Sunday Special (14) Beautiful Vietnamese Covers Of The Beautiful English Written Novels

The covers look so much cooler this time, in my opinion, have a look, buddies!

Confessions Of A Shopaholic Series by Sophie Kinsella. These were published a few months before the movie came out here which encouraged a lot of people to come and have a lot at the screen production. The books are really beautiful - they're in big size, colorful and the cover designs are nice too. I'm thinking about getting these soon, but I'm not too sure I'm into shopping enough to enjoy them.

Princess Mia (book 9) by Meg Cabot & Lullabies For Little Criminals by Heather O'Nell. Pretty yeah? I'm really proud of the Princess Diaries covers here, they're so cute and princess-ish and the books actually look like diaries too. They're almost done with the translation now so whenever book 10 is released, I'll post pics of 10 books together for you. And I love Lullabies as well, it looks cooler than the original cover.

Where The Rainbow Ends by Cecelia Ahern & Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. They tranlasted a lot of chick lits these days but I only picked these two because their covers are the best. At least they stood out. Both are simpy and cute don't you think? I find it really nice that Eat, Pray, Love has the exactly same cover as the US one ^^


So, what you think? Love them or hate them? Let me know!

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

Publisher: Penguin Aus
Pub. Date: June, 2006
Age Rank: Young Adult
Pages: 256pp
Format: paperback
Source: from publisher - Penguin Aus

Francesca battles her mother, Mia, constantly over what's best for her. All Francesca wants is her old friends and her old school, but instead Mia sends her to St. Sebastian's, an all-boys' school that has just opened its doors to girls. Now Francesca's surrounded by hundreds of boys, with only a few other girls for company. All of them weirdos--or worse.

Then one day, Mia is too depressed to get out of bed. One day turns into months, and as her family begins to fall apart, Francesca realizes that without her mother's high spirits, she hardly knows who she is. But she doesn't yet realize that she's more like Mia than she thinks. With a little unlikely help from St. Sebastian's, she just might be able to save her family, her friends, and--especially--herself.

Remember what I said about this book in IMM post? I said it was interesting from page 1. Let me rephrase that - it's actually amazing from page 1 to page 256. I'm officially a fan of Melina Marchetta now.

The plot of this story is really familiar to young readers - a teenager stuck in a mess of problems not knowing how to get out because everything seems to be against her. But it's different because there's something new and fresh - an all boys' school started to accept girls and the unbalanced fight between the gender begun from here. This is, in my opinion, what makes the book so exciting from the very start.

Francesca's life at the new school sucked like hell. She missed her old friends, she hated the girls she was with now, and worse, she was accidentally the presentative of the girls to fight against the school boys- those who treated the ladies with no respect. I feel empathetic with Francesca because she had to deal with such a difficult situation but then it was still so fun seeing the boys and the girls mocking and bickering with each other. You'll for sure love the fight - it was honest, hiarious and never too intense. Like the story wasn't mainly focused on it, but it was always there from the beginning to the end.

In spite of how engrossed I am into the girls' protest to have their rights in St. Sebastian's, I couldn't but be lured in another issue in Francesca's life - her mother's sudden breakdown. It was so well - described that I found myself in our poor girl's place. First I was so confused, then I was depressed/hopeless and later, super duper shocked. I was surprised by how the author kept the reason behind it all for a long time and didn't make me feel bored or annoyed at all; also, how she revealed it was a nice touch - it appeared kind of random but still managed to wrap up all the emotions and "explosion" of a climax.

I really like the characters and their relationships in this book. We all can find a piece of ourselves in Francesca. Actually, she's the most relatable character I ever came across. Her problems expose all the insecurities of a teenager: sometimes you just keep a lot to yourself and do not open much to peple and they think you're a snob, or you try to hard to blend into a crowd of those you believe are your friends just to feel safe, or you don't hang out with people who have bad reputation so no one can judge you even though you know they're actually good. Seeing Francesca breaking her shell to come out and be who she is - like her mother always said - will make you feel so warm and free, and maybe, if you're any like her, want to do the same thing. Francesca's love for her mother is also something very significant. I love it a lot. Melina skillfully lets us explore Francesca's heart slowly so that step by step we get to know how her mother meant to her life, even though all the time the girl complained that she was the one who held the real Francesca back.

