Finally, Wicked Lovely

Got a text message over the weekend that the Melissa Marr tome I ordered from Fullybooked has arrived. Finally! I have been rummaging bookstores here in my beautiful but not-so-updated city for the novel for months. Tried hunting for a second hand copy but after a while I just got really impatient and ordered it. Now that it's here, I can't help feeling pressured to finish this book I'm currently reading--and procrastinating over for months now.

Hopefully, I get to finish this current tome this week so I can start on a new one. I have got to try to find some time--not to mention the will--to plod through to the last page of this book! Don't get me wrong, the book isn't bad. It's just that this is a re-read because I couldn't--for the life of me--remember the details, not even the plot. And the succeeding books are out and I'm coming up with plotholes so enourmous I suspect it may be a sinkhole that's perpetually growing in my noggin'.

Anyways, wish me tons of luck!

Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer

Originally posted on April 22, 2008

“Oohhh! That’s a cute cover!” …That line is often what my friends hear me say when we go book shopping. I have bungled more than once because of this and ended up buying books with really crappy plots and even crappier dialogues because I was enchanted by their covers. Still, I couldn’t help it when I saw this cover;

 
Yes, I bought this book because of it’s cover and I’m sure glad I did. I confess, I was also intrigued by the lines I read at the back of the book. As I’ve said before, I have always been fascinated with vampire stories. And when it said the main character is in love with a vampire, I was even more intrigued. *LOL And so I started reading the book, and got hooked. However, I have always been a slow reader. I could be in the process of reading a single book in over a year without ever finishing it. I could make excuses about how I’m busy with work and how I have other hobbies that keep me equally busy, but then I would only be telling a “half-truth”. The truth is I am a hopeless procrastinator. Oh, well. And so, there I was, reading the book that I just bought because of its nice cover and the word “vampire” at the back and I could not help but laugh and cry along with the characters. I’m nuts, I know. But I can’t help it. I am in love with the Twilight saga now and I’m currently reading the second book, “New Moon”. And I am still hooked. I hope I finish reading this and the third one, “Eclipse”, before the fourth and last book, “Breaking Dawn”, comes out. And before the movie comes out! Oh, yes! There is a movie coming out. It’s about the first book. Well, that’s what they said.

   

I will finish New Moon soon…I hope. Wish me all the luck!!!

These are the rest of the books in the saga that have been published. The last one, “Breaking Dawn”, is not out yet. Equally nice covers, eh? LOL!

Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko

Originally posted on February 25, 2008

I saw a Russian movie trailer over a year ago about a guy who looked like a vampire but was hunting a vampire. It looked so promising that I looked for it in cable for weeks. When I was finally able to watch it, I was floored! LOL! Really! I have always been fascinated by vampire lore and seeing it in another language was pretty wild. The cinematography was amazing. The plot was pretty nice, too! And when I read in the credits that the movie was based on a book, I vowed to get my hands on the book. So last year, I bought them (yes…"them", because there are many…sounds bible-esque) online and had them sent to our house via my mother. I was so excited about reading it that I barely finished putting a plastic wrap on the cover before I got to the 2nd chapter. Unfortunately, my sloth-esque personality took over me a few days later and I ended up going to vacation and coming home without finishing it. Now, about four months later, I finally finished the first book in the trilogy. Yes, it’s a trilogy. I still have to read Day Watch and then Twilight Watch before I can put the whole series aside. Anyways, the book was great! As expected, it had vampires in it, good and evil, and the battle for supremacy between the two. I like the lead character, Anton Gorodetsky. He is a guy who has constant debates with himself over what should be done, what’s required or what he feels is the right thing to do. I like how he constantly questions himself about the morality of what he does for the side of the GOOD. Maybe because I can empathize with him. *sigh I can’t praise this book enough. For all those who want to witness another battle between good and evil with a somehow diplomatic twist to it, you should read this series. Well, yes, I have only read the first one, but I’m sure the author would not suddenly divert from this plotline. A thumbs up and a pat on the back…Who am I kidding?! I could kiss this guy for writing these books! I can’t wait to start on Day Watch! (I’m currently trying to finish Spiderwick and the Narnia series at the same time, so I have suspended finishing this series for a while. Promise, I’ll try my best to hurry up with the books I’m reading now.)

