Review: Once a Witch [Witch, book 1]

Title:      Once a Witch [Witch, book 1]

Author:  Carolyn MacCullough
Rating:   ★★★★

It took me a while to read Once a Witch because honestly, the start was pretty boring. After a couple of months, I picked it up again because I was looking for a book to fulfill my 2013 Witch and Witchcraft Challenge. I am actually surprised that I enjoyed it! The plot wasn't attractive for me from the start, but after a few chapters, I found myself unwilling to put the book down.

Tamsin Greene comes from a long line of witches, and she was supposed to be one of the most Talented among them. But Tamsin's magic never showed up. Now seventeen, Tamsin attends boarding school in Manhattan, far from her family. But when a handsome young professor mistakes her for her very Talented sister, Tamsin agrees to find a lost family heirloom for him. The search—and the stranger—will prove to be more sinister than they first appeared, ultimately sending Tamsin on a treasure hunt through time that will unlock the secret of her true identity, unearth the sins of her family, and unleash a power so vengeful that it could destroy them all. This is a spellbinding display of storytelling that will exhilarate, enthrall, and thoroughly enchant.

---

Review: Much Ado About Magic [Enchanted Inc, book 5]

Title:     Much Ado About Magic [Enchanted Inc, book 5]

Author:  Shanna Swendson

Rating:  ★★★★1/2

Enchanted Inc is one of my favorite series because it's a mixture of my love for chick lit, a good witchy story, and magic. Plus, Owen Palmer is just so adorable, I couldn't help but add him to my book boyfriends. Thankfully, Much Ado About Magic did not lose its charm and I enjoyed the book very much. In fact, I'm aching to read the next book but I have to stop myself for Holy Week.

Katie Chandler is back in New York and at Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc. – and just in time. The city’s in the grip of a magical crime wave from spells that wizarding whiz Owen Palmer thinks look awfully familiar, and the rogue firm Spellworks is raising its profile in the magical world by selling protective amulets. It’s Katie’s job as the new director of marketing for MSI to fight this battle of public perception while Owen and the other wizards try to uncover what’s really going on.

What Katie doesn’t realize is that her idea to stage a showcase for MSI’s magical achievements is playing right into a devious plot more than three decades in the making. Now Katie has to do damage control that has nothing to do with marketing. To save the magical world, she’ll have to prove who the real enemy is, and doing that will require digging deeper into Owen’s mysterious past than he wants anyone to go. If she fails, she not only stands to lose a magical war, but she could also lose the man she loves.

---

Maximizing your Twitter account

Okay, so you finally have a Twitter account and you're excited to increase awareness of your blog by tweeting links to your reviews or blog posts. But does your use of Twitter actually get the word out there that your blog exists?

I've been on Twitter for about three to four years now but I only created an account for my blog about a month ago. Based on what I've seen on my Twitter feed so far there lacks an interaction between bloggers and non-book bloggers. Imagine for example that someone is following your Twitter account. When s/he opens his/her account, there are approximately 10 to 20 tweets that will be displayed, depending on where they are viewing their account. Wouldn't you like your follower to actually read your tweet and click on your link, or you see a new follower who is not following your blog but started to follow your Twitter account because of your interesting posts? If you're thinking, "I already have hundreds, thousands even, of followers", are you sure they're actually reading your tweet, or they just followed you because of a giveaway you once had?

 Let me give you some tips on how to maximize Twitter to interact with your readers AND get in touch with other people who may not be book bloggers but are still interested in books or in what you have to say.

Feature & Follow #17

Welcome to My Book Musings! Feature & Follow is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee’s View and Alison Can Read. It’s purpose is to gain and meet new friends and followers. I love seeing the weekly questions because I enjoy mulling over my books, or other reading-related matters.

If you're already following me via GFC and Linky, do follow me via Twitter and Pinterest if you have an account. I'm so glad to see more people following me via my Bloglovin' account! To all my followers there, thank you! If you're not yet following there, you're very welcome to do so.

