Book Review: Funiculi Funicula - Before the Coffee Gets Cold (1) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Book and ARC reviews are posted under this feature!

Funiculi Funicula by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

*I own a copy of this book.*

Genre: Novel Fantasy

Pub. Date: December 6, 2015

Visit this review on my Goodreads page here!

This book is not thick. In fact, in my good 'ol days I could practically read it in one sitting. And I did.

Firstly, I think it doesn't feel quite alright to categorize this book as a fantasy novel, but it is. The blurb says it all. An old coffee shop which offers a chance for its visitors to time-travel. The premise is pretty intriguing, I must say. And it is one of the reasons I picked this book up. Anyway, this book is the first of a trilogy but I haven't read the rest.

Just like what it promised in the back cover, Funiculi Funicula tells a series of time-travel story experiences by several characters. The start was actually kind of boring in my honest opinion. 

I had this high expectation of enticing time travel stories but I was kind of disappointed by the opening where this couple in the mid of breaking up (plus distance separation) in the very coffee shop. I was like, 'where's my time travel experience?'. Then the story went on and on and finally it reached the part where the woman of the said couple asked for a chance to time travel because she wanted to do anything to change the flow of event from the day of her break up. And once again I was like, 'seriously, where's my dramatic time travel experience?'. I was really disappointed that the first time-traveler would be this (sorry) pathetic woman in denial.

Then one chapter ended and in my positive respond, I'd like to think that the first chapter played the part as introduction of so many rules regarding of the chance for people to be able to time travel. The rules are so many that not everyone is able to just come to the cafe and time travel as they want. And it was all covered perfectly case by case in this chapter. It was actually pretty neat explanation to go forward with the next ones.

From second chapter onward, this book just gets better and better. 

Funiculi Funicula only has 4 chapters in total. The first one is just like how I described before. The second one titled 'Husband and Wife'. And it was so so good I buried my face on the pillow to stifle my screaming of emotionally affected by the sweet sweet interaction of both characters, the heartbreaking circumstances, the feeling of longing of something similar, the maturity of their relationship not just as a married couple but more than that, as friends, and partner in everything. I even wrote a mini review on my instagram saying something in line with this:

'Get you someone who loves you,

the way Fusagi loves Kotake

not big in words, but stellar in action

not even big in gestures of love,

but always clear about where he stands'

And it's all because of this letter from Fusagi in reply to Kotake's containing only:

"Marry me." 

(Funiculi Funicula, p. 86)

The third chapter titled 'Sisters' and it was just ugh, my heart exploded in tiny confetti. And not in a good way. I cried the whole journey of the sister's time travel. I have a sister on my own so I could picture exactly how she felt at the moment and I was like.. 'don't torture me this way'. But I just LOVED the ending of this chapter. Really, this Kawaguchi guy really knows how to write a perfect closure, not just for the characters, but for the readers as well. 

The last one titled 'Mom and daughter'. I said this book just gets better and better the more you read and IT IS! Though, my favorite chapter would be the second one (I am a hopeless romantic, don't mind me) but this one, hands down, perfection. There are so many mind-blowing moments and I am all for it. In fact, I am all for this book!

If I am going to put my emotion and feeling while reading this book into a graph it would definitely be an exponential growth one, a J-shaped curve. I still remembered, I put the book on my chest and stared at the ceiling of my room for -I don't know- an hour or so even though it was already 3 in the morning. This book made me think about a lot of thing. About things I took for granted. Things better left unsaid. Things should not be forced. Things to just let be.

It took me a month to finally able to jot down this review cause I wanted the review to convey my feeling exactly. I think I have not put it down in proper words but well, I tried. Despite so many reviews saying this book is not their cup of teas and so on, I personally want to recommend you to read this one. It is a short, roller-coastery, yet neatly closured read. I think you will love it like I do.

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Mini Review: The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson

 

Book and ARC reviews are posted under this feature!

The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson

*I own a Paperback Copy of The Book*

Genre: Self Help, Non Fiction

Pub. Date: January 1st, 2016

Visit this review on my Goodreads page here!

I don't know why I picked this book up as my first ever read in 2024. But maybe it's because a part of me wants to read something other than romance for a bit. Or maybe it's because a part of me thinks that I need some self-help considering the circumstances lately. And maybe it's because a part of me that has been giving a fck about so many things my brain could not comprehend. 

