I Write What I Read

CTTO

 

What I have recently read/listened to (I love audiobooks now)…

After reading ebooks for years and years, I think I’ve been missing the feel of physical books. But also I’m afraid I have the bad case of ‘doom scroller.’ I get so easily distracted now. So reading using a gadget hasn’t been working for me in years. 

Current reads are: Iron Flame, The Ninth House, and A Family of Liars. Can’t seem to finish the last two books though. 

Why blog again amidst the booktoks and the bookstagrams? Because this is familiar, this is my comfort. 

The eight-part drama, which will launch on Hulu in October, is based on John Green’s eponymous novel and stars Kristine Froseth, Charlie Plummer, Denny Love, Jay Lee, Landry Bender, Sofia Vassilieva, Uriah Shelton, and Jordan Connor. x

Plot:

Ruth Young and her widowed mother, LuLing, have always had a tumultuous relationship. Now, before she succumbs to forgetfulness, LuLing gives Ruth some of her writings, which reveal a side of LuLing that Ruth has never known. . . .

In a remote mountain village where ghosts and tradition rule, LuLing grows up in the care of her mute Precious Auntie as the family endures a curse laid upon a relative known as the bonesetter. When headstrong LuLing rejects the marriage proposal of the coffinmaker, a shocking series of events are set in motion–all of which lead back to Ruth and LuLing in modern San Francisco. The truth that Ruth learns from her mother’s past will forever change her perception of family, love, and forgiveness. 

Thoughts

This was not my first attempt in reading an Amy Tan book. The first time was when I was in college, I saw The Joy Luck Club in our library. I was not able to finish it. I feel that I was not mature enough to have related or understood the story at that time. I would have wanted The Joy Luck Club to be the first book to read from the author but alas The Bonesetter's Daughter was the one on sale.

This took me a while to finish as the story only started to take off midway for me, but once it got my attention I was there with LuLing and Ruthie all the way. It's special since it revolves around the story of mother and daughter, as well as family-centered - as is expected  from books that is Asian-themed.

It was so gratifying that in the end, all Ruth's questions about her mother were answered, most of it. Millions of people around the world go through life without really knowing who their parents were. I would love to know more about the history of my own family. It would be so dramatic to have a family secret, but even if we had, no one in my family would have cared. It feels like I have never belonged to a family that has a solid root. We are drifting, I don't know where. I have my own family now though, I'll make sure we get some roots.

The background story felt like it stretched a life-time but it was definitely necessary and not overly done. The portrayal of their family was on point. I could relate to some extent, especially on the heart breaking parts. Family is family. We don't get to choose them, but we will never want to be a part of any other family than our own, am I right?

Rating

3.5 stars

WHAT IF DAMNATION IS THE PRICE OF TRUE LOVE?
Innocent blood has been spilled on the steps of the Council Hall, the sacred stronghold of the Shadowhunters. In the wake of the tragic death of Livia Blackthorn, the Clave teeters on the brink of civil war. One fragment of the Blackthorn family flees to Los Angeles, seeking to discover the source of the disease that is destroying the race of warlocks. Meanwhile, Julian and Emma take desperate measures to put their forbidden love aside and undertake a perilous mission to Faerie to retrieve the Black Volume of the Dead. What they find in the Courts is a secret that may tear the Shadow World asunder and open a dark path into a future they could never have imagined. Caught in a race against time, Emma and Julian must save the world of Shadowhunters before the deadly power of the parabatai curse destroys them and everyone they love.

Thoughts:

As I was reading, I still couldn't believe it was the last part of the series. Three books just flew by so fast! I know that there are more series coming from the Shadowhunter universe... let me cope in my own way okay. 😭

This book definitely took me forever to finish!! It's so freakiiiin' looooong! But I really loved every part of it. There were chill parts and there were intense ones and I wouldn't want them any other way. Wait, this book could have been two books right? What do you guys think? 🤔

The story picked off from where it left off in Lord of Shadows. So of course we start the story brokenhearted. 💔 Livvy is really gone. Deym. And Robert Lightwood. Ugh, not his biggest fan but it hurt me that the Lightwoods were hurt yet again. Everyone was just so broken at the beginning of the story. I didn't know what to do with myself.

Was the ending good? Yes and no. I love the epic fight. I always do in all of Cassy Clare's books. How Julian and Emma end up was sort of convenient. Since it was the end of the series an explanation should have been in order. I don't like that I have to wait for, who knows how long, for an explanation on what happened to them, or worse there won't be one.


