Legend

The USA has been divided into two countries where the east and west are at war. Day is a wanted criminal of the Republic because of multiple destructions he has done. Sadly, the republic does not know how he really looks like and so the JumboTrons just display all the information it had on Day. Every week when the police comes to do inspection on whether a household has been infected with the plague, Day will be there watching his family from afar. Things was not well when his house was being marked but it was a different one but still the whole family was quarantined.

The only way that Day could help his family is to break in to the hospital to steal cures for his little brother that was infected. Things went really bad and he had to hurt a captain in patrol where he barely got away. June was up to mischief in university and her brother was upset that she was causing trouble. He picked her up and sent her home to go to work. Unfortunately, it was her brother that was hurt by Day and Metias was found dead. June was escorted to see her brother's body by request of Metias's commander. When she reached the scene, Commander Jameson told her to look at the scene and find out more information. She also made June graduate early to be an agent to track Day down.

Legend by Marie Lu is the first book of the trilogy and it's definitely a great start to it. The story is unique and after reading the author's small biography at the back of the book you can understand where some of the influences come from. The characters are really strong characters which makes reading about them exciting. The female protagonist is such a strong person yet she has a soft side too. Both characters are similar but different and their background really influences their decisions.

The book is written in the two main character's perspective alternating chapters. I love this type of writing as we get to know what both people are thinking for different plots of the story. Readers also get different perspectives when certain things are happening in the story. The story from start to end was really exciting, I felt like I was watching a movie. The plots were smooth, slowly reaching climax and with some twists too. I couldn't stop reading, this book is such a page turner. I'm so amazed that for a debut book it's so good which makes me get excited for the second book. To compare it with other books of the same genre, I think this is quite good and overtakes divergent and hunger games' place in my heart. I highly recommend this to dystopian genres lovers. 

Black Heart

Cassel solved his brother's murder and at the same time manage to cut a deal for his other brother to join the government as an agent. Cassel himself will also be joining them when he finishes his high school. At the of book two, Lila has formally joined her father and made markings that shows she is part of the mob. Even though he has not join as an agent yet, once a week Cassel receive training from his brother. Today they are following Lila and she handed cash to another fellow.

Cassel and Barron followed that guy and waited at a diner across the street. Baron stepped out awhile to make a phone call and Cassel caught the guy in action killing someone. He decided to chase after him and ended up in an alley. Cassel confronted the guy and knocked the gun out of his hand but still lost him as the murderer jumped over the fence. When the feds came to where he was, he quickly hid the gun and details about Lila ordering the hit.

Another thing that troubles Cassel is that his mother was no where to be found since her act of con was exposed by the victim. She is now a wanted criminal by the feds. Lila called Cassel to meet with her and she drove him to her father's place. His mother has gotten herself in another pinch where years ago she tricked Lila's father and stole his gem. Now Cassel have to find the gem as the one his mother has is fake or else her life will be taken. Cassel is working against time to find the gem and also secretly as he can't let the feds know of his situation.

Black Heart by Holly Black is the final book to the curse workers trilogy. I really love the ending for this book and to the series. All the plots and twist in the book is just unexpected and wonderful. The main character is a indeed a smart guy pulling a con that you would have not thought of. The many turns of events in the book is truly exciting which grasp your attention well. Out of the trilogy this is my favorite book as there is more action and lots of emotions from the characters.The relationships for the characters in this book is well portrayed and it really makes you feel for them because of their situations that is so messed up. There is much character development for everyone in the book.

The writing is just as good as the other two books with smooth plots that slowly builds up tension for you and then the climax just gets you unexpectedly. Holly Black can really write a good fantasy that is not of the norm paired with  much human emotions and behaviors. I also love that she included an element that is not used much which is cons. This book is so well written that I believe there are no flaws and I wouldn't change anything at all. A fantastic trilogy to read and it definitely satisfies readers who love books on con and fantasy. I highly recommend the series as Holly Black's writing is quite enchanting and capturing.

Vicious

Victor and Eli are roommates in college and they both study in the medical line. This year they are in a class that needed them to work on their own thesis. Victor chose on a topic about adrenaline and Eli being ambitious decide upon discovering more about EOs (ExtraOrdinary).  Victor was slightly jealous that Eli would go for a topic like that. He was also not happy that Eli was dating the girl that he had his eye on. In order to make people realize Eli's true nature, Victor encouraged him to try the theory that he came up with.

