tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78790791715232655332024-03-14T01:17:39.492+08:00a cup of mouieishieehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08841903585175583207noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879079171523265533.post-53144435245509971042021-05-11T12:23:00.003+08:002021-05-11T12:23:55.246+08:00BLOG TOUR: The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng by K.S. Villoso<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_40wpUGqj3s1B5IA3hHHlN9acD2lJB-04Qmcei-s4iShrSVrqFysIc2-LD9rhE_ASOYbtxzKLPfxZCeOWI5JNjb0Lv5QSjC1zJQsnItZsE4dXxIE0wSncSwGc3BCzNXCvmI9wwky7Evio/s750/20210511_065735_0000.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_40wpUGqj3s1B5IA3hHHlN9acD2lJB-04Qmcei-s4iShrSVrqFysIc2-LD9rhE_ASOYbtxzKLPfxZCeOWI5JNjb0Lv5QSjC1zJQsnItZsE4dXxIE0wSncSwGc3BCzNXCvmI9wwky7Evio/s16000/20210511_065735_0000.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">If you want to know my thoughts on the first and second book of the Chronicles of the Bitch Queen, click <a href="https://ishieemouie.blogspot.com/2020/09/book-review-wolf-of-oren-yaro-by-ks-villoso.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">HERE</span></b></a> and <b><u><a href="https://acupofmouie.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">HERE</a></u></b>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinbNUM4a51VIf4fEL6ctl_VxCOOKqfOV5enAqOw_LGHASQZGfSGJaw1MmqiI1Hw3X3OKI0zEwUy24Q1uWDqGDGmR5olBv6EedUn6tjiYF6vIMylZ5kEQYfvF6YH3xdPUndygYqMCHjshOY/s1010/Header+%2528Dragon+of+Jin-Sayeng%2529.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="1010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinbNUM4a51VIf4fEL6ctl_VxCOOKqfOV5enAqOw_LGHASQZGfSGJaw1MmqiI1Hw3X3OKI0zEwUy24Q1uWDqGDGmR5olBv6EedUn6tjiYF6vIMylZ5kEQYfvF6YH3xdPUndygYqMCHjshOY/s16000/Header+%2528Dragon+of+Jin-Sayeng%2529.png" /></a></div> *<i>I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book from the publisher and Caffeine Book Tours as part of my participation in their tour.</i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUT09S8xj_UIe23pzN5d7bl-6QL7enUXBm5KbK3Zj8TzjN2AnhRCSh4cEiDHXDdilaSkPgmBKqHNgEFHd7hCaniMCh8Bj4Bda0YYe-7FVi1CXkiGxVO56hmdI_rd-77FwKIlBoUogIt-Qs/s1998/IMG_20200925_195709.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGWEACL7NZtIH10e9D-9s337AUuDmQYSNyn-ducXMngAXlRSI89GdT1l9wKOprjJjogfx6Nw57TmlyCO7ofmTKtDYMUq_FaimRYtH1fKJrZrcP7HV4-eXCckb9mAMkKPEpkK2BV2pJy6vg/s1619/IMG_20210510_193304.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1619" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGWEACL7NZtIH10e9D-9s337AUuDmQYSNyn-ducXMngAXlRSI89GdT1l9wKOprjJjogfx6Nw57TmlyCO7ofmTKtDYMUq_FaimRYtH1fKJrZrcP7HV4-eXCckb9mAMkKPEpkK2BV2pJy6vg/w266-h400/IMG_20210510_193304.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b></b></p><br /><b><div><b><br /></b></div>Title: </b>The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng (Chronicles of the Bitch Queen #3)<p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Author: </b>K.S. Villoso</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Publisher: </b>Orbit Books</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Release Date: </b>4 May 2021</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Genre: </b>Adult Fantasy</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Diversity Tag: </b>own voices, authors of color (Filipino author), poc rep (Filipino characters)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Cover artist: </b><a href="https://www.simongoinard.com/" target="_blank">Simon Goinard</a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Content/Trigger Warnings: </b>Ableistic language (not direct, relayed from Yeshin), Death, Cutting of Limbs, Violence Against Children, Threatening Child, Described Blood, Animal Cruelty, Misogyny, Rape (off screen), Emotional Abuse, Lifechanging Injury, Execution, Torture, Mutilation of Corpses, Gore, Probably decapitation (it’s Tali after all)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Synopsis:</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: medium;">T</span></i><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: medium;"><i>he stunning finale to the Chronicles of the Bitch Queen trilogy where the queen of a divided land must unite her people against the enemies who threaten to tear her country apart. K. S. Villoso is a “powerful new voice in fantasy.” (Kameron Hurley)</i></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: medium;">Queen Talyien is finally home, but dangers she never imagined await her in the shadowed halls of her father’s castle.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cormorant Garamond"; font-size: large;">War is on the horizon. Her son has been stolen from her, her warlords despise her, and across the sea, a cursed prince threatens her nation with invasion in order to win her hand.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cormorant Garamond"; font-size: large;">Worse yet, her father’s ancient secrets are dangerous enough to bring Jin Sayeng to ruin. Dark magic tears rifts in the sky, preparing to rain down madness, chaos, and the possibility of setting her nation aflame.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cormorant Garamond"; font-size: large;">Bearing the brunt of the past and uncertain about her future, Talyien will need to decide between fleeing her shadows or embracing them before the whole world becomes an inferno.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>BOOK LINKS: </b><span style="color: #e06666;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Jin-Sayeng-Chronicles-Bitch-Queen-ebook/dp/B08HLP7J2X" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-dragon-of-jin-sayeng-k-s-villoso/1137602718" target="_blank">B&N</a> | <a href="https://www.fullybookedonline.com/book-science-fiction-the-dragon-of-jin-sayeng-book-3-of-chronicles-of-the-wolf-queen-paperback-by-k-s-villoso.html">FULLYBOOKED</a></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ea9999; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">* * *</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Allura; font-size: large;">Where one problem ended, another one begins.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia;">Have I told you that Queen Talyien’s life is colorful? Yeah, now she’s ready to paint the town red with the heightened tension of revelations and emotions that is The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng. Now we’re back to her own land, finally thank you very much, and if you thought that everything’s going to be just fine now that she’s with her people....WHY?? Why would you think that?? Oren-yaro is teeming with Yeshin’s shadow and crawling with secrets that threatens to undo everything that Talyien thought to be true.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrYW41XAexZeJKnfXdmgSctsLT92VNuxvv45mvBaWSnw7bnpykASHbxDv1G9WGpZ6dz1avB9dfby8JE2-6CJDlqGXsUYpm0P0fg84IRg90DXsM0-7Yyb6KXvoejmcS8VUn_JczvbJ63SUT/s750/20210511_103811_0000.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrYW41XAexZeJKnfXdmgSctsLT92VNuxvv45mvBaWSnw7bnpykASHbxDv1G9WGpZ6dz1avB9dfby8JE2-6CJDlqGXsUYpm0P0fg84IRg90DXsM0-7Yyb6KXvoejmcS8VUn_JczvbJ63SUT/s16000/20210511_103811_0000.png" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia;"></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia;">This is not an easy read (although easier in comparison to Ikessar Falcon hahah sorry, I do have that stressful gripe with Ikessar Falcon even though I liked it hahahaaha), but I can promise you that everything that goes into every scene is well thought of and essential to the story. Villoso never puts filler scenes just because she feels like it. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia;">Apart from that, you would really feel that everything that K.S. Villoso writes on paper has meaning and draws from the real world. It would grip you and hook you because it’s a mirror of the world we live in today – not just politically but also, and especially with the toxic familial expectations that have long-term repercussions on the world that they would leave behind for their daughters – especially when the shadow of a man he was still eclipses the person shaping her daughter today. AND DAMN!! The best plot twist to ever happen in Yeshin’s genius mind was his own daughter UGHHHH!!!! Send help, I’m hyperventilating again!!! SOO GOOD.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia;">You know what, there are so many nuances that I would like to tell you... there are so many points but I just finished this literally lalast night and I'm a mess 😭 So with that, if you also wanted to have further and more intelligent discussion on this masterpiece, you could go to this <a href="https://yourtitakate.com/the-dragon-of-jin-sayeng/" target="_blank">review</a> because omg, everything is ON POINT (my reviews are based on emotions, I'm not sorry 😂) and watch our favorite bookclub discuss on this <a href="https://youtu.be/e_vwfUMsU_4" target="_blank">channel</a>, thank you.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ea9999; font-family: Kaushan Script; font-size: x-large;"><b>- - -</b></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia;">My heart is a constricted mess the whole time I was reading The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng but I'm okay. Thankfully I came out of this conclusion satisfied and whole 🥺</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia;">One of the things I was afraid of diving into the third and final book of The Bitch Chronicles is that I would not be satisfied (Afraid I may be, but hesitation to pick this up was not in the cards for me bitches. I'm ALL IN). The world is bigger in Ikessar Falcon and I was wondering how the hell would this crazy mess wrap itself up in the most satisfying and best ending possible? Well, in my head there's none but bitch, in K.S. Villoso's brilliant mind, there fucking was! </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia;">I ended the second book, The Ikessar Falcon, more frustrated than I was starting it and my initial expectation going into this final book was I would be more tired and frustrated but damn people, my EMOTIONS were all over the place!!! I'm- </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Alice; font-size: medium;"><i>Momma Talyien, I'm--</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">(Just a side note: This book is the perfect mother's day book. Not the first one and not even the second, but THIS. Momma Tali, ever the Filipino representation of a mom, would take all chances if it meant having her son back safe and sound, her safety be damned. <span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Talyien is a mother first, queen second</i></b>.</span>)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUikn8jx7MI2rWDRwiD8VqlJm0Ay50D8xjyEYzVx5QOVrv-DusoM6iz65ad4cjZlb-Talw0N7kDTRmxWLWlvtpiA9MQ0n9V7suTo8fsWOQoCAka60WMWpG-guU_eYRpWGBZIx_K8SQxCA/s750/20210511_072102_0000.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUikn8jx7MI2rWDRwiD8VqlJm0Ay50D8xjyEYzVx5QOVrv-DusoM6iz65ad4cjZlb-Talw0N7kDTRmxWLWlvtpiA9MQ0n9V7suTo8fsWOQoCAka60WMWpG-guU_eYRpWGBZIx_K8SQxCA/s16000/20210511_072102_0000.png" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia;">This is the best conclusion to ever grace the face of my kindle. The character arcs and the lack thereof, the character redemptions and the fucking lack thereof, the plot, the theme, the hunger for power, the corruption, the evil of the world, the conclusion, my baby (Khine🥺), the fucking audacity of men, and just EVERYTHING is worth going through Ikessar Falcon for just to get to this ending. I guess you could say I love The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng and this is my favorite among the three now, couldn't you? Yes, I agree. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioM-QvC6yDHeYlr1AHLm_GcqutcTxxsmG2RGA0fPMlT5zQAo-ga7uSBZsBBwbW-qwJDARORgoq-osGUvD9IBAnXckmF8eL0PyajjNYJguqL44txkiCZ160V7umvafc0NzDnewkCL67hxG9/s750/20210511_075646_0000.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioM-QvC6yDHeYlr1AHLm_GcqutcTxxsmG2RGA0fPMlT5zQAo-ga7uSBZsBBwbW-qwJDARORgoq-osGUvD9IBAnXckmF8eL0PyajjNYJguqL44txkiCZ160V7umvafc0NzDnewkCL67hxG9/s16000/20210511_075646_0000.png" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: georgia;">Now everything below is my emotions typing, okay? There would be minimal spoilers(promise super minimal lang), so if you haven't read the trilogy, continue at your own risk.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: medium;"><b><u>CHARACTERS</u></b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #ea9999;">QUEEN TALYIEN</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">You know how Talyien grew up with a monster parent yet she never forced anything on her son? Yes, that's the answer! hahahha. lol, what am I saying?? She didn't become the parent her father was and I am crying because of this. I was actually crying at every scenes of Tali as a mother. She literally went through hell and back for her kid (I cried a lot during Tali's labor and then my hear never stopped feeling like it was breaking for the whole duration of the book)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Despite everything that falls on her shoulders as a royal, as a ruler, as a queen, she never once turned her back on her son as other mothers would do just to save her own ass. Queen Talyien is the true definition of what a mother should be ❤️</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ea9999;"><b>RAYYEL</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The ACIDITY, you asshole. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">How dare you made Talyien go through Books 1 and 2 as if you wore condoms while hshusdjxnnd-ing your mistress!!! AS IF YOU'RE A SAINT, MYGOD, RAYYEL!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Okay, emotions aside, you know I never really liked Rayyel ever, I'm a Khine baby from start to finish. Rayyel's like a walking handsome fuckboy who's not dumb btw (he's actually intelligent, can you believe that??), but in reality, is just a stupid stupid boy?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm so angry at you Rayyel piece of trash!</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #ea9999;">YESHIN</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">For what it's worth, Yeshin is the true genius here.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I love that this book tackled that there is a wrong way of loving people, that even parents who are expected to give unconditional love have that capacity to love in a toxic and abusive way we thought wasn't possible. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ea9999;"><b>ARRO</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;">Arro was never a big character and there was a time when I questioned if he's real to Tali or not but damn, aside from my baby Khine, Arro is the truest of all the truths to Talyien🥺 Please, I'm crying again just remembering Arro as the true father to Talyien.....</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ea9999;"><b>KHINE BABY</b></span></p>Khine, the love of my life. You deserve the world. ❤️<div><br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaz2tw01hoIgKjXe34hD6DDJ6cPV_W_JmjV8F0YLjyVsi-BVRxJUegRWeV5v9fQ1RpBcEnvXqQ9Tkn8IiJu_HPToDeO7LT6yHnI2GcPr3vtnIeLriQ9URbsqXGsz-hRPIUkYCtaX9Ou0Ah/s1916/IMG_20200925_195720.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1916" data-original-width="1345" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaz2tw01hoIgKjXe34hD6DDJ6cPV_W_JmjV8F0YLjyVsi-BVRxJUegRWeV5v9fQ1RpBcEnvXqQ9Tkn8IiJu_HPToDeO7LT6yHnI2GcPr3vtnIeLriQ9URbsqXGsz-hRPIUkYCtaX9Ou0Ah/s320/IMG_20200925_195720.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><b style="color: #e06666; font-size: large; text-align: center;">ABOUT THE AUTHOR</b></p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">K.S. Villoso was born in a dank hospital on an afternoon in Albay, Philippines, and things have generally been okay since then. After spending most of her childhood in a slum area in Taguig (where she dodged death-defying traffic, ate questionable food, and fell into open-pit sewers more often than one ought to), she and her family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada, where they spent the better part of two decades trying to chase the North American Dream. She is now living amidst the forest and mountains with her family, children, and dogs in Anmore, BC.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><b>Author links:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><a href="https://www.ksvilloso.com/" target="_blank">WEBSITE</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kayvilloso" target="_blank">FACEBOOK</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11740784.K_S_Villoso" target="_blank">GOODREADS</a> | </b><b><a href="https://www.instagram.com/ksvilloso/ " target="_blank">INSTAGRAM</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/k_villoso" target="_blank">TWITTER</a></b></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><u><a href="https://caffeinebooktours.wordpress.com/2021/04/18/dragon-of-jin-sayeng-tour/" target="_blank">FOLLOW THE TOUR</a></u></span></b></div></span></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW_zuNzilr3xfYYj9-o_XzSwSkFxuxPXNf2YHYO0ZVzR-zE-sKRPrXp_DYrXq3vHXT0-CM5MtcWU3XymH9gXv6iC5i4mIFupzPitBgLu_kZsBgoORLrBS0xIVnYqP6H8o5WsLSVeMme3qP/s2048/20201005_161250_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1717" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW_zuNzilr3xfYYj9-o_XzSwSkFxuxPXNf2YHYO0ZVzR-zE-sKRPrXp_DYrXq3vHXT0-CM5MtcWU3XymH9gXv6iC5i4mIFupzPitBgLu_kZsBgoORLrBS0xIVnYqP6H8o5WsLSVeMme3qP/s320/20201005_161250_0000.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><br /></div>ishieehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08841903585175583207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879079171523265533.post-65908180523661821562021-04-05T12:12:00.000+08:002021-04-05T12:12:10.138+08:00BLOG TOUR: Pillow Talk by Alyssa Cataluna<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhej9SR-lnBc3UrSLNPgwa7ejkAT91c7lUWoraXoRKxfEZwQRWz4WkXwYYjYyPnPl1QaUl7gJjP8TFbzwdRjqs6Jnsn9FGsG3lRsBT_jLKhpLNIi_9KoA88wpGr_8y4WvYT486kGQR5GzU9/s1184/0000_0000_00000000%2528179%2529-01.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="1184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhej9SR-lnBc3UrSLNPgwa7ejkAT91c7lUWoraXoRKxfEZwQRWz4WkXwYYjYyPnPl1QaUl7gJjP8TFbzwdRjqs6Jnsn9FGsG3lRsBT_jLKhpLNIi_9KoA88wpGr_8y4WvYT486kGQR5GzU9/s16000/0000_0000_00000000%2528179%2529-01.jpeg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">I am not very fond of reading poetry, and I've just divulged this information in my philmyth readathon tbr, but I have always enjoyed reading poems made by people that I may not know personally, but I know even on a surface level. This is, I guess, my very first review of a poetry book here on my blog so go easy on me.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgja5YnRakGGlq6O-YF_oxkV4ZOH_PIcFTKaDzpOvG1Q77aAfCUCdRCUt0lIBdzN9Xv7XMHHQP1OPW1VbFL0dqLHSTTr8lvoK-W0ltE0Wa_YTWhreQ_dCY_i7BnxLmo9SaT2z77igElnunO/s2048/ExzcxBRUcAE0Jwn-01.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1462" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgja5YnRakGGlq6O-YF_oxkV4ZOH_PIcFTKaDzpOvG1Q77aAfCUCdRCUt0lIBdzN9Xv7XMHHQP1OPW1VbFL0dqLHSTTr8lvoK-W0ltE0Wa_YTWhreQ_dCY_i7BnxLmo9SaT2z77igElnunO/s320/ExzcxBRUcAE0Jwn-01.jpeg" /></a></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-weight: bold;">Title: </b>Pillow Talk</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Author: </b>Alyssa Cataluna</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Published by: </b>Self-Published</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Published on: </b>April 4, 2021</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Format: </b>E-book</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Rating: </b>4.5 ✨ (5 stars on goodreads)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Synopsis:</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Alegreya;">A collection of poems carefully picked to describe my teenage years while suffering from Bipolar II Disorder.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Alegreya;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Alegreya;">When I first made this booklet, I initially had a more pessimistic theme in mind. I had wanted it to be the anti-thesis of the "Love Conquers All" idea that had gotten popular in the mainstream.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Alegreya;">But as I got older, I realized that it described the vicious cycle that I was stuck in. I noticed this pattern while I curated my poems for my booklet--my strongest poems were often written at my best or at my worst.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Alegreya;">But it's never one or the other, it's a slow transition. Like I said, a cycle.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Alegreya;">The poems in this booklet were a manifestation of my symptoms. It's not perfect, and it's a whirlwind of emotions but I hope you grow to appreciate the vulnerability like I did.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Trigger Warning: </b>Depression, suicide ideation, and self-harm</div><h1 style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ea9999; font-family: Great Vibes; font-size: x-large;">* * *</span></h1><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz6pHYszhisNh91gf384GDvm_suV6uMUcSXeAuVnzEV4E3qmmygyzeLQADzn-FdSGwx1gaxo0Z6pbbvXwTjgX8BW69xiXl7G58cj-7htv4hRAQTUy-ytZ754hWaGKBrz0UPs8GZtHUEc8F/s1280/20210404_082348.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz6pHYszhisNh91gf384GDvm_suV6uMUcSXeAuVnzEV4E3qmmygyzeLQADzn-FdSGwx1gaxo0Z6pbbvXwTjgX8BW69xiXl7G58cj-7htv4hRAQTUy-ytZ754hWaGKBrz0UPs8GZtHUEc8F/s16000/20210404_082348.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's not easy having people know your innermost feelings and desires and I admired Ysa for putting her thoughts down and sharing it to the world, which, I think is important now more than ever. Pieces like Pillow Talk could find someone who shares the same emotion and find solace in Alyssa's writing.</div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This poetry booklet is heart-wrenching and raw. It feels as if a friend is pouring her heart out to me with nothing but her mind, her world, <i>herself</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Alice;"><b>PILLOW TALK </b><i>noun (n)</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Alice;"><span style="color: #e06666;">Private conversations, endearments, or confidences exchanged in bed or intimate circumstances between spouses or lovers</span>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, one might mistake, from the title alone that this poetry book is a conversation of love, but it's more of a one sided conversation, a one person letting you know her thoughts, not to the person she is talking to, but to her notes, on her paper, only on her mind. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of my favorite poems in this collection is titled, <i style="font-weight: bold;">AGAIN</i>, because I feel like it's what every person falling in love feels like -- like they could do anything, be anything, and make something -- yet there's an overwhelming feeling of an ending looming...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I went on to read this in one sitting, let me tell you how I felt, because that's what poems are for, right? For me this felt like a song that started mellow, trying to tell you who she is and baring to you how she is then <i>you </i>came and she came with her walls down and by this point the song picks up its pace along with my heart, which is now racing because her love is an overwhelming emotion and I can feel it. Now it's ending... it's ending and all her thoughts run free inside a cage she has no way of getting out, and then it ended. I really thought there was more and the abrupt end got me, like what? I thought there would be a few more pages. Well, I stared at the wall for a few more minutes after the <i>fifth</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQijaCS9F4MuXV2ohBUqX-AQNZDTvveiLx1lMXqjcbVQSv9dKTUwxTxR0O7fdWLlb7sJOyhPR_epiEUo3jHFWVReuiG01j76Yj8o5BOEGrnjn6Y3LgrNDviAvAdY_AbKOlsjzO4HM063A/s2048/0002-19266858155_20210404_081554_0000.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQijaCS9F4MuXV2ohBUqX-AQNZDTvveiLx1lMXqjcbVQSv9dKTUwxTxR0O7fdWLlb7sJOyhPR_epiEUo3jHFWVReuiG01j76Yj8o5BOEGrnjn6Y3LgrNDviAvAdY_AbKOlsjzO4HM063A/s16000/0002-19266858155_20210404_081554_0000.png" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lastly, this book is bared emotions and you'll feel like you're inside her heart and you'll be all her physical manifestations of what's happening inside her mind, so please heed the warnings that were thankfully included before the start.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Allura; font-size: large;"><i>Thank you, Ysa, for sharing your art and for sharing your heart. ♥️</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOn8zZ-xN0v_RYAtrnh5u2N-UV6FxVSyicLDSzcWtMdxO9l-_CcWLTdGJ6bcYk_y3g_XTWqun9kphuG1b8AQtgUwDn5h-pSjKILdIAa_moHvHWuq0lnaJA-b2jKf1-eteQJpFwFZQZdMp6/s2048/Alyssa+Cataluna+-+Author%2527s+Photo-01.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1535" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOn8zZ-xN0v_RYAtrnh5u2N-UV6FxVSyicLDSzcWtMdxO9l-_CcWLTdGJ6bcYk_y3g_XTWqun9kphuG1b8AQtgUwDn5h-pSjKILdIAa_moHvHWuq0lnaJA-b2jKf1-eteQJpFwFZQZdMp6/s320/Alyssa+Cataluna+-+Author%2527s+Photo-01.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>ABOUT THE AUTHOR</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Alyssa Cataluña, the author of PILLOW TALK, is a bookish content creator from Cebu, Philippines. She likes to illustrate portraits in her free time and aspires to be an Audiobook Narrator in the future. She also writes poetry, apparently.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://gumroad.com/l/pillowtalkpoetrybooklet" target="_blank">BUY NOW</a> | | <a href="https://t.co/Six8On55Iw?amp=1" target="_blank">ADD ON GOODREADS</a> | | <a href="https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/8ed86339-f6eb-4fbb-9bac-afc6dc48d446" target="_blank">ADD ON STORYGRAPH</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsF_LE9VCI35T9smElzYsZQ" target="_blank">YOUTUBE</a> | | <a href="https://twitter.com/ysanotbella?lang=ar" target="_blank">TWITTER</a> | | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ysanotbella/?hl=en" target="_blank">INSTAGRAM</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u>BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE</u></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">APRIL 4</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Emman | | Emmzxiee_07</div><div style="text-align: center;">Elena | | TheQueenReads</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">APRIL 5</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Deej | | heyoitsdeej</div><div style="text-align: center;">Mouie | | a cup of mouie</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">APRIL 6</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Mark | | smarkth</div><div style="text-align: center;">Richard | | bibliophilicrichard</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">APRIL 7</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Veron | | muggleandhisbooks</div><div style="text-align: center;">Nae | | inkhaven</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">APRIL 8</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Joel | | descendantsofposeidonreads</div><div style="text-align: center;">Angela | | angelamarie.reads</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3pSb0JGpmaI8glISNwvb2cA7rtJloYlfiEsZ2_VnE46ggmMMqxGu1TQqXZm2aSYs4uRnFX5A2wxbkuV2FWnnomp5u-VmvTTeZYKAC_ivHp_2hUhIeIXOBHXs6ZE9zpB2KmJXaL4ti9M1b/s2048/20201005_161250_0000.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1717" data-original-width="2048" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3pSb0JGpmaI8glISNwvb2cA7rtJloYlfiEsZ2_VnE46ggmMMqxGu1TQqXZm2aSYs4uRnFX5A2wxbkuV2FWnnomp5u-VmvTTeZYKAC_ivHp_2hUhIeIXOBHXs6ZE9zpB2KmJXaL4ti9M1b/w320-h269/20201005_161250_0000.