Best Fantasy Books of 2013 by Goodreads Choice Awards 2013

As of 2013, Goodreads have announced the books who made it to their Choice Awards as accordance to their category and genre. And here are the top ten books that made it to the Goodreads Choice Awards - Best Fantasy Books of 2013 and their sypnoses/summaries.

• The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.

Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.

• A Memory of Light (Wheel of Time, #14) by Robert Jordan

Since 1990, when Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time® burst on the world with its first book, The Eye of the World, readers have been anticipating the final scenes of this extraordinary saga, which has sold over forty million copies in over thirty languages.

When Robert Jordan died in 2007, all feared that these concluding scenes would never be written. But working from notes and partials left by Jordan, established fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson stepped in to complete the masterwork. With The Gathering Storm (Book 12) and Towers of Midnight (Book 13) behind him, both of which were # 1 New York Times hardcover bestsellers, Sanderson now re-creates the vision that Robert Jordan left behind.

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass.

What was, what will be, and what is,

may yet fall under the Shadow.

Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.

• The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic. When her master, the husband who commissioned her, dies at sea on the voyage from Poland, she is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York in 1899. 

Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire, born in the ancient Syrian desert. Trapped in an old copper flask by a Bedouin wizard centuries ago, he is released accidentally by a tinsmith in a Lower Manhattan shop. Though he is no longer imprisoned, Ahmad is not entirely free – an unbreakable band of iron binds him to the physical world. 

The Golem and the Jinni is their magical, unforgettable story; unlikely friends whose tenuous attachment challenges their opposing natures – until the night a terrifying incident drives them back into their separate worlds. But a powerful threat will soon bring Chava and Ahmad together again, challenging their existence and forcing them to make a fateful choice.

• The Republic of Thieves (Gentleman Bastard, #3) by Scott Lynch

With what should have been the greatest heist of their career gone spectacularly sour, Locke and his trusted partner, Jean, have barely escaped with their lives. Or at least Jean has. But Locke is slowly succumbing to a deadly poison that no alchemist or physiker can cure. Yet just as the end is near, a mysterious Bondsmage offers Locke an opportunity that will either save him or finish him off once and for all.

Magi political elections are imminent, and the factions are in need of a pawn. If Locke agrees to play the role, sorcery will be used to purge the venom from his body - though the process will be so excruciating he may well wish for death. Locke is opposed, but two factors cause his will to crumble: Jean's imploring - and the Bondsmage's mention of a woman from Locke's past: Sabetha. She is the love of his life, his equal in skill and wit, and now, his greatest rival. 

Locke was smitten with Sabetha from his first glimpse of her as a young fellow orphan and thief-in-training. But after a tumultuous courtship, Sabetha broke away. Now they will reunite in yet another clash of wills. For faced with his one and only match in both love and trickery, Locke must choose whether to fight Sabetha - or to woo her. It is a decision on which both their lives may depend.

Most Unforgettable Lines in the Fault in Our Stars

Well, since I'm sulking up with the whole movie "The Fault in Our Stars" to be shown in June rather than in February to be my Valentine Movie, I couldn't help but to reminisce and remember the whole story as I had read it last year. And believe me, this book has the greatest lines in most of YA romantic books you can find in the mall and here are some of my favorites that I'd like to share with you.

I hope you can find the feelings in them as I have and stir up emotions you never thought words can bring you.

• "Some infinities are bigger than other infinities. A writer we used to like taught us that. There are days, many of them, when I resent the size of my unbounded set. I want more numbers than I'm likely to get, and God, I want more numbers for Augustus Waters than he got. But, Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn't trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful." - Hazel Grace

• "It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you." - Augustus Waters

• "I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you." - Augustus Waters

• "And then the line was quite but not dead. I almost felt like he was there in my room with me, but in a way it was better, like I was not in my room and he was not in his, but instead we were together in some invisible and tenuous third space that could only be visited on the phone." - Hazel Grace

June is Such a Long Time to Wait for The Fault in Our Stars Movie

"A one sick love story," and a one sick of a long time we all have to wait before The Fault in Our Stars hit the big screen. As expected, the movie which is based on the best-selling book which goes by the same title, had garnered a large fan base on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Showing on June 6, 2014, readers couldn't help not to be excited to watch their favorite characters come to life through Shailene Woodley as Hazel Grace Lancaster (which will also portray Beatrice in Divergent) and Ansel Elgort as Augustus Waters.