This week's question brings me back to 13 years ago...

Q: Tell us about the most emotional scene you’ve ever read in a book – and how did you react?

The book that got me bawling like a baby was Nicholas Spark's A Walk to Remember. I was 12 years old then, sitting on my bed holding a handkerchief. My sister found me crying, not sniffling, doing the whole waterworks while I read the part where Jamie stood up from her wheelchair to walk down the aisle and get married to her miracle. Sadly' the movie didn't do much for me, but the book still makes me cry to this day.

That was the first and last time so far that I cried that much over a book. And it's one of my favorites to date.

Has anyone else bawled over a book like I did? Share yours!

That One Line #18 from Paulo Coelho

Welcome to the That One Line meme! 'That One Line' is a weekly meme created and hosted by me, Goldie, of My Book Musings, relating a particular sentence/phrase/paragraph that you find particularly striking. I usually post on Thursdays!

Don't forget to add your link so others can check out your post and, hopefully, be inspired as I've been! I've found it so interesting to read the quotes shared by others and their insights, if any.

It should be from a book although quotes related to reading are also welcome. It doesn’t have to be a book that you just finished but can be something that you read before and just want to share it.

I have quite forgotten about Paulo Coelho, no offense. It's been years since I've read his work, because I felt like things were getting too repetitive. However, I still remember how much I truly enjoyed his books before, such as the book where I found this awesome quote:

“Life moves very fast. It rushes us from heaven to hell in a matter of seconds.” 

This is from his book Eleven Minutes, which I read when I was too young and not quite able to comprehend the full extent of what I was reading until the very end. In fact, I was close to boredom until I was near the ending and I was just struck speechless by the beauty of the story.

Anyway, I think the line expresses how I feel when one minute life is just full of joy, then the next I'm wondering what I did to merit such bad karma. Or maybe I'm just highly hormonal and emotional. Sometimes, I'm not really sure!

How about you, read any good lines lately?

Happy musings. :)

Review: Entangled [Spellbound, book 1]

Title:      Entangled [Spellbound, book 1]

Author:  Nikki Jefford
Rating:   ★★★

I felt a bit out of my element and so lost when I read Entangled. I actually started reading it a few months ago but I kept stopping. And now that I just (finally) finished the book, I'm feeling a little lost and dazed.

Two months after dying, seventeen-year-old witch Graylee Perez wakes up in her twin sister Charlene’s body.

Until Gray finds a way back inside her own body, she’s stuck being Charlene every twenty-hour hours. Her sister has left precise instructions on how Gray should dress and behave. Looking like a prep isn’t half as bad as hanging out with Charlene’s snotty friends and gropey boyfriend.

The “normals” of McKinley High might be quick to write her behavior off as post-traumatic stress, but warlock Raj McKenna is the only person who suspects Gray has returned from the dead.

Now Gray has to solve the mystery of her death and resurrection and disentangle herself from Charlene’s body before she disappears for good.

---

Review: Also Known As

Title:     Also Known As

Author: Robin Benway
Rating:   ★★★★ 1/2

I was very intrigued by Also Known As since I saw it in Goodreads, and I'm very glad I did pick it up to read. It fits my taste perfectly, with a combination of  romance, kick-ass female, humorous characters, and a good spy/detective plot.

Being a 16-year-old safecracker and active-duty daughter of international spies has its moments, good and bad. Pros: Seeing the world one crime-solving adventure at a time. Having parents with super cool jobs. Cons: Never staying in one place long enough to have friends or a boyfriend. But for Maggie Silver, the biggest perk of all has been avoiding high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations. Then Maggie and her parents are sent to New York for her first solo assignment, and all of that changes. She'll need to attend a private school, avoid the temptation to hack the school's security system, and befriend one aggravatingly cute Jesse Oliver to gain the essential information she needs to crack the case . . . all while trying not to blow her cover.