One more character to mention - the one and only Will. His relationship with Francesca is so interesting. It makes the story cuter and sweeter than ever. He seems to have to sides - one is decent, cold and nerdy when the other flirty and kind of bad. Although how their mutal feelings blossom is typical, the complication makes up for it. You just have to love the couple.

This book is amazing. That's all I can say. You should pick it up as soon as possible!

Rating: 4.5/5

Waiting On Wednesday (13)

Idea taken from Breaking The Spine.

Flash Burnout by LK Madigan.

Fifteen-year-old Blake has a girlfriend and a friend who’s a girl. One of them loves him, the other one needs him.

When he snapped a picture of a street person for his photography homework, Blake never dreamed that the woman in the photo was his friend Marissa’s long-lost meth addicted mom. Blake’s participation in the ensuing drama opens up a world of trouble, both for him and for Marissa. He spends the next few months trying to reconcile the conflicting roles of Boyfriend and Friend. His experiences range from the comic (surviving his dad’s birth control talk) to the tragic (a harrowing after-hours visit to the morgue).

In a tangle of life and death, love and loyalty, Blake will emerge with a more sharply defined snapshot of himself.

What do you think? I love the synopsis. It sounds so intriguing and promises a mixture of emotions and thoughts. I really hope it'll be told in Blake's point of view so that I'll know how hard it is for a guy to balance his relationship with a girlfriend and a girl friend. This doesn't seem to be a triangle but I bet there'll be lots of tension here. I simply can't wait! By the way, I don't think the cover looks beautiful but somehow it manages to portray the idea of the book really well.

Get more than a flash of love and friendship in this book on Oct 19th!

Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban by J.K Rowling

Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Pub. Date: September 1999
Age Range: 9 to 12
Pages: 435
Format: hardcover
Source: purchased

For Harry, the Hogwarts campus has always been a sanctuary, but when Black escapes from the horrifying clutches of Azkaban Prison, all clues suggest the madman is headed for Hogwarts and Harry himself. As a result, the school starts to feel more like a prison than a sanctuary as Harry finds himself constantly watched and under guard. What's more, the terrifying Dementors -- the horrifying creatures who guard Azkaban Prison -- are lurking about the campus looking for Black. And their effect on Harry is a devastating one. Still, life at school offers plenty of distractions. Harry really likes the new teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Lupin, who might be able to teach Harry how to defend himself against the Dementors. But Professor Snape's behavior toward Lupin has Harry wondering what secrets the two men are hiding. Harry's friend Hermione is also acting very strangely. And, of course, there is the tension caused by the ongoing Quidditch competition between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins and the never-ending bullying of the Slytherin leader, Draco Malfoy.

To be honest when I chose to accept be a part of Operation Retirement Rescue Challenge I didn't have any ideas of the books I'd review. I hardly have any English books that were released five years ago or more so I was kind of hopeless. Thankfully, HP series suddenly crossed my mind and I picked Book Three immediately.

There're so many reasons why I love HP and The Prisoner Of Azkaban. Firstly, the storyline is so much better than the first and the second book. It's more dangerous, more myterious, yet, close to a life of a normal teenager. Harry has to deal with not only an infamous prisoner who is after him, but also with ordinary problems - the Quidditch Games, the study, the permission to hang out with friends on the village. All of them make the story more interesting but still, do not bring readers feelings of burden or the likes. Actually it's super duper fun.

Secondly, needless to say, J K Rowling writing is just perfect. I love how everything flows. The scenes, vary from natural ones to fighting ones, are so real and just right. This book is like the end of a peaceful period for Harry himself and everyone in the magic world so it's really different. It doesn't have the sadness or the gloominess of death like the next ones, it ain't just innocent as the first two either. To me it's pure and nostagic. It's a nice combination of the joy and the thrill.

