Hello...It's been a while.

I just want to say that I will be going on a break...for a while. I don't know how long, honestly. Due to unforeseen personal crisis that has left me a little lost at the moment. I have stopped reading and writing at the moment. Hopefully someday I'll be back.

Thank you for all the funny comments and I'm truly glad I met wonderful people here.

Goodluck with your blogs,

Review: If You Give a Rake a Ruby [Jewels of the Ton, book 2]

Title:     If You Give a Rake a Ruby [Jewels of the Ton, book 2]

Author:  Shana Galen

Rating:  ★★★★

Aha! Finally, we have the name of the Big Boss who is behind all the mess that Warrick and Pelham found themselves in. The Three Diamonds sure are intriguing; they have so many dark secrets. For the first time (I think), the ladies have darker secrets the gents. I actually like that about the series, and it feels refreshing because it's usually the men who are usually the "damaged" parties in historical romance novels. I mean, yeah, why can't it be the woman?

Her Mysterious Past Is The Best Revenge...

Fallon, the Marchioness of Mystery, is a celebrated courtesan with her finger on the pulse of high society. She’s adored by men, hated by their wives. No one knows anything about her past, and she plans to keep it that way.

Only He Can Offer Her A Dazzling Future...

Warrick Fitzhugh will do anything to protect his compatriots in the Foreign Office, including seduce Fallon, who he thinks can lead him to the deadliest crime lord in London. He knows he’s putting his life on the line...

To Warrick’s shock, Fallon is not who he thinks she is, and the secrets she’s keeping are exactly what make her his heart’s desire...

Review: When You Give a Duke a Diamond [Jewels of the Ton, book 1]

Wow it's been a long time since I last wrote a review. Work was really tiring this month, and being a copy editor meant I read for hours every day, and I just felt drained every time I get home. But today I had a little breathing room and found myself shook out of my no-reading period by Shana Galen's funny book!

Title:     When You Give a Duke a Diamond [Jewels of the Ton, book 1]

Author:  Shana Galen

Rating:  ★★★★ 1/2

I've had this on my shelf for a while but I took my sweet time choosing to read it because the plot blurb honestly didn't grab my attention. Then I wasn't even halfway into the book when I started mentally berating myself for not picking it up sooner! I literally read it straight from the time I picked it up at night until...well the wee hours of the morning. The plot was a little bit unusual, with the Three Diamonds definitely piquing my interest. This is one of those times I wish there was a movie so I can fully visualize how they look.

He had a perfectly orderly life... William, the sixth Duke of Pelham, enjoys his punctual, securely structured life. Orderly and predictable—that's the way he likes it. But he's in the public eye, and the scandal sheets will make up anything to sell papers. When the gossip papers link him to Juliette, one of the most beautiful and celebrated courtesans in London, chaos doesn't begin to describe what happens next...

Until she came along... Juliette is nicknamed the Duchess of Dalliance and has the cream of the nobility at her beck and call. It's disruptive to have the duke who is the biggest catch on the Marriage Mart scaring her other suitors away. Then she discovers William's darkest secret and decides what he needs in his life is the kind of excitement only she can provide...

Weekend musings

So I've been on this blog hang-up since April rolled around. I don't feel like reading anything but War and Peace. I promised myself not to read any other paper copies of books, so I've put aside reading War and Peace by turning to my Nook instead. Hehe, totally defeated the purpose. But I'm now back in the zone and itching to read War and Peace so I can finally get started on all the awesome paper copies I've lined up. Of course those that were requested for review are totally exempt from my self-imposed rule.

So, aside from reading, I got two bookshelves over the weekend. Buy 1 take 1 for only P995! Awesome bargain, eh?

Guest blogger review: Slammed

Hello everyone! How was your weekend? Today, for the first time ever, I have a review by a guest blogger. I have been hearing about Slammed by Colleen Hoover, but I have not yet gotten around to reading it. But this blogger, Mako, from isyU, has and she wrote a beautiful review for the book, in a unique format. All words are from her, and not lifted from the book. :)

Title:     Slammed

Author:  Colleen Hoover

Rating:  ★★★

This story is about love

and letting go

about making a choice

and sticking to it

but mostly about love.

When Lake’s father died, her family moved to Michigan to start a new life.  She meets new people who play a significant role in their lives as she and her mom and younger brother tried to accept their fate and choose love over everything else.

This story is about being present

while giving space

about having faith

and living

but mostly about love.

What I like about the story is its simplicity. The plot is simple and the reactions and solutions are real. The characters had their own story to tell and at some point you find someone or something you can relate to. You can be the girl praying for her loved ones. You can be the little boy needing a friend.  You can be the orphan yearning for a parent. You can be the sibling with the responsibility you’re not prepared for. Or you can be the mother whose only desire is for her family to be happy.

This story is about broken people

their fears, anguish, and yearnings

their strength and their resolves

but mostly about love

and it was love that made them whole again.


What do you think? Have you read the book?

Happy musings,

Feature & Follow #18

Didn't realize it's been quite a while since I last blogged! Sorry, work caught up with me and I was just feeling drained lately.

Q: We are about to see a lot of posts & tweets about reader conventions, RT, BEA, ALA and many more are starting soon. Which one would you love to attend? Where and why?

