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Book Review

Review: Cities by Carla De Guzman

The Backlist Revival Project is a fresh initiative to bring life to #romanceclass books that have been around for a while. For the month of March, the project features Cities, the debut book of multitalented, exceedingly artistic author Carla de Guzman.

Celia has dreams.
She dreams of going to Seoul for that scholarship she never took, of leaving everything behind and moving to New York.
In all those dreams, she finds herself attached to Benedict, the boy she has always loved, who didn’t love her back.

Ben believes in parallel worlds.
Worlds where the things you didn’t do come true—worlds where he went to London and fell in love with Celia, where he shows up on the day she needed him most. He believes that dreams are glimpses into that parallel world, and it’s not a coincidence that Celia’s been having them too.

It’s the day of Ben’s wedding, in the middle of a typhoon in Manila. How will these dreams and unmade decisions change their lives? Will they bring them closer together, or just drive them further apart?

What if all the ‘what ifs’ you ever had actually existed in different planes and you’re just not aware of it? What if in this reality, he loved someone else, while in the other, he loved you back?

De Guzman’s Cities is rooted on this intriguing premise, of multiverses that exist next to each other, of multiple lives one person could be living in different planes of existence. It felt very abstract to me, and at times I found myself being stopped by thoughts that go ‘wait—what?’ But a few pages in, I decided to stop overanalyzing everything and just settle into enjoying each story.

Celia, Ben, Vivian and Henry have loved each other in many different ways, and in different permutations. In each of the three cities, their love stories start differently, progress differently, and conclude with scenes that shift in abrupt takes, much like rapid blinks of the eyes in dreams. Seoul is fun, flirty and swift, propelled by the urgency of young love and the classic obstacle of rich-man-loves-common-spunky-woman. London is a slower, more potent brew of friends and flings. New York is brisk too, but there is a level of comfort there, a warmth against the big city’s inherent zing; even the lines of conflict felt familiar. But Manila is where it all begins and ends, on a wedding day that defied a storm.

Cities does not try to answer the ‘what ifs?’, but instead tries to explore one after another. Each city provides a colorful backdrop that sets a unique tone to each multiverse. I would have wanted a more consistent POV—the head-hopping jars me out of the narrative at times—but De Guzman’s prose is friendly, and the depth of her imagination pushed me out of the safe borders of my reality. Read it, and like Celia, maybe you too will be consumed by the question: what if in another universe, you loved me too?

About the author

Carla de Guzman had horrible handwriting as a kid. That didn’t stop her from writing, though. Riddled with sleep apnea and a vivid imagination, she started writing every midnight. She grew up with her toes in the sand and her bags packed and ready to go on adventures. These books are chronicles of her journeys, with a silly love story mixed in.

Book Review

Author Interview: Anne Plaza

The Backlist Revival tour for Anne Plaza’s romance novella In Over Her Head. is still happening! Thanks to this project, I was able to pull the book out of my impossible TBR pile (haha) for a quick review. Also, it has given me an opportunity to interview the author herself. Read on as we discuss romance versus urban fantasy, Richard vs. Jerome, and her ultimate book boyfriend. Yep, I made her choose.
Anne-Plaza-In-Over-Her-Head
1. I know you wrote this story as part of the first ever #romanceclass. Can you tell me a few things that stuck with you about the experience? 
I learned A LOT about organizing my thoughts. Sure, I’ve outlined the stories I’ve written back when I was doing NaNoWriMo (I skipped last year though), but it’s different when you’re following something precise and already tested. The three-act outline is something that I still use to this day, and I find it so useful in my writing, even if I’m not working on a romance story. It helped me stay focused on providing logical and sensible progression in the story, as well as a better appreciation of the characters in every stage. I like that I learn something new about my characters even if I draft out character profiles before outlining the story. Although the story tends to “write itself” as you go along (outline or no outline), having a concrete direction helps get me back on track.

And beyond the technical aspect of what I learned in class, I guess one of the most important things that made an impact with me is the sense of community in this little group. I love how #romanceclass goes beyond supporting each author’s work–we also champion each other’s creative spirit.

2. A lot has happened since you’ve written this book, in terms of stuff you’ve written and even in terms of the publishing landscape. Back then, did you imagine you’d have the writing life that you’re still living now? 
I never really thought I’d still be writing up to now. I tend to procrastinate A LOT and sometimes I have to really force myself to instill the discipline that comes with being an author. I could have stopped doing this after publishing In Over Her Head. I mean, I already crossed off that one item in the bucket list, so I should move on to the next. But I’m glad I didn’t settle for just one book. When I realized that I could actually do this, I wanted more. I’m grateful to be surrounded by people who continue to encourage me as I do this.

