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Re: Latest book you have finished

PostPosted: November 3rd, 2014, 10:40 am
by laila_6045
@super_mark

that is intriguing...i will look into this book...where can i get a copy of this book nbs? and how much? thanks for the recommendation...we hope this one will get more and better exposure.

Re: Latest book you have finished

PostPosted: November 3rd, 2014, 11:26 am
by Super_Mark
laila_6045 wrote:@super_mark

that is intriguing...i will look into this book...where can i get a copy of this book nbs? and how much? thanks for the recommendation...we hope this one will get more and better exposure.


Thanks Ms Laila,

I bought my copy at Powerbooks. Nagcheck ako first sa NBS dito pero sabi nila out of stock. P160 lang po. :)

Re: Latest book you have finished

PostPosted: November 6th, 2014, 9:03 am
by Super_Mark
Ghost Moon Night

Riveting.

The novel chronicles the story of a small town , Dasalin, which is situated north of the Philippines that being haunted by flying creatures known as langbuans. Langbuans are like the crossbreed of zombies and aswang (a vampire-like ghoul with wings in Filipino culture). They drain out heat from the humans that they touch eventually killing that person. The creatures only appear once a month during ghost moon night when there is no moon hence the name "langbuan", taken from two Tagalog words "walang" meaning no/not present and "buwan" which refers to the moon.

The story starts when a group of pirates was caught trying to steal some of the boats of the villagers. As a punishment they were left to die in the beach but before they succumbed to death a curse was cast that on every ghost moon night the village will be visited by the langbuans. And before the pirates die they were able to tell the secret as to how to ward off the langbuans to a boy who because of his good heart tried to save them to death but eventually failed. Who is that boy? That'll spoil the book so might as well leave it like that. :)

The story the jumped 75 years later. And there we meet Antonio Pulido, the main protagonist in the story. A teenage boy coming into terms with what he wants contrasting with what other wants for his life. Then there's the priest, coming into terms with his new life from city life to province life. Then the villagers coming into terms with everyday life and with the attacks of the langbuans.

What interested me first with the book is the setting which is the Philippines. I have since been wanting to read a book that touches the topic of Philippine folklores. The author is a Filipina living in US and I like how she was able to describe the culture and the people of the Philippines in a very realistic way.

The book is also full of delightful characters. The primary reason why I like the book is because of the characters. I like the ensemble of antagonists and protagonists. Such a perfect balance. The main protagonist is very likeable and whom one can easily relate to. The supporting characters grew with the main character as the story progressed.

I like how the author was able to portray the different conflicts in the story. There is that conflict with religion and tradition, conflict within the family and conflict within self.

Being a mystery-thriller novel, the book is action packed. This is a novel where there is literally no dull moment. I like how spontaneous the book is and how it was able to maintain the momentum throughout the book. Aside form the langbuan, the novel also have other creatures which made the story even more creepier like the tiyanak (a vampiric creature taking the form of a baby) and other sorts of ghosts. I like how that author was able to play with my imagination.

One of the strong points also of the are the subplots. There's romance, tragedy and other adventures. I like how that author was able to work with the subplots and she made it worked to make the main plot stronger.

As for the ending, I liked the twist in it. I like how the revelations were presented. There are no loose ends. Everything ended smoothly. After finishing the book, it made me want to clamor for more from the author. Maybe a sequel perhaps? ;)

Overall, this book is worth the read. I just couldn't put into writing how I enjoyed the book. I recommend it to others who like to read folklores and wants to introduce themselves to other cultures. This book is a great start to those who wants to introduce themselves to Philippines folklores.

An easy 5/5 for me.

Re: Latest book you have finished

PostPosted: November 12th, 2014, 9:06 pm
by thevinethatwrites
Amber Room by Steve Berry :)

Re: Latest book you have finished

PostPosted: November 13th, 2014, 1:16 pm
by arjaye
oohhh..quite a few, but no time to write for revs... work and family and friends happened, you know! haha

---happenstance 1 and 2 by Jamie Mcguire 3/5
--- Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins 4/5
--- Let the water rise and other stories by Matthew Burgos 5/5
--- Looking for Alaska by John Green 3/5

Re: Latest book you have finished

PostPosted: November 13th, 2014, 2:56 pm
by arjaye
LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR by Stephanie Perkins
4/5

Another teeny-boppy-lovey-doody tale of young love, sweet love. oh, and I LIKED IT!
It made me go back to those days, golden as it was, of crushes and proms, first loves and the never dying of those. Of pursuing your dream, of hot and cold emotions, of shoulda, woulda, coulda. Of goodbyes, of hellos, of second chances. Lola Nolan and Cricket Bell got theirs, early, good more chances of starting anew. I told you, young love is sweet love.