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>ishieehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08841903585175583207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879079171523265533.post-6316104558196653262021-03-12T17:45:00.004+08:002021-03-13T05:46:30.683+08:00BOOK REVIEW: Anina ng mga Alon by Eugene Y. Evasco<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFVPjNuK3iItnIVFqql8Xe3NCxPswa3i8eXdcC3YraQ9IJ8kzpwTEBsooxzDdlIFoOW1m-r5cFcrF_7g4czN5KGxzROflNp-7GqRkD5v_gWEsdC-MET1CwGvgR83mXpgMrdKSZ3pV69ONx/s1442/0000_0000_00000000%252872%2529-01.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="1442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFVPjNuK3iItnIVFqql8Xe3NCxPswa3i8eXdcC3YraQ9IJ8kzpwTEBsooxzDdlIFoOW1m-r5cFcrF_7g4czN5KGxzROflNp-7GqRkD5v_gWEsdC-MET1CwGvgR83mXpgMrdKSZ3pV69ONx/s16000/0000_0000_00000000%252872%2529-01.jpeg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia;"><b><i>Nakita mo na ba ang mundo sa labas ng iyong mundong ginagalawan?</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ako, hindi pa gaano at hindi pa lahat, at kaya ako nagbabasa'y dahil sa pagkukulang ng aking mata na makita at malaman ang hinaing at problema ng mga taong wala sa bilog na aking ginagalawan.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nang mabasa ko ang Anina ng mga Alon, lalong umigting ang aking paniniwala na sa pagbabasa, makikita mo ang mundo sa mata ng iba't ibang tao, at sa librong ito, nakita ko at nadama ang mundo sa mata ng mga Badjao — ang kanilang pamumuhay at ikinabubuhay, ang ganda ng kanilang kultura at paniniwala, at ang kanilang pagmamahal at pagrespeto sa karagatan na nagbibigay ng kanilang mga pangangailangan.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-r6mf1GtWcpeWXcnem5GOlfRfxgSGwqvdKWMURknue7NXA4vhLJgTrJJf0cIq4TslAUkle7P54r7qy1EzRlCp9EAMtqD_AN0fCWvImT0Z-Hg0yc6o05qBy-H68oVD-B8ig-B3itgRgQX3/s356/images+%25283%2529_edited.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="264" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-r6mf1GtWcpeWXcnem5GOlfRfxgSGwqvdKWMURknue7NXA4vhLJgTrJJf0cIq4TslAUkle7P54r7qy1EzRlCp9EAMtqD_AN0fCWvImT0Z-Hg0yc6o05qBy-H68oVD-B8ig-B3itgRgQX3/w237-h320/images+%25283%2529_edited.jpeg" width="237" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Title: </b>Anina ng mga Alon</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Author: </b>Eugene Y. Evasco</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Published by: </b>Adarna House Inc. (2nd Edition)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Published On: </b>2014</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Format: </b>Paperback, 114 pages (won from a giveaway by <a href="https://youtube.com/c/herbookishside" target="_blank">Kat</a>)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Rating: </b>4.75 ✨(5 on goodreads)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Synopsis:</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><span style="font-family: Eczar;">Isang Badjao si Anina, lumaki sa piling ng mga alon. Kabisado niya ang mga awit at damdamin nito tulad ng isang kaibigan. Bilang kabataan, nasa edad siya ng paghahanap ng kaniyang sarili sa komplikadong mundong kaniyang ginagalawan. Ngunit paano nga ba ang maging katutubo at mahuli sa gitna ng kahirapan at karahasan?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Eczar;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Eczar;">Samahan si Anina sa kaniyang pangangarap, paglalakbay, at pagkamulat sa katotohanang kahabi ng kaniyang buhay bilang Badjao. Sa kuwento ni Anina, makikilala rin ang isang mayamang kultura ng mga katutubong namumuhay sa karagatan at hindi pa ganap na nauunawaan ng karamihan</span><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond;">. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">(From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23256554-anina-ng-mga-alon" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Abril Fatface; font-size: x-large;"><i>* * *</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I will give you an everyday scenario as I commute daily to and from work and an actual same scenario from when I was studying in Manila for college.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">For a 10-30 minute ride in a jeepney along the major roads of Manila and Cavite:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>One kid</i> will give you ang pao with letter asking for a few coins from your pocket for he is hungry.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>One father</i> complete with papers and all will ask you to give alms for his son is sick in the hospital</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>One mother</i> <i>with a baby</i> would give out her hand asking you for money or food for the baby is hungry</span>.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="color: #666666;">One of them is a Badjao whom we rarely, if not at all, interact with.</span></b> Maybe you gave her a few of your coins or maybe you didn't, but at some point in your life, here is what you've heard about them: <i><span style="color: #999999;">THEY CAME HERE IN THE CITY TO SEEK A BETTER LIFE THAN THE LIFE THEY HAD BACK HOME</span></i>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Partly true, but after reading Anina ng mga Alon, I am ANGRY.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Manila may be the place of opportunities and dreams, but not everyone who dreams, dreams of a life in the city. </i>Mostly, people were driven out of their homes and were forced to settle in the place of smoke and dirty streets — far from the rich soil they were uprooted from or rather, from the rich ocean they were fished out of.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6p1Mh8VySBZp8pibPayN6hsaLEadE2X1fyGlYmDz5BVk8DjdxCRp2EwpsoQjJy2OgYofBAn3-MpVDVQe1bmW-bGEfOetHZeKqK2dDmyGshGkTraChy9pZ_xVSzy_VvlIAwuQI2k7l6r_6/s2048/3_20210312_165535_0001.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6p1Mh8VySBZp8pibPayN6hsaLEadE2X1fyGlYmDz5BVk8DjdxCRp2EwpsoQjJy2OgYofBAn3-MpVDVQe1bmW-bGEfOetHZeKqK2dDmyGshGkTraChy9pZ_xVSzy_VvlIAwuQI2k7l6r_6/s16000/3_20210312_165535_0001.png" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">As many of you already know, I don't read much Filipino books but am always on the look out for gems to read, and this book just hit the nail on the head with the story laced with the gods the Badjao prays to, the rituals they engage in, the songs of the sea, and not only with the story itself, this is the writing style I am most looking forward to reading in Filipino-written works. It is poetic and lyrical without overdoing it so the message just came across loudly and clearly. </span><b style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #666666;">The imagery is so rich and vibrant that I can feel the cool breeze of salty air on my skin and the song of the waves lulling me and taking me to a place I've never been.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is a very emotional book, one that would rip your heart bit by bit but thankfully, it ended with an open but hopeful note. I am also hoping that more people would read this short story so that more of us city-dwellers would understand the plight of the indigenous and celebrate the rich culture of the minority. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Crimson Text; font-size: medium;">Anina is a story of finding oneself amidst the noise of the world.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Crimson Text; font-size: medium;">Anina is a story of finding out what you want, going for it........ hoping for a change, but life doesn't work that way, does it?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Crimson Text; font-size: medium;">Anina is a story of being a woman wanting something that society tells her she cannot be....and she never did. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Crimson Text; font-size: medium;">Anina is a story of family and tradition and culture.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Crimson Text;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The book is the the closest thing to reality as it is. Some dreams are never really achieved, but you gotta point forward because going in that direction is the only way to move.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Allura; font-size: x-large;">Anina ng mga Alon is a story worth telling.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Allura; font-size: x-large;">It is a story worth reading.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Allura; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: #e06666; font-family: "Abril Fatface"; font-size: xx-large;">* * *</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp4DYvXhbrDiXPyG_kFkQdse_it85Q3a3kbfZIcEuM3x5LWqxkx0Lh0TyCjJ4dBILiQVwNUR5MDKLS3w64g36PNN_YSoNqeZKwMQGlUNoXA8EFMmtIFhNa_TQr6ZSz6Wn4PB2vJjTIUMoN/s200/745925.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="133" data-original-width="200" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp4DYvXhbrDiXPyG_kFkQdse_it85Q3a3kbfZIcEuM3x5LWqxkx0Lh0TyCjJ4dBILiQVwNUR5MDKLS3w64g36PNN_YSoNqeZKwMQGlUNoXA8EFMmtIFhNa_TQr6ZSz6Wn4PB2vJjTIUMoN/w200-h133/745925.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><b><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>ABOUT THE AUTHOR</u></b></div></b><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Alice;"><b>Evan Y. Evasco</b> is a writer, editor, translator, and collector of children’s books. He is currently a Full Professor at the UP Kolehiyo ng Arte at Literatura. Some of his new books at Lampara are Ang Nag-iisa at Natatanging si Onyok, Ang Singsing-Pari sa Pisara, Ang Beybi naming Mamaw, and the Filipino translation of Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. In 2014, he won the UP Gawad sa Natatanging Publikasyon sa Filipino (Malikhaing Pagsulat category). He became a part of the Hall of Fame of the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature in 2009 and is currently a Fellow of the UP Institute of Creative Writing. He was accepted as a Research Fellow to the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Alice;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJDI7UJ659cK4GbR3_CYCbhnWzo2-5AnOtMSRNgpChZDbvq85hk7cl2z64YmLDCHvb0ptvygIMCrUWh9ZbLQD9FOKsWjuOsBM686dLPseZAxdyacRCRqnGwjEU85ibCdqmO07JQ0BVnvM6/s2048/20201005_161250_0000.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1717" data-original-width="2048" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJDI7UJ659cK4GbR3_CYCbhnWzo2-5AnOtMSRNgpChZDbvq85hk7cl2z64YmLDCHvb0ptvygIMCrUWh9ZbLQD9FOKsWjuOsBM686dLPseZAxdyacRCRqnGwjEU85ibCdqmO07JQ0BVnvM6/w320-h269/20201005_161250_0000.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Alice;"><br /></span></div></div></div>ishieehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08841903585175583207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879079171523265533.post-30097284045379342562021-01-29T11:18:00.002+08:002021-01-29T11:18:37.161+08:00BOOK REVIEW: Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles<style>
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3fXlQ78yLDAqTi3vpnxM39Zri6AOcAmDcceu1ZtgtuHjEgFQJ6wCE09WBTq454dQ7Y1NIGUpqOCt-15w7ADeOqYxLkzjuj549BpixiUz-bHNnJDk-QoT_t6ZJrzIsdyQI3bL_NHEQlyhk/s1727/0000_0000_00000000%25288%2529-01.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1151" data-original-width="1727" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3fXlQ78yLDAqTi3vpnxM39Zri6AOcAmDcceu1ZtgtuHjEgFQJ6wCE09WBTq454dQ7Y1NIGUpqOCt-15w7ADeOqYxLkzjuj549BpixiUz-bHNnJDk-QoT_t6ZJrzIsdyQI3bL_NHEQlyhk/s16000/0000_0000_00000000%25288%2529-01.jpeg" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I could have sworn that this would be a new favorite, but unfortunately it goes to the notable reads of 2020 (according to my youtube video, I was only able to put 2 notable reads so I'll be doing a full blog post for my notable reads of 2020 <span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">—</span> books that are great, but weren't my favorites). I would still recommend this book though, to other people who haven't read it yet, because it's a book that you either would love or would not. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><b><span style="font-family: Abril Fatface;">BITCH, just look at that cover!! THAT COVER!!</span></b><span style="font-family: georgia;">!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Yep, it's GORGEOUS</i>!✨</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8YcMjD_u11dlZ6Gx-Gm65Z5XufkGJUHTCLOo8FRVLgjOshH0XWvAwb4nkB3KXUkDfFYe67PoYdJ_lGXQCr7nw2X64s_PdFaoYvilC8mkj4RxHx0li153Fhaik3UknG9-DoZaZlw5EEp78/s683/images+%25282%2529-01.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="449" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8YcMjD_u11dlZ6Gx-Gm65Z5XufkGJUHTCLOo8FRVLgjOshH0XWvAwb4nkB3KXUkDfFYe67PoYdJ_lGXQCr7nw2X64s_PdFaoYvilC8mkj4RxHx0li153Fhaik3UknG9-DoZaZlw5EEp78/s320/images+%25282%2529-01.jpeg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Title: </b>Where Dreams Descend</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Series: </b>Kingdom of Cards Book 1</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Author: </b>Janella Angeles</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Published by: </b>Wednesday Books</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Published on: </b>25 August 2020</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Format: </b>Hardcover (won from a giveaway by <a href="https://instagram.com/cgavinreads?igshid=1kdcrld5qmt3a" target="_blank">Gavin</a>)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Trigger/Content Warnings: </b>Misogyny, mind manipulation, possessive behaviour, trauma </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Rating: </b>3.5✨ (3 on Goodreads)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><div><span><b><span style="color: #990000;">Where Dreams Descend</span></b> is about a female <i>born magician</i>, Kallia, who is trying to break free from the cage she was imprisoned into her whole life. She feels that she is destined for something grand and she knows that the whole world must know of her name because of the magical prowess she possesses. </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Kallia is a showgirl from the Hellfire House run by Jack, who is also a born magician. Once Kallia turned her back from Hellfire, she joined a grand contest for magicians called <i><span style="color: #ea9999;">Spectaculore</span></i>, but the thing is, women were never meant to be contestants. Women are meant to be accessories to male magicians — assistants with sexy outfits to entice audience for the boring and repetitive acts of mediocre magicians — that "graces" all stages every time. But magic is in Kallia's veins and she's about to wipe these other male contestants' asses off, yet everytime Kallia is on stage, something bad happens and contestants go missing. Why?<i> It's about time you find that out yourselves, people. Pick up the book! </i></span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ea9999; font-family: Abril Fatface;"><b>————————————————</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Before I go into anything, I just want to say that what I loved mostly about this book is how it mirrored the society that is still present up to this day <span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">—</span> even when we're well way past that patriarchal bullsh. Women are just as capable, not just objects to men's fancies, and it was all well portrayed in Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I mean, how could I be annoyed at our main character for being confident when in reality, men act just the same. </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Cormorant Garamond;"><b><i>Men strut their confidence and arrogance like an armor that is meant to glorify them, but when women wore that very same armor, it's arrogance that is worthy of being stripped off of them.</i></b></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I know that some people may get irritated by Kallia's over confidence, but what I saw was a struggling woman in a man's world. She knows she is capable and she's going to let the whole world know about it. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When you really look at it, Kallia wears a mask as a result of her trauma, and being in a man's world without a suit of armor, she would be left trampled upon by the mysogynists who think women can never do what they do. <b>So Kallia, ya go gurl!</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtWdPENa2AEQEeYS_VAR1zlsE4OPvFzDlOCY8PDnPDi3gdKf76W2oni3y1lRWSpZaw_ry-lQHQ8XTMmXCUUOokrb9YkpNhzNWwzjQRJPTyXv4-S2NlFLydisvzuXSp6tmLTOKVKdUk8ml7/s1776/0000_0000_00000000%252811%2529-01.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="1776" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtWdPENa2AEQEeYS_VAR1zlsE4OPvFzDlOCY8PDnPDi3gdKf76W2oni3y1lRWSpZaw_ry-lQHQ8XTMmXCUUOokrb9YkpNhzNWwzjQRJPTyXv4-S2NlFLydisvzuXSp6tmLTOKVKdUk8ml7/s16000/0000_0000_00000000%252811%2529-01.jpeg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">So over all I enjoyed the last 20% of the book and I had problems with the execution of the story in general. It felt longer than it needed to be because it goes in circles and it's repetitive without a chance of being resolved at all. It was like, </span><b style="font-family: "Cormorant Garamond"; text-align: center;"><i>Kallia performs, chaos ensues, she rests because the performance is exhausting, practice for the next act then <u>repeat</u>. </i></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I wasn't rooting for Kallia to be honest, because we don't see much of the competitors and they were all written off as bunch of mumbling idiots who think dicks are better than vaginas. Anyway, it left me with a lot of questions rather than be satisfied at the ending. The book felt like a complete prequel, a complete back story to the true story, which is the second book, and that left a bad impression on me. I don't mind a cliff hanger, honestly, but if it left me feeling dissatisfied with how it ended and initial questions weren't answered, that would just irritate me. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ7495p00FC0xvq2_bjBOFKoO9pQF3cef5oN151TrmULNObML3NLaFTHCXOTvN39_eoKIsTWHthsKjBfpvdfFxG7RSZ9scnDWIKUeEJBHcpFhXnH3EIRkaas2PIASQezAPY0pSiac2DxvM/s1776/0000_0000_00000000%252813%2529-01.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="1776" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ7495p00FC0xvq2_bjBOFKoO9pQF3cef5oN151TrmULNObML3NLaFTHCXOTvN39_eoKIsTWHthsKjBfpvdfFxG7RSZ9scnDWIKUeEJBHcpFhXnH3EIRkaas2PIASQezAPY0pSiac2DxvM/s16000/0000_0000_00000000%252813%2529-01.jpeg" /></a></div>Lastly, before I go to my spoilery bullets where I might be ranting about the book (or not?), I just want to say that despite my initial indifference to this first book, I would love to dive into the next book because I can't go on with my life without knowing how Kallia's story would end! Reading the synopsis of When Night Breaks, I felt like I got even more confused but I hope it would get better so I'm looking forward to 2021 for this book. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: trebuchet;"><b>* SPOILERS ON TO THE NEXT PAGE *</b></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: trebuchet;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Abril Fatface;">VAGUE WORLD BUILDING AND AN EVEN VAGUER MAGIC SYSTEM </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Well, Glorian is ... icy anddd gray.... That's it. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Just leave me inside the Conqueror's circus tent and I'll just play a game of cards and gamble there all day. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>The magic is just there.</i> It exists.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What's bugging me is that its source or how to hone and harness it is unclear. We know that mind manipulation is possible and Jack warned Kallia against it but we did not see firsthand how to use it. It takes a toll on them, okay. It's exhausting to use that much power and it defies consent, it depletes their energy and they need to recuperate. That's the only clear thing about the magic system.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Then there's also element bending, where Kallia can manipulate air, fire, water and earth, and this can only be done by born magicians, I am assuming. Am I right? </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">How about the acquired magicians? Can they learn these abilities or are they just all party tricks and mirror tricks or illusionists?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Actually, I know nothing. Please enlighten me.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Abril Fatface;">CHARACTERS & LOVE INTEREST </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I don't even care for the romance! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>I am intrigued with Jack and want to know more about him.</b> There's also so much air of mystery around the houses that were now non-existent in Glorian. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In the end, we all knew that Jack was Alastor, the house of fire (??). shit im so bad at this. hahaha. I gathered that Jack was one of them, so I would love to know more about him and the history of Glorian. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Aaros is the best character for me because he's like a loyal puppy calling Kallia 'boss' and Demarco, 'judge'</b>. It's funny but I found him adorable that I would be more interested to read about his romance (which is non-existent) than Kallia's! But as much as I loooove Aaros, I can't help but be skeptical. He is too good to be true!! Please let Aaros be the Aaros of WDD until the end because I would be crushed if he suddenly turn out to be a bad guy in disguise ☹ </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Conquerors were FIRE!</b> I mean, we only saw snippets of them but I loved them instantly. They feel like the Cirque du Soleil which I LOOOVE so much! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Demarco felt like ughh? </b>I feel like I like Jack even when I don't even know enough about him as compared to Demarco. There were no fireworks when Demarco and Kallia</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> kissed for the first time! I even kinda cringed when it happened.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: "Abril Fatface";">KALLIA'S PERFORMANCES </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I didn't feel anything. It didn't feel magical at all. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I just wanted to smack everyone from Glorian. I mean, duh, everything feels repetitive yet people still acted dumb about <b>everything!</b> The performances weren't talked about and I'm left with thinking that in contrast to Kallia's "wonderful" performances, the men competitors' performances were probably meh, right? Maybe their performances included rabbits in top hats, flower-turning baton of fire, aassistant slicing or whatever? It didn't give me enough. I have nothing to compare Kallia to and I was left utterly disappointed with her supposedly wonderful magical performances. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Abril Fatface; font-size: x-large;">* * *</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Something about book 1 felt off for me, though. This book is a whole chunk of unanswered questions. This book is a whole jigsaw puzzle that was thrown in your lap without the copy of the original picture. This book is obviously made for you to pick up the next book. It was like a prequel story because everything will start happening on the second book anyway. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Honestly, for me, everything picked up only on the 70% mark, I guess.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Lastly, just an honest question, in the end, the mirror was supposed to "eat" (hahahaha eat?) one soul, which is Kallia, but wouldn't there be a technicality? it's not One Soul, because both Jack and Kallia went through the mirror. So there were two souls??? unless Jack doesn't have one??</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTsHVJuBnVzV2WJzNp0R7wS22KeBsRHLnUnc4TSSTK3S4Q1LBfhzudR7vLIf1nV8wgh1UFZqztO8FKE9bzqPCFAeOWeKI5MXK8Z-EPhy6T_LXXr3_PQpvt3E7hoyLEZQF4Cqsq-f5zNaQA/s1380/Untitled-1.png" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="1380" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTsHVJuBnVzV2WJzNp0R7wS22KeBsRHLnUnc4TSSTK3S4Q1LBfhzudR7vLIf1nV8wgh1UFZqztO8FKE9bzqPCFAeOWeKI5MXK8Z-EPhy6T_LXXr3_PQpvt3E7hoyLEZQF4Cqsq-f5zNaQA/w320-h88/Untitled-1.png" width="320" /></a></div>ishieehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08841903585175583207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879079171523265533.post-68827475049638033382021-01-22T09:54:00.005+08:002021-01-30T15:34:10.337+08:00BOOK REVIEW: Ashes in the Snow by Ruta Sepetys<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-eColf7G-LN85Ji0qsdXUNDxQDW-KWWR12M2tuWjQDhPJjweUMVcvAYGUp92gvhEkHOiLLYUsOGoK06p8iwjh_Qq0qlesk3AQP_33sDti5dhV281yg4nONH9ZWTuRN0DYrDRS78oKe-6/s2048/DSCF3978-01.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1519" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-eColf7G-LN85Ji0qsdXUNDxQDW-KWWR12M2tuWjQDhPJjweUMVcvAYGUp92gvhEkHOiLLYUsOGoK06p8iwjh_Qq0qlesk3AQP_33sDti5dhV281yg4nONH9ZWTuRN0DYrDRS78oKe-6/s16000/DSCF3978-01.jpeg" /></span></a></div><span><div style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Great Vibes; font-size: large;">"</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Great Vibes; font-size: x-large;">My husband, Andrius, says that evil will rule until good men or women choose to act. I believe him. This testimony was written to create an absolute record, to speak in a world where our voices have been extinguished."</span></p><div style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: georgia; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgxmmsXJNsNHn-jF6L3yJw_HkwnG24VsrscQN51rHs64cy7POKBpbPkqdjRV7XVHSG6oTxX7ixBwu_OLA2Q7JZfgTGWZw_mJayjA5snHtfLALB88qKFLdmtHGBCBC3yRqFkdlWwAZmAcWk/s678/images+%25281%2529-01.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="452" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgxmmsXJNsNHn-jF6L3yJw_HkwnG24VsrscQN51rHs64cy7POKBpbPkqdjRV7XVHSG6oTxX7ixBwu_OLA2Q7JZfgTGWZw_mJayjA5snHtfLALB88qKFLdmtHGBCBC3yRqFkdlWwAZmAcWk/s320/images+%25281%2529-01.jpeg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><br /></b></span></div>Title: </b>Ashes in The Snow (Movie Tie-In Edition)</span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Previously Published As: </b>Between Shades of Gray</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Author: </b>Ruta Sepetys</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Published by: </b>Penguin Books</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Published on: </b>18 December 2018</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Format: </b>Paperback Movie Tie-In, 384 pages (Gifted by <a href="https://youtube.com/c/herbookishside" target="_blank">Kat</a>)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Trigger warnings: </b>Death, Violence</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Rating: </b>4.5 ✨</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is my first ever Ruta Sepetys book, and I can officially say that I am now a fan of Sepetys. May even be one of my favorite authors of all time nowww.... okay, yes, she's now one of my favorite authors and am planning to read more of her works in the future, just not right now. I can't just dive into her book one after another or else I'll be subjecting myself to never-ending hole of sadness, so hinga muna gurl.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As a fan of historical fiction, I have a different expectation on her writing style. I thought that it would be heavy and filled with long emotional chapters, but what I found was an easy to read, straight to the point but laden with heavy and gruesome aspects of war kind of historical fiction, and has short emotional chapters all through out the book. The novel was written through the eyes of a 15 year old Lina who was uprooted from her home by the NKVD , along with her mother and brother, brandishing them and many other Lithuanians as fascists and enemies of the State. The book perfectly captured the stark contrast and the sudden shift in Lina's life as Sepetys wrote flashbacks of Lina's life in between chapters while recounting the story of how they were loaded into train for 5 or 6 weeks and deposited into labor camp in Siberia and then in the Arctic Circle.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">While this book mentioned in passing Hitler during that time of the second world war, in this piece of time in history, Hitler may be the hero the Lithuanians are waiting for to save them -- the same man who committed the atrocities that bore the horror stories most of us know today. These stories that are waiting to be heard just shows us that there were so many layers of history that are unheard of and are worth being educated about. This book, and many other historical fiction out there that I've recently read and planning to read in the future, serves as testimonials that are silenced for a long time before they were heard by us. So pick up your next historical read because I, too, will.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I might have forgotten to mention, but I have always been curious about Ruta Sepetys' books and what amazed me even further is knowing her ties to this story, which made it especially important for her to tell the story of Lithuania and other Baltic States, Estonia and Latvia. Ruta Sepetys is the daughter of a refugee who was able to escape Lithuana when he was young. Needless to say, we all knew accounts of Holocausts but fewer were known about Stalin's regime, so Sepetys, even with the simple and straight-forward writing of Ashes in the Snow, was able to tell the story across all oceans and continents.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, I wanna talk about the movie adaptation of the book, which, in my opinion, lacked some emotional pull, as opposed to the novel. But even with that, I was still moved to tears by the ending of the movie and it is a good visualization of what was recounted in the novel, especially the situation inside the train cars, the labor camps and the condition in the Arctic Circle.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This book is a testament to what the Baltic countries silently endured during Stalin's regime. It may not be the loudest part of history that most of us have heard of but </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">I hope this book finds its way to more readers and remind that it happened, they exist, and they are now free.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is a story of hope and of families who lived and loved amidst the horror of a ruthless ruler.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTsHVJuBnVzV2WJzNp0R7wS22KeBsRHLnUnc4TSSTK3S4Q1LBfhzudR7vLIf1nV8wgh1UFZqztO8FKE9bzqPCFAeOWeKI5MXK8Z-EPhy6T_LXXr3_PQpvt3E7hoyLEZQF4Cqsq-f5zNaQA/s1380/Untitled-1.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="1380" height="56" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTsHVJuBnVzV2WJzNp0R7wS22KeBsRHLnUnc4TSSTK3S4Q1LBfhzudR7vLIf1nV8wgh1UFZqztO8FKE9bzqPCFAeOWeKI5MXK8Z-EPhy6T_LXXr3_PQpvt3E7hoyLEZQF4Cqsq-f5zNaQA/w200-h56/Untitled-1.png" width="200" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><ol>
