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Book Haul 30/4/2013
Pengakuan dosa lagi. Hari ini iman goyah gara-gara Periplus PIM menggelar diskon up to 50% (grrrr…). Siapa yang nggak ngiler beli buku seharga 12 ribuan?
Itu pun udah dipilah-pilah dan dengan sangat terpaksa tidak bisa membeli semua buku incaran mengingat ketatnya dompet.
Kebanyakan buku yang dibeli genre-nya paranormal romance/fantasy. Beberapa memang udah diincar/koleksi karena series.
Point: -16
List of books bought at Periplus PIM:
1. The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters Vol.1: Phantom – created by L.J. Smith (14rb)
2. James and the Giant Peach – Roald Dahl (41rb)
3. Crimes by Moonlight: Mysteries from the Dark Side – Charlaine Harris, etc (15rb)
4. Red Glove – Holly Black (24rb)
5. Art Geeks and Prom Queens – Alyson Noel (12rb)
6. Heresy – S.J. Parris (12rb)
7. How To Train Your Dragon Book 7: How To Ride a Dragon’s Storm – Cressida Cowell (9rb)
8. Vampire Academy: a Graphic Novel – Richelle Mead (19rb)
9. Tiger’s Quest – Colleen Houck (24rb)
10.Eternal: More Love Stories with Bite – P.C. Cast, etc. (14rb)
Total pembelanjaan untuk 10 buku = 184rb. Lumayan ya?!
Share juga dosa-dosamu ya 🙂
Pic credit here
[Book Review] Hunted by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Title: Hunted (House of Night series #5)
Authors: P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Published: March 16th, 2010
ISBN 13: 9780312577995
Category: Fiction/Paranormal Romance/Vampire/Fantasy
Website: http://houseofnightseries.com/
Format: Ebook
Book blurb:
What if the hottest guy in the world was hiding a nameless evil, and all he wanted was you?At the start of this heart-pounding new installment of the bestselling House of Night series, Zoey and her gang must discover a way to deal with an unexpected danger that might bring them all down. Neferet guards her powerful new consort, Kalona, who looks gorgeous and has the House of Night under his spell. A past life holds the key to breaking his rapidly spreading power, but what if it shows Zoey truths she can’t face? Meanwhile, the red fledglings have cleaned up well, but are they really as friendly as they seem? On the boyfriend front, Zoey has a chance to fix things with super-hot ex-, Erik, but she can’t stop thinking about Stark, the archer who died in her arms, and she is driven to save him from Neferet’s sinister influence. Will anyone believe the power evil has to hide among us?
Thoughts:
Buku ke-5 dari seri House of Night ini pace-nya paling lambat dibanding 4 buku sebelumnya. Buku ini juga adalah buku terlama dari seri ini yang gue baca. Agak membosankan, seperti anti klimaks dari buku sebelumnya, Untamed yang alurnya cepat dan action-driven.
Gue mulai jenuh dan capek dengan Zoey yang labil, juggling dari Erik, Heath, Stark (yang bangkit lagi menjadi red fledgling seperti Stevie Rae), hingga Kalona, si fallen angel. Seolah-olah semua cowok di sekitarnya itu hot. Dan yang bikin neg adalah Zoey ngaku dia ho-ish. Rada berlebihan. Suka sama dua cowok masih bisa ditolerir. Empat? Boy-crazy.
Gue mulai suka dengan Aphrodite dan Darius. Mereka pasangan yang manis. Gue ngebayangin yang jadi Darius itu Channing Tatum.
Zoey terluka oleh anak buah Kalona. Setelah mendekam di gua bersama Stevie Rae dan gank red fledgling-nya.
Zoey dan the Nerd Herd terpaksa menerima panggilan Neferet untuk balik ke House of Night. Suasana berubah. House of Night seperti mati. Belum lagi Raven Mockers yang menggantikan tugas Sons of Erebus menjaga House of Night, membuat keadaan semakin mencekam.