There are some parts of the book that I personally can relate. There are lots of them that I could not agree cause my mind goes like, what the f this book even saying now?. But overall, it's a good read cause there are some lines that I highlighted along the way indicating that in fact, this book makes sense to me in some ways. 

I did not read this book in order of the table of content. I just read the chapter that I could relate to at the moment of me reading it. I literally brought this book everywhere I go. A couple cafe visits, a bunch of lunch sets, 8 flights, and one after jogging session later, I finally finished this book. Took me so long but I'm glad I could finish this. The final chapter, actually resonated with me a lot. It makes me think about a lot of things. About death, the feeling of gratefulness, about life, and how I've been leading my life all these times. It actually even gives me chill a bit.

'They say that a butterfly flapping its wings in Africa can cause a hurricane in Florida; well, what hurricanes will you leave in your wake?'

This particular line got me like, damn. What have I been doing with my life?

I could recommend this book for people who's in need of a good big slap on the face about not to give a fck about everything and actually start to choose what to give a fck to. But I must say that you have to bear the pretentious tone this book gives out and put it aside to actually fully get what it says.

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Review (bahasa): Home $weet Loan by Almira Bastari

Book and ARC reviews are posted under this feature!

Home $weet Loan by Almira Bastari

*Paperback copy was pre-ordered through Tokopedia on January 25th. Available at bookstores on February 23th, 2022*

Genre: Metropop

Pub. Date: February 23th, 2022

Visit this review on my Goodreads page here!

Mengulang momen dengan Ganjil Genap. Tahun ini, buku Almira kembali menjadi buku pertama yang saya baca. Hopefully it will be the start of another book-reading for me!

Saya membuka laptop malam ini berniat untuk menulis review novel Home $weet Loan yang selesai dalam satu malam, tiga minggu yang lalu. Namun melihat cover metropop terbaru Almira Bastari ini kembali mengingatkan pada pe-er yang kerap terabaikan: catatan keuangan harian. Membuat saya berencana untuk menghabiskan weekend kali ini untuk kembali menyusun catatan keuangan pribadi dan meng-update beberapa item di dalamnya.

That’s how this book is affecting me.

Berbeda dari karya Almira sebelumnya yang jauh lebih ringan dan ber-tone ceria, Home $weet Loan menyuguhkan problematika real yang cukup serius berikut cerita perjuangan yang mampu membuat frustrasi pembacanya, or at least it felt that way for me.

Memulai cerita, saya spontan bertepuk tangan dengan kata-kata pembuka Almira sebelum halaman Prolog.

“Untuk yang berjuang memiliki tempat untuk pulang”

Singkat, jelas, dan mengena. Membuatku yakin, para pejuang KPR yang kebetulan membaca buku ini akan merasa sedikit panas di sudut mata membaca sebaris kalimat tersebut. Well, saya yang tidak relate dengan kondisi tersebut bahkan merasa hangat di hati. But for another reason that I would spill later in a bit.

Prolog langsung membawa kita ke titik permasalahan yang menjadi fokus pada cerita kali ini: proses mencari rumah tinggal yang ideal. Ideal dari segi lokasi, lingkungan, historis, dan tentu saja finansial. Ibarat mencari jodoh, sekompleks itu juga proses mencari rumah. Tidak bisa tergesa-gesa, perlu penjajakan. Tidak cukup hanya datang satu kali, namun harus berkali-kali untuk mendapat sudut pandang yang berbeda yang nantinya akan membentuk opini final seseorang. Almira menuangkan seluruh alur proses tersebut dengan detail yang mengagumkan. Secara tidak langsung, kita diberikan tips dan trik dalam mencari tempat tinggal yang ideal dalam kemasan yang menarik. Bahwa ada banyak sekali faktor yang harus dipertimbangkan. Dan memiliki checklist atas faktor-faktor tersebut adalah hal yang wajib, meski pada akhirnya kita diberitahu bahwa walaupun nantinya tidak seluruh boks pada checklist itu terisi, bukan berarti itu merupakan pilihan yang buruk. Seperti yang dihadapi tokoh Kaluna, Tanish, Miya, bahkan Danan, yang seperti beberapa orang ternyata tempat untuk pulangnya bukan hanya rumah. Seperti halnya dalam mencari pasangan hidup. Bukan hanya soal sosok mana yang akan memenuhi seluruh isi checklist kita, namun meski sosok tersebut nantinya memiliki beberapa unchecked boxes tidak berarti sosok tersebut merupakan pilihan yang buruk bagi kita. Itulah mengapa sebaris kalimat pembuka tadi turut menghangatkan perasaan pembaca, terlepas dari status pejuang KPR atau bukan seperti saya. Karena pada akhirnya, tempat untuk pulang tidak selalu merupakan rumah. Karena bisa saja, tempat untuk pulang itu adalah sosok yang dapat memberikan rasa nyaman untuk bersandar setelah lelah berjuang.

