MEETING THE AUTHORS: STOHL, DELA CRUZ, NOEL'S BLOGGER FORUM IN MANILA.

Where I relive the experience and share all the feels before, during and after meeting these fantastic authors WHO ARE BASICALLY LIFE.

Last saturday (September 14), I was given another chance to attend a Blogger Forum with New York Times Best Selling Authors Margaret Stohl, Alyson Noel and Melissa Dela Cruz at Best Sellers in Robinson's Galleria, Ortigas. Best Sellers is National Book Store's sister company. I was stoked not only to meet these fantastic authors but to also see my lovely co-bloggers! I missed them to bit! If I haven't mentioned it on any of my old posts, Best Sellers is definitely the biggest book store I've ever been to! IT WAS GINORMOUS. There was a sale so I didn't pass the chance to hoard!

Going back to the Blogger Forum, I didn't record the entire Q and A because I know it would be difficult to transcribe but how I wish I did! Its kind of hard to rely on my unreliable memory. Let me still try to share the important stuff from the said event.

Clockwise: Me, Louisse and Lyra; Me and Dianne; Me and Kai; Michelle, Me and Nicole;
Me amd Louisse; Chad and I.

Clockwise: The books I bought for the signing; The ever jolly JB of NBS;
The panel table at the event; The EPIC Chad of NBs; TADAAAAAH! The TRIO!!

There my co-bloggers Louisse, Lyra and Precious were interviewed by National Book Store then the Q and A began. There were several of us who asked the trio and OMG, Margaret was just so funny! We learned that Blue Bloods by Melissa Dela Cruz was opted to be a TV series only to be cancelled. A week after, Vampires Diaries started filming. Gaaaah! It could have been Blue Bloods' slot! Alyson Noel will also have more books published because at the moment' she's writing them. Margaret Stohl also told us the story behind Beautiful Creatures -- it was written for their kids! She also said that She and Kami Garcia exchanged chapters for the entire series then would edit each other's work. She's also very excited for the spin off series! She also told us that she wanted to tell a story of her own thus Icons. It wasn't hard to write something different according to her because Icons is like, her expression of herself. Melissa also came back to the Philippines after 28 years and I loved her American Accent! They were all gorgeous in person! Melissa was wearing Valentino shoes and Jimmy Choo for Alyson! I forgot was Margaret was wearing! You wouldn't believe how they know each other very well and the support they have for each other was just mind blowing!

Clockwise: Margaret Stohl signing my Beautiful Redemption; Melissa Dela Cruz signed with my signed Frozen
and Alyson Noel siging my copies of Fated and Echo!

It was so fun meeting Alyson again! She's as gorgeous as ever! Melissa Dela Cruz was a bit reserved but funny and stunning! Just like what she said, a fashion editor is always a fashion editor. I loved her Valentino shoes! Margaret was just the bomb! I will never be able to FLAIL like her! It was really surreal meeting these lovely authors and getting to understand their passion for writing as well as the inspiration behind the novels! IT WAS JUST AWESOME!

THE PH YA BOOK BLOGGERS. ♥

I would not be hosting a giveaway at the moment because I am so broke but I hope you enjoyed these pictures! I cannot wait for the next bookish event!

THANK YOU EVER SO MUCH JB AND CHAD OF NATIONAL BOOK STORE FOR HOSTING SUCH FANTASTIC EVENT, MELISSA, MARGARET AND ALYSON FOR BEING LOVELY AND MY CO-PH YA BLOGGERS!

Don't forget to visit these pages and check out the pictures!
Sab The Book Eater
Mine

REVIEW: FROZEN BY MELISSA DELA CRUZ AND MICHAEL JOHNSTON.

