GIVEAWAY ALERT: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (Signed!)

source: Goodreads

I love the fact that National Bookstore hosts giveaways once in a while. I love them even more for giving away a SIGNED copy of Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. If you haven't heard about the book yet, (I doubt that.) you can check it out here. Although I'm not sure if it's open internationally, you can still try. Click here to join National Bookstore's giveaway. It will end on March 12, 2015.

What's also exciting is the fact that an awesome bookstagram account is also hosting a giveaway for a signed copy of Red Queen yay! Here are the mechanics:

source: @bookinfinities

So if you aren't from the Philippines, you can join bookinfinities' giveaway since it's international. You just need an Instagram account. (Well, duh.) 

Make sure you enter before these giveaways end! May the luckiest and most deserving bookworm win and may the odds be ever in your favor! (Ahh that line never gets old.)


In everything bookish,

WANT TO READ: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

source: Goodreads

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The Girl on the Train

by Paula Hawkins

A debut psychological thriller that will forever change the way you look at other people's lives.

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

A compulsively readable, emotionally immersive, Hitchcockian thriller that draws comparisons to Gone Girl, The Silent Wife, or Before I Go to Sleep, this is an electrifying debut embraced by readers across markets and categories. 

I badly want to read this book! It sounds really interesting plus the cover is gorgeous. James Frey also told us that he was reading it when he went here to the Philippines for a book signing and he said it was pretty awesome. I. NEED. IT. But sadly it's a bit pricey here in my country. It's worth Php. 635  just for a trade paperback! It's even more expensive than Colleen Hoover's books. Good thing I found this account on Instagram that hosts giveaways almost every week. (WHOA THERE HOW RICH ARE YOU BROTHA) And this week's giveaway is five books including The Girl on the Train! I really hope I win because how awesome is that?! Update: I didn't win. :(

I really, really, really want to own a copy of this book so I can read it. Why don't you buy an ebook? I promised myself I wouldn't read ebooks unless I'm really broke like nada money. I'm not broke right now (I think so) so I'm on an ebook ban. Is that even a thing? haha. 

If you've read The Girl on the Train, feel free to share your review with me. I'd really love to hear feedback from other bookworms. :)

In everything bookish,

BOOK SIGNING ALERT: E. Lockhart in the Philippines

source: National Bookstore's Twitter page

It was officially announced by National Bookstore that the New York Times Bestselling Author E. Lockhart is coming to the Philippines! I'm attending even though I haven't read any of her books. Yet. Shame on me, I know.

I'm looking forward to reading We Were Liars though because of the reviews I've seen, about how major the plot twist is. I promise I'm getting a copy soon! Here are some of the books of E. Lockhart:

We Were Liars

Ruby Oliver Books

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

You can check out her other books here. I also hope National Bookstore will have other E. Lockhart books available soon, before the book signing so we can have more books signed.

Are you going on the 22nd of March? I'm going! See you there. ;)


In everything bookish,

Photo credits: National Bookstore, Goodreads and YA Bibliophile

COVER REVEAL: Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider

source: Robyn Schneider's Twitter account

So here's the synopsis from Goodreads:

Extraordinary Means

by Robyn Schneider

From the author of The Beginning of Everything: two teens with a deadly disease fall in love on the brink of a cure.

At seventeen, overachieving Lane finds himself at Latham House, a sanatorium for teens suffering from an incurable strain of tuberculosis. Part hospital and part boarding school, Latham is a place of endless rules and confusing rituals, where it's easier to fail breakfast than it is to flunk French.

There, Lane encounters a girl he knew years ago. Instead of the shy loner he remembers, Sadie has transformed. At Latham, she is sarcastic, fearless, and utterly compelling. Her friends, a group of eccentric troublemakers, fascinate Lane, who has never stepped out of bounds his whole life. And as he gradually becomes one of them, Sadie shows him their secrets: how to steal internet, how to sneak into town, and how to disable the med sensors they must wear at all times.

But there are consequences to having secrets, particularly at Latham House. And as Lane and Sadie begin to fall in love and their group begins to fall sicker, their insular world threatens to come crashing down. Told in alternating points of view, Extraordinary Means is a darkly funny story about doomed friendships, first love, and the rare miracle of second chances.

How gorgeous is that cover though? I'm really excited for this one because what the hell it's Robyn Schneider! I loved The Beginning of Everything and I hope I'll love Extraordinary Means too. Some sites or people (I forgot where I saw this.) say that it's "The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor & Park" and that sounds AWESOME and HEARTBREAKING. YAY NAY YAY! 

Another reason why I'm excited for this one is Robyn Schneider's coming here in the Philippines! AHHHHHHHH Really, really stoked for her signing and can't wait to meet and see her in person. She's so pretty she makes me cry. 

tweet from Robyn Schneider's official Philippine street team on Twitter

Is Extraordinary Means one of your Most Anticipated Book Releases in 2015? :) It's definitely on my list. Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider out on May 26, 2015! Well, that's according to Goodreads.

In everything bookish,

New Beginning

a few photos from my Instagram account

Okay, I couldn't think of a title so I just went with "New Beginning". I think of this blog as a beginning of the growth of my love for books. I think it would make me love and appreciate books even more than I do now. Trust me, I love books VERY much.

HOLA! I'm Maxine and no, I am not Spanish or Mexican. I'm a Filipino teenager who's trying to run a book blog. :) I don't even know if I'll be able to run this blog properly because I don't even tweet much in my Twitter account anymore. I blame school for that. YOU SUCK SCHOOL. Okay, before this turns into a school rant, here are my plans for this blog:

I plan on sharing book reviews, book signing event recaps, monthly hauls, most anticipated books, cover reveals and other book-related stuff. I actually plan on attending every single book signing event here in the Philippines because who doesn't want signed books and meeting authors? I also regret not caring before whether I missed a book signing or not and of course, not going to them. Confession: I stalk some people (Oops.) who went to book signings I didn't go to and think "Damn it I should have come!".

Another confession: I thought of starting up a book blog, searched for tips on how to start one, made one and started to work on it in one night. I stayed up until 2 am, I think. It was like "Hey, I want to start a blog about books." then bam, I was looking for a template, editing it for hours and thinking of what to post.

So before this gets too long, I just want to say that I hope I meet new friends, learn to love blogging and just read, read, read as I blog on.


In everything bookish,