Book Review: Champion by Marie Lu + BONUS STUFF!

Hello! Happy last day of 2014! As this year ends, it would be fitting to also end my reviews of the Legend trilogy with the review of Champion. Nothing's gonna stop me now! I don't know what would happen to my OCD-ish-ness if Champion's review was released in 2015. Hahaha! So without further ado, let us begin the final book review of 2014.

• Title: Champion
• Author: Marie Lu
• Genre: young adult, sci fi, dystopia
• Pages: 369 pages (paperback)
• Published: 5 November 2013
• Series:  Legend #3

"He is a Legend.

She is a Prodigy.
Who will be Champion?  
 
June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic—and each other—and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. June is back in the good graces of the Republic, working within the government’s elite circles as Princeps Elect while Day has been assigned a high level military position. But neither could have predicted the circumstances that will reunite them once again. Just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic’s border cities. This new strain of plague is deadlier than ever, and June is the only one who knows the key to her country’s defense. But saving the lives of thousands will mean asking the one she loves to give up everything he has. With heart-pounding action and suspense, Marie Lu’s bestselling trilogy draws to a stunning conclusion."

Since every year ends with a countdown, I've decided to do a rundown of the top 5 things I liked about Champion. (Again, I am assuming you have read Legend and Prodigy. But if not, well... SPOILER ALERT!)

5. A somewhat relaxing beginning.

Unlike the first two books which welcomed its readers with lots of action and thrill, Champion's beginning was like a breather of sorts. It was a tad emotional, yes, but there were no fast-heartbeat moments, which to me was a good thing because I think that reading lots of action-y moments without pauses is not good for any reader. The pauses are what makes the action more effective after all. It was nice to see a laid back Day (but of course he has to be laid back, he has this terminal illness after all haha), a normal Republic official June, an Eden that's just a normal kid and not the property of the government, etc. Plus, we get to see the old enemies get tried and sentenced to a punishment they deserve (well, sort of).

4. A brand new enemy.

Forget the unbelievably annoying Commander Jameson because she's nothing compared to the Colonies. How? The Colonies is a whole nation, for starters. And not only that, they are a bunch of commercialized businessmen that know how to make the best out of any deal they make (i.e. bombing the Republic if the Republic does not give a cure for the plague that's affecting them). Also, their army's one tough nut to crack and they have allies that the Republic doesn't. It was interesting to see how Day and the gang try to stop the Colonies.

3. More action and thrill, of course!

Precisely. Marie Lu would not end this remarkable trilogy without a bang. What better way to do it than to drop some bombs! In this novel, I saw the Republic and the Colonies, long time rival nations, go into war. It was thrilling to see how the nations would try to outsmart each other. The Republic, for instance, tries something sneaky in order to try and outsmart the Colonies. But unfortunately the Colonies are sneaky as well. Marie Lu also managed to add some thrill by setting a strict deadline to which Day and June and the others could find a cure before the Colonies bomb everything to dust. With all these, the stakes are higher than ever before and it Champion turned out to be a very exciting book.

2. More of Day and June's "new" Earth.

I admired how Champion left boring 'ole Republic and visited another part of the world: Ross City, Antarctica! It was interesting to see the Sims-like city of Ross in Antarctica. Apart from that, more of the world's history was added (i.e. how the world changed after the floods, how the Republic and Colonies were formed). It was like the feeling of playing a game where there are side quests you can do apart from the main game. I felt like I went on a bookish side-quest haha. Also, it was relaxing to leave the chaotic Republic for once. It was like a breath of fresh (and cool, Antarctica, remember?) air.

1. THAT ENDING THOUGH

Oh my, never have I read such a bittersweet ending. Apart from the sad feelings, I thought that the ending was beautifully crafted and thought of. Even though it may be bittersweet, I though it was perfect. None of the characters I'm rooting for died, so that was a huge relief. (This doesn't count as a spoiler since you don't know who I am rooting for :P) As usual, no spoilers here so I can only say this much, and always remember the wise words of Uncle Jude. If you want to know what I am talking about, give the book a try! :)

Champion ended the series so beautifully for me that is why I am giving it 5 stars! Totally worth the read!