3. IOOH delves deeply into the question of second chances. Did you ever consider Erika choosing a different ending for herself? 
When I was working on the outline for this story, I initially wanted a neutral ending. Meaning Erika doesn’t choose any guy, but instead chooses herself. She has a lot of hangups, most of them stemming from issues she had not let go. But as I mentioned previously about stories wanting to write themselves, Erika wanted to choose someone. I’d been steering her back to the original idea, but she was stubborn. She talked incessantly in my head, did lots of crazy stuff as I was writing the scenes. But in the end I think she made it clear to me that she wasn’t taking no for an answer. When I wrote the beginnings of the choice she wanted to make, she started to take it easy on me haha. But seriously, I think it all worked out for the best. I’m glad I made the decision to let Erika write her story instead of fighting it. 🙂

4. Richard or Jerome? Why? Choose one only. 
Richard. Because he found a way. 🙂 Can’t say much without spoiling anything haha.

5. Who is your book boyfriend? Choose one only. 
OMG this is HARD. But okay, off the top of my head: Bowen Driscol (from Tessa Bailey‘s Risking It All).

6. You’ve written in both romance and urban fantasy. Do you intend to pursue both genres in your upcoming projects? 
#Strangelit-incredible-truthsRomance would always be my happy place, but ever since I let that urban fantasy story out of my head, it’s been calling to me. At the moment I think I will pursue speculative fiction in the next writing project/s, but there could be some romance elements there, so I’m not completely abandoning the genre.

7. Any new releases we can look forward to? 
I’m hoping to finish book 2 of my #StrangeLit piece soon! Also, an Amazon version of Bloodline Maharlika (that’s book 1!) is in the works. I’m thrilled to work on this series (and it’s my first serial WIP too), so I’m hoping I get everything done real soon.

 

 

Thank you Anne for your awesome answers! 🙂

About the book:

All she wants is to get even…

Erika Apostol’s quiet and unassuming life gets disrupted when she learns that Richard Javier, the very same person who broke her heart many years ago, is now back in the country. Her world is turned upside down as old feelings she thought were buried resurface to haunt her once more.

Determined to give Richard a dose of his own medicine, Erika finds herself involved in an outrageous plan devised by her friends. They enlist the help of Jerome Gonzales, an attractive and charismatic DJ (with a playboy reputation), to pose as her significant other.

As the plan goes in full swing, Erika discovers Richard’s jealous side, and that there’s something more to Jerome than meets the eye. Will this grand charade work out the way it should, or will she be left with nothing in the end?

About the Author

Anne Plaza writes contemporary romance, young adult, and speculative fiction novellas. She has been into writing since high school and has been actively pursuing it on a professional level despite having a totally unrelated bachelor’s degree. Her first contemporary New Adult romance novella In Over Her Head was published in 2013 and was subsequently nominated for the 2014 Filipino Reader’s Choice Awards Romance in English.

When not writing, Anne juggles time in her day job, obsessing over her TV show fandoms, and shopping for new books to add to her growing TBR pile.

Connect with her at:
Email | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Sign up for her mailing list for exclusive updates and giveaways

 

 

Book Review

Review: In Over Her Head by Anne Plaza

We’re revisiting firsts! Some of our favorite authors’ first ever books, that is. Thanks to the Backlist Revival project, I got a chance to enjoy Anne Plaza‘s first ever romance novel, In Over Her Head. Read on to learn more about the book:

All she wants is to get even…

Erika Apostol’s quiet and unassuming life gets disrupted when she learns that Richard Javier, the very same person who broke her heart many years ago, is now back in the country. Her world is turned upside down as old feelings she thought were buried resurface to haunt her once more.

Determined to give Richard a dose of his own medicine, Erika finds herself involved in an outrageous plan devised by her friends. They enlist the help of Jerome Gonzales, an attractive and charismatic DJ (with a playboy reputation), to pose as her significant other.

As the plan goes in full swing, Erika discovers Richard’s jealous side, and that there’s something more to Jerome than meets the eye. Will this grand charade work out the way it should, or will she be left with nothing in the end?

Breaking up is the easy part. It’s the moving on thing that’s a complete and utter chore, because that part you have to do on your own. And that I think is Erika‘s essential debacle in this story. It’s easy to sympathize with her pain; with how horrible she felt after her boyfriend Richard dumped her like that, unceremoniously and over what seemed like a career opportunity. Her heart was left in such fragile little pieces that even after 10 years she still had not picked herself up. So I kind of understand where the push came from when she hastily agreed to the get-back-at-the-ex plan. No, it wasn’t the smartest nor was it the most mature of moves, but coming from that place of hurt, it did make sense.

