Category Archives: Books

Book Review: Bear, Otter, and the Kid (The Seafare Chronicles #1) by TJ Klune

Posted on May 28, 2021 | Leave a comment
Kindle Edition, 2nd edition, 375 pages
Published November 1st 2019 by BOATK Books (first published August 11th 2011)

I’ve just realized that I don’t have the review of this book right when I was searching my blog for TJ (or T.J) Klune and I could’ve sworn that I’ve read a few of his books already. Apparently, I have it on my Goodreads profile so here’s a little review throwback showing up this year. I’d just like to post this first while I’m working on my review for The House in the Cerulean Sea which I’ve recently finished. So here it goes…

This is my very first book by T J Klune and I’m totally aghast of not catching onto it sooner. He’s got some mad skills! He’s witty, direct, a bit self-indulgent at times but that’s when you know you’re up for a good ride.

The title of the book is a bit strange and sounded silly but once you started it, you’ll find that it’s neither strange nor silly. The book was told through Derrick McKenna’s (Bear) perspective starting on how her mother abandoned him when he was about to turn 18 and was left to be the sole care taker of his six year old brother Tyson (Kid). As the story progresses, we meet the people supporting Bear on what seemed to be a dire situation for a barely legal adult to carry.

This support group includes Creed (Bear’s best friend), Anna (Bear’s on and off again girlfriend), Mrs.Paquin (Bear’s 70 year old sitter) and Oliver aka Otter (Creed’s big bro). Unexpectedly, Bear initially finds himself leaning more towards Otter for emotional support which eventually led to Otter running away to California leaving Bear devastated beyond measure. Three years later, Otter is back and will do everything to make it up to Bear. Their reunion proves to be more than just making up for Otter’s abandonment. Bear also needs to face the truth about himself, fight for the Kid and the man he couldn’t live without.

I really do like the first person point of view narration and I really enjoyed the book except for the final few pages which was a bit depressing to be honest. I also find it a bit anticlimactic and the confrontation’s a bit subdued for my taste.

(Oh, I’m also guessing that Jonah has something to do with Bear’s mother sudden appearance)

The book is truly a beautiful journey with these nice people who are all awe-inspiring!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

About The Author
TJ KLUNE is a Lambda Literary Award-winning author (Into This River I Drown) and an ex-claims examiner for an insurance company. His novels include the Green Creek series, The House on the Cerulean Sea and The Exraordinaries. Being queer himself, TJ believes it’s important–now more than ever–to have accurate, positive, queer representation in stories.

tjklunebooks.com

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ICYMI: Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz Announced!

Posted on May 27, 2021 | Leave a comment

If you’re a fan of the multi-awarded and celebrated book, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by the oh-so-talented Mr. Benjamin Alire Sáenz. In that case, you’d be glad to know that the most awaited sequel is finally just a few months away from our grabby hands and reader apps!

In the sequel entitled Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World, they must discover what it means to stay in love and build a relationship in a world that seems to challenge their very existence.

Ari has spent all of his high schooQ days denying who he is, staying silent and invisible. He expected his senior year to be the same. But something in him cracked open when he fell in love with Dante, and he couldn’t go back. Suddenly he finds himself reaching out to new friends, standing up to bullies of all kinds, and making his voice heard. And, always, there is Dante, dreamy, witty Dante, who can get on Ari’s nerves and fill him with desire all at once.

The boys are determined to forge a path for themselves in a world that doesn’t understand them. But when Ari is faced with a shocking loss, he’ll have to fight like never before to create a life that is truthfully, joyfully, his own.

The highly anticipated sequel will be released on October 12, 2021, with this awesome cover below!

I’ve already pre-ordered my copy and I cannot wait to read it!!! Make sure to preorder your copy now!!! Link below!

About the Author
Benjamin Alire Sáenz is an author of poetry and prose for adults and teens. He was the first Hispanic winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and a recipient of the American Book Award for his books for adults. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe was a Printz Honor Book, the Stonewall Award winner, the Pura Belpré Award winner, the Lambda Literary Award winner, and a finalist for the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award. His first novel for teens, Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood, was an ALA Top Ten Book for Young Adults and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His second book for teens, He Forgot to Say Goodbye, won the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award, the Southwest Book Award, and was named a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age. He lives in El Paso, Texas.

