From the acclaimed author of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns comes a fantastical new tale of darkness and love, in which magical bonds are stronger than blood.

Will love break the spell? After cruelly rejecting Bao, the poor physician's apprentice who loves her, Lan, a wealthy nobleman's daughter, regrets her actions. So when she finds Bao's prized flute floating in his boat near her house, she takes it into her care, not knowing that his soul has been trapped inside it by an evil witch, who cursed Bao, telling him that only love will set him free. Though Bao now despises her, Lan vows to make amends and help break the spell.

Together, the two travel across the continent, finding themselves in the presence of greatness in the forms of the Great Forest's Empress Jade and Commander Wei. They journey with Wei, getting tangled in the webs of war, blood magic, and romance along the way. Will Lan and Bao begin to break the spell that's been placed upon them? Or will they be doomed to live out their lives with black magic running through their veins?

He might not know how the rest of his life would look, but he knew he would never be alone again. They would figure it out together.

*images are from Pinterest*

Title: We Hunt The Flame (Sands of Arawiya #1)

Author: Hafsah Faizal

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Published May 14th 2019 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Synopsis

People lived because she killed.
People died because he lived.

Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the king. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways.

Both are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya—but neither wants to be.

War is brewing, and the Arz sweeps closer with each passing day, engulfing the land in shadow. When Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the king on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the Hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds—and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine.

Set in a richly detailed world inspired by ancient Arabia, We Hunt the Flame is a gripping debut of discovery, conquering fear, and taking identity into your own hands.

Source: Goodreads

Debut author Hafsah Faizal introduces us to the world of Arawiya with her book We Hunt The Flame. Darkness envelopes Arawiya and death becomes a new friend they just inevitably welcome. It is magical and a change of scenery to read a Young Adult Fantasy in a Middle East setting. Hafsah gently invites her readers to see Arawiya, the characters and the magic that needs to be restored.

Zafira, the Hunter, as what the people claims her, risks her life for her people. She yearns for their safety, even if it means going to Arz can someday take her life. Her character from the start does not only shows bravery, it also displays responsiblity to the people she is fighting for. Zafira’s confidence is also one of the highlights of this book. This character portrayed bravery effortlessly. Learning the language (since it is set in Arabia) is not much complicated on my opinion, in fact it was enjoyable to learn some words and see the beauty of it.

While Nasir, on the start, you can already see the picture of a Prince of Death. Claiming one’s life with a clean and stealthy tactics which is expected to an assasin, you will slowly want to know what is more to him than his scimitar, and all of his bloodshed memories. Basically, Nasir is intoxicating, okay?

Altair, my oh my, Hafsah keeps on giving characters that are very hypnotizing, sexy and ultimately funny. His journey with the Zumra made it enjoyable. There’s no dull moment with this guy. BUT, you just wait till you reach the part of his sole existence in Nasir’s life, you will grip your book so hard!

About the Author

Published May 7th 2019 by Berkley

Synopsis

Source: Goodreads

Sometimes the things people do and believe don’t make sense. I feel most alive when I moght die. And you, you’re convince you don’t feel, and the responsible thing is to avoid people.

The Bride Test from the start already introduced me to a very interesting character, Khai. He was a type of character who seems to be composed and organized in everything. The schedules, routines, roundabouts and all that, he can lay it all neatly in his mind. He kept his heart tight as well. I just found myself diving into this brooding, black suit fanatic, and a tax-and-numbers eccentric man. Khai was a head turner, that's the greatest headline in The Bride Test.

Esme coming along to his organized life led him in a total disarray. Suddenly, things turn out differently and eventually she managed to enter Khai's 'stone' heart. One of the things to love about the The Bride Test was the authenticity of the characters. I was welcomed seeing some of the Vietnamese cultures and how it was to move to another country. I can already feel Esme's homesickness in Vietnam when she fly out.