Emma was so good in this book, she really showed why she was called one of the greatest shadowhunter that lived. She remained resolute even when Julian had lost his common sense.

Julian was the worst. Yeah he's hurting but I know him to be stronger than that. It was such an off thing to do for his character. With all things considered, he would always put his siblings first before his goddamn pain. he'd fight on because he was a Blackthorn and he was a great shadowhunter. That's how I know him.

Bad call on Magnus' part too. I just can't believe he would allow it. For such an old warlock, he made such a noobie mistake. It was out of character, and done for the sake of plot lines.

Kieran, Mark and Crisitna - they were my salvation! When everything downhill for all the other characters I look to them for inspiration and happiness.

I don't know who was the greater mess, Ty or Julian. Ty is Ty. His reaction was so unlikely that it was so Ty-like indeed. He didn't allow himself to grieve yet because he was so sure that Livia will be with him again. And I want to knock Kit down. What the hell. It was his opportunity to protect Ty, but he failed miserably.

Dru is another saving grace in this book. She was being bratty in the beginning, but she had every right to be. She's the most unappreciated sibling and she could have been so much more. Many things could have been written for her but no, she was always kept in the shadow.

The other Blackthorn siblings were just there for decoration. LOL just kidding. All of them deserved a happy ending and I'm happy that all of them got together in the end. I was afraid they'd be like the Stark kids from GoT. 😥

Quotes:

“Sympathy is common. Knowing the exact shape of the hole someone’s loss leaves in your heart is rare.” 

“As long as you exist and I exist, I will love you.” 

 Rating:
5 stars

Read my other reviews for Lord of Shadows.
I think I forgot to write about Lady Midnight review? 😑

 

Marin hasn’t spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not even her best friend Mabel. But even thousands of miles away from the California coast, at college in New York, Marin still feels the pull of the life and tragedy she’s tried to outrun. Now, months later, alone in an emptied dorm for winter break, Marin waits. Mabel is coming to visit and Marin will be forced to face everything that’s been left unsaid and finally confront the loneliness that has made a home in her heart.

Thoughts:

In the middle of it, I wanted to put the book down for good and move on with another title, but the thing is, the way that it's artfully written; how it captures melancholy and memories. So even though it was making me so sad, I went on with it because I wanted to be there with Marin when she sees light again.

Marin basically disconnected herself from every thing that she knows and love. Her family, her best friend, her town... we could also say she was disconnected from herself. Discovering long ago secrets are always hard. Plus her grandfather's death, he was her only family but she felt that he was a stranger all along.

Mabel, her best friend (lover?) will be staying with her for a few days. I felt the awkwardness between them, but also their love for each other. It is clear that they miss each other as well, but after many months of no communication, where will they begin again? The whole story has been slow-burning, but a good kind of pace. Just right in step with the melancholy it gives off. In the end, you feel satisfied.

Rating:
3 stars


Have you read this book? What did you think? Please say hi on the comment box. :)

LIKE WOW! I never post about blogiversaries, but I think 5 years is a big deal huh?

So glad I'm still at it. Though poorly, but I'm still there. I don't even know if I have readers LOL but I made this blog as sort of my reading journal. Here I write my thoughts about the book, it was never really a full-blown review, just my thought ad my feelings about on that certain moment. It's one of those gifts in life that I'm thankful for that I am able to do.



Warm hugs,
Bang Bang

PlotTrixie Watson has two very important goals for senior year: to finally save enough to buy the set of Doctor Who figurines at the local comic books store, and to place third in her class and knock Ben West--and his horrendous new mustache that he spent all summer growing--down to number four.
Trixie will do anything to get her name ranked over Ben's, including give up sleep and comic books--well, maybe not comic books--but definitely sleep. After all, the war of Watson v. West is as vicious as the Doctor v. Daleks and Browncoats v. Alliance combined, and it goes all the way back to the infamous monkey bars incident in the first grade. Over a decade later, it's time to declare a champion once and for all.
The war is Trixie's for the winning, until her best friend starts dating Ben's best friend and the two are unceremoniously dumped together and told to play nice. Finding common ground is odious and tooth-pullingly-painful, but Trixie and Ben's cautious truce slowly transforms into a fandom-based tentative friendship. When Trixie's best friend gets expelled for cheating and Trixie cries foul play, however, they have to choose who to believe and which side they're on--and they might not pick the same side.