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Book Review: The Capital (The Knight and the Necromancer #1) by A.H. Lee

Posted on May 27, 2021 | 1 comment
Date of Publication: March 23, 2020
Publisher: Pavonine Books
Genre & Theme: Fiction & Literature, LGBT, Gay, Fantasy, Romance
ASIN: B085N89TD9

“Roland is the premier knight of the realm, leading troops in a bloody war. Sairis is a necromancer with a price on his head, eking out a lonely existence. When they meet under false pretenses, their mutual fascination is obvious. But can their attraction survive the revelation of their identities?“

I really enjoyed this one particularly because the world building with necromancers, knights, magicians, demons and all may have been rehashed a million times already but the way the author tells her story feels fresh and quite unique. I was very much immersed with the world she created for the characters.

Speaking of characters, I do loved the dual POV that we’ve got here because with so many things happening in the book and questions arising each chapter, we get immediate answers from the characters themselves.

We have Prince Roland, back at the capitol to see his sister ascend to the throne after the untimely death of their father and we have the young and shy necromancer, Sairis confused as hell as to why he was at the kingdom’s capital to begin with. Lol. Okay, I was kidding. It’s just how I would describe my initial reaction to his predicament in the book.

This first book isn’t that long and I really enjoyed reading about the majority of the characters that were introduced here and the development of the MCs blooming feelings towards each other. There’s a cliffie at the end but I thought this being the start of the series is pretty solid.

(Note, I’ve read the rest of the series after reading the first one.)

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

About the Author
A. H. Lee writes steamy fantasy with LGBTQ+ characters. Her books nearly always include a talking cat.

You can learn more at https://www.abigailhilton.com/a-h-lee

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Book Review: Imagoes (Imago Series, #2.6) – N.R. Walker

Posted on May 27, 2021 | Leave a comment
Kindle Edition, 73 pages
Published January 16th 2021

If you haven’t read the Imago series by N.R. Walker, then you should go start adding it to your ‘reader’/ TBR* list because it is absolutely a delightful feel-good series! I swear you won’t regret it! You can read my reviews of the previous books HERE.

I know I’ve been saying this for the last couple of reviews I’ve posted but again, it’s really been ages since I’ve read the last short from this series, when Lawson and Jack visited the guys from the Red Dirt Heart series. So this little add-on that we’ve got right here let us see our boys, Jack and Lawson and their little boy Brennan living their happy and domesticated family life, it was so sweet and just simply adorable.

But of course, another adventure awaits Lawson and Jack as they’re about to discover new breed of butterflies or a new species altogether perhaps? Anyway, their interaction is just again, a signature N.R. Walker storytelling – loved the setting as it made me think of my time vacationing and doing spelunking and rappelling cliffs (gosh, I really cannot believe I did that in the past lol), the side characters and just Jack and Lawson’s interaction with each other. I just wished there’s more Brennan in it! So yeah, this is for fans of the series like moi because you’d absolutely loved this little story, and if you haven’t read the previous two books, I mean – like I’ve said, you’d have to because it’s going to be so worth your moolah.

Rating this a perfect 5 stars!

*TBR – To Be Read.

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Book Review: Galaxies and Oceans by N.R. Walker

Posted on May 26, 2021 | Leave a comment
Date of Publication: June 23, 2018
Publisher: BlueHeart Press
Genre & Theme: LGBTQ, MM, Romance
ASIN: B07DZNX1LT
Characters: Ethan Hosking, Patrick Carney, Aubrey Hobbs

These past few weeks, I’ve been binge-reading N.R. Walker’s books because I wanted to get back to reading more this year, and it was just a wonderful feeling to get into it again after almost a couple of years of hiatus! I’m such a fan of her works and based on my count, I’ve reviewed 27 of her books here! Yay me!

So I picked this book based on its glowing reviews (yeah, I tend to get swayed a lot by reviews lol) and I’m sure glad I did because I absolutely loved it! I cried. I smiled a lot and cried again.

The story is basically about Ethan escaping from an abusive relationship, leaving his old self behind and renaming himself as Aubrey (an homage to his beloved gramps) and he met Patrick, a lighthouse keeper who is grieving the loss of his partner.

The romance between them is just gorgeous. I loved the steady interaction between Patrick and Aubrey, and the side characters living in their small town. Speaking of small town, the setting was gorgeously described by the author. It’s romantic, nostalgic and just about serene like the main characters’ personalities. Nothing seems forced. I loved how we just see go along with the story, and witness how they just opened up to each other and developed something beautiful.