---

Book pile for the week

I didn't buy a lot of books last year to save up, but starting January this year, I just went loco buying so many books, and this week was no exception. All in all, I spent about P1,415 (about $35+)...and that's me already reining my buying impulses (and ignoring the other purchases I bought this month :p)

The books in my pile are the ff:

• Three comics book by Lyndon Gregorio (Beerkada Off-Campus, Go-Beerkada, and Abakada) and I ordered them through Chompy!!!
• A Charmed book, Lucky Be a Lady. Who else here reads books from the awesome series?
• Sweet Valley University's Cyberstalker: The Return of William White Part 1. Why yes, I still read and collect Sweet Valley books.
• The first book in the Sabrina book series, Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
• Raggedy Ann and the Hobby Horse. I love Raggedy Ann! Are there others here who have read the books?
• Katie Fforde's Wild Designs, which I got for only P25. Thank you Booksale!
• Melissa de la Cruz's The Au Pairs, a series that I recently discovered, which I will hopefully enjoy.
• Nina Garcia's The Style Strategy. I have her book The One Hundred, and I'm hoping I will enjoy The Style Strategy as much!
• Lastly, is Melissa de la Cruz's (again) Witches of East End.

I am still crossing my fingers for an HB copy of Clockwork Angel, but no luck so far!

How about you, got any good books lately? :)

Have a great week ahead! :)

Feature & Follow #16

Welcome to My Book Musings! Feature & Follow is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee’s View and Alison Can Read. It’s purpose is to gain and meet new friends and followers. I love seeing the weekly questions because I enjoy mulling over my books, or other reading-related matters.

If you're already following me via GFC and Linky, do follow me via Twitter and Pinterest if you have an account. I'm so glad to see more people following me via my 

Bloglovin' account! To all my followers there, thank you! If you're not yet following there, you're very welcome to do so.

---

Q: What is your guilty pleasure as far as reading? Is it a genre, or is it a certain type of book?

My, my! I can really relate to this question. My guilty pleasure right now would be historical romance. I've been addicted to it for over a year and I can't stop reading books from that genre! It's one of the reasons why it's taking me so long to finish War and Peace -- because I keep choosing my Julia Quinn/Sarah MacLean/Anne Gracie/Alexandra Hawkins books over the classic novel.

Another guilty pleasure is reading until the wee hours of the morning! It's so pleasurable for me to read but I know I shouldn't read until dawn because I need to sleep, especially when I have work the next day. But I know you bookworms can relate, we just can't help it!

What's your guilty pleasure?

P.S. In relation to last week's Feature & Follow question, I went to Tagaytay for a birthday bash, and took some pictures for you international readers. It's a photo of Taal, the world's smallest volcano. It's still active. This was our view while having lunch. I hope you enjoy these photos (and understand why I don't read when I go there!).

Our view during lunch

A close up shot of Taal Volcano.

Happy weekend!

Don't forget to check out my meme, That One Line! :)

That One Line #17

Let's turn this into a blog hop!

Welcome to the That One Line meme! 'That One Line' is a weekly meme created and hosted by me, Goldie, of My Book Musings, relating a particular sentence/phrase/paragraph that you find particularly striking. I usually post on Thursdays!

Don't forget to add your link so others can check out your post and, hopefully, be inspired as I've been! I've found it so interesting to read the quotes shared by others and their insights, if any.

It should be from a book although quotes related to reading are also welcome. It doesn’t have to be a book that you just finished but can be something that you read before and just want to share it.

---

My entry for this week is a tribute to one of my favorite, most memorable years in high school. It was the time I was asked to "modernize" the work of Shakespeare into mainstream English for a class play. My teacher encouraged me to not stop writing...unfortunately I didn't continue. Drat.

I'm talking about Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, which I truly enjoyed. I was actually reading Sandman when I remembered Shakespeare's awesome work. I could really feel the emotion, the angst behind those words, even if I'm just envisioning how it is being said in my head!

Hermia: His folly, Helena, is no fault of mine.