</ol>ishieehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08841903585175583207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879079171523265533.post-22766963981715705292020-11-11T09:09:00.001+08:002021-01-30T15:34:33.857+08:00BLOG TOUR: In Tune by Yeyet Soriano || giveaway!<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuYlkqLNyQkk73aVBuZep8d-RW0FZNNRvFM6faqQ2pJwW2ud9NDhw1yf6yyA9199gYZi2reZvcNnnjcZK4NYkGEYVK9TUZdn5w7itLmJszcuX_Q2fJCqM2oyp3I_Dn_7yX29WVp3oVsScs/s2048/DSCF3367-01.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1418" data-original-width="2048" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuYlkqLNyQkk73aVBuZep8d-RW0FZNNRvFM6faqQ2pJwW2ud9NDhw1yf6yyA9199gYZi2reZvcNnnjcZK4NYkGEYVK9TUZdn5w7itLmJszcuX_Q2fJCqM2oyp3I_Dn_7yX29WVp3oVsScs/w640-h444/DSCF3367-01.jpeg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUqorJnXVhs6vR4pmbV2xlf-l5yvlEOJVurDjccXaQUfuuUzslqZYAWY_pEdRRu_W-7LjXCkMySw78oCaDcXk2sd88LbsYMxeo9ajFNSQB4vb59uu6nQPLnV3cG__DBfZf1UP5FUaGhNe/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img alt="" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="1010" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUqorJnXVhs6vR4pmbV2xlf-l5yvlEOJVurDjccXaQUfuuUzslqZYAWY_pEdRRu_W-7LjXCkMySw78oCaDcXk2sd88LbsYMxeo9ajFNSQB4vb59uu6nQPLnV3cG__DBfZf1UP5FUaGhNe/w640-h254/Header+%2528In+Tune%2529.png" width="640" /></span></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Yay, it's finally my tour stop for In Tune Blog Tour. I received an advanced reader's copy from Caffeine Book Tours in participation for this tour.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2bADvs-EWr61bhHw4lM6jvsfMm_5tYMOv38jUiGlWgR79PkmlVZn6u_ZRyPLrQKxYadngapMduyeN9vVcsfRjIe0eg2lzp9mXd1XA2FMvlAkLPBZmoq2jUi5FFbrsHUgYPupyPCaL-YHF/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1999" data-original-width="1337" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2bADvs-EWr61bhHw4lM6jvsfMm_5tYMOv38jUiGlWgR79PkmlVZn6u_ZRyPLrQKxYadngapMduyeN9vVcsfRjIe0eg2lzp9mXd1XA2FMvlAkLPBZmoq2jUi5FFbrsHUgYPupyPCaL-YHF/w268-h400/IMG_20201110_202834.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia;">Title: </b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia;">In Tune</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia;"><b>Author: </b>Yeyet Soriano</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia;"><b>Publisher: </b>Self-published</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia;"><b>Publication Date: </b>13 November 2020</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia;"><b>Genre: </b>Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia;"><b>Synopsis:</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span style="color: #666666;">FIRST SET:</span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #666666;">Between fulfilling family obligations and navigating the tricky social climate at her private school, Sydney Mendoza tries hard to keep a balance.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #666666;">Himig Raymundo, on the other hand, knows the feeling of living in the shadow of his successful parents and the agony of being with schoolmates who won’t let him forget.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia;">When Sydney and Himig get “volunteered” to be the stars of High School Night by their batchmates who want to see them fail miserably, they band together to prove everyone wrong, and, in the process, find the one silver lining in the prank—each other.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span style="color: #666666;">SECOND SET:</span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #666666;">In the midst of college applications and entrance exams, Sydney finds herself at a crossroads: work abroad to earn money for her family or continue on to college on an all-expense-paid scholarship. Ironically, Himig, the school campus’s reluctant star, becomes the rock that anchors her so she won’t get lost in the fray.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #666666;">No longer bound in anonymity, Himig gets a chance to finally step out of his famous parents’ shadow and show everyone who he really is, as Sydney reveals to him her most hidden secret.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="color: #666666;">Trigger/Content warnings:</span></b></span></p><p></p><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia;">Bullying in private school due to social status, sexual orientation, physical appearance</span></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666;">Slight family bullying where kids are pressured to do what parents tell them to to</span></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666;">Teen pregnancy and single motherhood (MC’s sister)</span></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666;">Working while underaged (MC)</span></li></ul><p></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Remember leather jackets and boots during highschool pageantry?</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Remember forming a band and playing guitar in music rooms after school hours?</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Remember your college applications?</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Remember your first kiss?...</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>...Your first love?</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To be honest, highschool backdrops has long since ceased to be <i>my thing </i>in books anymore. I cannot say that there's a 'but' in that statement BUT I can say that this book is pretty nostalgic when it came to the typical Filipino highschool experience, and if you want to relive your highschool emo or rocker days, this book will take you to a trip down the memory lane.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Syd is the poor student in Agats, not exactly an outcast, but never friends with the rich ones. Himig is the son of a famous theatre actress but not comfortable in performing onstage. One uneventful day when Syd was asleep in the library, her best friend happened to be late on her dance class and asked Himig to look after the sleeping Syd, and that's where the new friendship began and eventually bloomed to something else. Himig and Syd's group of friends weren't uncool but they were bullied by students who think they're above everyone else, and they will show the entire school how to stand up and be true to themselves, but one of them just can't seem to untangle the web of lies they created. With so many things that is happening between their lives, with family, future, relationships and friendships, how will Syd manage to do something she wanted, just for once, for herself?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">FAMILY</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilSMepYY57sr6JzeJ2LjnaZLcTSupFf4jshA24VOHxxvsLLsiTH_IbeM0fXuwPoGKrJRvxlvpLIjn7E5H-guiTvmHcl-f-nZVI-VYuwWlS99JV3zl4I1JI52-4rHVkP4yBvbzu7jcXG2u4/s680/20201111_082827.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="680" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilSMepYY57sr6JzeJ2LjnaZLcTSupFf4jshA24VOHxxvsLLsiTH_IbeM0fXuwPoGKrJRvxlvpLIjn7E5H-guiTvmHcl-f-nZVI-VYuwWlS99JV3zl4I1JI52-4rHVkP4yBvbzu7jcXG2u4/w640-h360/20201111_082827.gif" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Being Filipino means being entangled in family affairs whether you want it or not. They say you cannot choose where you come from, but you can choose who you become. Easier said than done. We are all on different boats in this vast ocean of problems and this book portrayed different boats that may sink or float depending on their status in life.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Syd is born in a poor family and she dreams of becoming the first person in her family to graduate college and work her way to give her family a stable life, but is it in the cards for her? Well not according to her mother. Syd's mother never believed that education can take them out of the poverty they are living, and that graduating highschool is more than enough.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Tune portrayed this reality in a crucial manner that doesn't beg for any pity. We saw Syd's family situation, and we got a glimpse of a family that loves each other yet faces a bigger dilemma that would douse out dreams just to get by. Syd loved her family to a point of sacrificing her own happiness to keep earning to live through each day and eat at night. We also saw Syd interact with her new found friends and how these friends helped her every step of the way because she let them, and the friendship dynamics in this book is what I most enjoyed while reading In Tune.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">DREAMS and REALITY</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFp_rfa6p-2Ubk16a6_luM1gB0R-934TAahJyt-lcjYqaJWDdBh-k-6cyPmMkiiG1oPa81BOszgM56Y3c7FqZkOHlXglLWWdw1MLde1nDZ5475IPG0079H1AJoM4ItkoOnoQ06iUJB1Kx4/s680/20201111_083013.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="680" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFp_rfa6p-2Ubk16a6_luM1gB0R-934TAahJyt-lcjYqaJWDdBh-k-6cyPmMkiiG1oPa81BOszgM56Y3c7FqZkOHlXglLWWdw1MLde1nDZ5475IPG0079H1AJoM4ItkoOnoQ06iUJB1Kx4/w640-h360/20201111_083013.gif" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Tune also tackled overcoming shadows that the society casts upon its children. Even when nobody tells anybody to live up to the success of their parents, the whispers will always be louder than any person's desire to create a name for themselves.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Everyone expected Himig to be a great singer, an even greater performer if we're being blunt, just because his mother is THE famous theatre actress who sang alongside Lea Salonga in Miss Saigon, and was cast as Gigi. But the thing is, nobody asked him what he wanted to be. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another thing that this book shed light upon is pursuing creative passions as they chose which university to get into. Nobody asked anybody to be a doctor or an engineer and anybody reading the book, especially SHS students, would feel validated in their choices, whatever strand they choose.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>FINAL THOUGHTS</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Over all, I gave this book a 3.5/5 stars. I don't particularly enjoyed the writing style, but story-wise, I kind of enjoyed everything towards the second half of the story.</div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">ABOUT THE AUTHOR</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Xm8nTP8zvor6rWbouLXz1KaHMxMHZMr5x8FFICioKraCsz4gN4qOVbEA_PKUy3WGPVIm1mZ55mZ_BsMm7qRy3IpmQRos7WuM-SQvhLbDSiLTnU25Pqf8WfAofjrKpozDxY86ft8PgJcL/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1556" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Xm8nTP8zvor6rWbouLXz1KaHMxMHZMr5x8FFICioKraCsz4gN4qOVbEA_PKUy3WGPVIm1mZ55mZ_BsMm7qRy3IpmQRos7WuM-SQvhLbDSiLTnU25Pqf8WfAofjrKpozDxY86ft8PgJcL/" width="187" /></a></div><br /><div><b>Bio:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Yeyet Soriano is a multi-genre author who writes speculative fiction, crime fiction and contemporary romance. She started writing first as an angst-ridden teenager, then continued to do so as a single working woman, then as a married working woman with kids. Though the themes of her written works have changed over the years, she held on to one truth—she needs to write to keep the voices in her head at bay.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Author links:</b></div><div>Author website — <a href="https://yeyetsoriano.com/ " target="_blank">https://yeyetsoriano.com/ </a></div><div>Facebook — <a href="http://facebook.com/yeyetsorianowrites " target="_blank">http://facebook.com/yeyetsorianowrites </a></div><div>Goodreads — <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8178182.Wayne_Santos " target="_blank">https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8178182.Wayne_Santos </a></div><div>Instagram — <a href="http://instagram.com/ysrealm " target="_blank">http://instagram.com/ysrealm </a></div><div>Twitter — <a href="https://twitter.com/ysrealm " target="_blank">https://twitter.com/ysrealm </a></div><div style="color: #660000; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div style="color: #660000; font-weight: bold;">BUY THE BOOK</div><div style="color: #660000; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div style="color: #660000; font-weight: bold;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-cda6232d-7fff-b975-280e-2560861f11a4" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For e-book pre-orders — </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2I42qhm" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://amzn.to/2I42qhm</span></a><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For PH print orders — </span><a href="http://bit.ly/YSoriano-books" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">bit.ly/YSoriano-books</span></a></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goodreads — </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55850542" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55850542</span></a><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><br /><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Online book launch (November 13, 3 pm) — </span><a href="http://bit.ly/Launch-IT" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://bit.ly/Launch-IT</span></a><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="color: #660000; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>GIVEAWAY!</b></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #660000; font-family: georgia;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><b>Prize: A finished copy of In Tune by Yeyet Soriano</b></div><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>One (1) winner </div></span></span></li><li><div>Open to INTL</div></li><li><div>Ends on 17 November 2020 (Philippine time)</div></li></ul></div><div style="color: #660000; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div></span></span></div></div><a class="rcptr" data-raflid="950d261645" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/950d261645/" id="rcwidget_i9o70jza" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #783f04;">FOLLOW THE TOUR</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #783f04;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-da69bb9b-7fff-13ab-5228-084a29c6db6b"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Launch post: </span><a href="https://caffeinebooktours.wordpress.com/2020/11/08/in-tune-tour/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://caffeinebooktours.wordpress.com/2020/11/08/in-tune-tour/</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>ishieehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08841903585175583207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879079171523265533.post-21544146198068361672020-09-26T09:21:00.005+08:002020-10-04T08:27:17.885+08:00THE IKESSAR FALCON by K.S. Villoso #DethroneTheDragonlord<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmipvp0vIebFWQ19P-u7FihE9TMmC27PSMIorTEdTEQwDgwQjAd9jlnWFYG3wxlj5p93se6bI7FLVX-Wo2l_U8i-C7VtQVZ7aIMuv4WfweY0dIHa1rZtJGeHlrZ3h-FEZvDYxgKzUjRsEg/s2048/DSCF3135-01.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1490" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmipvp0vIebFWQ19P-u7FihE9TMmC27PSMIorTEdTEQwDgwQjAd9jlnWFYG3wxlj5p93se6bI7FLVX-Wo2l_U8i-C7VtQVZ7aIMuv4WfweY0dIHa1rZtJGeHlrZ3h-FEZvDYxgKzUjRsEg/s16000/DSCF3135-01.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">In preparation for The Ikessar Falcon Book Tour, I've read The Wolf of Oren-yaro for the first time during Wikathon and I LOVED IT! If you want to know my thoughts on the first book of the Chronicles of the Bitch Queen, click <a href="https://ishieemouie.blogspot.com/2020/09/book-review-wolf-of-oren-yaro-by-ks-villoso.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">HERE</span></b></a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUbjy-OJKafoszKIsrxF2lw53cQp9_aKNIY-7WhKb_NnCHuJY7Bx7KC4bXS-unG9vog0fRh2vidRxsjPubCRbYUhC1AAC9CI6voLAShAb7zodIMIbrlL0gAcUPB8gKAoZ8Iuu0CE0E5qUU/s1010/Header+%2528The+Ikessar+Falcon%2529.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="1010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUbjy-OJKafoszKIsrxF2lw53cQp9_aKNIY-7WhKb_NnCHuJY7Bx7KC4bXS-unG9vog0fRh2vidRxsjPubCRbYUhC1AAC9CI6voLAShAb7zodIMIbrlL0gAcUPB8gKAoZ8Iuu0CE0E5qUU/s16000/Header+%2528The+Ikessar+Falcon%2529.png" /></a></div><br /> *<i>I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book from the publisher and Caffeine Book Tours as part of my participation in their tour.</i><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmGh9wAWHq_ryelWIL-Vz1SbBQ7I3YLOMUiYPwSfGDyCZXmhTt-19-Ff6RfOzyFcqJdOm20QEayyM6mnsnu8h3iiLTwNH6zlGMIJn6tVx-Vh_MhY55DDmhNC5ZVGX_vk_MwbkgnhBx-vD/s1998/IMG_20200925_195709.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1998" data-original-width="1347" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmGh9wAWHq_ryelWIL-Vz1SbBQ7I3YLOMUiYPwSfGDyCZXmhTt-19-Ff6RfOzyFcqJdOm20QEayyM6mnsnu8h3iiLTwNH6zlGMIJn6tVx-Vh_MhY55DDmhNC5ZVGX_vk_MwbkgnhBx-vD/w270-h400/IMG_20200925_195709.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUT09S8xj_UIe23pzN5d7bl-6QL7enUXBm5KbK3Zj8TzjN2AnhRCSh4cEiDHXDdilaSkPgmBKqHNgEFHd7hCaniMCh8Bj4Bda0YYe-7FVi1CXkiGxVO56hmdI_rd-77FwKIlBoUogIt-Qs/s1998/IMG_20200925_195709.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title: </b>The Ikessar Falcon (Chronicles of the Bitch Queen#2)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Author: </b>K.S. Villoso</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Publisher: </b>Orbit Books</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Release Date: </b>24th September 2020</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Genre: </b>Adult Fantasy</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Synopsis:</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: medium;">The Bitch Queen returns in The Ikessar Falcon, the action-packed sequel to K. S. Villoso’s acclaimed fantasy debut, The Wolf of Oren-Yaro.</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: medium;">Abandoned by her people, Queen Talyien’s quest takes a turn for the worse as she stumbles upon a plot deeper and more sinister than she could have ever imagined, one that will displace her king and see her son dead. The road home beckons, strewn with a tangled web of deceit and unimaginable horrors – creatures from the dark, mad dragons and men with hearts hungry for power.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: medium;">To save her land, Talyien must confront the myth others have built around her: Warlord Yeshin’s daughter, symbol of peace, warrior and queen and everything she could never be.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: medium;">The price for failure is steep. Her friends are few. And a nation carved by a murderer can only be destined for war.</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>BOOK LINKS: </b><span style="color: #e06666;"><a href="https://amzn.to/30mmCRC " target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ikessar-falcon-ks-villoso/1128717569?ean=9780316532716" target="_blank">B&N</a> | <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Ikessar-Falcon-K-S-Villoso/9780356514499" target="_blank">BOOK DEPOSITORY</a> | <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780316532716" target="_blank">INDIEBOUND</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35661274-the-ikessar-falcon " target="_blank">GOODREADS</a></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ea9999; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">* * *</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ea9999; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As I have told you on my review of The Wolf of Oren-yaro, I was not really that excited on diving on to the next book right away because, let's face it, The Wolf of Oren-Yaro didn't actually leave us with a very positive note. I read other light books to get myself ready for The Ikessar Falcon, and guess what? Queen Talyien's life is adorned with wonderful adventures left and right, I can't even keep up.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuI59s2yviXYwAPKhX-jvmw4bv2P_GekVsrD3CibQuFdhTZVHpPMmJHwMFqOpMy3qXy6zF4jWvEZJHC_khRH1BrYzNYcH3TLeIucLr3lBAyw1Zf_bE6x9eNp3_R4CNmjYAog6sJL6fzIDG/s1571/IMG_20200925_220440.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1571" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuI59s2yviXYwAPKhX-jvmw4bv2P_GekVsrD3CibQuFdhTZVHpPMmJHwMFqOpMy3qXy6zF4jWvEZJHC_khRH1BrYzNYcH3TLeIucLr3lBAyw1Zf_bE6x9eNp3_R4CNmjYAog6sJL6fzIDG/s16000/IMG_20200925_220440.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Great Vibes; font-size: x-large;"><i>"They called me the Bitch Queen, the she-wolf, </i></span></h1><h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Great Vibes; font-size: x-large;"><i>because I murdered a man and exiled my king the night before they crowned me."</i></span></h1><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f4cccc;">- - -</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f4cccc;"><i>iconic.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>The Sequel to The Wolf of Oren-Yaro still has its same effect. It retained its visualization of all character's distinct characters, and how each would act based on who they are as different set individuals with different ideals, in one setting. There were surprising character arcs that I have come to adore, which I wouldn't think I'd be able to do in a million years before I read this book. Like, hey, Lo Bahn? Siz, what is up with that! </div><div><br /></div><div>This book also offered a wider view of the world and even extended into unsettling turn of events (for me). The first book really offered me a fantasy that is as close to reality as it can get. It centered around political intrigues or conspiracies or something and cultural differences and complexities of an empire compared to a small nation and all that. Although it hinted a bit about magic right in the middle towards the end, I was really surprised at how it took a bigger portion of the second book and I wasn't ready with that sudden shift. I wasn't ready with the monsters. I was ready with the dragons but with some other magic-aspects of the book? I was really taken aback by that.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Taking all that aside, K.S. Villoso still managed to take me on a roller coaster ride with her writing and the twists and turns of the story. If I even managed to think that the first book is a loooong journey for our characters, I withdraw that. The Ikessar Falcon takes you on a LOOOONGER journey with more intricate pawns in the game and you'll really start to wonder, when will it ever end? Well, duh, of course by the end of book three! Now who's excited for that? Well, of course, US!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: medium;"><b>The Ikessar Falcon is a good sequel to a great book that is The Wolf of Oren-Yaro if not for the exhaustion it brought me. Everywhere Queen Talyien look, there's trouble and their tangled lives just keeps on getting worse and worse. Will the queen ever find peace? Will she ever get the chance to learn and accept who she really is and peel away the Talyien that people are expecting her to be? That's for you to find out and that's for me to mull over for the next days to come.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNrYTsplGBXctMVxjusw5HvYG3uaWXnDAUzLWoZxa7oE1MNN6aI_Z9o2sxdF_Y7fawykWz54KXDm_8egGNzt4OjtL4-fp2axgN-2a7ydgXCcc-4AwR1MtNg39bciLQ4MHkHiEif6jh4zK/s1920/20200926_085855_0000.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNrYTsplGBXctMVxjusw5HvYG3uaWXnDAUzLWoZxa7oE1MNN6aI_Z9o2sxdF_Y7fawykWz54KXDm_8egGNzt4OjtL4-fp2axgN-2a7ydgXCcc-4AwR1MtNg39bciLQ4MHkHiEif6jh4zK/s16000/20200926_085855_0000.png" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Cormorant Garamond;">[See, all of my favorite quotes centered around Queen Talyien's struggle with who she truly is and what she ought to be to get the respect that wasn't easily given to her]</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i>* I would love to dive in on all the characters especially Khine and the many aspects of his character that mirrors the reality of the society we live in today. And hey, don't even get me started with men getting millions of opportunities to get their shit together but not the women who can never redeem herself once she made a wrong decision. That's for the next blog post because if I do dive on that, I might give away some spoilers and we don't want that, do we?</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaz2tw01hoIgKjXe34hD6DDJ6cPV_W_JmjV8F0YLjyVsi-BVRxJUegRWeV5v9fQ1RpBcEnvXqQ9Tkn8IiJu_HPToDeO7LT6yHnI2GcPr3vtnIeLriQ9URbsqXGsz-hRPIUkYCtaX9Ou0Ah/s1916/IMG_20200925_195720.