Blog Update

Saturday, November 21, 2015

My last book review was published on September...

It's mid-November already and still, no sign of book review on the way! Ugh, wow. School must really brought me this joy of having no leisure time.

Hello! Gee, this is just an update so my blog won't get flies. I can't believe it's almost two months since my last book review on the blog, and as far as I know, I have no new finished books since then because school works are piling up on me. I read books on my spare time though but not enough to finish even a single book. Oh wait, I did finish TWO books. One is Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer but I didn't enjoy it so much and I haven't had the time to write a review about it. I could have written a lot about it though, sadly, the book is not fresh in my mind right now so I can't write about it. The other book I finished was Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier. I haven't had a review on it because I thought I would do a trilogy review. It was a good time travel book. I love those, although this book was kind of just about the world, time and character building, so the fun is only halfway across the book and I'm looking forward to the next book, although I haven't started on it yet. :D

Okay, so apart from the two books with no review, I started reading three books unintentionally.

BOOKS I STARTED, BUT HAVEN'T FINISHED...YET

I bought A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I vowed to read all of his heart-wrenching books so when I saw a pre-loved books sale at @bookhavenph (ig), I bought it and read it right after I received it. It was such a beautiful book and I am on the hundred and twenty-ninth page my heart is starting to slowly shatter itself into pieces. I can't wait to finish it, though and prove my theory about the title (Just like what I did on And the Mountains Echoed).

I read The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks when I saw my sister brought home this book from the library and I snatched it from her, remembering that I still haven't updated my #NSReadAThon and realized that I won't be able to finish my goal before the year ends. Pftt.

Lastly, I am reading my e-arc copy of Kiss Kill Love Him Still that The Fantastic Flying Book Club provided for the blog tour. So far, I am enjoying it and I still have no idea who the killer is.The scavenger hunt was already finished but you can still view the profiles of the potential killers of Jackson Landis, just click here.

CHALLENGE UPDATES
I am so behind all my challenges. Gee.
Goodreads challenge: 33/40 (83%)
Popsugar Reading Challenge: 19/50 *^* ( you can visit the full list here)


PROJECT ANNOTATIONS PH UPDATE

 On its last two readers by this time and hopefully, it would be finished before 2016 so we can open a few spots for other people who would want to annotate books with us! I'm so excited! If you don't know what this is all about, click here or read below:


Project Annotations Ph is a kind of little book club wherein we pass around a book per month. The book can be annotated (either on the pages of the book itself or using sticky notes–depending on the owner of the book) by each reader. Comments, thoughts, reactions, and short messages can be written, favorite quotes may be underlined or highlighted–anything goes. Each reader is given a week with the book. When this done reading, he/she will then send it to the next person. This goes on until the book is back to the owner.The goal is to make the reading experience more interactive and intimate despite the geographical distance between each reader.

So far, this is the pilot testing or sorts and I am the second person to read and annotate the book. I am doing this project with my fellow Filipino booklr friends Nickole (@ishieemouie), Alena (@dustypromises) and Ellen (@thereaderandthebook). The book we are working on is Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. I haven’t read the book yet, and seeing the annotations made by the previous reader just makes me all the more excited about diving into this.

#BTBBC: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell Book Review

Thursday, September 24, 2015


I read this book before but I got tired twenty pages after and then abandoned it on my phone for the last few months that have passed. Now last month (July), the exclusive collector's edition got me interested, since it was pink and idk what got into me and bought it on B&N. Right after I got the package, I found myself just staring at it for a few weeks and then came the book club that I recently joined, the Back to Backlist Book Club (#BTBBC), and the book of the month [August] was Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. It was a votation and I voted for the book mainly because it was convenient for me since I have a copy of my own and so after the votation period, it was announced that the book of the month was Fangirl and I was psyched! IDK why. :\

So anyway, that got me into finally finishing the book that I have abandoned a long time ago.

Fangirl is a cutesy story about a fangirl, obviously, who is obsessed about Simon and Baz, a fictional character from the famous Simon Snow series by Gemma T. Leslie which is somewhat similar to the Harry Potter series in real life. Cath is our ultimate fangirl in the book, who writes fan fiction and her stories are famous in the online community. She enters college and tries so hard not to entertain people and just focus on her fan fic and then go to classes and that was probably her plan until her room mate just can't take it anymore and then they became friends and then a lot has happened and then she has this mom problem, dad problem, twin problem, fiction writing problem, Nick problem, plagiarism problem, boy problem and basically every problem that stacks up until you don't know which one to knock out first.