Helena: None, but your beauty! Would that fault were mine!

Have you ever read a book wherein you can just feel the anguish based on the author's play on words? Do tell!

Since this is now a blog hop, don't forget to follow follow follow back whoever follows you from this list! :)

Review: Shadow of Time

Title:     Shadow of Time

Author: Jen Minkman
Rating:   ★★★ 1/2

*Copy given by author for an honest review.

It took me quite a while to finish Shadow of Time, not because it was not enjoyable or entertaining; it was simply because it was my first time to read about the Navajo Nation and I am unfamiliar with their ways and history. I took the time to thoroughly read and understand the interaction between the characters and the history and practices of the Diné people.

All Hannah needs is a nice and quiet vacation after her first year of teaching French at a high school. She joins her brother Ben for the summer in their mom’s log cabin in Arizona. There, she meets Josh again, Ben’s childhood friend from the Navajo reservation. The little boy from the rez has grown up fast, and Hannah can’t help but feeling more for him than just friendship.

But fate apparently has something else in store for her. And it’s not peace and quiet. Night after night, Hannah is plagued by strange nightmares about the past of Navajo Nation and terrifying shadows chasing her. They seem to come closer – and why is Josh always present in her dreams?

Sometimes, the past has a way of catching up with you.

Losing Google Reader? Flipboard to my rescue!

Google Reader in Flipboard in my Nook Tablet

I have actually never used Google Reader because I just read the blogs on my Blogger dashboard or go through my Linky list. As I previously mentioned, I'm a big fan of Flipboard, especially now that I've been blogging more often.

*Edit:  Just in case not everyone's familiar with Flipboard!*

I love Flipboard because it is very useful for me. It is more than just an RSS reader. I can access, browse, and update my Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr accounts. I can also reply to people from right in the app. Sharing posts is also easy. You can share to your logged in accounts you saved in Flipboard or share the link via other apps on your device. Since I started using Flipboard on my Nook, I have not downloaded the Facebook and Twitter apps because it's all in there.

Furthermore, Flipboard also suggests news articles for you based on the genre that you're interested in. If you choose to follow "fashion", the latest articles about fashion will be available as a clickable icon on your Flipboard.

But today I decided to add Google Reader to my Flipboard account, only to find out that Google is terminating it! Aw shucks. I decided to look up other RSS feeds compatible with Flipboard, when I came across a post from Flipboard saying that even after the termination of Google Reader this July, the blogs you follow using the Google platform would still be retained in Flipboard as long as you sign up your account with Flipboard and add Google Reader.

I have also discovered that I cannot view the blogs I follow via Linky as easily as I can follow them in Blogger so I've added their RSS feed to my Flipboard as clickable links. This means I can follow both Blogspot and Wordpress blogs in one app.

And yes, your folders are still retained in Flipboard. The only downside that I can see so far is that I cannot on blogs on Flipboard directly. Also, when posts have jump breaks, I am redirected to the device's browser. But that doesn't bother me too much.

Click here to know more about Google Reader and Flipboard.

Source: We've Got Your RSS Covered! Save Your Google Reader Feeds Now.

How about you, what will you do to still have your RSS fix after Google Reader ends?

Happy musings and hope this helps,

Feature & Follow #15

 

Welcome to My Book Musings! Feature & Follow is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee’s View and Alison Can Read. It’s purpose is to gain and meet new friends and followers. I love seeing the weekly questions because I enjoy mulling over my books, or other reading-related matters.

I finally have social media buttons on the right sidebar. What do you think of them? I got them from Carrieloves, who was nice enough to give them in different colors. I made the Goodreads button myself using her blank template. 

 

Plus, I'm also now on Twitter and Pinterest! This means aside from e-mail, Goodreads, Google Friend Connect (GFC), Linky, Bloglovin', RSS, you can also follow me via those avenues. Do add me on your Flipboard account as well!

 

---

 

Q: Activity! Hopefully warm weather for most of us is here soon…so tell us about your favorite outdoor reading spot. Or take a picture.

