Book Review: Scrap Metal – Harper Fox

Scrap MetalAfter reading Tyack & Frayne Series and thoroughly enjoying it, reading another book from the author is just a must – like seriously, Harper Fox is a beast.

First thing you have to know about Scrap Metal is that it’s long. It’s only 258 pages but the tone will make you slowdown in absorbing every single detail.

Nichol Seacliff’s life went upside down when a family tragedy brought him back to Seacliff Farm and help his Granda tend the farm leaving Edinburg and his doctorate aspirations in Linguistics behind. In a cold night during their lambing season, Nichol caught Cameron, an intruder in the barn who inexplicably touches something from within him thus giving him a place to stay instead of turning him away.

As they work together, Cameron found his way into Nichol’s heart. Even the farm’s matriarch was charmed by Cam especially with his abilities that set the farm back on its feet. Secrets from Cam’s past however were revealed and since Nichol was already in deep, he’s got to make the ultimate choice.

As per the author’s usual penchant for lyrical narratives, Scrap Metal lulls its reader into a song that will introduce you to its central character – Nichol who’s always been the second or even third best in the family. He’s the guy who gave up his life in the city to help their gloomy family estate. He’s the guy who loves with all his heart. Harper Fox definitely perfected the way to bring a character to life. Nichol’s description of the Seacliff Farm was vivid that you’d want to visit the place itself.

Cameron on the other hand was a gentle soul – odd like the artist he is and more sensitive due to his unpleasant past.

Nichol’s Granda Harry with his Gaelic lingo was also a character you would hate but felt for as well. He’s old school but open-minded at the same time.

These characters perpetuate a beautiful story development that made Scrap Metal a good novel – lyrical, easy and sometimes even nostalgic. I would’ve given this a perfect five stars if not for that one tiny bit detail at the end that felt a wee bit forced. That’s just for me though, otherwise this book’s another masterpiece from the author.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Published March 27th 2012 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

BUY LINKS
Amazon HERE
Samhain Publishing HERE

2015 Golden Globe Awards Best Dressed!

I didn’t realize  my last “Best Dressed post” was during the Oscars in 2013 and 2012 for the Golden Globes. This year though with a barrage of woman-filled flicks and TV shows nominated for the ‘Globes – we’ve a chance to check out lots of ’em working the red carpet. So these are my 72nd Golden Globe Awards Top 10 Best Dressed ladies!

This Lavin jumpsuit made Emma Stone ultra cool but perhaps a wee bit casual for the occasion but damn...

This Lavin jumpsuit made Emma Stone ultra cool but perhaps a wee bit casual for the occasion but damn…

Amy Adams working the curves in the purple-hue Versace! Double winner!

Amy Adams working the curves in the purple-hue Versace! Double winner!

This custom made couture from Givenchy makes Julianne Moore a double winner for me as well!

This custom made couture from Givenchy makes Julianne Moore a double winner for me as well!

Dame Helen Mirren can do no wrong in this Dolce & Gabbana number. Speaking of royal sophistication..

Dame Helen Mirren can do no wrong in this Dolce & Gabbana number. Speaking of royal sophistication..

Another Versace number made Kate Hudson the goddess in white!

Another Versace number made Kate Hudson the goddess in white!

Here's Reese Witherspoon still stealing the red carpet in a sparkling off-white Calvin Klein.

Here’s Reese Witherspoon still stealing the red carpet in a sparkling off-white Calvin Klein.

"Into The Woods" star Anna Kendrick looking so majestic in a sheer tulle Monique Lhuillier creation!

“Into The Woods” star Anna Kendrick looking so majestic in a sheer tulle Monique Lhuillier creation!

And my Top 3 are…

Heidi Klum looking glorious in a red Versace number. Cmon' doesn't she age at all? Just WOW.

Heidi Klum looking glorious in a red Versace number. Cmon’ doesn’t she age at all? Just WOW.

In a scene-stealing yellow KaufmanFranco strapless gown, Leslie Mann clearly knows how to get attention - for the right reason!