Thoughts

Wow this book was really awesome! I can't believe I didn't know about it before. It's been out for more than two years already. The characters are unforgettable. They weren't too overdone. Keeping in my that they are, first, teenagers and not made out to be robot-like geniuses. All those geeky references! So cool!! I admit I was clueless for most of it, so boy was it pure joy every time I get some of the references. I don't have one favorite character because ALL of them are my favorite character! They're all just so adorable. <3 p="">
Though the story didn't really have a concrete conflict, the mysterious hacker was very intriguing and really made you think to go against some of the characters, because after all, they are geniuses. Any one could go to the other side and be an evil genius muhahaha! Props also for showing the pressure teens are under, genius or not, in school and how parents can still be oblivious to it though try as they might to keep tabs on their kid 24/7.

I really want to see this made into a TV series! School for geniuses... it's a whole new world if they are portrayed in comedia!

Quote:

All of the clichés about electricity and drowning and falling and other sinister metaphors for a kiss all swept over me. It was nuclear fusion. It was the door to Narnia. It was a cacophonic wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey symphony regenerating us into a spectacular and overwhelming new form.

Plot:
You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.

The first lesson is to make yourself strong.

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.

Thoughts:
Bummer, I didn't wrote a review of the Cruel Prince last year when in fact it was one of my best reads of 2018. It was definitely a breath of fresh air - all because of Jude Duarte. I guess its safe to say that she is one of the best female lead characters I've read so far. She's up there with Rose Hathaway from Vampire Academy, Feyre Archeron from ACOTAR and June Iparis from Legend. She's human, snatched away from the mortal world and then adopted by the same guy that killed her parents. She has a twin, Taryn, but they could not be the more different. I find her annoying.

The first book was full of guessing game and it was hard to root on the male characters because all were of questionable reputation, but when it came down to it, Cardan made his way to the readers' heart. He's so damn charming you won't even realize you're beginning to like the guy. Plot-wise the first book had a lot more going on than the second one. Plus the blood bath was legitly the gorest thing I've read (because I haven't read GoT LOL!).

Jude in the first book was not too focused on the prize because she was a muddled by her infatuation with the wrong guy. All along there was to be a spark between her and Cardan only to throw it all off with the biggest con, and Jude ends up controlling Prince Cardan, who was then crowned King.

In the Wicked King, where do we begin? That Jude now admits that she might have feeling for Cardan but she's too tough to have those feelings, and insteads loses herself in conspiracies and war contingencies. It was  satisfying when Cardan and Jude finally let off steam, with both claiming they have both got each other out of their systems. LOL, we all know they were fooling themselves.

Just when you think Jude has gained power at last and is on top, we see her almost lose hope when she was captured by Orlagh, and betrayed by the Ghost himself! That was heart breaking! He was like an older brother to her! Who saw that coming? I kept thinking it would be one of Jude's sister and that would be devastating but the Ghost as a traitor was even a bigger blow. What of the Court of Shadows now? He will definitely pay on the next book. He put it upon himself.





Lemme just put this out there now. Cardan exiled Jude to protect her. That is what i believe in and I am sticking with that. I am convinced that Cardan has grown conscience and deep feelings for Jude. Him offering her marriage was as genuine as day and it was such a tender moment... Just you wait, your Queen Jude will save you all from your miserable selves! You messed with the wrong girl. She will come back stronger than ever!

Quotes:

“Once upon a time, there was a human girl stolen away by faeries, and because of that, she swore to destroy them.”

“Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold on to.”

“Tell me that you hate me.”
“I hate you,” I say, the words coming out like a caress. I say it again, over and over. A litany. An enchantment. A ward against what I really feel. “I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.”
He kisses me harder.

"...and that of all the things he’s ever done to me, making me like him so much is by far the worst.”

Rating:
5 stars

PLOT:
A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win.
After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister Scarlett from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend’s true name.
The only chance of uncovering Legend’s identity is to win Caraval, so Tella throws herself into the legendary competition once more—and into the path of the murderous heir to the throne, a doomed love story, and a web of secrets…including her sister's. Caraval has always demanded bravery, cunning, and sacrifice. But now the game is asking for more. If Tella can’t fulfill her bargain and deliver Legend’s name, she’ll lose everything she cares about—maybe even her life. But if she wins, Legend and Caraval will be destroyed forever.
Welcome, welcome to Caraval...the games have only just begun.

