Thursday, November 27, 2014

HAPPY EAT-TIL-I-DIE (THANKSGIVING) DAY, EVERONE!!!


Here's something for you all:
I'm thankful for each and every single one of you who is following me and those who are reading this! *Pst, you should follow if you have not! ;)*


I hope you all are having some AMAZING time with your loved ones and remember, THIS IS THE DAY WHEN YOU EAT A LOT AND DON'T GIVE A SH*T ABOUT YOUR WEIGHT OR DIETARY!!


Hope to see you soon in our upcoming posts!
BYE~
EAT A LOT!! ;)


**PS: Gif credits goes to their rightful owner, I do not own them.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

✿ Stacking The Shelves (#1) | DEMBOOKSANDBUNS ✿



Want to know how to get free books? CLICK HERE!


PURCHASED:


              

              

The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell (from Goodwill)
Untold (Lynburn Legacy Series) by Sarah Rees Brennan (from Goodwill)
A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrend (from Goodwill)
Sisters by Raina Telgemeier (from Barnes and Noble)
Total spent: $18


FOR REVIEW:
(Publishers/Authors)

              

Last Train to Babylon by Charlee Fam (from HarperCollins)
The Divorce Papers by Susan Rieger (from BloggingForBooks)


GIVEAWAY:
(All from Goodreads)

              



Evelyn's Journal by MJ Gardner (from MJ Gardner)
The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas (from Sherry Thomas) SIGNED!
Romancing the Billionaire by Jessica Clare (from Berkley/NAL)

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I'm so excited to read and make a review on all of these books!! ^^
What do you think of my first Stacking the Shelves?
Have you heard of any of these books?
If you've read any, what do you think of it?
Bye y'all~

 LAST POST: How To Get Books for Free 

Saturday, November 15, 2014

✔ Where I Got My Free Books?! (How To Get Books for Free) | Guides & Advices ✔

Hey there all you beautiful souls~

You're here probably because you're curious on how to get free books mail to you. So without any longer thoughts, let's get going.
PS: These are just from my experience on what does work, because I know some websites make you pay for the memberships and all.

1) Goodreads
Seriously though, if you have never of Goodreads, have you been living under a rock?! Haha just kidding! There is a system called First Reads, the absolutely awesome part of Goodreads that most people don't know about, and there is TONS and TONS of books for you to win. How to enter is super easy, you can simply put your address, and press "Enter" to have a chance at winning books (some are even signed and come with SWAG)!
PS: I've won over 30 books within 3 months!! *o*

Some Books I've Won from Goodreads:
- Evelyn's Journal by MJ Gardner
- The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas (signed and bookmark)
- Romancing the Billionaire by Jessica Clare ❤

2) Blogging For Books
Just like the name, you can choose a book (only 1 book a time), they will send you the book in exchange for an honest review! One thing I don't adore about this website is that it doesn't have a big collection of books for you to choose from.. But I mean, FREE BOOK!

Books I've Received from Bloggingforbooks:
- The Divorce Papers by Susan Rieger

3) Bloggers/Youtuber's Giveaways
Many bloggers/youtubers out there receive extra copies on books that they reviewed and they hold giveaways for their readers! But I personally don't like entering those kind of giveaway a lot, because it always make you follow them to get entries, which is too much work for me.. XD

Books I've won:
- Any books of my choice within $20 from KellyBookSpills's giveaway!!
(WATCH THE WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT [HERE])

4) Request from Publisher
This one is probably the best option if you want a specific book to review!
I sent a request to HarperCollins asking for a copy of a book to review, and AMAZINGLY, after 4-5 days, a package came to me! I was extremely thankful and excited~

Books I've Received from Publishers:
- Last Train to Babylon by Charlee Fam

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Hope this somehow help y'all! ^^
If you have any other that works, please share it with me~
Bye bye~

 LAST POST: October Book Favorites 2014 

Saturday, November 1, 2014

❤ DEMBOOKSANDBUNS | October Book Favorites 2014 | Monthly Favorites ❤

Hi guys!
It's Tran here, and I'm back with another post, my book monthly favorites for October~
BOO!!

I didn't read that much suspense/horror books despise the holiday, but I still did catch up on some books that I've been dying to finish!

1)
Ten by Gretchen McNeil

I borrowed this book from my school library, and was HOOKED in it! A great suspense horror book that give you chills!

