Wow.

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In a debut romance as passionate and sweeping as the British Empire, Meredith Duran paints a powerful picture of an aristocrat torn between two worlds, an heiress who dares to risk everything…and the love born in fire and darkness that nearly destroys them.

From exotic sandstone palaces…

Sick of tragedy, done with rebellion, Emmaline Martin vows to settle quietly into British Indian society. But when the pillars of privilege topple, her fiancé’s betrayal leaves Emma no choice. She must turn for help to the one man whom she should not trust, but cannot resist: Julian Sinclair, the dangerous and dazzling heir to the Duke of Auburn.

To the marble halls of London…

In London, they toast Sinclair with champagne. In India, they call him a traitor. Cynical and impatient with both worlds, Julian has never imagined that the place he might belong is in the embrace of a woman with a reluctant laugh and haunted eyes. But in a time of terrible darkness, he and Emma will discover that love itself can be perilous — and that a single decision can alter one’s life forever.

Destiny follows wherever you run.

A lifetime of grief later, in a cold London spring, Emma and Julian must finally confront the truth: no matter how hard one tries to deny it, some pasts cannot be disowned…and some passions never die.

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The Duke of Shadows: 9.65

From what I understand, TDoS is Meredith Duran’s debut novel. I think those people are lying.

Of course

Book Two of the Perfect Chemistry series. This time we are introduced to Alex’s brother, Carlos.

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Carlos Fuentes doesn’t want any part of the life his older brother, Alex, has laid out for him in Boulder, Colorado. He’s used to living on his own terms—terms that involve doing drugs and dating lots of girls.

When Alex arranges for Carlos to live with a professor and his family, he feels completely out of place. He’s even more thrown by his strong feelings for the professor’s daughter, Kiara, who is nothing like the girls he’s usually drawn to. But Carlos and Kiara soon discover that in matters of the heart, the rules of attraction overpower the social differences that keep them apart (source: perfectchemistrythebook.com).

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Rules of Attraction (RoA): 9.5

Ooooh Carlos. Them Fuentes men are so damn irresistible.

Just to set the record straight, who do I like best? Alex or Carlos? Carlos or Alex? RoA

Book 3 of the Hathaways series.

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Poppy Hathaway loves her unconventional family, though she longs for normalcy. Then fate leads to a meeting with Harry Rutledge, an enigmatic hotel owner and inventor with wealth, power, and a dangerous hidden life. When their flirtation compromises her own reputation, Poppy shocks everyone by accepting his proposal—only to find that her new husband offers his passion, but not his trust.

Harry was willing to do anything to win Poppy—except to open his heart. All his life, he has held the world at arm’s length…but the sharp, beguiling Poppy demands to be his wife in every way that matters. Still, as desire grows between them, an enemy lurks in the shadows. Now if Harry wants to keep Poppy by his side, he must forge a true union of body and soul, once and for all… (source: Amazon)

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Tempt Me At Twilight: 9.4

Book 3, and the third book I read in the series (not in chronological order though)

Just how many

Book 1 of the Iron Fay series.

And my newest post after almost three months. Like wow, where have I been? LOL

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Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan’s life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she’s known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth – that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she’ll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart (source: goodreads.com)

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The Iron King : 9.35

I have heard lots of praises for this series but it never lured me to read it. I felt like stories about fairies were not interesting enough. Explain to

Truth is, I have a lot of TBR books but because of the positive reviews about this one, I decided to read it first.

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Jaden McEntyre and Parker Whalen are a wrong fit from the start. Jaden is driven and focused, Harvard Med School within reach. Parker has a past-a reputation-and the rumors about his mysterious habits abound. So there’s no reason why, when they’re assigned to work together on a project in English, they should discover they have anything in common, or even like each other, and they definitely shouldn’t be falling in love.

As they bond over Edith Wharton’s tragic novella, Ethan Frome, the “bad boy” vibe Parker plays begins to dissipate. Soon, Jaden finds herself shedding her own “good girl” image: sneaking around to be with him, confiding in him, and ultimately falling hard for this leather-wearing, motorcycle-driving loner who plays into the rebel stereotype.

Still, Jaden can’t shake the feeling that there’s more to Parker than he’s letting on. He’s hiding something from her, and discovering the truth means reconciling the Parker she’s grown to love with the person he really is. Because it’s possible that his life inside the classroom-everything Jaden knows-is one, massive lie (source: goodreads).