There was no twist but there’s obviously a big reveal about Aubrey’s past at the end which was a bit anticlimactic but it didn’t diminish the merit of the story for me. The writing itself, the pacing and the two main characters more than made up for it. I couldn’t ask for a better first read from the author after my long hiatus from the genre.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.

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Book Review: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – V. E. Schwab

Posted on February 8, 2021 | Leave a comment

Published October 6th 2020 by Tor Books
Kindle Edition, 448 pages

It’s been months since I’ve read a new book, and today’s review is my very first in a very long time too. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab has been  on my radar since I’ve seen that Tiktok video, with a reader exclaiming how mind blowing it was and from the synopsis alone, it really is really quite intriguing. Oh, and this is also my very first book from the author! Party!

“France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever—and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.”

The story started with a bang. The first half is definitely enchanting enough for me to continue with it – like, I’m all in I wanted to finish this right away because I really wanted to know how it’d end for our protagonist kind of thing, and I was also very intrigued with how she would be able to navigate the world after she stops aging.

I mean, initially I was reminded of the film The Age of Adaline. Ya’ know, where the lead Adaline Bowman stops aging after some almost magical accident. It’s maybe because of the similar scenario of never aging, and of course, with their almost similar names but anyway…

The plot is definitely very interesting, but at some point the whole back and forth with the past and the present becomes too taxing for me, too repetitive and almost uninteresting. I thought the whole structure was just messy in a way that we were informed about Addie’s whereabouts at a particular time or era but we really didn’t see how she developed over the years. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Addie’s character but it feels to me that after living for over three hundred years, you’d think that there’ll be a whole lot changes about her. Sadly, she’s still the same Addie we’ve met from the first few chapters of the story.

What I particularly liked about the book is the character of Henry. First, I absolutely loved that he is nonbinary. I think this is the first character I’ve read that is actually nonbinary. I’m totally in with the representation. Second, I loved how how his character is very well-developed – his backstory, his relationships and even his internal musings. They’re so very relatable.

Luc, the “god of darkness” Addie made a bargain with has a very interesting character too. I just wished that we get to see his point of view too? I mean, it’s going to sound a bit too much but with the way things turned out for him and for Addie – I don’t believe I’m the only one who wanted that development.

Overall, I thought it was a decent read. It’s not as mind-blowing as I expected it to be due to its hype but it had its moments. I just wished that the ending was tweaked a bit, since we’re given a scenario where Addie was somehow left in a limbo (?) if you wanna call it that. Yeah, it’s an interesting read. I don’t particularly see myself rereading this in the future but I’d still recommend it for people who loves this kind of fiction.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

 About The Author
V.E. Schwab, also known as Victoria Schwab, is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen books, including the acclaimed Shades of Magic series, This Savage Song, Our Dark Duet, and Vicious. Her work has received critical acclaim, has been featured in the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Washington Post, and more, has been translated into more than a dozen languages, and has been optioned for television and film. When she’s not haunting Paris streets or trudging up English hillsides, she lives in Nashville and is usually tucked in the corner of a coffee shop, dreaming up monsters.

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ICYMI: André Aciman’s “Find Me” – Sequel to Call Me By Your Name

Posted on May 4, 2019 | Leave a comment

Hey y’all Elio and Oliver fans! If you’re still hung up with Elio & Oliver from the book and film of the same name, Call Me By Your Name – then you’re up for a great weekend surprise as the book cover for the sequel to Call Me By Your Name, Find Me, has been revealed by André Aciman on his Twitter account. Aciman tweeted: “Here’s the cover of my forthcoming novel, FIND ME, where you’ll rediscover Elio and Oliver. Coming October 2019.”

I absolutely loved this cover!!!! It brings me back to that little Italian village when Elio and Oliver met for the first time!

And you guys know what this means!!!! A definite, definite film sequel! Although for those of you who have not read the book yet, (SPOILER ALERT!!!) it was actually already a bit conclusive in my opinion. So in this book, we may have Elio and Oliver just a bit older than the first one and it is still sadly going to be a bittersweet ending for our lovelies… But maybe the movie could end up on a happy note after all? Paging Luca, give us the ending we want please!!!

And for those of you who have not seen this film which should be a crime, tbh – you can now stream it on Netflix!!! Okkkuurrrt

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Book Review: Peter Green and the Unliving Academy: This Book is Full of Dead People (The Unliving Chronicles, #1) – Angelina Allsop

Posted on April 23, 2019 | Leave a comment

Paperback, 244 pages
Published November 18th 2018 by Tck Publishing
Genre & Themes: Young Adult, Humor, Family, Death, Adventures, Magic, Horror
Characters: Peter Green

Blurb:
Fourteen-year-old Peter Green can’t remember how he died.