So... I guess that's it for this review, this series, and for 2014! *cue Auld Lang Syne background song* Before I end this post though, I thought that I'd like to end this post with a meaningful message. Haha. Now don't get teary-eyed there. I just want to share with you the things I've learned this past year. I know that some of them I should have known a long time ago, and some I learned the hard way, but it wasn't always that bad. I hope that you'd get to learn something too, or at least just so you could have someone you could relate with. Maybe we had the same realizations. Who knows? So without further ado, here are some things I learned this 2014.

• To start off, I learned that burned bridges can be rebuilt. Those ashes still have their value, so don't get rid of them just yet. Those ashes could hide some parts that were spared from when you burned that bridge, enough to make a small bridge again. Overtime, you could add your own parts to the bridge, and may even end up making a bridge as big as before, or even bigger! I'm talking about relationships, alright? 
• I learned the basic street smarts that I can use when commuting to my Uni! (i.e. which part of the MRT to ride on. Yes, I think of those small details too.)
• I learned that graduating doesn't mean saying goodbye forever. Heck, my high school friends and I have been meeting every month since we graduated! XD
• I learned to be humble. Or at least, I think I got the hang of it... you decide, please.
• I learned how to make friends, after four years of being with the same group of classmates. It actually isn't that bad! You just have to wear a smile on your face and think, say, and do positive. There's actually nothing wrong in approaching someone for the first time in college! Everybody does that, basically, since we have different classmates of different degrees and year levels every subject every sem!
• I learned that bottling up your emotions is a terribly bad mistake. You should let it out every once in a while, and let the person concerned with why you are feeling that way know. Let them know, but let them know calmly and explain clearly. The more calm you are, the more easy it is to understand you. It's hard bottling up your emotions because you might explode one day. Releasing a little every time is better than exploding all at once.
• I learned that I could actually cut the small, unimportant pleasures (i.e. in my case, merienda food I pass by in/on the way home from school) and save up little by little. I was surprised to see my savings rise after cutting down on that Pancit Canton + Calamares combo that I oh, so love to buy in school. Not only was I saving, I was also doing my well-being a favor by not eating too much oily and preservative-loaded food (see above: Pancit Canton + Calamares combo) and besides, it's time I went on a diet haha.
• I learned that in college, free time does not mean leisure time. It means study time. Free time = study time. I clearly wasn't informed when I signed up for this hahaha.
• Ironically, I also learned that studying all the time is not good. Give yourself some alone time every once in a while to clear your mind and relax, or else you could go craaazy.
• I learned to be grateful. Every one of us should show gratitude to even the simplest of good deeds someone does for us.
• Lastly, I learned to be happy with what I already have. This year has been rough for me, to tell you honestly, (but much better than last year!) and magically I had more time for myself. During these times, I reflect. And I somehow learned (and still am learning) how to be happy by finding the joy in what I already have. It really helped me during those sinful envy moments. And I hope you do, too. If there was one piece of advice from 2014 that I could give, it is this: be happy with what you have, and don't let envy get in your way. I personally believe that just being jealous of someone else and using that someone as a motivation to do better are completely different sides. Stick to the motivation side. 

Those are only some of the countless things I learned this 2014. I hope I made some sense haha. I also hope that you got to learn a thing or two too during this year and from my learnings. Wanna share anything with me? Comment below! From the bottom of my heart, I am wishing you a Happy New Year and I hope you have a fantastic 2015! See you next year on my next post! I propose a toast to bidding an experience-filled 2014 goodbye and for a 2015 that is much, much better! Cheers! *klink*

Happy 2015!

Book Review: Prodigy by Marie Lu

Hi! I hope you had a merry Christmas! It may be almost New Year but I'm still pushing to finish my review of the Legend trilogy before 2014 ends so... YOLOSWAGIT! Haha! Last time I was able to review Marie Lu's Legend, the first book of the series of the same name. Now let's head on to the next book of the series: Prodigy!