Khai's mother Co Nga, is like a compass in this book. A mother simply knows by heart what is the best option for her children. She sees Esme's/My's pure intention to fall in love with her son, Khai. She knows the right directions to be exact.

The Bride Test wouldn't be complete with all the WEDDINGS you have to attend and see. From the ceremony, dance, exchanging of vows, Khai and Esme slowly sees what their hearts been truly wanting to have. Esme have fallen in love with Khai, but Khai had a battle on his own which he can no longer fight alone.

Khai and Esme's love was a series of setbacks and being drawn into it all over again. I was amused and obsessed with Khai's intention to make Esme happy and just to be by his side. Esme's love to Khai gave me roses and butterlies. A woman who discovered he has fallen in love with a man and who is willing to take a risk at everything, that's simply one of the best and rare kind of love anyone could ever get.

Quan, Khai's older brother, is the MVP here. I LOVED QUAN. He knows when to push the right buttons in Khai's in denial feelings for Esme. Well, maybe push Khai's heart on the edge. He's one of the game-changer in the book. Quan is a straight-forward man and a loving brother and another hottie in a whole package. He pushed Esme and Khai to believe and trust in their love, in what they had shared, and the lessons they had learned in their relationship. I was strucked with Quan's character to be precise.

Helen Hoang's The Bride Test is a kind of a love story of a couple wanting to open up gradually and discovering what they truly are. It's a romantic, sexy, with a slice of life scenery. Falling in love with the characters are so easy, I'm sure you will love them as much as I do.



Helen Hoang is that shy person who never talks. Until she does. And the worst things fly out of her mouth. She read her first romance novel in eighth grade and has been addicted ever since.

In 2016, she was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in line with what was previously known as Asperger’s Syndrome. Her journey inspired THE KISS QUOTIENT.

She currently lives in San Diego, California with her husband, two kids, and pet fish.

Helen is represented by Kim Lionetti of BookEnds Literary Agency.

Last week, two wonderful authors went to our country. It was none other than Cassandra Clare and Holly Black! I know, its still pretty bizaare in my head that they went here. National Bookstore successfully made another event that brought so much joy to all of the booklovers here. Seeing both of them in real life, is almost the feeling of being ten times closer to the characters that I’ve fallen in love with, which is basically Will Herondale and Cardan. LOL.

The King and Queen Tour was held at Cebu and Manila. Readers are so eager to see them in person and they’ve asked a lot of questions. The kind of questions that really comes from their heart. I was at the public signing in Manila, with my friends Lyra(defiantlydeviant.blogspot.com), JM(bookfreakrevelations.com), Salve(cuckooforbooks YT channel), Miel and Gela. Being there is one of the most memorable moment of my bookish life. (basically all of the book signings). 

The anticipation to see them grows bigger, the crowd was holding on too tight on their beloved books, some are already recording every single moment when they are up to enter the stage. And when they arrived, we all went wild! We were screaming with all our hearts. Screaming in so much joy. It was a day of mixed emotions and I’m so glad to be a part of it.

Cassandra Clare and Holly Black were very enthusiastic, funny and most of all, they are so open to share everything. Well of course, not all about their upcoming books. But they answered all of the questions in a detailed manner. They accomodated every questions as many as possible. After that, we went on to the signing.

Then we were so lucky to have an upclose interview with Cassandra Clare and Holly Black. Here are some of our questions.

Cassie: I’ve never been to Phillippines. This is my first time and I’ve been wanting to visit here for several years. We got into Cebu and we were both exhausted because we came from Dubai. We slept for like the first day but we were lucky to be on the beach it was really great. We got to see a little of Cebu and so far the crowds have been great. The one in Manila is bigger than that. Everybody has been really enthusiastic. Everyone asked great questions and they’re really sweet. 

One of the things that’s been really interesting in the Philippines is that, people brought me some gifts and notes which is really nice! Signings can be a bit overwhelming, you’ve come up and you only have like one or two seconds to say something what you want to say so it was really smart to write down what you wanna say. 