All he has are his pajamas, a silk tie, and a one-way bus ticket to Mrs. Battisworth’s Academy and Haven for Unliving Boys and Girls, a strange and spooky school for dead orphans like himself. But that’s all he needs: the Unliving Academy has everything, from vampires in the hallways, to monsters in the cafeteria, to ghosts in the basement.

And that’s just the teachers; the students are far stranger.

As Pete learns to fit in with his new supernatural schoolmates, he starts to discover his own uniquely undead abilities, and even begins enjoying his life after death…but he just can’t shake the feeling that he’s forgotten something (or somebody!) important.

Somebody he left behind in the land of the living.

Somebody he loved very much.

Somebody who’s in terrible danger.

Peter Green and the Unliving Academy is the captivating first installment of Angelina Allsop’s Unliving series of young adult fantasy novels. If you like reading about fun-filled adventures, fully realized new worlds, and the most unlikely of heroes, you’re sure to love Allsop’s spirited coming-of-age tale.

Fans of Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, the Charlie Bone Series by Jenny Nimmo, and The Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton will enjoy this young adult fantasy series.

You’ll love the Peter Green series if you like reading these types of books:

Young adult and YA fantasy novels
Ghosts, zombies, and mythical beasts
Young adult adventure stories (less)

I am a fan of reading fantasy books, especially the ones that involves supernatural adventures. Enter Peter Green and the Unliving Academy which reminded me of the Harry Potter series right off the bat since it involves a school, kids and some sort of magic but this one is set in the afterlife and the school is for dead underage orphans! Pretty intriguing yeah?

The protagonist is Peter Green who cannot remember anything from his past life and finds himself in Purgatory. Being underage and without parents, he must attend school. It’s at the Unliving Academey that he met fellow ‘orphans’ and unique creatures which resulted to a ruckus of adventures and Peter finds himself in a journey of self-discovery.

I absolutely adore Peter. He’s such a great character and I loved how he’s a regular teenager but is polite, brave, loyal and isn’t afraid to show his feelings!

Granted, the beginning of the book for me was a bit slow but once it got to introducing new characters, it picked up speed and the arc for each character such as Mrs. Battisworth’s (the Academy’s headmaster) became interesting! Her story-arc is actually my favorite in the book.

Although it felt that the ending was a bit rushed, I still enjoyed all the elements in it. There was an instance that I tear up a little and I think that how I know that the story is a really good one if it was able to bring forth an emotion out of its readers.

I highly recommended this to middle schoolers and young adult readers – and yuppies like myself who loves the likes of Harry Potter!

Big thanks to TCK Publishing for sending me an ARC of this book to review in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

About the Author
Angelina Allsop is an Amazon Best Selling Author who lives with her husband, Bryce, and their very old and very fat bulldog, Roree, in rural Arizona. She enjoys being outside on rainy days, reading, and of course, writing about all the adventures that happen in her head.

Her debut novel, The Dead Orphanage, now called The Unliving Chronicles, is an award-nominated Otherworld book that hit the top-selling charts in its first month. If you love fantasy adventure, mythical fantasy and young adult book then you will LOVE this coming of age adventure book! Look for the rest of the haunting series coming soon!

Books for Adults and School Agers are coming soon as well! Join my VIP mailing lists for updates, free books, and giveaways at AAAllsop.com.

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Book Review: Veronika Decides To Die – Paulo Coelho

Posted on February 12, 2019 | 3 comments

Paperback, 210 pages
Published June 1st 2006 by Harper Perennial (first published 1998)
ISBN13: 9780061124266

Blurb: Twenty-four-year-old Veronika seems to have everything she could wish for: youth and beauty, pleny of attractive boyfriends, a fulfilling job, and a loving family. Yet something is lacking in her life. Inside her is a void so deep that nothing could possibly ever fill it. So, on the morning of November 11, 1997, Veronika decides to die. She takes a handful of sleeping pills expecting never to wake up.
Naturally Veronika is stunned when she does wake up at Villete, a local mental hospital, where the staff informs her that she has, in fact, partially succeeded in achieving her goal. While the overdose didn’t kill Veronika immediately, the medication has damaged her heart so severely that she has only days to live.
The story follows Veronika through the intense week of self-discovery that ensues. To her surprise, Veronika finds herself drawn to the confinement of Villete and its patients, who, each in his or her individual way, reflect the heart of human experience. In the heightened state of life’s final moments, Veronika discovers things she has never really allowed herself to feel before: hatred, fear, curiosity, love, and sexual awakening. She finds that every second of her existence is a choice between living and dying, and at the eleventh hour emerges more open to life than ever before.

