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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Book Review: Five Seven Five (The Boy with Words #1) by C.E. Wilson

Five Seven Five (The Boy with Words #1) by C.E. Wilson
Rating: /5

*I received digital copy of this book from the author in exchange of an honest review*

Genre: YA (Fantasy)
Pub. Date: November 18th, 2015

Get a copy here!
AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY
(click title to add on GR!)

Synopsis

Five Seven Five brought us to meet White Frost, a barely nineteen years old girl who lives in a world where colors is limited. She knew white, as in white hair of hers and her cousin’s, Shade. She knew pink, as in pink curtain that divides inside her room to the quarter hallway outside. She knew blue, as in blue curtain on male quarters. But most of all it’s almost always gray and black that she’d seen all her life. Gray-black wall, gray-black ceiling, gray-black road, all practically created a dull gray black world. It’s not helping that the President seemed intent in spreading fearful speeches about the world outside theirs, making everyone to lead a dire life among the boring colors around them. White was no exception.

Only the Chosen Ones got chances to see The Unknown. They would go once a month to collect supplies for the people and had been told to swear an oath not to reveal what they’d seen in The Unknown to the un-chosen. Lucky for White, Shade was one of them that she would often get ‘illegal’ papers of words―which both satisfied and mostly only deepened her hunger of knowledge―from the Unknown; unlucky for White that she had to bear the risk of losing the only family she had every time Shade’s off to one of their trips to the world beyond red Zone Eleven.

But White was tired of theoretical knowledge. Sure the words were amazing, mysteriously so. And Shade had risked so much to collect them all under tight scrutiny of President’s minions. Yet White realized that there should be more to all these, more to the words, more to what scriptures said about the Creators that everyone was oh-so-afraid so much, more to a bunch of ‘terror’ speeches President Copper delivered every single time. She knew Shade knew about the words and the Unknown―being a Chosen One forbid him to tell her anything. So what a girl like White should do in this complicated circumstance? Trying to escape? Go against all the rules she’d listened to all her life?

White’s age might make her not eligible yet to be the Chosen One, but her passion obviously surpassed the other factors. And that’s exactly what the girl would do: chase after her passion even if it would kill her in the end.

A New(-to-me) Fantasy Plot

Well, I originally wanted to just insert Goodreads synopsis here but I would want to give a further insight about the book to others. To be honest, though, the blurb didn’t quite intrigue me at first but strangely the cover did. I am just so tired of pictures of swords or girls in heroic costumes on the cover of fantasy books that this simple cover of Five Seven Five gave me a hope of finding a ‘different’ kind of fantasy plot. It did.

I could not really grasp the story from the beginning since my thought was still trapped among stories of dystopian world. Even the first two chapters reminded me of Red Rising that I had to brave myself to meet yet another full-action dystopian (really, it’s just me who’s not into fantasy books so much, though). But keep reading I did. Then the first twist came which made me feels like I had met the intriguing point. When the scene eventually took place in the Unknown, that’s exactly when I was hooked. I was surprised that this book brought a new-to-me concept of fantasy plot here. I’ve never read this kind before and it surprised me that I actually enjoyed it a lot.

Intriguing Writing

Overall, the writing style is both good and intriguing. I loved the simple poems inserted here and there within the pages. But most importantly I loved how the author seemed to give very little clues from the start that I really could not predict what coming before the (first) mystery was unraveled. I loved how she chose her choice of words carefully, misleading the readers to guess an entirely different plot throughout the way only to be proved wrong in the end.

The Characters

The way she described other characters through their movements or words delineates them very well when the book itself was told in first perspective heroine, White. I could feel the emotions expected in every scene. White herself is not an easily-loved heroine. I, myself, thought sometimes her trait was more annoying than curious. Or maybe it was just a problem with how the dialogues went on between her and other characters, because every time she was arguing with Shade or her friends, Pebble, Pepper or Salt (I know, weird names indeed) she would be so demanding and the convos would always end in frustration. It frustrated me too. But there were also parts when I felt bad for her as well. Shade, in the other hand, was pretty likeable. In fact, he’s my most favorite characters in the book. His protectiveness towards White was really sweet. In a very short introduction of him, I could already feel so much about his character.

There would also be a character named Kestrel who’d bring with him all the important twists in this book. I still could not decide where my personal opinion about him stands, except that he’s kind. But there’s a tiny part of me that wishing so much of him and White to get along tight... *hiding* when there’s another boy that I particularly wanted White to be with as well. *cue (impossible) love-triangle*  

Slightly Comical Dystopian
Despite a little sense of dystopia in the beginning; Five Seven Five actually has a quite light tone. I even laughed so much at some point, such as when White started to ‘think’ about her feeling for Kestrel and when clueless White decided to make a ladybug her pet (goodness…) or asked for Kes to pluck a cloud for her (oh God…).