I feel pretty bum about this question! Since I live in the Philippines, attending such reader conventions are so out of the question. I wish I had the money to jet set around the world to visit these events! Or that there would be some such happenings here in the Philippines. :)

Anyway...maybe BEA, because that's what I read about the most from the people I follow! I am so envious right now, with BEA coming up. Can't wait to read your posts, though! I'm going to "attend" vicariously, then :D

Oh, and yeah, you can follow me via GFC or Bloglovin', Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, and Google+! Let me know how you follow, I'll do the same.


Kisses,

Review: Once a Witch [Witch, book 1]

Title:      Once a Witch [Witch, book 1]

Author:  Carolyn MacCullough
Rating:   ★★★★

It took me a while to read Once a Witch because honestly, the start was pretty boring. After a couple of months, I picked it up again because I was looking for a book to fulfill my 2013 Witch and Witchcraft Challenge. I am actually surprised that I enjoyed it! The plot wasn't attractive for me from the start, but after a few chapters, I found myself unwilling to put the book down.

Tamsin Greene comes from a long line of witches, and she was supposed to be one of the most Talented among them. But Tamsin's magic never showed up. Now seventeen, Tamsin attends boarding school in Manhattan, far from her family. But when a handsome young professor mistakes her for her very Talented sister, Tamsin agrees to find a lost family heirloom for him. The search—and the stranger—will prove to be more sinister than they first appeared, ultimately sending Tamsin on a treasure hunt through time that will unlock the secret of her true identity, unearth the sins of her family, and unleash a power so vengeful that it could destroy them all. This is a spellbinding display of storytelling that will exhilarate, enthrall, and thoroughly enchant.

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Review: Much Ado About Magic [Enchanted Inc, book 5]

Title:     Much Ado About Magic [Enchanted Inc, book 5]

Author:  Shanna Swendson

Rating:  ★★★★1/2

Enchanted Inc is one of my favorite series because it's a mixture of my love for chick lit, a good witchy story, and magic. Plus, Owen Palmer is just so adorable, I couldn't help but add him to my book boyfriends. Thankfully, Much Ado About Magic did not lose its charm and I enjoyed the book very much. In fact, I'm aching to read the next book but I have to stop myself for Holy Week.

Katie Chandler is back in New York and at Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc. – and just in time. The city’s in the grip of a magical crime wave from spells that wizarding whiz Owen Palmer thinks look awfully familiar, and the rogue firm Spellworks is raising its profile in the magical world by selling protective amulets. It’s Katie’s job as the new director of marketing for MSI to fight this battle of public perception while Owen and the other wizards try to uncover what’s really going on.

What Katie doesn’t realize is that her idea to stage a showcase for MSI’s magical achievements is playing right into a devious plot more than three decades in the making. Now Katie has to do damage control that has nothing to do with marketing. To save the magical world, she’ll have to prove who the real enemy is, and doing that will require digging deeper into Owen’s mysterious past than he wants anyone to go. If she fails, she not only stands to lose a magical war, but she could also lose the man she loves.

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Maximizing your Twitter account

Okay, so you finally have a Twitter account and you're excited to increase awareness of your blog by tweeting links to your reviews or blog posts. But does your use of Twitter actually get the word out there that your blog exists?

I've been on Twitter for about three to four years now but I only created an account for my blog about a month ago. Based on what I've seen on my Twitter feed so far there lacks an interaction between bloggers and non-book bloggers. Imagine for example that someone is following your Twitter account. When s/he opens his/her account, there are approximately 10 to 20 tweets that will be displayed, depending on where they are viewing their account. Wouldn't you like your follower to actually read your tweet and click on your link, or you see a new follower who is not following your blog but started to follow your Twitter account because of your interesting posts? If you're thinking, "I already have hundreds, thousands even, of followers", are you sure they're actually reading your tweet, or they just followed you because of a giveaway you once had?

 Let me give you some tips on how to maximize Twitter to interact with your readers AND get in touch with other people who may not be book bloggers but are still interested in books or in what you have to say.

Feature & Follow #17

Welcome to My Book Musings! Feature & Follow is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee’s View and Alison Can Read. It’s purpose is to gain and meet new friends and followers. I love seeing the weekly questions because I enjoy mulling over my books, or other reading-related matters.

If you're already following me via GFC and Linky, do follow me via Twitter and Pinterest if you have an account. I'm so glad to see more people following me via my Bloglovin' account! To all my followers there, thank you! If you're not yet following there, you're very welcome to do so.

This week's question brings me back to 13 years ago...

Q: Tell us about the most emotional scene you’ve ever read in a book – and how did you react?

The book that got me bawling like a baby was Nicholas Spark's A Walk to Remember. I was 12 years old then, sitting on my bed holding a handkerchief. My sister found me crying, not sniffling, doing the whole waterworks while I read the part where Jamie stood up from her wheelchair to walk down the aisle and get married to her miracle. Sadly' the movie didn't do much for me, but the book still makes me cry to this day.

That was the first and last time so far that I cried that much over a book. And it's one of my favorites to date.

Has anyone else bawled over a book like I did? Share yours!