The Koi is an Albino.

A blog about the life and times of some average college girl named Veronica. This blog mostly consist of personal rants and text posts, humorous GIFs and pictures and things that I think are interesting and funny. Personal entries are tagged "personal" reblogs are tagged as "reblog" Facebook: Grace Arrive Nova

[albinokoi]

Pop Fiction Spring Break Reviews

During the Spring Break (or Holy Week break), I finally had the time to catch up on reading some of my collections. We went to Bataan to relax and get away from the busy aura of the metro. I decided to bring lots of Pop Fictions instead of Novels because they were lighter and smaller per book. During the vacation, I managed to read 4 (counting the one I re-read in order to understand the 2nd book)

Book 1 : Finding Cinderella Part 2: The Chase by Kia Amazona 

               Score: 3/5

               The story was generic (but good) and I didn’t see much heavy conflict. The only good part with the story is that there were several plot twists and amused me for a while. The narration lacked solidity; it only told what will make the story move on and made it hard for me to visualize the story itself.

Book 2: For Hire: A Damn Good Kisser by Ariesa Jane Domingo

               Score: 4/5

               As expected of the author of Seducing Drake Palma, FH:ADGK was good and it gave an “otome game” feel to me. The premise wasn’t generic for me and it had a good potential to actual be a real dating sim game. The only problem for me thought was the character development for some characters. Some of them had conflicting and unfitting personality with how they were build up. I liked how the story have the essence of eroticas but still manage to stick with just kissing and making out – which is too light for erotica. I wasn’t able to read the next book for this so I felt frustrated with the ending.

Book 3: The King of Jerks by Helenaelise

               Score: 1/5

               Whoa. Transitions. I liked the idea of inserting the trend of Cosplay in Pop Fiction stories but this was disappointing. First, the two main characters had high positions (Cosplay Queen and Student Council President?) and the descriptions with their titles were extreme (Miss Cosplay Queen is chilling while  surrounded with lots of ‘fanboys’ who take her pictures without consent and Mister SC Pres here has a cape and his own office at the school to show his authority). The occasional use of Japanese terms in some scenarios such as ‘sugoi’, ‘desu’, and ‘ouji’ made me cringe because they weren’t suit for the situation, it felt forced. Speaking of forced, another forced element on the story was the conflict. It was too illogical like, why will someone not check the background of their employees first before accepting them? Since the premise of the story was fitting for a teenage romance kind of thing, the story should’ve ended after they finished studies, but no, they had to extend it until marriage – after a few complications like unwanted pregnancies and scenarios of being a single parent with an abnormally smart child. I handled the first half of the book with just cringing every now and then, but when it comes to the latter half, 85% of the time I was cringing. Sorry.

Book 4: The Despicable Guy by Leng de Chavez

               Score: 2/5

               Generic story. It’s your typical college barkada love teaming story. Think of it like a Sit Com focused on shipping two people together but in the process the whole circle of friends kind of got together into pairs for some unknown reason. I liked it that I can relate to their college life but that’s all. Everything else was pretty generic – something I can experience, except for the part where the guy buys the girl some overpriced designer black pumps for Christmas. Not even my parents nor my future husband would ever be in their right mind buy me things like those.

That’s all for now. I’ll try to make short book reviews for the previous books that I have read.

[silverbulletsama]

The many faces/phases of Tsukki.

[albinokoi]

Book Review: Every Day by David Levithan

I have first read one of Levithan’s works at his short story in Geektastic. My first impression of him is having protagonists that have weird unnatural quirks (like being very good at Quiz Bees) and having same-sex romance, more on male to male. In this book, Every day, my impression didn’t change too much, just that it added that he is not only limited to same-sex romance: he can handle straight love stories but still with a hint of that original impression.

Published Summary:

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl. There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere. It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

Review:

At first I did not get the vibe of the story. I found the book interesting starting at the third chapter. The book can be digested lightly and in small amounts, meaning I can stop anywhere without having the confusion of what’s happening. A’s ability to inhabit a different person each chapter made the book easy to read, but frustrating to get with the flow of the story. It was a tragic story, being unable to stay in one place, cannot gather memories as one person. I got used to the reading style of being empathic with the one telling the story if it’s in a character’s perspective and applying that style while reading this book made me ride in a rollercoaster of emotions. I was happy at first, but become frustrated and mad, then become sad and lonely. It gave the imaginative me to wonder if there’s a possibility that people like A exist. The only bad part of this book is that it lacks the explanation of why he exists and where he comes from. I got frustrated when in the latter part the reverend almost explained the situation and it ended without a continuation of that part of the story.

All in all I loved the book. I would love to read novels like these more, the ones that are easy to digest.

[albinokoi]

Book Review: The Program by Suzanne Young

I have a soul link with this book. I had a hard time putting it down. It makes me depressed because of it’s story but it transfers my depression in a way that I feel depressed to the characters of the story more than myself. Not suicide inducing - more of an eye opener.

