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Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder by Cameron Jace
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What if all you knew about fairy tales was wrong?
Book description of Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder: A Grimm Diaries Prequel as told by Alice Grimm:
Seventeen-year-old Alice Grimm lives a dangerously enchanted live. Other than being distracted by a Dreamhunter called Loki Blackstar who has a heart of gold but acts like a jerk, she has a job to do. Being a descendant of the Brothers Grimm, she is one of few in the world who can locate the fairy tale characters and remind them of who they are. This time, Alice flies to Venice where an 800 hundred year old witch's skeleton surrounded with seventeen glass slippers was found by archeologists in the city that invented the art of glassblowing. When Alice and Loki follow the lead, they find one of the fairy tale characters she had been searching for. It's a famous girl character that you know by name, but never really knew what actually happened to her.
This Grimm Diaries Prequels are a number of short books in the form of epistolary diary entries. The diaries are more of teasers for the upcoming series: The Grimm Diaries, allowing you to get a glimpse of what to expect of the series

Actual rating 3.5 stars.

I promised myself not to write any full reviews until I'm finished with my exam but

and I can't hold on to them anymore.

So, somehow I decided to start with prequel #2 because I was very sure I wouldn't like Snow White Blood Red after reading Karen's review. But then I noticed that I've added the first full book of the series Snow White Sorrow in my TBR list so I thought, maybe I should just jump straight to the second prequel since the blurb doesn't sound alike to the first prequel.

It started off bumpy at first. While it is a novella, after a quarter through the prequel, I was very tempted to shelve it as DNF. It was getting unbelievably ridiculous at that point.

The protag's name is Alice. Her colleague/friend's name is Bella. Wow, the pun was very much intended. Later, I found out that Alice is actually Alice Grimm, the descendant of brothers Grimm and she is also Alice in (wait for it) Wonderland. Oh well, so her name meant to be Alice. But naming her colleague/friend's name as Bella is totally unnecessary!

And a hot guy as Bella put it enters the picture.

And guess what?

His name is Loki. (If you read Snow White Sorrow's blurb, you would guess it right away but somehow I missed it. Sheesh)

And then follows by a line like this, "Shouldn't a Loki have black hair?" said Alice.

"That's like saying shouldn't every hulk green?" replied Bella.

Wait, WHAT???!!! What kind of analogy is that?

Check this one out, this is the most memorable quote so far.
"I tried to, believe me. Every time I watched the lies. I couldn't bring myself to it. I prefer Edward and Bella. At least they are absolutely ridiculous lies we can love."

NO. JUST NO. When it comes to Twilight, ridiculous YES, we can love NO.

Honestly Cameron Jace...you just about to launch your career. Why would you want to ruin it by making all these references to Twilight. Twilight is like a 'taboo' in today's literature, it'll evoke strong reactions. If I really hate Twilight, I'd avoid this book like a plaque, fortunately I'm not (which I'm not proud of). Not to say that hardcore Twilight fans will appreciate these kind of references because check this quote out;

"And by the way, did Edward and Jacob ever make out in that movie?"

*Epic facepalm*

At one point, the spelling mistakes (I wasn't bothered much by the grammar mistakes since I'm never a grammar Nazi myself) got unbearable, so I went to the author's blog to see if he got any explanation for this error. Well, turned out he was unable to hire an editor during publication of this novella. Hmm...I guess it's fine then. I also found out that the edited and revised version of the first two prequels have been updated on Amazon.

Then, I found out that Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder will no longer be prequel #2...



Needless to say, I wasn't happy so I continued anyway because the author sounded very genuine on his blog.

Well, I'm glad I did because the novella gets better after halfway through. Some things still didn't make sense but I iz satisfied overall nonetheless.

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Storm by Brigid Kemmerer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys all the ones she doesn't want. Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread those lies about her. Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different. Way different: he can control water just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They're powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death.
And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca.
Secrets are hard to keep when your life's at stake. When Hunter, the mysterious new kid around school, turns up with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time, Becca thinks she can trust him. But then Hunter goes head-to-head with Chris, and Becca wonders who's hiding the most dangerous truth of all.
The storm is coming

Okay, it's a challenge to write a review after half a month I finished with this book. Ha-ha! It's what you got when you chose to read a book right before a major exam starts.

One thing I vividly remember though...


