Monday, April 28, 2014

A MUST READ: The Selection by Kiera Cass

Hi Book Lovers!

I am SO SORRY for not posting for a while because of my other blog, 'Natasha's Cute Blog'.

But getting straight to the point...

I highly recommend The Selection by Kiera Cass to YA and Romance readers.

The Selection - Book Cover

Details:

Book Title: The Selection
Author: Kiera Cass
Published April 24th 2012

Genre: Romance, Teen, YA
Similar Books: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
                 Die for Me by Amy Plum

4.5/5 stars

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Blurb:
For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.
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Ok. I guess from the blurb some of you may go whaaaatt? I don't get it.
But here is some more info that will help you understand better.

Castes - in Illéa (the country they live in), you are graded using castes. From One to Eight, the lower the number the wealthier you are. America is a Five.
The Selection - Basically it's a competition where young girls from all castes enter a draw to be in the competition with the winner awarded as the next queen of Illéa and Prince Maxon's wife. Of course you will have to fill in a form that included a picture of yourself, your age, talents, etcetera.

My Thoughts

This really deserved my 4.5 stars, and here is a list why:

- Interesting storyline
- Good character description
- Amazing book cover
- How America isn't the best and most popular in The Selection.
- Prince Maxon described as a really nice and gentle guy
- From page one America was in an interesting situation, with getting Selected and having Aspen as a boyfriend.
- This book wouldn't have been anywhere near as good as it is if it didn't have the love triangle. I usually think books with it in them is quite unoriginal, but it totally worked for this one.

But here is why the 0.5 is lost:

- America always the first one that gets Prince Maxon's kiss/meet/date
- Cliffhanger ending

But overall The Selection have a well deserved 4.5 and the spot in my Top 3 Series.

If you've read my Most Exciting Upcoming Books and Movies This Year, you would notice that the One, which is the 3rd and final installation of the series, is coming out this year! So excited!!!!

Thanks Everyone for reading my blog!
Please leave a comment!

Thanks
Nashy

Extras:

Click here for the Official Kiera Cass Website!

Click here for Official The Selection Extras!

Click here for the Book Trailer!

Friday, April 25, 2014

MY NEW BLOG!!

HI EVERYONE!

Haha after realising blogging is something I really enjoy, I decided to make another blog about cute things!

In Natasha's Cute Blog, I blog about DIYs and well... Cute things ><
Please check it out and support!
Click here to go to Natasha's Cute Blog.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

MOST EXCITING Upcoming Books and Movies This Year!

HI EVERYONE!!


So after 2 hour research, here's  a list of the most exciting upcoming books and movies! 
Haha I hope I didn't waste my time on nothing!

Note: All of the dates shown in the list of upcoming books and movies are US' Release Dates
(I know, I wish NZ can have all of these great stuff at the same time too)
         The dates shown below are premier dates! 

TOP 5 MOST EXCITING UPCOMING YA Books!
(Not in Order From Best to, well, least best?)


1.  City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments #6)
      Release Date: 27th of May

The Official Book Cover
AHHHHHHHHH! I can't wait!! It was such a cliffhanger at the last novel! 

 City of Heavenly Fire will be the last installment of the Mortal Instruments series *sob* but I think it will be a good ending to the amazing series.








2. The One by Kiera Cass (The Selection #3)
    Release Date: 15th of May

Book Cover of The One


The Selection Series is one of my favourtites, so I am so excited for the 3rd (and last) novel in this unique trilogy! 

And like the Elite and the Selection, the book cover is AMAZING!






3. The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan (Heros of Olympus #5)
    Release Date: 7th of October

Cover is not released yet -.-

Though I prefer The Percy Jackson Series a lot better, this series also introduces new characters, new powers, and new point of views.

The cover is not released yet.









4. Cress by Marissa Meyer (#3 of the Lunar Chronicles)
   Release Date: 4th of February (Yes I know it's already released)
Official Cover of Cress

Haha I'm gonna be honest to all of you.
I didn't actually start this series...
Yet.
I thought that I'm gonna start this series after the last book is published so I can finish it in one go. Awesome plan, right XD

Note: This is not the last book of the series. The next book, Winter, will be released next year.




5. The Son: A Divergent Story (#0.3 of the Divergent Series)
    Release Date: 8th of July

Some of you may think this is gonna be quite boring, but I get to know more about Four/Tobias.
And it includes unknown secrets of his personality and intriguing backstory






It was so difficult to decide the most exciting movies, but after 30 minutes of debating (with myself), here is my...

TOP 5 MOST EXCITING UPCOMING MOVIES ~(Not in Order from Best, to uhhh, least Best?)


