Annabel: Review

Summary:

Lena's mother, Annabel, has always been a mystery—a ghost in Lena's past. Until now.

Discover her secrets in Lauren Oliver's brilliant original digital story set in the world of New York Times bestsellers Delirium and Pandemonium.

Lena Halloway's mother, Annabel, supposedly committed suicide when Lena was only six years old. That's the lie that Lena grew up believing, but the truth is very different. As a rebellious teenager, Annabel ran away from home and straight into the man she knew she was destined to marry. The world was different then—the regulations not as stringent, the cure only a decade old. Fast forward to the present, and Annabel is consigned to a dirty prison cell, where she nurtures her hope of escape and scratches one word over and over into the walls: Love.

But Annabel, like Lena, is a fighter. Through chapters that alternate between her past and present, Annabel reveals the story behind her failed cures, her marriage, the births of her children, her imprisonment, and, ultimately, her daring escape.

***

There are no surprising things in Annabel. I thought I can see more about her life with the Wilds. But then this book doesn't disappoint me. Lauren Oliver can show Annabel in a different way. The words are just as beautiful and tempting as before. 

The Annabel in this short story is more like the more vulnerable version of Lena. She is still a teenager, still caught up in so many emotions. She's more scared in dangerous situation than the one in Pandemonium. I can't say I like this Annabel, but getting a glimpse of Annabel's previous life is always beneficial.

This short story is much better than Hana, because Hana is full of jealousy towards Lena. She envies Lena's relationship with Alex, and then she stab her back, telling the regulators to arrest them. But Annabel's story is more pure, more determined. She wants to escape to the Invalid, and she will do it.

Rating: 8/10

***

(Warning: Sorry if my feels are disturbing you)

Now it's about Requiem's excerpt in Annabel. We all know that Lauren leaves us a huge cliffhanger about Alex's reappearance and saying the sentence "Don't believe her" full of venom.

The little excerpt is mind-blowing, because of Alex's strange behavior. About that I'm a little angry with him. Yeah, I know he has suffered much. And then he saw Lena kissing Julian. But then what is with his behavior? He doesn't talk to Lena, he doesn't even look at her. Surely he is uncured because if he was cured Raven and the Invalids wouldn't brought him along, not even because of Lena's pleading. I was like what the hell, man? I know that he's probably one of the jealous type, but come on with his behavior. It makes me want to kick him in the head because his actions are so heart-breaking and frustrating. I even started to think about changing my team to Team Julian.

And then there's Hana. She's cured. And I hate her. She betrayed Lena and Alex and now Lena has to deal with this new, cold, and silent Alex (ugh). And then she can still act like nothing has ever happened. She should be the one rejecting the procedure. Yet she freaking betrayed her best friend. I think Hana will reunite with Lena, somehow. But I still hate her. No joke.

This little excerpt makes me crave for Requiem. Why is March so far away!!!

Gonna Read: December and January

The last month of the year is approaching! Time to prepare for some new books.

Let's start with December.

1. Annabel (Delirium #0.5) by Lauren Oliver

Summary:

Lena's mother, Annabel, has always been a mystery—a ghost in Lena's past. Until now.

Discover her secrets in Lauren Oliver's brilliant original digital story set in the world of New York Times bestsellers Delirium and Pandemonium.

Lena Halloway's mother, Annabel, supposedly committed suicide when Lena was only six years old. That's the lie that Lena grew up believing, but the truth is very different. As a rebellious teenager, Annabel ran away from home and straight into the man she knew she was destined to marry. The world was different then—the regulations not as stringent, the cure only a decade old. Fast forward to the present, and Annabel is consigned to a dirty prison cell, where she nurtures her hope of escape and scratches one word over and over into the walls: Love.

But Annabel, like Lena, is a fighter. Through chapters that alternate between her past and present, Annabel reveals the story behind her failed cures, her marriage, the births of her children, her imprisonment, and, ultimately, her daring escape.

Release Date: December 26th, 2012
 
***

2. Opal (Lux #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Summary:

No one is like Daemon Black.

When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.

But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.

After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.

Together we’re stronger... and they know it.