Holly: The crowds have been really great. It’s super great to see people cosplaying. Cassie was right, the questions have been great and their enthusiasm. I haven’t been to any mall signings before, but Cassie has been, where you have a crowd here and you could also have a crowd above! I was not ready yet. That was really fun after a few minutes, but after a while its a new feeling. I was never in Cebu before and I have been in Manila. My husband is from Pangasinan, so I sometimes came here just to visit them.

Holly: I think its interesting when you realize that you have readers who have been with you since the beginning. Like I have readers coming out with their Spiderwick books back from 2002 and it is, I think seeing people all over the world with your new book feels great! Seeing them with your old book, it feels like you’ve been having a relationship with somebody that you haven’t had it like, you haven’t got thre opportunity yet to meet before and I find it really special and different.

Cassie: Many people says that you were in my chilhood, you were in my teenage years and its a really great feeling. Its feels like you’re very lucky to have been able to reach out across the world and form relationships with people. 

I think thats what’s important about coming here is that you guys have been able to have something of a relationship with us, bu we haven’t had a chance to meet you so it was really kinda great to come and to actually meet the people.

Holly: It’s great, obviously we have a long way to go before we have like true inclusivity and you know, representation that matches the actual demographics of our world. But I think that, the increase has been really helpful, really great. You know,  we know writers who had a great deal of trouble getting marketing for their books. Getting placement for their books, because of the protagonists race or sexual orientation and to see books coming out now and really getting that marketing the beautiful covers really being pushed hard. And you know and seeing readers who are clearly looking for these books is so great.

Cassie: I guess what makes me worried sometimes is when I hear people talk about it as a trend. Because to me, trend is something that passes and its like saying there’s a trend for red sneakers or something. And you know, im like hopefull this is not a trend and hopefully it is a direction. A direction that will continue and one of the things that we see from behind the scenes is that many of the people who work in publishing can make the decisions about buying books and marketing books are strictly in YA. 

Cassie: I have a lot of friends who told me, Holly included that they didnt like a love triangle and I love love triangles. And one of the things that bothers you is that when their indecisive they cant choose and you know thats not to me what a love triangle should look like or be necessarily about. Realistically speaking, in life we often love more than one person. We will fall in love a few times before we end up with whoever we are gonna end up with. And so I wanted to write about a love that is trully equal on both sides and on all the sides, because I think also with love triangles, you often get this shape where its person a loves person b and person c loves person b but person a has no relationship at all or they hate each other. And that doesnt really interests me, what interests me is that all of them love each other equally. 

I love all the relationships but the relationship between Jem and Will that was as important and beautiful as the love between Tessa. Because I think it needed to be super significant. 

Release Date: March 5, 2019

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Having just been dumped by his girlfriend, British-born Hugo is still determined to take his last-hurrah-before-college train trip across the United States. One snag: the companion ticket is already booked under the name of his ex, Margaret Campbell. Nontransferable, no exceptions.

Enter the new Margaret C. (Mae for short), an aspiring filmmaker with big dreams. After finding Hugo's spare ticket offer online, she's convinced it's the perfect opportunity to expand her horizons.

When the two meet, the attraction is undeniable, and both find more than they bargained for. As Mae pushes Hugo to explore his dreams for his future, he'll encourage her to channel a new, vulnerable side of her art. But when life off the train threatens the bubble they've created for themselves, will they manage to keep their love on track?

You don't know what happiness is-what it really means-until it's taken away from you. Then you realize the world will never be as bright as it was.

Everytime Jennifer Smith releases a new book, I have this feeling that I'm about to dive with full of unexpected love moments. One of the elements that I dearly love on her books is not just the characters themselves, but the setting and supporting characters are so enjoyable to read. Field Notes of Love is not just about finding yourself and falling in love, it is a page-turner novel that ignites the importance of acceptance of an inescapable fates in one's life.