The filming had started last year on August 26 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and finished around October. The writer, John Green (bless you for your creative mind and passion for tragedy) was on set for the whole filming and even made video blogs during production of the film chronicling his artistic journey in watching his creation be brought to life on a movie screen. And just this last month, January 29, 2014, everyone finally had a sneakpeek of the movie through its trailer which gained over 3 million views in less than 24 hours after its release.

See it for yourself:

For me, The Fault in Our Stars is indeed the "Romeo & Juliet" of our time, the plot and the feelings it gives are entirely priceless. And though, the story may leave you crying and sulking up, the journey of these two beautiful people as they find love and fight their fears will entirely leave a mark on your heart. It's a masterpiece which Time Magazine called "damn near genius" and described by Booklist as "Green’s best and most ambitious novel to date. In its every aspect, The Fault in Our Stars is a triumph."

Barnes & Noble NOOK Valentine's Day Offer - Free $30 Gift Card w/ Purchase of our HD Tablets!

In celebration of Valentine's Day, Barnes & Noble will be giving away a FREE $30 Gift Card In Store w/ the Purchase of NOOK HD or HD+ Tablets. Get a sleek tablet for your sweetheart they'll be sure to love! Order online with code N8P8L8B or redeem in store at your nearest Barnes & Noble. This offer is valid starting February 1 to February 14. Hurry, because this sweet deal won't last!

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Barnes & Noble Amazing NOOK Offer! Free $30 Gift with Purchase of our NOOK eReader!

Barnes & Nobles are excited to announce their best offer yet, for their award-winning NOOK Simple Touch eReader. Starting January 25 up to January 31, get a FREE $30 Gift Card w/ the Purchase of NOOK eReader when you use your MasterCard. This offer is redeemable both online and in-store so better mark your calendars.

So why choose Barnes & Noble NOOK Simple Touch eReader? Well, aside that Barnes & Noble NOW offers them at a low price of $79, it has the following features that lets eReader enjoy the best:

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Barnes & Noble NOOK Simple Touch eReader features the Breakthrough E Ink® display for the best just-like-paper reading—even in bright sun—with our proprietary Best-Text Technology™ that produces super-sharp fonts. Hands down, it's the best Reader! 

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Another great thing about NOOK Simple Touch is its lighter than a paperback (under 7.5 ounces) and super thin, yet holds up to 1,000 books, magazines, and newspapers--so it's easy to take your entire library with you anywhere. Plus, you can enjoy by creating a reading experience that you can truly call your own. Select one of our screensavers or upload your own picture. Arrange books on library shelves you name yourself. Even add bookmarks and highlight passages. For more information about NOOK Simple Touch, visit http://www.barnesandnoble.com.

Most-Awaited Book Releases this January 2013 (Part 2)

• Shades of Earth: An Across the Universe Novel by Beth Revis

The new Earth isn't the paradise Amy had been hoping for. There are giant pterodactyl-like birds, purple flowers with mind-numbing toxins, and mysterious, unexplained ruins that hold more secrets than their stone walls first let on. The biggest secret of all? Godspeed's former passengers aren't alone on this planet. And if they're going to stay, they'll have to fight.

Amy and Elder must race to discover who--or what--else is out there if they are to have any hope of saving their struggling colony and building a future together. They will have to look inward to the very core of what makes them human on this, their most harrowing journey yet. Because if the colony collapses? Then everything they have sacrificed--friends, family, life on Earth--will have been for nothing.

• Splintered by A.G. Howard

Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

• The Archived by Victoria Schwab

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive. Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was: a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn’t just dangerous—it’s a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da’s death was hard enough, but now that her little brother is gone too, Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

• Asunder (Incarnate) by Jodi Meadows

Ana has always been the only one. Asunder. Apart. But after Templedark, when many residents of Heart were lost forever, some hold Ana responsible for the darksouls—and the newsouls who may be born in their place.