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Cross My Heart: 9.3

This book is a love-hate thing for me. At the start, I loved it, then after some time I sort of hated it, then I started to love it, hate it and the cycle goes on.

I would really want to like this and I have prepared my heart to love this but I know it will never happen the second time the phrase “and she tucks her hair behind her ears” came about. Like for real, how many times has that line been mentioned? Everytime I read that line, I become a bit irritated.

I don’t know

I originally intended to not make a review of this series (for personal reasons) but reading three books and not putting your thoughts into words is such a waste.

This would be an informal review about the Lucky Harbor series.

The LH series (the first three in the series) centers around three half sisters: Maddie, Tara, and Chloe. Having the same mother but different fathers, the three were united when upon the death of their mother, they were notified about their mother’s will entrusting a cottage/inn in a small town called Lucky Harbor. And so begins their journey in strengthening their familial ties and their search for love.

Lucky Harbor Series: 9.2

What made me read these books were the positive reviews I’ve read. However, after reading the stories, I felt that the series was so-so. The love stories were pretty typical (for me it was a bit flat and played safe on the plot when it could developed into a more exciting one ), still, despite this, I found myself finishing all three books. I can’t explain what made me do it but somehow I felt that I should know what happened to the rest of the sisters.

If you ask me what story is my favorite and who is my favorite character, I can’t answer you straight away. I have to say that I liked Maddie’s story (because of Jax), I liked the premise of Tara’s story (the reuniting with your old love theme and having a child) and I likedd the excitement in Chloe’s story. In terms of favorite female, I think I’ll have to settle with Chloe As for my favorite male, I liked Jax’s attitude, Ford’s aura and looks and Sawyer’s strength.

From what I read in Goodreads, there are at least four more books to follow.

For the year 2011, I have read 49 books. WOW.

I think this is the most number of books I’ve read in a year EVER.

49 books all in all (discounting the mangas and tagalog pocketbooks I’ve read).

30 of which were romance novels.

Let’s make a year ender list for all the books I’ve read:

Favorite Romance: An Offer From a Gentleman

Most Surprising Read (in a good way): The Hunger Games

Favorite YA: Perfect Chemistry

Favorite series: Percy Jackson

Favorite Male: Alex Fuentes (Perfect Chemistry)

Favorite Female: Win Hathaway (Seduce Me at Sunrise)

Hate/Love novel: Fifty Shades saga

Least favorite book: Artemis Fowl

The i-can’t-put-you-down book: An Offer From a Gentleman

The i-wish-i-didn’t-read-you book: Artemis Fowl

The i-like-to-read-you-but-i’m-so-emotional-to-continue book: Mockingjay

1. Ian Thornton – Almost Heaven (Judith McNaught)

2. Mr. Darcy – Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)

3. Michael Moscovitz – Princess Diaries (Meg Cabot)

4. Alex Fuentes – Perfect Chemistry (Simone Elkeles)

5. Sirius Black* – Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling)

After much deliberation, I have finally come up with my top five favorite male book characters of all time (well up to the present that is).

So what do most of them

Alex Fuentes show yourself to me!

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A fresh, urban twist on the classic tale of star-crossed lovers.

When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she’s worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.

In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart (source: Amazon.com).

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Perfect Chemistry: 9.9

First book about the Fuentes brothers. A few seconds prior to typing this, I would have rated this book 9.6, but after careful internalization I realize that whenever I see a picture of Alex or I think of the epilogue, this book surpassed

Is this YA or something?

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Miri lives on a mountain where, for generations, her ancestors have quarried stone and lived a simple life. Then word comes that the king’s priests have divined her small village the home of the future princess. In a year’s time, the prince himself will come and choose his bride from among the girls of the village. The king’s ministers set up an academy on the mountain, and every teenage girl must attend and learn how to become a princess.

Miri soon finds herself confronted with a harsh academy mistress, bitter competition among the girls, and her own conflicting desires to be chosen and win the heart of her childhood best friend. But when bandits seek out the academy to kidnap the future princess, Miri must rally the girls together and use a power unique to the mountain dwellers to save herself and her classmates (source: Amazon.com).

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Princess Academy: 8.9

This book is not clearly for me. I was thinking what if I were to read this when I was younger? Would I enjoy it? Probably not. And it’s not even the title. In contrast, I decided to give this