August 2012
Postscript: The series is not a trilogy. It's a pentalogy... or quintet. ^_^ And I still have not finished the series. o_O

Charlie All Night by Jennifer Cruisie

Originally posted on November 14, 2007

A friend intoduced me to this really funny author. Her name is Jennifer Crusie. So far I have read three of her books, all of which are really funny. The latest of her books that I finished was Charlie All Night. It was quite a fast read, considering that I finished it in just three days when it usually takes me weeks, sometimes even months, to finish a book these days. I know, I know. This habit is really disturbing. I used to finish several books in one day, and now my pace has gone from Road Runner to Spongebob’s Gary. *Sigh Anyway (back to the book), the book was quite entertaining. I had so many laughs that my father thought I was losing my mind…kidding. (My family is well aware that when I’m in my bed and laughing for no apparent reason, I’m most probably reading.) So, there I was, sprawled on my bed, reading the book, and laughing until my tummy hurt. And no, I will not be writing spoilers here. Suffice it to say that I found the book really entertaining, and I recommend it to all those girls out there who are looking for Mr. Right. And although I still love Crusie’s "Fast Women" better, I still recommend this book because it has a "feel good" plot and it gives pessimists like me a glimmer of hope with regards to finding our respective soulmates.

I sound like such a hopeless romantic, don’t I? Oh well, dreams are free anyway so I say "Dream away, y’all!"

Mr. Darcy Presents His Bride by Helen Halstead

Originally posted on October 27, 2007

Jane Austen is and always will be one of my favorite writers. I remember I was so excited when I found a copy of "Pride and Prejudice" in our school library before…Well, actually I was only half excited, what with the fact that it was "Sense and Sensibility" that I was actually looking for. But I was still a struggling student then and didn't have any budget for books, unless I forgo lunch for days at a time, that is.  (These are among the reasons I wasn't all that picky, especially since classics were a bit hard to find. ) So yeah, I was quite happy to have found the copy and I started reading it right away. By the time I was finished, I was gushing all over the place over how handsome and how endearing Mr. Darcy is. LOL! I wanted to read more about the characters, be they major or minor. However, I was well aware that Jane Austen has been long dead. So I didn't really expect to find more. Now, over half a decade later, I find that some enthusiasts have written their own sequels to this Austen classic and my excitement over this find, I can hardly contain.

Well, what does an Austen aficionado do with this discovery? Why, the said aficionado rushes to the bookstore, of course! And yes, I have spent an embarrassingly high price again for books…my Papa will have a fit when he reads the bill on my credit card. Don't get me wrong. I pay my own bills. It's just that my Papa is the one who gets to see them first because he's the one who's always at home when the mail arrives. (Yeah, yeah! It's hard to have secrets when you're still living with your parents.) Still, I have no regrets with regards to the splurge whatsoever, especially when I finished reading "Mr. Darcy Presents His Bride" by Helen Halstead.

My first impression when I started reading it was "Jane Austen, she is NOT". But then Helen Halstead was able to more than redeem herself with regards to the overall plot of the story. I like it that she made the newlyweds seem like just any other couple, had arguments and some bouts of jealousy to spice things up. There was also the recommended dose of grief brought about by the new Mrs. Darcy's miscarriage of her supposed-to-be first born. I also liked what happened to Kitty, and the demise of the two-faced seemingly charming Wickham was also quite believable. The stubborn Mary also had quite an expected ending, which was true to the nature that Austen gave her on the original book. All in all, this book left me with a ridiculously huge grin on my otherwise scowling countenance…hahaha. Clearly, I have been reading too much Austen these days.

Oh well, I'm reading "Northanger Abbey" now…well, trying to. Wish me luck that it wouldn't take me months to finish this one. I am absolutely getting snail-like when it comes to reading lately. A fact I have been openly lamenting, but not really seriously striving to correct. *Sigh

Well, au revoir. I guess I won't be writing until the next finished book! …or until the next angsty episode…LOL!

M. Hoffman's City of Masks

Originally posted on June 2007

Mary Hoffman; didn’t know about her until a few months ago. When I saw a synopsis of her Stravagante Series, I got curious. So I looked the books up at our local bookshop, and ‘lo and behold’, I found that they have all the books. I could hardly wait for the shift to end so I could buy them. But when I did, it took me a while to set aside my other obssessions at that moment before I could start reading the first book. The book’s concept is quite good, but I guess I was just expecting something monumental such as of “Harry Potter” proportions. But, strangely, I persevered and I finished the book about two days ago. It was nice. Just that, “nice”. I actually got excited in some parts. But on the whole, the experience was a bit bland. I hope the next book [City of Stars] would be better. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the “City of Masks” is crappy. I’m just saying it is not as full of adventure as I expected. Maybe the problem is with me.  Maybe I expected too much. It is a children’s book after all, and I have been preoccupied these past few weeks with school and work. The problem may have been “me”. I’ll try reading it again when my schedule has “calmed” a bit.

At least I have finished a book; a thing which has been becoming rarer lately.

I’ll be putting aside my fiction for now. I have to study for the Teacher’s Board Exam. I have so many things to read. On top of that, I have so many deadlines at work…Man! Do I need a lot of luck or what!?