Neferet juga sudah tidak memakai simbol Nyx, dan menggantinya dengan kalung sayap hitam onyx. House of Night officially becomes a Stepford school.
Para fledgling terkena pengaruh sihir Kalona dan mereka percaya bahwa Kalona adalah utusan Nyx. Begitu juga dengan para profesor. Hanya Lenobia, Dragon dan Anastasia yang tidak terpengaruh oleh sihir Kalona. Mereka mendukung Zoey untuk menjadi High Priestess yang baru.
Pertarungan antara duo Kalona-Neferet dengan kubu Zoey berlangsung. Bagaimana cara Zoey mengalahkan Kalona yang immortal? Di buku sebelumnya, Aphrodite mendapat penglihatan dan menuliskan puisi tentang ramalan di masa datang yang ada hubungannya dengan Kalona dan Neferet.
Kali ini salah satu red fledgling yang menuliskan puisi berisi kode yang harus dipecahkan untuk mengalahkan Kalona. Zoey meminta bantuan Lenobia untuk membantunya mencari para perwakilan elemen yang disebutkan dalam puisi tersebut.
Gue kurang puas dengan endingnya. Tapi masih akan berlanjut perang antara Zoey cs vs Neferet. Moga-moga buku berikut lebih seru.
Quotes from the book:
Evil will win if good people do nothing.
A heart’s a hard thing to live without.
Sometimes the people closest to you betray you, and your home isn’t a place you can be happy anymore.
People who are filled with hate don’t know how to handle love.
[Book Review] Untamed by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Title: Untamed (House of Night series #4)
Authors: P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Published: September 23rd, 2008
ISBN-13: 9780312379834
Category: Fiction/Paranormal Romance/Vampire/Fantasy
Website: http://houseofnightseries.com/
Format: Ebook
Life sucks when your friends are pissed at you. Just ask Zoey Redbird – she’s become an expert on suckiness. In one week she has gone from having three boyfriends to having none, and from having a close group of friends who trusted and supported her, to being an outcast. Speaking of friends, the only two Zoey has left are undead and unMarked. And Neferet has declared war on humans, which Zoey knows in her heart is wrong. But will anyone listen to her? Zoey’s adventures at vampyre finishing school take a wild and dangerous turn as loyalties are tested, shocking true intentions come to light, and an ancient evil is awakened in PC and Kristin Cast’s spellbinding fourth House of Night novel. (Recommended for readers age 13 and older)
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Kiss and makeup after the breakups. Yes, our Zoey lost all of her boyfriends, but she got the Nerd Herd back plus Aphrodite. I’m happy about Stevie Rae who’s back on humanity track and help her fledlings turned to crazy vampires on the tunnel.
Aphrodite had a vision about apocalypse which involves war between vampires and humans. The ancient dark spirit was about to return, chanting songs about the return of the beast with Aphrodite as a medium. It’s got something to do with ancient Cherokee’s fallen angels, as told by Zoey’s grandmother. The Raven Mockers appeared to Zoey & her grandmother, even chanting a lost song that prophesied their father’s return.
One question that still lingers in my head: why the hell did the high priestess can’t recognize that Aphrodite’s mark has disappeared?
Some new characters were introduced. I feel bad for the transfer-fledgling, Stark, who had a fling with Zoey. Bad thing happened to him. Erik’s back, and Aphrodite’s love life blossomed again since Darius stepped in the House of Night.
There’s a major turn of event in this book that changed the fate of House of Night’s fledglings.
The fourth installment of House of Night is more action driven. The romance and the ooey-gooey were put aside. I like Untamed better than the previous installments. The explanation about ancient Cherokee mythology is an eye-opener.
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Good. You’re supposed to read it, and I hope you understand what the hell it means. I never can figure out poetry. It’s all boring bull shit.”
“Free will sometimes sucks.”