Veronika Decides to Die isn’t exactly an easy read. I had to stop reading it at some point because the first few chapters triggered my undiagnosed oudenophobia but I soldiered on because I just want to finish the damn book and it’s like a guessing game of whether Veronica would really die or not and if she really clocked out, what would be its cause aside from her apparent suicide attempt at the very beginning of the story?

Truth be told, I didn’t enjoy my second book from Coelho as much as I enjoyed The Alchemist. It reads ‘too academic’ and too outlandish in my opinion. Whilst I loved the secondary characters, their backstories and how well the author wrote it, the whole thing just felt disjointed towards the main character of the story. In short, we’ve several stories here with Veronica’s just leading the pack and closing it for the good masses.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

About the Author
 The Brazilian author PAULO COELHO is considered one of the most influential authors of our times. His books have sold more than 165 million copies worldwide, have been released in 170 countries and been translated into 80 languages.

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My First Book Depository Experience! (2019) – Free Book Delivery to the Philippines

Posted on January 24, 2019 | 12 comments

I’ve been hearing a lot about Book Depository from friends (especially from Goodreads friends) for a few years now but I’ve never tried ordering from them. I loved books! I’ve reviewed a lot of ’em here and I loved reading ‘printed’ books with their smell, their feel in my hands – either old, second hand or brand new. There are not a lot of book stores in the Philippines so there are some titles that you really need to order / buy overseas.

Book Depository (previously The Book Depository) is a UK-based online book seller with a large catalogue offered with free shipping to over 160 countries. The store was founded by a former Amazon employee. In 2011 it was acquired by Amazon. (s)

The shipping fee is my biggest concern whenever I order online. It is because the post office here does not have standard guidelines when claiming packages (Actually they do but they don’t seem to follow it). There are horror stories that I’ve read about the post office peeps asking people to pay more or has the same price of the time that they are about to claim. What kind of BS is that, yeah?

And from my most recent experience (April 2018) when I won a book from an author in the US and had to pay PHP250 for me to claim a USD14.00 book. I asked what is it for and the guy from the post office told me that it was for custom duty. Ooookay… Nakakaloka talaga!

Anyway, Book Depository promises to deliver the books in your doorstep free so last Monday after some more procrastination, I finally decided to try ordering from the site. I ordered a couple of books just to try their service first.

First you have to create a Book Depository account through their website (obviously haha!) https://www.bookdepository.com and search the book you wanted to buy or you could simply browse their catalogue.

I ordered the movie tie-in edition of Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman and the first book of the THIRDS series Hell & High Water by Charlie Cochet last January 21, 2019 and you can see on the image below that they were dispatched at different dates. I actually emailed their support team about this and they said it is to avoid delay as they would need to get some books from separate warehouses or suppliers.

For now, it’s a waiting game for me and I wanted to see how true is their door to door delivery or if I will fall again to the hands of our ‘very dear’ local post office staff.

Update: February 6, 2019

After coming from our long holiday weekend, I found this on top my work desk. It looks like it was received by the local post office (Pasig) last Friday, January 1 and was delivered directly to my office address. Call Me By Your Name was the first book in my order that was initialy dispatched! It was well-packaged and totally brand new!

Upon checking the status of said order online, it was still under ‘Dispatched’ so I guess, there is no way for Book Depository to determine if the buyers have already received their books.

Now, I just have to wait for the other book I’ve ordered, Hell & High Water which was dispatched a day later after the first one.

Update: February 9, 2019

I’ve received my other order today and the stamp indicated that it was received by the Philippine Post Office in Pasay last February 5, 2019 (? – My address is in Ortigas Pasig).

The delivery time from when I clicked checked out on the website was about 18 calendar days – not bad at all! I am very impressed!

UPDATE: JANUARY 2020

I have this month-long e-mail exchange with Book Depository about my undelivered orders which they keep on trying to claim to replace but would go around in circles to avoid doing so. Bunch of thieves! Shame on you! Shame on you #Amazon, fucking thieves and liars!

And for the record, the books were ordered three months ago. They think, we shit money around here.

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