Okay, so basically that was the story, I hope I made a good description of the book but I'm not so good with that so just bear with me, wormiees.

Reading the book for the second time, I still found myself bored with the fanfic part. I mean, for the first few chapters, I was reading it, but then as I go on, I found myself not really caring at all about what Simon Snow is doing or not doing or anything so I just skipped it all the way to the end! I mean, every end of the chapter, there is a Simon Snow related page that has nothing to do with the chapter, and it's just there, you know? It's not like I won't make it through the book without reading it. I guess it's just for effect. But anyway, I did not read all of those after chapter Simon-related paragraphs, just so you know.

I feel like there is a lot of missing links in this book, even unsolved problems, I guess.

First is the issue about Abel. Um, that's it? It wasn't even elaborated in the book, even for just a few paragraph about Cath and Abel's real (or unreal for that matter) relationship. What the hell is what-you-and-Abel-have-isn't-real-it's-an-end-table-bla-bla pep talk all about? Don't you think we deserve a glimpse of what that end table is all about? Like 3 or 4 or whatever years is short enough to ignore for all of them? Even if it's a dead end between Abel and Cath, the friendship was still built you know? It's not just okay-it's-over-between-us kind of thing. Please? What, he's just a filler? He's just there to add some spice to the story? Which ended up not adding any flavor to the mix after all, by the way.

*calm down*

What I am saying here is, Abel and Cath are friends. It's not something that they can just throw out the window. They could have wrap all the loose ends nicely at the end of the book. It's just that, this book felt like there were a lot of unresolved problems that were just abandoned after it was laid out in front of us. Cath found Levi, and Abel found another girl, they both know what they had wasn't real, so there should be something in there you know? Like "hey, we both know it's freaking end table but you are still my friend and we should not waste our friendship over finding the real thing for both of us" kind of thing.

Next is the mother problem.

I think that this book has a lot of problems in it. Real life problems but somehow it chooses to ignore the reality and focused more on the teenage problem that are a bit shallow. Forgive me, yes I think this is a struggle for some young adults--facing the reality of growing up and leaving the comforts of being young behind but let's face it, Rainbow Rowell threw in bunch of serious problems in this book but she chose to ignore those and resolved the ones that I think she thinks are more suitable for young adult readers, but come to think of it, many young adult readers experience family problems and resolving these problems in this book doesn't change the fact that the intended audience is for young adults. It is deep, it is serious,but readers find comfort in what they read, and readers find solace and companion in a book that understands them and not the other way around.

Wren, Cath's identical twin sister, is broken. So is Cath. But Wren has a different way of venting out the problems that she chooses to ignore in her crumbling teenage life. It all started with their mother, of course. Their freaking mother who can't handle the life of being a mother; their freaking mother who did not take the responsibility of being a freaking mother of two growing beautiful twins because she's not freaking ready to be a F*CKING mother! *okay, calm down*

Back to the mother problem. It wasn't resolved. It was just a passing thing in this book. She's just a passing conflict that is not worthy enough to be resolved in the book. Wren wants to welcome her back into her life just to fill a hole in her heart that only her mother could fill. Not the alcohol, not the boys, not anything or anyone else but the mother only. Cath didn't want her and I understand because the mother didn't want them so that's just it, no question about that. We may have different opinions about it but yeah, it's Cath's decision and I totes understand her.

What I hate about the mother problem is that, as a character, she's disposable. Whether Wren wants her or not, or whether Cath could hate her or not, she's just a small character that can totally be erased in a single stroke. The only depth the mother gave into this story was the brokenness she instilled in her daughters' hearts. I don't really know, I just think I was looking for something more out of their mother problem. The last of her was in the hospital and all she said was she's not a part of all that and Cath gave her a chance. The only chance that she'll ever gonna get to be a part of Cath's life but she's just chicken about all of it. She just did not reach out as much as she needed to. If she really want to be a part of her children's life, she should be the one to make the huge effort and not the other way around.

I was disappointed, to be honest. The book was cute, the characters were cute everything that Rainbow Rowell does was cute but all of the cuteness ended there and as much as I want this book to be beautiful and memorable, it wasn't for me. I have a lot of issues with it and there were tons of problems compressed in a single book. There were parts that I enjoyed and there were a lot of good parts, no doubt to that so after venting out my issues, I'll go the good part now!