In a scene-stealing yellow KaufmanFranco strapless gown, Leslie Mann clearly knows how to get attention – for the right reason!

"A Most Violent Year" star Jessica Chastain will always be a favorite of mine in the red carpet. This girl knows her fashion!!!  She may have lost the 'Globes this year but she's owning the red carpet big time in this Atelier Versace number! Bravo!

“A Most Violent Year” star Jessica Chastain will always be a favorite of mine in the red carpet. This girl knows her fashion!!! She may have lost the ‘Globes this year but she’s owning the red carpet big time in this Atelier Versace number! Bravo!

photos via Huffington Post / AP

Book Review: Kitto (Tyack & Frayne #4) – Harper Fox

Kitto[Book 4 of Tyack & Frayne Series]

Kitto is an interesting twist to Gideon and Lee’s story. This feels like the last installment of the series as the couple decided to get married but not without a fuss. Lee can somehow predict the future and it’s making him crazy adding it to the stress of planning a wedding which he couldn’t see using his “new power”.  This made Gideon decide to whisk Lee away for a little vacay in a creek-side cabin in the mysterious Cornish country. Here, a young handsome man named Kitto appeared that ends up disrupting their retreat. Gideon doesn’t think of the kid much but a nuisance. Lee however was horrified that Gideon could actually see and talk to a ghost!

As the village gears up for their midsummer Golowan festival, Lee and Gideon must also reconcile the difference between the real and spirits world in order to come out of this together.

It makes me sad that this one seemed to be the last installment of the series because I really do love this couple. I loved the whole feel of the series and I feel like I was part of the Dark Village and this Cornish country. The whole fiasco about Lee getting some vision about the future was a great twist into his clairvoyance. Here, their love for each other was somehow challenged and I’m happy that they remained strong for each other despite their little issues on the side.

The writing as usual was superb and I’d definitely miss this duo and I’m still hoping that this won’t be the last one in the series. Nevertheless, thank you Harper Fox for this wonderful series!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Published June 20th 2014 by Smashwords Edition

BUY LINKS
Amazon HERE
Smashwords HERE

Book Review: Don’t Let Go (Tyack & Frayne #3) – Harper Fox

Don't Let GoLee Tyack just moved in with Gideon Frayne and they both love their new lives.  Lee however was still haunted by a ghost from his past. Gideon will always be there to protect Lee but after an injury while on duty, he also realized that he needs protection too. Their love for each other and their shared horror from their childhood will help uncover a decade-long mystery, something that they will have to withstand and not let go of each other.

This is my third book from the series and I loved every minute reading it! Now this one centers more on the balance of their relationship. How Gideon can be so protective of Lee and how Lee could also protect Gideon whenever he needed it. I loved the openness of Gideon’s character more than ever. I also loved that there is now an easy acceptance from his brother Ezekiel regarding his relationship with Lee. It’s sometimes funny whenever Zeke switches on into his old Methodist preacher way.

Don’t Let Go isn’t that spooky compared to the first two books but the emotional pull of this one is much heavier. I think I just about fell for Gideon here so much that I want to marry him myself. He’s so perfect!

The dealio about the Cornish panther was rather reminiscent of that creepy character played by Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones and that totally gave me the creeps!!! I loved the ritual at the end and how Lee got some sort of closure about his Dad and the evil shadow that has haunted his childhood.

This is yet again another beautifully written story from Fox. The series is perfect so far and I’d love to go on and on with it!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Published February 11th 2014 by FoxTales

The Official Candidates of the Binibining Pilipinas 2015!

The Official Candidate Of the 2015 Bb.Pilipinas beauty pageant.

The Official Candidate Of the 2015 Bb.Pilipinas beauty pageant.