Release Date: December 11th 2012
***

3. Radiant (Unearthly #2.5) by Cynthia Hand

Summary:

From New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand comes a riveting original novella (available only as an ebook) set in the world of the Unearthly series.

Clara is desperate to get away—from the memories that haunt her in Wyoming and the visions of a future she isn't ready to face—and spending the summer in Italy with her best friend, Angela, should be the perfect escape. . . .

For as long as she can remember, Angela has been told that love is dangerous, that she must always guard her heart. But when she met a mysterious guy in Italy two years ago she was determined to be with him, no matter the costs. Now she must decide whether she can trust Clara with her secret, or if telling her the truth will risk everything she cares about.

Alternating between Angela and Clara's perspectives, Radiant chronicles the unforgettable summer that will test the bounds of their friendship and change their lives forever.

Release Date: December 4th, 2012

***
4. Riven (The Illumine Series #3) by Alivia Anders

Summary:

The third installment of The Illumine Series.

Captured, imprisoned, and left to burn.
You know what they say- where there's smoke there's fire...

For the last two weeks, Essallie Hanley has been a prisoner, in more ways than one. Held hostage by the Queen, she is forced to endure the mind-numbing pain tearing her body- and soul -apart, killing her with every tick of the clock. It seems all hope is lost, until one chance moment gives Essallie a name, Rinae Decante, the final person needed for the Queen to unveil her master plan to end Essallie. Armed with this name, and with the help of Ari and Kayden, Essallie breaks free from her captivity and launches in a search for this mystery girl.

But their search doesn't go as smoothly as planned, and the three soon find themselves fighting against an impenetrable course of fate aimed to destroy them all from the inside out. When Essallie falls victim to her altering soul, they all begin to wonder of there's any chance at all to save themselves from the burning effects of their actions.

Love, lies, and betrayal.
No one is safe from the undoing of secrets surrounding Essallie.

Release Date: December 7th, 2012
___________________ 


And now it's January, the start of all kinds of madness!

1. Through The Ever Night (Under The Never Sky #2) by Veronica Rossi

Summary:

A world-defying love is put to the ultimate test in the heart-stopping sequel to Veronica Rossi's "masterpiece," Under the Never Sky. (Examiner.com)

It's been months since Aria last saw Perry. Months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission. Now, finally, they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect. The Tides don't take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the worsening Aether storms threatening the tribe's precarious existence, Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way to save them both.

Threatened by false friends, hidden enemies, and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night?

In this second book in her spellbinding Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi combines fantasy and dystopian elements to create a captivating love story as perilous as it is unforgettable.

Release Date: January 8th, 2013 

Why the release date has to be set on the day when I will be carrying out examinations at school!

***
2.   Boundless (Unearthly #3) by Cynthia Hand

Summary:

The past few years have held more surprises than part-angel Clara Gardner could ever have anticipated. Yet from the dizzying highs of first love, to the agonizing low of losing someone close to her, the one thing she can no longer deny is that she was never meant to live a normal life.

Since discovering the special role she plays among the other angel-bloods, Clara has been determined to protect Tucker Avery from the evil that follows her . . . even if it means breaking both their hearts. Leaving town seems like the best option, so she’s headed back to California - and so is Christian Prescott, the irresistible boy from the vision that started her on this journey in the first place.

As Clara makes her way in a world that is frighteningly new, she discovers that the fallen angel who attacked her is watching her every move. And he’s not the only one. . . . With the battle against the Black Wings looming, Clara knows she must finally fulfil her destiny. But it won’t come without sacrifices and betrayal.

In the riveting finale of the Unearthly series, Clara must decide her fate once and for all.

Release Date: January 22nd, 2013

***
 
Shades of Earth (Across The Universe #3) by Beth Revis

Summary:

The final book in the  New York Times bestselling trilogy, perfect for fans of Battlestar Gallactica and Prometheus!

Amy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceship Godspeed behind. They're ready to start life afresh--to build a home--on Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the universe to experience.

But this new Earth isn't the paradise Amy had been hoping for. There are giant pterodactyl-like birds, purple flowers with mind-numbing toxins, and mysterious, unexplained ruins that hold more secrets than their stone walls first let on. The biggest secret of all? Godspeed's former passengers aren't alone on this planet. And if they're going to stay, they'll have to fight.

