top ten tuesday

Photo Credit: Mohamed Al-Tantawi

Mountains are exquisite, majestic and they have a kind of quiet beauty that ruins of a palace have but with no ruins. 

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Historical romance books are filled with balcony or terrace scenes why not mix terrace settings with the contemporary genre for a whole new image instead of just sneaking out of them? I will such books.

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Clubbing, buildings and city lights. Think Vegas but with a lot of subtlety and a damaged protagonist. There are no shortage of such settings in movies but I’d love to read more books with it.

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I love road trips books so this had to be on the list. Think Carolee Dean’s Take Me There which basically made me fall in love with road trips and books with road trips in it. Believe me ,they have to be the classiest books out there.

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I adore winters. Snow provides one hell of a cover and it’s a perfect setting for mystery books. A secluded cabin and a murderer on the loose? I think I even read such a book before and I want more of them!

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Remember Gossip Girl, steps of the Met and Queen B? No wonder I want to read books where scenes take place on the steps!

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Cobblestone streets always make me think of a woman wearing red heels running away or towards her lover. It can play out in different ways but it all sounds really artsy to me. Also, I always associate cobblestone streets with Europe somehow.

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I am someone who loves nature more than I can ever care to admit. I like to think that trees have soul and the woods can provide serenity. They seem personal and it’s a place where humans are really in touch with themselves. Thus, a setting in the woods sounds just about perfect to me.

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Paris ought on many lists today, it is on mine and I haven’t even been there! At first, Paris fascinated me with the city of love vibe it had on going but now, I’m also fascinated with more of it. There are so many aspects of Paris that I’d love to see with my own eyes. The art, cafes, railway stations, The Louvre, opera houses, cuisine, libraries and of course, the Eiffel Tower. Sigh.

Photo Credit: Bondy Lee

Let’s face it: rains scenes are the best kind. They are intense and the setting can play out on so many different ways from being extremely sexy to downright creepy. I remember Simone Elkele’s Rules of Attraction had that one scene where the main characters are kissing leaning out of cars’ windows parked parallel to each other. It’s even on the cover and it’s a pretty amazing scene.

Link up your Top Ten Tuesday’s post below and I’ll be sure to visit!

Every year, there are tons of debuts to look forward to and I wasn’t really aware when I was my non-blogger self. But now I pretty much thrive on debuts, they make life as a reader that much more exciting. So it goes without saying that I had a hard time limiting my list to just ten debuts but these are pretty much the ones I’m dying to read.

1. The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shephard – So really who isn’t looking forward to this book? Also, it has elements of gothic.
2. Altered by Jennifer Rush – It’s already been released and I’m looking forward to reading Altered the most.
3. Linked by Imogen Howson – I wanted to read it as soon as I saw its cover back at the end of 2011. A long wait indeed and I just read its synopsis today. I love on-the-run books!
4. Dualed by Elsie Chapman – Everything about this books sounds wickedly awesome.
5. Pivot Point by Kasie West – I was blown away when I read what it was all about and then I won an ARC of it. I plan to pick it up before the month is over instead of just staring at the cover at odd times.

6. Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger – I’ve always been a fan of forbidden romance and this book has revamped the whole concept into ‘a broken past and a divided future.’ Yummy.
7. Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbrook – I love contemporaries and the ones involving road trips are the best kind. 
8. In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters – This isn’t what I would usually pick up being it historical but the synopsis managed to sway me and I so will be reading it!
9. Taken by Erin Bowman – I just love the cover of this book and this is the second most anticipated 2013 debut for me. God, I am waiting for the release of Taken like anything.
10. Acid by Emma Pass – I discovered Acid only last month but it definitely is made of awesome with that kick-ass heroine on the cover and the sending-a-chill-up-the-spine title.

Link up your Top Ten Tuesday’s post below and I’ll be sure to visit!

Happy Brand New 2013, everyone!

How do you all like the new blog design? I am still learning the HTML ropes so I decided to tweak it and voila, this is the result. I wanted to tone down that red and do the classic white-on-black for ideal reading.

Also, this is my first ever TTT post as I’ve become a fan of lists recently and I thought why not give this a go. My Tuesdays need to be more interesting.

1. Delirium by Lauren Oliver – I know of its existence since before it came out and I’ve been trying to read it but guess not that hard enough. I actually bought it today and I can finally say that I will be reading Delirium. Phew.
2. Divergent by Veronica Roth – I never really planned to read it as such (I still don’t know what’s its really about) but all the buzz around Insurgent and then the countless ravings. I had to give in.
3. Wither by Lauren DeStefano – Genetic time bomb. ‘Nuff said.
4. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater – I never liked werewolves because of all the books (mainly Twilight)  hat made them look like a weaker, lesser version of a vampire. I want to let go of that and embrace the wolves. Figuratively, that is.
5. Uglies by Scott Westerfield – I am so intrigued by the concept alone that it’s a surprise I didn’t read it during sleep or something.

6. I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter – I love spies and a teenage girl spy, I don’t know how I could have missed reading the books long before 2013.
7. Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson – I love road trip books like it’s nobody’s business and I’ve dying to read this.
8. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa – I am ashamed. In my defense however, I started it and then school knocked on the door so…
9. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins – I love all things Eiffel Tower and I’d like to read this.
10. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen – I’ve got to admit I’ve never read any Sarah Dessen *ducks head* but I plan to change that and go back to the roots of YA contemporary this 2013.

So this is it for me. How did you’ll fare?

Link up your Top Ten Tuesday’s post below and I’ll be sure to visit!