"Kadang kita menemukan rumah lebih dulu, kemudian sepi. Kadang kita menemukan orang yang seperti 'rumah'."

Satu hal yang selalu saya sukai dari karakterisasi yang Almira lakukan di buku-bukunya (correct, I’ve read all four of them, even repeatedly for some) adalah bagaimana ia selalu membawa sekelompok karakter yang di-develop sedemikian rupa sehingga pada beberapa kesempatan tiap-tiap karakter tersebut bahkan dapat menjadi pemeran utama cerita, tergantung dari sisi cerita sebelah mana pembaca memandangnya. Begitupun di Home $weet Loan. Kaluna yang memiliki porsi cerita paling banyak tidak serta merta menjadikannya pusat perhatian. Karena saya menemukan titik-titik di mana penggambaran karakter Kaluna agak sulit diterima sebab pada beberapa kesempatan sosok dirinya terkesan lemah. Kelugasan Tanish, misalnya, menjadi daya tarik tersendiri menurut saya. Begitu juga Miya, yang awalnya terkesan reckless namun ternyata sosoknya memiliki niat dan kegigihan yang cukup kuat dalam menjalankan komitmen yang telah ia ambil.

Namun sosok Kaluna, dengan segala kelemahannya, mampu membuat pembaca untuk berkaca pada diri sendiri. Seperti yang saya sampaikan di awal perihal pe-er besar yang tertunda. Kaluna membuat kita bertanya pada diri sendiri: sudahkah saya melek finansial? Seperti tergambar pada tokoh Danan, sayapun seperti ‘ditampar’ dengan fakta bahwa mirisnya kebanyakan generasi muda sekarang tidak banyak yang punya perencanaan keuangan yang baik. Kebanyakan tidak tahu pentingnya, sebagian tidak ambil pusing, sebagian bertahan hidup from paycheck to paycheck, sebagian lainnya merupakan bagian dari sandwich generation. Almira menggambarkan realita di Indonesia tersebut dengan gamblang, membuat kita dapat melihat sosok-sosok Kaluna (si melek finansial namun kerap berada di pusaran masalah keuangan baik di keluarga maupun percintaannya), Tanish (si ibu muda yang harus berjibaku tidak hanya dalam masalah keuangan, namun problematika berumah tangga hingga mertua), Miya (si financial-disaster dengan mimpi, kepercayaan diri, dan kegigihan yang sama tingginya), dan Danan (si berkecukupan yang buta finansial) pada orang-orang di sekeliling kita.

Hanya saja, berbeda dengan penggambaran hubungan antar karakter yang biasanya Almira lakukan

pada buku-buku sebelumnya di mana rasa persahabatan biasa digambarkan dengan sangat hangat, rasa persahabatan antara tokoh Home $weet Loan terasa tidak begitu muncul ke permukaan. Namun ini tidak lantas menjadi suatu kekurangan, karena, let’s be honest here, tidak semua persahabatan akan selalu memiliki ikatan yang erat. Apalagi persahabatan di antara mereka di usia 30-an, dengan segala permasalahan hidup masing-masing, di mana di antara mereka ada yang telah berkeluarga, belum lagi mereka yang masih melajang yang masalahnya sering dianggap tidak sebesar mereka yang telah berkeluarga (You did portray this issue perfectly, Al!) meski nyatanya tidak.