Amy and Elder must race to discover who--or what--else is out there if they are to have any hope of saving their struggling colony and building a future together. They will have to look inward to the very core of what makes them human on this, their most harrowing journey yet. Because if the colony collapses? Then everything they have sacrificed--friends, family, life on Earth--will have been for nothing.

FUELED BY LIES.
RULED BY CHAOS.
ALMOST HOME.

Release Date: January 15th, 2013

*** 
Shadows In The Silence (Angelfire #3) by Courtney Allison Moulton

Summary:

Your strength in heart and hand will fall. . . .
Ellie knows that the darkest moments are still to come, and she has everything to fight for:

She must fight for Will.
The demonic have resorted to their cruelest weapons to put Will in mortal danger, and Ellie makes an unlikely alliance to save him and to stop Lilith and Sammael, who seek to drown the world in blood and tear a hole into Heaven.

She must fight for humanity.
As the armies of Hell rise and gather for the looming End of Days, Ellie and her band of allies travel to the world’s darkest and most ancient regions in her quest to come into her full glory as the archangel Gabriel.

And Ellie must save herself.
Her humanity withers beneath the weight of her cold archangel power, but Ellie must hold tight to who she is and who she loves as she prepares for the ultimate battle for Heaven and Earth.

In this final installment in the Angelfire trilogy, Courtney Allison Moulton brings her dark world of epic battles and blistering romance to a blazing bright conclusion.

Release Date: January 29th, 2013
 
 

 
 

Gonna Read: November and December

October is almost over here! What am I gonna read next?

Let's start with my birthday (and tests) month, November


1. Deity (Covenant #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Summary:

"History is on repeat, and things didn't go so well the last time. "


Alexandria isn't sure she's going to make it to her eighteenth birthday--to her Awakening. A long-forgotten, fanatical order is out to kill her, and if the Council ever discovers what she did in the Catskills, she's a goner... and so is Aiden.

If that's not freaky enough, whenever Alex and Seth spend time "training"--which really is just Seth's code word for some up-close and personal one-on-one time--she ends up with another mark of the Apollyon, which brings her one step closer to Awakening ahead of schedule. Awesome.

But as her birthday draws near, her entire world shatters with a startling revelation and she's caught between love and Fate. One will do anything to protect her. One has been lying to her since the beginning. Once the gods have revealed themselves, unleashing their wrath, lives will be irrevocably changed... and destroyed.

Those left standing will discover if love is truly greater than Fate...

Expected publication: November 6, 2012

***

2. Undeadly (The Reaper Diaries #1) by Michele Vail

Summary:

The day I turned 16, my boyfriend-to-be died. I brought him back to life. Then things got a little weird...

Molly Bartolucci wants to blend in, date hottie Rick and keep her zombie-raising abilities on the down-low. Then the god Anubis chooses her to become a reaper-and she accidentally undoes the work of another reaper, Rath. Within days, she’s shipped off to the Nekyia Academy, an elite school that trains the best necromancers in the world. And her personal reaping tutor? Rath. Who seems to hate her guts.

Rath will be watching closely to be sure she completes her first assignment-reaping Rick, the boy who should have died. The boy she still wants to be with. To make matters worse, students at the academy start turning up catatonic, and accusations fly-against Molly. The only way out of this mess? To go through hell. Literally.

Extra Stuff: Check out an excerpt of Undeadly by clicking the link below

 http://www.goodreads.com/reader/25218-undeadly?return_to=%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F12394032-undeadly

Expected publication: November 20, 2012

***

Elixir (Covenant #3.5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Summary:

Aiden St. Delphi will do anything to save Alex.
Even if it means doing the one thing he will never forgive himself for.
Even if it means making war against the gods.

Expected publication: November 27, 2012

___________________

And now it's time for the last month of this year. Hope that the world will not end or I will be really sad because I can't read the books released in 2013

1. Opal (Lux #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Summary:

No one is like Daemon Black.

When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.

But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.

After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.

Together we’re stronger... and they know it.

Expected publication: December 11, 2012

***

2. Annabel (Delirium #2.5) by Lauren Oliver

Summary:

Lena's mother, Annabel, has always been a mystery—a ghost in Lena's past. Until now.