 

A view of Tagaytay's Taal volcano

In the Philippines, we almost always have warm weather, and cold weather is actually more rare! So we don't really read outdoors, unless we're in the colder places like in Tagaytay. And even then, we don't exactly read. Instead, we shop in thrift stores or stalls, eat in restaurants with scenic views overlooking the world's smallest volcano, and take looots of photos. And if I'm out in a grassy area, I'm usually with someone and I'm too busy eating or talking or resting to read.

 



The water is clear, and the sand is so white in Boracay!

If you're in Boracay, believe me, you wouldn't want to read. You'd probably want to go island hopping, laze in the sand while chatting with your man or friends, playing beach volleyball, sipping cold drinks, drive an ATV up the slopes, but no, not reading. You'd just fall asleep with the fine white sand beneath you, and a masseuse expertly kneading your crying muscles.

 

So instead of saying an outdoor spot, I'd have to answer with an indoor one. At home, I read either in my bed or in our comfy couch. We don't have a front lawn, and our garage is filled up with the cars. And it's so hot in here, you'd be perspiring within minutes. Also, it's very polluted, unless you manage to find the city parks. Even then, it's not comfy to read there. If I'm on the go in the metro/city and I have my Nook with me, I usually end up in Starbucks or Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, always trying to snag the couch!

 

What about you? 

 

 

 

That One Line #16

Welcome to the That One Line meme! 'That One Line' is a weekly meme created and hosted by me, Goldie, of My Book Musings, relating a particular sentence/phrase/paragraph that you find particularly striking. I usually post on Thursdays!

Don't forget to add your link so others can check out your post and, hopefully, be inspired as I've been! I've found it so interesting to read the quotes shared by others and their insights, if any.

It should be from a book although quotes related to reading are also welcome. It doesn’t have to be a book that you just finished but can be something that you read before and just want to share it.

---

My entry for this week's That One Line is from one of my favorite books of all time, and my absolute historical romance favorite. I think it's also the one that catapulted me into the world of historical romance, and made me long to be a duchess. This is actually a dialogue between the two main characters, and I can still remember being super thrilled when I read it when I was in high school (about 11 years ago).

“Whitney: Where is your home?
Clayton: Wherever you are.”

Have you guessed from which book this thrill-inducing line is? If not, it's from Whitney, My Love by the awesome Judith McNaught. I borrowed this from my classmate who was a huge fan of Judith McNaught too back then. I smuggled it to my room because I wasn't allowed to read romance books back then. When I got to college, one of the first things I bought was a copy of the book because I just had to have it. I look forward to more books from Judith McNaught; it's been years since she published one!

Have you read Whitney, My Love? How about you, what's your quote/line for the week?

Theirs and yours: Commenting on blogs

Hello book lovers! How was your weekend? Mine was pretty eventful. Today I want to share something that has been on my mind lately, especially since this is the most active I've been in the blogging world.

I love getting comments, and I usually respond to comments...in my blog. I think it's a great way to interact with other bloggers, and share your thoughts, or even have a lively discussion if you disagree. But what do you do when someone comments on your blog? Do you respond on your blog or do you duly visit the blog of the commenter and post a comment there too?

But what happens if you read a very nice post on someone else's blog and you comment, how do you keep track of their responses? Do you periodically check the poster's blog to see if they responded, or once you leave a comment and exit the browser, you forget all about it?

RIP Kenny </3

We have three dogs: the eldest is Nana, a mongrel; the 2nd is our pure bred mini pinscher Kenny; and the 3rd is our half-Rottweiler/half Siberian mongrel.

Kenny died at 5:30 in the morning. So suddenly. He was so lively the other day then he stopped eating yesterday. We gave him medicines. The vet said if he poops and vomits, we have to bring him to the clinic. Kenny was so weak yesterday but he was still so protective of us when strangers would pass by the house. Then this morning he pooped blood and vomited.