2)
Right of Way by Lauren Barnholdt

This is not exactly horror, but I still loved it! A great summer read to kick the scary holidays away!
(FULL REVIEW)

3)
The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

This book is so cheesy that it gave me the shudder every time! Also another summer read~

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These three books are some great books that I read this month!
Tell me some books that YOU read~

LAST POST: The Distance Between Us by Kasie West Review

❤ The Distance Between Us by Kasie West | Book Review ❤


The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

Publisher: HarperCollins (Harper Teen)
Released Date: July 2, 2013
Pages: 320
Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit
Format & Source: eBook from King County Library System

Kasie West is the author of Pivot Point, On The Fence, The Fill-In Boyfriend, etc.

SUMMARY: (cr. Goodreads)
Money can't buy a good first impression.

Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers learned early that the rich are not to be trusted. And after years of studying them from behind the cash register of her mom's porcelain-doll shop, she has seen nothing to prove otherwise. Enter Xander Spence—he's tall, handsome, and oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and the fact that he seems to be one of the first people who actually gets her, she's smart enough to know his interest won't last. Because if there's one thing she's learned from her mother's warnings, it's that the rich have a short attention span. But just when Xander's loyalty and attentiveness are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn't a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she'd ever realized. With so many obstacles standing in their way, can she close the distance between them?

Before Reading:
First of all, let me talk about the cover. I am a sucker for cute/girly covers, and this cover got my attention! Here's the thing, the cover has NOTHING to do with the story, AT ALL! I looked at the cover thinking this is a book about a poor boy and rich/spoiled girl, well not really spoiled but, you know~ In the book, Xander is a guy who most of the time, wear suits. And Caymen rarely wear dress, especially pink girly ones.. Also, the title got me thinking that this book must revolve around a long distance relationship, not the best title, but it does have meaning after you read the book!

While Reading:
I adore Caymen's wit and sarcasm! And their conversation got me smiling every time. :) And Xander, OH BOY XANDER, he is such a hottie! He is so full of himself in such a good way that I fell for him, gotta say one of my top Fictional Crush. I mean, who wouldn't want to have a Xander in front of their house every morning, give them a cup of hot chocolate, and share an indirect kiss! ;D
As much as I enjoy Xander and Cayme love story, the progress between Caymen and her mom keep me going. It was realistic! Parents always want to keep their children from experiencing what they themselves went through before, especially when the result is never good, but they don't know that each person's life is different!

Evaluation:
I give this book a 3.5 buns out of a 5 buns. 

It took me a week to finish this book, mostly because I had a lot of tests, but the book itself doesn't have any interesting twist and turn for me to anticipate.. 
I like this book, simple and cute! If you like one of those rich boy/poor girl, cheesy love stories, this book is for you!

Review by Tran Vo

Saturday, October 25, 2014

❤ Right of Way by Lauren Barnholdt | Book Review ❤


Right of Way by Lauren Barnholdt

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Released Date: July 9th, 2013
Pages: 320
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Road Trip
Format & Source: eBook from King County Library System

Lauren Barnholdt wrote many great and famous Young Adult Chick Lit such as Two-Way Street, One Night That Changes Everything, Through To You, etc...

SUMMARY: (cr. Goodreads)
Can a road trip repair a romance gone wrong? Find out in this standalone companion to Lauren Barnholdt’s Two-way Street.
Here are Peyton and Jace, meeting on vacation. Click! It’s awesome, it’s easy, it’s romantic. This is the real deal.
Unless it isn’t. Because when you’re in love, you don’t just stop calling one day. And you don’t keep secrets. Or lie. And when your life starts falling apart, you’re supposed to have the other person to lean on.
Here are Peyton and Jace again, broken up but thrown together on a road trip. One of them is lying about the destination. One of them is pretending not to be leaving something behind. And neither of them is prepared for what’s coming on the road ahead…

Before Reading:
I found this book while browsing through my online Library eBook section! I thought the author name was really familiar. Knowing that Google is my best friend, I did some research, and found out that Lauren Barnholdt also wrote Two-Way Street, one of my favorite book in my Wishlist. I also found out that this was the 'Companion novel' to Two-Way Street, so I thought I should be familiar with all of the characters after I finish this book, Right of Way, and decided to check it out.

