Jenny Han Book Signing Recap

So this happened on June 21 2014. We got to to meet Jenny Han! Author of Shug, The Summer trilogy, the Burn for Burn trilogy and To All the Boys I've Loved Before.

Here she is fiddling with a can of coke. 

(Michelle: Goodness, Nicole - THAT'S the caption for this one? REALLY?!)

Asian eyes! Here's a photo of Michelle and her green hair with Jenny.

(Michelle: I dyed my hair green to somehow match Jenny's dress. Because I'm psychic and I knew what shade she'd be wearing. I kid. I think.)

Asian eyes part 2. Nicole and her F21 bag with Jenny. (Nicole: Can I just say I love how Chad mentioned to Jenny that I love nail art too and was featured on BuzzFeed once. Like, I can't believe he knew that!)

The bloggers with Jenny Han.

Here's a shot of the crowd in National Bookstore. Everyone was so excited to see Jenny!

Here's Nicole's pile of signed books.

Here's Michelle's pile of signed books plus a To All The Boys I've Loved Before pen.

A few tidbits from the forum:

1. Jenny loves nail art! (Of course Nicole had to ask, she stalked Jenny's Instagram.) She gets her nails done at a Japanese salon in NY called Studio L which uses Calgel and takes around two hours to finish. She had on Beyonce decals during the signing which were ultra fab. She also has a Tumblr for her nail art: justanothermanimonday

2. For fans of Jeremiah, don't expect a spin-off (Michelle: I'm a Conrad girl, but I HAD TO KNOW. I wanted to know why Jeremiah did what he did!) Jenny says that Jeremiah's left at a good place when the story ended. She wasn't as worried about him as she was Conrad because he's more sensitive and if the story didn't end the way it did, Conrad might be in his little dark hole for a while.

3. Top Five Celebrity Crushes! Alexander Skarsgard. (Michelle: AYIEEEEEEEEE!) Daryl from the Walking Dead. Jamie Lannister (Nicole: because he's still a cutie even without the hand) Seo in Guk and Jo In Sung and some cop from the Killing (we actually don't know who he is).

4. Jenny and Siobhan Vivian met in David Levithan's class! Which is how they ended up becoming best friends and writing a novel together. Siobhan also has a film writing background and she's better at story telling and plotting. Jenny's all about characterization and dialogue.

5. Jenny has written embarassing love letters to the boys she's loved before. And they are in her hatbox. Unsent.

Thank you so much to National Bookstore for inviting us and to all our blogger friends for the super wonderful event. 

NICOLE'S REVIEW: Sweet Reckoning by Wendy Higgins

Title: Sweet Reckoning
Author: Wendy Higgins
Format Acquired: ARC

Publication Date: April 29 2014

Publishing House: HarperTeen

ISBN: 9780062265975
Source of Copy: Harper Collins

Summary:

It's time. Evil is running rampant and sweet Anna Whitt is its target. Nobody knows when or how the Dukes will strike, but Anna and her Nephilim allies will do anything necessary to rid the earth of the demons and their oppressive wrath.

The stakes are higher than ever, and Anna is determined that the love she feels will be her strength, not a liability. But trying to protect the ones she loves while running for her life and battling demonic forces proves to be perilous - especially as faces are changing and trust is fleeting. When the Duke of Lust sends Anna's great love, Kaidan Rowe, to work against her, Anna must decide how much she's prepared to risk.

(Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary lifted from actual book)

Review:

This is the third book in the series so I'd suggest to those who haven't read the first two books to avoid this review in case of spoilers.

This is it! The final battle. Everything that Anna and Kaidan and the rest of the nephs have gone through and have fought for will culminate in one last epic battle to rid the world of the Dukes. Kai and Anna are pursuing a relationship (FINALLY) after trying to deny their feelings for each other and are biding their, waiting for an opportunity to strike. That is until Pharzuph, Kaidan's dad and the Duke of Lust, uses Kai against Anna. This could be the perfect opportunity to strike or the downfall of all their carefully laid out plans.