Published Summary:

In Sloane’s world, true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program. Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories. Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them. 

Review:

               The book itself is like a mini tour for experiencing depression.

               No one doesn’t know when depression strikes. People became in denial, thinking that they are not depressed and saying ‘it’s just a phase’. Hanging out with people who are also in denial of depression but obviously are gives comfort – numbing you with the feeling of depression. You may think it’s a good thing – but it will only lead to making the depression worse.

               When the so-called friends are gone; treated or already taken their lives, depression takes over once again. People will be aware of your situation, your illness. They will take action to cure it by any means. You will find yourself again in a state of numbness – but alone and worse. You will experience a breakdown, saying that you are not depressed and they are only overreacting. Your overwhelming emotions will eat you, overpowering everything that you have – even your memories.

               And then, like curing a broken heart, you move on. You feel happy. You hope that everything will be different than before. But people in the past treat you like something bad happened, and you don’t want that – because that will make you remember what made you depressed in the first place. You try to stay away from these people but you can’t. In the end, you feel depression striking again. It feels like no one can escape depression. Depression is innate.

[albinokoi]

What I’ve Read: Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas

Published Summary:

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien. The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

Review:

Celaena Sardothein is the

BEST PROTAG EVER.

She has a lot of similar characteristics with my own made character when I was still in high school. Celaena is young (younger than 20) but is already known as the best assassin in the continent. Despite that, she has a soft side especially for slaves and those abused by authorities. She also likes reading books (she even stays up late reading books!!) and she is cold but loving (aka ‘Tsundere’). She is a well-executed character! *fangirls*

Aside from that, the two love interests, Chaol and Dorian, also have good character profiles. Their movements are well described and narrated and it was successful at making me have a deep connection with each other (especially Celaena.)

It is highly compared to as a novel with a similar premise with the Hunger Games Trilogy. I beg to differ since unlike Hunger Games, the competitors had breaks in between rounds/matches. The competition was something underground within the castle that the people outside the castle and even the other people such as the courtesans and royalties are oblivious to it.

I’ve been also comparing Celaena and Chaol with Katarina and Garen of League of Legends. (Because the cover looks like Katarina)

No words can describe my hype with this book. I WILL READ THE WHOLE SERIES NOW.

[albinokoi]

What I’ve Read: Three Words, Eight Letters, if I Say It, Will I Be Yours? Book 2 Part 2 by Jade Margarette Pitogo

Published Summary:

Chanel Courtney Chua is back, and she’s better than ever! Realizing that she can never bring back what she has lost—namely Kean—she finally moves on and faces her future with a more positive outlook. After going through so much heartbreaks with the guys who look and act like her late fiancé, she finally decides to leave the past behind and start a new life. But fate’s not done playing with Chanel yet, as it drops another huge surprise at her feet. Is she ever going to get her much-desired happily-ever-after? Or is her life going to be just one tragic and heartbreaking tale?

Review:

I think that the splitting of the second book into two parts was unnecessary. It was not as appealing as the two previous books since there wasn’t enough content. It made the proportion of the three books unequal. 

There were some problems that I found out while reading. One: There were too much background characters that had no distinguishable content. They were mentioned before but they weren’t introduced with a notable scene, etc. Two: I didn’t like it that they added a part where the guy used his riches to stalk the girl by hiring henchmen to track and follow them as a means for protecting them and knowing their whereabouts. It was cliche enough since the Fifty Shades of Grey hype.

Despite that, It made me giggle a lot. I loved the closing parts of the story where the supporting characters acted out notable moments of the story and the Chanel’s proposal. It reminded me of the things I wanted to do to my boyfriend when I was in high school. I also think that this book should be read by some men because it has subtle advice on how to please women (women like Chanel, of course).

[albinokoi]

What I’ve Read: The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

Published Summary:

“This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good and Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile, Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural hit for the School of Evil.

But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed – and they’ll quickly find that the only way out of a fairytale… is to live through it.”

I thought the book was for kids and it’s kind of your average fairytale spin-off kind of book. I was wrong, very wrong.

The School for Good and Evil is a fantasy novel about two children who happens to be picked to study in a school where students are taught to become characters of a fairytale. The highest performing students are destined to be prince, princesses, and villains. The low performing ones become henchmen and animals. At first the story and the flow of the school looks much like Hogwarts, but it becomes more than that.

What made the book alive are the continuous twists that occur as the story progresses. The story became darker and darker and it really doubted me if it was really for middle-schoolers. It felt like the story started with it being ‘Good’ and then it tilted to ‘Evil’.