While Reading:
I cringe a lot at the cheesiness of the romance and all, but one thing I adore from this book is the 'playing hard to get' game between Peyton and Jace! Be honest, who think Hector is the cutest fictional dog ever raise your hand! *raise mine immediately*
The ending wasn't satisfying also.. So throughout the book, Peyton was being stubborn because her mom used her name to buy stuffs, but in the end, I still don't know how she fix that. So the main reason why she left because she's mad at her mom, was to end with her coming to Jace's house.. WHAT?

Here is one thing to keep in mind while reading this book, every 2 chapters, the present tense and past tense is going to switch. So it'll be like: Chapter 1 - Jace POV (flashback), then the date and the time. Chapter 2 - Peyton POV (flashback), Chapter 3 - Peyton POV (present), Chapter 4 - Jace POV (present), and it just goes on like that..

I found it annoying when she repeat their thought when it is exactly the same..
Displaying photo 1.PNG
~~
Displaying photo 3.PNG
I'm like "Okay! I got it, they still like each other! I can tell!!".


Evaluation:
I give this book 3.5 buns out of 5 buns.

I personally adore books that revolve around a road trips, because I think the romance is more 'adventurous' and challenging! Although, it was also disappointing when I finished the book and not a single road trip-adventure happened in the book.. The story line was about her running away because she was mad at her mom, but at the end of the book, it ends with her coming to Jace's house.. -.- I thought she would either end up at North Carolina with Jace or Jace would bring her home to Connecticut..

If you want to read this book because you like Road Trip fictions, don't! The ending is disappointing.. Anyway, if you just want to read Lauren Barnholdt's work, this book would be great to read in the summer!

Quote(s) I like:
Displaying photo 2.PNG
(Lol, why is this so depressing.. xD)
Review by Tran Vo

❤ If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince? by Melissa Kantor | Book Review ❤


If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince? by Melissa Kantor

Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Released Date: September 1, 2005
Pages: 288
Target Audience: Teens, Young adults, Romance, Fairy tale
Format & Source: Hardcover from my Grandpa/Aunt

Melissa Kantor is the author of Confessions of a Not It Girl, which was chosen as the Booklist Top Ten Romance Novel for Youth in 2004.

SUMMARY: (cr. Goodread)
Wicked stepmother? Check. Evil stepsisters? Check. Miserable life? Check.

Lucy Norton’s life has all the makings of a Cinderella story. Her dad’s always away on business, leaving Lucy with her cruel stepmother and bratty stepsisters. She’s burdened with chores, and has a hard time fitting in at her new school. So when she sees Connor Pearson, the star player on the varsity basketball team, Lucy hopes her destiny has finally changed. With everything else going on in her life, doesn’t she at least deserve to get the handsome prince?

Before Reading:
Before I actually read the summary in the inside flap of the book, I thought this would be one of those 'old school' books with a plain and boring plot. The title was pretty clear to me that is book is a making of Cinderella. Even after when I finished the book, I still don't see a connection between the cover picture and the story line.. For those like me who judge books base on their cover, don't miss understand the black and white theme on the front!

While Reading:
My feels were all over the places and I cried a lot, especially the part when her dad gave Lucy her mother's painting for her, I felt as if somehow I can relates to that pain. My mom wasn't always by my side throughout my whole childhood, and I was going through a face of puberty, which left me thinking I was useless and no one cares about me, when in reality, I was the one who is pushing others away.

This book was written in the third person point of view. For me, I would pick this book as a Young Adult Romance Contemporary Chick Lit! I like a how from the beginning, she was a selfish and rude girl, and toward the end, she changed completely, she became way nicer and think of other people before herself. 


Evaluation:
I give this book 3 buns out of 5 buns!

This book contains a lot of emotional teen issues, but it also made me giggle like a little kids and shudder at the cheesy but cute romance. I don't know why a lot of people does not like this book, but this book was one of the first young adult romance book I've ever read, and it inspired me to read more books like this. Yes, the plot was predictable and the character wasn't really 'friendly', but I love the message that the author wants to leave for the readers. I'll definitely check out her other books too.

If you want a humorous but emotional YA Romance all in one, this would be PERFECT for you. I think age from 13 to 18 would like this book. 

Quote(s) I like:
- "After all, what did Prince Charming know about Cinderella besides her shoe size?"


Review by Tran Vo