[Book Review] Chosen by P.C Cast & Kristin Cast
Title: Chosen (House of Night series #3)
Authors: P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Publisher: ATOM
Published: March 7th, 2009
ISBN: 1905654332
Category: Fiction/Paranormal Romance/Vampire/Fantasy
Website: http://houseofnightseries.com/
Format: Ebook
Book description from bookdepository:
“I guess it had gone okay with Stevie Rae. I mean, she had agreed to meet me tomorrow. And she hadn’t tried to bite me, which was a plus. Of course, the whole trying-to-eat-the-street-person thing was highly disturbing …” Zoey’s best friend, Stevie Rae, is undead – in an eww! zombie! kind-of-way, not in a cool vampire kind-of-way. She’s struggling to retain her humanity and Zoey doesn’t have a clue how to help. But she does know that anything they discover must be kept secret. Trust has become a rare commodity. Sinister forces are at work at the House of Night, where the line between friend and enemy is becoming dangerously blurred. – Not suitable for younger readers –
Thoughts:
Zoey is doing her best to save Stevie Rae, her best friend. Stevie Rae lives in a tunnel with a bunch of other vampirish zombies (or zombieish vampires), ex-fledglings who couldn’t make it to vampirism.
I’m kinda disappointed with Zoey, who slurs ‘H’ word to Aphrodite, but she’s doing a series of slutty things. Aphrodite was caught doing a dirty stuff to Erik in Marked, but at least she did it with Erik only. Zoey who addresses Aphrodite a ‘ho’ is dating Heath and Erik, also has a huge lust on Loren, her teacher. Well, I guess the title should be given to Zoey instead of Aphrodite. And Zoey realized that she’s turning into a ho, which made me laugh.
Aphrodite is replacing Stevie Rae to represents earth, as Erik failed during the rehearsal. Nyx wanted Aphrodite to be. So, she’s the odd among Damien, Shaunee and Erin.
Things turn the other way around. While Zoey lost the person she trusted (Neferet), she gains a new friend (Aphrodite), someone who she can talk to about Stevie Rae.
Together, they try to fix Stevie Rae.
One thing reminds me of the Vampire Diaries: Stevie Rae said she couldn’t enter a house unless invited. I guess the authors should change the method.
The story’s a bit boring and dragging in the first chapters. Things got more tensed in chapter 11. And then the pow-wow bang-bang-boom surprised knocks in chapter 14. Sorry, no spoiler, but my jaw almost dropped. I think that’s the best part of all the three books. I start to take this book seriously.
I was disappointed with Zoey. She’s a mighty goodie-goodie, but she impulsively gives up her virginity without thinking. I thought she would keep it, but I guess it’s true that she’s becoming a ho. But she paid the price. Something fishy about Blake and I was right.
One ridiculous scene is when Zoey’s friends are doing the ritual to fix Stevie Rae. She’s healed (thank goodness) and she got a new tattoo swirling on her face. Then Erin pulls a mirror in her purse. During the critical moment, she brought makeup kit?! I don’t understand. Doesn’t make sense to me.
Overall, the plot is intense and I want to read more.
Quotes from the book:
“So how was Europe?” Calm and collected, Erik draped an arm nonchalantly around my shoulders.
Loren’s smile got wider and he looked from Erik to me. “Not as friendly as it is here.”
Erik, who seemed to be having fun, laughed softly. “Well, it’s not where you go, it’s who you know.”
[Book Review] Betrayed by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Title: Betrayed (House of Night #2)
Authors: P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Published: October 2nd 2007
ISBN: 1429915994
Format: Ebook
Category: Fiction/Paranormal Romance/Vampire/YA
Official Website: http://houseofnightseries.com
Book blurb:
Fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird has managed to settle in at the House of Night. She’s come to terms with the vast powers the vampyre goddess, Nyx, has given her, and is getting a handle on being the new Leader of the Dark Daughters. Best of all, Zoey finally feels like she belongs–like she really fits in. She actually has a boyfriend…or two. Then the unthinkable happens: Human teenagers are being killed, and all the evidence points to the House of Night. While danger stalks the humans from Zoey’s old life, she begins to realize that the very powers that make her so unique might also threaten those she loves. Then, when she needs her new friends the most, death strikes the House of Night, and Zoey must find the courage to face a betrayal that could break her heart, her soul, and jeopardize the very fabric of her world.