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1916" data-original-width="1345" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaz2tw01hoIgKjXe34hD6DDJ6cPV_W_JmjV8F0YLjyVsi-BVRxJUegRWeV5v9fQ1RpBcEnvXqQ9Tkn8IiJu_HPToDeO7LT6yHnI2GcPr3vtnIeLriQ9URbsqXGsz-hRPIUkYCtaX9Ou0Ah/s320/IMG_20200925_195720.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><b style="color: #e06666; font-size: large; text-align: center;">ABOUT THE AUTHOR</b></p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">K.S. Villoso was born in a dank hospital on an afternoon in Albay, Philippines, and things have generally been okay since then. After spending most of her childhood in a slum area in Taguig (where she dodged death-defying traffic, ate questionable food, and fell into open-pit sewers more often than one ought to), she and her family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada, where they spent the better part of two decades trying to chase the North American Dream. She is now living amidst the forest and mountains with her family, children, and dogs in Anmore, BC.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><b>Author links:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><a href="https://www.ksvilloso.com/" target="_blank">WEBSITE</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kayvilloso" target="_blank">FACEBOOK</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11740784.K_S_Villoso" target="_blank">GOODREADS</a> | </b><b><a href="https://www.instagram.com/ksvilloso/ " target="_blank">INSTAGRAM</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/k_villoso" target="_blank">TWITTER</a></b></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><u>FOLLOW THE TOUR</u></span></b></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><b>September 14</b></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://camilleareads.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Camillea Reads</a></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://smallstainedpages.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Small Stained Pages</a></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://thoughtsstainedwithink.com/" target="_blank">Thoughts Stained With Ink</a></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><b>September 15</b></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://moonandcoffee.com/">moon & coffee.</a></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.novelsandnebulas.com/" target="_blank">Novels and Nebulas</a></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="http://phrasesandpages.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Phrases & Pages</a></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><b>September 16</b></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://bookathonblog.wordpress.com/">Bookathon</a></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://flippingthruthepages.com/" target="_blank">Flipping Through the Pages</a></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://loveyoshelf.com/" target="_blank">Love Yo Shelf</a></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><b>September 17</b></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://myfangirlchronicles.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">My Fangirl Chronicles</a></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://paperteaandbookflowers.wordpress.com" target="_blank">Papertea & Bookflowers</a></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="http://kath-reads.com/" target="_blank">The Last Reader</a></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><b>September 18</b></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://tohscontent.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Heart’s Content</a></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="http://theperksofbeingnourablog.wordpress.com" target="_blank">The Perks of Being Noura</a></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://vanshikaandbooks.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Vanshika’s Books</a></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><b>September 19</b></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://acupofcyanide.wordpress.com" target="_blank">A Cup of Cyanide</a></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://macnbooks.weebly.com/" target="_blank">mac n’ books</a></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/" target="_blank">Utopia State of Mind</a></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">WEEK 2 (PH)</span></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><b>September 21</b></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><div><a href="http://herbookthoughts.reads-it.com/?p=6804" target="_blank">Her Book Thoughts</a></div><div><a href="https://jonnaandherwails.wordpress.com/2020/09/21/the-ikessar-falcon-by-k-s-villoso-book-review/" target="_blank">jonna and her wails</a></div><div><a href="https://www.whiteskyproject.com/2020/09/spotlight-the-ikessar-falcon-by-ks-villoso/" target="_blank">White Sky Project</a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>September 22</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><a href="https://accioblog.wordpress.com/2020/09/22/blog-tour-the-ikessar-falcon-chronicles-of-the-bitch-queen-2-by-k-s-villoso/" target="_blank">Accio! Blog</a></div><div><a href="https://inbetweenbookpages.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">In Between Book Pages</a></div><div><a href="https://pagesinwaves.wordpress.com/2020/09/22/blog-tour-the-ikkesar-falcon-by-k-s-villoso/" target="_blank">Pages in Waves</a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>September 23</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><a href="https://bookdragonism.wordpress.com/2020/09/23/five-reasons-why-you-should-read-the-ikessar-falcon-by-k-s-villoso-dethronethedragonlord-blog-tour/" target="_blank">bookdragonism</a></div><div><a href="https://thebookwormdaydreamer.wordpress.com/2020/09/23/raising-the-stakes-the-ikessar-falcon-by-k-s-villoso-playlist/" target="_blank">The Bookworm Daydreamer</a></div><div><a href="http://thatbookishteacherblogs.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Musings of a Bookish Teacher</a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>September 24</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><a href="https://afirepages.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Afire Pages</a></div><div><a href="https://rarevenclaw.wordpress.com/2020/09/24/blog-tour-book-review-the-ikessar-falcon-by-k-s-villoso/" target="_blank">Rarevenclaw</a></div><div><a href="https://tomesandthoughts.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Tomes and Thoughts</a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>September 25</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><a href="https://enthralledbookworm.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Enthralled Bookworm</a></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw4N-yKHhNQrQRz7kMCKXpQ" target="_blank">infp_bookworm</a></div><div><a href="https://yourtitakate.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Your Tita Kate</a></div><div><a href="http://ysanotbella.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Ysa, not Bella.</a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>September 26</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><a href="https://geraldthebookworm.home.blog/" target="_blank">Gerald The Bookworm</a></div><div><a href="http://ishieemouie.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Ishiee Mouie</a></div><div><a href="https://litfae.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Litfae</a></div><div><a href="https://oroplatamyta.com/" target="_blank">Oro Plata Myta</a></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/trihoes" target="_blank">Trihoes: live show</a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTsHVJuBnVzV2WJzNp0R7wS22KeBsRHLnUnc4TSSTK3S4Q1LBfhzudR7vLIf1nV8wgh1UFZqztO8FKE9bzqPCFAeOWeKI5MXK8Z-EPhy6T_LXXr3_PQpvt3E7hoyLEZQF4Cqsq-f5zNaQA/s1380/Untitled-1.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="1380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTsHVJuBnVzV2WJzNp0R7wS22KeBsRHLnUnc4TSSTK3S4Q1LBfhzudR7vLIf1nV8wgh1UFZqztO8FKE9bzqPCFAeOWeKI5MXK8Z-EPhy6T_LXXr3_PQpvt3E7hoyLEZQF4Cqsq-f5zNaQA/s320/Untitled-1.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div></div></span></span></div></div>ishieehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08841903585175583207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879079171523265533.post-6368144649548807702020-09-26T07:04:00.002+08:002020-09-26T07:10:20.031+08:00BOOK REVIEW: The Wolf of Oren-Yaro by K.S. Villoso<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkFPTty6e01dQaJl5gO9eI_qn8NStMo9N7KZslaSrd1A4gWzCKlGFN4vZmP2tJkFXr3j0UQJwRk2ORqETGcTMhT0oe3V3H9jCAxv2Ic1GaDmHi9PEYH_B6GQ9WDbfnTzfDSNqt5ES0tXA/s2048/DSCF3130-01.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkFPTty6e01dQaJl5gO9eI_qn8NStMo9N7KZslaSrd1A4gWzCKlGFN4vZmP2tJkFXr3j0UQJwRk2ORqETGcTMhT0oe3V3H9jCAxv2Ic1GaDmHi9PEYH_B6GQ9WDbfnTzfDSNqt5ES0tXA/s16000/DSCF3130-01.jpeg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">As a reader who is highly intimidated with anything that is not YA fantasy, I am highly impressed at how the mere genre that I am running away from is trying to catch up to me (and hey, I'm not complaining, and I ain't running anymore). I totally found them intricate, insightful, and even only with subtle romance (which I'm a real sucker for), HIGHLY interesting. I am HIGHLY, highly impressed.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhggoDUF0S-8vEcaHB1cKovLuA6jp9HF0lhg4lX8q8FDgjlV-f7IGHVAg5L2OqSpTnc4wGgPiFADSg97vAFDyhjAxP8KHb9rxhQcRVO17qjy0j1PYZaNuVZYB3wFkTzRCRpcYcNNjH5A6cB/s2048/IMG_20200925_201241.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1388" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhggoDUF0S-8vEcaHB1cKovLuA6jp9HF0lhg4lX8q8FDgjlV-f7IGHVAg5L2OqSpTnc4wGgPiFADSg97vAFDyhjAxP8KHb9rxhQcRVO17qjy0j1PYZaNuVZYB3wFkTzRCRpcYcNNjH5A6cB/s320/IMG_20200925_201241.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title: </b>The Wolf of Oren-Yaro (Chronicles of the Bitch Queen#1)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Author: </b>K.S. Villoso</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Release Date: </b>18th February 2020 (Originally Published 5th April 2018)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Genre: </b>Adult Fantasy</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46207682-the-wolf-of-oren-yaro" target="_blank">Synopsis from Goodreads:</a> </b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">A queen of a divided land must unite her people, even if they hate her, even if it means stopping a ruin that she helped create. A debut epic fantasy from an exciting new voice.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;">"I murdered a man and made my husband leave the night before they crowned me."</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Born under the crumbling towers of Oren-yaro, Queen Talyien was the shining jewel and legacy of the bloody War of the Wolves that nearly tore her nation apart. Her upcoming marriage to the son of her father's rival heralds peaceful days to come.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But his sudden departure before their reign begins fractures the kingdom beyond repair.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Years later, Talyien receives a message, urging her to attend a meeting across the sea. It's meant to be an effort at reconciliation, but an assassination attempt leaves the queen stranded and desperate to survive in a dangerous land. With no idea who she can trust, she's on her own as she struggles to fight her way home. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>*I received an e-copy of this book along with the e-arc of the 2nd book in preparation for the #DethroneTheDragonlordPH book tour hosted by Caffeine Book Tours.</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: medium;">PLOT & WORLD BUILDING</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Honestly, I got lost in all of the names of the city and up until now I am still confused about the countries or cities or empire. Although, in my defense, the world-building is not the strong aspect of this book as compared with character building, and hopefully, development, so I just took note of where they were and can't really remember what country that city was in. It was all so fuzzy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">World building was not the strongest pursuit for me, but one of the many things I love about this book is the way the story is told. It's not difficult, as how I found other high fantasies to be, and it is not boxed in a single story line. There was a distinct goal but the way to get there is forked and snakes through a never-ending winding road. The non-linear story telling of The Wolf of Oren-yaro is something that I admired the most when I look back on it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">For real, I don't know how anyone can NOT ENJOY this book and not ask for more. Personally, this book attacks close to home, with all the struggles that the characters have to go through and what they represent considering their gender and status in the society.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We have a female protagonist struggling to hold everything together. Her land is being torn apart and people judge her for not being able to carry the weight of her duties. Her family's broken, nobody in the court trusts (and vice versa) or even listens to her and nobody in her land acknowledges her as a queen.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Imagine reversing the roles. Imagine a man sitting on that throne with no wife beside him while ruling his land? Would the sneering faces of judgemental people be present? Oh lord no, because everything a man does is worshipped and acknowledged as <i>he do what he did because it has to be done</i>, and that sucks!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>The Wolf of Oren-Yaro</b> shows you the struggles of a woman in a patriarchal society, and so much more. It shows you a real bad ass female that also have weaknesses and internal struggles, and that's what we're here for. It shows you a man who will never be judged for his actions. It will show you a person with HUUUUGE potential but a victim of circumstance and can never get out of the bottomless pit of poverty. Now what more can you ask for, really?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>*I didn't immediately pick up the next book because it is mentally taxing for me to read the struggles that Talyien went through and will continue to go through in the next book. I don't know if I'll ever be ready but I gotta get back to Khine!*</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: medium;"><b>CHARACTERS</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The book is character-centric and the exploration of all characters is enough but not yet enough so you would come seeking for the next book for more, because there's still so much more to cover.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="color: #ea9999;"><u>QUEEN TALYIEN</u></span></i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">For the whole duration of the book, we were in Queen Talyien's POV. We saw her struggles, we saw the conflict inside her head, and we saw how she sees the world and the people around her. Through her journey of <i>"saving"</i> her husband, she was faced with conspiracies; her enemies are everywhere and she felt that she could trust no one, thus feeling alone in all that she does.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Talyien grew up with people with plastered smiles on their faces and people bowing their heads unable to meet her eyes. There was no in between (<i>Well, except for Agos</i>), so when stuck with the unfamiliar, she got to discover the world outside of her not so glamorous life, and as much as this first book gave me enough, there's still more for Queen Talyien and I'm craving for it!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><u><span style="color: #ea9999;">RAYYEL</span></u></i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rayyel is the true portrayal of Taylor Swift's "The Man". Everything he does can easily be swept under the rug and he'd still be worshipped. I don't know, I really hate Rayyel in this book, but I feel like book 1 did not really go in depth of who he is so I am smelling a character redemption on the next book? I have no idea. I am excited for that, but as of now... Rayyel can go fork himself.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><u><span style="color: #ea9999;">KHINE</span></u></i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">At first I was really skeptical about a con-artist trying to help out a stranger, let alone a woman, and not think of getting something in return. Well, okay, Talyien helped Khine in conning an old man for huge amount of money, so I guess that would mean they have bonded over a con operation?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yes, like Talyien, I found it really hard to trust Khine and I had to keep on questioning his motives but then again, as the story progressed, I had to see him beyond the different masks that he presents to the world. Khine wasn't really a bad guy. Circumstances have led him to his current state, and it's a common thing that happens in society - to the eldest of the family in particular. It is a responsibility that falls on their shoulders whether they want to or not, because it is carved out in the society that the burden should never be carried by their siblings. Although what is really different in Khine's circumstance was, he had an opportunity but not all roads are well paved for everyone. Some have to through hell and back to get to their own success.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I would love to see more of Khine on the next book. I want to see him succeed, and maybe I also just want him to be with Talyien hehe. I just think that he deserves to achieve his dreams.... <i>my baby Khine :(</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><u><span style="color: #ea9999;">AGOS</span></u></i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Agos was a mystery for the most part of this book and I kind of hurt for him, except when he looks down on my baby Khine <i>*arggh don't touch my babe!*</i>. Well, I understand where he's coming from so I really can't hate him that much and apart from that, I am sooo curious about what happened between Talyien and her. OMG. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Okay, I have nothing more to say about Agos because that's all he is to me... a history that I need to unfold. <i>*Agh! harsh!*</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now go, what the hell's still keeping you from picking this book up?</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1yFukHhN4aeoqtsc0BbdPzzN8ze7e-Ej4bI50qAyRT-xtytpQR7T7Z4gUsluT4JPNBRJOSTa2CzZxEMUN6iQ9FhsrI6oOfeRogGS1I1Kk0CZpA7NHds0shDMWUcRUcWiG438wj37_DGtS/s1916/IMG_20200925_195720.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1916" data-original-width="1345" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1yFukHhN4aeoqtsc0BbdPzzN8ze7e-Ej4bI50qAyRT-xtytpQR7T7Z4gUsluT4JPNBRJOSTa2CzZxEMUN6iQ9FhsrI6oOfeRogGS1I1Kk0CZpA7NHds0shDMWUcRUcWiG438wj37_DGtS/s320/IMG_20200925_195720.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><b style="color: #e06666; font-size: large; text-align: center;">ABOUT THE AUTHOR</b><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">K.S. Villoso was born in a dank hospital on an afternoon in Albay, Philippines, and things have generally been okay since then. After spending most of her childhood in a slum area in Taguig (where she dodged death-defying traffic, ate questionable food, and fell into open-pit sewers more often than one ought to), she and her family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada, where they spent the better part of two decades trying to chase the North American Dream. She is now living amidst the forest and mountains with her family, children, and dogs in Anmore, BC.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><b>Author links:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><span style="color: #e06666;"><b><a href="https://www.ksvilloso.com/" target="_blank">WEBSITE</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kayvilloso" target="_blank">FACEBOOK</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11740784.K_S_Villoso" target="_blank">GOODREADS</a> | </b><b><a href="https://www.instagram.com/ksvilloso/ " target="_blank">INSTAGRAM</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/k_villoso" target="_blank">TWITTER</a></b></span></div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: medium;"><b></b></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTsHVJuBnVzV2WJzNp0R7wS22KeBsRHLnUnc4TSSTK3S4Q1LBfhzudR7vLIf1nV8wgh1UFZqztO8FKE9bzqPCFAeOWeKI5MXK8Z-EPhy6T_LXXr3_PQpvt3E7hoyLEZQF4Cqsq-f5zNaQA/s1380/Untitled-1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="1380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTsHVJuBnVzV2WJzNp0R7wS22KeBsRHLnUnc4TSSTK3S4Q1LBfhzudR7vLIf1nV8wgh1UFZqztO8FKE9bzqPCFAeOWeKI5MXK8Z-EPhy6T_LXXr3_PQpvt3E7hoyLEZQF4Cqsq-f5zNaQA/s320/Untitled-1.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>ishieehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08841903585175583207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879079171523265533.post-31798029746867743102020-08-30T10:00:00.052+08:002020-08-30T10:00:07.858+08:00BLOG TOUR: the Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart<p dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-3a60488e-7fff-7b17-38ad-9aaf0bb4812e" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-gIegoJz_vBuVen0-BdVtj_alSdlCu8IChWk4l80ScMftifhWvZRgWnNknpsi63m4Ckp7eifg4u3AgeLVjzAQMpP8S8i0vpAqcrWgmajq0wmwFxUk0f7QDAQ2Tg-CXmrd_gHwj5cPoX6t/s2048/DSCF5719-01.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart" border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-gIegoJz_vBuVen0-BdVtj_alSdlCu8IChWk4l80ScMftifhWvZRgWnNknpsi63m4Ckp7eifg4u3AgeLVjzAQMpP8S8i0vpAqcrWgmajq0wmwFxUk0f7QDAQ2Tg-CXmrd_gHwj5cPoX6t/d/DSCF5719-01.jpeg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: justify; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">2020 can eat me now.</span></div><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: justify; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: justify; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>That's all I can say, because 2020 is a game changer.</b></span></div><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: justify; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I've been living under a rock for almost my whole life</span><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">—</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> just reading books that the western and US media feeds me</span><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">—</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> so I am really thankful that I got back to reading this year and found that there's more to stories than the white and the western ones. </span></div><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: justify; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: justify; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">So far, fantasy-wise, I've started with this one and I'm currently reading The Wolf of Oren-yaro. I've started my reading right, <i>right?? </i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(By the time this post comes up, I'll be finished with TWOOY)</span></span></div><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: justify; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: justify; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMJ1MgT40d1tk1F81-y_S8T3adTT3QyTsvZA0mYTV_xtl5Qq9e27Uqbrr0BHZi_HyEhxyMzVWjHHfzvHAX3Tbyq3vPcT2GRu51M23PY_OhTX_tpPILNh_QJL6J-iiW0rjbzVssetG6NOTW/s560/bone+shard+daughter+blog+tour+banner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMJ1MgT40d1tk1F81-y_S8T3adTT3QyTsvZA0mYTV_xtl5Qq9e27Uqbrr0BHZi_HyEhxyMzVWjHHfzvHAX3Tbyq3vPcT2GRu51M23PY_OhTX_tpPILNh_QJL6J-iiW0rjbzVssetG6NOTW/s0/bone+shard+daughter+blog+tour+banner.png" /></a></div></span></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOFYnY9fjK89nieT7jcx9d581e1Tsc-BVbxb0sGEANa2BhaIg2yEARgx_LJpULYdSTX7b9HFU706WSbmbETWzH93BKTLZ_rtVgRtg0r3rrsNnWoRsHvDcximGkZhYifcLImMWLblA2i7VU/s750/50706646.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart" border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="486" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOFYnY9fjK89nieT7jcx9d581e1Tsc-BVbxb0sGEANa2BhaIg2yEARgx_LJpULYdSTX7b9HFU706WSbmbETWzH93BKTLZ_rtVgRtg0r3rrsNnWoRsHvDcximGkZhYifcLImMWLblA2i7VU/w260-h400/50706646.jpg" width="260" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Title:</b> The Bone Shard Daughter (The Drowning Empire #1)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Author:</b> Andrea Stewart</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Release Date:</b> 08 September 2020</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Genre: </b>Epic Fantasy</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In this epic start to a unique new series from Andrea Stewart, we follow five perspectives:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Lin</b>, the potential heir to the throne-well, granted that her foster brother doesn't get the emperor's blessing- lost her memories of the last five years.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: georgia;">Jovis</b><span style="font-family: georgia;">, a smuggler following the trail of the mysterious blue ship that transports kidnapped people to an unknown destination.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: georgia;">Phalue</b><span style="font-family: georgia;">, the governor's daughter torn between love and duty. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: georgia;">Ranami</b><span style="font-family: georgia;">, the woman who knows and experiences injustice and tries to find a way to tip the scale and help start a revolution.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Lastly, a mysterious character named </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">Sand</b><span style="font-family: georgia;">, who claws through her foggy mind to find out why she does what she does and why she's trapped in an island with nowhere to run?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">These five people will eventually cross paths one way or another, but are you ready to find out how, when and why? <b>Then pick up the book! I'm not gonna tell that to you, sister!</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">So let me tell you in a manner of conciseness only I could muster the reasons why you should read this book..... </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">oh god, I don't do concise. I'm your messy reviewer and I don't want to gush and gush (girl, you need to sound professional! Andrea Stewart would read this!) like a weird and unreliable reviewer! So, yep, here iz me trying <i>*cue T.Swift's This is Me Trying*</i> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: helvetica;"><b><u>DIVERSE CHARACTERS & MUCH REPRESENTATION</u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Well, you see this is what I'm going to tell you.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If a book makes same-sex relationships a big deal, then you would see that it wants you to actually notice that it's there and you SHOULD know it.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">But normalizing it in a way that people around your characters accept that and see that as normal? Girl, that's what makes it a better read.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: helvetica;"><b><u>FORK OFF THE HERO TROPE WHO ALWAYS DOES GOOD DEEDS</u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I've read a lot of books in the past, and honestly, a hero with a bright and pure heart would lose its luster after being read on different books over and over. After diving into these recurring tropes, I yearned for the true human nature - to see myself reflected in the characters' eyes. I wanted to see the characters I read get torn between saving the world and being selfish and do what they want for themselves. You know? H-U-M-A-N. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: helvetica;"><b><u>OH GOSH, MEPHI, BE MINE</u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Cute and talking creatures who will stand by you and be your very own familiar. Hello, I feel like they are the dragons that protagonists in other books use to, like, symbolize their power?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Well, these talking familiars are absolutely the opposite of that! They're your loyal, cute, and friendly companion to all your adventures! Hey, think of Toothless and how cute he is! Oh gosh, I just want my very own Mephi.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: helvetica;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: helvetica;"><b><u>GROTESQUE. WHO CARES IF THE CREATURES AREN'T PRETTY?</u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There are some books that always wanted to put on a glossy face, you know, characters with stubbornness as her central and biggest flaw? *ehem, I have a favorite series like this. ehem* </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Not only with the characters though, I feel like these books wouldn't want a grotesque creature to be a big part of the story so I was shocked when I read that the constructs, which played a big part in this book, are U-G-L-Y and grotesque and sewn pieces of different animals! I was so sucked into the small world of non-diverse books, and now, diverse books are pulling me out of a sink hole and you'll find no resistance from me. *Take me away from here* PLEASE!!!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: helvetica;"><b><u>UNIQUE MAGIC SYSTEM</u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Urm........ you know when you read a fantasy book with intricate magic that is so complex that your tiny brain - I mean MY TINY BRAIN - literally screams because of info overload?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Well let me tell you.... This book doesn't bombard you with how it works, why it works. It is simple yet it is so unique. The magic system in TBSD doesn't draw life from the wielder, but robs from normal people until it sucks the life out of them. And with a ruler like that? Revolution is just brewing on the sidelines until it gets a clear shot to strike the government down! (Or the emperor, for this matter)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In this universe, magic is pretty normal. I mean, nobody asks a regular smuggler why he can shake a whole pub like he's an earth bender! I am guessing this will be tackled in depthly in the next book (hopefully), or is it as simple as he gets his strengh from somewhere.......? :D</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The book ended with questions. I know I said that the book's pacing had me believing in its world and not entirely questioning it, but there was a hint of elemental magic that is only uncovered by the end of the book so I'll just sit here patiently waiting to know more about the talking familiar that I wanted for myself.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>BY.THE.WAY.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i>Just a burning question I got. Can anyone wield bone shard magic when taken as the emperor's apprentice??? I feel like anyone can. I mean, the foster son of the emperor was able to do it??</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: helvetica;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: helvetica;"><b><u>WOMEN. WOMEN. WOMEN ARE STRONG. </u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">First off, women leaders are not frowned upon in this book. Never questioned. I feel like this is the Imperial 2020 we all needed!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Nobody questions a woman's place in society and she can be whoever she wants. That's badassery right there.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I love that an heir to any position in this world need not have a dick to be crowned ruler. Oh god, I love it. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I love that a woman can kick a man's ass in a brawl.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I love that woman leads imperial guards.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I mean, what more can you ask for, right?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">All in all, the book is a strong debut series with its strong foundations built on <b>c</b><b>haracter diversity, profound world building, and unique (really, one of a kind) magic system.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">I found myself struggling on the first few chapters, but once I got past that, I was sucked right in.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg1aSPEEYQjQ_4ThzRDunmOOHwnmpFGsFaSq6SXDUfcG8ZDopHvqCNGe_i1C2HrUiNvqtk8LPvgAV2K2Ae92ItaSPDvLcZSffHFL0HvV2ZjE7L3EnxOcMxE6mbLe62KP-R7DC_ehX1S0d8/s1316/Andrea+Stewart+by+Lei+Gong.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1316" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg1aSPEEYQjQ_4ThzRDunmOOHwnmpFGsFaSq6SXDUfcG8ZDopHvqCNGe_i1C2HrUiNvqtk8LPvgAV2K2Ae92ItaSPDvLcZSffHFL0HvV2ZjE7L3EnxOcMxE6mbLe62KP-R7DC_ehX1S0d8/w243-h320/Andrea+Stewart+by+Lei+Gong.jpg" width="243" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div><b><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: medium;"><u>ABOUT THE AUTHOR</u></span></b> </div><div><br /></div><div>Andrea Stewart is the daughter of immigrants, and was raised in a number of places across the United States. Her parents always emphasized science and education, so she spent her childhood immersed in Star Trek and odd-smelling library books.</div><div><br /></div><div>When her (admittedly ambitious) dreams of becoming a dragon slayer didn't pan out, she instead turned to writing books. She now lives in sunny California, and in addition to writing, can be found herding cats, looking at birds, and falling down research rabbit holes.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-9996c9da-7fff-675a-a922-38e8f6c2c84b"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #e06666;">Bone Shard Daughter Links:</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="http://goodreads.com/book/show/49104844-the-bone-shard-daughter" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Verdana; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goodreads</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> || </span><a href="https://amzn.to/3by09U8" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Verdana; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amazon</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> || </span><a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Bone-Shard-Daughter-Andrea-Stewart/9780356514949" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Verdana; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Book Depository</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> || </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Verdana; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bone-shard-daughter-andrea-stewart/1136270497" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Barnes & Noble</a></span></p><div><br /></div></span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>If there's anything I left out, you can always check these people's blog tour stop and find out why they LOVE The Bone Shard Daughter:</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJfaY5AZo8yPm_KB6kWkXWHDmtvcL8IcQJTq2jtXVsMB9BX26INjdLUibPS-VAgaCzI15on8v6HlP3bZTAVq59QuF35QniNYIryucpCmcGG7xcoqMzLQHTav2fmXDKu-pAOryR7CioFSxM/s2048/Bone+Shard+Daughter+PH+schedule.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1448" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJfaY5AZo8yPm_KB6kWkXWHDmtvcL8IcQJTq2jtXVsMB9BX26INjdLUibPS-VAgaCzI15on8v6HlP3bZTAVq59QuF35QniNYIryucpCmcGG7xcoqMzLQHTav2fmXDKu-pAOryR7CioFSxM/s640/Bone+Shard+Daughter+PH+schedule.png" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTsHVJuBnVzV2WJzNp0R7wS22KeBsRHLnUnc4TSSTK3S4Q1LBfhzudR7vLIf1nV8wgh1UFZqztO8FKE9bzqPCFAeOWeKI5MXK8Z-EPhy6T_LXXr3_PQpvt3E7hoyLEZQF4Cqsq-f5zNaQA/s1380/Untitled-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="1380" height="114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTsHVJuBnVzV2WJzNp0R7wS22KeBsRHLnUnc4TSSTK3S4Q1LBfhzudR7vLIf1nV8wgh1UFZqztO8FKE9bzqPCFAeOWeKI5MXK8Z-EPhy6T_LXXr3_PQpvt3E7hoyLEZQF4Cqsq-f5zNaQA/w410-h114/Untitled-1.png" width="410" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>ishieehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08841903585175583207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879079171523265533.post-79936434531601898212020-07-27T09:41:00.005+08:002020-08-23T20:45:56.561+08:00BLOG TOUR: Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1StnJ9ab9AipYm5Labkpbjej_pSOOo2dsky0m0XdOntS-tzK5Wa1bjns5VDf8xdtjzLOGdhY-R6s0i1l0_RNN-cr01TTh-cWS1xRpMJiAvdo1nCbRbF29Quh_XzGsX5ubyyk3fWfe_wx6/s2048/DSCF5718-01.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1370" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1StnJ9ab9AipYm5Labkpbjej_pSOOo2dsky0m0XdOntS-tzK5Wa1bjns5VDf8xdtjzLOGdhY-R6s0i1l0_RNN-cr01TTh-cWS1xRpMJiAvdo1nCbRbF29Quh_XzGsX5ubyyk3fWfe_wx6/s640/DSCF5718-01.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="arial" size="2">I am so excited to be doing this blog tour as it is my first time to do a tour with Caffeine Book Tours. I didn't actually know that I was going to enjoy this book so much, but I did. The first few chapters really dragged but mind you, when you get to Paris, everything will just get you curious and you just want to find out everything about Evelyn and just be her. *heart eyes*</font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="arial" size="2"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="arial" size="2">I'll be doing a full review of this book after the tour, so watch out for that! ❤️</font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="arial" size="2"><br /></font></div><div class="separator"><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4950" data-original-width="3300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfrclmL8jh-7BaXHi4GtlE2m9tNB22Vh0eRB-AzU3TJyzGcU25nKbh7fGs89BXpmIeTJNHFMN3xFv5Oh_aOZEkfRaqLy3zAIMzcl2akxIIBVrcYyVi_FjAlmW_qnR0mtmrjQKUqXEuPijS/s320/1595769526911.jpg" /></div><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><i>Title:</i> <b>Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop</b></span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><i>Author: </i></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Roselle Li</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: 700;">m</span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">P</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">ublisher: </span></i><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Berkeley Ro</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: 700;">mance</span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><i>Publication date:</i> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">04 August 2020</span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><i>Genres:</i> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Adult, Romance, Contemporary</span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>Synopsis:</i></span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">Become enamored with the splendor of Paris in this heartwarming and delightful story about writing one’s</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic;"> own destiny and finding love along the way.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">Vanessa Yu never wanted to see people’s fortunes—or misfortunes—in tea leaves.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">Ever since she can remember, Vanessa Yu has been able to see people’s fortunes at the bottom of their teacups. To avoid blurting out their fortunes, she converts to coffee, but somehow fortunes escape and find a way to complicate her life and the ones of those around her. To add to this plight, her romance life is so nonexistent that her parents enlist the services of a matchmaking expert from Shanghai.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">The day before her matchmaking appointment, Vanessa accidentally sees her own fate: death by traffic accident. She decides that she can’t truly live until she can find a way to get rid of her uncanny abilities. When her eccentric aunt, Evelyn, shows up with a tempting offer to whisk her away, Vanessa says au revoir to America and bonjour to Paris. While working at Evelyn’s tea stall at a Parisian antique market, Vanessa performs some matchmaking of her own, attempting to help reconnect her aunt with a lost love. As she learns more about herself and the root of her gifts, she realizes one thing to be true: knowing one’s destiny isn’t a curse, but being unable to change it is.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: arial; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><font color="#ea9999">QUOTES FROM THE BOOK THAT I LOVE TO SHARE WITH ALL OF YOU </font></b></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><font face="arial" size="2">There were so many quotable quotes from this book and as much as I want to put them all in here, I'm afraid I might let something slip and ruin the experience. These are four quotes that caught my eye. I would've bombarded all of you with the descriptive prowess of Roselle Lim when it comes to describing food, but I don't want to distract you from your work, lunch break isn't due until a few more hours. I mean, just imagine, she was able to describe a siopao (I think that's siopao, right?) in a way I've never thought of before. That's just amazeng 🙌👌</font> but you won't find it here, read the book people!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAwV-dwvBUOcYlToyM1S6K08Qufn4SOEnrkeHbBX_9LUu4GqeqIipliJGbFctgLgISMRu_yOA7Rl5eT010XvuSzSimP9wYiBSHgs8HFbplicqWXQDWgSt8VSKSbOjb81E86pxiYpVuVKhL/s560/GIF-200726_212909.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAwV-dwvBUOcYlToyM1S6K08Qufn4SOEnrkeHbBX_9LUu4GqeqIipliJGbFctgLgISMRu_yOA7Rl5eT010XvuSzSimP9wYiBSHgs8HFbplicqWXQDWgSt8VSKSbOjb81E86pxiYpVuVKhL/w640-h356/GIF-200726_212909.gif" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6h2eXzamgw-JUjIC9Yw-Lt_MlH168mjxjxYqHF7Zkrxc3m9rY9ibQNd2S3ylBQVBDMgxrSkWAGDxxyRlvLtXYWDI9I9_itzfg6dwrf4FYHvRDou316c6Ht2GLJwqPPKkY3hY8SCdj20Q/s560/GIF-200726_213114.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6h2eXzamgw-JUjIC9Yw-Lt_MlH168mjxjxYqHF7Zkrxc3m9rY9ibQNd2S3ylBQVBDMgxrSkWAGDxxyRlvLtXYWDI9I9_itzfg6dwrf4FYHvRDou316c6Ht2GLJwqPPKkY3hY8SCdj20Q/w640-h357/GIF-200726_213114.gif" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbJToQskTzu0FSxQWgU-pivhkUBYKhR2XUoGua7cFx7uiHbO9c3O_EZmz1H5sfxhc99JXK5i3WDBIfu61YfUhDjiyRYiF0oQHYoi6WL5LbXFJQ9amDG0bs9AbdD5LqteKI5shUN5nigITf/s560/GIF-200726_215746.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbJToQskTzu0FSxQWgU-pivhkUBYKhR2XUoGua7cFx7uiHbO9c3O_EZmz1H5sfxhc99JXK5i3WDBIfu61YfUhDjiyRYiF0oQHYoi6WL5LbXFJQ9amDG0bs9AbdD5LqteKI5shUN5nigITf/w640-h356/GIF-200726_215746.gif" width="640" /></a></div><font size="2"><div style="text-align: justify;">I mean, this quote, girl? Why do you want to hurt me this much. Is it too much to wish for something you know will never ever be yours? Maybe we can make it so, maybe we can change our fates, so hell with this quote! But it is a really good and hard-hitting quote though.</div></font><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8eJ4kJ9srVX2dSPlj2I0dceM1tUKCNdxukl9GBhZoN1qtkc40PLo5Jg3iYQhA6SYZ62SCnW2wZFI4I3t2d8OAXfwGNqD_z0ICHT8ogkBeNKD8ycP_NLKrFkz-G2OgO-snSE0m0P0x2K8L/s560/GIF-200726_215904.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8eJ4kJ9srVX2dSPlj2I0dceM1tUKCNdxukl9GBhZoN1qtkc40PLo5Jg3iYQhA6SYZ62SCnW2wZFI4I3t2d8OAXfwGNqD_z0ICHT8ogkBeNKD8ycP_NLKrFkz-G2OgO-snSE0m0P0x2K8L/w640-h356/GIF-200726_215904.gif" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">The best advice for all marupokpoks (kidding). But it's good to take note of this and spare ourselves the heartbreak that comes with loving someone who might not even jump a puddle of water for us.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVYWbyGrHhtzvHnGPl-Z-vYnU6hfl2bERTxBuWfiTxVo3bvQhTzZ1yzxld-6ZAVjWLqrtZN1cmXcwP66DxgydoUaQQmG1N_q5FpWKQ_nnuVWaXqhi9f0fz3uiBvbdxudLN5X6wD3gymgRw/s2048/1595769628210.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVYWbyGrHhtzvHnGPl-Z-vYnU6hfl2bERTxBuWfiTxVo3bvQhTzZ1yzxld-6ZAVjWLqrtZN1cmXcwP66DxgydoUaQQmG1N_q5FpWKQ_nnuVWaXqhi9f0fz3uiBvbdxudLN5X6wD3gymgRw/s320/1595769628210.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><font color="#e06666">ABOUT THE AUTHOR</font></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div><div><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">Roselle Lim was born in the Philippines and immigrated to Canada as a child. She lived in north Scarborough in a diverse, Asian neighbourhood.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">She found her love of writing by listening to her lola (paternal grandmother's) stories about Filipino folktales. Growing up in a household where Chinese superstition mingled with Filipino Catholicism, she devoured books about mythology, which shaped the fantasies in her novels.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">An artist by nature, she considers writing as "painting with words."</span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><i><font color="#e06666">Author links:</font></i></b></span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Author website — </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none;"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?q%3Dhttps://www.rosellelim.com/%26amp;sa%3DD%26amp;ust%3D1595811423698000%26amp;usg%3DAOvVaw2SUwA58LZ26LovK9OWzTae&sa=D&ust=1595811423721000&usg=AFQjCNHWF3URqNSBIiWBPdyAoln9uNQvaw" style="text-decoration: inherit;">https://www.rosellelim.com/</a></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Goodreads — </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none;"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?q%3Dhttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17917712.Roselle_Lim%26amp;sa%3DD%26amp;ust%3D1595811423698000%26amp;usg%3DAOvVaw1kQq9w5pF4pNR_Uu-Wnfyx&sa=D&ust=1595811423721000&usg=AFQjCNFLDW2KUmwefy2SeOI3aXJZVZDhuw" style="text-decoration: inherit;">https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17917712.Roselle_Lim</a></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Instagram — </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none;"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?q%3Dhttp://instagram.com/rosellewriter%26amp;sa%3DD%26amp;ust%3D1595811423699000%26amp;usg%3DAOvVaw0yxdbnNtToAIX44drk_2g5&sa=D&ust=1595811423721000&usg=AFQjCNGWwRqlO1E5rJk6d98ZSiNHmeagWA" style="text-decoration: inherit;">http://instagram.com/rosellewriter</a></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Twitter — </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none;"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?q%3Dhttps://twitter.com/rosellewriter%26amp;sa%3DD%26amp;ust%3D1595811423699000%26amp;usg%3DAOvVaw37zoLgPG9wBpr2K1N59CKn&sa=D&ust=1595811423721000&usg=AFQjCNHu1hl-_Jqi0yw-zJvxefTDUE4UyQ" style="text-decoration: inherit;">https://twitter.com/rosellewriter</a></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></p></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: center;"><font color="#e06666">BUY THE BOOK</font></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: center;"><font color="#e06666"><br /></font></b></span></div><div><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Amazon — </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none;"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?q%3Dhttps://amzn.to/2XRfETy%26amp;sa%3DD%26amp;ust%3D1595811423694000%26amp;usg%3DAOvVaw0C7X6-KK0qEs8N8742Z1WF&sa=D&ust=1595811423720000&usg=AFQjCNEjNtLRAlfoV5Fi0L9UTNr7xgpVrA" style="text-decoration: inherit;">https://amzn.to/2XRfETy</a></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">B&N — </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none;"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?q%3Dhttps://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/vanessa-yus-magical-paris-tea-shop-roselle-lim/1133013372?ean%253D9781984803276%26amp;sa%3DD%26amp;ust%3D1595811423694000%26amp;usg%3DAOvVaw3I5GFA-74sCHLMAlA9eYtz&sa=D&ust=1595811423720000&usg=AFQjCNEBSdwYCygEIHXcYO2JsJj0lfSMjQ" style="text-decoration: inherit;">https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/vanessa-yus-magical-paris-tea-shop-roselle-lim/1133013372</a></span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Book Depository — </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none;"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?q%3Dhttps://www.bookdepository.com/Vanessa-Yus-Magical-Paris-Tea-Shop-Roselle-Lim/9781984803276%26amp;sa%3DD%26amp;ust%3D1595811423695000%26amp;usg%3DAOvVaw2BdCtj-L59yPdgSvcNPEM9&sa=D&ust=1595811423720000&usg=AFQjCNHQ1FzkbZY-l6dWUmWQTWk4ZUnXRA" style="text-decoration: inherit;">https://www.bookdepository.com/Vanessa-Yus-Magical-Paris-Tea-Shop-Roselle-Lim/9781984803276</a></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">IndieBound —</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none;"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?q%3Dhttps://www.indiebound.org/book/9781984803276%26amp;sa%3DD%26amp;ust%3D1595811423696000%26amp;usg%3DAOvVaw1IABZ9_CNP250KO9-FERbO&sa=D&ust=1595811423720000&usg=AFQjCNFfPgiftT6ymonIhOLX9TnCexmx8w" style="text-decoration: inherit;">https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781984803276</a></span></p><p style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Goodreads — </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none;"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?q%3Dhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42190175-vanessa-yu-s-magical-paris-tea-shop%26amp;sa%3DD%26amp;ust%3D1595811423696000%26amp;usg%3DAOvVaw0jz1zpRxLpYj9tzpqbkOf2&sa=D&ust=1595811423720000&usg=AFQjCNG8Dt2uVc1QPZ1ETaQ2yYFMzIlA2Q" style="text-decoration: inherit;">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42190175-vanessa-yu-s-magical-paris-tea-shop</a></span></p></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: center;"><font color="#e06666"><br /></font></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font color="#e06666"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><b><i>FOLLOW THE BLOG TOUR</i></b></span></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN3gRW9t71jhdU3fvodGZRmhfxHQPAzt0dAtQ5g3PERuIPXsSehX9LVQZKcG_KhBu9lYSV88fvWPk4g4Mnze2zFtZikOvO3YlRWTq4WF2WdMgdwh6y3l4FDr0Q6q52PPzbPxxO4Sf4uIOq/s1800/1595769441483.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN3gRW9t71jhdU3fvodGZRmhfxHQPAzt0dAtQ5g3PERuIPXsSehX9LVQZKcG_KhBu9lYSV88fvWPk4g4Mnze2zFtZikOvO3YlRWTq4WF2WdMgdwh6y3l4FDr0Q6q52PPzbPxxO4Sf4uIOq/w400-h400/1595769441483.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>ishieehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08841903585175583207noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879079171523265533.post-90830856436273109082020-05-06T17:53:00.002+08:002021-01-30T15:39:25.601+08:00A Definitive Ranking of My Favorite Ghibli FIlms of All Time<style>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1mk_JrqPaWbDrswjhtWPcvNV_mHymObXJvbJEB9mD6jfu1zsoxx3V7e9Qd23c2TcvHovyelYMAnG4QcDwhTbi5raKBhlNi7x0I5ZzN2atvXc0BR9DaLttxUqKMNa57yBu0GbGhGroUWA2/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1599" data-original-width="1999" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1mk_JrqPaWbDrswjhtWPcvNV_mHymObXJvbJEB9mD6jfu1zsoxx3V7e9Qd23c2TcvHovyelYMAnG4QcDwhTbi5raKBhlNi7x0I5ZzN2atvXc0BR9DaLttxUqKMNa57yBu0GbGhGroUWA2/d/20200506_171602_0000.png" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">
Studio Ghibli movies are bizarrely fantastic with story lines that are not exactly realistic, which it shouldn't be, since most of the films are of the magical realism genre. It's not just about the story on the surface, but goes deeper when you dive just a little bit more away from the surface, and these movies fall on the spectrum of charming fantasies to harrowing devastation of life.</div>
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Everything from the magic of its story telling through the visual richness of the animation to the beautiful MEN (hehe) and even the emotional wreck it has given me have all contributed to one fact: I LOVE STUDIO GHIBLI. So you should try watching 'em too. :)</div>
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Since Netflix has released, most, if not all of the 22 (I think?) movies from Studio Ghibli, a lot of fan arts and fan videos have been floating around my newsfeed and I'm just all heart-eyes for it, so I decided to make a list of my all time fave movies from the ones that I have already watched. So just a little disclaimer, I have only watched a few and from those, I have picked 7 of them as my fave Ghibli movies of all time.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #ea9999; font-size: large;">When Marnie Was There</span></b></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The movie doesn't feel "Ghibli" at all, but despite that, I still love its little impact on me. It was so serious!!! Or so I feel? I don't know, it's just that I didn't feel the magic of Ghibli in this one but the story is good and I kept on guessing and guessing. It was a story of resentment that spans generations and how you can never truly be freed of anger if you have unresolved issues deep inside your heart.</div>
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In this story we follow asthmatic Anna who is angry at everything. Her foster parent, her biological parents, herself and just everything. Anna's foster parent decided that she could use a break in the country side and then we see series of day dreaming where Anna met a "ghost" named Marnie and they became friends and I shouldn't say more because you gotta find out for yourself who is Marnie and why is she friends with Anna.</div>
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<span style="color: #ea9999; font-size: large;"><b>Ponyo</b></span></div>
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This movie is so simple yet heart warming and so endearing that all kids will actually love and enjoy watching it over and over again. Ponyo is the <i>Japanimated</i> adaptaion of The Little Mermaid, but here we have Ponyo who sometimes becomes a chicken ahahahhaa, well, she really does have chicken feet! So Sosuke lives in a house on top of a cliff, and he rescued a fish trapped in a jar, which we learn to be Ponyo herself. After this, Ponyo wanted to be human and so she was transformed little by little and became friends with Sosuke. The movie talks about something bigger than it might seem at first glance, something about ecological balance and the coexistence of nature and human itself and all the other stuff. But you can actually mind that on your 2nd rewatch and just enjoy the lush underwater scenery and the magic that Ponyo will surely capture you in on your first watch.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #ea9999; font-size: large;">My Neighbor Totoro</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujKuxxtX_mFSkQTC97ASv2KRYNceQ2CgxMorTSYttfs16m7vzp2YZ4Ug1CHfvm1nsv3KBbtJPDKi-SF8AyYjf5Q4h7v-LPVNDO5888MqwYFW9KvgtQGTs28SlnFj4opZkvG1bUPSal5q9/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="2160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujKuxxtX_mFSkQTC97ASv2KRYNceQ2CgxMorTSYttfs16m7vzp2YZ4Ug1CHfvm1nsv3KBbtJPDKi-SF8AyYjf5Q4h7v-LPVNDO5888MqwYFW9KvgtQGTs28SlnFj4opZkvG1bUPSal5q9/w640-h640/20200506_162413_0000.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Just like Ponyo, this is also a feel good movie for everyone of all ages and you'll just find yourself pretty much head over heels in love with the cuteness of Mei and the overall innocence of the whole movie.</span></div>