Mild-Cliffhanger Ending

As the first book of two installment of The Boy with Words series, you could expect a mild cliffhanger in the end. I, myself, was super curious about the continuation of the story! There were still so much unanswered questions and unresolved issues. In fact, this book one is only the beginning that I could bet that the ‘actual’ twists would take place on the next book. But of course you should read this book first to get a full back story.

Final Thought(s)

With an intriguing plot, Five Seven Five delivers a story of deception, undiscovered world, and a girl whose hunger for knowledge both baring all hidden truth and trapping her in between a glimpse of untold conspiracy. Readers who enjoy fantasy books would definitely find this one fit to their tastes. Well, even me who not really into fantasy, enjoyed this a lot!

Love, read, and review,

Cynthia D.

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(Netgalley) ARC Review: Thicker than Water by Brigid Kemmerer

Thicker than Water by Brigid Kemmerer
Rating: /5

*I received digital ARC of this book from Kensington Books through Netgalley*

Genre : YA (Paranormal)
Pub. Date: December 29th, 2015

Get a copy here!
AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY

Synopsis
Thomas Bellweather never once imagined that his life would turn into a total havoc at the age of seventeen. Not that he had a perfect life whatsoever before. Thomas grew up in an incomplete family of two yet it was alright; he was happy, he loved his mom and he got a plan after the graduation. Then his mom decided to drag him all the way to Garrett’s Mill and got him a new father figure―Stan the cop. And who is he to command? Thomas loved his mom so he went along with her plan as long as it made her happy. It obviously didn’t.
Marie Bellweather died―murdered―ten days after her wedding. And as if it wasn’t tragic enough, everyone in town set their eyes on Thomas, silently asking question he didn’t have the answer. Could it get any worse? Being a stranger in a small town was suck, but being a stranger who was suspected as his own mother’s murderer? It was the new reality that Thomas had to shoulder now. Good thing he wasn’t the only one who could not believe his ‘luck’. Stan still hadn’t kicked him out of the house and Charlotte Rooker, sixteen years old of trouble-magnet, somehow believed he was innocent. Contrary to her three cop-brothers who were all eager to capture Thomas on the first command, Charlotte saw something beneath Thomas’ troubled face: anger, frustration, grief, grief so deep it could make an ornament of a relief. Thomas was attracted to Charlotte’s braveness (or really, recklessness) and the way she saw him with curiosity rather than suspicion. Charlotte was drawn to Thomas’ chivalry and the way his eyes clouded with distress. Unspoken attraction was thick in the air between them but no one bothered to romanticize their situation like those in romance movies: suspected murderer and innocent faithful girl, they could make one sweetly tragic couple. Went around everyone’s back was the only way for them to meet as they tried to find any missing clues. What they found, though, was more than that. Could it get any worse? Yes, it could. Because after his mom, it could be his life now in danger. Or worse, it could be the life of the one girl who unconditionally cared for him, Charlotte’s.

Now if all my thoughts could fit in one sentence, I would so steal Jennifer’s testimony about this book from the cover...

"Kemmerer will melt your heart and blow your mind."
-#1 New York Times Bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout

That’s exactly how I felt about Thicker than Water!

Perfect Delivery of the Story
I dove into this book with a promise of romantic YA with a background of murder mystery. It only took me five chapters before I was completely hooked. Brigid presented a very well-built and unpredictable storyline. The way she slipped little details here and there leaving the readers to bask in their own misguided imagination, immersing them to tag along Thomas’ mishap and Charlotte’s adventure to help him. I kept guessing how the story would play out and ended up all wrong every single time. All characters had various personalities, adding one more factor to the richness of the elements of the story. There were characters that would tug your heartstrings, those who’d make you shake your head in both amusement and slightly awe, those who’d frustrate you and those who’d make you shiver in disbelief. The tensions were perfectly captured and Brigid also succeeded in delivering the emotions of both main characters through their narrations.

Lovely Characters and Sweet Romance
Told in alternating perspectives, which is my favorite, this book offered two different viewpoints of a suspect-murderer and a person who believed him as innocent while they’re also tangled in growing chemistry among complexities. Thomas’ voice was more to poignant side. From his narration, it’s clear how frustrated he was with the circumstance he was in. I ached for him a lot. His character quickly captured my heart. Add chivalry, slightly flirtatious personality, and a bit of bad boy quality, now we have one swoon-worthy hero to fall in love with. Meanwhile, Charlotte’s character was the one to whom you could be in love-hate relationship with, though I personally liked her alright. Her trouble-inducing trait was both frustrating and hilarious. Being in her head was quite an amusing experience. She could be so silly, embarrassing, pretty brave, and sometimes even sharp. The connection these two characters made was somewhere between sweet and dangerous. And who doesn’t like some little dangers in their romance? It happened pretty quick since it had an ‘attraction-on-the-first-sight’ start at first. But I loved that their feelings started to get a hold of its pace and develop steadily along with the plot. Charlotte’s shyness and Thomas’ flirty side made a cute romance which later shifted to the sexier side as the roles reversed at some point.