The gradual romance is the best thing ever. Levi is love but he was such a douche in a later scene that made my heart broken... shattered, but she made that up by being the funny guy that we all love and adore. Levi *heart heart heart* Okay, I love it okay? There was a lot of okay okay okay okay in this book that everytime I see one I would have to put a sticky note and write, "Okay? Okay." in it. Get it? Get it. :D Levi is so adorable Levi is just the coolest person to hang out with... in your bed... Oopsies, that doesn't sound right, right? But if you read the book, you'll probably know what I'm talking about. Yeah? Yeah.

Cath was a good character, not great, she's dull and boring. The only time she's alive is when Levi grins or when Reagan curses. But anyway, her story is not forced, it's not hurried and she's a special kind of misfit that we all relate to. College is not easy and weaving through crowds of people that is not your kind of crowd can be tiring so she tuned herself out and made herself her best companion but here comes my favorite character of all, Reagan, she saved Cath from being crazy and sick while being the coolest chick ever! Cath is a character that everyone can relate to. She's not one of the strong ones but she definitely represents a part of us fangirls at heart.

The only reason I gave the book a 3 (on goodreads) is because I enjoyed some parts even though  I questioned half of it, but it's cool and cute and the book (physically) was beautiful, so there's that. My actual rating was 2.9 sooo.Yeah. :)

The book was good because Rainbow is a good writer, adored by a lot of teenagers and young adults, no doubt. Her writing is easy to get into and her characters are weaved to be someone that is totally us in real life. And the scenes where Reagan and Levi are a part of? Damn, those are def the good ones! All in all, a good book that everyone loves (but not me :D), give it a try and tell me what you think about it.

Nicholas Sparks Read-A-Thon #3: The Longest Ride

Thursday, August 20, 2015






Handwritten love letters will never get old.
It's still the sweetest gift anyone can ever offer to someone.

Every after reading a book that has a movie adaptation, I usually end up watching the movie right after I stop staring into space pondering.

This isn't the first "based on Nicholas Sparks novel" movie that I have watched and from what I have experienced, when you read the book first, you should be ready for the changes that you will encounter in the movie. That's just the way it is, and I've long since accepted that fact with his novels and movie adaptations.

I was one of those book nerds who always get angry and disappointed when the book is not same with the movie. Wait, I still am, because in my eyes, if they are going to change, not some, but most part of the movie, they should do a better job in making those scenes better. But, hey, I found myself approving the movie adaptations of Mr. Sparks' novels. The changes made the movie better and as memorable as the book itself.

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BOOK REVIEW

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18296133

 Title: The Longest Ride
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Published by: Grand Central Publishing, May 6th 2014
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Setting: North Carolina
Format: MM Paperback, 416 pages
My Copy Source: Bought
Purchase: NBS [PH] | Fully Booked [PH] | Amazon | B & N
Rating: 5 Roses

In the tradition of his beloved first novel, The Notebook, #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks returns with the remarkable story of two couples whose lives intersect in profound and surprising ways.

Ira Levinson is in trouble. Ninety-one years old and stranded and injured after a car crash, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed away nine years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together - how they met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth can't possibly be in the car with him, but he clings to her words and his memories, reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their marriage.

A few miles away, at a local bull-riding event, a Wake Forest College senior's life is about to change. Recovering from a recent break-up, Sophia Danko meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has encountered at school. Through Luke, Sophia is introduced to a world in which the stakes of survival and success, ruin and reward -- even life and death - loom large in everyday life. As she and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds herself imagining a future far removed from her plans -- a future that Luke has the power to rewrite . . . if the secret he's keeping doesn't destroy it first.

Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common, and who are separated by years and experience. Yet their lives will converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that even the most difficult decisions can yield extraordinary journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart.


Man, I don't think I would ever get tired of reading his novels.

The Longest Ride is a tale of two love stories that blossomed at different time and generation. Ira and Ruth's and Luke and Sophia's, both are different yet intertwined by the same love and passion.


IRA and RUTH


Ira and Ruth's love story is sweet yet heart breaking at the same time. Being able to witness their love story from the start until they grew old just made my heart clench. Ira is a very quiet man from the start, but as the story goes on, I found him the sweetest and most romantic man ever.