In order to be EOs one must first die and then come back to life to obtain it. Victor went first but failed and then provoked Eli to do the same as well. Eli did succeed which made Victor mad inside and giving it a second go. Victor did succeed but things got really bad. Ten years later, Victor broke out of jail with an accomplice and begins to seek Eli for revenge. 

Vicious by V.E Schwab is a fantasy book and a very unique one for me. I was blown away from the start till the end and I loved every part of it. The story is about the dark and evil nature that humans can become when given power.  The characters totally made the story fantastic as their personalities gives life to the plots. The main characters are bad people and I love that the author does much background for them. I love to read about characters which covers their past and present where it gives you more grasp on their personality. They are certainly very unique and even their powers are unique. 

The concept of the story is really fresh and new not like a typical fantasy book at all. It's not a complicated world/future in the book but definitely with complicated characters which are quite realistic in behavior. I love how the author arranged the chapters which makes all the plots really smooth and suspenseful at the same time. I could not help but keep reading the book wanting more of the story. It's hard for me to put my feelings into words but to generalize I felt hungry for more from this writer and wished that this could be a series instead. I'm definitely gonna keep my eyes open for this author's works. This book is fast pace, unique filled with realistic behaviors of human. If this is your cup of tea then you won't disappointed and it's the type of book that can be reread many times.

Red Glove

Cassel's mother was released from jail in the previous book and then use her touch on Lila to make her love him. Cassel was devastated with it and so he avoided Lila the whole summer. He followed his mother to Atlantic City where he helped her run cons and they lived in a 5 star hotel without paying a cent. It was a crazy summer and his mother asked for one last scam before he returned to school. Cassel was to snatch her handbag in front of their target (loves to save damsels) will help his mother. While he did what his mother asked, he injured himself in the process but his mother was able to use her curse on the target.

Cassel's mother was really happy and she wanted to celebrate with the son until there was a ring at their hotel room. It was the target and he recognize Cassel very well and their scam failed. His mother was very upset on the drive back home where he complained about her and resulted in Cassel being slapped. Cassel was dropped off at school and the term was about to start.

Later, he was shocked that Lila enrolled into his school to be with him even though she was cursed. Lila told him that it was hard for her to stay away from him. Things were not going well for Cassel as he was whisked away on the first day by FBI agents to find out that his eldest brother Philip was murdered. The agents insisted that Cassel investigate and find the killer by threatening him. At his brother's funeral, Lila and her father attended where Lila's father tries to recruit him to help the mob. Cassel does not want to join either side and so he has to work out a way to save himself.

Red Glove by Holly Black is the second book to the curse worker trilogy and it continues after Cassel found out that he is a transformation worker which is one of the rarest. Though the ending of the first book seems quite conclusive but the second book was wonderfully written with a new adventure. The side characters for the first book gets more development in this book and I really enjoyed that. Of course, our main character is also growing up. I also love the relationships in the book which is quite realistic because of the situations faced and behaviors of the characters.

I love that this book's story challenges our main character and he reacts really well to it. The plots again are surprising, exciting and very smooth. This book really captured my attention from start till end. Every action and plan has a purpose which is fruitful to the plots. This author can write a story that pretty much has no flaws at all. The second book also contains con elements in it and much human behaviors along with morals. It's a book that is smart as the main character can really think well. If you love the first book, this book is just as good. It has a really good con and I believe it is a book worth reading. 

Attachments

Lincoln has completed another degree and is back at home living with his mother. He got a job as an IT guy in a newspaper company. He has nothing much to do except to man the help desk at night and also send warnings to employees whose emails have been flagged. The company uses a program to scan through employee emails and Lincoln's job is to read those flagged emails to verify whether the employee has violated the company email policy.

It was quite lonely working at night as he was the only person there. There were two ladies in the company who uses the email for personal conversations which was flagged. Since the things they discussed were not harmful and Lincoln was kind he decided not to send them any warnings. Every time Beth and Jennifer's email was flagged he reads about their life and soon he was really interested in what was happening. He was looking forward to reading them and tried to be subtle about it but it was really his job to read those flagged emails anyway. Slowly, Lincoln had realized that he had fallen in love with one of them and it would be hard to tell someone you have never met before that you love them. If Lincoln were to tell the truth what would happen and will he have a chance with her?

