It’s that time of year again: Exams!

Hello!

This is probably the billionth time I’ve posted an exams hiatus post on my blog. But that just means y’all are seeing me grow up :) These are actually my final exams for high school. EVER. Yay! Bad news is though, now there’s university exams to look forward to... oh joy.

By the way, ANNOUNCEMENT: 

I have officially decided to attend Boston University, for a major in Film and TV! 

I’m super excited, and to be honest still a little freaked out to be moving halfway around the world, but it also does mean I get to be closer to many of y’all :)

Anyway, exams actually started a week ago, I’m only posting this now, because after this, there will officially be no more posts until I return... which will be the 21st of May, after the French (and my final!) exam.

So to my fellow-IB-exam-takers: Good Luck! We can do this!!

And to the rest of you, I’ll see you in less than two weeks :)

Best,
Rabiah

Waiting on Wednesday – Week 111

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It’s to spotlight upcoming books that I’m DYING to get my hands on!

This week’s WoW is:

Talon by Julie Kagawa

Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.

October 28, 2014 ● Goodreads

I’m a HUGE fan of Julie Kagawa and her books! I loved the The Iron Fey series, and have yet to read her spin-off series, The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten, as well as The Blood of Eden series, but I’m definitely looking forward to this one :) Sounds amazing and I don’t think I’ve read a book about dragons recently!

What are you waiting on?

Torn Away Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown

Release Date: May 6, 2014
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Rated: YA 14+
Format: eGalley
Source: NetGalley
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website

Born and raised in the Midwest, Jersey Cameron knows all about tornadoes. Or so she thinks. When her town is devastated by a twister, Jersey survives -- but loses her mother, her young sister, and her home. As she struggles to overcome her grief, she's sent to live with her only surviving relatives: first her biological father, then her estranged grandparents.


In an unfamiliar place, Jersey faces a reality she's never considered before -- one in which her mother wasn't perfect, and neither were her grandparents, but they all loved her just the same. Together, they create a new definition of family. And that's something no tornado can touch.

I agree with Giselle's (Xpresso Reads) advice in her review of Torn Away: I STRONGLY recommend not reading the blurb. It actually gives a lot of the story away! But even so, I really enjoyed this book. I’ve never been in a twister or tornado before. The only natural disaster I’ve been in would have to be a typhoon back when I was living in the Philippines. I constantly hear about these happening in the south of the US and the pictures really show how destructive these can be. It was really moving – and scary quite frankly – to read about Jersey’s experience in Torn Away dealing with and the after-effects of this natural disaster.

This was a really short read, and for that reason I felt that it might have packed a LOT in too few pages. I honestly thought it should have been slightly longer, because I mean, it barely scraped the bucket of emotions I was looking forward to reading about, especially character development. This was the only thing I would have really improved, but oh well, there’s still a lot to take in with this novel!
Jersey was a great character, but she didn’t come without her flaws. I understand that she’s completely lost everything, but does she need to be so bugging and relentless all the time? It was near the end where I started to hate her (you’ll see why). Obviously at the end, I came to finally like her, but otherwise she can be a little bit too mean. There are several other characters in the book that you come across, some of them great, some of them awful, so there’s a whole palette of emotions and reactions to go around.

What I did love was the scene of the tornado. It was, as I’d mentioned before, very vivid and detailed, and you could really feel Jersey’s fear coming off the pages. It was one of best written scenes of the book and I could imagine myself in that situation because of the wonderful and horrifying descriptions Jennifer Brown has incorporated.

A story that comes from the heart, Torn Away will blow readers away. Raw and powerful, do NOT hesitate to pick this one up because it will hold you tightly in it’s grasp long after you’ve finished reading. This was my first Jennifer Brown novel, and it definitely won’t be my last.

If you like this, try...

• If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch ● Goodreads
• Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer ● Goodreads

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JENNIFER BROWN

Two-time winner of the Erma Bombeck Global Humor Award (2005 & 2006), Jennifer's weekly humor column appeared in The Kansas City Star for over four years, until she gave it up to be a full-time young adult novelist. 