Apart from the info already present on the book's synopsis, this review is SPOILER FREE!  (And I'm assuming you've already read Legend whilst reading this post lol.) 

• Title: Prodigy
• Author: Marie Lu
• Genre: young adult, sci fi, dystopia
• Pages: 371 pages (paperback)
• Published: 1 January 2013
• Series:  Legend #2

"June and Day arrive in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage to the Colonies. They have only one request—June and Day must assassinate the new Elector. It’s their chance to change the nation, to give voice to a people silenced for too long. 

But as June realizes this Elector is nothing like his father, she’s haunted by the choice ahead. What if Anden is a new beginning? What if revolution must be more than loss and vengeance, anger and blood—what if the Patriots are wrong?

In this highly-anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestseller Legend, Lu delivers a breathtaking thriller with high stakes and cinematic action. "

THRILLING
Let me begin by telling you how thrilling this novel is. Yes, Marie Lu does it again with this book and in my opinion her story has become more thrilling than ever! Now that I now know the truth behind the Republic, the stakes are higher than ever! And of course, with higher stakes come more page turns. If you think Legend was fast-paced, you ain't seen nothing yet. And I'm not even exaggerating. Plus, this is the novel where all pieces come into place, which makes it a lot more worth reading. There's more history to back things up.

DANGEROUS
Also, Prodigy is more gritty compared to Legend. There were more deceptions, secrets, and the occasional deaths, which in my opinion places it more on its dystopian side rather than its sci fi side. The world becomes more dangerous. No more risky little Skiz fights. The Republic is the enemy now. And with June and Day being both official Patriots now, they literally already have the "enemy of the government" status, even without doing anything yet. But their mission just had to be to kill the new Elector. *sigh*

UNPREDICTABLE
That brings me to my next point. I loved how things were topsy-turvy. Who they thought was the real big enemy was actually a good guy and who they thought were the good guys were actually the baddies! I really enjoyed twists and turns like these. There were also big moments, and by big I mean like those moments that would look great if they were shown in a movie. The motivational speech broadcast to thousands of people with wind effect? Check! And that ending? Well... I'll leave it to you to find out for yourself. My response is only one word with three big letters: WHY?!

CONSTRUCTIVE
One more thing I admired about Prodigy was how it built up the bond between Day and June, (highlight with cursor for spoiler-induced review) just enough for readers like me to go crazy when that bond is forcefully ripped apart at the end of the book. They were able to learn more about and from each other, which makes the seemingly worthless romance actually relevant... and downright steamy (i.e. bathtub scene, and you know just how much I despise love scenes *gags*). Also, both grew in their own way but I think June grabs the spotlight in this round. She has changed a lot since the beginning. In this novel, she takes more risks, becomes more decisive, and many more. The spotlight isn't always on June, though. Kaede and Anden (characters who both appeared briefly in Legend) both shares that spotlight as well. The two turned out to be my favorite characters in the series. Just to give you a hint, Kaede has this big moment in the story and Anden will become a pivotal character in Prodigy and will work his way into being a mainframe character in Champion (third book). And I almost forgot, Tess, who in Legend is this poor young orphan that Day took in, also becomes more mature and more fearless in Prodigy. Plus, I spy with my little eye a little love triangle. ;)

So that's it for this book review. I could clearly say I had a better time reading Prodigy than Legend, but for the rating, they are still tied, simply because there were some deaths that I did not want and I thought was completely unnecessary. Hahaha! And because there was this annoying bad guy that just won't disappear. (Hint: Commander Jameson)

Happy Holidays,

Book Review: Legend by Marie Lu (SPOILER FREE!)

How's it going? In honor of the Marie Lu book signing event that happened last month, I am happy to announce that this month (and probably next month) is going to be Marie Lu month! I am going to review her Legend Trilogy and her latest release, The Young Elites, for the weeks to come. I've read her trilogy and all I can say for now is that I am so excited to do this! So without further ado, Marie Lu month starts now!