Thirty-four hopefuls made the roster of this year’s Binibining Pilipinas edition. With the screening process done only in three days, this maybe the speediest Binibining Pilipinas screening ever!


via missosologycoverage

Official Candidates with their official numbers:
1 SAMANTHA BALBIN
2 JENNY FELIZ GONZALEZ
3 RIA RABAJANTE
4 RENEE SORAYA R. HASSANI
5 CHRISTINE RAMOS BALAGUER
6 TONI ALYESSA HIPOLITO
7 ENRICA RONELE GUIEB
8 KIMVERLYN SUIZA
9 KIMBERLE MAE PENCHON
10 PIA WURTZBACH
11 JANICEL LUBINA
12 KYLIE VERZOSA
13 MAE LIEZEL J. RAMOS
14 PRINCESS JOY V. CAMU
15 PAULA RICH BARTOLOME
16 MARVI ANN RAZEN DE LIMA
17 BRENNA CASSANDRA S. GAMBOA
18 CRISSA MARIE G. MENDIOLA
19 CHRISTI MCGARRY
20 TANYA ANGELINA NICOLE HYDE
21 ALAIZA FLOR MALINAO
22 ANJA VANESSA PETER
23 JUSTINE FELIZARTA
24 ANN LORRAINE COLIS
25 ROGELIE A. CATACUTAN
26 ANABEL CHRISTINE TIA
27 INA DOMINICA GUERRERO
28 HANNAH RUTH LULU SISON
29 NANCY LEE LEONARD
30 PATRICIA EJERCITADO
31 MIA ALLYSON HERNANDEZ HOWELL
32 DANITA JOAN RUAZOL
33 NAMRATA NEESHA L. HURJANI
34 TERESITA SSEN MARQUEZ

Photo credit: Bruce Casanova
via Bb.Pilipinas FB Page

Let the battle begin!!!

Book Review: Red Dirt Heart 4 – N.R. Walker

Red Dirt Heart 4[Book 4 of the Red Dirt Heart Series]

I can’t even begin to describe the happiness I’ve felt after reading this final installment of the Red Dirt Heart series – happy and sad at the same time. This wonderful couple has really grown on me and the series is definitely one of my favorites ever!

Told from Travis Craig’s point of view this time, it feels like we see more of the hard-headed but with a softie-wombat heart Charlie Sutton and how their relationship developed over the years. It was beautiful how Travis’s world has changed since he arrived at the Sutton Station. They are still and will forever be in love and are thinking of marriage and setting up a family of their own.

“Mr Craig, Mrs Craig, I know we’ve never met, and I promise we will so I can ask this in person but if it’s okay with you, I’d really like to spend the rest of my life with your son”

Charlie’s oh-so-adorable-shy demeanor always gets me. Like Travis, I keep on falling more and more in love with him. Without question, Charlie Sutton is the heart of the series and Travis is the blood supplying its life support.

“I want this place to keep going, Trav. I don’t want it to get sold out to some huge corporation. I want the person who owns it to love it. They need to love it like we do, Trav.”

Having a family of their own was always a touchy subject for Charlie because he’s terrified that he may not be a good Dad at all. Naturally, Travis has shown him the light! LOL. Really, Charlie’s the champion in the Olympics of stubbornness but Travis was his coach – always so patient and so understanding.

“I got a uncle who’s in love with his cat. There was rumours that he…well, you know, did the nasty with it.”

Charlie bristled. “Being gay is not the same as having sex with a cat!”

“Well,” Amos deadpanned. “It was a male cat.”

It’s also nice to see how the Sutton Station keeps on growing. There was a heartbreaking moment when “someone” has to leave but with Travis in there and everyone’s support, Charlie made it. It’s nice that Charlie’s surrounded by people who loved him. The guy who thought he doesn’t deserve such is surrounded by heaps of loved ones who will always be there for him and vice versa.

“You’re gonna be the foreigner this time, Charlie. Not me. We play the right kind of football, we have baseball bats, not those stupid flat-edged cricket bats, and we drive on the right side of the street.”

Charlie in Texas was a sight to see! Travis made it a point that no matter what the reaction of his family towards him (really, Charlie doesn’t need to fret one bit) – there’s no doubt that he will be where Charlie is. Of course, Charlie being Charlie made himself sick worried about finally meeting the “in-laws.”

