Feature and Follow Friday [22]

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. This meme is a great way to meet new bloggers, and to likewise know more about them. Follow me and I'll be sure to follow you back! I have added a Linky widget to my blog as well, so feel free to follow me via Linky!

Q: Write a letter to your favorite character. Rant, rave or gush…just pretend like they are real and you just want to let them know a "few things". - Activity courtesy of author, Kelly Walker

 Adrian,

I know you're fictional and all, but I really have no words to describe how much I love you. I'm amazed at how much you grew as a character, and I'm soo proud of you (I know, I know, I'll buy a copy of The Indigo Spell soon, I promise!) I really really hope you forgive Rose though!

(This letter can go on forever but it'd be better if I stop here.)

xoxo,
Lyra

Weekly Round-Up

It's been a busy week in the blog this week. Make sure to catch up on all of my posts! ;)

Review + Giveaway: Blood Fugue and Witch's Nocturne (Moonsongs 1&2) by E.J. Wesley

Review + Giveaway: If You Stay by Courtney Cole

Author Feature + Giveaway: Romancing the Otherworldy Valentine

Review + Giveaway: Heart Waves and Breaking Waves by Danielle Sibarium

Feature and Follow Friday [21]

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. This meme is a great way to meet new bloggers, and to likewise know more about them. Follow me and I'll be sure to follow you back! I have added a Linky widget to my blog as well, so feel free to follow me via Linky!

Q: Happy Mardi Gras! If they were throwing the HOTTEST books off of a Mardi Gras float -- what would you do to have them throw to you…?

Oh hey, books from the Vampire Academy series - fancy seeing you here! ;) LOL yeah, that was my lame attempt at being funny. Anyway... I just love this series and Richelle Mead to bits and pieces (I actually am a huge fan of all of Richelle's series)!

Weekly Round-Up:

Review: Everbound by Brodi Ashton 

Review: Wings of Tavea by Devri Walls 

Review: Veer by Alyssa Rose Ivy 

Feature and Follow Friday [20]

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. This meme is a great way to meet new bloggers, and to likewise know more about them. Follow me and I'll be sure to follow you back! I have added a Linky widget to my blog as well, so feel free to follow me via Linky!

Q: If you could choose one supernatural being/creature to really exists what would it be and why?

I'd have to pick vampires, simply because I have SO many questions for them! I want to ask them if all the myths regarding them are true, and I think it would be fun to talk to beings who have lived for such a long time. I do hope they don't drink my blood though...

Feature and Follow Friday [19]

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. This meme is a great way to meet new bloggers, and to likewise know more about them. Follow me and I'll be sure to follow you back! I have added a Linky widget to my blog as well, so feel free to follow me via Linky!

Q: What New Years Blogging or Writing resolution have you placed on yourself?

I want to write more reviews. I've had this blog for six months now, and I think it's time that I try to churn out at least three reviews in a week. Also, I need to be really meticulous in scheduling posts, and preparing reviews for blog tours in advance!

Feature and Follow Friday [18]

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. This meme is a great way to meet new bloggers, and to likewise know more about them. Follow me and I'll be sure to follow you back! I have added a Linky widget to my blog as well, so feel free to follow me via Linky!

Q: What is the last book that made you cry? Tell us about the scene...

Books don't usually make me cry. I sometimes get choked up, or my heart aches and my stomach tightens, sure, but I seldom cry. I do get emotional a lot because of books, but only a few of them have actually reduced me to tears. I did blubber uncontrollably two times while reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows though - during the chapter dedicated to Snape (what a heartwrencher that was!) and while I was reading the last page. I also cried upon Marley's death in Marley and Me, and while reading the final chapter of My Sister's Keeper.

Oh, and make sure to check out my first giveaway ever!

Feature and Follow Friday [17]

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. This meme is a great way to meet new bloggers, and to likewise know more about them. Follow me and I'll be sure to follow you back! I have added a Linky widget to my blog as well, so feel free to follow me via Linky!

Q: Activity! Who do you want to be? If you could choose any character from a book. What do you think that character looks like and what do you have in common?

Hermione, definitely. Or anyone from the Harry Potter series, actually. I just want to experience JK Rowling's Harry Potter universe first-hand!

Feature and Follow Friday [16]

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. This meme is a great way to meet new bloggers, and to likewise know more about them. Follow me and I'll be sure to follow you back! I have added a Linky widget to my blog as well, so feel free to follow me via Linky!

Q: Activity! Who is your to-die-for book crush? What do you think they look like? Add an image to make us all happy.