Fiero gave a long howl this morning at 5:30. My uncle found Kenny dead.

I am so sad right now and we can't stop crying. He's our first pet to die. He's only three years old. I can't believe it hurts like this! He was so lively and super kulit.

Dogs (and other pets) go to heaven too, right? Good God, I hope so.

Feature & Follow #14

Welcome to My Book Musings! Feature & Follow is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee’s View and Alison Can Read. It’s purpose is to gain and meet new friends and followers.  I have a new header and button too, what do you think about it? :)

You can follow me via e-mail, Goodreads, Google Friend Connect (GFC), Linky, Bloglovin' and RSS. Do add me on your Flipboard account as well! 

---

Q: What is a book you didn't like that all your friends raved about or what book did you love that wasn't popular?

What an interesting question! We readers usually have differing opinions about books. For example, Harry Potter is not loved by everyone in the entire planet, or was even read by everyone.

As for me, a book I really love that not everyone can relate to is Pride and Prejudice. My sister and mother tried to read the book but my sister couldn't get past page 1...and my mom fell asleep. I don't really know why. I think it's a fantastic book :))

A book I did not like (at all) was the Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan, which my sister truly loves but I couldn't even get myself to read the third book. My boyfriend bought it for my sister though :))

And please don't hate on me, but I really did not enjoy Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings!

Don't forget to check out my meme, That One Line! :)

That One Line #15

Welcome to the That One Line meme! 'That One Line' is a weekly meme created and hosted by me, Goldie, of My Book Musings, relating a particular sentence/phrase/paragraph that you find particularly striking. I usually post on Thursdays!

I have now included a link widget for you guys to use and follow others. I've found it so interesting to read the quotes shared by others and their insights, if any.

It should be from a book although quotes related to reading are also welcome. It doesn’t have to be a book that you just finished but can be something that you read before and just want to share it.

I'm especially excited this week because two other people had started to do this meme. Shoutout to Cora Mae and Riza for doing the meme!

---

This week's That One Line entry pays homage to one of the best lines I've read from Neil Gaiman. It comes from his Sandman graphic novels, and it just takes my breath away.

"What power does hell hold if those 

imprisoned cannot dream of heaven?"

Isn't it just particularly striking? I think this is a quote worth sharing repeatedly. Neil Gaiman, you the man!

How about you, what's your quote/line for the week?

This book obsession is draining my money!

Books from the Philippines are slightly expensive. I think I spent about p1400 in just two hardbound books in one week. But I really wanted a copy of Etiquette and Espionage in HB and I've looked in 8 bookstores and 4 cities for a hardbound copy of Anna and the French Kiss. Heck, finding even one copy was hard enough!

So when I saw the books, I instantly bought them without second thoughts.

But still, it is a pretty expensive hobby! What about you guys, what's the most you've spent for books in a week?

Feature & Follow #13

 

Welcome to My Book Musings! Feature & Follow is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee’s View and Alison Can Read. It’s purpose is to gain and meet new friends and followers.  I have a new header and button too, what do you think about it? :)

You can follow me via e-mail, Goodreads, Google Friend Connect (GFC), Linky, Bloglovin' and RSS. Do add me on your Flipboard account as well! 

---

This week's question is interesting and me reflect for quite a few minutes:

Q. Confess your blogger sins! Is there anything as a newbie blogger that you've done, that as you gained more experience you were like -- oops?

I think I had several! The first is starting a book blog in 2010 then stopped blogging, and for 2011 and for the first half of 2012 I didn't blog very often as well. I also changed my blog title a couple of times. Leaving my blog behind made me realize that as a book blogger I should post every once in a while. I also think that I missed out on the chance to be a more proficient and well-known blogger. I also used to think that I should only write positive reviews. Now, I know better and I try to post as much as I can, and write reviews even for books that don't excite me as much!

How about you? Happy weekend! :) Please don't forget to tell me how you're following if you're a new follower.

Do check out my own meme, That One Line.

Happy musings! :)