• Title: Legend
• Author: Marie Lu
• Genre: young adult, sci fi, dystopia
• Pages: 304 pages (paperback)
• Published: 29 November 2011
• Series:  Legend #1

"What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. 

Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. 

Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. 

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. 
Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets."

Marie Lu writes a very interesting story of how a criminal and a woman of the law get their fates intertwined and somehow fall in love with each other. A girl falling in love with the guy who allegedly stabbed her brother in the heart. How romantic. Haha. Kidding aside though, at one point I thought it was a bit unrealistic. Who would want to love a person who killed his/her loved one? PLUS it was much like Disney before Queen Elsa finally put some sense. It was like, what? Two days or something before they suddenly fell in love with each other?

The romance at first made me all like:

But seriously, it's more interesting than it sounds. And I got to know the deeper reason behind this romance as the story progressed. I just can't reveal much stuff since I wouldn't want to spoil it to anyone but behind this murder is something much darker and more mysterious. And with this murder case going on, they might reveal a secret that their country has been hiding for a long time. But that is not the only thing that made me admire Legend.

Fast-paced - I think that is what makes Legend special. I was very eager to get on with the next chapter/page since Lu writes so quickly that I just have to know what happens next. There were no dull moments wherein you just want to skim through the words (except maybe for the June-analyzing-things-factually parts since she's a walking encyclopedia). It was full of action and suspense and conspiracies which were guaranteed page-turners. Who wouldn't want a good 'ole frame-up story? 

The characters were very nice, too. I could really see some development in them as the story progresses. Also, I really saw their ideals and the truths they cling to - (even the baddies). Take Day for instance. He may be a criminal, yes, but his motives are pure and humane. June on the other hand, is this prodigy who is destined to be the ideal woman of the law someday but really she's just a girl who stands with what is fair, even if it is against the law. I love digging into characters' personalities and ideals when I read, and with Legend I was able to do it and in some way I got to connect with these characters.

Apart from that though, Lu made the "sci fi" part and the "dystopian" part complement each other with both Day and June's characters. You know when you make a PB&J sandwich that has just the right PB and jelly ratio? Not those nutty sandwiches with too much PB or those messy sandwiches turned jelly-filled doughnut-wich. It felt just like that for me. And now I'm hungry. 

Lastly, before I make my sandwich, I just want to let everyone know that I'm not a fan of stories with romance and let me tell you now that Legend is kind of a romance-y story. BUT the romance was very subtle for me. It didn't make me gag or anything haha. In fact, I thought it was kind of alright to have and I thought that it made the story much much better.

The Rating:

I really enjoyed Legend regardless of the abnormally-quickly-appearing romance haha and of people dying too (thought we would be safe now, did you?). Legend is a novel that I can recommend to all teens and adults of both genders who would want to uncover a national conspiracy but would want some action and fast momentum to go with it. Legend is a must-read but don't read it when you have an exam to study for... unless you want a big fat F because trust me, I had a hard time putting it down and you might, too! (credits to the owners of the GIFs)

Event Recap: Marie Lu Book Signing Event #MarieLuinPH

Hi! It's been a looooong time but here I am once again and this time I'm bringing you the scoop from last Sunday's Marie Lu book signing event! I hope this makes up for my hiatus lol. Anyway, this post is just too juicy so let us begin right away!

PART 1: THE BOY WHO WAITS IN THE LINE

WOWZZERS! THIS LINE IS LOOOOONG. My ever supportive mom and I arrived at Glorietta 1 at 5:45 AM. We were walking in front of the mall and I thought: Wow, this line isn't so bad. A bit longer than Alex London's but still short nonetheless! But my, oh my, was I wrong. When we turned to the corner of the mall, the line as it turned out, extended to the side! The first thing I did? Stared in disbelief. Second? Brisk walked the hell to the end of the line. And that was when our 8-hour wait started. 