This book haz it.

Where do I begin...how about THE FIVE HOT GUYS! (Actually, Becca's dad was actually kind of cute until I actually found out his secret).

Well, it didn't reach the point where I found my ovaries were exploding. But, close enough nonetheless. No matter what kind of guys you like, you're in for a ride.

Micheal, the eldest is the father-figure in the bunch. He is protective (overly-protective sometimes) and responsible. If you can ignore his distant and cold aura, that is.

Gabriel, one of the twins is the mini Tony Stark. Genius, billionaire, playboy, philantrophist. Oh wait, minus the genius part.

And the billionaire part.

And...and the philantrophist part too.

Hurmm...I guess Gabriel is not the mini Tony Stark.

He's more like the Human Torch from Fantastic Four, I think. (Oh, Chris Evans! Squeeeeee)

Nicholas!!! The other twin. Don't you dare call him Nicky! It's not even cute. He's my favourite because I aways drawn to nice, nerdy, intelligent guys. With a sense of humour, of course. (Now you know why I remain single, don't you? Haha).

And why? WHY??? Nicholas can't have a book for himself, Brigid Kemmerer? WHY???!!!

And lastly, Chris is the focus of this book. His insecurity makes him such a douche sometimes. But overall, he is this sweet and sensitive guy.

Huh? I totally forgot about Hunter. He is cool, I guess but generally I just don't like blond guys? (Maybe I deserve to be stoned to death for my discrimination but I can't help it!). Believe it or not, he was the one guy who almost managed to get my ovaries to explode. I almost wanted to shove Becca away from Hunter's embrace and whisper "Take me instead, Hunter! I'd wear all those crazy bracelets you have in your possession though I'm not a hippie". Note that I have nothing against hippies.

Sheesh, this review is going nowhere.

ANYWAY, with so many male characters interacting at one time, it was hard for me to exactly pinpoint who is this 'he' and 'him'.

Next, plotwise, this book was going at slowpoke level. I mean, really half of the book had been summarized in the blurb already. I had this "You're so dumb, Becca. Of course, they are Elementals. It's written at the back cover of the book!" moment. But she couldn't possibly know this. Oh, well.

Again, plotwise, the initial chapters are dedicated to one after another testosterone-fueled brawls between the guys and I thought


It didn't help with the fact that I was forced to read what colour Chris' and Gabriel's shirts are and whether Micheal is wearing any slippers or not. God, Becca, the guys are hot I get it, but no need to be overly observant. This kind of writing made Becca looks cheap.

Okay, with so many low points you must be wondering, WHY DID I GIVE THIS FREAKING BOOK FOUR STARS ANYWAY?

It was because of the FUN! It amazed me how closely the dialogues sound like everyday teenage conversations. I actually laughed numerous times due to the guys' snide remarks and Becca's dramatic monologues. Me. Laughing. The stoic me who hardly laugh at jokes.

Quite an achievement, I must say Ms Kemmerer.

But then again, this book is not something I would want my dad to know about because if he found out I'm reading this kind of books, he would bury me alive and seal my coffin shut with adamantium nails.

Why? Because the level of cursing caused me headache at some points.

But my dad is not on GR! So hoorrahhh!!

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Pandora's Key by Nancy Richardson Fischer
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

When everything you believed about yourself is a lie, how do you unlock the truth…
Evangeline Theopolis has nightmares about the violent deaths of women she has never met. Her single mother, Olivia, suffers delusions she can’t hide. And Malledy, a brilliant young man, may have a disease that will leave him paralyzed and insane. Their lives are about to collide.
On Evangeline’s 16th birthday her mother gives her a necklace with an antique key charm—a family heirloom, though no one knows what the key unlocks.
Everything changes. Her mom is hospitalized. Her godmother attempts murder. An ancient Order tries to kill Evangeline, and a lethal sect to kidnap her.
Nothing makes sense—especially Evangeline’s own face, which has morphed from geeky to eerily stunning; the ancient key that feels strangely alive against her skin; and the magical abilities she begins to possess.
Evangeline must use her wits and supernatural powers to fight her deadly adversaries and discover her true identity. But can she accept who she really is and save the world?

This is awkward. I actually don't know how to put things that went wrong for me in words. Me. Zuleeza. A reviewer who always has something to say.