Just like the title, Field Notes of Love is almost like reading to a collection of stories of people about their own definition of love. The strength and weaknesses of love illuminated so much on this book. I found myself on a train ride along with Mae and Hugo and I was so eager to see how will they open up to each other. 

Mae wants to be a successul filmmaker, who wants to finds her center, of what is truly the missing piece in all of the films she had done. Hugo also wants to finds himself, of what he truly wants to go, other than just being in Surrey Six, that's what they are called since he is one of the sextuplets. Both of them have a single goal, it is to explore what they really are. 

Mae and Hugo embarks about opening up themselves of facing their own battles. The spare ticket changed both of their lives. These characters grew so much just from the people they have met on the train, the strangers who shared their stories about life, love, loss and courage. Mae and Hugo learned to accept their fears and face it with all of their hearts. This is something that I dearly enjoyed in reading this book. It kept me really surprised how Mae and Hugo slowly opened up and eventually fallen in love. 

Field Notes of Love is a kind of book you'll definitely need to grab on to if you want to experience a train ride full of unexpected events. It is packed with love, trust, and acceptance. This book deserves 5 stars!!!

Thank you so much Fay and Penguin Random House for including me on this book tour!

Synopsis

Set in a darkly glamorous world, The Gilded Wolves is full of mystery, decadence, and dangerous but thrilling adventure.

Paris, 1889: The world is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. In this city, no one keeps tabs on secrets better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. But when the all-powerful society, the Order of Babel, seeks him out for help, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

To find the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin will need help from a band of experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian who can't yet go home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in all but blood, who might care too much.

Together, they'll have to use their wits and knowledge to hunt the artifact through the dark and glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the world, but only if they can stay alive.

Source: Goodreads

You want an excuse to go hunting. But you have mistaken the predator for prey.

Freedom. That is what I want. A life without obligation, without expectation.

Recently I've been drawn to a lot of Asian fantasy YA books, one of the major thing that I'm really amazed is the introduction. Each of them has their own origins, what they have all started to believe in and how they have all come up to rule an empire. It was a very different setting to me and I really loved it. Empress of All Seasons is one of those books that automatically grips you at the beginning. You get to see and feel how the gods and goddesses created nature, mankind and yokai. From the start that sparked a lot of interest on me. To be able to feel the origin of the story is major point on my opinion.

"Through pain you will achieve greatness." Strike.
"Through suffering you will gain honor."
Strike.
"Through sacrifice you will rise." Strike.

The Empress of All Seasons clearly defines what its supposed to be. A woman that can surpass all the calamities that every season can brought upon to mankind and yokai. It is a powerful and a heavy duty to be an Empress. But the protagonist, Mari clearly sets out the standings even before the competition starts. She wasn't described as a strikingly beautiful yokai maiden, but her fierceness and bravery made her uniquely stunning. Because this girl can strike anyone with her naginata and she  knows her true nature from the start. She doesn't want to be one of a typical Animal Wife that steals fortune of a man and just run away, Mari knows she is more than that.

There's more to this book, told from three POV's, Akira, Mari and Taro, I'm able to see their character development.  Although I found Taro and Akira's character development seems a bit rush, Mari was exceptional. Throughout the book, you get to see how this woman sets out to make her decisions to choose between love and duty. Her own battle is one of the integral parts of this book. Reaching the plot twist could've been better but I still liked it. The decisions that has been made sets out how original and powerful the book was written.

A weapon tempts violence, courts bloodshed. Once you've beckoned death, you cannot unbeckon it.

Empress of All Seasons has its own dash of feminism and love. I liked how the characters discovered their own nature to change and fight for freedom and equality. Emiko Jean made the setting and plot captivating.


When Emiko is not writing, she is reading. Most of her friends are imaginary. Before she became a writer she was an entomologist (fancy name for bug catcher), a candle maker, a florist, and most recently a teacher. She lives in Washington with her husband and children (unruly twins). She loves the rain.

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