“That any kid of ours gets to have you as a dad too,” he said with a smile. “And that’s gonna be pretty damn awesome to see.”

After so much thought and procrastination, Charlie finally relented. Travis wanted it and so does Charlie (deep inside). It’s just about the sweetest thing ever when they finally decided to DO it. I swear, this couple makes me cry bucket of happiness.

“I’m not just marrying you, Charlie,” I said quietly. “I’m marrying this land as well, because you are as much a part of this place as it is of you. You have a love as infinite as the horizon, and a heart of red dirt. And I would be honoured”- I put my hand to my heart – “truly honoured, to marry you.”

N.R. Walker has obviously perfected writing these awfully-romantic scenes. I’m like soaked in a goo-fest and I loved it!

When I was just nine pages away from the end, I’m almost choking up. I feel like saying goodbye to two of my favorite friends and a whole lot of family members I came to love. Charlie Sutton and Travis Craig will always be one of my favorite couples and this book easily cemented itself as one of the best series out there in any genre and probably N.R. Walker’s best work to date.

Rating: 5 Red Dirt Hearts out of 5 Red Dirt Hearts

Published January 9th 2015 by Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Buy Links:
Amazon HERE
All Romance eBooks HERE

Miss Universe 2014: Mary Jean Lastimosa, the Sash and the Wardrobe

The choices in fashion of our beauty queens fielded overseas have always been a touchy subject especially winners sent out by the Binibining Pilipinas organization. At this time of year where our very own Mary Jean Lastimosa is competing in Miami for the 63rd edition of the Miss Universe pageant, her wardrobe (so far) had been scrutinized by pageant fans and pundits alike – so let’s have a rundown of what she has been wearing these past few days since the start of the pre-pageant activities.

So far this red dress has been the biggest hit showcasing MJ's curves and sultry side!

So far this red dress has been the biggest hit showcasing MJ’s curves and sultry side!

This one didn't work so well,IMO but my gawd, that smile!!!

This one didn’t work so well,IMO but my gawd, that smile!!!

Off to the gym. Well, these are gym garbs so why not?

Off to the gym. Well, these are gym garbs so why not?

Strategic they say? I think she loos ravishing here save for the red shoes :)

Strategic they say? I think she loos ravishing here save for the red shoes 🙂

This has been worn by Ariella Arida but MJ made it look even better!

This has been worn by Ariella Arida but MJ made it look even better!

What do you think so far of our delegate and her set of wardrobe? Aye or Nay?

Book Review: The Eskimo Slugger – Brad Boney

The Eskimo Slugger

The Eskimo Slugger left me speechless hours after reading it. I mean, WOW. I kept repeating everything I’ve read in my head. Long after the book’s conclusion, I’m still thinking about Trent Days and Brendan Baxter, and it was like a time warp that my mind went back to the setting and the characters of the book’s accompanying novels – The Nothingness of Ben and The Return. I’ve mixed emotions about this book. It made me sad, nostalgic, happy, and peaceful and a bucket full of fierce feelings I’ve never thought I’d feel for a book since reading The Lonesome Dove [Larry McMurty] and Beach Music [Pat Conroy] years ago.

It’s the summer of 1983, and Trent Days, born to an Inupiat Mother in Alaska, was dubbed by the press as the Eskimo Slugger for his sensational record at the Major Baseball League. A midseason collision halted his rise to the top, which sent him back to Austin to recuperate. When Trent visited his favorite record store, he met the eager and funny law student Brendan Baxter. A skip on a record vinyl sent him back to the store and Brendan, leading to date and a blossoming romance. 

If you’ve read Brad Boney’s previous two novels (The Nothingness of Ben and The Return), you’d see the parallelism used to connect each character and each event. Of course, it’s not so much of parallelism if one considers the theme used via The Return (I’d instead leave it like this because I want you guys to get hold of these books!). One can also mention the beautiful juxtaposition of Trent & Brendan characters with “Travis & Ben” of The Nothingness of Ben. The whole mixed up was just a wee bit nostalgic and sometimes even jaw-dropping. I was mentally screaming, Oh shoot! Shoot! – Brad Boney is killing me with this!!!