Discover her secrets in Lauren Oliver's brilliant original digital story set in the world of New York Times bestsellers Delirium and Pandemonium.

Lena Halloway's mother, Annabel, supposedly committed suicide when Lena was only six years old. That's the lie that Lena grew up believing, but the truth is very different. As a rebellious teenager, Annabel ran away from home and straight into the man she knew she was destined to marry. The world was different then—the regulations not as stringent, the cure only a decade old. Fast forward to the present, and Annabel is consigned to a dirty prison cell, where she nurtures her hope of escape and scratches one word over and over into the walls: Love.

But Annabel, like Lena, is a fighter. Through chapters that alternate between her past and present, Annabel reveals the story behind her failed cures, her marriage, the births of her children, her imprisonment, and, ultimately, her daring escape. 

Expected publication: December 26, 2012

***

Radiant (Unearthly #2.5) by Cynthia Hand

From New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand comes a riveting original novella (available only as an ebook) set in the world of the Unearthly series.

Clara is desperate to get away—from the memories that haunt her in Wyoming and the visions of a future she isn't ready to face—and spending the summer in Italy with her best friend, Angela, should be the perfect escape. . . .

For as long as she can remember, Angela has been told that love is dangerous, that she must always guard her heart. But when she met a mysterious guy in Italy two years ago she was determined to be with him, no matter the costs. Now she must decide whether she can trust Clara with her secret, or if telling her the truth will risk everything she cares about.

Alternating between Angela and Clara's perspectives, Radiant chronicles the unforgettable summer that will test the bounds of their friendship and change their lives forever. 

Expected publication: December 4, 2012

***

Riven (The Illumine Series #3) by Alivia Anders

 

Summary:

The third installment of The Illumine Series.

Captured, imprisoned, and left to burn.
You know what they say- where there's smoke there's fire...

For the last two weeks, Essallie Hanley has been a prisoner, in more ways than one. Held hostage by the Queen, she is forced to endure the mind-numbing pain tearing her body- and soul -apart, killing her with every tick of the clock. It seems all hope is lost, until one chance moment gives Essallie a name, Rinae Decante, the final person needed for the Queen to unveil her master plan to end Essallie. Armed with this name, and with the help of Ari and Kayden, Essallie breaks free from her captivity and launches in a search for this mystery girl.

But their search doesn't go as smoothly as planned, and the three soon find themselves fighting against an impenetrable course of fate aimed to destroy them all from the inside out. When Essallie falls victim to her altering soul, they all begin to wonder of there's any chance at all to save themselves from the burning effects of their actions.

Love, lies, and betrayal.
No one is safe from the undoing of secrets surrounding Essallie.

Expected publication: December 7, 2012 
 
Looking forward to all these books!

Annabel: A Delirium Novel

After a huge smash of feelings from Opal's cover, it's another big wave of emotions again.

Annabel, Delirium 2.5, will be released on December 26, 2012!!!

That's three months before the final book of the trilogy, Requiem is released!

Oh.

My.

FREAKING.

God.

It centers Annabel Haloway, Lena's mother. She's always been a mystery to us.

Not when the book comes out.

Check out the cover. It's gorgeous!

 

Check out the summary from goodreads:

Lena's mother, Annabel, has always been a mystery—a ghost in Lena's past. Until now.

Discover her secrets in Lauren Oliver's brilliant original digital story set in the world of New York Times bestsellers Delirium and Pandemonium.

Lena Halloway's mother, Annabel, supposedly committed suicide when Lena was only six years old. That's the lie that Lena grew up believing, but the truth is very different. As a rebellious teenager, Annabel ran away from home and straight into the man she knew she was destined to marry. The world was different then—the regulations not as stringent, the cure only a decade old. Fast forward to the present, and Annabel is consigned to a dirty prison cell, where she nurtures her hope of escape and scratches one word over and over into the walls: Love.

But Annabel, like Lena, is a fighter. Through chapters that alternate between her past and present, Annabel reveals the story behind her failed cures, her marriage, the births of her children, her imprisonment, and, ultimately, her daring escape.

***

I can't freaking wait to see how Annabel joins the resistance and fall in love with a guy!

God, December will be absolutely FANTASTIC!