For the characters, you have Sophie, a girl who wear everything pink and does everything she can to keep her beauty. She dreamt of attending to the School of Good and become a princess someday. There’s Agatha, who is the total opposite of Sophie. She lives in a graveyard and finds happiness in solitude. She wears everything black and never fixes her hair. They’re a weird combination of friends but as soon as they find themselves in the School of Good and Evil, they start to rely on each other.

There’s so much deep meaning in the book and despite its fairytale parody nature, it is filled with originality.

[sosuperawesome]

Monica Ramos, on Tumblr

[lookbookdotnu]

FAVORITE COLORS OF EVENING (by Viktoriya Sener)

[albinokoi]

What I’ve Read: Dating Alys Perez by beeyotch (Ariesa Jane Domingo)

Published Summary:

“Hindi na ako magpapadala sa’yo, Drake. You’re just going to make me fall then smash me into pieces once again.”

It’s been four years since Alys graduated from St. Claire's High. And by now, naka-move-on na siya mula sa first serious relationship niya no'ng high school. She now has a man who treats her like a princess, the man who helped her pick up the pieces of her broken heart--si Tripp. Her feelings are secure and her life is full once again. Or so she thought.  Ano ang gagawin niya ngayong siya naman ang hinahabol ng isang Drake Palma at hinihingan ng isa pang pagkakataon? Pagkatapos ng lahat, mapapagod kaya si Alys sa pag-iwas at pagtakbo from Drake? Kaya ba niyang panindigan ang desisyon niyang to forget and let go of that once in a lifetime epic love?    

Dating Alys Perez is the second book of Seducing Drake Palma. It revolves around Alys’s life after she was sent to New York to study in NYU. Unlike the first book, DAP had a more mature (since they are all grown up and college graduates), dark, and bitter essence.

I was disappointed because I was looking forward for more fluffy scenes and all I got were conflicts and arguments. It made me hate several characters such as Alys and Tripp. It still lacks the descriptions like the first book. I was also not amused with the added conflicts on the story and how they solved it in the end. I think that was made to show that happy endings also happen with ‘broken’ relationships. I just can’t imagine how awkward the Palma family reunion will be after all that happened.

[albinokoi]

What I’ve read: Mission Impossible: Seducing Drake Palma by Ariesa Jane Domingo (beeyotch)

Published Summary:

Eto si Alys Perez, may pagka-loner, maingay, bagsakin sa klase, bigo sa pagibig at may malaki siyang problema. Kasi naman, bakit ba siya pumayag sa isang bagay na wala talaga siyang kahit anong experience? Ano ba naman ang alam niya sa pangse-seduce? At lalo na sa matalino, hot na hot, at super sungit na classmate pa niyang si Drake Palma?! Ah basta! Gagamitin niya ang lahat ng powers niya para magwagi sa challenge na ito. Mauuwi ba siya sa “mission accomplished”? O magiging isa ba siya sa napakaraming babae sa school na brokenhearted dahil sa playboy na si Drake?

Even though the book was in Taglish, I’ll do my review in full English…

Mission Impossible: Seducing Drake Palma is a story with the common hate-turned-love affair and the usual love triangle genre of romance. I was kind of forced to read it since I liked the cover of the second book, ‘Dating Alys Perez’, that shows this drawing of a cute guy with glasses. My glasses fetish got triggered. At first I was indifferent with the story but as I read more and more I got hooked on because it was humorous and fast-paced.

The primary objective of the story (which is, as said on the title, is seducing Drake Palma) has been solved in less than 100 pages out of the 250+ of the whole book. It lacked character details like what the characters looked like. It only mentions the word such as ‘cute’, ‘gwapo’, and ‘good-looking’ to describe the physical appearances of the characters. It shows that, as one of my friends stated, the lack of character details makes the readers imagine their own dream guy and the protagonist as themselves since the market target of these books are female readers. It also lacked in background detail. It never gave a brief description of what the places looked like so it was hard to imagine the character’s houses, condo units, and the schools. It was focused on the actions and the speaker’s (Alys’s) thoughts.

It was a fun read. The middle of the book got me reading nonstop but the near end decreased my hype. But since the second book was the one that got me hooked in the first place, I’m excited to read it.

[albinokoi]

What I’ve read: Paper Towns by John Green

Published Summary:

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows. After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now  become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected  path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew...

Paper Towns is novel about adventures, unexpected loss and the search for it. It includes so much inspiring lines. Paper Towns started with an all-nighter adventure and continued with an adventure of searching for clues and answers. Just like some of John Green’s books such as ‘An Abundance of Katherines’, the persona of the book has the habit of stating absurd and weird remarks. 

Quentin, who is the main character of the story and is also the persona of the book, is a wimp and has two best friends: Radar and Ben. I liked how witty and funny Q narrates the story, the side comments and the brief flashbacks. John Green tried to make the story with characters with weird quirks but the situations are pretty much relatable, or the feeling of the characters. An example is describing how Q spends his classes staring at the clock, etc. Most of the feelings of the persona were explained through brief flashbacks. It gave much impact since the latter parts of the story talked about expectations of people on other people: how they have their own perceptions of each person which can cause them disappointment whenever they discover that the person they thought is far from the real person. The story was very reflective and fun because of the mix of humor and deep life realizations.