1. Transcendence 
    Release Date: April 18

Johnny Depp is coming back.
I don't care that he's gonna be in a computer.
I won't even care if we won't get to see his face.

Haha Johnny is gonna be so cool in this movie, using his brain power *_*   *Starstruck*


Click here to watch the official trailer!





2. Maleficent  
    Release Date: May 28
I can't believe Angelina Jolie will be Maleficent.
She's gonna be so cool *-*

*Once Upoooon AAAAAA DREEEAAAAAAAAM*

Click here to watch the Official trailer!

Click here to listen to Lana Del Rey's version of 'Once Upon a Dream'





3. The Fault in Our Stars
    Release Date: June 6

To anyone who is planning to watch the movie without reading the book: Please don't.

Because that's what I did with The Hunger Games & Catching Fire, and I really regret it. Because I knew what would happen in the book anyway, so I soon thought 'Why Bother?' and stopped reading.

The Fault in Our Stars have really special moments between Hazel and Gus that I think are things can't be portrayed in the film.

Click here to watch the Official trailer!

4. How to Train Your Dragon 2
    Release Date: June 13
Ahhh... Hiccup is back!

This movie is set 5 years after the first film, with Hiccup and his friends in his late teens.

2 words:
CAN'T
WAIT

Click here to watch the Official Trailer!

Click here to watch the first 5 minutes of the movie!


5. 22 Jump Street
    Release: June 13 (But June 5 for Netherlands and Australia)


 Jenko and Schmidt are going under cover AGAIN!

This time they go deep undercover at a local college.

HAHA I CAN'T WAIT TO WATCH THEM TOGETHER!

Click here to watch the official trailer







What should I post about next? Comment below!


Thanks,
Nashy

Sunday, April 20, 2014

MOVIE Review: Divergent

Hi Movie Lovers!

Today I will review about the Movie Divergent. 
This review contains SPOILERS, so read at your own risk!

Lucky for me, my friend managed to get the tickets for us and another 2 friends to watch the premier of Divergent in New Zealand. And I was SUPER excited! The book* was great, so I was having high expectations for this movie!

*Divergent was based on a 2011 novel, Divergent, by Veronica Roth, and is the first of the trilogy 

Details:
Title: Divergent
Premiered at 2014
Director: Neil Burger
Lead Actors/Actresses: Shailene Woodley as Tris
                           Theo James as Four/Tobias
                           Jai Courtney as Eric
                           Zoë Kravits as Christina
                           Maggie Q as Tori
                           Kate Winslet as Jeanine
Genre: Adventure, Sci-Fi, Romance
Movies With the Same Genre: The Hunger Games, The Great Gatsby

Theo James
Shailene Woodley



3.5/5 Stars

To people who doesn't have any idea of the story line: 

Set in a futuristic dystopia where society is divided into five factions that each represent a different virtue, teenagers have to decide if they want to stay in their faction or switch to another - for the rest of their lives. 
Tris Prior makes a choice that surprises everyone. 
Then Tris and her fellow faction-members have to live through a highly competitive initiation process to live out the choice they have made. They must undergo extreme physical and intense psychological tests, that transform them all. But Tris has a secret that she is Divergent, which means she doesn't fit into any one group. If anyone knew, it would mean a certain death. As she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, this secret might help her save the people she loves... or it might destroy her.

First, I have to say that the movie left out a lot of stuff that I liked and is important in the book, here is a list:

The Dauntless initiate who dies on the first train ride
In the book, a few Dauntless initiates have trouble with the first train ride to headquarters — one doesn’t make it on, and another is hanging off the roof. The most tragic, though, is the nameless girl who actually falls to her death before making it to headquarters. The nameless girl wasn't on the movie.
This is quite important because it shows that Dauntless is a dangerous place and you have to move on. The film doesn’t always maintain that sense of immediate danger.
Quote from the book: "We do dangerous things and people die. People die, and we move on to the next dangerous thing. The sooner that lesson sinks in, the better chance I have at surviving initiation. I’m no longer sure that I will survive initiation."

Uriah
This character doesn't exist at all in the movie, and I wasn't the only one that was quite sad about it. Leaving out Uriah in the movie was something Veronica Roth didn't prefer as well, as she told Vulture's Jennifer Vineyard at the premiere: "I understand why they didn't have time for him because they wanted to establish a core group, but hopefully he'll be in the second one. But I was sad."