I liked Jerome. I liked how he was, deep inside, a real cupcake. I liked how he called Erika out and pushed her to make decisions she wouldn’t dare face on her own. I liked how Richard tried with Erika. I’m not sure I would have accepted that Starbucks bag, but that’s just me. I liked Lorra and how much she cared about Erika, though it bothered me a little that a lot of the things happening in Lorra’s life apparently didn’t breach Erika’s radar. (Come on girls, your friendship!)

I got my feels right where I wanted them, plus an extra dose because of Gio‘s voice in my head (heh refer to the #romanceclass podcast). Reading the last few scenes, I agreed with how things turned out. But then I’d mull it over again and I’d change my mind. I think that’s just me too, this general indecision and the fallibility of my feelings. How about you read the book too and let’s discuss?

About the Author

Anne Plaza writes contemporary romance, young adult, and speculative fiction novellas. She has been into writing since high school and has been actively pursuing it on a professional level despite having a totally unrelated bachelor’s degree. Her first contemporary New Adult romance novella In Over Her Head was published in 2013 and was subsequently nominated for the 2014 Filipino Reader’s Choice Awards Romance in English.

When not writing, Anne juggles time in her day job, obsessing over her TV show fandoms, and shopping for new books to add to her growing TBR pile.

Connect with her at:
Email | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Sign up for her mailing list for exclusive updates and giveaways

Book Review

Review: When Cocoy Became Kikay by CP Santi

Cocoy’s not-so-secret dream is to one day become a gun-toting, ass-kicking secret agent. But she has another dream—and this time, even her best friends don’t have a clue—she dreams of someone.
Problem is, she finds out that Jaime Arguelles—a.k.a. the guy she’d been secretly crushing on for years—likes girls who . . . well . . . like pink.
To Cocoy’s logical mind, there’s only one solution: it’s time to go girly. After all, how hard can it be?
With the help of her friends, Cocoy embarks on a pink-tinged journey that somehow turns her neat and orderly life upside down. But it’s all good—because in the midst of her blossoming relationship, Cocoy learns a whole lot about life, love, dreams, and friendship . . . and about the healing power of pan de sal, Chippy, and Nutella.

***

The title threw me off just a little, to be honest. I thought it’s a story of a young boy who wanted to physically become a girl. Turns out that while that would be a very interesting story, When Cocoy Became Kikay tells a completely different tale of a teenage girl’s transformation.

Cocoy is one of the boys, and she is happy in her skin, thank you very much. That is, until she falls in crush with the one and only Jaime Arguelles, the boy next door who prefers girls who wear pink and maybe a tiny bit of lipgloss. To get him to even see her as a girl, Cocoy felt she needed to start looking like one for a start, and thus begins her adventure.

Some of the turns in the book felt familiar, not because they were annoyingly predictable, but because Cocoy felt like someone I knew, or maybe someone I’ve been at one point in my (definitely less colorful) adolescence. Santi writes the character as if Cocoy is someone she loves, someone she roots for, and that is palpable in the narrative. The inside of Cocoy’s head is a bright, funny place, and I love being inside of it. The ending was a topic of discussion for me and my friend, but it felt right to me. It felt deserved and comforting, just like a spread of pandesal, Chippy, and Nutella on a bad day.

When Cocoy Became Kikay is available on Amazon. Print copies are available too! Just contact the author 🙂

About the Author

C.P. Santi is a Filipina writer based in Tokyo, Japan. She is a wife to an engineer / musician / jokester and a full-time mom to two energetic boys. She loves cooking and feeding people, gorging on chocolate, watching J-doramas, belting it out in the karaoke box, and running around the house playing tickle tag. She also loves dreaming up stories about the people she meets.

In another life, she is also an architect and academic.

C. P. Santi blogs about writing and creative stuff at http://thejapayukichronicles.blogspot.jp. You can also view her other works in progress at http://www.wattpad.com/user/cpsanti

Book Review

Review: The Forget You Brew by Tara Frejas

tara-frejas-strangelit-the-forget-you-brewFor 20-year old Kyle Thomson, nothing in the world is more terrifying than the prospect of telling Allison Jeon that he loves her. That is, until he finds out that this mystical café in a peculiar place called Nowheretown had served her a cup of afforgeto—a brew for forgetting—a drink she ordered intending to forget him. Hoping to reverse the spell, Kyle reluctantly teams up with a bunny-eared hopeless romantic and a badass barista to retrieve Allison’s memory jar from the Repository of the Intangible. But when stealing back forgotten memories doesn’t quite turn out as expected, Kyle is left with no choice but to conquer his biggest fear.

Can the magic of Nowheretown supply him a fixer-upper, or will the magic in his steadfast heart be enough to grant them their happy ever after?