Title: Frozen (Heart of Dread #1)
Authors: Melissa Dela Cruz and Michael Johnston
Edition: Paperback
Published: September 17, 2013
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Pages: 336
Source: Bought from National Bookstore
Category: Romance, Dystopia, Fantasy
Trailer: not available

Synopsis:

Welcome to New Vegas, a city once covered in bling, now blanketed in ice. Like much of the destroyed planet, the place knows only one temperature—freezing. But some things never change. The diamond in the ice desert is still a 24-hour hedonistic playground and nothing keeps the crowds away from the casino floors, never mind the rumors about sinister sorcery in its shadows.

At the heart of this city is Natasha Kestal, a young blackjack dealer looking for a way out. Like many, she's heard of a mythical land simply called “the Blue.” They say it’s a paradise, where the sun still shines and the waters are turquoise. More importantly, it’s a place where Nat won’t be persecuted, even if her darkest secret comes to light.

But passage to the Blue is treacherous, if not impossible, and her only shot is to bet on a ragtag crew of mercenaries led by a cocky runner named Ryan Wesson to take her there. Danger and deceit await on every corner, even as Nat and Wes find themselves inexorably drawn to each other. But can true love survive the lies? Fiery hearts collide in this fantastic tale of the evil men do and the awesome power within us all.

Frozen is ravishing!

I was so happy when I learned that Melissa De la Cruz will be signing here in Manila [together with Alyson Noel and Margaret Stohl]. Frozen is supposed to be released on the 17th but because of the event, it was released early here! I was so stoked to finally be reading it because I heard nothing but good things about it plus, it would be my first De la Cruz novel. I own the first 3 of her Blue Bloods Series but this was the one I first read. And you know what? It was surprisingly good!

Earth changed over the past hundred or so years. It was now covered in ice. In this dying world with very well developed technology, Marked people are being captured, locked up, sold or worse, killed because they have abilities and powers. Natasha is one of them. She only hides her prominent Marked eyes using special lenses and keeps a low profile by working in a casino in New Vegas. When the voice in her head keeps dictating she has to go to Blue, a paradise kept secret from the rest, she tries to follow it. She hires a team that would accompany her to travel. That's when she meets Wes.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone meets a frozen The Ward. Wall-E's world in the middle of Antarctica. Dragons mashed with pirates set in a distant future. You get the entire picture. I LOVED IT. I ENJOYED IT. I WAS LOST IN THIS WORLD IN SUCH FANTASTIC WAY. I loved how the authors merged Dystopia and Fantasy that didn't compromise the premise. I've seen mixed reviews of Frozen and I totally get what went wrong in the entire story BUT I loved it. My brain wanted to embrace it in a positive way. The romance sucked big time because obviously, it was a tiresome insta-romance, but the world building? PHENOMENAL. I never thought such genre combination would be this cinematic. It was THAT UHMAYZINGGGG. The magic, dragons, pirates, sylphs and "zombies" I just can't get enough of! Also, the Earth the authors described in the story was actually something possible to happen. The garbage, pollution, toxins and how Earth died weren't only scary but as a person, you would appreciate what the novel was trying to imply -- SAVE MOTHER EARTH. It was a very unique take on how to educate people about what we do to our environment. That alone made me hug and pet this novel with such ferocious energy. Not only that, it also showcases how we all strive to live a better life in a better place that most people would do the impossible to achieve this. Which to me means good news. We can also go to our own Blues with a little more push and perseverance.

I am not really a fan of the characters though. They're pretty much vulnerable and very predictable. Natasha was emotionally weak while Wes? He should know better. At this point, I cannot ship them yet because I felt like their characters weren't given enough time to develop. There was something lacking. Probably a chemistry. The bacon vest didn't help either. But at least at the end, I was enlightened about Natasha's power and Wes' back ground. I wanted more though, not only from them but the entire Wes Team and the creatures from Blue. I also wanted to know more about Blue and how it survived such earth destruction, not just about the magic it has.

Frozen is a novel built with strong world-building and a very promising premise. It is magical, futuristic and has well-constructed writing. Simply an artistic story one should never miss!

"There's always just a fraction of a second between life and death. Take as much as you can."