SG Bookdeals Books Box Sale 2017 + Recap

Hello everyone!

It's summer 2017, and that means...

THE RETURN OF THE BOOKS BOX SALE*!!!!

*previously called the Warehouse sale.

This sale is absolutely amazing because there are so many categories and so many genres of books available for a pretty good price! I went last year and the year before that, so I knew that I would be in for a treat this time round too. I got the wonderful opportunity to be invited to the media preview again, so I can tell you: no disappointments here, for sure.

This is just the YA section of the sale, folks. Yeah–it's HUGE.

I spotted so many amazing titles–my TBR pile is crying, but I'm a very, VERY happy Rabiah.

The Raven King was one of the titles I picked up. There were several titles from Simon & Schuster, Electric Monkey, Candlewick, and several other major publishers!

As I mentioned, there are several other categories of books at the sale. Look at this mouth-watering array of cookbooks!

I basically died when I saw the colouring book section. SO. MANY. COLOURING. BOOKS.

I came home with more than a few gems:

Like I said: so many fantastic books available! They really wanted to make sure that there were no repeats of titles from last year's sale, and it shows: I found so many amazing new titles this time round, and I seriously can't wait to go through this delicious pile.

Books Box Sale Info:

Dates: August 4th until August 13th
Timings: 1pm-6pm Mon-Fri ; 10am-6pm Sat, Sun & Public Holidays
Prices: 1 book for $8, 3 for $20, a box for $50*
*all the books I got fit in one box!!
Address: Level 3, Pansing Building - No. 438 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, Industrial Park 1, Singapore 569619

There's a special deal for students! 
"To encourage young people to get into the habit of reading, [they] are giving away 100 books per day to students. To be redeemed with their student pass. Limited to ONE book per student.
This offer is valid from 4 to 13 Aug during the public sale hours (not valid during private sale)."

The flash sale is back!
Check out the special area at the sale for amazing deals, especially on children's books and coffee table books.

Check out more details at SG Bookdeal's Facebook page or Instagram.

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Thank you so much to Sasha and Samantha!

Waiting on Wednesday – Week 192

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

This week's WoW is:

The Window by Amelia Brunskill

Anna is everything her identical twin, Jess, is not. The same on the outside, yet so completely different inside—it’s hard to believe that the girls are even sisters, let alone twins. But they are. And they tell each other everything.

Or so Jess thought.

After Anna falls to her death while sneaking out her bedroom window, Jess’s life begins to unravel. Everyone says Anna’s death was a tragic accident, but to Jess, that doesn’t add up. Where was Anna going? Who was she meeting? And how long had Anna been lying to her? 

And as Jess digs deeper, she learns that the answers she’s looking for may contain dark truths that no one else wants her to find.

April 3, 2018 ● Goodreads

I seriously can't get enough of thrillers recently, and this one sounds like another winner. I love the simple yet creepy cover, as well as the promise of suspense, mystery and twists. Can't wait!

What are you waiting on?

Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi

Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi

Release Date: October 2, 2012
Publisher: Harper
Series: Shatter Me, Book 1.5
Rated: YA 14+
Format: Paperback (part of Unite Me)
Source: Borrowed
Buy: Amazon
Goodreads ● Website

Read my review of Shatter Me HERE.

Back at the base and recovering from his near-fatal wound, Warner must do everything in his power to keep his soldiers in check and suppress any mention of a rebellion in the sector. Still as obsessed with Juliette as ever, his first priority is to find her, bring her back, and dispose of Adam and Kenji, the two traitors who helped her escape. But when Warner’s father, The Supreme Commander of The Reestablishment, arrives to correct his son’s mistakes, it’s clear that he has much different plans for Juliette. Plans Warner simply cannot allow.

Okay, so NOW I get the whole Team Warner thing. Not completely on board over here, but my goodness does a novella in his perspective make me more sympathetic towards him. I'm still a little meh with the idea of novellas, because while it's nice to read the extra bits part of the story, because if you miss out on reading them you sort of miss out on part of the story. Anyway, it was short, and I thought pretty important to the plot.

I remember some review mentioning that this book shifted them to Team Warner (or at least was a cause of that change), so I knew that it was crucial to read this one. I do like that the book was from his point of view. We learn so much more about some of the events that took place in Shatter Me from his perspective, and from that it humanises him a more than just a little bit. We also get introduced to his father, who makes Warner in Shatter Me look like a puppy.

I'm definitely more pumped to read the second book after reading Destroy Me, because I'm curious to see how it all turns out with this complicated antagonistic figure and his feelings towards Juliette.

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Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Release Date: November 15, 2011
Publisher: Harper
Series: Shatter Me, Book 1
Rated: YA 14+
Format: Paperback
Source: Gifted
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website

I have a curse
I have a gift

I am a monster
I'm more than human

My touch is lethal
My touch is power

I am their weapon
I will fight back

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Before I begin, can I just say how glad I am they changed the cover? I love a good dress on a cover, don't get me wrong, but the new series covers are BEAUTIFUL. Also, I just think that this one in general didn't fit the entire vibe of the book, so yay for actual good cover changes in a series. Anyway, I read this one a super long time ago because my amazing friend gave it to me for my birthday, and while I didn't write a review on it, I'm kind of guessing that I enjoyed it because of the 5-star rating I gave it on Goodreads. I never actually continued with the series, and in a desperate attempt to avoid spoilers FOR LIFE, I'm actually trying to get through series that I've neglected over time. Well, it's the same case as was my re-read of Fallen–I understand why I loved it so much back then, but now I have some problems with the book. Doesn't mean I didn't hate it! I enjoyed a lot of the story, but there were just a few issues I had with the book here and there.

Okay, so I'm kind of half-and-half on the writing. On one hand, it's beautiful. I love the descriptions, because sometimes they're really something else. However, flowery language shouldn't be confused for good language. I feel like a lot of it was overdone and overly descriptive when it didn't need to be. With emotions, sure. But for every single movement? Not necessary. I didn't really need to know how every action that Adam made affected Juliette. It was also kind of repetitive, which was kind of annoying, so I'm hoping that the rest of the series sorts that out. I did like the style of writing though, with the crossed out parts–it made reading Shatter Me a different experience.

As for the characters, I can't say that I have any complaints. Other than the slightly irritating voice of Juliette through the descriptions, I think they all were pretty solid. I liked Juliette, I liked Adam, I loved to hate Warner (I've heard whispers of spoilers of him later in the series, so I'm curious to see how it all plays out), so it was pretty good all around. I LOVED Kenji though, I gotta say. I love a hilarious character in the midst of a serious situation, and I remember loving him the first time I read this book, too.

What I missed in this book, however, was the world building. Like, what even happened to this world? On one hand, the mystery sort of adds to it, but when the characters are sort of running around here and there, it's like um–what does this scene even look like? How's the state of everything on the outside??? World-building is definitely a must for dystopian books because they distort the reality we live in to present potential problems, so give us a visible setting to visualise it clearly please!

All in all, I'm super excited to continue on with the series. I finally get to see what all the hype was about, and finish one of the big, blockbuster series that EVERYONE used to talk about. Shatter Me, despite my thoughts on the writing and somewhat lack of world building, is a promising start to a series, and I know I'm in for an emotional and thrilling ride.

If you like this, try...

• Glitch by Heather Anastasiu ● Goodreads
• Cinder by Marissa Meyer ● Goodreads

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