***

This is my first Frejas book, and reading it pretty much sealed the deal that she will be on my auto-buy list from here on out. The author is born to write urban fantasy, as proven by her debut effort, Paper Planes Back Home (but that’s a different review altogether). The depth of her imagination grabs you from the first page. It feels real and magical at the same time, and it’s the kind of strong pull that moves you to turn the page, to hungrily go through each word and navigate through each plot twist.

The Forget You Brew starts with the common enough quandary of a boy who felt he could never confess his love to a girl. It’s the kind of self-inflicted problem that makes me want to knock Kyle and Allison‘s head together to drive some sense into them. But factor in the fantastical world beyond the thick wall of bushes that is Nowheretown, a very helpful girl with bunny ears, a really hot barista in a motorcycle brewing exactly the kind of magical drink you need, and you’ve got a whirlwind of a story. Personally (and this is a topic for debate), the afforgeto is not my kind of brew, but I understand its intoxicating lure. And if you make the right decision to pick up this story, I’m sure you will too. Did I mention the barista is hot? Okay.

The Forget You Brew is part of the StrangeLit Killer Seasons bundle available on Buqo. Paperback copies are available direct from the author.

NEWS: Frejas is working on another book set in the Nowheretown universe and I can’t wait to read that!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tara Frejas is a cloud-walker who needs caffeine to fuel her travels. By day, she works in project management and events, and she writes down her daydreams at night. She began publishing fiction for public consumption in 2004, posting her pieces on various online channels like fan forums and Blogspot, eventually exploring other avenues like Livejournal, Soomp!, Tumblr, and most recently, Wattpad.

Aside from her obvious love affair with words and persistent muses, Tara is very passionate about being caffeinated, musical theatre, certain genres of music, dancing, dogs, good food, and romancing Norae, her ukelele. She owns a 6-month-old male bunny named Max who sometimes tries to nibble on her writing notes.

Paper Planes Back Home is her first novel.

Links:
Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

Book Review

Review: What You Wanted by Mina V. Esguerra

It’s the classic one-night stand: Beach wedding, bridesmaid, groom’s friend. When Andrea and Damon meet, sparks fly, and they give in to the attraction. Sounds simple, but Andrea’s still getting over someone, and Damon thought he’d be hooking up with another person that night. It could still be simple, really, if they chalk it up to a weekend tryst and move on.

But one night becomes lunch the week after, and then dinner the next weekend…and before they know it, Andrea and Damon are still together, dealing with the feelings they know they might still have for other people. How hard can it be to get exactly what you want? How do you even know what it is?

***Andrea and Damon met in prequel short story WEDDING NIGHT STAND, but this book can be read as a standalone.***

 

I received an ARC of this book from the author. This does not affect my opinion of the work.

I’m not one to pick up a book with a hookup type of premise. I’ve never quite rooted for a heroine who slept around and then somehow found true love in that hot mess of first dates and random guys. It takes a lot for me to believe that. Thus it says something about Mina V. Esguerra’s new book What You Wanted because I absolutely loved it.

I liked Andrea. She’s not my kind of girl and I’m not what she’d call one of her people. But her frankness and her ability to see things as they are, behind the veil of people’s everyday bullshit, were all utterly refreshing. Of course the very way she perceives the world and the ‘rules’ of the dating game, and even the way she looks at herself lead her to exactly the kind of trap she’d been hoping to avoid. But that’s a journey I think you should take with her when you read the book.

I liked Damon too. I’d be shit scared of someone like him at first. Smart, rich, devilishly handsome, and all colors of messed up for the wrong girl for so long. But he’s honest too, or he tries very hard to be. I’d say more about how awesome he is, and how well Damon and Andrea work together, but I don’t want to spoil anything for you. As I said, go pick up the book and find out for yourself.

Available on the following e-retailers: Amazon iTunes Smashwords Barnes & Noble Kobo buqo

 

About Mina V. Esguerra

Mina V. Esguerra writes contemporary romance, young adult, and new adult novellas. Through her blog Publishing in Pajamas (minavesguerra.com), she documents her experiments in publishing.

When not writing romance, she is president of communications firm Bronze Age Media, development communication consultant, indie publisher, professional editor, wife, and mother. She created the workshop series “Author at Once” for writers and publishers, and #romanceclass for aspiring romance writers.

Her young adult/fantasy trilogy Interim Goddess of Love is a college love story featuring gods from Philippine mythology. Her contemporary romance novellas won the Filipino Readers’ Choice awards for Chick Lit in 2012 (Fairy Tale Fail) and 2013 (That Kind of Guy).

Contact her at minavesguerra [at] gmail [dot] com / @minavesguerra on Twitter. Visit her Amazon Author Page. Find her books here.