By this time, our generation has a different way of being romantic, that's why I was swooning every time I flip the page to find that I was again at Ira's POV. My most favorite part was the tradition that they started during their anniversary, where Ira will write Ruth letter that they will read only at Lake Eden. That was freaking sweet!

I feel like stories that took place on a time of war makes great impact to people who reads or watch them, for one, because it's heart breaking and it's different and I don't know, they just cast a light that makes you squint just to see clearly, and besides, for a person who never was in the past to experience things first hand, the past is a wonder; the past is interesting. I also admired women's faith in that time. They never know when their love will come back but they hold on to a picture and the hope that the promise to come back alive will never ever be broken.


LUKE and SOPHIA


I like that there was this palpable attraction between them and it did not take like 4 seconds for them to fall in love, that's great, but I guess I should give in to the fact that kisses were given freely on certain books or whatever so I am not going to rant about the kiss on their second or third meeting? I don't remember but whatever, this thing between Luke and Sophia? Yes, girl, super swoon!

I love that Luke is a total gentleman and a hot cowboy and Sophia is a college chick who is not all fame and fortune and has the brains and the beauty that any man would fall for, that's why jerks like her ex boyfriends should die.

Both lived different worlds and they must struggle to find a way to keep bridging the gap. "Love requires sacrifice", I don't remember if this is from the book or from the movie, but it's all they have to give in order to save their relationship-- sacrifice.

Gee, I love how in the end, the two stories managed to intersect (not in the way I wanted, though). It's a happy ending for both stories, and I love happy endings.

This is a contrast of two different love story that showed the old and the new generation's kind of love but begged to portray us that ways may change but love is still love and yesterday and tomorrow will not really be different because love in all its forms and ways will forever be love in the eyes and hearts of people in love.

I love this book so much that everytime I get to Ira's part I just want to cry because it's like this feeling you get when you see old couple still together. It's a nostalgic feeling and it's so touching, it tugs at your heart in all the right places.

In the end, I really was hoping for a lot of things to happen, and I was impatient for the two stories to intersect, because this for certain, of course, will happen at some point and when it did, I found myself quite disappointed. "That's it? That's just it? Just the letter read by Sophia and then that's it? Ugh, Ira could have been telling his story to Sophia at the end, but no, THAT'S IT! She could also have had a museum of her own with those art collections! Ugggh". Yep, guys, I ranted right after reading it, because I was always plotting an ending to every story. I always want to predict, but damn, it didn't happen. That's why I was so thankful that all of the things that I've waited to happen in the book happened in the movie! Again, I felt no disappointment with the movie adaptation because the changes made it a bit better for me because all my predictions were in the movie.

All in all, this was a great book. In my opinion, something that is more beautifully crafted than The Notebook, if I may say. Something that is also timeless and romantic that contains a lot of qualities that the modern generation yearns for. I fell in love with the book and will continue to fall in love with it as long as I remember both Ira and Ruth's and Luke and Sophia's love story.


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MOVIE REVIEW

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The movie and the book are both great in their own ways even though the movie created something more powerful than the book's portrayal. The book made a great picture of both stories but the movie created a strong link between them that's why I love the movie too. 100% approved movie adaptation. There were a lot of changes but the changes are all for the better viewing experience and I found that I really love the bits that the moviemakers added and subtracted.

I found that this is something I would totally watch over and over again like I did in The Notebook and A Walk to Remember. With gorgeous characters, what could I ask for, right? Especially Luke, o-m-g so H-O-T. I didn't know him before but I'm definitely an admirer right now.

You guys should definitely watch the movie. It is so lovely and I can assure you, I've never heard a negative review about it and I've never read any too(or I just never read one?). All my friends and family all have their thumbs up over this movie, they all wanted me to watch it as soon as possible but I didn't budge. Gotta read first, right? Right.


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The Longest Ride Book Reviews

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*INSTAGRAM BOOK PHOTOGRAPHY*



A photo posted by Melody 🌻 (@theliteraryowl) on




CONFESS by Colleen Hoover Book Review

Sunday, August 2, 2015


I found the book VERY beautiful and when I bought the ebook on Amazon and read the first few pages, which captivated me because of the way Colleen Hoover lay down her words, I said to myself, "Stop reading, buy the book and stare at the book cover for a long time". For a long time, I planned on buying the book because I want that beauty in my bookshelf, but damn girl, the book is price-y! Anyway, I never got myself to buying it and found myself at the last page of the ebook one day but I think I am still going to buy the book any time in the future when I do a Colleen Hoover Read-A-Thon.