While we were waiting in line, a group of nice people started giving out some bookmarks and paperclip rings, and I gratefully accepted. I didn't know who they were but I really appreciated their gesture. Whoever you people are, I hope you are having a very fine day!

And with the nice people came the not-so-nice. (Rant ahead. Just letting things out.) Some people in line apparently have the ability to use the Kage Bunshin technique because the single person in front of me turned into five people by the time we were registering. But then I realized that he was no ninja. It turns out that people like him have this "style" in which only one person in a group of friends gets in line early, thus, reserving the rest of the group some spots. I don't want to say that I'm against that style but... I'm against that style. It's so unfair to the people who got in line really early and for those who waited patiently for people to cut in front of them just like that. (e.g. me) I guess it's okay if someone will just act as a placeholder, but to just cut in front of someone and for me experiencing that style face-to-face, I just don't like it. And there's this other girl (this happened during the program itself but I wanted to put all rants in one place) who just had to bring her mouth with her and said out loud: I CAN'T BELIEVE WHEN _______ DIED! I WAS, LIKE, CRYING, AND blabbity-blabbity-bla. She actually spoiled me with the ending of The Young Elites! Unacceptable!!!!!!! A group of friends beside me also heard and I guess they got spoiled too so they made "parinig" (insinuated) to the girl, and that was revenge enough for me. Hehehe. Rant over. Moving on!

By the time the registration started, there was just utter chaos! The not-big-for-800-people National Book Store Glorietta 1 branch (see photo above) was filled to the brim with 800 people! Lines went in zig-zags and even up and down National's floors! But the line for registration was a bit fast-paced so I quickly got registered and...

TAH-DAH! My signing pass number! If you think that that's big, just remember that we were more or less 800 in total by the time the event started, so 167's actually a good number if I do say so myself. Haha! By the time we arrived in the actual spot for the program, not an empty seat was to be seen. There were 700+ people and NBS only prepared 70 chairs, which disappointed me. There was no other choice but to sit on the floor. 4 freaking hours of sitting on the floor and trying my best to be in a comfortable position? Check! Customary stage and couches photos? Checkiddy-check! 

Ohmy I hope my Justin Bieber hair won't haunt BOTH our dreams. Hehe. 

PART 2: THE GIRL WHO FLATTERS THE WAITING FANS

After hours (what's new?) of waiting, the lady of the hour finally came! 

See the photo above? That was what my phone was seeing. What I was seeing, in fact, was this:

Good thing people were using their tablets. I had like a dozen monitors to watch from hehehe. And since I love y'all, I recorded the interview! But it's too wobbly and low-qual, so I'm just going to give you a rundown of everything important she has said. ("Quoted" and italicized words are her own words in verbatim)

On Marie's personal life that she is willing to share:

• Marie's husband's Pinoy! His name is Primo and he was born here, near Bicol. Does the name ring a bell? ;)
• She took up Biology and Political Science in college, but when she saw an internship ad for a job at Disney, she took the opportunity. There she made games and that was also where she met Primo, her Player 2.

On her writing:

• Marie writes on and off. There are months when she will write everyday, and some when she won't write at all. It all depends on her story and schedule.
• She wrote four (4) unpublished novels before Legend.
• When she first started writing, she actually had to draw her characters before writing about them, given her artistic background. 
• Her video game background always shows up in her stories without her realizing it like in Legend, where the Skiz fights were inspired by Street Fighter and in Champion, where Ross City was inspired by The Sims.
• She actually wants to do a picture-book, since she wanted to do something that involves artwork. 