I especially adore the family love in book Three. It comes with such a twist that I bet no readers would think of. It's so cute to see Sirius and Harry together, all happy and warm, it also proves how brilliant the author is. Looks like she's planned all the details even from book One because it makes perfect sense, there's not a tiny flaw. One more thing to mention is the investment in fear. It leads you to understand Harry more and more, and at the same time, you can relate to yourself as well.

Thrilling, warm-hearted and fun, HP and The Prisoner Of The Azkaban will always remain my favorite off the series. If you haven't read HP and want to skip a few books to get to the end quicky, I suggest picking this one!

Rating: 4.5/5

In My Mailbox (14)

Idea taken from The Story Siren.

I've got some good books last week, check them out!


Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta.

Francesca battles her mother, Mia, constantly over what's best for her. All Francesca wants is her old friends and her old school, but instead Mia sends her to St. Sebastian's, an all-boys' school that has just opened its doors to girls. Now Francesca's surrounded by hundreds of boys, with only a few other girls for company. All of them weirdos--or worse.

Then one day, Mia is too depressed to get out of bed. One day turns into months, and as her family begins to fall apart, Francesca realizes that without her mother's high spirits, she hardly knows who she is. But she doesn't yet realize that she's more like Mia than she thinks. With a little unlikely help from St. Sebastian's, she just might be able to save her family, her friends, and--especially--herself.

I heard of this book from Reviewer X and it sounded pretty awesome so I decided to write to Penguin Australia and asked for a review. Surprisingly they accepted. I'm reading it right now and this book is just as amazing as I expected. It's interesting from page one! My copy has a different cover but I'm too lazy to find, I like this one better though.

Eyes Like Stars by Lisa MantChev.

All her world’s a stage.
Bertie Shakespeare Smith is not an actress, yet she lives in a theater.
She’s not an orphan, but she has no parents.
She knows every part, but she has no lines of her own.
That is, until now.

Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the actors of every play ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book—an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family—and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known.

I love books about theater and the likes so cannot let Eyes Like Stars escape : D Doesn't it sound sad and mysterious? I just wish ARCs got real covers, mine is just blank blue. But it's still good because it's a thick one.


One Butt Cheek At A Time by Amber Kizer.

GERT GARIBALDI ISN'T ONE OF those people who believe high school is the best part of life. She has a whole notebook full of rants about high school, and she's fully aware of how ridiculous the experience is, thank you very much. Gert just wants to survive the next three years, one butt cheek at a time, with her best friend, Adam, by her side - and maybe Luscious Luke attached to her lips. With a stapler. Or something. But muddling through isn't even as easy as it seems - there are geriatric parents to deal with, Homecoming festivities (admit itÑthose words just sent a little chill down your spine), crushes, ed (both sex and driving), and potential new boyfriends - for both Gert and Adam. Frank, funny, and totally unique, Gert's ready to pull on the Pants of Life and start dancing.

This book is super duper cute. The rough cover makes it look like a old diary and I like it a lot. The synopsis sounds cute too. I think I'm gonna save it for summer and read it with my best friend.

Swoon by Nina Malkin.

Sin is Coming...Prepare to Swoon!

Torn from her native New York City and dumped in the land of cookie-cutter preps, Candice is resigned to accept her posh, dull fate. Nothing ever happens in Swoon, Connecticut...until Dice's perfect, privileged cousin Penelope nearly dies in a fall from an old tree, and her spirit intertwines with that of a ghost. His name? Sinclair Youngblood Powers. His mission? Revenge. And while Pen is oblivious to the possession, Dice is all too aware of Sin. She's intensely drawn to him—but not at all crazy about the havoc he's wreaking. Determined to exorcise the demon, Dice accidentally sets Sin loose, gives him flesh, makes him formidable. Now she must destroy an even more potent—and irresistible—adversary, before the whole town succumbs to Sin's will. Only trouble is, she's in love with him.

I'm so excited to read this one. I thought I was not going to have a chance to read and review this book but I actually did! Lucky hey? The release day is nearing so if you haven't got your copy yet go and grab one. Oh did I mention that I love the cover and the characters names?

So what have you got? I hope you're drown in new books haha.