Surprising Twist (in so many level)
My non existence expectation slowly built up the more pages I read. I couldn’t wait to see how the author would solve the mystery. So imagine my surprise when Brigid decided to drop the p-bomb out of nowhere…
I really enjoyed this book from the start and at some point I was sure that I’d give this one a solid five stars. The paranormal twist―a complex one even, I may add―felt out of place among the whole plot. It didn’t necessarily kill my excitement but it didn’t exactly answer my curiosity either. Readers who’s familiar with Brigid’s previous books might not be as surprised as those who read Thicker than Water as their first book from her. I belong to the latter so this turn of events left me with indescribable feeling I couldn’t comprehend. What I didn’t like was how this ‘too-late’ twist changed a bit of my perspective toward certain character which I tried so hard not to do. Yet the good thing, it made me wants to read Brigid other paranormal books…

Final Thought(s)
The climax in the end I did enjoy but the ending gave an impression of upcoming twist later beyond. With an exception of the ‘surprising twist’, Thicker than Water is written very well. The writing style, the characters, the plot, the romance, the feeling I got from reading this book, I loved them all. Thus, it’s kind of hard for me to give it a low rating despite my issues above. I would let you judge this issue on your own but I personally think that despite everything, Thicker than Water is one interesting read that makes you want to chase the thrill to the end and not put it down before you find the answer you’re looking for.

ADD TO GOODREADS now...

Love, read, and review,

Cynthia D.

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Book Review: Princess of Athelia (Unfinished Fairy Tales Novella) by Aya Ling

Princess of Athelia by Aya Ling
Rating: /5

*A complimentary digital copy of this book was received from the author*

Genre: YA (Fantasy, Retelling)
Pub. Date: November 15th, 2015

Get a copy here!

AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY

Read also: Review of The Ugly Stepsister (Unfinished Fairy Tales #1)!

Synopsis
Taking place at the time nearing the ending of its previous book, The Ugly Stepsister, Princess of Athelia told a piece of story after Katriona (or Katherine) had convinced herself that the only happiness needed to end the story is to find the happiness for herself. Giving up her initial goal to get Cinderella and the Prince fall in love, Kat braved her heart to admit the truth she had within. That she, too, felt the same way Prince Edward did about her. Edward sure was more than elated, and good thing his parents, King and Queen were happy as well ‘cause his son had finally agreed to tie the knot. Engagement was on schedule, preparation after preparation started to take place everywhere around the palace, princess lessons were delivered to Kat in dizzying regularity, and last, the wedding was in tow, ready to unite both Edward and Kat in holy matrimony. The wedding should have been the day they couldn’t wait, yet this couple dreaded that very day since the wedding bell would not only confirming their marriage but would also be the last thing Kat would ever hear in Athelia. As the day getting closer, they agreed to make the remaining months of their togetherness happy ones. But while Edward was ready for whatever kind of ending would happen, Kat still could not shake the feelings of guilty: guilty of leaving him, guilty of the possibility of breaking his heart. Add some pressures Kat had to shoulder as princess-to-be and doubts people planted on her mind for being an unpopular second-daughter of an earl, Kat could not be any guiltier and more insecure about her current position. But just like Kat’s growing worries, Edward’s faith to her did grow as well. And whatever would happen in the end, the Prince was determined to show her just how much she worth to be his Princess.

Craved Romance
Reading this novella brought back so many good memories I had with The Ugly Stepsister. I craved for more Eddie-Kat moments more than the author could give in book 1. So imagine my happiness when Aya decided to give us that through Princess of Athelia. Just like before, the romance between the main characters is built smoothly. I love how the couple interact. How they could be so darn sweet without being too cheesy with each other. Edward just makes me fall for him harder the more I read about him. But who wouldn’t when he is his usual charming, calm, and caring Prince-personality. And to top it off, he is just so in love with Kat making me all melting inside with his sincerity to love her knowing the risk... Kat with her unladylike manner trademark never stop to amuse me. Her kindness and social-awareness are always such interesting story to follow.

Other Interesting Points
I love it that this retelling story do not just retell the famous romance part only. I like how Aya always touches social issues during old period, like labor child during TUS, and now the equality of both gender to receive education in this book. The issues always meet realistic resolutions in the end which I really appreciate.
For a novella, Princess of Athelia is satisfying enough in my opinion. I like the neat plot, enough twists thrown in, and still so many other issues covered well. Wrap it all in smooth writing style, then we got a quick heartwarming read to enjoy. But of course, you better read the TUS first to easily relate the story.

