King by R.J. Larson

If you recall, I loved the previous books in this series. And I'm so glad that the third (and sadly last) book is as good as the previous two!

King is based mainly in Siphra. Akabe, the reluctant king, is desperate to build a temple to the Infinite. But it comes with a price - he must marry an Atean girl. And probably because he was upset that Ela rejected him (how could anyone not see that Ela and Kien were meant to be? Ok, fangirl moment over), he married her. The rest of the book deals with the Atean rebellion against the king (they have a queen that's Atean, why would they want the king to live?)

The queen is the 'new' character in the series, and I think she's actually really well-crafted. I could emphathize with her, although to be honest, I spent quite a lot of time wishing she wasn't so bull-headed. Still, she's young, vulnerable, and abandoned - bullheadness is probably one of the few ways she has to make sure she survives in an antagonist court.

What I liked about this series is that not all the Infinite's followers are admirable. They do a lot of, well I wouldn't say bad, but I would say "things you would disapprove off" like gossiping and such. It makes the world a lot more real to me.

For fans of Ela/Kien, I have really really good news - they get married in this book! (This takes place fairly early on, so this is not a spoiler). Of course, Ela is still struggling with her fear of an early death, because "a silver-haired prophet has failed". And Kien, when we last saw him, he was going to court in the Tracelands, and well, he lost. So the two of them have their own weaknesses, and it's beautiful to see how they mutually encourage each other.

This book has intrigue, romance and action (fight scenes, but nothing very gruesome). It's an awesome ending to a fantastic series!

Disclaimer: I got a free galley from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

Ink by Amanda Sun

I'm a huge fan of fiction set in Japan, so I should be thrilled with Ink right? I mean, it has Kendo (that alone could make or break a deal), the lead guy's name is Yuu (my nickname in Japanese) and another character's nickname is Tan (my name). But, after reading this, I can honestly say - if you're looking for Japanese-inspired fiction, you'll be better off with Benjamin Martin's "Samurai Awakening"(link to review).

The only saving grace of Ink was it's premise. I was irritated with the main character - Katie, and I have a few complaints about the Japan in the book.

But do keep in mind (wow, a disclaimer comes so fast!), that I would be stricter with a book like this because I live in Japan, I study here, and I also practice kendo.

Let's start with what I like: I like the premise of the Kami. It's a pun that I think all students of Japanese note, and I was really happy with the concept. I do wish though, that more details had been revealed - the book is unfortunately scant with my favourite part.

Now, about the Japanese part. There is no clear distinction between Japanese and English. There are Japanese words (normally in romaji, but occasionally in hiragana/kanji) thrown in, but instead of adding flavour, it just confused me. So when is Katie speaking in Japanese? When is she speaking in English? She's either way better than she first claimed, or she just happened to make friends who speak exceptionally good English (or at least, speak like a teenager).

About the Japan part - there are references to conbini's (love them!) and such, but most of the book is filled with "YUU TOMOHIRO. I FOLLOW HIM EVERYDAY. AND HE LOOKED UP MY SKIRT CAUSE I CLIMBED A TREE". Ok, the last sentence happened only once, but really early on in the book.

Yuu Tomohiro, if you didn't know, is this very cute male protagonist that reminds me of a manga character. Seriously. The way he's described.... I haven't seen anyone that looks like him (sorry friends). He's cool though, and apparently very good at kendo. The female lead, Katie Greene, is pretty much useless unless you're looking for a witness. But she's "plucky" and that's all that counts right? Personally, I find most shojo manga (girl manga) leads to be much much less annoying than her.

Kendo - the most important part. What I want to know is, how does Katie get so good at Kendo so fast? And why are highschool students doing tsuki? (Tsuki is a hit to the throat, and as far as I know, is limited to university students and above). There's also way too little kendo for my taste. Oh, and why is Katie wearing her bougu so fast? Like, at the end of the novel, she says she's been here "four or five months", and she did not start kendo straightaway. There is no way she could have progressed to bougu stage unless she had prior experience. Or you know, if she trained everyday, but she has two other bukatsu's/circles (clubs). One more thing, why are the senior's helping her remove her "armour" (it's bougu!) - you are taught to put on and remove it yourself. The only time I remember having people help me would be when I'm hyperventilating and can't take it out because my hands are cramped up.

To me, this is a love story with an attempt to throw in bits and pieces of Japanese culture. It could conceivably take place anywhere in the world and I doubt there would be a huge change if it were so. The only saving grace of the novel would be the concept of the kami itself. Personally, I'd recommend Samurai Awakening if you want to read a novel set in Japan rather than this.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

99 Reasons Why Everyone Hates Facebook by Emmet Purcell

Alright Facebook anti-fans, Emmet Purcell is here with a book of 99 reasons why the Facebook of 2013 isn't as good as it once was. And no, this isn't a list of 99 witty one-liners, it's a collection of short sections grouped into chapters. It reminds me of a blog (is there a blog? I would love to read it!)

99 Reasons is a fun, and occasionally thoughtful look into why Facebook evokes complaints - yet still keeps its users. From things like how you have to friend certain people, to Timeline and yes, even Graph Search, this is one of the most up-to-date accounts of Facebook.

I don't agree with all of his reasons (for example, I love Instagram!), but I do agree with his status-section. In particular, the one about self-pitying/emo statuses. I've always thought that anyone who posts a "my life is terrible/I'll never be happy/etc" status than says "oh, you don't understand" or "I don't want to talk about it" is just clamouring for emotion. But that's just me. My statuses all have pictures and are generally "I've just done this!"

I mean, I could post something like "I don't understand why everyone's version of my love life is more interesting than mine sob sob sob" but what would that achieve? I'm not giving details to anyone but my closest friends! And I don't need more interrogations when I actually return to Singapore. So I don't bother posting stuff like this.

Yet while this book mostly rants about the terrible side of Facebook, the author admits that he's still on it. He calls Google+ a ghost town (twice), and while I disagree, I guess it's because he hasn't found a way to actively engage the awesome users here. (I really believe in the Google+ for interests, Facebook for friends thing)

And although I call this "rant" (to be fair, the author calls it a rant too!), the writing style is anything but hateful. It's actually very funny (I don't dare to think of how what kind of impression I made laughing to myself), and it made me see the humour in the things that annoy me.

While I'm still going to be on Facebook (it's how most people make sure I'm still alive - and a lot easier than skyping every day), it's nice to know that there are people who share my complaints with Facebook.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

Teaser Tuesday - Blood Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff

Woah, I haven't done a Teaser Tuesday in so long! Well, I haven't had many new reads lately (it's a bit embarrassing  but I've been using reviews that I wrote a while back - I have a bunch of saved posts). This is really all due to school and busyness.

But enough about me, here's something about Blood Moon: it's the second in this series about a female serial killer. The book is very fascinating so far, and I'm so glad there's a sequel! So without further ado, the teaser!

"She feels no particular pull to follow them. What they are doing is clearly staged, possibly for her benefit, but it impacts here not in the least, and she is still tired, so tired, not fully recovered from the wounds from the desert, the third near-death experience of her life."

And if you're wondering, the "her" does refer to our killer.

Remember, Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB of ShouldBeReading.

What was your Teaser Tuesday?