Di samping topik utama di atas, Almira tidak lupa menyelipkan romansa pada Home $weet Loan yang dikemas dengan sederhana, tidak terburu-buru namun ditutup dengan teramat manis. Closing romansa di buku ini disajikan dengan amat realistis serta mampu menepis pernyataan bahwa menikah akan menyelesaikan segala permasalahan ketika masih single, namun paling tidak beban permasalahan tersebut dapat dibagi dengan dua pundak lainnya. Bahkan isu problema hubungan di ambang pernikahan turut dirangkum oleh Almira dengan lugas. Bagaimana pernikahan tidak hanya menyatukan dua insan yang jatuh cinta, namun dua keluarga besar yang akan mengiringinya. She pictured it pretty good there.

Akhirnya, dengan segala kepelikannya, Home $weet Loan mampu memberikan lebih dari sekedar bacaan kasual di akhir minggu. Almira menyinggung banyak sekali permasalahan real di dunia nyata pada buku ini mulai dari sulitnya generasi muda memiliki rumah hingga pentingnya memilih pasangan hidup yang paham dan punya solusi atas kesulitan tersebut.

Really an eye-opener!

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Review (bahasa): Ganjil-Genap by Almira Bastari

Book and ARC reviews are posted under this feature!

Ganjil-Genap by Almira Bastari

*Paperback copy was pre-ordered through TokoPop on January 8th. Available at bookstores on February 2020*

Genre: Metropop

Pub. Date: February 03, 2020

Visit this review on my Goodreads page here!

It’s been a while since I finished a book in one sitting. I even have a couple of books that remain unwrapped cause laziness came creeping down once I bought the books. But Ganjil-Genap breaks the spell for me.

Almira once again amazed me with her writing that I have no idea it could get much much better than before, knowing it was already so good back then.

Pertama kali membaca Ganjil-Genap dari Wattpad membuat saya can’t help but comparing tulisan Almira di platform Wattpad dan dengan yang di buku. Beberapa scene memang diangkat dari sana, tetapi dibandingkan dengan ‘Resign’ yang tidak mengalami banyak perubahan dari penceritaan awal di Wattpad dan dengan di buku, membaca Ganjil Genap di buku terasa amat sangat berbeda dengan di Wattpad. Its a LOT better.

Almira sukses membangun alur cerita yang runtut dan menimbulkan tanya serta menggugah rasa penasaran di tiap lembarnya. Tiap scene diceritakan dengan apik dan mampu membawa emosi pembaca naik turun dengan berbagai konflik-konflik yang meskipun tidak berat (—kecuali bagian Gala diputuskan pacarnya di tahun ketiga belas) namun sangat relatable karena diangkat dari kejadian keseharian. Rumitnya pekerjaan, kandasnya hubungan sepasang kekasih tanpa alasan yang relevan, 'tuntutan' mengkritisi dari society akan status menikah bagi perempuan akhir 20an sementara anak-anak muda sekarang mulai menggandrungi fenomena nikah cepat, belum lagi fakta bahwa lingkaran sosial seseorang semakin mengecil seiring bertambahnya usia (—Gala punya 3 sahabat, bahkan lebih banyak dariku yang hanya punya 2), sulitnya menemukan sosok pria dewasa yang potensial untuk menjadi pendamping hidup, seperti kata Almira di salah satu judul chapter:

“Cowok berkualitas itu kalau bukan pacar orang atau suami orang, mungkin nggak suka cewek" ─Jomblo yang berburuk sangka

—atau mereka enggan berkomitmen, hingga permasalahan semrawutnya berlalu lintas di ibukota, semua diceritakan Almira dengan lugas dan 'ngena' membuat pembaca tanpa sadar mengamini hal-hal tersebut pernah terjadi dalam hidup mereka.

Diceritakan dari sudut pandang Gala, seorang cewek INTJ yang mungkin jarang ditemui di dunia nyata, tapi nyatanya I could relate a lot with her way of thinking. Karakternya yang sangat logis dan tidak terlalu suka berlarut dalam emosi berlebih membuat Gala menjadi female lead yang mudah diikuti jalan pikirannya. At least, I do think so. Meski Gala bisa dibilang 'sempurna' tapi seiring jalan cerita kita akan belajar banyak bahwa bahkan seorang INTJ sekalipun bisa menjadi personal yang teramat toleran ketika jatuh cinta. Mengiyakan yang tidak peka, hingga 'terbiasa' diabaikan. I love that we could see the development of Gala's character throughout the story. And it's always amaze me thinking that somehow, it might be, in real life, the author also came to a realization about this change-for-the-better when writing about this character. Simply heartwarming!