Off the top of my head, Adrian Ivashkov from Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy and Bloodline series; Jem Carstairs from Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series; Gabriel Merrick from Brigid Kemmerer's Elemental series; John After from Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols; Wesley Rush from The Duff by Kody Keplinger; and Sam Henry from Miranda Kenneally's Catching Jordan. Good god that's a lot!

Oh, and I'm not going to lie, I've always had a thing for Draco Malfoy. ;)

ICYMI:

Review - The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan 

Review - My Favorite Mistake by Chelsea M. Cameron 

Feature and Follow Friday [15]

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. This meme is a great way to meet new bloggers, and to likewise know more about them. Follow me and I'll be sure to follow you back!

Q: What blog are you thankful for?

So I'm going to cheat a bit and not limit my answer to one blog...

YA Sisterhood - This is the blog that introduced me to the world of book blogging. I remember checking out their reviews and whatnot at least six months before I even thought about starting my own blog. If it weren't for my discovery of YA Sisterhood, I probably would have never discovered book blogging so I owe the girls who run this blog the biggest thank you!

Alison Can Read - Back on my first week of  blogging, Alison was among the first to follow my blog and welcomed me to the community. I'll always be thankful for her warm welcome. Of course, I'm really thankful for these weekly FFs as well - I've gotten to meet a lot of wonderful people because of this meme!

Xpresso Reads & Xpresso Book Tours - I make sure to Xpresso Reads out at least a few times a week simply because I love everything about it - the design, the reviews... (Yup, I'm a bit of a fan!) But what I'm really thankful for is the fact that Giselle has given me the chance to participate in so many amazing blog tours for Xpresso Book Tours. I've been attempting to join blog tours for a while now and Giselle was the first to actually make a part of her blog tours so I couldn't be more thankful.

Amaterasu Reads - Kai is a fellow Filipina blogger, and I will always be thankful to her and her blog. She's been nothing but helpful, and I just adore her!

Feature and Follow Friday [14]

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. This meme is a great way to meet new bloggers, and to likewise know more about them. Follow me and I'll be sure to follow you back!

Q: Do you mind books with similar ideas to other books? Similar concepts, backgrounds, retellings or pulled-to-publish fanfic?

Not really. I happen to adore retellings simply because I love how authors can add their own fresh twists on stories that we all know and love. I also don't mind reading stories with similar concepts either because the major plotlines usually differ, and each character has his own story to tell. I'm not too sure about pulled-to-publish fanfiction though...

ICYMI:

My Review of Back to You by Priscilla Glenn 

My Review of Easy by Tammara Webber 

Cover Reveal of Michelle Davidson Argyle's Pieces 

Feature and Follow Friday [13]

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. This meme is a great way to meet new bloggers, and to likewise know more about them. Follow me and I'll be sure to follow you back!

Q: What is a deal breaker for you in a book? For example, do you abhor love triangles? Or can't deal with bad editing?

I roll my eyes at insta-love, sure, but I don't consider it a deal breaker unlike bad editing, wrong grammar, and choppy sentences. I get why authors intentionally splice sentences, but some authors just take it too far. An example (not verbatim) - 'Jake. His right-hand man. Who would do absolutely anything for him.' Also, multiple POVs (four and above) confuse the heck out of me most of the time.

Feature and Follow Friday [12]

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. This meme is a great way to meet new bloggers, and to likewise know more about them. Follow me and I'll be sure to follow you back!

Q: What writing device or trick most irritates you when reading a book? For example, if an author employs an omnipotent narrator that is sometimes considered bad form.

I'm not that fond of books told in multiple POVs. Dual POVs are alright for the most part, but there aren't really a lot of authors that can pull off multiple POVs. Usually, the characters end up sounding alike, aren't explored thoroughly, and not given enough chances to grow.

Feature and Follow Friday [10]

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. This meme is a great way to meet new bloggers, and to likewise know more about them. Follow me and I'll be sure to follow you back!

Q: When you step out of your USUAL genre what do you like to read? Best books in that genre?

I know I only review YA and NA (I'm not picky about sub-genres) books on my blog, but that doesn't mean that I don't read books that fall under other genres. As a matter of fact, I read a lot of adult fiction in my spare time. Also, come to think of it, whether it be general fiction, non-fiction, autobiographies, contemporary romance, paranormal, paranormal romance, horror/thriller/suspense, mysteries, romance, or fantasy, I've pretty much read across most genres. Heck, I've even read my share of Harlequin and Mills & Boons romances! As long as the book has an interesting premise - regardless of the genre it falls under - I'm good to go.