Attachments  by Rainbow Rowell is a book about a guy and two ladies. It's not a triangle love instead it's about a guy reading on some bits and pieces of two ladies lives' where he slowly falls in love with one of them. I absolutely love this story as it's funny, sweet, adorable and many more good feelings involved. The writing style is simple and lovely just like her other books. The plots are smooth and funny much of the time.

I usually love writing style like these where the stories are unfolded in emails conversations. I first read books like this from Meg Cabot and I loved it. It just shows that even though those mails are short conversations, a lot can be conveyed in a story. Just by reading a chain of the mail, you get to know a bit of the person's personality, their life and moods. It's an odd love story but also romantic at the same time. The character's personality slowly shows from the story line and it was fun knowing people from another person's point of view.

The author did good for her first published book and it's fantastic. This book was just such a wonderful read where it leaves you feeling happy. It's one of the books that kept my attention and I finished it in two days (actually read a bit the first day but I read about 300+ pages the following day). This book just makes my heart feels jittery and excited for the male lead and the person he fell in love with. If you like a simple love story that has some funny in it then this is your book. I'm so gonna reread this book next year and I'm super excited for the author's next book Landline.

White Cat

Cassel's family are all curse workers and he is the only one who does not have the magic touch. Curse workers are considered criminals as with a touch to the victim they can change people's emotion, kill people, change people physical condition, alter memories and more which are deemed illegal. They only have one type of curse work which is discovered when curse workers accidentally work someone or something and that is already considered a crime.

Cassel is in a private boarding school where he tries to act as normal as possible but much people knows he is dangerous as his mother is in jail for her crime. He had a girlfriend and secretly running a bet system as the rich kids like to bet on silly things. One night he found himself on the roof of the dormitories as he was dreaming about chasing a white cat to get back his tongue. When he woke up he was falling off and managed to hold on and yelled for help.

After the incident, the school decided to send him home until he can proof his sleepwalking problem is safe. His eldest brother Philip came to pick him up and that night when he was staying over, he heard his brothers talking to their grandfather. As it seems everyone has been keeping a secret from him. Philip's wife also seemed odd saying that she hears music all the time and her face looks distress most of the time. Cassel figured that there is something going on as the details to the incident of him murdering his best friend Lila seems too vague to remember as well. Cassel has to unravel his past and memories to find out the truth.

White Cat by Holly Black is the first book to the curse workers trilogy and this book is quite unique. I absolutely enjoyed this book from the start till the end. The plots of the book is truly wonderful, it keeps your attention and then something surprises you. I have read a lot of books about magic but this book is unique and I'm intrigued that magic can be written this way. Besides magic involved in the book, there are con aspects too.

I love watching movies where people do con jobs whether big or small and this books incorporates con really really well. The author explains con really well and I appreciate the researched that was done for this topic. The characters of the book are also good because you get to know them and find out more about them in the plots that unfolds in the story. I love the main character Cassel as he seems like a complex guy but only wants simple things. He is one character that needs to find his memory and uncover the truth about himself. The character development is a job well done.

I really love the climax of the book because there's was much suspense and when it happened it really was surprising and satisfying. Reading this book gave me the feeling that I was watching a movie and I think it would be an interesting story to be made into a movie. I love that this book has moral values and also touches the dark side of people. I reccomend this books for readers who enjoy paranormal with much mystery and suspense included. I'm falling in love with this author's writing and I get to read the next book without waiting as the series is completed. I will definitely reread this book in the future.