Jennifer writes and lives in the Kansas City, Missouri area, with her husband and three children.

Website ● Twitter ● Facebook

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Giveaway time!

Thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, one person can win...

a paperback copy of Torn Away!

Unfortunately, as the publisher is mailing this, it is open to the US ONLY

Enter via the Rafflecopter below

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Thank you to IFB Tours for having me along! 

Follow the rest of the tour by clicking on the tour banner at the top of the post or by clicking HERE.

Chantress Alchemy Blog Tour: Review + Dream Cast + Giveaway

Chantress Alchemy by Amy Butler Greenfield

Release Date: May 6, 2014
Publisher: Margaret K McElderry Books
Series: Chantress Trilogy, Book 2
Rated: YA 14+
Format: eGalley
Source: Edelweiss
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository ● Kindle ● B&N
Goodreads ● Website

Read my review of Chantress HERE

Lucy is the last Chantress, the only remaining girl who can sing magic into the world. Since she defeated the evil Lord Scargrave, England has changed—and not for the better. With crops failing and the people rebelling, Lucy is called urgently back to King Henry’s court. His Inner Council is convinced that making gold through alchemy will save England. But a critical element to the alchemical process has been stolen. Lucy is tasked with finding it with her magic… or else. And until she succeeds, the castle is on lockdown.

Court too has changed. Scargrave's brutal Chantress-hunter has become King Henry's closest advisor. Lucy’s beloved Nat has fallen out of favor and is shunned by his colleagues; their romance means trouble for both of them. Worst of all, something goes wrong with Lucy’s magic. The palace is a labyrinth, and there’s a monster at its heart — a monster who may have the power to defeat Lucy once and for all. 

Amy Butler Greenfield returns to the beguiling world of Chantress for a suspenseful tale of courtly intrigue, music, and magic in Chantress Alchemy.

I may have had some problems (tiny ones) with the first book, Chantress, but holy moly, Chantress Alchemy was AH-MAY-ZING. So much happened and I’m still reeling it all in! It definitely keeps you on your toes with a classic who-dun-it with larger consequences.
When I heard that alchemy was going to be apart of the book (duh, the title should have been a big giveaway for me...), I got super excited! Nope, I’m not smart enough to actually know really anything about the subject. Heck, I don’t even take a proper science subject! But I do love the topic of Nicholas Flamel (the subject and main character of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel and mention in the first book of Harry Potter) and so to integrate that into this story created a much richer backdrop, as well as built up the time period and context.

Speaking of– my main problems with the first book were to do with the fact that there was no character development and world-building. THIS BOOK HAS ANSWERED MY PRAYERS! I fell in love with the characters and was able to imagine the setting so clearly. I love how much history has been put into this book, and it just gives it so much more depth that (aside from the magic and paranormal) it breathes a century's worth of famous figures and stories.
Character-wise, I think that Lucy has had a huge improvement. I got kind of annoyed with her in the first book because she was so rash and thought about herself a lot, and made a lot of stupid decisions while she was at it. True, at the start, she is like Chantress-Lucy again. But there was so much character development! I feel so much more comfortable with Lucy as a protagonist now, because I’ve been able to see her mature in this instalment, and I can’t wait to see what she’ll do next in the final book of the trilogy.

I read in an interview that Greenfield liked this book a lot because of the developing romance between Lucy and Nat. That was something that I was absolutely looking forward to this book, and I was not disappointed. It seemed kind of stale and very G-rated in the last book, and there really was no connection between the two of them. I like how it progresses and continues to grow (leaving you with a somewhat heart-pounding ending), and again, I’m excited to see where their relationship will end up.

Holy hells, there’s only one thing I can say about the twist in this book: 

I. DID. NOT. SEE. THAT. COMING.

Chantress Alchemy was, well, an enCHANTing read. Exquisite details, vivid emotions, and characters so real you can feel them breathe out of the pages. Greenfield’s follow-up is brilliant, spellbinding and flawless, and her words leave you hanging and hungry for more. It will be sad to see the trilogy end, but I’m eagerly waiting to devour more.