[albinokoi]

Book Review: Three Words, Eight Letters, If I Say It, Will I Be Yours? By Jade Margarette Pitogo

DISCLAIMER: Do not read the review if you haven’t read the previous book.

This is the second book of the Three Words, Eight Letters Series. Jade Margarette Pitogo has originally written this story in Wattpad under the name ‘Girlinlove’. It has been published by Summit Media under the genre Pop Fiction.

Synopsis:

After the accident that happened to her fiancé, Chanel Chua now becomes depressed and stuck on to the memories of Kean. She flew to Korea with her friend, CK, and when on to modeling. Due to the post-traumatic stress, she became ‘Elle’, a wild partygoer that always gets in a fight with other people in clubs. She becomes bitter when it comes to other people’s relationships as she states that ‘no one deserves to get a happy ending when hers was denied’. When her friend CK forced her to retreat into a province in the Philippines to find a way to move on with her lost love, she meets two boys, Dylan, who has the attitude like that of Kean, and Yohann, who looks like Kean. As these two resemble her lost fiancé, how could she move on with what was lost?

Review:

‘Three Words, Eight Letters, If I Say It, Will I Be Yours?’ is a light read and it expands Chanel’s life after Kean. The flow of the story is similar to Filipino soft romance movies. The content is mostly conversations and mushy puppy love scenes.

I cannot shape the appearance of the characters due to the lack of description especially to the two lookalikes of Kean so it was hard to imagine the scenes of the story. To make up for the lack of character profile, the actions of the characters were very detailed.

Many new characters were introduced but they felt so redundant. Chanel, or ‘Elle’, is mostly the voice of the story. She has the tendency to associate objects and people to Kean. CK, a recurring character which was introduced in the later parts of the previous book, is a band member of the ICL Koala. He is Chanel’s best friend and helps her cope up with her loss. Dylan is a guy Chanel meets during her trip in a province. He resembles Kean’s attitude and has a habit of teasing Chanel with sarcastic remarks. Yohann is another guy that resembles Kean but in terms of appearance but differs in attitude. He is more kind, honest, and romantic than Kean.

The writing style focused on the actions more than the settings and descriptions. It was like a compilation of a teenager’s diary entries. Despite the bitchy protagonist, I appreciated the small dash of doing good deeds and Lola Lisa’s inspiring lines.

If you’re a fan of Filipino romance movies, KPop, and love triangles, you will enjoy this book. It is an easy read since it is targeted to teen readers.

[lfy-clothing]

[albinokoi]

My dear, if you want to enter UP, the first thing you have to learn is to write without too much grammatical errors. Your blog sucks because of all the grammatical mistakes!

Thank you for the message.

I wrote the UP transferring guide years before and I admit my grammar is quite bad. I’m sorry that you found my blog bad because of too much grammar errors. However, I know some people in UP that write as bad as I do. I feel sad that you have to bash my blog just to make your point :(

Thank you for the advice as well, but I am already in UP Diliman.

[albinokoi]

Book Review: Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Landline is a novel by Rainbow Rowell who has written several other novels such as ‘Eleanor & Park’ and ‘Fangirl’.

Synopsis:

Georgie McCool is a comedy TV series scriptwriter and she is forced to work in the holidays of December 2013. Because of that, she has to cancel her Thanksgiving trip to Omaha with her husband, Neal, and their daughters. Her husband did not take that nicely and left with a bad conflict hanging. Now Georgie is left alone to stay in Los Angeles worrying about their marriage. Drowning in grief, Georgie discovers a magic landline phone that can talk to Neal in the past. With such a random situation, she thinks that this is an opportunity to fix her past conflicts with her husband.

Review:

Landline is a sweet and captivating love story and it describes every affectionate scene to the fullest. The slow build up is accompanied with bits of sweet flashbacks which made me hang on and keep on reading. 

I like how Rainbow made a different yet still love-and-romance-related plot. Before, she focused on teenagers, college students, and workplace romance. Now she takes on a family romance.

I find the story heartwarming especially how Georgie talks with her kids. The story is told mostly off Georgie’s reflections of the past like how she met her husband. Just like any other Rainbow Rowell novel, this book contains many conversations. The conversations, though sometimes repetitive, help progress the plot and give readers a hint on how each character acts.

Rainbow gave each character a quirky personality which made all of them lovable. Parts of Georgie’s reflections show her relationship background with each character and how they met. Rainbow’s signature ‘monologue-y’ writing style is highly noticeable in this book since Georgie talks to herself in most of the chapters of the book.

[talkingtotheanimals]