Hmm...it was meh, uninteresting, plain, bland, so-so. Not particularly bad but just meh!

Dammit, I seriously don't know what to write.

The writing was good but not special. The plot made sense most of the time but blatantly predictable. 75% of the plot had actually been summarized in the synopsis itself.

*Another moment of brain freeze*

O-ooukay,...lets move on to the characters. They are uninspiring in general. I seriously wanted to punch Evangeline across the face because it took about a quarter of the book for her to finally accept who she is. And I couldn't understand why she was so reluctant! Of course, it's hard to take in the truth but she witnessed one evidence after another, what else did she want? For the Gods to come down from the sky to tell her the truth?

The rest of the characters are very one-dimensional, just functioned as fillers for me. The villain is just plain psychotic. Why can't we have dynamic villains (and don't forget psychotic) like Loki and the Joker. That would be far more interesting.

Well, this book is like someone I come across the street unnoticed. Nothing to set this apart from other mystery/thriller books lying around in the market.

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Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine . It's where we showcase all the books we can't wait to get our hands on!

Okay, so I decided that I need  some new features on my blog (which right now consists of only reviews! Haha). I am currently asking around a few authors for an interview and/or a book giveaway, so watch out for those!

But right now, the book that is definitely has long grabbing my attention since I set my eyes on its cover is;


Dualed (Dualed #1) by Elsie Chapman.
Release date: February 26th 2013 by Random House

You or your Alt? Only one will survive.
"Dualed" is a thrilling high-concept YA where citizens must prove their worth by killing their Alts--twins raised by other families.
The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage--life. But then a tragic misstep shakes West's confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she's no longer certain that she's the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.
Elsie Chapman's suspenseful debut weaves unexpected romance into a novel full of fast-paced action and thought-provoking philosophy. When the story ends, discussions will begin about this future society where every adult is a murderer and every child knows there is another out there who just might be better.

What worse than the too-far-away release date?
This book is available on NetGalley but I couldn't request it because Random House freaking deny every request from outside U.S.
See? Even I lay my life on the floor for this book I still can't have it now because I don't live in the U.S.

Sobsob. Go on, add this in your TBR list while I silently cry for my unfulfilled desire for this book.

The Moon Dwellers by David Estes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In a desperate attempt to escape destruction decades earlier, humankind was forced underground, into the depths of the earth, creating a new society called the Tri-Realms.
After her parents and sister are abducted by the Enforcers, seventeen-year-old Adele, a member of the middle-class moon dwellers, is unjustly sentenced to life in prison for her parents' crimes of treason.
Against all odds, Adele must escape from the Pen and find her family, while being hunted by a deranged, killing machine named Rivet, who works for the President. She is helped by two other inmates, Tawni and Cole, each of whom have dark secrets that are better left undiscovered. Other than her friends, the only thing she has going for her is a wicked roundhouse kick and two fists that have been well-trained for combat by her father.
At the other end of the social spectrum is Tristan, the son of the President and a sun dweller. His mother is gone. He hates his father. Backed by only his servant and best friend, Roc, he leaves his lavish lifestyle in the Sun Realm, seeking to make something good out of his troubled life.
When a war breaks out within the Tri-Realms, Tristan is thrust into the middle of a conflict that seems to mysteriously follow Adele as she seeks to find her family and uncover her parents true past.
In their world, someone must die.

Some may say that you should never read a book because of the author. But looking at numerous cases of authors throwing temper tantrum throughout this year especially, I'd say, I am one of those people who would read a book because of the author. Call me judgmental, but I think the readers deserve to be appreciated and treated with respect especially when they spent their hard-earned money for your book.

David Estes is one of my GR friends, he was the one who added me. We don't interact very often because usually he read books which I haven't read or have no interest to read. I am not very comfortable with the idea that he has more than 1200++ friends, he rated his own books five stars, he voted for his books on listopia and he likes the positive reviews (I'm not sure what he does to the negative reviews, probably just not responding to them). But I guess as an indie author, you have to be out there, promoting your books, or else who going to do that.

As his updates keep popping on my newsfeed, my initial skepticism slowly diffuses away. He's on GR mostly TO READ, he responds nicely to comments on his updates, he is active in group discussion, and I thought 'Wow! This guy is really nice. I must read his books no matter what'.