Feature and Follow Friday [10]

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. This meme is a great way to meet new bloggers, and to likewise know more about them. Follow me and I'll be sure to follow you back!

Q: What book do you think would make a great Halloween movie? Please explain in graphic detail of goriness...

Good question! I'm reading Gretchen McNeil's Ten right now and I think it would make a great Halloween movie - kill-a-group-of-people-one-by-one movies are all the hype these days, after all. Oh, I'm not done reading Ten, so no spoilers, please! ;)

Feature and Follow Friday [9]

Oh wow. August and September were dud months on this blog, huh? I truly apologize for that. A reading slump paired with real life problems really made me lose interest in blogging, at least for a while. However, I'm happy to report that that mentioned feeling was simply a phase, and I'm now back and ready to blog away!

Yes, I know I've said that before, but humor me. I even have a review in the works, and I can't wait to share it with everyone!

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. This meme is a great way to meet new bloggers, and to likewise know more about them. Follow me and I'll be sure to follow you back!

Q: What do you hope to accomplish with your blog? Is it to one day become an author yourself, just for fun, maybe get some online attention, or maybe something very different?

 

Hmmm... I started this blog because I wanted to share my love for books and to meet other people who love reading as much as I do. I also wanted a place where I can look back on whether or not I enjoyed books that I have read in the past, and thus, Defiantly Deviant was born!

I'm not going to lie though - I would love to have a book published someday...

Feature and Follow Friday [8]

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. This meme is a great way to meet new bloggers, and to likewise know more about them. Follow me and I'll be sure to follow you back!

Q: Worst cover? What is the worst cover of a book that you've read and loved?

 

This cover is horrible. Absolutely horrible. Rich Boys (to be honest, I really don't like the title either), while indeed about romance, also tackles a myriad of other topics, and this cover definitely makes the book seem... shallow, for the lack of a better word.

Feature and Follow Friday [7]

Hey guys! I'm so sorry for the unannounced hiatus. Between watching the Olympics 24/7 for the past two weeks and the floods that struck Manila for the past few days, I just haven't had the time to read and to blog. Anyway, I'm 100% back now, so that's that!

Moving on...

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. This meme is a great way to meet new bloggers, and to likewise know more about them. Follow me and I'll be sure to follow you back!

                 Q: What would you do over if you were to start your blog again from scratch? 

Hmm... I guess I would have researched more about blog layouts, tried to learn basic HTML, and basically install the perfect layout. Otherwise, I'm pretty satisfied with my blog right now.

Feature and Follow [6]

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. This meme is a great way to meet new bloggers, and to likewise know more about them. Follow me and I'll be sure to follow you back!

Q: Summer Reading. What was your favorite book that you were REQUIRED to read when you were in school? 

Definitely Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's dream are close seconds, though!

Feature and Follow Friday [5]

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. This meme is a great way to meet new bloggers, and to likewise know more about them. Follow me and I'll be sure to follow you back!

Q: Christmas in July! Someone gives you a gift card for two books (whatever that costs). What two books will you buy?

Hmmm... I guess I'd have to go with Jodi Lynn Anderson's Tiger Lily and Rebecca Serle's When You Were Mine. Both of these books are retellings of stories that we have come to love - Peter Pan and Romeo and Juliet, respectively - only, they are told through other characters' eyes.

Feature and Follow Friday [4]

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. This meme is a great way to meet new bloggers, and to likewise know more about them. Follow me and I'll be sure to follow you back!

Q: What drove you to start book blogging in the first place?

It's something that I've been meaning to do for a long time, actually. I love books, I like sharing my opinions, and I love blogging so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm only three weeks in, but the experience has been great so far! I really don't regret starting a book review blog, and the fellow bloggers I've met are all amazing. I think I'm going to be doing this for a long time to come.

Feature and Follow [3]

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. This meme is a great way to meet new bloggers, and to likewise know more about them. Follow me and I'll be sure to follow you back!

Q: Jumping Genres: Ever pick up a book from a genre you usually don't like and LOVE it? Tell us about it and why you picked it up in the first place.

I'm more of a general fiction and YA type of gal so I wasn't really sure what to expect when I picked up Richelle Mead's Georgina Kincaid series - a paranormal series geared towards adults. The prime reason as to why I got the series is because it was written by Richelle, my absolute favorite author, and I make it a point to read all the books that she releases. Anyway, long story short, I ended up loving all the books of the Georgina Kincaid series, and I don't regret trying the series out!