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BOOK REVIEW
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Confess

Title: Confess
Author: Colleen Hoover
Published by: Atria Books on 10th March 2015
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Setting: Dallas, Texas (USA)
Format: Kindle, 320 pages
My Copy Source: Bought (Amazon)
Purchase: NBS [PH] | Fully Booked [PH] | Amazon | B & N
Rating: 3 Roses

Auburn Reed has her entire life mapped out. Her goals are in sight and there’s no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who works there, Owen Gentry.

For once, Auburn takes a risk and puts her heart in control, only to discover Owen is keeping major secrets from coming out. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything important to Auburn, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it.

The last thing Owen wants is to lose Auburn, but he can’t seem to convince her that truth is sometimes as subjective as art. All he would have to do to save their relationship is confess. But in this case, the confession could be much more destructive than the actual sin…
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BOOK REVIEW
Confession Style
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I CONFESS that this is a freaking beautiful book, and I am talking only physically. I can't even describe how beautiful and artistic the book cover is. IT IS FREAKING LOVELY. To be honest... I mean, I am honest, because this is a confession, right? So, yeah, to be honest, I was drawn to this book because of the artistic sense embedded in it, especially in the beginning where there are pictures of Owen's paintings that are inspired by true people's confessions. TRUE PEOPLE'S CONFESSIONS! LIKE, THEY'RE REAL. AND THE PAINTINGS? SPELL BEAUTIFUL, DEARIES!

I CONFESS that I love the way Colleen Hoover writes. Her writing style is captivating in a way that you just want to read through and through but then I found myself a bit disappointed because despite the CoHo praises, this book lack depth. I guess I was really interested with the idea of the confessions itself but I just wasn't impressed with the way it turned out in the end.

I CONFESS that I was really curious about Owen. I love the mystery that surrounded this confession thingy and all that was unknown to Auburn and to us as well. I mean, no one wants to be kept in the dark, right? Us readers know that there's something Owen is hiding and we all want to know what that is! At first I even thought that Owen is AJ, the dead boyfriend of Auburn, but then again, it's a mystery until it unfolds on the last few chapters.

I CONFESS that I didn't really love Auburn as a character. Even though one can love a weak character, Auburn was a weak one that I dislike so much, she is just cringe worthy all the way.

I CONFESS that Owen is really loveable and sweet and Trey and his mother are plain evil. Ugh, stupid selfish people, rot in hell.

I CONFESS that I didn't love the ending even though I have come to the page where everything is unraveled. I wasn't actually surprised at all the revelations and I was not impressed with the connection of Owen with Auburn. I don't know why but it just seemed "meh" and I cringed again. Ugh.

I CONFESS that I only loved the art, the confessions, the idea of the book, the mystery, the writing, the chemistry and electricity between Owen and Auburn and Owen. That's where my feelings end and the rest wasn't all that great to me.

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Gee, so wacha think guys? :D

Nicholas Sparks Read-A-Thon #2: A Walk To Remember

Wednesday, July 29, 2015


This is the book that people will always warn you about.. The book that if you haven't read or heard yet, people will guess that you lived your whole life under a rock... (I've heard of it and I've known it for like forever through the film, yet I had the opportunity to read it only now, so I'm an in-betweener! uhm, maybe I was kind'a living on the skirt of the rock, I've known and heard it for so long but 'tis only now that I've come to read it. Congrats to me!)

A Walk To Remember is the book that transcended generations and is still loved and still highly recommended by a lot of readers.

Join me in my Nicholas Sparks Read-A-Thon by using the hashtag NSReadAThon and linking your A Walk To Remember Book Review down below and if you have reviewed this before, feel free to link it too. Everyone is welcome to join anytime and you can read any books in between as long as we reach our goal to read all of Nicholas Sparks' novels before the year ends (My initial plan was before my school starts, but they're just too many). Please message/comment me if you are joining. :)

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BOOK & MOVIE REVIEW

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Title: A Walk To Remember
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Sept 1st 2004
Genre: Romance, Drama
Setting: Beaufort, North Carolina (USA)
Format: MM Paperback, 240 pages
My Copy Source: Borrowed from Daniela
Purchase: NBS [PH] | Fully Booked [PH] | B & N | Amazon
Rating: 4 Roses

Every April, when the wind blows from the sea and mingles with the scent of lilacs, Landon Carter remembers his last year at Beaufort High. It was 1958, and Landon had already dated a girl or two. He even swore that he had once been in love. Certainly the last person in town he thought he'd fall for was Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of the town's Baptist minister.