I got Angel Evolution sitting on my tablet but as soon as I found out The Moon Dwellers was almost out, I was more drawn to this book as it's the latest and should be the best book yet by David Estes.

So, there you have it, my story of how I decided to pick this up. :)

First, I have to take my words back. This book is nothing like Legend. What made me feel like that at the start was because we got these two main characters coming from two ends of spectrum in a dystopian society, Tristan and Adele. And oh, how sweet the author is to name Adele after his wife's name ^_^

What I liked:

1. I wasn't impressed with the cover at first. But it sort of grows on me. The colour scheme is really nice and IT ACTUALLY FITS WITH THE STORY. Oh well,I guess I'm just tired with girl-in-a-pretty-dress-cover that makes no sense whatsoever with the story itself.

2. The characters. I think this is a first book I've ever read where the male lead actually has a male best friend. And it's so appealing because the bromance is portrayed with such loyalty and purity. My favourite character is Roc, hands down. He's cocky and funny, I think the story would lose its luster without him.

3. The writing was very neat and precise. I read this in the plane, during a transit, in the next plane, and at the airport. I usually have trouble reading in public because for start, I do show my emotions while reading (which is quite embarrassing), second; well, for obvious reason, I need total silence to concentrate on the story. But reading The Moon Dwellers was effortless, you can easily get back to the story if you got distracted. Haha!

4. Some of the scenes were very moving. **Spoilers ahead.** Cole's background, Elsey and Adele reunion, Cole's death, Roc's loyalty. **Spoilers finished**[Coles' background, Elsey and Adele reunion, Coles' death, Roc's loyalty. (hide spoiler)]

5. The romance is very sweet and innocent. Damn it! Tristan is such a sweetheart. To counter the insta love, (see things I didn't like below), the author was very clever to shape Adele and Tristan relationship slowly and steadily after they finally met. They were just holding hands for God sake, and I was already squealing in my seat. It is just so nice to find a book with this kind of clean romance. I'll gladly recommend this book for my 16 years old niece.

6. The fight scenes were told in specific details and well, made sense. Not just, he punches me, I block the blow yada yada.

7. The right emotions were shown by the characters at the right time. For example, **Spoilers ahead.** Adele still remembered the lost of her friend, Cole when she finally be with Tristan. **Spoilers finished**[Adele still remembered the lost of her friend, Cole when she finally be with Tristan. (hide spoiler)]

What I didn't like:
1. Guess it.

It'as if there's an invisible tether between our eyes linking us together."

"There is no doubt I felt something for him. I feel something for him.

"Although from a distance her eyes look dark. I know they are a deep, enchanting green, almost feline. I half expect them to glow in the dark. Nonsense! All nonsense! I can't possibly know what color her eyes are as if I know her. I've never met her."

Oh Lord, the insta love. No, wait. The ala Disney insta love (which is worse). Honestly, I don't know how to keep the story going if the author lets the attraction between Tristan and Adele grows slowly because the story dictates that they hardly had a chance to see each other.

2. This book lacks that special something. While the premise is refreshing, at the end of the book, it reached a point where almost all dystopian books have been there (The Hunger Games, Divergent, Shatter Me).  A chance for a revolution. Again, if we minus that, it would still come short from earning five stars from me because it is not one of those books where I found it impossible to put down and I got a book hungover long after I finished it. It's good, no question about that, but it doesn't stay in my heart.

3. The awkward analogies and similes.
"Have human lives become like a tube of toothpaste? Something to be used up and thrown away?"

"Her beauty resonates from her like radiation from uranium."

4. Sort of. This phase appears 17 times. That's A LOT.

5. Sometimes, the plot just got too convenient. The explosions detonated at the right time, Tristan saw Rivet chasing Adele at the perfect moment and so on. The story seems to be planned, too well planned. I wished for more spontaneity.

So, the verdict: 7 pros versus 5 cons. Congratulations to David Estes for earning more plus points from me; a reviewer who is very hard to be pleased. Hehe.