On Legend:

• When asked if Marie sees herself like June Iparis, she says that she is more like Day. She also wears her heart in her sleeve like Day, she's also not good at Math, and "all these things that June is good at". But in the end she tells us that she is the most like Tess, and that Tess is a character that is very close to her heart.
• Currently, there isn't anyone like Anden in her life, but she says that she can associate Anden's different personalities with different people.
• She actually started writing Day's character back when she was in high school! Day was originally a darker, more cruel character although he has "evolved a lot over the years". The "darker" Day first appeared in a novel Marie wrote in high school which never got published.
• Kaede is Marie's wish fulfillment character. Kaede had the traits and characteristics that Marie wished she had, including the ability to pilot a jet (who DOESN'T want the ability to pilot a jet, right?). She wanted to be a fire pilot when she was 9 years old, but her mom doesn't want to because Marie has poor eyesight, so she ended up giving the opportunity to Kaede instead.
• She actually had a harder time being in June's viewpoint rather than in Day's. June has different personalities that Marie admits is very hard to write about. Also, she says that it is very difficult to "write a character that is smarter than you are" so she would constantly do research just to write June's dialogue. There was one time where June just rambles of about the properties of paperclips so Marie had to go to the Instant Homework Website  Wikipedia just to research about paperclips for June's dialogue. LOL!
• June was originally a boy character in the earliest version of Legend. Marie wanted to model the story like Les Mis, with Valjean and Javert with this criminal-police thing going on and Valjean and Javert being both male, but Primo suggested that she make June a girl to make things more interesting, so Marie named the evil dictator after him. How sweet. 
• Marie had difficulty in writing love scenes for the Legend trilogy, primarily because she can't help but picture a small version of her mother in her shoulder looking at what she is writing and going all like: "Where did you learn this stuff?!". Mother knows best!
• Legend has been optioned for a movie! It has been optioned by CBS films and the producers of, wait for it, The Fault in Our Stars! She remindes us that nothing is 100% certain in Hollywood unless it's already done, but the screenplay has been made. Yipee!

On The Young Elites:

• She just finished the draft for the second book of TYE, but is still in edits with her editors.
• She says that TYE is very far from her personality and that TYE did not jive with it. 
• She thinks that Adelina is kind of "twisted". Sometimes Adelina will make her be all like: "What is wrong with this girl?!". She wanted to see what it was like to be the villain, and what pushes people to be that way. As to Day from the Legend series being "the boy who walks in the light", Adelina is the "girl who walks in darkness". 
• While writing Adelina, she draws on little dark moments (e.g. traffic for 5 hours and some person cuts in front of her and she wants Godzilla to come out of the sky and devour said person). 
• She tells us that TYE part 2 is going to be darker than in part 1. It is going to be pretty much abut how Adelina gets revenge. 

Tips for aspiring writers:

• Marie handled rejection with "a lot of chocolate" (Are you sure we're not soul mates?) and that she holds on to this belief that "once a writer, always a writer". What she means is that you can't help but write if you are a writer, even if you think that you don't want to write anymore.
• I think it’s a good exercise to write at least little bit everyday. That’s what I did when I first started out. It’s hard when you first start writing, to make your writing perfect, but that’s okay. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Nobody can write a perfect first draft that I know of. Even, you know, the biggest authors I know of don’t write perfect first drafts. And I think it’s more important for you to be able to finish a novel before you can actually go back and make it better.
• Always keep on writing. Just know that everyone who is successful now as a writer went through this gauntlet of having early work that they never got published.

Also, there was this girl whom the host introduced to Marie because she was at the venue since 9:30 AM of the day before!!! Talk about dedication! 001 girl got a huge hug from Marie, which, if I was in her place, would definitely pay off the 24+ hours of waiting. No photo though. Sorry!

After the interview with the ever so courteous Ms. Yvette Fernandez, it was finally time for the signing! 

When it was finally my turn, I was speechless at first that I almost forgot to give her my letter! I noticed, though, that the signing was not very intimate (unlike Alex London's) and each person only had, like, 30 seconds with her. I wouldn't be surprised though, since there are 800 of us and only one of Marie. I didn't even make eye contact with her (:( ) but she said thank you when I handed my letter, (:D), and that was enough for me! And at least the NBS people let me take a picture with her. Yay! 

I also got to meet another IG book friend: @pamnbooks! Go follow her for bookish shtuff! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to meet up with Kevin of Tomebound, but I spotted him when the interview started. So close yet so far hehehe. I hope I get to meet more bookworm friends like them soon! James Frey book signing event, anyone?