A quiet girl who always carried a Bible with her schoolbooks, Jamie seemed content living in a world apart from the other teens. She took care of her widowed father, rescued hurt animals, and helped out at the local orphanage. No boy had ever asked her out. Landon would never have dreamed of it.


Then a twist of fate made Jamie his partner for the homecoming dance, and Landon Carter's life would never be the same. Being with Jamie would show him the depths of the human heart and lead him to a decision so stunning it would send him irrevocably on the road to manhood...

The book is entirely different from the movie that I've watched several times when I was younger (I remembered crying buckets and I remembered being envious of their love story). I fell in love with the movie first and then I recently opened my heart to the novel where the movie was adapted. I was actually deciding on whether I would use inspired or adapted because the book and the movie have an entirely different story but the same in some ways. The movie was the expanded version of the book and it was like they only got the idea of the book itself and fashioned an entirely different story as to what the book actually told. Right now, you might think that in the present, that kind of step would be frowned upon by many book lovers out there, but I can assure you that any book lover would agree with the way they altered the book to further have an in depth story on screen and let me just say, Bravo! It's not always that a movie adaptation was better than the book and when that happens, it's just fairly remarkable. *slow clap*

The book is a very short and light read that you can finish in just one sitting, maybe 3-5 hours at least. It's a different take on romance, it's not the good girl falling for the bad boy that we've all seen numerous times on some romance stories. It's the other way around, it's the bad boy falling for the good girl. Not that he's an extreme bad boy in the book, but still, I think you see the point.

The book was told by Landon when he looked back on the day he found his true love. It was great to see the story from his perspective because it gave us the chance to see how he really felt. He was not an extreme bad boy but he doesn't hang out with the "goodies", he hangs out with the jocks even though he wasn't a jock himself. Landon, in the book, was the guy determined to get into a good college that's why he found himself the student body president and the lead role in the play where Jamie also starred in.

I guess watching the film made me a bit disappointed about the book in certain ways because the book was really short and there are scenes in the movie that was really remarkable so let me just enumerate them.
  • Landon being the extreme bad boy in the movie to the point that someone nearly died because of him and his friends.
  • The BUCKET LIST! Oh my, it was the sweetest thing ever and it wasn't in the book. Being on two places at the same time, getting a tattoo, and building a telescope? Wow, it was the sweetest thing ever!
  • The songs! Yep, that made it better! ;D
  • Shane West and Mandy Moore, yep, can't argue with that.
The book was good in its own way, it still captured the emotion of losing someone you love. It showed love in its purest form and even if they are young, it showed the power of real love and how it can transform you. This book has shown its readers how the magic of love and faith changes our perspective of life and even in the smallest way possible makes a miracle even when we haven't seen it yet.


Lastly, I just want to get this out, Jamie reminded me of Stargirl (Check out my review)! They are so similar but unique in their own ways. These characters just want to make you change for the better.

Both the movie and the book made their way to our hearts in their own way and both are highly recommended! But please, do read it first before watching the movie so as not to get a wee bit disappointed because I can't tell you how much the movie is deeper than the book but also in many ways, the book also has its own story to tell.

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A Walk To Remember Book Reviews

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INSTAGRAM BOOK PHOTOGRAPHY

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A photo posted by Arlene Domingo (@arlenexd) on


A photo posted by 💝💝💝 Huyền Q 🎀🎀🎀💋 (@huyenq76c) on


A photo posted by Viji$#@ :) (@vijis_89) on

Nicholas Sparks Read-A-Thon #1: The Choice by Nicholas Sparks

Saturday, July 18, 2015





Can I just say that this is my third book by Nicholas Sparks? I know, I know, I am sorry I am missing a lot. I've read Safe Haven and The Lucky One and I really don't remember a lot from my experience mostly because I was way younger when I read it and I don't think my level of maturity allowed me to really appreciate it so I haven't really retained a lot. Let us just say that I am starting blank, okay? Erase Safe Haven and The Lucky One...