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Since everything that we can see in this list revolves around human and nature, Totoro is so cool since we see more Japanese culture in this one. We see how Japanese respects the spirit of nature and history that is bound on a place that was there even before humans have inhabited the place. Don't get me wrong, after finishing the movie I was like, that's it? Where's the story?? But it's not much about the climax but how the story was told and how it's just fun to watch a movie that is just pure exploration of how a child sees the world that not an adult could actually understand. Also, in the movie, the two kids' father acknowledges the stories of the kids and never once told them that it's not real. He listens and trusts his daughters with an open mind even when he don't understand how could all that her daughters are saying could be true.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #ea9999; font-size: large;">Spirited Away</span></b></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">When you watch this movie you'll really feel the "Ghibli" magic that I was saying. The story line, the way it was told is in its own way whimsical. The characters, even the ugly spirits, were unforgettable, as with the other ghibli characters. We have No Face and the baby that became a mouse and others, which are soo adorable. Spirited away is not my number one fave, but it is my most memorable one because it was the first ever Ghibli that I have watched even when I was just watching it just because it's a cartoon!</div>
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So Spirited away follows the story of Chihiro who got lost on their way to their new house and made wrong turn only to find themselves in an abandoned theme park, so they wandered, and this theme park lights up at night and all sorts of spirits were living there and there's this bath house where they come for refreshments and rest. During the first few minutes of Chihiro and her parents' wanderings, Chihiro found that her parents have become a pig and so she wound up working on the bath house saving everybody from whatever problems they found themselves stuck into.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #ea9999; font-size: large;">Howl's Moving Castle</span></b></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A young lady cursed to be old, a roving steampunk-esque castle, a mysterious and handsome wizard, what more could you ask for? Immediately even just after the first glimpse at the start of the movie, you'd know that Ghibli magic is in this movie and it surely is! Just look at the castle, the landscape the witch and you'd know what I'm talking about.</div>
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The story follows the story of Sophie who was cursed by the witch of the waste who wanted Howl's heart. Howl was the vain young man who steals the heart of every girl and this is his validation. Even when he is a powerful sorcerer or witch or whatever, he is still insecure and he would have nothing to live for when he loses this outward appearance he so dearly loves.</div>
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The movie is an action and romance and fantasy with its own little twists and turns that are somewhat confusing that I even have to read the book to understand only to find that the book is not so similar to the movie itself. If you want to have a little bit of a distraction from the reality even for just an hour or two, I think this is also a good one. It's a tale of loyalty and friendship and discovering self worth and all that.</div>
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<span style="color: #ea9999; font-size: large;"><b>Grave of the Fireflies</b></span></div>
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No, I can't watch it for another time. This is so heartbreaking and I just can't bear to watch it again. I've watched this twice already. Once a long long time ago and rewatched it because I can't remember some parts.</div>
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After my 2nd rewatch, I knew that I can't bear to witness its tragedy again but the story is so harrowing, it follows the story of two siblings Seita and Setsuko who were both struggling to get through the devastations of world war 2 in Japan. In the midst of America's bombings,t siblings got separated from their parents and have to find a way to manage amidst all the chaos. The film is inspired by events that happened in real life which made it all the more devastating.</div>
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<span style="color: #ea9999; font-size: large;"><b>Kiki's Delivery Service</b></span></div>
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In this world, if you are born into a family of witches, you must set out on a sort of training for a year. At first I thought that it was to go to a school or something but turns out that a witch has to find a town where no witch resides in and then hone her craft there. So our little witch, Kiki, with big dreams of settling down on a big town near an ocean and when she found it, it was entirely different from a quaint little town she's from where everyone knows and loves everyone. In a town as big as her "new home", she would have a lot of adjustments to make in order for her to "fit in". She has to learn to accept herself and her role no matter how small, for her to not get lost in an ocean of uncertainty and sadness.</div>
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You would admire Kiki's optimism and big dreams. She's very innocent with no idea of the harsh realities of the world out there. In this movie you can clearly see how naive but determined a young mind can be. <i>You can step out of your own little world with a set of goals and plan only to find yourself thrusted into a very big world of uncertainty which topples you off from what you initially planned out for yourself</i>.</div>
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I also love how the film talked about a sort of slump, that even if you're born for something, there will be times when the fires of your passion dies down to embers and the only way to ignite them is to just take a breather see the lush green nature, blue skies and relax. Nothing good comes out of forcing yourself when you're tired and just feeling like you're not being great at something you're supposed to be born with!</div>
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I think the number one on my list is not a chart topper on anybody else's but I can talk so much more about this film and what it taught me by the end of it so I love Kiki's delivery service, really, can't you tell?</div>
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SOOO what's your fave Studio Ghibli movie of all time?</div>
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ishieehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08841903585175583207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879079171523265533.post-79508997760752970362020-04-30T09:31:00.000+08:002020-04-30T09:36:12.611+08:00BOOK REVIEW: Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa<style>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I feel like Memory Police has such profound meaning but I cannot dig a well deep enough inside my brain where I could find that meaning. As of now, it's loss that comes to mind first then I'll just go along as I type this overthought review.</span>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's not my first time reading a novel from a Japanese author and so far, I found the way they tell a story direct, yet metaphorical and deeply sensational. I could just read it simply, but I still find that it holds so much meaning that is so BIG for my tiny brain to process immediately. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So to summarize the gist of the story, there is an unnamed island where our narrator resides. In this island, the disappearance of random things is just a normal thing to get through on a day to day basis. For them, there's no point in holding on to something that has no meaning to them already. One day she finds out that a person close to her remembers and they tried to find a way for her to hide that person from the Memory Police.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For a reader who looks forward to character and plot development so much, this would be such a huge letdown. I was actually waiting for something to stir up in the gaping holed hearts of most of the people on the island. But as you might have guessed, that was never the intended purpose of the book. It was never meant to entertain and give answers to a curious mind. It was meant to be questioned and here I am answering all my questions through real life association. Am I supposed to analyze it like a requirement for an english class?? Am I overthinking things?? Maybe?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Also, for someone who reads -um- typical american novels or sci-fi or dystopian or whatever, it could be hard to swallow the ending of the book. It wouldn't satisfy the curiosity that we have for the whole duration of the story. Like, who were the memory police? What's the mechanism of the disappearances?? Where did the <i>'people who remembers'</i> go? What?! Wha-? I need answers!.... Yet, after all the initial outbursts of emotion, when the mind wandered back to the story, there was something bitter and sweet and salty and sour about the book and the meaning buried deep within the words of the author is still, well, buried at the back of my head. hahahahhha my mind's still reeling but nothing's getting caught on the line.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lastly, I just want to say that I was deeply impressed by a change of voice within the story. It was written so harrowingly beautiful that I decided that I wanted to follow this other story line that just popped up. I didn't realize my idiocy at first since the characters of the book were all shrouded in mystery. I thought the identities of these people would unravel themselves on the chapters to come only to find my mouth agape in surprise because I didn't realize I was reading fiction within a fiction. How did I miss that? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here are the bits and pieces of nonsense that I could come up with considering I am not an expert with nitpicking literary masterpieces.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #ea9999; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>LOSS & GIVING UP</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's hard for me to piece together the puzzles but I do understand that the whole disappearance thing depicts loss, and how the people who remains (the one who remembers) hold on to what is left. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Everyone knows how hard letting go is - how hard it is to hold on when the one you're holding on to is already succumbing to the loss themselves (without a fight). It's tragic but it's reality and the way the book portrayed it is full of desolation. My heart was so sad the entire book.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #ea9999; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>EXTINCTION</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Halfway through the story, the thing I associate with the disappearances was the extinction of animals and superannuated things. For example, in this lifetime, dinosaurs were long gone even before the existence of human beans, yet we remember them even if we don't have a use for them anymore. Or the floppy disks or walkman. We don't have use for those anymore, yet we remember that they existed.Wait, dunno what my point is. I don't know why the book has to forget the things that have disappeared, maybe this was a shallow association. lol, maybe there was more meaning to the disappearances. hahhhhaha</span><br />
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<span style="color: #ea9999; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>SILENCING VOICES</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I thought the book would focus more on the memory police hence the title, but the memory poilce were only present at times and their history and the reason why they existed or how they came about weren't tackled. So looking back, I think that they signify the silencing of voices and can be applied through all sorts of life aspects. It could be about a child's opinion being silenced by an adult which could result to loss of assertiveness. Oooor government silencing the voices of its people therefore the loss of their right to free communication or speech or something like that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The memory police could mean a lot of things and that's the only thing I could compare it to in real life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>THESE WERE MY NOTES DURING THE TIME I WAS READING THE NOVEL</b></span>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The book seemed reminiscent and full of regret.</span>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In reality, a lot of things have been thinning in the world. Slowly crumbling and disappearing into ashes. I find that I'm afraid of how this book would end. What was this book trying to tell me? </span>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>OMG, I am quite nervous about R's intention. gurllllllll!!! I thought he was a spy at first but then again, I thought O-M-G! He has retained memories! And then, yep, that's it. He's a wanted man.</i></span>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>There was this sort of feeling emanating from the words of the author. It was so direct, yet beautifully descriptive, it was like the words are honey bound to be consumed completely. The mystery that was put around the identity of the characters were mournfully depressing! They don't have names, yet I know them. I was briefly disconcerted by the fact that there were two stories, with one I've yet to unravel.</i></span>
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</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I knew from the very beginning that there was something about the old man. I just dismissed the idea entirely but came back like a gust of wind and it made sense. He was wise not just because he's old but because he remembers.... everything.</i></span>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Oh wait, I've jumped to conclusions yet again. Oh goshhh, this is not turning out the way I thought it would.</span></i>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Wait what? Was it mentioned at first that the woman who lost her voice was the story that the protagonist was writing? I was trying to decipher the identity of that woman because I thought it was another POV! I was shocked when after a horrific turn of event, the protagonist suddenly stopped writing and I was like, WHAT!?!?!?!</i></span>
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<a class="button_1" href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blogger.g?blogID=6692200064173283519#">REVIEW</a>
<a class="button_2" href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blogger.g?blogID=6692200064173283519#">NOTES</a>
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ishieehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08841903585175583207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879079171523265533.post-36613547656431295302020-01-31T20:32:00.000+08:002020-01-31T20:33:20.950+08:00HOW I MAKE TIME DOING WHAT I LOVE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUdSd-Q58kIacG8TNy0bxYTTn8E9alSP2F6r4Xu3rGGMYpiL76gcmCibKfS9zhRv3-me9-Df8YB6PvlEuabRGKGuK7oMD1hhfe7WHeb-7vXQl1pHv8OHEdzHLc7idqpz1BZvvxyeBQHzj9/s1600/20200119_204359_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1342" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUdSd-Q58kIacG8TNy0bxYTTn8E9alSP2F6r4Xu3rGGMYpiL76gcmCibKfS9zhRv3-me9-Df8YB6PvlEuabRGKGuK7oMD1hhfe7WHeb-7vXQl1pHv8OHEdzHLc7idqpz1BZvvxyeBQHzj9/s1600/20200119_204359_0000.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For someone who works 8 hours a day and 6 days a week with a travel time of almost 3 hours back and forth everyday, how can one find the time to do hobbies and other creative outlets?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Slowly, in the past year, I was able to re-insert myself into the world of reading but wasn't able to fully immerse back into the writing and blogging (reviewing books) world. I was also able to take videos and compile them which, to my surprise, I enjoyed so much.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By the last half of 2019, I was able to turn myself around and do a lot of things that made me happy. Video editing (a little vlogging), reading, singing (doing covers), blogging, and kind'a journaling. Seems like a lot for a person who only have a day off per week, right? But looking back, it seems like I made a progress doing what I love in slow bits rather than doing everything at once, which is what I do since I am impatient, which I still am, but I'm slowly working on that one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here are the takes from my past and plans for my future and present little 'kinda' passion projects.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>1. READING AND REVIEWING</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1tWWxTsnIi50Tb3Yjf3Uc0uooG6s24tBkON7L2R4ub3IGqCw99D1Ixup9LDddjJF5MYUNYBR2PI-DfNfuL_VYJK7Y67zsJChyphenhyphen08pyqacTLzgvlnHVizW93AFxufk7awltDDtJZaCP_6nN/s1600/20200131_191357_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1342" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1tWWxTsnIi50Tb3Yjf3Uc0uooG6s24tBkON7L2R4ub3IGqCw99D1Ixup9LDddjJF5MYUNYBR2PI-DfNfuL_VYJK7Y67zsJChyphenhyphen08pyqacTLzgvlnHVizW93AFxufk7awltDDtJZaCP_6nN/s1600/20200131_191357_0000.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I love reading for a lot of reasons - past-time, learning cultures, looking back into past, love for words, etc. - and somehow, everytime I finish reading a good or even a not so good book, I have a lot of bottled up emotions that needs to get out there. That was the reason why I write. I feel like writing things down and creating something and just seeing the outcome is my own form of happy pill.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have a review blog that has been neglected for a year now but I still continued reviewing the books I read. Some of the reviews were on my phone and unfinished that was why I wasn't able to publish any last year, not even one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My plan to resolve this, since I've always wanted to look back on what I felt when I read a certain book, is to have a collective review and/or make recommendation lists. I feel like I have to make it collective because sometimes I feel tired by venting out everything and I didn't know how to wrap everything up, that's why I wasn't able to finish any reviews for a while now. They were all bits and pieces of my emotions. Looooooong fragments.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>This is what I'll do:</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">• Read whenever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">• Do collective review and fun lists.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">• I'll post the single reviews on my old book blog and post the collectives on this blog, which I've decided to be about everything I love, including my life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">• Try making an outline of what should be included in the review if ever I decide to post a single review.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>2. BLOGGING AND JOURNALING</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is separate and different from the book blogging because this would include life bits and mind pieces. I created a new blog late last year, which is this blog, where I can share my travels and decided that it would be my new creative outlet. I've decided to write down everything I love, just as I mentioned, and it involves everything from reading to writing to watching to traveling to eating to just about anything.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I remembered telling myself, "you somehow endure working for 6 days a week, barely having any time to rest and have a repose yet you will restrict yourself on the things that you wanted to experience?", and that's the reason why every once in a while, I travel, meet up with friends, and eat out. This would be one of the motivation I could use to write on my blog and put something on my journal. Remind myself to never miss a memory!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>This is what I'll do:</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">• Go out and explore. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">• Take out my camera more often and just snap good photos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">• Actually print out photos for the journal. hehe</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">• Take note of the when and the where. Collect the tickets, save the stubs, get everything that can be stamped on a paper and just create!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">• Follow aesthetic blogs with great contents for motivation and inspiration.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">• Take it to pinterest to see beautiful journals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>3. KINDA VLOGGING & VIDEO EDITING</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I love traveling, and for some reason, photographs are not enough for me to commemorate my experiences. I want to relive what I did through videos. Ever since I was in college, I've always wanted to capture special moments but I didn't compile them in a full video that's why a lot of those videos are nowhere to be found (I'm not good at organizing files). In the present time, I've devoted myself into compiling clips (some old, some new) into videos that I upload on youtube so I won't ever lose any moving memories ever again. To add into that, I've also made time to write some of those memories in this blog as well. Here's where some photos will go and where some of my experiences will be cemented and written for the interested people to read anytime.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Video editing is not easy and it takes up too much time but I realized that I was enjoying the creative process of video editing. Oh my, I don't have a good eye with creating aesthetic stuff but I am a creative spirit and I'm not giving up on that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every Sunday (my rest day), if I wake up with motivation, I usually fire up the laptop along with my coffee and whatever food there may be, and try to edit some clips until I get tired of doing it. I only intend to finish a project when I'm excited to show my friends what I was up to. I don't ususally beat myself to a pulp just to finish a video because doing so would put me in a loooooong demotivated state. I have two separate mantra-like when I feel motivated and demotivated:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Motivated: "Even if no one watches your videos, one day you'll look back and laugh at all the shenanigans of your life episodes captured on 'tape'"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Demotivated: "No one is waiting for your vlog (except for friends), so you can upload anytime so just do it at your own pace. What you enjoy doing don't have to look like it's work."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>This is what I'll do:</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">• Take more videos. Try to talk on videos. hehe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">• Don't push too hard on days when being a couch potato is a better idea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">• Travel more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>4. DOING COVERS & ACTUALLY LET PEOPLE HEAR IT.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I really love singing even when singing sometimes doesn't love me. Ever since I was in highschool, I would do covers using a computer's recorder then I moved on to using a phone recorder then recording inside the bathroom for that reverb effect.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I started posting my covers on soundcloud for a long time until I tried uploading clips on instagram then on youtube. By the time I was able to acquire a condenser microphone, I stopped posting on soundcloud and did not post anything anywhere at all, then started to post on IGTV and then on youtube. I wanted to have a video cover but for a long time, I can only ever have the courage to post audio only videos on youtube and IGTV. Maybe this year I'll get to try that and overcome my fear of judgement. I mean, everybody's gonna do it anyway, since youtube is a big thing now, right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What I would do to create more covers is to list down songs I can actually sing well, try filming myself while singing, and have the guts to let people see and hear me sing. Don't judge me, don't judge me :(</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>For the last half of last year up to the past days, I was able to make these:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(。◕‿◕。)➜ 4 BLOG POSTS!!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">╰( ・ ᗜ ・ )➝ 11 YOUTUBE VIDEOS!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> (*❛‿❛)→ 2 AUDIO COVERS ON YT & 3 ON IGTV</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><( ̄︶ ̄)↗ JOURNAL IS DECENT. HAHA</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Taking time to do what you love shouldn't be a matter of finding the right time. The right time can be found in between the crevices of a busy day. Read during breaks and before bed, watch movies/series before dinner and while on the way to work, edit videos or do covers during rest days and holidays or journal during mini breaks at work. That's how I usually do it. That's how I manage to do what I am passionate about even when my week is approximately composed of 72 hours at work and at most 56 hours asleep (I don't know where the other hours went, don't question my math!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Overall, I think the only way to get through a year and look back with big progress is to be happy with slow steps. I didn't even kow that I can look back on so much because I didn't care about the quantity at that time, I just went and write and read and edit and all that stuff. I promised myself not to give myself deadlines as if it is a work that I would be submitting. It's for myself and not for others and when I thought about it that way, I felt no pressure, just contentment that I was able to create then I'm off to my next great venture.</span></div>
ishieehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08841903585175583207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879079171523265533.post-17949862108285673132020-01-21T19:35:00.000+08:002020-01-21T19:35:13.903+08:00MY YEAR IN BOOK PAGES (2019)<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1E1c2jlF2hUV-Lzxso_dPWA1F9JIdXSWUgM496X8Wd9bIUyOuKyVq0fJjTWkrJOJie0l0RygBGOnUXr1nW_QeSwKHBhNFwuMYXDLVAIe8IHs80Sx1OzoXGF7rQGQETMMnzguzuAq5zyg/s1600/20200121_134235_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="735" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1E1c2jlF2hUV-Lzxso_dPWA1F9JIdXSWUgM496X8Wd9bIUyOuKyVq0fJjTWkrJOJie0l0RygBGOnUXr1nW_QeSwKHBhNFwuMYXDLVAIe8IHs80Sx1OzoXGF7rQGQETMMnzguzuAq5zyg/s1600/20200121_134235_0000.png" /></a></div>