So that was my Marie Lu book signing event escapade! I hope you liked my (ultra long, sorry) recap and leave a comment if you want to! Thank you once again to National Book Store for hosting the event and for letting me have the opportunity of meeting another writer I look up to. And last but not the least, thank you to Marie Lu for visiting us! It was truly an honor meeting you! I'll flatten out my bum on hard floor for you anytime hahaha. I hope you like my letter and the knick-knacks that came with it! :D Oh yeah, and I made a vlog of the event. Feel free to watch!

P.S. Remember when I said that this month is going to be Marie Lu month? On the count of three, you are going to forget that I said that. Okay? 1. 2. 3! Hi! This is Jude telling you that December is going to be Marie Lu month for Jude Reads! I'm going to review The Legend Trilogy and The Young Elites next month, so be sure to keep an eye out for them! :D << inconspicuous smiley

Une Fin Douce With My Cadbury Barkada #CadburySweetEndings #TeamChocolateMousse

Une fin douce. In English, a sweet ending! And now comes the part where you may be wondering: "Why the French-iness all of a sudden?". It is because when it comes to sweet endings, Cadbury is a veteran. Now, what does this have to do with the French words, Jude? Hold your horses because I'm getting there. Haha. It is because Cadbury is introducing two new limited edition flavors: French Vanilla and Chocolate Mousse! 

Cadbury has released two new French inspired flavors: French Vanilla and Chocolate Mousse! And with all duos come the always-present teams. (i.e. Team Edward or Team Jacob, Team Kataang or Team Zutara, etc.) In this case, my barkada is #TeamChocolateMousse! There are no second thoughts. My barkada and I are insanely addicted to chocolate mousse cakes, and to think that it now has a chocolate form - magnifique! So without a doubt, my barkada and I are proud to say that we are #TeamChocolateMousse! And speaking of my barkada, here's our shameless attempt at a french masquerade ball. Hahaha. Feel free to laugh. 

We do know that masquerade parties originated in France, so we thought to do one ourselves! That's as close as we can be to being in France for now hahahaha. #TeamChocolateMousse for the win! Just imagine that slice of chocolate mousse to cap off your day with friends, and then imagine it as tiny melt-in-the-mouth bite-sized chocolate pieces that remind you of romantic nights at the Eiffel Tower, or in our case of graceful french masquerade balls... a sweet ending indeed! These new flavors are limited edition, by the way, so grab your Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Mousse (or French Vanilla) now before they disappear!

Book Review: The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

This is it, guys! Another well-loved series finally comes to an end. The Heroes of Olympus series ends with Blood of Olympus and oh, how bittersweet this feeling is! I have been following the series since 2011 and you could only imagine the mixed emotions I am feeling regarding this novel. But enough with the drama. Did the finale live up to the expectations of fans like me? Well, let's find out!

• Title: The Blood of Olympus
• Author: Rick Riordan
• Genre: young adult, fantasy, mythology, fiction, adventure
• Pages: 516 pages (hardcover)
• Published: 7 October 2014
• Series:  The Heroes of Olympus #5

"Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them—and they're stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake.

The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it "might" be able to stop a war between the two camps.

The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea's army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over. "

To tell you the truth, it took me 2 hours to type this sentence in because I just don't know how/where to start. This book is filled with so much action and drama and twists and turns and I just don't know where to begin! So I have come up with the Top 5 Best Things About The Blood of Olympus (not ranked). So without further ado, let us begin!

1. More Demigods + Gods (yes, plural) Co-ops!

I think that the PJO fandom agrees with me when I say that we all get giddy inside whenever we read about the demigods being helped by the gods during battles. And by help, I mean help in person, not just through long distance. When the gods stand by the demigods' side during battles, there's just this dramatic orchestra music that plays in my brain. It's good to see these gods helping out, and not just being busy with their double personalities. Okay, maybe that's a valid reason to not help out but still... their gods for crissakes! The least they could do is help their ill-fated destiny-bound children. 