Thoughts:
A lot of things going on in the House of Night. The problems were getting intensed. Zoey found a dark secret about Neferet. It had something to do with the death of two boys from Zoey’s former school.
Aphrodite showed her soft side, that she’s not that bad. I think Aphrodite is Zoey’s permanent frenemy. Aphrodite helped Zoey to figure out the dark force which haunted the House of Night.
Zoey also showed her slutty side. She was involved with three guys. How ironic, that she called her sister a ho because she’s a serial dater. Now she becomes one.
Zoey’s friends were blessed with affinity with the four elememts which makes the stronger bond of those fledglings. Neferet said Zoey was lucky to have a strong circle that will help her form a better ‘Dark Daughters’.
I like this one better than the first installment. Some said the book was badly written and it’s oh so shallow. I don’t care. I like this series and I enjoy every part of it.
Can’t wait to read ‘Chosen’.
[Blog Tour] Descension (Mystic, #1) by B.C. Burgess Review + Giveaway
Welcome to the blog tour for Descension organized by B.C. Burgess hosted by AToMR Tours! Descension is the first book in Mystic series.
Descension (Mystic, #1) by B.C. Burgess
Release date: April 4, 2012
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Age Group: YA
Summary:
Finding out you’re the most powerful witch in the world should make things easy, right? Wrong! Join Layla as she abandons her lonely existence in Oklahoma and embraces a life full of magic, love, heartbreak and danger…
The Angel
After three years caring for her dying mother, Layla Callaway learns she was adopted under unusual circumstances. Following a cryptic message to seek her birth family in Oregon, Layla uproots her lonely life, quickly finding she descends from witches and wizards. Magic is in her blood, and a handsome family friend is eager to prove it. Through a ring imprinted with her birth parents’ memories, Layla’s enigmatic past comes to light, presenting possibilities and trials more chimerical than her wildest dreams.The Guardian
Quin’s natural charisma yields plenty of witches, but he longs for the lost witch–-the mysterious Layla. He’s dreamed about her his entire life, envisioning the day he would lay eyes on her face and aura. When that day arrives, not only is he breathless, he’s confronted with the challenge of a lifetime–-an innate need to keep her safe and forever by his side.The Hunter
Employing fiendish manipulation and manpower, Agro uses the arcane force of others to elevate his supremacy and wealth. Nothing pleases him more than latching on to a mystical vein, and never has there been a more enticing source. The divine witch will be his.Stretching from coast to coast and teeming with loathed villains and beloved heroes, Descension is rich with emotion, magic and intrigue. Whether the reader is laughing, crying or falling in love, they’ll find themselves invested in Layla’s fate through the rich dialogue and emotionally driven characters that weave the web of this fiery tale.
Giveaway: 8 ebook copies of Descension (INT)
Review:
The cover is great, so witchy. You can feel what it portrays on the cover.
The book started off slow, but I understand the author wanted to show Layla’s background and the heartache that she felt. Layla had no idea she was adopted. Slowly but sure, she found her soul mate. It’s magical how Layla and Quin found love, and their path leads to the new magical world where witches and wizards live together in harmony.
Layla is likeable. She has the qualities of a heroine in a story.
I also love Aedan and Rose’s story. I think the author should write a book about them. I was blown away.
Agro is the lovely villain. In my imagination, he must be dark, mysteriously handsome with piercing eyes.
It’s an emotional journey and I want to visit Oregon someday.
About the Author
lustandcoffee 