Dengan inti cerita yang jelas dapat ditangkap di blurb di cover belakang buku, Ganjil-Genap menyajikan tepat seperti premise yang dijanjikan. Hubungan 13 tahun yang dikira akan berakhir di pelaminan malah kandas di parkiran, membuat seorang wanita menjelang tiga puluh yang patah hati masih harus tertekan dengan judging masyarakat sehingga menceburkannya dalam perjalanan penuh intrik untuk berburu calon suami. That's it, simple, relatable, dan tidak lari dari inti. Konflik utama hanya terjadi di awal cerita namun tidak lantas membuat sisa alur cerita menjadi membosankan. Meski the wrap-up of the story praktis hanya diselesaikan dalam dua chapter terakhir tapi saya tidak menangkap kesan bertele-tele dari sekian puluh chapter di antara konflik utama dan penyelesaian. Buku ini bagai menghipnotis pembaca untuk tetap setia mengikuti setiap detail cerita yang menggelitik dan tidak membuat mereka merasa perlu untuk 'lompat' atau sekedar 'mengintip' ke epilog karena merasa bosan atau tidak sabar. Saya bahkan menuang air minum ke gelas dan meneguknya tanpa sekalipun mengalihkan pandangan dari lembaran Ganjil-Genap! And I finished it in 5 hours straight, earning me a book hangover the next morning. And I'm not even complaining! I laughed a LOT, like every witty exchange between the characters and amusing analogies the author use to describe the situation occured. And that scenes where all the pressure finally take its toll on Gala: first the insurance agent calling and second with the police. Oh man!

Membaca Ganjil-Genap bagai membaca buku harian yang membuat kita merasa tertohok, terenyuh, malu, hingga merasa perlu introspeksi sebagai closure. Setidaknya itu yang saya rasakan. Almira berusaha mengajak pembacanya untuk memahami bahwa ketika hidup kita tidak berjalan seperti kehidupan banyak orang, tidak lantas membuat kita menjadi pihak yang 'salah' sedangkan mereka yang mayoritas adalah 'benar'. Tidak juga sebaliknya. Tetapi, ketika hal tersebut terjadi, maka kembalilah kepada diri sendiri dan tanyakan, "apakah kita bahagia saat ini?". Tidak perlu dengar pendapat orang, tapi yakinlah bahwa ketika kita bahagia dengan diri sendiri, then that's enough.

Very well done writing, Almira!

Top recommended bagi mereka yang sedih karena memulai 2020 sebagai seorang single. You don't have to be, pals!

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Review: Brilliant Cut (Diamond in the Rough #3) by Elisa Marie Hopkins

Book and ARC reviews are posted under this feature!

Brilliant Cut by Elisa Marie Hopkins

*Digital copy was received from the author in exchange for an honest review*

Genre: Romance - Suspense

Pub. Date: November 15, 2016

Get a copy here!

AMAZON| BOOK DEPOSITORY

It’s always such a bittersweet moment when you got the last book of a series in your hands. Like you’re dying to devour the book and find out how it’d turn out but you don’t want to touch it, moreover read it, because if you do and you reach the end, then the whole journey would be over. I found it really hard to pick up my Kindle and touch that cover of Brilliant Cut ARC on my shelf. It’s that kind of undeniable moment when you know deeply inside your heart that once you click on it, there’s no coming back to the feeling you had before you read it. You know that you can’t not read it but you resist because you want to prolong the journey with your favorite characters, even if it meant being stuck in the moment. I needed a couple of minute to breathe and made myself swear that I wouldn’t just devour it all recklessly ―that I would savor every pages.

Diamond in the Rough series started with an engaging first book, continued with a complicatedly heartbreaking sequel, and ended up with a brilliant conclusion of the whole series. As a debut author, Elisa really went all out with her debut series, and I’m not just saying it to sweeten my review and all. Elisa did her research, explored with the ideas, and gave her all to these books like, well, a mother to her babies. This series is what I would call the perfect definition of suspense romance. I've said this on my review of the second book, Black Diamond, and at some points I might have said it on my review of the first book. The suspense part and the romance part are pretty well-balanced in a way that won’t make you think certain part is standing out than the other.

