Author Feature #1: Rick Riordan

Posted on 06/05/2022 by Lenn

Hi, everyone! I’m thrilled to announce a new feature on my blog called Author Feature where I give my favorite authors the spotlight that they deserve. Today I’m going to feature Rick Riordan because as you all know by now, I cannot stop raving about his books and through the years, he has become my most favorite middle-grade author. The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series not only got me out of a very long reading slump, but also helped me get through one of the darkest days of my life. Aside from that, these books are very special to me and my husband’s relationship as these books were one of the cornerstones of how we started as a couple. Books truly have a way of making my heart melt. So that’s the quick explanation of why his books have a very special place in my heart and in my life. Continue reading →

Stuff I’ve Been Reading Lately #22

Posted on 05/31/2022 by Lenn

BOOKS READ:

The Hidden Oracle (Trials of Apollo, #1) by Rick Riordan
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Desaparesidos by Lualhati Bautista

ONGOING:

The Secret Lives of Introverts: Our Hidden Worlds by Jenn Granneman (50% progress)
The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon, #3) by Dan Brown (16% progress)

BOOKS BOUGHT:

Hollowpox (Nevermoor, #3) by Jessica Townsend
The Burning God (The Poppy War, #3) by R.F. Kuang
Contestable Nation-Space: Cinema, Cultural Politics, and Transnationalism in the Marcos-Brocka Philippines by Rolando B. Tolentino
A Time to Rise: Collective Memoirs of the Union of Democratic Filipinos (KDP) by Rene Ciria Cruz, Cindy Domingo, and Bruce Occena
Press Freedom Under Siege: Reportage That Challenged the Marcos Dictatorship by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo

Continue reading →

Book Review: Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven

Posted on 05/26/2022 by Lenn

Title: Holding Up the Universe

Author: Jennifer Niven

Format: Paperback

Publication Date: April 4, 2016

Number of Pages: 391

Publisher:Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance

Synopsis:

Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed “America’s Fattest Teen.” But no one’s taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom’s death, she’s been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby’s ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for every possibility life has to offer. In that moment, I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything.

Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he’s got swagger, but he’s also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He’s the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can’t understand what’s going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don’t get too close to anyone.

Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours.

Continue reading →

Top 10 Standalone Books on my Backlist

Posted on 05/24/2022 by Lenn

Last year, I made a list of the top 15 book series on my backlist that I would like to prioritize in the next couple of months (or years), today I’m going to talk about the top 10 standalone books on my TBR that I would like to prioritize along with the series that I’ve mentioned in that post. Again, please don’t judge me! 😂 Continue reading →

Book Review: Rolling in the Deep (Rolling in the Deep, #0.5) by Mira Grant

Posted on 05/23/2022 by Lenn

Title: Rolling in the Deep (Rolling in the Deep, #0.5)

Author: Mira Grant

Format: Audiobook

Publication Date: April 6, 2015

Number of Pages: 123

Publisher: Subterranean Press

Genre: Thriller, Sci-Fi

Synopsis:

When the Imagine Network commissioned a documentary on mermaids, to be filmed from the cruise ship Atargatis, they expected what they had always received before: an assortment of eyewitness reports that proved nothing, some footage that proved even less, and the kind of ratings that only came from peddling imaginary creatures to the masses.

They didn’t expect actual mermaids. They certainly didn’t expect those mermaids to have teeth.

This is the story of the Atargatis, lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a maritime tragedy. Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the bathypelagic zone in the Mariana Trench…and the depths are very good at keeping secrets.

Continue reading →

Rainy Day Reads

Posted on 05/17/2022 by Lenn

The rainy season is slowly kicking in here in the Philippines, and what better way is there to welcome a new season than to create a list of books that, for me, are perfect reads during this time of the year. So without further ado, grab your blankets and your favorite caffeinated beverage, and get ready to snuggle up with these reads:

Continue reading →

Book Review: The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Posted on 05/08/2022 by Lenn

Title: The Woman in Cabin 10

Author: Ruth Ware

Format: Trade Paperback

Publication Date: July 19, 2016

Number of Pages: 341

Publisher: Scout Press

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime

Synopsis:

Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. The sky is clear, the waters calm, and the veneered, select guests jovial as the exclusive cruise ship, the Aurora, begins her voyage in the picturesque North Sea.

At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a dark and terrifying nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard.

The problem? All passengers remain accounted for and so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong.

Continue reading →

Book List: #AAPIVoices

Posted on 05/06/2022 by Lenn

I can’t believe the first half of the year is almost over, it seems like it was only February yesterday and now May has already begun! As April came to a close, May opens up new opportunities and hope to each and everyone of us and in light with this, as a side note, I would just like to mention to all my Filipino readers to please practice your right to vote and vote wisely on May 9! ♡

Aside from the national elections coming up in the Philippines this month, May is also a time to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. In the book community, we heavily read books written by AAPI authors during this time but regardless of the time or month, I wish that more people would support AAPI voices. Continue reading →

Stuff I’ve Been Reading Lately #21

Posted on 04/25/2022 by Lenn

BOOKS READ:

Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky

ONGOING:

The Secret Lives of Introverts: Our Hidden Worlds by Jenn Granneman (50% progress)
The Hidden Oracle (Trials of Apollo, #1) by Rick Riordan (42% progress)

BOOKS BOUGHT:

Ace of Spades by Faridah Abike-Iyimide
How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao
Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare
Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins

BOOKS RECEIVED:

The Secret Lives of Introverts: Our Hidden Worlds by Jenn Granneman
Almond by Won-pyung Sohn
The Twelve (The Twelve, #1) by Cindy Lin
What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo
Shadow of the Batgirl by Sarah Kuhn, Illustrated by Nicole Goux
Six Crimson Cranes (Six Crimson Cranes, #1) by Elizabeth Lim

Continue reading →

Most Anticipated Releases in April

Posted on 04/06/2022 by Lenn

Happy hump day! ♡ I haven’t updated this section of my blog in a while because of all the wedding preparations last year and, now, adjusting and finding my own rhythm in my new environment. There’s so many new and incredible things I’ve done during the first quarter of this year that I never thought I’d be able to do, but that’s for a different post. I’m happy that I finally had the chance to catch up with all things bookish which resulted in collating these new book titles coming out this month! With that, here’s a list of my most anticipated books for the month of April: Continue reading →

Lenn of Spades ♠

Tag Archives: #bookish