2. More Character Background and Development.

I got to see more of Reyna's story since she finally gets a POV in this novel. It's always good to know a character more. And speaking of knowing characters more, I also got to see some of our heroes develop their characters. It's hard to explain without giving away spoilers but the point is that their characters are far from when we first knew them. They've grown and improved, if I do say so myself.

3. Unexpected Twists and Endings

Hard to explain without spoiling anything but NEED I SAY MORE? 

4. More Mythical Meet-ups + Old Friends Reunite!

New gods and mythical characters have been incorporated in this novel, both good and bad. I enjoyed knowing these new characters and what role they play in our heroes' destiny. Some helped them while some just got in their way. And with the new characters come the old - those that we haven't seen for a while. I saw some old friends in this novel once again and nothing beats a happy reunion. 

5. CLOSUUUURE + Happy Endings?

We do know, of course, that there are different issues present among our heroes. Saying that they settled these issues would be a spoiler already but all I can say is that I was amused with how they dealt with some of these issues. ;) And for the happy endings part, I'll leave it up for those who haven't read the book yet to find out for themselves. And for those who have read the novel, highlight the following sentences with the cursor (spoilers ahead!): OH MY GODS. Did Rick just... passively cliff-hanger us? Why did it end so abruptly with Leo and Calypso sailing into gods-know-where? Oh well... This just gives me hope that this won't be the last time we'll be seeing our heroes. 

Now that we're done listing the best things, let's head down to the worst things. Here are the Top 3 Not-So-Great Things About The Blood of Olympus.

1. It ended with a small and rather disappointing BANG.

There was a bang, I'll tell you that. But I felt that it just did not live up to the Tartarus our heroes have been through and to the amazing stories that we have read prior to this finale. I found myself thinking "That was it? It couldn't possibly be just that!", over and over after finishing the novel. I craved for more and unfortunately got nothing else. Which is why I'm really hoping for more of our heroes' stories, and even novellas and short stories would do! (Time for Rick to channel his inner J.K. Rowling)

2. (A personal opinion) No Percy's POV

Again, this is a more personal opinion (since everything I write in this blog are personal opinions). In fact, I wanted all seven demigods to have POVs in this book, even if it sounds like asking for too much. But I wanted at least Percy's POV to be present, since he was the main hero of the series that preceded the Heroes of Olympus (Percy Jackson and the Olympians). I thought it would be a good way to say goodbye to him. But no. The Percy POVs in the previous book, The House of Hades, were the last ones. :( 

3. It's the Finale :(

Simply put, I'll miss the series. I'll miss waiting for October for the next book to come out. I'll miss the beautiful emboss and velvet-y finish of the Heroes of Olympus covers. I'll miss Percy and the gang. I'll miss fanboying with my friends whenever we finish reading the book that just came out. I'll miss everything about the series. The whole series has been a great ride, and I'm just sad that it's over now. But luckily Rick announced a new series, this time featuring the Nordic gods! 

Taken from Rick Riordan's blog

So I'll guess we'll see some Thor and Mjolnir action soon, and I'm not talking about Marvel Thor. But still, nothing will replace the Heroes of Olympus series and it will forever hold a special place in my heart. And before I forget, here's my rating:

And that's it! I was very careful about revealing spoilers because I myself had been spoiled with this novel. And the worst part is that the spoiler I unintentionally saw was about the last chapter with all the surprise endings! (Oops, I'm saying too much already.) To that one guy who commented about a spoiler on that post on Facebook... I hope you're a fan of the Game of Thrones TV series because I'm willing to read all the novels just to tell you who's going to die next. 

So with all that said, guys, this has been my review on The Blood of Olympus! Let me know what you think about my review and the Blood of Olympus itself in a comment! Also, in light of the Marie Lu event that will be happening in two weeks, I am pleased to announce that this month (and if I run out of time, next month) will be Marie Lu month for Jude Reads! I will be reviewing her Legend Trilogy and her newly-released novel, The Young Elites! This month's gon' be goooood. Adios!