Huge thanks Anyez, Ksenia, Amber Kizer and Nina Malkin for the books. Love you all for your kindness<3

Sunday Special (13) Love Me? Then Help Me Fill This In

So, you guys may know that I've been book blogging for over three months. Everything is going on nicely to me but seems like there are a lot of things I can do to make this little online sanctuary of mine a little more enjoyable and fun to visit. Today, Sunday Special is all about YOU! I'm counting on you to help me improve Serene Hours this way or the other. Such a hard thing to do hey? No, it's really simple. All you have to do is fill in this mini survey so that I will have some ideas of what you like or what you don't really like of my blog, also, what you're expecting to see in the future. Help me yeah?

Mini survey:

1. How did you find out about Serene Hours?

2. How long have you been reading/commenting on the blog?

3. What's your most favorite feature? And the least? And why?

4. What changes do you think I should make?

5. What are the features you hope to see on my blog in the future?


You don't have to write an essay or the likes. Keep it short but enough to let me know what you want Serene Hours to become : )

Thanks in advance, love!

Roundabout by Rhiannon Lassiter

Publisher: Young Picador
Pub. Date: July 6, 2007

Age rank: Young Adult
Pages: 288
Format: paperback
Source: gift from friend

Magda, Tess and Seb should never have met. Beautiful Romany Magda is a traveller - she lives just outside town on an old caravan site. Tess is her fiery best friend. And Seb is the son of a rich businessman - he lives in a big house in the city. But as Magda and Seb are drawn to each other, meeting in hidden places, breaking unspoken boundaries, their lives - and those of the people close to them - set off down unexpected paths, especially when jealous Tess discovers Seb's secret. What will Magda do when she finds out just who is responsible for trying to get the travellers turfed off the land they have inhabited for so long? The decisions all the teenagers make now will have far wider-reaching effects than they could ever have imagined ...

I actually don't have much to say about this book. I feel kind of fooled by the synopsis. When I first read it I was really exicted because Roundabout seems like a promising book - mysterious and different. Sadly, it wasn't.

The plot is very simple. It revolves around the protest against the building of a new roundabout which will definitely pose a threat to lives of a group of people - known as Travellers. The book switches between stories of four different girls and some more characters and to me it is so draggy. I have to admit that I skipped a lot of parts to get to the better ones. I think if the writer had had spent more time on one character only and told the story in a better-developed way, it could have been so much cooler. Also, because the readers don't have a chance to get acquanted with the characters, everything about them is blurry, except Tess. Sometimes things happen so fast you don't know what is going on, yet other times unnecessary things last forever. And that is another problem of the book.

I'm so sorry to say that I will not recommend this book to anyone. It has potential, too bad nothing gets to the essential point to shine.

Rating: 1.5/5

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Pub. Date: March 2009
Age Range: Young Adult
Pages: 278
Format: ARC
Source: from publisher - Penguin

"Dead girl walking," the boys say in the halls.
"Tell us your secret," the girls whisper, one toilet to another.
I am that girl.
I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.
I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.

Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend's restless spirit.

The first moment I saw Wintergirls, I knew for sure that it would blow me away. Even though I'd never ever read any of Laurie Halse Anderson's works, I was still excited about this one because I'd heard tons of times from others how great she was, and upon coming across the summaries of her books, I felt really attracted to them. And Wintergirls just came up to my expectation. It's so different from other books, in good way, of course.

Eating disorders is something super new to me. I've not experienced such a thing in my life and no one I know or hear of is suffering from anorexia either. Wintergirls led me to a world that I was hardly aware of and I was in awe. In that world, food is forbidden, eating is a sin and being thin is an extreme obsession. Thoroughly exploiting the uses of words and metaphors, Laurie Halse Anderson slowly introduced the darkest sides of a teenager's life whose only desire was to shrink into nothingness. Her writing surprised me because even though everything seemed vague at times, it was real to me as well. On turning page to page readers will feel a kind of chill that only grows stronger and stronger. The mood of this book is not only gloomy, it's more like cold and empty.