Christina and Will’s relationship
You can see them kind of hanging on to each other at one point, but otherwise this romance is completely... gone in Divergent's movie.
This is quite important because Christina was hugely affected by Will's death in the second book, since they were dating. Maybe the second movie wouldn't have Christina's grief, or how it affects her relationship with Tris, but if they do, then they missed out a lot in the relationship between Christina and Will


Ben lloyd-Hughes (Will)
Zoë Kravitz (Christina)




Honestly, I thought the actors were really good and I want to give an applause to all of them for being so good with acting the relationships with the characters. At first I was quite worried about Shailene Woodley portraying Tris, but I was so pleasantly surprised with the result!

Thanks for reading everyone!
What should I review next? Post in the comments below!

Thanks,
Nashy




Saturday, April 19, 2014

Thank You Everyone!

HI Everyone!

It's been only 2 days since I first started this blog, but the number of people that viewed or seen it is overwhelming!
The statistics say that there were people viewing from China, USA, Spain, Germany and even Venezuela!!
This is awesome everybody so I want to say a BIG thank you to all of you guys!
Though I searched online and it said that Blogger started giving fake views to bloggers. Haha so it might mean that I'm saying thank you to nothing ><

And please don't be afraid to comment! It's great to see comments on my blog!!

Thanks,
Nashy

P.S. I post once every 2 days during the holidays and once every 2 weeks at school times!

20 Random Facts

HI! 

My sister and I decided to do '20 Random Facts' in our blogs, so here is mine :3

1. I'm born in Australia but I'm Malaysian (It gets more confusing)
2. My favorite color is Green
3. I have a great passion for writing and reading
4. I've been living in New Zealand for 2 years
5. I love watching anime
6. Once Upon a Time and Sherlock (BBC) are my favorite TV shows
7. This is my first time having a blog
8. My birthday is at the 8th of July
9. I am now watching CSI 
10. I think Tangled is better than Frozen
11. I have 2 elder sisters and an elder brother
12. My siblings just found a bug in our Burger King order, plus they didn't give us the fries we ordered
13. I don't think I'm hungry anymore
14. My brother thinks the chicken he just ate is cold
15. I create stories in Wattpad. But I stopped because I was too busy 
16. I don't know what to do after I finish this
17. I started playing League of Legends last week, I'm still Level 2 XD
18. IM SUPER HAPPY THAT I HAVE PEOPLE VIEWING FROM SPAIN, AMERICA, GERMANY AND CHINA!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
19. I really wish someone will comment in any of my posts
20. My full name is Natasha Ong Xiao Qian. (It's really hard to pronounce if you don't know Chinese)

Again, Thanks SO much for reading my blog and I wish you had a good time doing that :) I'm so amazed at the views I received in just ONE day! And please comment so I can know you're there!

Thanks,
Nashy

Friday, April 18, 2014

Book Review: Evermore by Alyson Noël

Evermore - Book Cover
Hi Book Lovers!
This is my first review! ><

Evermore by Alyson Noël is the first novel in the completed Immortal series, a #1 New York Times Best Seller.

INFO:
Genre - Romance, Teen, Fantasy
Book 1 of 6
Published in 2009
Similar Books - Twilight, Evernight

4/5 STARS 

BOOK SYNOPSIS (From the blurb):

After a horrible accident claims the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever Bloom can see people's auras, hear their thoughts, and know someone's entire life story by touching them. Going out of her way to avoid human contact and suppress her abilities, she has been branded a freak at her new high school - but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste.

Damen is gorgeous, exotic, and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head - wielding a magic so intense, it's as though he can peer straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she's left with more questions than answers. And she has no idea just who he really is - or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is that she's falling deeply and helplessly in love with him.

MY THOUGHTS:
Evermore can seem pretty mainstream/typical, with the super hot guy keeping secrets, being all romantic and mysterious. But this novel have original and unique bits within the pages too. Like Riley, her funny dead sister, and the embarrassing mistakes Ever had been involved in throughout the book.

The things that let me down is the too good to be true power for Ever. I can stand aura reading and seeing life stories, but being able to stroke her fingers across questions on exam papers and get all the answers, as well as touching books and having the entire story appearing in her head, is just a little too.....perfect.

And Ever has an aunt, Sabine, who is an incredibly wealthy lawyer and is almost never at home. Yet for some reason, Ever thinks Sabine doesn't give her enough freedom. She talks about not liking the new life she has, even though it's something she wanted a long time ago. This really annoys me sometimes.



This is my first review so it's a bit short, and please comment about things I could add or correct, so I can improve too! :)

Thanks,
Nashy

Click here to read the first two chapters for free!

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Hi Everyone!

HI!

My name is Natasha and I'm blogging from New Zealand.
In this blog I will review about books, anime and movies!

This is my first time blogging so... ><
Please comment and give feedback so I can improve too!

Thanks,
Nashy