2014 New Year Resolutions

New Year, new goals and it's been like this for some time now. I know some goals might not be achieved but I like to set it and at least try. There's always goals that are repeated for me as I failed the previous year. Every year I strive to be better than last and I believe there isn't anyone who would want to do any worse actually. As a yearly ritual, I sat down and thought carefully about those goals which took me sometime hence I'm posting this slightly late. Better late than never, so here are my resolutions for 2014:

• Read 50 books this year (hopefully 1 book per week)
• No buying makeup ban (at least until I finish 50% of the collections I have)
• Eat healthily (no fast food unless no choice)
• Exercise once a week
• Blog more beside book reviews
• Follow my schedules more often (be better at planning)
• No more excuses in laziness (work harder towards my dream)
• Grow more as person (do not judge people, do not care what other people think too much, always be humble, don't be stubborn)
• Really think carefully before I speak
• Don't let emotions get in the way (controlling my temper)

This year I have more goals and I decided to share some personal goals as well. The last three resolutions in the list is a constant struggle for me as a person because I believe there are no limitations to a person's good personality. Over the years since college till today, I have always been one emotional person that affects my life dearly and also the people around me. When I'm emotional it affects the decisions I make, the actions I take and especially the words that I say to people. I really hope that this year I will work harder on those resolutions as it matters more than the ones before it. With a positive attitude and a great personality, I believe I can complete other resolutions even better. I wish everyone a good year ahead and always remember that being happy and a better person beats all wealth and materials things in life. Also to mention the video below is a good inspiration on resolutions to have:

Thank you Bubzbeauty for inspiring to be a better person.

Favorite books of 2013

My year in reading was fantastic as I was picking young adult titles that were new and unique to me. I usually read more adults books and this year after I picked up Divergent I researched for more books like these. I also Youtube people's book hauls, to be read and much and was expose to the booktube community. I was amazed as I did not realise there were so many channels doing this. I am so grateful for the books they introduced and reviewed as it help a lot to know what young adult books to buy. Most books I stumble upon are young adults book that are in the highlights shelves in the book store. Because much of those titles were made into movies hence I also followed the trend and read those books. 

This was also the year I join Goodreads and I was amazed with the database where there are a lot of ratings for books. It also recommended some good titles for me based on my genre interest. I'm quite happy with my reading progress and I hope I can do better in 2014. The books that I'm mentioning are not in any order and I love all just the same.

1. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell is a young adult contemporary book about two teenagers falling in love. It's cute, innocent, realistic and many many things about youth. It's certainly a story that is unique and touching. Here is my review: http://www.anythingbuteverything.com/2013/07/eleanor-park.html
2. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is a young adult contemporary book about a girl going to college and she finds it hard to give up fanfiction while her twin sister does it easily and also does not want to spend much time with her. This coming of age story was super fun to read and it's adorable too. My review: http://www.anythingbuteverything.com/2013/10/fangirl.html
3. The coldest girl in coldtown by Holly Black is a young adult paranormal book where vampires are all quarantined and those suspected of the disease too. This is one vampire story that is unique and refreshing characters. The female protagonist is absolutely kick ass and brave.  Here is the review: http://www.anythingbuteverything.com/2013/10/the-coldest-girl-in-coldtown.html
4. Lola and the  boy next door is a young adult contemporary about a girl who got nervous when the boy next door is back. An adorable female character with a nice guy that is her neighbor and they used to be friends until something happened.  This is book can make you feel jolly because of the young and innocent love. My review: http://www.anythingbuteverything.com/2013/12/lola-and-boy-next-door.html
5. Insurgent by Veronica Roth is the second book in the divergent series. Although this book was published last year it was this year that I read the series and out of the three books I felt that this one was the best. The plots were good and there were good character developments. My review: http://www.anythingbuteverything.com/2013/05/insurgent.html
6. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare is the third book in the mortal instruments series and I felt that the plots were the best in this book. The characters were also fantastic as they grow quite a lot in this book. I've only read the first 3 books and this one is my favorite. The series is a good and unique to me. My review: http://www.anythingbuteverything.com/2013/10/the-mortal-instruments-city-of-glass.html
7. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare is the last book of the infernal devices series and this is my favorite book of the series. The whole series was fantastic but to choose the last book was the best one. The plots were good, characters are well developed and the ending was the best I could ever hoped for. My review: http://www.anythingbuteverything.com/2013/12/clockwork-princess.html

If you were to ask me to pick one out of those books, I would pick Clockwork Princess as my favorite for the whole year. The series was a fantastic prequel to mortal instruments and the ending was perfect. I also love the characters and the setting so so  much. The relationships between all the characters truly touched my heart and made me emotional at the end. I would definitely read this series again in the future. Truly a job well done by the author and I can't wait for more books from her.