, Madison, Jayden and Tovar, they all have one thing in common: noble hearts. Samm on the other hand, took me by surprise. He made my emotions unstable and basing on his actions, I can't tell yet whether I would like him or not. But his purpose and his story are some of the things I am looking forward to knowing once we have Fragments (and looking at its cover, I could tell that it would be another roller-coaster ride!).

I have heard stories like this before and even though it is no longer a fresh one, the twists and revelations Wells have given the readers set Partials apart from everything else. Its military tactics is understandable and the medical approach is something that would tickle your stock-knowledge. And the long wait to the get to the story at the beginning is all worth it at the end.

To sum it up, I thought I would be disappointed because I had a rough start. But am glad I didn't give up because I never thought I would like it this much second to Across the Universe! Now I just have to keep on re-reading it until Fragments comes out! I really liked it and I hope Wells would make Fragments ten times better than this!

"Happiness is the most natural thing in the world when you have it, and the slowest, strangest, most impossible thing when you don't. It's like learning a foreign language: You can think about the words all you want, but you'll never be able to speak it until you suck up your courage and say them out loud."

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY (11): FALLING KINGDOMS BY MORGAN RHODES.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine that highlights our much anticipated books.

*04/2016 EDIT: Tweaking the format to match the new blog theme.*

Expected Publication Date: December 11, 2012
Publisher: Razorbill
Add to Goodreads

In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power--brutally transforming their subjects' lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined:

Cleo: A princess raised in luxury must embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of a magic long thought extinct.

Jonas: Enraged at injustice, a rebel lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country impoverished--and finds himself the leader of a people's revolution centuries in the making.

Lucia: A girl adopted at birth into a royal family discovers the truth about her past--and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.

Magnus: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, a firstborn son begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword.

The only outcome that's certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?

Just by reading the synopsis, it makes me cringe with delight! This is one good example how I easily fall in love with books with such interesting summary especially under high fantasy genre for YA. It surely gives this A Game of Thrones vibes. I've also seen its book trailer HERE and it gives me chills! If you've played Tomb Raider for PSP, you'd know what I am talking about! And I just found out that the author Morgan Rhodes is Michelle Rowen's pseudo name.

What did you pick this week?

REVIEW: UNEARTHLY BY CYNTHIA HAND.

Title: Unearthly
Author: Cynthia Hand
Series: Unearthly #1
Edition: Paperback, International
Publication: January 4th 2011 by HarperTeen
Source: Bought from Fullybooked
Pages: 439
Genre: Paranormal, Romance

Synopsis:

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees.

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

PURCHASE THE BOOK HERE:

Amazon 🔼 Barnes and Noble 🔼 Book Depository

After loving Fallen, The Revenants, The Mortal Instruments and disliking Hush, Hush series, I was skeptical about Unearthly. I thought I had too many angel-inspired books and I was actually afraid this would disappoint me so I kept ignoring it until one day, the book lover in me won and finally surrendered to the book store's cashier.

Unearthly tells a story about Clara, an Quartarius (quarter blood) angel-blood who needs to fulfill her only purpose here on Earth. She needs to save a young man in her fiery vision which then leads her and her family to move from California to Wyoming. When she gets to her new high school, she's drawn to Christian, a high school heart throb which happens to be the man in her visions. She needs to work and train to be ready for her purpose only to be side-tracked by another beautiful yet annoying young man, Tucker.

Unearthly was not what I expected it to be. It actually exceeded whatever I was so surprised with how much I got excited as I flip each page. The modern world where the story took place fits perfectly to the story and what I love about it is you could actually Earth Google it. The premise isn't too complex yet bizarre enough to leave you mad for answers. I loved how it made me my emotions change drastically from sad to happy and how I could easily relate to the situations the characters are in.

One of the so many things that made me proud of Hand is that she made a male character normal. This is the first time I've ever read something like this and I am so happy about it at least for once, I was able to know a normal male character. Clara, though an angle-blood, is your typical teenager going through normal things. Her feelings and attitude are definitely relatable and her eagerness to find answers about her being is also something you'd die to know. Hand did another outstanding job in cliffhanging a lot of things here. We are all in this limited understanding of what Clara's heritage is all about and good thing is, so does Clara. I love her mood swings, her hair (not the Carrots one) and my favorite part is the Glory. It's unique I guess and thrilling.

I know a lot of you who have read this would say that there's a love triangle. At first I thought there's a love triangle forming but when I finished the book, it turned out something different for me. I understand how Clara would feel for Christian but I never anticipated how she would feel for Tucker. Christian, aside from the fact that he's the one in her visions, is also a very handsome, sweet and respectful young man that every woman would fall for. Tucker on the other hand, aside from handsome, his personality is too strong at the beginning and you would appreciate him as a whole one you get to know him - another kind of guy you would fall for right? But definitely, there's no love triangle there. Because one isn't in love with Clara and I'll leave it like that.

Angel-inspired books are very common especially in Young Adults genre. I am just so happy that I picked Unearthly and completely have my mind blown over its compelling love story and sweetly-written premise that I wish I could have given justice to it through this review. But some good things are better left unsaid. I couldn't wait to get Hallowed and continue this exciting journey!

"So often we only do what we think is expected of us, when we are capable of so much more."

BLOG TOUR (01): CARNIVAL OF SOULS BY MELISSA MARR.