*erasing...*

Oh my gosh guyss.. This is my very first Nicholas Sparks novel and I enjoyed The Choiceso much that I am planning to read all of his books before school starts this August. Anyone wants to join me for A Nicholas Sparks Read-A-Thon? It's okay to read anything in between because I do that to somehow get past my book hang over and you guys can join me anytime you like.

Join me in my Nicholas Sparks Read-A-Thon by using the hashtag NSReadAThon and linking your The Choice Book Review down below and if you have reviewed this before, feel free to link it too. Everyone is welcome to join anytime and you can read any books in between as long as we reach our goal to read all of Nicholas Sparks' novels before the year ends (My initial plan was before my school starts, but they're just too many). Please message/comment me if you are joining. :)

NEWS FLASH

I just want to take this off my chest right now because TRAVIS PARKER and I just got married!!! Yep, you heard that right, I just wed my very first book hubbie ever! I used to have a lot of book boyfies before and it's my first time to have a book hubbie and his name is Travis from The Choice by Nicholas Sparks. *wink wink*

First off, now that I have told you the big news about my new husband, I'll go on and tell you my thoughts about my latest read. ;)

Oh, and by the way, they're turning this into a movie this 2016!! I'm so excited!!

BOOK REVIEW


Title: The Choice
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Published by: Grand Central Publishing on 19th of August 2008
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Adult Fiction
Setting: North Carolina
Format: Mass Market Papperback
My Copy Source: Borrowed from Daniela
Purchase: Fully Booked [PH] | B & N | Amazon
Rating: 4 Roses

Travis Parker has everything a man could want: a good job, loyal friends, even a waterfront home in small-town North Carolina. In full pursuit of the good life -- boating, swimming, and regular barbecues with his good-natured buddies -- he holds the vague conviction that a serious relationship with a woman would only cramp his style. That is, until Gabby Holland moves in next door. Despite his attempts to be neighborly, the appealing redhead seems to have a chip on her shoulder about him...and the presence of her longtime boyfriend doesn't help. Despite himself, Travis can't stop trying to ingratiate himself with his new neighbor, and his persistent efforts lead them both to the doorstep of a journey that neither could have foreseen. Spanning the eventful years of young love, marriage and family, The Choice ultimately confronts us with the most heartwrenching question of all: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?
One of my bookish friends, Daniela, recommended this book to me right after she finished it. It's been so long since I last read a novel from Nicholas Sparks and besides, I just finished reading Sundays at Tiffany's that time so why not, right?

Even from the start, I was already curious. The prologue didn't gave much away and that was the thing that made me more curious. The thing I love about this book is, it's a weekend walk through their story and you won't ever feel that the story is in a hurry to end. It's a lie-down-on-a-recliner-overlooking-a-lake-with-the-sun's-rays-hitting-every-inch-of-your-skin type of story. It's laid back but it is very entertaining, what with every conversation filled with humorous dialogues.

I love Travis, Gabbie and Travis' sister, Stephanie!

Travis is the person that I would want to invite to have lunch and dinner with me, hell I would invite him to talk to me forever! This person is definitely one that I would want to converse with every minute, he has an amazing personality and the sense of humor is just, ugh, he actually caught my heart with his sense of humor. Not only that, he is a very good husband! He's so sweet and he just knows what a woman wants and he's just  *swooooons*. I cannot tell you how much I love him, though.

Gabbie and Stephanie are just the girlfriends that you want in your life and I enjoyed their company in this book so much.

*BIT OF A SPOILER*

PART ONE

I enjoyed every bit of their moments here in the first part. There is never a dull moment with Travis and Gabbie, even though it's a bit strange because while I am seriously getting tired of all the YA novels that starts with boy meets girl then eyes will sparkle and there are hearts all over, I enjoyed the book despite of that. (Seriously guys, I'm getting tired of those stories that has the girl and boy met for a fraction of a second, and then they're suddenly in love. UGH Come on, give it a depth! Get to know each other before you draw hearts all over your eyes. It's okay to drool though. *wink*)

Okay, okay, despite this new idea of being tiresome to some novel's insta-love "cliche-ness", I found myself defending this book. Yes, I hated that they fell in love in a course of 48 hours and it sucks you know? Strong attraction, yes, that is understandable, but to be in love with him, and broke it off with your current boyfriend just seems harsh. I guess she could have call it off with Kevin (the current boyfriend at that time) and then dated Travis for a certain amount of time before heading off to a freaking wedding! Anyway, the book didn't elaborate much about the Kevin matter so I really assumed that that is what happened.