Many are afraid of Ana's presence, a constant reminder of unstoppable changes. When sylph begin behaving differently toward her and people turn violent, Ana must learn to stand up not only for herself but for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

Ana was told that no souls can't love. But newsouls? More than anything, she wants to live and love as an equal among the citizens of Heart, but even when Sam professes his deepest feelings, it seems impossible to overcome a lifetime of rejection.

• Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

It's been months since Aria learned of her mother's death.

Months since Perry became Blood Lord of the Tides, and months since Aria last saw him.

Now Aria and Perry are about to be reunited. It's a moment they've been longing for with countless expectations. And it's a moment that lives up to all of them. At least, at fi rst. Then it slips away. The Tides don't take kindly to former Dwellers like Aria. And the tribe is swirling out of Perry's control. With the Aether storms worsening every day, the only remaining hope for peace and safety is the Still Blue. But does this haven truly exist?

Threatened by false friends and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night? In this second book in her spellbinding Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi combines fantasy and sci-fi elements to create a captivating adventure—and a love story as perilous as it is unforgettable.

Most-Awaited Book Releases this January 2013

Although January may be off to its end, you might not have checked out the latest and most-awaited young adult fantasy books that was released this month. That's why if you're looking for a new book to read and keep you company, then definitely one of these newly released books will suite your taste.

• Star Cursed: The Cahill Witch Chronicles, Book Two by Jessica Spotswood

With the Brotherhood persecuting witches like never before, a divided Sisterhood desperately needs Cate to come into her Prophesied powers. And after Cate's friend Sachi is arrested for using magic, a war-thirsty Sister offers to help her find answers—if Cate is willing to endanger everyone she loves.

Cate doesn't want to be a weapon, and she doesn't want to involve her friends and Finn in the Sisterhood's schemes. But when Maura and Tess join the Sisterhood, Maura makes it clear that she'll do whatever it takes to lead the witches to victory. Even if it means sacrifices. Even if it means overthrowing Cate. Even if it means all-out war.

• Boundless, Unearthly Book Three by Cynthia Hand

Since discovering the special role she plays among the other angel-bloods, Clara has been determined to protect Tucker Avery from the evil that follows her...even if it means breaking both their hearts. Leaving town seemed like the best option, so she's headed back to California—and so is Christian Prescott, the irresistible boy from the vision that started her on this journey in the first place.

As Clara makes her way in a world that is frighteningly new, she discovers that the fallen angel who attacked her is watching her every move. And he's not the only one... With the battle against the Black Wings looming, Clara knows she must finally fulfill her destiny. But it won't come without sacrifices and betrayal.

• Everbound: An Everneath Novel by Brodi Ashton

Nikki Beckett could only watch as her boyfriend, Jack, sacrificed himself to save her, taking her place in the Tunnels of the Everneath for eternity—a debt that should've been hers. Now she is living a borrowed life, and she doesn't know what to do with the guilt. And every night, Jack appears in her dreams, lost and confused and wasting away. No matter how she tries to reach for his hand, she can never find it.

Desperate for answers, Nikki turns to Cole, the immortal bad boy who wants to make her his queen—and the one person least likely to help. But his heart has been touched by everything about Nikki, and he agrees to help in the only way he can: by taking her to the Everneath himself.

• Prodigy: A Legend Novel by Marie Lu

June and Day arrive in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage to the Colonies. They have only one request—June and Day must assassinate the new Elector.

It’s their chance to change the nation, to give voice to a people silenced for too long. But as June realizes this Elector is nothing like his father, she’s haunted by the choice ahead. What if Anden is a new beginning? What if revolution must be more than loss and vengeance, anger and blood—what if the Patriots are wrong?

• Doomed by Tracy Deebs

Pandora's just your average teen-glued to her cell phone and laptop, surfing Facebook and e-mailing with her friends-until the day her long-lost father sends her a link to a mysterious site featuring twelve photos of her as a child. Unable to contain her curiosity, Pandora enters the site, where she is prompted to play her favorite virtual-reality game, Zero Day. This unleashes a global computer virus that plunges the whole world into panic: suddenly, there is no Internet. No cell phones. No utilities, traffic lights, hospitals, law enforcement. Pandora teams up with handsome stepbrothers Eli and Theo to enter the virtual world of Zero Day. Simultaneously, she continues to follow the photographs from her childhood in an attempt to beat the game and track down her father-her one key to saving the world as we know it.