If you like this, try...

• Maid of Secrets by Jennifer McGowan ● Goodreads
• The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas ● Goodreads

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AMY BUTLER GREENFIELD

Amy Butler Greenfield was a grad student in history when she gave into temptation and became a writer. Since then, she has become an award-winning author. 

Amy grew up in the Adirondack Mountains and later studied history at Williams College, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Oxford. She now lives with her family in England, where she writes, bakes double-dark-chocolate cake, and plots mischief.

Website ● Goodreads ● Twitter ● Facebook

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My Dream Cast for Chantress Alchemy

by Rabiah

I think it’s been forever since I’ve actually done a dream cast, and I LOVE that it’s going to be for Chantress Alchemy. The number of possibilities of leads and supporting actors... not to mention drooling over endless pictures of really cute actors *swoon*. Anyway, here’s who I would cast!

Georgie Henley as Lucy

I think it might be her association with Lucy from The Chronicles of Narnia, but this is who I was picturing when reading Chantress and Chantress Alchemy. Plus, she’s just a little bit older than the character, so luckily it’s not someone who’s like close to 30.

Emily Watson as Norrie

After seeing her play Rosa Hubermann in The Book Thief, I thought she was PERFECT to play Norrie: She’s stubborn and scolds, but she still really loves and cares for Lucy. She does have a strict-ish face, doesn’t she?

Callan McAuliffe as Nat

It was SUPER difficult to cast Nat. I actually spent the longest time trying to find someone to play him! Everyone was too young, too old, too-not-Nat, and of course (naturally) there needs to be a swoon-factor. I’ve seen McAuliffe in Flipped and I Am Number Four, and think he would make a really great Nat! :D

Toby Regbo as King Henry

King Henry is only slightly older than Lucy, so of course a young actor was needed. Being a fan of the TV show Reign, I immediately thought that Regbo would be perfect for the part. He looks so different with a beard, so either version of him (shaven or unshaven) would work. A little humour on the side: he does play the heir to France in Reign and his father is called King Henry in the show!

Sean Connery as Penebrygg

It seems though that this is a little bit of a *slower* role for Connery... I had a really tough time trying to find the perfect actor for Penebrygg and he was the closest to who I thought of when reading!

Ed Skrein as Wrexham

Wrexham in the book is described to be built as a Viking and has that blunt, cocky character. I totally thought of Ed Skrein as him when I first read of his character. I’ve seen Skrein on Game of Thrones (he was the original Daario in season 3) and he’s perfect for the role.

Saoirse Ronan as Sybil (1)

Initially I thought Saoirse could play Lucy, but Lucy’s hair was much darker, so when I stumbled upon Sybil’s character I thought OMG she could totally be her! She looks a lot older and more “regal”. But another actress I also had in mind for Sybil was...

Natalie Dormer as Sybil (2)

Even though she’s a lot older than the part, she DEFINITELY doesn’t look like it. I’ve seen her play Margaery on Game of Thrones, and she looks young and sweet... but of course, has her manipulative ways. I totally imagined her when there were conversations between Sybil and Lucy!

Sam Claflin as Lord Gabriel

I’m forgetting what colour hair Lord Gabriel has in the book, but brunette or blonde, Sam Claflin can definitely work both colours! Loved him in Pirates 4 and Catching Fire, and I think he could be a charming and slightly cocky Lord Gabriel.

Jeremy Irons as Sir Isaac

Again, like Penebygg a bit more weathered, more mature, and I thought that Irons could totally pull it off (obviously), but also for the fact that he can totally do dynamic!

Guys... now I really want this movie!!

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Giveaway time!

What’s up for grabs?? Well, you could win...

(1) Hardback of Chantress Alchemy (INT)

(1) Hardback of Chantress Alchemy (US ONLY)

Enter via the rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Check out the other stops on the tour! Click on the tour banner at the top of the post or on the button below to see what else is going on:

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Thank you so much to FFBC tours for having me along!