Oops, I did not defended it at all. So the thing is, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the weekend they had. It's not at all lovey-dovey that's why Travis and Gabbie was able to scratch the surface of each other. It doesn't seem rush, it just seems like a pretty normal but long 48 hours for them. I didn't want the idea of insta-love, but in this book, all you can do is just go with it because it's not like they made it a point to paint it across their faces that they were in love that's why even though it's too fast, all you can just do is enjoy Travis' company. *squeeeals*

In conclusion, I hate the ending of the part one, but I enjoyed everything from the start and in between.

PART TWO

This will be short because I was bored to death in the second part. I didn't like anything at all about it and I just  flew my way through it just to finish it because I know that in the end, Gabbie will wake up when all hope seems lost. It was great that Travis didn't give up on her and it was lovely to see Travis be the husband material that every girl hopes for even though he only exists in the fictional world.

***


Oh my gosh, I encountered it again! How when we stare at the stars, we're staring backwards in time. I first encountered it from Lifespan of Starlight and here it is again. I loved that I knew all about it right now because to look at the stars that way just seems lovely.

See below for the pictures of the two books from my bookstagram.

*The Choice Book Review*








*INSTAGRAM BOOK PHOTOGRAPHY*




A Escolha - Nicholas Sparks #leituraatual "Travis Parker possui tudo o que um homem poderia ter: a profissão que desejava, amigos leais, e uma linda casa beira-mar na pequena cidade de Beaufort, Carolina do Norte. Com uma vida boa, seus relacionamentos amorosos são apenas passageiros e para ele, isso é o suficiente. Até o dia em que sua nova vizinha, Gabby, aparece na porta. Apesar de suas tentativas de ser gentil, a ruiva atraente parece ter raiva dele. Ainda sim, Travis não consegue evitar se engraçar com Gabby e seus esforços persistentes o levam a uma jornada que ninguém poderia prever. Abrangendo os anos agitados do primeiro amor, casamento e família, A Escolha nos faz confrontar a questão mais cruel de todas: Até onde você iria manter o amor de sua vida?" #AEscolha #nicholassparks #Thechoice #instabook #instalivros #instaleitores #books #booklover #bookaholic #bookaddict #bookstagram #libro #minhabiblioteca #minhaestante #livro #leitura #skoob #bookporn #lendo #goodreads #currentlyreading #leitora
A photo posted by Marcia Ferreira (@marcia_csf) on


A photo posted by Sara Gouyez (@saragouyez91) on

BOOK NEWS: Yahoo! Movies Announced Glass Sword's Cover Reveal!

Tuesday, July 7, 2015



When Glass Sword opens, Maven has betrayed Mare and his brother, Cal, and the two have been rescued by the Scarlet Guard. In addition to fighting the segregation that torments the red-blooded masses, Mare will be seeking out other Reds like her. Where the first book cover showed an upside-down crown dripping red blood, the new one follows suit, this time with a crown made of glass swords and dripping both red and silver blood, a symbol, Aveyard told us, meant to show that “both sides are going to have problems this time around.”

Source: Yahoo! Movies

WHAT THE FUN?! Aside from the fact that classes are suspended and I'm going to be staying in bed all day today, this thing popped on my instagram feed this morning and I was psyched! Like woah!!! At first I thought it was fan made but I saw it on NBS' ig and it was actually posted by epicreads but originally, the cover reveal was from Yahoo!, so it's not a hoax! IT IS REAL!!

So anyway, it is a very good news on a typical rainy Wednesday morning and I was dancing with delight because it was a really good cover! Even if it looks like a chandelier and my sister said it's like Elsa, I think it was gorgeous and I'm pretty much excited for next year, February 9, and I know that the wait will be excruciating! UGH



If you have accidentally or intentionally read my review about Red Queen, you'll find that I was actually disappointed that there was no map in the book and I think they heard me. I guess they'll be putting this on Glass Sword, huh? YAY! The map is freaking red and looks like freaking bloody death all around.



So whaddiya think about the map? I love a book with a great map! :D


Aside from that, Yahoo! also announced that Red Queen will be coming to the big screen  and will be directed by Elizabeth Banks! Who's excited for that? I know I am! :D
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