Lola's personality is a bit different. She likes to dress up, imrpovise, re-invent her looks. Wigs,make-ups and a lot of unconventional materials she uses to describe her mood each and everyday. She has two dads, Andy and Nathan, and a banged-up birth mom, Norah. One bestfriend, Lindsey, one boyfriend, Max. One neighborhood, but two difficult neighbors, twins, actually, the Bells, Calliope and Cricket. Lola and the Bells had history, which made fine by having them leave their home for a while. But they are moving back again, furnitures and all. For a while or for good, it doesnt matter for Lola dreaded this day that the other room beside hers will light up again, as the memory of the wounds (as shallow as it was, for me) that that young boy gave her, surfaced once again.

Cricket is tall and nerdy and sweet and shy. Extreme opposite of Max, the rockstar god and the older boyfriend.

The dilemma, the actual love versus the dream love. Which to choose and to put a stand on? The story made it easier to pick the one, but i wish Ms. Perkins didnt do that, AGAIN, since Anna and the French Kiss had that same love trouble. I dont want any bad guys, in the end.

Speaking of Anna and The French Kiss, main characters, Anna and St. Clair were quite visible in this tale. Oh i miss their too perfect love story. I like seeing recurring characters, it gave me the sense of familiarity. Ettiene St. Clair is still this English hottie with a beautiful accent.

All in all, LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR, is a sweet read. My heart swells of innocent and early stages of love, where you just think about proms and dresses, birthdays and gifts, walks in the park and big first kisses. Just the good, warm feelings.

Re: Latest book you have finished

PostPosted: November 13th, 2014, 3:38 pm
by joesel
Legend and Prodigy by Marie Lu

i surprisingly love it. :)
if it wasn't for the boring class i attended last Saturday i wouldn't have read such nice book. AND I DECLARE, even without finishing the series yet, THIS IS GOING TO BE ONE OF MY FAVORITE SERIES. Oh Day, Oh Day althought i hate you for not getting June's point in Prodigy i still go "Oh Day" for you. And that bathtub scene, again that was "Oh Day"..

i enjoyed the alternate narrating of stories - Day then June. The world-building was similar to Divergent and the action-adventure similar to The Hunger Games.

Can't wait for the weekend so i can read the last book - Champion. :)

Re: Latest book you have finished

PostPosted: November 13th, 2014, 11:20 pm
by laila_6045
@arjaye...well i have glad to know you enjoyed Lola's story...now please read on Isla's story as well....one of my fave read this year and i did crey with sadness and most of all joy! like literally tears of joy coz si ano went down on his knee and si ano didn't see it coming and I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING AND I WAS ELATED!!!! AND I'M LIKE OMG!!! THE GANG ARE ALL HERE AND HAPPILY EVER AFTER BEGINS!!!

@joesel....i lab you already...coz Legend is one of my all time fave series...and so good luck with CHAMPION FEELS....COZ THERE WILL BE FEELSSSSS!!!! AND I'M SO EXCITED FOR NEXT WEEKEND COZ I WILL FINALLY MEET MY IDOL MARIE LU FOR REAL HUHUHU!

Re: Latest book you have finished

PostPosted: November 13th, 2014, 11:49 pm
by laila_6045
Talon (Talon#1) by Julie Kagawa
Genre : Urban fantasy, Ya, romance
Rate : 3/5

I am a huge fan of J. Kagawa's books. This one was a slow start for me and mostly it has to do with the main heroine. I don't feel invested in her yet. And there were certain scenes here that were awesome but really the surfing USA setting here was sometimes off putting coz Ember the heroine isn't acting like a Talon standard dragon which is why she is always in trouble and hard headed. I can't stand some of her selfish teenage impulse in this book...but knowing Julie she usually takes time to develop her main characters to a better direction...like she did with Meghan in her Iron Fey series...so i do have high hopes for this series. Some scenes does felt cheesy like watching a teeny bop summer fling romance that went sour coz ...except it involves mystery and action and deadly dragons and zealots. Not one of her best works but not hopeless over all i did enjoyed it in the end. be warned there is a love triangle here...i appreciate the internal struggle she presented in this one...but not how she executed the introduction of the other love interest (like really biker bad boy so cliche)...like every cliche things that happens on a summer romance that you could imagine probably was presented in this book but that's just on the surface, obviously there are more sinister things are happening behind the scene.

Re: Latest book you have finished

PostPosted: November 14th, 2014, 12:36 am
by arjaye
laila_6045 wrote:@arjaye...well i have glad to know you enjoyed Lola's story...now please read on Isla's story as well....one of my fave read this year and i did crey with sadness and most of all joy! like literally tears of joy coz si ano went down on his knee and si ano didn't see it coming and I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING AND I WAS ELATED!!!! AND I'M LIKE OMG!!! THE GANG ARE ALL HERE AND HAPPILY EVER AFTER BEGINS!!!!


Wahhhhhh.... Who is who???? Kainis ka lai! I started already...and now i will definitely see it coming! Tseh! Hahaha
Cannot wait... Ill let u see my thoughts, tom maybe! Miss kita!