The characters have matured. They've ended up with who they wear meant to be with - despite the iffiness of them all getting into relationships with fellow nephs except for Marna of course - and become who they were meant to be. Sure, Kaidan's too perfect (bad boy, rockstar god, sexy, brooding alpha male with a heart of gold?), probably most of the boys and girls in this series are but it's okay. I still love them. I mean yeah they all have their vices because duh they are kids of actual Sins personified but everyone's just so good and kind and nice and why can't we have someone who straddles the line? Someone who'll make me cheer for him and simultaneously hate on him/her? 

(Oh come on, I know how much Kaidan has suffered but somehow I just couldn't FEEL it.)

But anyway, it's the last book so scratch that thought and just enjoy the ride. It's a good book. Entertaining with a plot that, while a bit predictable, still manages to throw in a few surprises here and there. I could just feel the tension build as Anna and her gang waited for the perfect time to serve justice although it was nice of Higgins to give a them a few breaks in between because its hard to find the time to just chill around with family and forget about that axe hanging over everyone's heads.

The final battle was okay, Higgins writes better love scenes than she does action but hey, I'm not complaining. I liked the friendships between the characters and how Anna was always level headed and quite non-judgy which makes her the perfect go-between. The bond she has with her fellow nephs was endearing and I'm pretty sure we all need friendships as strong as that in our lives.

Be warned though, Higgins is not afraid to kill off characters so harden your hearts and watch out for that sickly sweet epilogue. 

Sweet Reckoning is the end to one of those angel trilogies that won't make you barf or induce numerous eye rolls. Read this series. No regrets, and I look forward to the next book this author has up her sleeves.

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MICHELLE'S REVIEW: The Stepsister's Tale by Tracy Barrett

Title: The Stepsister's Tale
Author: Tracy Barrett
Format Acquired: eARC

Publication Date: June 24, 2014

Publishing House: Harlequin Teen

ISBN: 9780373211210
Source of Copy: Netgalley

Summary:

Jane Montjoy is tired of being a lady. She's tired of pretending to live up to the standards of her mother's noble family - especially now that the family's wealth is gone and their stately mansion has fallen to ruin. It's hard enough that she must tend to the animals and find a way to feed her mother and her little sister each day. Jane's burden only gets worse after her mother returns from a trip to town with a new stepfather and stepsister in tow. Despite the family's struggle to prepare for the long winter ahead, Jane's stepfather remains determined to give his beautiful but spoiled child her every desire.

When her stepfather suddenly dies, leaving nothing but debts and a bereaved daughter behind, it seems to Jane that her family is destined for eternal unhappiness. But a mysterious boy from the woods and an invitation to the royal ball are certain to change her fate...

(Image, summary and information courtesy of Goodreads)

Review:

While her mother may still have her delusions of grandeur, Jane Montjoy knows that her crumbling estate is now reduced to a has-been. Jane and her sister Maud milk the cow, mend and repair their own now too-tight dresses, and clean the place up to the best of their abilities while their mother pretends that servants are still doing the work for them. But Jane's mother remarries and not too soon, her new husband dies, leaving debt and his own daughter to the care of the Montjoys. 

Jane Montjoy and her sister Maude are used to a life of scrubbing floors, and making do with what meager things they have. I like both sisters because while others might moan and complain about having to have a difficult childhood amidst a once-glorious setting, they both take it all in stride and try to survive a day at a time. Their mother, however, is unaccustomed to the hard life, having been born to affluent parents and a place in society. While I surmised that the mother is embarrassed of having to stoop down from her pedestal to do anything around the house, I really felt bad for the sisters for having a mother who instead of contributing anything to their survival, only thought that they might have a better life if she remarried.

And thus, we meet Ella - and she is not the angel we all pictured in our heads when we were five years old. This Ella is selfish and a total brat, but I'm guessing that this is stemming from the fact that she is uprooted and suddenly has to call a bunch of strangers her family. Ella, who knows nothing but to make herself look pretty and presentable to society, has to share an apple with other members of the family, because as it turns out, her father is good at keeping up airs. I won't go into the details anymore, as this is a retelling of Cinderella, but I did like how Barrett handled a slew of characters who had minds and personalities of their own. It's quite uncanny how very humanlike they are, as they exhibit flaws and traits that both endear and irk the reader - a huge factor, I think, why this retelling worked out so well. 

Forget Grimm's version of Cinderella. Forget Disney's version as well. Barrett's version is much, much better, and it satisfactorily fills in the holes that any skeptical audience of the other versions poked at.

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