This last installment of Diamond in the Rough series started out a little bit different than the first two books. The first page instantly brought me back to the memories of reading Robert Langdon’s adventure. The prolog had a vibe of Dan Brown in it and it made some thriller-maniac neurons inside of me come back to life. I loved it so much that Elisa put such great twist into the story, developing a whole new level of issues as she revealed practically every single mystery we’ve been dying to find the truth ever since she dropped them each for the first time.

Told from third person perspective, Brilliant Cut fast-forwarded to a few years after Black Diamond ended. Or if we’re going to talk from Sophie’s angle: after Oliver. Yes, our favorite couple went separate ways last time we saw them. And while it broke my heart to pieces, there were so many reasons why the ‘calamity’ had to take place on the first place. But it’s for good that I don’t talk about it all here.

Sophie Cavall, an ex-model, now-writer, tried to live a normal life after all the chaos happened in her life two years ago. Apparently, two years was enough for everything to change completely. Like how Sophie now had two parts of herself crawling and screaming around the apartment creating after-disaster-effect every day. And how, instead of having Oliver to keep her from being crazy, Sophie had a pediatrician who sometimes balanced out her craziness with his. It’s totally unthinkable before that there would be a day when Oliver would be just a name in her history book, but it was what had happened. But in all honesty, Sophie could very much moved to Alaska and dated a seal but Oliver would always be her personal sun that keeps her heart warm all these years and her skins tingling just by hearing his name. Some say true love is hard to forget. Some say it would be forever unforgettable. Some say it would be etched in eternity in your mind. Sophie proved them all right when she very much didn’t want them to be. What had happened between her and Oliver was too perfect, too beautiful, that it felt too painful when it’s over. But was it really over? Sophie was in the edge of a cliff of madness, by recalling and pushing the memories of Oliver every day of her life. If not because of her twin boys who needed her concern above everything, she would pretty much end up in an asylum the second Oliver walked out of their flat. And Sophie wanted to believe that she loved Adam. But could one give her heart out to someone when this other person still got a hold on that very heart? Wouldn’t it be ripped out in the process? No. Because the hold was so strong even Sophie felt herself barely living with that empty hole where her heart used to beat.

“Trying to forget you was like trying to forget my way home. I realized you can’t build homes out of people, because then you feel homesick for a place that no longer exists.” ─Chapter XI

Among the three books, Brilliant Cut had the quickest yet the most emotional plot of all. Elisa didn't play around by bringing up a lot of issues like politics, secret order, and some mind-games to bring our couple back together. It might sound too heavy for some but trust me Elisa is a pro in putting complex words together into a bedtime story without leaving the thrilling part. I seriously wanted to blurt out the whole book scene by scene but then I would be thrown away into the sea for being a spoiler brat. This book is that good that you’d feel like holding a presscon to tell the world how the story goes. I loved that nothing’s changed with either Sophie or Oliver. Sophie with her independency and Oliver with his controlled-possessiveness and sexy brain (I never even think about this phrase before meeting Oliver). I felt a lot of things at once reading this book. There was a lot of emotion in two days I finished it. Sophie’s kids got my full attention instantly. Their ‘normality’ was so Oliver, I felt like crying my eyes out that not many people could actually accept them.

There were so many ups and downs along the way, a lot of mind-blowing revelation that keeps making me question whether this was really Elisa’s first ever series. She wrote cleverly. She explored so many topics, putting a lot of exciting trivia, and the way she wrote Oliver’s character deserved rounds of standing applause. We all know how genius Oliver is. But let’s come to a realization that behind every unique and singular character, there is only one person in charge in creating them: the author, Elisa. I am starting to wonder if Elisa might be an agent or something in real life..

To put it shortly, Brilliant Cut made a fantastic conclusion to the story, thus, making the series a total excellent accomplishment. This series deserves more attention than it’s been getting until today. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND this series to everyone who happened to come across this review of mine. Elisa is a new gem in this writing world that is totally deserving of more recognition. And like a diamond, you might get a little too attached once you get to know her pieces.

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