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Snow White Blood Red by Cameron Jace
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What if all you knew about fairy tales was wrong?
Book description of Snow White Blood Red: A Grimm Diaries Prequel as told by the Snow White Queen:
I have always wondered why you never asked about my name. Was I so superficial to you? So stereotypical and mundane? Why did you treat me as if I were just the monster of the week? You know what I think? You never had the time to really hate me. You wanted to hate me, long before you even met me. You wanted to scrape my existence and avenge your childhood princess by laying all blame on me. What if they didn’t call me the Evil Queen, what if I told you the real story from my point of view instead of hers, would you ever think of me as an angel? Could I ever make you care? I know that deep inside of you, you adore me,but you’re just scared, afraid to admit how much you love the Snow White Queen.
This Grimm Diaries Prequels are a number of short books in the form of epistolary diary entries. The diaries are more of teasers for the upcoming series: The Grimm Diaries, allowing you to get a glimpse of what to expect of the series.

Why 4 stars you asked? I'm surprised myself. I don't know if I'm being biased because I always...

always...

like fairy tales retelling.

I came across this quote in the author's blog;

"...although the prequels were in no way a true reflection to how I write, and as I said I am not a writer. I am storyteller"

At first, I was like, 'arrogant much?'. I mean, of course authors such as J.K. Rowling and J.R.R Tolkien are exceptional storytellers but do you think they can be the best-seller authors of all time of they weren't a good writer in the first place?

So, I thought, hey Snow White Blood Red, come at me bro!

*half an hour later*

There is a freaking rainbow in the author's mind. I enjoyed this thoroughly. (Dammit! I hate being wrong)

I don't know how much of what he'd been telling us in his novellas are facts (as he claimed them to be) but the stories are rich and surprisingly, original.

Somehow, I feel like all the plaigarism accusations directed towards the author turned out to be blessings after all. Because he did mentioned that he wrote the prequels to clear up all those accusations.

For those who haven't started with this series yet, I think it's better to read this particular prequel first, then wait for Snow White Sorrow because personally I think that prequel #2 Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder is better suited to be read before Cinderella Dressed in Ashes but I could be wrong.

And as ridiculously as this may sound, you may need to read the author's blog to sort of understand what was going on (sort of like a companion book).

Note to the author: No, I didn't appreciate the reference to Lady Gaga. It was so awkward and out of place. And I think with a good editor and a good planning, you can go far. (Honestly, you can't keep changing things - the order of the prequels, the number of the prequels, the length of how long your books will be free on Amazon, it's very, very confusing)

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Shift by Em Bailey
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Olive Corbett is definitely NOT crazy.
Not anymore. These days she takes her meds like a good girl, hangs out with her best friend Ami, and stays the hell away from the toxic girls she used to be friends with.
She doesn’t need a boyfriend. Especially not a lifesaver-type with a nice smile. And she doesn’t need the drama of that creepy new girl Miranda, who has somehow latched on to Olive's ex-best friend.
Yet from a distance, Olive can see there's something sinister about the new friendship. Something almost... parasitic. Maybe the wild rumours ARE true. Maybe Miranda is a killer.
But who would believe Olive? She does have a habit of letting her imagination run away with her…

Mother of God...Okay, I did give 2 stars because usually I gave one star for books which I couldn't even finish.

*Sigh* It's so confusing, I mean, I finished this book within hours (which is very quick to my standard) but there was hardly any plot at all! Gosh, I should have ditch the book but there was something that drawn me into.

Answers...

...which I didn't get even long after I finish this book.

******Spoilers ahead******

What happened to the teacher?(can't remember her name, the one with a cup of herbal tea). Who is Miranda exactly? Of course she's a shapeshifter but what is her modus of operandi? What happened to Dallas? Miranda didn't take his form. What actually happened to Loony Oony? Who called Noah, Olive's boss? Why Olive's mom prevent her dad from seeing her? Why she attempted suicide in the first place?[What happened to the teacher?(can't remember her name, the one with a cup of herbal tea). Who is Miranda exactly? Of course she's a shapeshifter but what is her modus of operandi? What happened to Dallas? Miranda didn't take his form. What actually happened to Loony Oony? Who called Noah, Olive's boss? Why Olive's mom prevent her dad from seeing her? Why she attempted suicide in the first place? (hide spoiler)]

The writing wasn't bad. Just okay. Not much maturity. The characters seemed distant from the readers too (well, at least for me). The setting was kind of close to heart since the author and I both reside in Australia. Other than that, I found it hard to relate with the story. On the plus side, it feels good to read a stand-alone book. I read too many books within a series lately.

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