I am very much excited to post this review because it is my first time to participate in a Blog Tour! As you know, today is my blog stop and I would like to thank Kai from Amaterasu Reads, Pinoy Book Tours, Christine from HarperCollins and FullyBooked for hosting the event!

Title: Carnival of Souls
Author: Melissa Marr
Series: Untamed City #1
Edition: Paperback, International
Publication: September 4, 2012 by HarperCollins
Source: Gifted
Pages: 306
Genre: Paranormal, Romance

Synopsis:

In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures--if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.

All Mallory knows of The City is that her father--and every other witch there--fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She knows it's only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she readies herself for the inevitable. While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is the Carnival of Souls.

From Melissa Marr, bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series and "Graveminder," comes a brand-new tale of lush secrets, dark love, and the struggle to forge one's own destiny.

PURCHASE THE BOOK HERE:

Amazon 🔼 Barnes and Noble 🔼 Book Depository 🔼 Fullybooked

This is my first Melissa Marr book and upon reading a good number of positive reviews about it, I know that it is a must-have. Lucky enough, I was given a chance to be a part of its Blog Tour here in the Philippines and my brother gifted me a copy. So I skipped all my scheduled readings just to give way to this talk-of-the-world book.

Its plot is very intriguing yet familiar. Marchosias, a powerful ruler of The City where daimons, watchers, curs and witches reside, holds a competition for each castes to win and have the chance to rule The City through the Carnival of Souls. Competitors are determined to kill and will do anything not to forfeit in each fight. Aya who belongs to a higher caste, joined the competition to rule The City to avoid being a breeder. In the process, she asks help from Kaleb who is also in the competition, but he only wanted to win to protect his packmate by being a part of a higher caste until he was payed to find and kill Marchosias' missing daughter. Mallory who lives in the human world tries to find out why her witch step-father is protecting her from daimons.

Again, it is really an intriguing yet familiar plot. While I get deeper into it, I envision the world of The Hunger Games which made me think that similarities could really make or break a story. I am not really a fan of redundancy especially with book plots. But the intriguing part kept me going. As I try to picture the world Marr has created, I was able to appreciate its brutality and beauty. She was able to infuse the world we live in today with the incredible magical world she built without any issues. And it turned out phenomenal.

Characters are very different with each other. First is Aya. She's very tough that I haven't felt any emotions from her at all not even what she really felt for her betrothed, Belias. I know she's so focused on what she really wanted which is actually a good thing but I was so shocked with her actions. Its the exact opposite of what she's been telling Belias. Kaleb on the other hand, initially had my heart because of the way he takes the responsibilities without asking anything in return and how he wants to protect Zevi. Again, as the story goes on, I just couldn't help but disagree with his intentions because he kept on breaking his promises and I am also not a fan of instant love. How could you love someone you barely even know? Adoring Mallory has also been difficult for me. His step-father trained her all her life to hate daimons but its as if she didn't listen. Being rebellious I guess will always be a part of teenager's lives, but her case isn't something normal so why not be brave and ask about things you don't know instead.

Other characters have really struck my heart hard core like Evelyn, Adam, Belias and Zevi. They're really one of a kind. Evelyn may appear annoying but there's this passion in her to avenge perhaps her kind. It is kind of evil if I may say but again, her character here only gave a glimpse and I really wanted to know her more. Adam as we all know is the protective step-dad and I adored him for being that way to Mallory even if they're not technically related. His kindness and love toward her left me with questions. Being betrayed by the one you love isn't that easy to forget but Belias' treatment to Aya tells otherwise. And its their love story I am most giddy about. Zevi is my favorite. Not only he's kind and loyal, he's also rational and patient. He's right on one thing: Kaleb would've been dead without him.

Overall, the story is something to look forward to. Its such a very dark world that would make you ask for more. Its fascinating, dangerous, magical and addictive. I hope I'm right when I say this, I think this book is somehow a prologue to something big. I loved the world building, the premise and even the concept behind the characters and I think I would re-read it then wait for the next book. This wouldn't be my first and last Marr book because on way or another, I really enjoyed it.

Thank you PBT, Harpercollins International and my brother!

Carnival of Souls PH Blog Tour Stops:

Kai from http://amaterasureads.blogspot.com/ (October 5, 2012)
Precious from http://shusky20.blogspot.com/ (October 6, 2012)
Danielle from http://bookwhales.blogspot.com/ (October 7, 2012)
Leanne from http://selkiereadsstories.blogspot.com/ (October 8, 2012)
Abby from http://bookshelfconfessions.blogspot.com/ (October , 2012)
Dianne from http://whoopeeyoo.com/ (October 10, 2012)
Dea from http://teenreadersdiary.blogspot.com/ (October 11, 2012)
Michelle from http://michelleshoutsrandom.blogspot.com/ (October 12, 2012)
Louisse from http://the-soul-sisters.blogspot.com/ (October 13, 2012)
- My stop, October 14, 2012 -
Janice from http://www.fiveofus.info/ (October 15, 2012)
Pam from http://jellylovesbooks.blogspot.com/ (October 16, 2012)
Von from http://mrbookwonder.tumblr.com/ (October 17, 2012)
Mary Grace from http://thesolitarybookworm.com/ (October 18, 2012)
Yvette from http://yvettetan.com/ (October 19, 2012)

And lastly, we are giving away a finished paperback copy of Carnival of Souls HERE! PH Only (sorry guys.) This giveaway ends October 20! Good Luck!