Lia is such an intriguing character. She's not someone who you usually find in YA books. She was strange, not one of a kind we can relate or feel close to. Her life was very complicated. Her parents divorced and seemed like their care for her was only for shown; her only bestfriend Cassandra left her, later died alone in a motel aftter trying to get in touch in vain with Lia. Lia never felt alive, never felt worthy and being as thin as possible was the only way for her to consider herself successful.

I had difficulties understanding Lia at first. She really wanted to eat so why not stop counting the calories in the food and enjoy her meals? I didn't see the point of her goal of losing weight at all. Sometimes I was mad and scared of her actions at once, like she was really insane. But as the story went on and the reasons were explained, I found myself sympathy with Lia more and more. She was under so much pressure, she was haunted by Cassandra, by her broken family, by the voices inside her head. What I love best was how Laurie described Lia's emotions. They were so real and flawless that they made me uneasy, trapped and hopeless just like the poor girl.

There's something I'd love to warn you: Wintergirls is not a book for everyone. It's uneasy, sometimes heavy and creepy that you want to put it down. But of course, that doesn't mean it doesn't have any sweet moments. All the sisters scenes of Lia and Emma warmed my heart and the appearance of Elijah softened/lessened the chill, even if he didn't play much of an important role.

Intense. Unforgettable. Wintergirls is the book that will haunt you, whether you want it or not.

Rating: 5/5

Just A Quick Note

Some of you may realized and some not, but I haven't posted anything this week. There was something wrong with my internet service and I couldn't view any blogspot pages since Saturday. Now I can, but the speed is still so slow : (

I'll try to post whenever I can. Bare with me okay!

Love you all<3

Sunday Special (12) Some Help Spot The Similarities

Idea taken from Pop Culture Junkie

I've been so mad this weekend because Blogspot hates my computer. I don't know why but I couldn't log onto my account and even when I did sometimes, it just froze at the dashboard. Every blogspot pages failed to open so I couldn't visit your blogs either T___T. In case this continues, let me apologize in advance for the delayed posts as well as late replies. If anyone has experienced this before or may have any clues to solve this problem, please tell me.

Anyway back to the main topic today. More lookalike covers! Some were spotted by my fellow bloggers and some with help from the authors. So say you like them!

Words To Live By by C.S Lewis.
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer.

They look so alike right? From afar I thought the pictures were the same but at close up they turned out quite different. I have a feeling that the novel cover was paid more attention to, not just the picture but how the words were arranged too. My pick would definitely be Twilight although I really like the lively pair of arms in the other cover.

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr.
Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan.

Look at the hearts, aren’t they cute? In Sweethearts it’s a pie (I think) and in the other those are vitamin pills, yet I still believe they’re relative covers. Both hold an aura of sadness/nostalgia/gloominess to me but I prefer Sweehearts. The eaten part makes it look softer and fun, while Boy Meets Boy is quite empty. The title is hard to spot and it’s a bit annoying.

Keeping The Moon by Sarah Dessen.
The Earth, My Butt & Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler.

You know what I love about these two? Not only do they resemble each other but they also look as if they’re front and back covers of one book. The first was shot from the front while the second from behind. The titles were both settled on the jeans but Carolyn Mackler book is cooler in my opinion because the letters blend well with the pockets thus seem to become a part of the jeans, naturally.

Cheated by Patrick Jones.
Right Behind You by Gail Giles.

This one is suggested by Patrick Jones himself. When I first saw these I saw no similarities at all but then my eyes spotted the lighters and I was like “Oh”. I really like the idea of these covers, they will catch the readers’a attention at once for sure. My favorite is Cheated, the glowing title as the fire is simply so beautiful.

Slept Away by Julie Kraut.
The Secret Language Of Girls by Frances O’Roark Dowell.
Lost It by Kristen Tracy.

Feet again. Feet again. Those were spotted by lovely Steph Su : ) (thanks buddy). They don’t look exactly the same but the concept is similar. Bare feet and grass. I love these because it cools me during hot days here. And they look so summery too. What’s your favourite? I go for all!


Tell me what you think and keep an eye on lookalike covers okay. Please pray for me so I can access blogspot soon! : )

p.s Thanks to my friend Kaylie who posted this up for me<3