<i style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Note: It's been weeks and I know this is soo late but I still have to post this so I can look back on my 2019 faves!)</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">According to a good and reliable tracker called <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2019/14217142">Goodreads</a>, I was able to collectively read a good Seven thousand a hundred and five pages across twenty three books this year. Can you believe that? It has been many years since I have completed a goodreads reading challenge. I have learned from the past years that 50 books would just be ambitious for me and I would never ever in my lifetime be able to fulfill that 50 books in a span of a year, that's why for the past year, I lowered my challenge number and yay! I made it! I read 23 out of the 20 books that I was expecting myself to read for the year. This calls for a celebratory post here so I am starting the year by looking back on the books that I have read in the year 2019.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Last year, I got a Kindle and I was broke the whole year because your ghorl is so lakwatsera that's why most of the books I've read don't have a physical copy. As much as I wanted to grow my mini library in my room, they just have to stay small for now until I can be a rich bookworm who has a capacity to buy expensive books anytime and anywhere.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the year 2019, I had a lot of surprise reads </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">—</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> books that I never thought I would read, ever. Last year has been a great year of representation from all sorts of books ranging from YA to historical fiction to adult, and I can say that what surprises me most is that I've read some of those sorts. Plus, I've read non-fiction! :D</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These first books are notable but not notable enough for me to remember how I felt when I was reading them. I don't have any reviews that's why I can't recall my feelings, so I'll just list them down. These were the books that I remembered I loved at that moment but are buried already somewhere in my mind now. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-large;"><b>H O N O R A B L E M E N T I O N S</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>WITH THE FIRE ON HIGH</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>A STUDY IN CHARLOTTE</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>THRONE OF GLASS</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>THE NEXT PERSON YOU MEET IN HEAVEN</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>THE HATE U GIVE</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-large;"><i>S E R I E S</i></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>VILLAINS SERIES</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This series had my focus from start to finish. It showed another side of the fairy tale, and it blew me away. The interweaving stories of these famous villains were so interesting that I even mourn the deaths of some of them. They weren't villains for no reason so it was interesting to know the backstory without the boring bits of just retelling it the way we already know them. I mean, these stories are etched in our hearts and minds and just retelling it again and again without bringing something new is just redundant and not needed anymore, but the Villains series surpassed every prejudice I have of it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>VERITY</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is my best read of 2019! This is the book that I would recommend over and over and over again to anyone who asks me for a book to read! Colleen Hoover shifted genre and I devoured it. I know I'm a big fan of CoHo but I never thought I could praise her writing even more! Some authors try a different genre and fail but my CoHo didn't fail in this one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Evelyn. Evelyn. You surprise me. I went into this book blind. I know nothing except that Evelyn had 7 husbands, as the title had already suggested it, duh! That was it! I never knew that it would turn out to be an LGBT story, which, honestly is not my cup of tea, but I can say that it was surprisingly good. The old hollywood glamour was the reason I was engrossed and captured. Reading some bits about its inspiration, Evelyn Hugo was loosely based on Elizabeth Taylor, who married 8 times, and Ava Gardner, who revealed the secrets of her life to a journalist (I am going to read this book some other time: Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DAISY JONES & THE SIX</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsVkXhwY8dQtXKs_pSQRis79-eeWY1tXRUvpVz89GsFn7N4wrZzOfnZYK2aIaTavy9XmR2HQr49NuwVusbfSWSOWfFRd39sOOfe0jqvAm7NuDkLqAUNJt5RLNzAacTakqu_eRHBEqrDHD/s1600/20200120_184552_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsVkXhwY8dQtXKs_pSQRis79-eeWY1tXRUvpVz89GsFn7N4wrZzOfnZYK2aIaTavy9XmR2HQr49NuwVusbfSWSOWfFRd39sOOfe0jqvAm7NuDkLqAUNJt5RLNzAacTakqu_eRHBEqrDHD/s1600/20200120_184552_0000.png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another great read from Taylor Jenkins Reid. I think she's really good at coating her stories with nostalgia, blanketing her readers with a reminiscent feeling even when they've never been a part of that history at all. Both Seven Husbands and Daisy Jones have perfectly captured this feeling. I wasn't born in the 60s but I felt all the high and low emotions that was the entire book. One of my great reads of 2019!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>THE SECRETS WE KEPT</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyyCeoK2uhzUqnNEyWKJHPgwCLJvwbGFoIl0hqN5uR9M3ipC2YYqn1HGVCCp3eOyfnsvqj78gPwKAKHtNJ35sptyr4CVyotKBe4a4dNmCTBhBxGMrR0rVSoB3YspkJC3bySMt6eP1-Hjl4/s1600/20200120_205747_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyyCeoK2uhzUqnNEyWKJHPgwCLJvwbGFoIl0hqN5uR9M3ipC2YYqn1HGVCCp3eOyfnsvqj78gPwKAKHtNJ35sptyr4CVyotKBe4a4dNmCTBhBxGMrR0rVSoB3YspkJC3bySMt6eP1-Hjl4/s1600/20200120_205747_0000.png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There's always this feeling I get when I read historical fiction, but what made The Secrets We Kept so engrossing is the history it represents. Author, Lara Prescott, based her story on true CIA files regarding the smuggling of Doctor Zhivago back to Russia and she fill in the blanks where she could inject fiction and it blended in really well. It feels like its real. It's not just based on what happened in history but the history she used was recorded and files, and the book told a story that was heart shattering-ly beautiful.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFGByCHX09Ywv5MADzP9EN7PXjy83J0yrAjml6dw-uFfsKarfOh9jb2ROn8P9O7B7FBmp75QR7itoByy4HNiqBnZQ0qnKsVb9qNopXsm76bC8RJ21J8t-doHFY9OX-QaB-05hJumFVF3dL/s1600/20200120_210347_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFGByCHX09Ywv5MADzP9EN7PXjy83J0yrAjml6dw-uFfsKarfOh9jb2ROn8P9O7B7FBmp75QR7itoByy4HNiqBnZQ0qnKsVb9qNopXsm76bC8RJ21J8t-doHFY9OX-QaB-05hJumFVF3dL/s1600/20200120_210347_0000.png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Where the Crawdads Sing is somewhat a coming of age story infused with a sad portrayal of isolation and what it does to a person. It was a looong read but it was worth it. Delia Owens painted the surroundings in my head and it was so vivid even when I don't know what a bog looks like! I felt like I was painting my own version of the marshlands with the help of her words. I kinda searched it afterwards, though, because I really have no idea but they'e a bit the same, it's just that the picture in my head is only a small one compared to how it actually is.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>N O N - F I C T I O N</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>THE HAPPINESS EQUATION</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've never been a sad person. I get sad, of course (who doesn't?), but I always want happiness wherever I go. This book made me realize that the equation to happiness wasn't a stranger to me. I've been doing secret #1 for so long now and secret #2 is what I'm trying to teach myself but haven't perfected yet. Please please know these secrets. They may be simple and may be a truth universally acknowledged but it's not something that can be embraced fully without wanting it to. We hear these secrets most of the time but we are too caught up with the world and chasing happiness with things and success and all that when we should've been listening.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">okay, I'll give you the secret:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><u>#1. Be Happy First.</u></i> I wasn't expecting the meaning of Be Happy First but damn, when he put it that way, it made actual sense!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u><i>#2. Do it for you.</i></u> Who else are we gonna do it for? Easy to say, but if we are frank with each other, we do it for others most of the time, right?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u><i>#3. Remember the Lottery. </i></u>It's much easier to understand if you read the book.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><u>#4. Just Do It. </u></i>It's hard and it gets harder and harder to think of it, to think of what others might say, so my mantra for the year is just do it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u><i>#5. Be Yourself. </i></u>It's not easy for everyone. Maybe sometimes I want to be like someone else, but it's tiring trying to create something out of yourself when there's already something there that doesn't need an energy to be created! The natural one, yourself! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>I'D RATHER BE READING</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Her essays spoke to me and I think it's how all bookworms felt while reading the book. It felt like I could've written it because everything is so on point, so it just means that the writer is a reader at heart and understands what it means to be a reader.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica neue, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally!!! I thought I would never finish this post! That's all about My Year in Books! ❤️</span></div>
ishieehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08841903585175583207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879079171523265533.post-6718412641512203602020-01-03T12:55:00.001+08:002020-01-03T15:26:55.188+08:00A YEAR MEASURED IN LOVE IS A YEAR WORTH LOOKING BACK ON<style>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Ytd2BrzMNjWYIMQHyMPMkA8PTvbcNwWh1m70IYrM30Nn8uWJ5ThBG1SPX3Cj6s1n0CPoqArvrk1bF_hDQz59O4WkR7oIqFYBJkCreh65LyN4jGVa36KSuedDzQy6UHWOMPb3f5wsPybl/s1600/20200101_105150_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="945" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Ytd2BrzMNjWYIMQHyMPMkA8PTvbcNwWh1m70IYrM30Nn8uWJ5ThBG1SPX3Cj6s1n0CPoqArvrk1bF_hDQz59O4WkR7oIqFYBJkCreh65LyN4jGVa36KSuedDzQy6UHWOMPb3f5wsPybl/s1600/20200101_105150_0000.png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I saw this post on facebook saying how do you measure a year. In daylights? In sunsets? In midnights? In inches? In laughters? Or in strife? I guess it's a collective experiences of everything within the three hundred and sixty-five days of the year that had ended. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's the third day of the year 2020.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm at home, on leave, no work (YET), and on the best time to look back on every ups and downs that had transpired on the last year. I can't say that 2019 is my best year but it was the year of collecting myself from the super down 2017 and 2018, so it was a happy year. A year of new experiences and a year of happiness, so I look forward to 2020 with a smiling heart and ready to take on new planned and unplanned adventures and experiences.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>A LOOK BACK ON THE YEAR THAT WAS</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u><b><i>YEAR MEASURED WITH FRIENDS</i></b></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Small or big gatherings are immeasurable with the seven constants of my present and future. It doesn't matter where or how we spend our time together, for it will always be a day well spent if I spend it with them (ICHIWITI: wow kung mababasa nyo to, wag kayo umiyak hahahaha).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2019 is the year where we were all called for in the work force, thus making it impossible for all of us to be in the same place at the same time at once. Thankfully the start of our 2019 made it possible for us to do just that (well, except for Pau who is in Korea), and since it's Amir's birthday month, it should be a well known fact that we should visit him in his turf, and so for the first episode of the year, we went to Pampanga and visited the Air Force, Nayong Pilipino, and Picnic Grove.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Come March onwards, except for August, we had the movie theaters to go to and MOA (and other malls) to roam around in. Here's an outline of the simple mall things that I did in the past year:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>MARCH 23:</b> GIRLS' DAY OUT with Dane and Kaykay a day before my birthday. We watched Five Feet Apart.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>MARCH 29: </b>AFTER-WORK MOVIE DATE with Dane and Jobie. We watched Eerie. SOOOO EERIEE!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>APRIL 9: </b>SAMBOKOJIN and MALL HOPPING (MOA - SM Southmall - Evia)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXQl1Ncc7jqX4cUkX38h1hIUp7CnznJ3Insv5rlf6NPulDl_aaXua22XoQKJg76kttZtKT_qy4O_E2VjeX8wSq8hovwjqPtEudc_kUWFp3zkv6rv5pXPrqV1pHG4ujT8FiJ7C1UEMi9y8T/s1600/20200103_110715_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXQl1Ncc7jqX4cUkX38h1hIUp7CnznJ3Insv5rlf6NPulDl_aaXua22XoQKJg76kttZtKT_qy4O_E2VjeX8wSq8hovwjqPtEudc_kUWFp3zkv6rv5pXPrqV1pHG4ujT8FiJ7C1UEMi9y8T/s1600/20200103_110715_0000.png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>MAY 1: </b>AVENGERS cinema hunting last labor day holidayyy! Dane, Kay, Jobie, Amir, and I ended up finding available seats at Resorts World. It was my first time in a Casino. Bad Influ talaga mga friends ko. char.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwEc43173sAhQ5LQyqyFvZrGDfwNdQ_oiLZrAQ9MMwIfYBY4jL-1hgp7Av9w6iS-m2PAvo4ko8KszR2RbNTd5O6gjOC87iUzxrX6wFKvMs-XsEk0ZZoh61-HvAlXuFyazKNnp7PEdHKbEP/s1600/20200103_111139_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwEc43173sAhQ5LQyqyFvZrGDfwNdQ_oiLZrAQ9MMwIfYBY4jL-1hgp7Av9w6iS-m2PAvo4ko8KszR2RbNTd5O6gjOC87iUzxrX6wFKvMs-XsEk0ZZoh61-HvAlXuFyazKNnp7PEdHKbEP/s1600/20200103_111139_0000.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>JUNE 12: </b>ALADDIN with Dane, Kay, Jobie, Amir and Ken. Samgyup samgyup at Sumo Niku and Bingsu at..... I forgot where, but somewhere in MOA.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">JULY 7: </b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ANOTHER GIRLS DATE in MOA again. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>NOVEMBER 30: </b>LAST MOVIE OF THE YEAR. Watched FROZEN 2 at SM San Lazaro.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The following are not movie dates...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>OCTOBER 13: </b>We had a house blessing but we are incomplete... because, duh? hahahhaa. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKQmJYWUz1fVyU0wtoI3H6lb9jPLng7ApqQPz4zCTWOBpxou_Uc2iaZeUfWtCRqNBCWfukRSLRHiJHIbbpZEDwhMHGkBZnX5KsABbnlq4CESsbNMm1jOoMvzShnGTdbJK8apaxqOEmnNny/s1600/20200103_111518_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKQmJYWUz1fVyU0wtoI3H6lb9jPLng7ApqQPz4zCTWOBpxou_Uc2iaZeUfWtCRqNBCWfukRSLRHiJHIbbpZEDwhMHGkBZnX5KsABbnlq4CESsbNMm1jOoMvzShnGTdbJK8apaxqOEmnNny/s1600/20200103_111518_0000.png" /></a></div>
<b style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">AUGUST 17-19: </b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lastly.... The highlight of the year with ICHIWITI was the first time in 2019 that WE.ARE.COMPLETE! All eight of us, can you believe that?? Oh well, since it's Pau's vacation, we had to plan something, so we went to Tanay Rizal and had the best adventure we never thought we would ever do! We were in a freaking cave and trekked and crossed rivers and those kind of stuff. I was telling my parents what we did that day and told me that if they knew that that was what we did, they would have never allowed me. HAHAHA</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMmw7w2QUXSyhI5wotlB07eLoZMAv9GLX4g5tOFDAnSXecf2-APw6PLwTV4Fxs88z-rzs-BUrVaA6mRy2RBLk2N130Dzezy2jrJAEnphH0jkFQOcGworSqYkqcuIJfIoIe0Hzxy1aO9V9A/s1600/20200103_130846_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMmw7w2QUXSyhI5wotlB07eLoZMAv9GLX4g5tOFDAnSXecf2-APw6PLwTV4Fxs88z-rzs-BUrVaA6mRy2RBLk2N130Dzezy2jrJAEnphH0jkFQOcGworSqYkqcuIJfIoIe0Hzxy1aO9V9A/s1600/20200103_130846_0000.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Other things that happened this year with other friends:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>FEBRUARY 2-3: </b>La Union with the dormie friends. La-la-love surfing! When can I come back to LU?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBE02gS_5xoaW5rpWVI6iJI5Ky7WK4bJtSIhyPggsw8_jYInnIRRny5lpi4Qd4UNYyC_LDdgKdhpBmbIHmqIk_k-JL5rllaB5smyLJNT1TLiPs2SeGgTByYEbSoRei4vOzu38WLu0XUzhN/s1600/20200103_120805_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBE02gS_5xoaW5rpWVI6iJI5Ky7WK4bJtSIhyPggsw8_jYInnIRRny5lpi4Qd4UNYyC_LDdgKdhpBmbIHmqIk_k-JL5rllaB5smyLJNT1TLiPs2SeGgTByYEbSoRei4vOzu38WLu0XUzhN/s1600/20200103_120805_0000.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>MARCH 5: </b>Joyce's Wedding.</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>YEAR MEASURED WITH FAMILY</u></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By mid-year, I started planning trips with my family. My father only wants to go outing in Batangas so most of this trips are only around the area, but mind you, the first trip we had is not in Batangas but at the edge of the North! (These are also notable things that happened this year)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>APRIL 18-20: </b>We went to Palaui in Sta. Ana, Cagayan! Hello road trip, and hello sunburn!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>AUGUST 9-10: </b>We went to Club Balai Isabel on a stormy day, but despite that, we had a beautiful loft and we enjoyed swimming on the big swimming pools.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>AUGUST 7, </b>we bought a new house because the environment in our old one is getting more and more toxic by the day. We were officially at home on <b>OCTOBER 6,</b> and had our house blessing on the <b>13th.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DECEMBER 1: </b>We went to watch a polo game in Batangas. It was my first time watching polo that I was researching on that day as to how the game works. All I know is that there are horses and they need to "hockey" while on a horse. Guys, it looks like a hockey game with horses! Oh, and there's the prince of Brunei too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DECEMBER 26-27: </b>Went to Anilao Awari Bay. Pricey but instagrammable. Food's not worth the money. We enjoyed the scenery nonetheless.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DECEMBER 31: </b>New Year's Eve, again, with the extended fambam!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><u>YEAR MEASURED WITH MY LOVE</u></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was the year that we spent both birthdays apart. Spent the 9th year anniversary apart. Spent valentines miles and miles apart, and other things apart. Despite all that, we each spent fun times together that would amount to a year even if it's just for a few days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>MAY 26-JUNE 1: </b>Week well spent in Tokyo, Japan. Tiring but fun. It was my first out of the country with Revan. We have chaperones, though. I was with my cousin and sister. IT.WAS.MY.YEAR'S.HIGHLIGHT!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>OCTOBER 27: </b>Since, Revan's just here for a week and we weren't able to plan anything and the Van Gogh Alive was already sold out, we just went ahead to Dessert and Lakbay Museo. It was a great place to wander around in a day. Lakbay Museo was my favorite. Dessert Museum is just okay for me.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Zc53XOvdcCOSAycR6SnpNHltJ5EsYOIwkO83xhop7QlQyEbfDZYBfVA5I5GKZxc1YYLK_EQXTYGFDTbMskD2EcoB3eo9oAe3uBiqdJLK1e12Y-862kv5Nz6XZXw0HELJINgW2VYzSbyf/s1600/20200103_115433_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Zc53XOvdcCOSAycR6SnpNHltJ5EsYOIwkO83xhop7QlQyEbfDZYBfVA5I5GKZxc1YYLK_EQXTYGFDTbMskD2EcoB3eo9oAe3uBiqdJLK1e12Y-862kv5Nz6XZXw0HELJINgW2VYzSbyf/s1600/20200103_115433_0000.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>OCTOBER 29 and 30: </b>Ate at Ningnangan with Revan's family then the next day, with my family.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>OCTOBER 31: </b>Visited Baby Aqui and Joyce.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Those were everything that I did in the last year, maybe I forgot the minor details but these were surely the best ones that I will be forgetting for the next days that's why I noted them down. I hope 2020 will be filled with more of these notable feats worth writing about.</span></div>
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<a class="button_1" href="https://www.blogger.com/u/2/blogger.g?blogID=7879079171523265533#">FRIENDS</a>
<a class="button_2" href="https://www.blogger.com/u/2/blogger.g?blogID=7879079171523265533#">FAMILY</a>
<a class="button_3" href="https://www.blogger.com/u/2/blogger.g?blogID=7879079171523265533#">LOVE</a>
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ishieehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08841903585175583207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879079171523265533.post-18709605829310110822020-01-03T12:52:00.000+08:002020-02-11T09:03:48.248+08:00DAY04: Odaiba<ul class="bxslider">
<li><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8D34rImYvwLUOATxOOafTJmLTzPO1k5Rdm6IalppXWJpCugQ83GlvJCIKrb9EbCE8wKvzIgVpuBTz5pRpol8SXZUodtXEuHk_9sNglCLv4N5ibHEIS3KT-zTlvjNveyZGFmOZa_1Qj4Hq/s1600/20190625_195326_0000.png" /></li>
<li><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtiupzTJJhRkXDhjKa8qsfeXZNi3d0nnYn7QiHpBFmAofuEyowGZKEBF-vz_0ojNw1JYUtr2NcE-qQziBGLG6-CbLgWp1uW8iwNgYJke5gcWyIOVVOtobJV-ScpZKKTWEZQgFkEzzHsg6/s1600/20190626_200811_0000.png" /></li>
<li><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0GMmoIjI6G9XmqFaV1EkJPZw3I5EHAq8F0dkBcLw2E_qDvl1OsJ5i9hhUjs47_uban7uWEp23qpaDevxVXpl5Rrmuambsd7h6glL6W28rko4FTGZMDDne-PR8x5AtBgmZWCQdjusLRC1A/s1600/20190626_200212_0000.png" /></li>
<li><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinU2lzqZnMwje_HlWXb2s5VzKHvRgsWb8eKToatGHJg3-dJ60UC6TY9yO541wOMwEaCRLX95byomNlPmBxMPq6fNRqThVzTUF9T3SwmOPxm_p_hG5d8SkYnWe3dDjaG57Dx0QwDZ_HCInC/s1600/LRM_EXPORT_76099032573611_20190609_210347326.jpeg" /></li>
<li><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT2i2TqmPB55zsBI6OeLgipldqSJ6RzVQrtPsiXG0-l_B2vbHUUkDK2lG_p_Z4h6lGfUX92uULisjlAR0QVXtmqngakNBzpg7W8EXR2ZKviAPfQ0Vecbf0ab2J7F-yvGja3dD4uoqFdDdz/s1600/20190625_201528_0000.png" /></li>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">C</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ontinuing on to the last leg of our Tokyo 2019 trip, we went to Odaiba. On what was supposed to be the highlight and most looked forward to, which is the Teamlab Borderless, became a walkathon and unexpected shopping galore. What a sad moment for all of us including our pockets. I am really sorry for all the hurt this may have caused my companions. 😭</span>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On our last day, we were kind of lax and we just took our time taking a bath and all that stuff, since our itinerary for the day is just around Odaiba - the Gundam statue, Teamlab Borderless, and more outlet stores to name few.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before heading to Odaiba, we wanted to splurge on the last day and eat on a legit Yakiniku restaurant. It's called Yakiniku Fukuju and it's a really nice and romantic atmosphere to it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We roamed around Venus Fort first and we were so sidetracked by shopping (almost everything was half priced!!) that we didn't notice that the time had already gone by so quickly. We booked tickets to TeamLab Borderless in advance on their website and failed to research thoroughly on its closing time. I tried searching it and it said 9PM. To our surprise, we were there 7 or 7:30 on the dot and hello, surprise surprise! The last batch were already heading out. Ridiculous. For a moment there I thought they were never going to speak to me again. What a sad sad day.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2asbKNRqoV-pkUWwowj9g0fZi4iHtcFSdMfb4xjPOU2Hy5s0h36p095rtBa99DktmUP2RhdOCy_qsn3tpoVWhfnuE4hNjNJoLvGyXaFaClfCMWs89tuMj_JuwGpJGlsq5mHf2G6G_KiCr/s1600/LRM_EXPORT_76105395927919_20190609_210353690-01.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="2" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1013" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2asbKNRqoV-pkUWwowj9g0fZi4iHtcFSdMfb4xjPOU2Hy5s0h36p095rtBa99DktmUP2RhdOCy_qsn3tpoVWhfnuE4hNjNJoLvGyXaFaClfCMWs89tuMj_JuwGpJGlsq5mHf2G6G_KiCr/s400/LRM_EXPORT_76105395927919_20190609_210353690-01.jpeg" width="252" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To relieve the tension, we searched for other things </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> we could do around the area and the internet lead us </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">to the Takoyaki Museum. It's a small "takoyaki food </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">park" inside a mall and it has lots of takoyaki trinkets </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and other stuff. I never really liked Takoyaki before </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">because all the least priced ones here in PH are </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">veggie tako and *vomits* its existence was the whole </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">reason why I never ate tako before this. To my</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> surprise, though, I was introduced to a whole other </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">world of 'not-a-veggie-takoyaki' and it changed me. It </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">changed the way I see this food. Before, every tako I </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">come across would automatically be eww even if the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> tentacles are already coming out of it. After eating a </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">legit Japanese Takoyaki, I never viewed them as</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> same species ever again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lastly, another last minute thing that happened (why </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">did we do everything at the last minute??) is the</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> unicorn gundam. We were around the area at around </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">8:45 or so and we were taking pictures then suddenly </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">it moved. I tried taking a video of it and everything was happening real fast and to my surprise, I wasn't able to capture the transformation because my phone was on front cam the whole time. That transformation was the last one for the night and the lights were turned off after that.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-AYfeZRzhJovzzXarXlM1BFCRSdE8fNWZuq4PftwNjKjasmfI5E3XUknK1OfLaMZ2-KZ01UrcXCykm9PDHlItE-gw1YJyrBhpBIze-ICnCKMQv1xMr3tXlz52pmwKVBazk3NsHREDOul/s1600/LRM_EXPORT_76236990781927_20190609_210605285.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-AYfeZRzhJovzzXarXlM1BFCRSdE8fNWZuq4PftwNjKjasmfI5E3XUknK1OfLaMZ2-KZ01UrcXCykm9PDHlItE-gw1YJyrBhpBIze-ICnCKMQv1xMr3tXlz52pmwKVBazk3NsHREDOul/s1600/LRM_EXPORT_76236990781927_20190609_210605285.jpeg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We did everything last minute so we were able to do or rather not do the things we were supposed to do on time. Wow girl, next time, plan carefully.</span></div>
ishieehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08841903585175583207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879079171523265533.post-86235652166321699092019-12-27T15:53:00.002+08:002020-02-11T08:55:01.530+08:00DAY 02-03: SENSO-JI TEMPLE & AROUND UENO<ul class="bxslider">
<li><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1gIZtk9DGx7D6okvgk8U0eLgArvzr0YBipxhyCCteXGYf5BkMT9O8F-uH0NugtE1UNff15tyew25-xkqqiUcI2xSdfbDuIGOrrbwdBmu9G1Z1q1CW0aje9qYVdmHbp7tXzUPP4oFDOjz/s640/20190625_204503_0000.png" /></li>
<li><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6yPsIp-NwgCLhc3eCoxTX7f0K6gNp1_jgrkfDvfWL4FHYwijgiZ4YejMOHvhHaM8pPI3KDxD-GvsQQVusiWupIQkVlBMaNdYmBLxgeJNG-s8zw-Rnf9HqIExcJOig8yV6GYBBLvgGgT6u/s640/20190626_202642_0000.png" /></li>
<li><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv3aDuWIFRboSbuUQkseDu4CT3JneTjEZ9L2ThaMx3W5ffsTfonQsUs1Zsa0LQ2KGrgRTSCd6M7yjk6VMEVmJNr11miHJx1JBmYyjG8vXCfotmtwTFMqOgCcNHkzPRPQmbhBq8YWgfIt5x/s640/LRM_EXPORT_70492770239200_20190609_192637082-01.jpeg" width="640" /></li>
<li><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEaETfV8KVBYqT0E4oXqentRJQr9vI2xrY13shfKks2w5EN08-tEk95AoUUAfQuIuCWmrfxpTlUc2KIxrau_WHHzS6CGVhGmooGr08O5sVvGsXKdMl6ubmHKEtXFOYzWGnLVNdGfa5inJf/s640/LRM_EXPORT_70505110281893_20190609_192649422.jpeg" width="640" /></li>
<li><img height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYFqBH3XxqqJt4lt_nesC_p0Ch3B7Tm33mR_Gz0p7BICDljocdBgOayZGTPsgMN3cXIRsyUveaRBhnZGB4esZnVacutauWTyQ0LOyJgq3-y6Yp2U5hhzg0pzWL-1FHsZhy7BObcrfowOeJ/s640/LRM_EXPORT_70474411499353_20190609_192618723-01.jpeg" width="640" /></li>
<li><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4l6MXBEYQok2hZMkwuJUHAr_oqy7DRA1MBL0RmYxoICR24T0unlUzVwq8tQKYsv60NApvz831pKGR54Dhi8Qq_Glase8FUSabVLTqULa4IeEikGQVtBooX7L5p9D4oWwmzE7HTe4k1YzA/s640/LRM_EXPORT_70533763889741_20190609_192728918.jpeg" width="640" /></li>
<li><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy89qh_uEARmvF_AUcwf7nhNF3vYCYs_xaa_zlcLyhDFHJok_6anig454Nsmf_OHSdrwf5dE33pMG990itWIN0tJhpk2eyju-i4j4dRCZRJqWgtgPEX2_J3zSICWkoqLulyZI9t6SbKC2A/s640/LRM_EXPORT_70535934683434_20190609_192731089-01.jpeg" width="640" /></li>
<li><img height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBDlAuzmpriMh7vilucIbjTajcweMSyF2dF7tXJsQoFD-Xf4FoUvnsz0BZeGzOM_Db1mffvYhtFPgjHSBtL4-j85NpNZ4wxfTVIsu7dl8NCzMkHMSSHPLfNAlN9obTW8esGLiKcsJzsgl2/s640/LRM_EXPORT_70554273136358_20190609_192749427.jpeg" width="640" /></li>
<li><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3IrPpL6p4C6HZABWPIZG3fjFPt64jnEHtp5qOoW1Oe8iWKXSC2KS1dozzVRQaJExj_QLDcSlQaqxwis50jdXAW2-OPTzpZDa7yaYt6WImKtKFq_aHmPP4Pw3f7kgVPhtpEDGIQVybXK7A/s1600/20190625_203109_0000.png" width="640" /></li>
<li><img height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtg46dC4ayQUXv0wLac0smrLoAqKJUHCDzwYoRi4l1AjX0lrta0Uy_rG72BPbOcSn1q0nzWu8KLhrFYg215Na4bFuexHJKW57lzc9jv6n7Ec8SFtUZV9uOtRP2xrwfjyrrK0mHpuvpr5sC/s640/DSCF1571-01.jpeg" width="640" /></li>
<li><img height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfiyJcSHrxalPlkWOiFDmOlV71Wj-t_hyyR9JBXPvcY_mXUzk67EMF4IOy1uW5nS6lA5liN_XZRBcLsgDxgZp1aMmo_QFhXUEJwgdlkmH-NzyElN0kREO5c-E2ZYE5YaccVap_eDoZ9vvg/s640/LRM_EXPORT_75664549123047_20190609_205632843-01.jpeg" width="640" /></li>
<li><img height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimSDgQzFhvw4_rTGduPuzTRDV30kGU0GW3jpeEqkpzyOcXuc1cLMYPSifuMCRaBoKDOCA2ihDh_tTAydZ8p9XI3t17r7LU-uvVwLZNAqB_VYJG_3-dC84scKExfSXDwR-GIyKCUQKNPe__/s640/LRM_EXPORT_75670878344047_20190609_205639172.jpeg" width="640" /></li>
<li><img height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrr2FXph25hlii0aMXzGAKkEMGAIdqc0u13TmJfAOwlRsTOiOvCmebC9GByMldrJWJRdzueApWVjHBUapUx1lCC7aV5Y175LToxF29HF5x19UtFxJh65l_dXkHzayStmj0D84SBJDlO0fz/s640/LRM_EXPORT_75666432245739_20190609_205634726.jpeg" width="640" /></li>
<li><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9q90XrefHvOcOHQInXoqZmcGiX-Pt6-im1VVFV2ooYQVfT74DwPm5g-L9ew96Z0iwmMMB6wrXxh6livx1MQd7VWc3lgacid5FMz473kTqLLnnT0rC_K42dberyOx-GknFkyK6vCxS0zn3/s640/LRM_EXPORT_75746596646744_20190609_205754890.jpeg" width="640" /></li>
<li><img height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMXBJ-z3ocRoysb_bYVstL4ADub87w5z4078OjeKwX8LiT3IGtZDoUNvWgRPj8-WApcbaj-c8vW9h3pQpG9mdrINDW-YuhRBiHmS4pIVbAceZ6FI3k95Vr9NvNsjIdBnWZQ1ujJFJAl2U/s640/LRM_EXPORT_75777679514131_20190609_205825973.jpeg" width="640" /></li>
<li><img height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjxKTaLoQNiayq88mn7lX4n82aPj9ty6xbZlESJNqc0WWU_TqSE1-gkaxBBa1LKaly3wk4388KnLbkMA2wZOvKUYKKPGe1lsFRLAPfLH-5P6BGk6JL2zHM3NrF7OoFMEsw-DS6pmTbJuC/s640/LRM_EXPORT_76003164066836_20190609_210211458-01.jpeg" width="640" /></li>
<li><img height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2SSYkXJ_NofE_Z5W8EAS32_pvDhM9NesT3rp04a73rmgh6XSP0akdEe7ZM0pe4SvA7tNnAu3-D1W-PrZ5hm4u6SJMUAs_Vp6KTcXN3-5i0bACTcMv3qNtU3HJOLCmBjTgGfjZF3-ITdq/s640/20190625_074027_0000.png" width="640" /></li>
<li><img height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3L7n6m5E1sRbdLOw2n3D26aWlJTIoqNhQwIQJVONmcomnmu5eTeygdycRjOdjIIn8wa63Rbo6L5XlL7ahKLu1ssxwBnXrfo26bwVNaLS_dY1pXjhxAntTw7ElWJEYZyUwulBS7psWAnPF/s640/LRM_EXPORT_75625781842737_20190609_205554076.jpeg" width="640" /></li>
<li><img height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieI36kmGbahZuQ09DkHEmDZgsN2Yy1ZABY8stoi7HezYBTJ0_YAyfb24lSesgmNxc341c0UsVEdMNJBXoDnBwd4WpvyCoBxq308SpJP60o9wAn9Nrgu-GD4umvGKdKtIUdIU99h-tDeRnG/s640/20190626_201834_0000.png" width="640" /></li>
<li><img height="536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7YzM5zQDJEOe98sIJ-ki11EPfyoau0FKWUA0K9j-R4sHQuiyyJEeOjeDwsnKgpaJTkt5yebztA3JowGbbq1SVw9ajktLo65ujH7g7i9p6Jc-Vv0Pxn2Tmajh9VHj3-Ctqt-xh6hIio58j/s640/20190625_112508_0000.png" width="640" /></li>
<li><img height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhitfFXZt3hU7Ld4ZYzQ7fHUjitM6SSHtvEq5xnGYccRrnT5xCoSwxoSNw-xLYCVUAeMxy88uUpBk_TEKFADmCMUUo_9zwHGJJ4c3ExGjeUT9A-S7tYvKqYvq4hO0bliQ_AcpC6rlHcJmUM/s640/DSCF1661-01.jpeg" width="640" /></li>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><u>SENSO-JI TEMPLE</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(29MAY2019)</span></div>
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Out of all the places I've come to in Japan so far, excluding the ones that I've yet to see in the Spring season, which I've never experienced yet, Senso-ji Temple was my most instagrammable place overall. All the reds in the background is a feast for my eyes because it is so alive and it screams culture.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipU4BiwASKw1aOU3bFpaleRZvy8iZq_xFxSe8Uzqa14E18SyZgcvTJSdE5pjgvRILWrkxLq_0VXLddlvoaMCLzrbuVucIUezLK0qVSIsBnzp9jm9yHJ3wCgCrT7OM6XTO5hjwcLkVlHc8x/s1600/LRM_EXPORT_70573223824359_20190609_192821816-01.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1028" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipU4BiwASKw1aOU3bFpaleRZvy8iZq_xFxSe8Uzqa14E18SyZgcvTJSdE5pjgvRILWrkxLq_0VXLddlvoaMCLzrbuVucIUezLK0qVSIsBnzp9jm9yHJ3wCgCrT7OM6XTO5hjwcLkVlHc8x/s640/LRM_EXPORT_70573223824359_20190609_192821816-01.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We did one tourist-y thing apart from posing for photos. It's called OMIKUJI, where you get to draw your written fortune. What you do is you drop a hundred yen in and pray for your wish, then shake the box full of sticks with written numbers. Draw a stick and find the drawer with the same number that you got and then read your fortune. Easy peasy. When you draw a good fortune, you can take the paper home. I lost mine. Bummer. If you draw a bad fortune, don't be sad, because you can leave that unfortunate paper and tie it down here in Japan so it wouldn't follow you home. It was so interesting. I used to see tied paper in hangers around Japan and I don't know the meaning behind it and after doing the Omikuji, I was a little bit knowledgeable than I was before doing it.<br />
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You can watch me draw my fortune on my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTrsR-4O5S4" target="_blank">vlog</a> around the 3:40 mark. A little warning though, it is a really shaky vlog.<br />
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After doing the Omikuji, we roamed around and watched other tourists do other tourist-y things like light an incense or pray inside the temple, which I didn't try to do. It's not that I didn't want to but I was feeling shy, thinking that I might do something wrong.<br />
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We did that for most of the day and we roamed around until we got to Don Quijote, which is just around the area. If there's a Donki here in Manila, I would have gone there everytime. There were lots of random stuff in there, from food to cosmetics to small things that I don't even know if I really needed but just feel like buying.<br />
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I guess that's it for Senso-ji. Pretty boring but it's one of the places I enjoyed during my vacation in Japan.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><u>UENO PARK, SHIBUYA CROSSING & HACHIKO STATUE</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(30MAY2019)</span><br />
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On our third day, we were already super tired from all the walking of the previous days and I thought I might not be able to walk out of the hotel on that day but okay, I still managed to pick myself up for yet another long day of walking.</div>
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Ueno park, in my imagination, would be a lot more beautiful in the spring time, because in the summer, it's just like any other park there is.<br />
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Since Ueno Park is big and there are a lot of things to do and museums to go to, we chose one museum we can spend our time in. We had a lot of choices, most of which are closed that day and we ended up going to National Museum of Nature and Science. I would have loved to explore all of the museums in Ueno Park just because Japan is great at preserving the old and the new and it's a great way to learn about tradition and history but our time wasn't enough, sadly.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnGtc0r9vDde1s8vsmwnfQLkhsogdQSmEhTzw1KQvq9slzVqyc33TmQn4ajy8MmM5MKW1kjIVwoOvScTA2YldOQ_6Pfjs0nnOPWowHNooFdvuG45VsTea5dxznyeQH5w2vtDeRhKMoCPH3/s1600/GOPR4028_1559438203426_high-01.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnGtc0r9vDde1s8vsmwnfQLkhsogdQSmEhTzw1KQvq9slzVqyc33TmQn4ajy8MmM5MKW1kjIVwoOvScTA2YldOQ_6Pfjs0nnOPWowHNooFdvuG45VsTea5dxznyeQH5w2vtDeRhKMoCPH3/s640/GOPR4028_1559438203426_high-01.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We went to Ameyoko Market so early in the morning and most of the stores were still closed so we decided to stroll Ueno first and then came back by midday to eat street foods and roam around the famous market.<br />
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Candied fruits are like the thing in asian countries and I've tried the candied strawberry in Taiwan and was hoping to find one in Japan. I don't know if they actually have it, then I saw some strawberries from a distance and initially thought it was the candied one but it was just strawberry on a skewer. Even so, the strawberries were sweet and huge and just plain delicious. That was my most memorable experience in Ameyoko.<br />
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My worst food experience in Ameyoko was thinking that the shawarma would be perfect for my taste! Shawarma is my absolute favorite food to go whenever I'm at the mall and here I was thinking that the lettuce would be the same as the lettuce we have back home. Imagine my surprise when I first took a bite and discovered that the lettuce tasted like cabbages! I hate cabbage so I was devastated that my beloved shawarma would taste just like that. Oh well, I got a boyfie with a big stomach so yuhhh.<br />
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If you look closely at the photo below, that was my happy face before plunging into that first bite of cabbage nightmare. (My eyes even started to get puffy already just by that first bite)<br />
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We were mostly pretty tired in the evening but we need to at least see Shibuya Crossing in action so we took that route on the way to the hostel.<br />
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It was kind of underwhelming to see the famous crossing. It. was. just. a. crossing. Girl, what did I really expect? So we each took turns crossing the pedestrian lane and took one picture of each other and that's it. At least we had a photo of us crossing the street to commemorate the famous pedestrian crossing in Tokyo.<br />
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After that, we passed by Hachiko statue and took photos with the most famous and loyal dog, Hachi. ❤️<br />
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P.S. I had a hard time finishing my past blog posts so I gotta finish them all now before 2020 or else I might never get the chance to write it down ever again. So yeah, all the posts before this and following this one are all backlogs. I may do a round up next year.</div>
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ishieehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08841903585175583207noreply@blogger.com0Tokyo, Japan35.6761919 139.650310621.448842399999997 118.99703010000002 49.9035414 160.3035911tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879079171523265533.post-52814725792040175432019-11-25T15:22:00.002+08:002019-11-25T17:18:20.382+08:00DAY01: Disney Sea<ul class="bxslider">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><u>Tokyo Disney Sea</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(28MAY2019)</span></div>
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It has been my life-long dream to visit Disneyland, and as some of you maybe know, I've already ticked this one off my bucket list so I'm off to new heights and adventures. Know what? I am bold and ambitious... and broke, but still have dreams that could take forever to become a reality but I still want to do a lot and one of them is to visit all the Disneylands around the world. That could take me forever and I could be a grandma off to the last Disneyland on the list, but hey, I got two downs already, and that is one step closer to the goal.<br />
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As a kid, going out of the country are just dreams that could never become a reality unless we become a millionaire family, but now, these stuff are already easy peasy even to middle class like us. Hello budget airlines! Now, I am today years old and a working millenial who wake up early 6 days a week so I could eat pricey but yummy food, or travel to my heart's content.<br />
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Enough chitchat. Earlier this 2019, I kind of booked a flight on a whim because I miss my boyfriend who's working in Japan. With not enough money yet and just out of bankruptcy from the previous Hong Kong christmas trip, I just winged whatever I have money left in my pocket and waited for the next months' paychecks to come and save me from the effects of compulsiveness.<br />
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It wasn't a tough choice between Disneyland and Disney Sea, the automatic answer would always be Disney Sea and I never regretted that choice up to this day. One, because it's unique to Tokyo and I don't know when I'll be coming back, but I'll definitely come back to tick off Tokyo Disneyland from the list. Two, they say it's more catered to adults, which is true because the colors were so dull and the only colorful place there was the Under the Sea castle of Little Mermaid. Three, I guess it's time to kind of wait out a little on meeting the princesses and discover the lesser known characters of Disney through Disney Sea.<br />
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This was the first on the list of our 5-day agenda. We were staying in Chiba from the night of our arrival to the next day after our trip to Disney. Chiba was closest to the airport and Disney that's why I decided that Disney should be the first tourist-y thing that we should accomplish, and to maximize the 3-day metropass that we can only use for the next days (lines in Chiba were not included in the lines that were included in the metropass).<br />
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The next day after our arrival and Revan's initial shopping at Mitsui Outlet, we went on our way to Disney Sea. Hello? I IZ EGZITED MAH MEN!<br />
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It was quite a welcome in Disney. The winds were fierce! So fierce that I can't wear my Minnie Mouse ears because if I do, the wind would snatch it away the moment I take off my hands after placing it on my hair. It was unexpectedly cold for a supposedly hot weather in Japan. Wait, is it supposed to be windy in Disney Sea because we were by the sea or are we just lucky to be there at it's windiest time? IDK, really.<br />
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On the entrance, we tried really hard to capture photos in front of the big globe and our hair were all a mess that we were lucky we even got a decent picture of us on that landmark.<br />
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The next magnificent thing that you could see after entering an archway leading to the actual park is the tall mountain of Mt. Prometheus standing in the middle of a lake. It wasn't a real mountain but I looked at it as if it was. I don't know Mt. Prometheus but in my mind I kind of thought it was the volcano that erupted in Pompeii. Turns out, it was called Mount Vesuvius and Mt. Prometheus only exists in the Mysterious Island of Disney Sea. Silly me.<br />
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Ok, so here goes. Disney Sea was a nautical nonsense trip. It was instagrammable even with its dull color theme, which is browns and all. All around, you'll see gigantic ships ranging from a galleon ship to a majestic one where only the rich people can afford to get into (that type of thing, I dunno how to call it. Cruise ship? IDK). I wasn't able to see any princesses singing around surprising everyone but I discovered that I haven't actually watch most of the featured themed ports at Disney Sea. Like, I never watched 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea or Sinbad and others that I can't remember, but I enjoyed discovering them nonetheless.<br />
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You know what's fun and unique about Disney Sea? There are seven themed ports inside the park which features different places around the globe. From lands above to down under the ocean's unknown and goes even deeper to the Earth itself!<br />
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They have <i>Mediterranean Harbor</i>, which features a Southern European port town; <i>American Waterfront</i>, which is more modern and sophisticated and features New England fishing village; <i>Port Discovery</i>, which is a futuristic marina that is supposedly located across the horizons of time; <i>Lost River Delta</i>, which houses the ruins of an ancient civilization somewhere in a remote jungle in Central America; <i>Arabian Coast</i>, which features the magic and mystery of Arabian Nights; <i>Mermaid Lagoon</i>, where Ariel swims with her aquatic friends and lastly <i>Mysterious Island</i>, where secrets are unearthed deep within the Earth's core, I think.<br />
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I wasn't able to ride every single ride there was, especially the last ride that I wanted to go to but cannot because of bad weather. Journey to the Center of the Earth was the ride inside Mt. Prometheus and I am guessing the most extreme one but we weren't able to experience that and it's such a bummer so the next best thing was the <i>Raging Spirits</i>, which has a 360 loop, so I guess I'm still okay and a little less bitter about it all. We also weren't able to watch the parade that night because the winds have gotten stronger and the rain started pouring and we weren't equipped with the right clothing because we did not expect that sudden drop in the temperature when it was supposed to be summer already.</div>
ishieehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08841903585175583207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7879079171523265533.post-27200705260397887852019-07-27T08:29:00.000+08:002019-11-09T09:24:19.591+08:00Hong Kong x Macau Christmas Crowd<ul class="bxslider">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was supposed to be a Thailand getaway for me and my family last Christmas 2018, but things happen and plans change, so we ended up booking our flights to Hong Kong from December 23-26. Most of it was because of me being a spoiled and whiny disney princess-wanna be who wants to see Tink, Belle, Jasmine, Rapunzel and Moana that's why we opted to go. The other reason was because it's supposed to be a vacation with the cousins and titos and titas, but you know, some plans never work out the way we want it to. It made me wish, though, that I opted for a quiet and peaceful place to spend Christmas in because Hong Kong and Macau are really crowded during the holiday season.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First, is it just us or HK is so damn freaking expensive? Guys, tell me because I've gone bankrupt because of this trip. I have no idea so I cannot give enough details about budgeting and all that stuff because this was not a budget travel for us. This is just a recount of what we did there. Nothing helpful here.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: left;"><u>DAY 1</u></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We arrived at our hotel later than we expected because of some MAJOR glitch on my brain and my phone, so if you are going to travel by train or by bus, make sure to search in real time and not save the routes because some routes could change and you might get on the wrong bus, just like what happened to us. For the trains, it would be best to have the train map on hand because it's a really big help.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Day 1 summary: WASTE.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was wrong of me to schedule a flight that late anyhow, so our day 1 is a complete waste. Just dinner then slept.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><u>DAY 2</u></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>HONG KONG DISNEYLAND</i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(Note: Tickets were pre-purchased at KlookFest so we got another discount atop the discounted prices of Klook)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was really excited because this was my first Disney visit ever, but I guess the underwhelming feeling came from the fact that it was crowded and swarming with locals and tourists. I knew that the day would be wasted if we fall in line to all the rides so we just decided to tour the whole of Disneyland and just ride a few instead of queuing for 2 hours on a single ride and not have seen the whole park at all. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My absolute favorite was the <i>Grizzly Gulch</i> in the Frontierland. The line is long but you'll get there in no time because there are a lot of carts coming in every 2-3 seconds (I think, lol. or it just felt that way) and the ride was so thrilling. Only my sister and I rode this one because my parents and Nini were scaredy-cats.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Next is the jungle thingy. It was a long line and the wait is not quite quick to go through but the 'journey' to the jungle river was soooo cool and the effects were so high-tech, it wowed us.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuAgA_IO6Q0RCK9VArTxWM9H_en-PqFN9WfZz3jGh89iuKwfm0Hg5n3y0gxmu7IqQTRYpA43QgPHZ1fY9OrwHp5qNK8kRRY8hBLblWRniwhzN_yLKTBtPuTEkJBq6s4lgfmsh2Z-FxQgUV/s1600/LRM_EXPORT_756773625810641_20181229_230155532.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuAgA_IO6Q0RCK9VArTxWM9H_en-PqFN9WfZz3jGh89iuKwfm0Hg5n3y0gxmu7IqQTRYpA43QgPHZ1fY9OrwHp5qNK8kRRY8hBLblWRniwhzN_yLKTBtPuTEkJBq6s4lgfmsh2Z-FxQgUV/s1600/LRM_EXPORT_756773625810641_20181229_230155532.jpeg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lastly, just for some fun and because the line was not too long, we rode Dumbo, and my parents were so thrilled to be up high and down low. HAHAHA! KIDS!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span id="goog_1874909034"></span><span id="goog_1874909035"></span>I told you I came here for the princesses. I would've been so upset if I did not meet a single princess so I was so happy when I saw Moana. I ran like hell and didn't make the cut the first time. I did not give up, though because I returned in front of Moana's theatre and there she was.... walking. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We followed her and we were the first in line to her meet and greet. *dundundunnnn* I met MOANA! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I asked her for Maui's whereabouts and I know, Iknow, she's not his keeper and he's just flying around somewhere. I also asked her if she knows how to selfie and she's clueless! Well, the advancement of technology hasn't reached her island yet so she was very surprised to see her face on my cellphone's screen. Oh and by the way, when you see her, you should ask her to teach you wayfinding because my sister actually learned a thing or two because of Moana's help.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What else do I need to tell you? Oh, the hotdog is expensive. The chicken leg is expensive. The turkey leg is expensive. The water is expensive. Everything is expensive but the chicken leg was sooo yummy.</span><br />
<b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><u>DAY 3</u></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>MACAU DAY TOUR</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(Note: Tickets were pre-purchased from Klook)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was our last day and we booked a tour from</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Klook. We were picked up from the hotel and we</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> rode a ferry from Hong Kong to Macau.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was my first time riding a ferry and I kind of slept</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> through it because I did not get a window seat.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I forgot na the travel time from HK to Macau but it</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> was a smooth ride, not because I was asleep, but</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> it really was, from my experience. Going back,</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> though, I got seasick because it's super maalon</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and I can't sleep but I did not vomit naman. *yay me*</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We arrived at the Las Vegas of the East and I can</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> really say that Macau is a fusion of the old tradition</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and it embraces its new one. Casinos everywhere </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">but still managed to preserve its culture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We roamed around St. Paul's Ruins, visited Macau Tower, old temples of Macau villages, A-ma temple, and of course, the Venetian Hotel Macau, which is just pretty same with the ones that I can visit here in the Philippines.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There' not much to do in Macau but we enjoyed it nonetheless, especially our funny experience where we were left by the ferry that will take us back to HK because of the traffic. Good thing they rescheduled us for the next trip and we got back to our hotel late because of that.</span></div>
ishieehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08841903585175583207noreply@blogger.com0Hong Kong22.3193039 114.1693611000000621.8493704 113.52391410000006 22.7892374 114.81480810000006