THOUGHTS:
I knew this book would be waaaaay better than Caraval... because Tella, duh! In the first book Tella took a backseat when she became Legend's "hostage" for the most part of the game. The two sisters could not be more different. My first impression of Tella in the first book has been up an ante here. She's so much more than a heartbreaker I thought she was. She's passionate and knows what she wants. A go-getter and independent. She's a woman of the world!

Weird love triangle

"Tella wanted to know what it would be like to lose herself in someone like Dante and trust that he would find her. But the only person she could trust was herself."

You can't really tell if there's a love triangle brewing or if there really is any coupling at all! In Legend's game you don't know what's real and what's not. Yes, sparks are flying between Dante and Tella... but just like Tella, readers would be reluctant to trust any of Dante's actions. He is part of the game after all. And then there's Jacks. Man, he's one heck of a character. My favorite so far. He is vile and sinister but why can't I not come to hate him? There's something he's not revealing which I hope we can understand in the final book. In some bizarre occurrence they become engaged. Tella becomes embroiled in a deeper problem with Jacks involved as her life is now on the line. Jacks's cruelty seemed to have no bounds. In some odd way though, they sort of developed a relationship, one where they need each other. With Jacks's, we know his intentions, unlike with Dante. And our dear Tella who needs no distraction so she can win the games and take what she wants. So a time and a place for love would be unrealistic in their situation... or so I think.

"Tella feared being trapped more than anything. But perhaps love was an otherworldly entity like Death."

Tella & Dante

"This kiss felt like a confession, brutal and raw and honest in a way kisses rarely were."

Oh my ghad till the very end I was "is he or is he not Legend?" I was right in thinking he was the lost heir though. I can't quite explain it but I feel that Legend left for Tella's sake. Just my gut feeling. Chapter 31 was HOT! Seriously, my giggles could not be contained! Been a long time since I had that reaction to a book! Love it!!!


Tella & Jacks (The Prince of Heart)

“And you think I’m that someone?” A laugh accompanied Tella’s words.

But Jacks did not smile. “You convinced Legend to help you, you died and came back to life, and you dared to kiss me. Of course you’re that someone.” He held her eyes for a moment before his gaze swept past her.

Why are the cruel ones good looking?! I mean, can you not make us question our morality please?! I don't know how I really feel right now, but I think I may be rooting more for him for Tella than Dante. I'm smitten because he's mean but he's definitely inlove with Tella even though he won't admit it, they could work!

"Dimples were supposed to be charming and kind, but his always felt like a form of attack."

In some bizarro plot twist in the next book, he could not try to destroy people's lives and just love Tella and live calmly if that could be possible in that world of theirs where power is everything. He is not really human after all... could he and Tella work? Yes I hope so! That wouldn't be such a bad idea right? How ironic would it be if the Prince of Heart would get heart broken right?

“I still hate you,” she said. “It’s probably for the best.”

Lots of delicious moments that are worth cherishing and gushing over. I felt the magic more on this book than the first one. It excelled story-wise and it had more memorable minor character like the queen and the Fates.

"Legends were supposed to be better than the truth. Perfect, idealized dreams and crystalline hopes that were too flawless to exist in reality."

Can't wait for third book, Finale, coming out next year!

Quotes:

Tella: "You call me Donatella."
Jacks: "I like the way it tastes."

His glow meant he would never die of natural causes or mortal wounds, but her radiance meant she would truly live.

“Other people might underestimate you, Donatella, but I don’t.”
Tella tried not to feel anything at his words. All her life she’d been underestimated, by her father who thought she was useless, her sister who loved her but feared she couldn’t stay out of trouble, her nana who thought of her as only a nuisance; Tella even underestimated herself at times. It was almost cruel that the one who seemed to believe in her the most was the same being who was also slowly killing her.

He gazed at her as if he wanted her to lose herself somewhere in his eyes, so that he could be the one to find her.

Legend was someone she could never have. He was like a moment in time; he could be experienced but never held on to.

The night. The world. The stars watching from above all disappeared. Then Tella disappeared as well.

Humans were selfish creatures. The stars had witnessed it again, and again, and again. But tonight, as the stars peered down on the world, they saw what seemed to be truly unselfish acts.

Something cracked inside of Tella. It might have been her heart, breaking while he walked away—as if he hadn’t just freed the Fates and damned the entire world for her.

“I still hate you,” she said. “It’s probably for the best.”

“I made a mistake, Scar. I never wanted to fall for anyone, but I think I’ve fallen in love with Legend.”

Rating:
★★★★★