I guess the beauty of this book relies upon the well-constructed development of the story. It started with Trent and Brendan’s first meeting, how they quickly got along, the meeting of each other’s friends, and its conclusion that was woven beautifully into another time. It’s also a great feeling to see characters from his previous books. It’s like I’ve known these people in my life, and knowing their story makes me yearn for more – it makes me ask more questions, makes me want to go back and reread that particular chapter/page. 

I’ve always mentioned that The Return has a very special place in my heart for some reason. I guess, looking back – it’s always the quality of Brad Boney’s writing that made me say this. The Nothingness Of Ben was nothing short of extraordinary. The Return will always be like my favorite toy, but The Eskimo Slugger is the perfect example of Brad Boney’s artistry. That man’s a genius!

 

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Published September 29th 2014 by Dreamspinner Press

About The Author
Brad Boney lives in Austin, Texas, the 7th gayest city in America. He grew up in the Midwest and went to school at NYU. He lived in Washington, DC and Houston before settling in Austin. He blames his background in the theater for his writing style, which he calls “dialogue and stage directions.” His first book was named a Lambda Literary Award finalist. He believes the greatest romantic comedy of all time is ’50 First Dates’. His favorite gay film of the last ten years is ‘Strapped’. And he has never met a boy band he didn’t like.

Binibining Pilipinas 2015 Updates: Day 3 of Screening

Pia giving it a third go for a Binibinig Pilipinas crown.

Pia giving it a third go for a Binibinig Pilipinas crown.

Day three of the screening for this year’s Binibining Pilipinas pageant has been an interesting one. Fan favorite Pia Wurtzbach who caused quite a stir last year after going home crownless was spotted along with her fellow Aces & Queens sisters – Wynwyn Marquez (daughter of actors Joey Marquez and Alma Moreno) and model Kylie Verzosa who has been in the pageant fans wish-list to join for a couple of years now.

celeb daughter and GMA 7's Sunday-All Star mainstay Wynwyn Marquez came prepared!

celeb daughter and GMA 7’s Sunday-All Star mainstay Wynwyn Marquez came prepared!

Ria in white. She's chanelling Miriam Quimbao no less!

Ria in white. She’s chanelling Miriam Quimbao no less!

Binibining Pilipinas Gold and Miss World Philippines 2013 contestant Ria Rabajante will also be trying her luck in the pageant for the second time after failing to advance into the semis in 2013.

Here's Kylie Verzosa looking pretty at a shoot.  via themaneidea.tumblr.com

Here’s Kylie Verzosa looking pretty at a shoot.
via themaneidea.tumblr.com

2015 is definitely looking like the battle of the repeaters! I wonder what will happen to the freshies? Who will reign supreme among them? Good luck girls!

Photos with Binibining Pilipinas logo by: Bruce Casanova

Binibining Pilipinas 2015 Updates: Day 2 of Screening

batch 2Day two of the Binibining Pilipinas 2015 screening saw most girls who have already competed in different minor pageants except from Janicel Lubina (Miss World Philippines 2013 1st Runner-up) Christine Balaguer (Miss World Philippines 2014 candidate) and previous Binibining Pilipinas hopefuls – Patricia Ejercitado (2012) and Liezel Ramos from last year’s edition.

Christine Balaguer charming the panel!

Christine Balaguer charming the panel!

The names that I’ve got from pageant site – missosology also includes the following names
Neesha Murjani (Miss Cebu 2013)
Nancy Leonard (MPE 2013 candidate)
Rogelie Catacutan (Miss Casino Filipino 2014)
Elle Hollman (Model of the World Philippines 2013)
Jian Salazar (Miss Mandaluyong 2014 runner-up)
Princess Camu (Daragang Magayon 2013)
Kemberle Mae Penchon (Miss Beauche International 2014)

several girls went to the screening this time

several girls went to the screening this time

Also check and like the official Bb.Pilipinas Facebook Page to get the official news about the on-going process.

Photos via Bb.Pilipinas