Final Thought
The ending is oh so good, it makes me realize just how much I love this couple and never want to part with them. I’m also so darn curious about the continuation of Henry and Elle’s future. Lucky for us there’s the sequel of TUS coming soon! Ever After hopefully would answer all my curiosity and feed my thirstiness of Eddie-Kat moments. But for now, I think I should be happy enough with re-reading TUS during my waiting :)

Love, read, and review,

Cynthia D.

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(Netgalley) ARC Review: Until We Meet Again by Renee Collins

Until We Meet Again by Renee Collins

Rating: /5

*I received digital ARC of this book from Sourcebooks Fire through Netgalley*

Pub. Date: November 1st, 2015

Get a copy here!

AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY

The title was the very first thing that tugged the invisible string in my heart. It sounded sad and emanated poignant feeling like longing, aching, and saying farewell to someone you fell deeply in love with. And though the title says ‘Until We Meet Again’, it somehow indicated that none of them would ever come around to meet each other again; that it felt a lot like a final goodbye…

‘“…. Time travel is impossible”
“And yet, here we are, a hundred years apart and in each other’s arms”’
(Chapter XIX; Until We Meet Again)

The summer everyone dreamed of had come around once again, except, it might be the most boring one for seventeen years old Cassandra. Unlike her best-friend who was lucky enough to get to spend a time in Paris, Cass had to tag along with her family to Crest Harbor where her stepfather, Frank, rented a house for the whole summer. Don’t get her wrong; Cass loved her family so much. It was just that she was half-frustrated to her own self for being so clueless with what she really wanted―or needed―to do with her summer and half-dreaded her mother for dragging her to a place where she felt like a total stranger which surely didn’t help with her issue on the first place. Every day went more like a punishment as Cass still getting used to the life Frank brought them into―a life where people would rent a big summer house with a private beach and hold a party every weekend while laughing at lame jokes and exchanging polite smiles with cup of tea in hands. Frank was a great stepfather who Cass felt grateful for, and he even gave her an adorable little brother that she loved so much with all her heart. But sometimes it still felt surreal that Cass and her mother were now living a whole different life than their ‘live-in-the-suburbs’ one any longer.
Cass tried her best to distract herself from dying of boredom in her own family’s summer house. And that’s including getting herself into trouble by sneaking into the neighbor’s pool; anything to infuse some little drama into her long torture of boring summer. Until one night, Cass met someone strange on the private beach behind her summer house. Someone with eccentric sense of fashion who didn’t just bring ‘drama’ to her life but also engulf her into a warm yet mysterious delicate summer that suddenly felt so short to her liking. Someone with odd choice of words and claimed to come from 1925.
Lawrence Foster had almost everything he seemed to need this summer: a great place to spend his vacation at, good friends to hang out with, and a beautiful girl who attracted to him. Yet there he was feeling as out of place as he’d ever been. Lawrence felt more like floundering with his summer than enjoying it. Everyone seemed to know what he wants as they stirred him to go along with the arranged plan: law school, being a lawyer, marry a girl from the elite class, when what Lawrence truly wanted was to write poetry. No one thrilled to hear his dream of being a poet, especially his own father who literally dreaded the very idea of it. It was after he met a strange girl on the beach which belongs to his uncle’s property that Lawrence felt that someone finally acknowledged his talent and even supported his dream. Cassandra, being the girl with whom he could be his own self. She was everything he never found in a girl before. Being with Cass made Lawrence realized that he should not have let the others get a control of his life, including which girl he should be with. Even if the said girl was someone with a witty and free soul who claimed to come from 2015.

‘“In my mind, you have come to embody my dreams,” he says softly. “A girl from another time. Who only exists on one windswept beach. You’re a poem, Cassandra. You’re my poem.”’
(Chapter XV; Until We Meet Again)

A cosmological anomaly allowed Lawrence and Cass to be able to meet each other, flesh and bone, hundred years apart, on the beach in Crest Harbor. Both was in denial when they first found the truth but hundred years apart or not, the feeling of attraction could not be avoided between two people who share a rather similar issue: obscure feeling toward the future. Soon it developed into something more when they realized their feeling could create some ‘new’ ripple of events over time between 1925 and 2015. Lawrence and Cass knew better not to play along with mysterious game they were in. But when a history record of 1925 told Cass that Lawrence’s life was in danger, she could not not plunge herself into a mysterious and dangerous circumstance with him. No matter what would change in the end, she could not let Lawrence’s fate stopped in some record of 1925.

Oh boy, I could go on forever with the synopsis above but I know better than telling the whole story here. I even left out some important points so that you could find it on your own on the book. But seriously, this book makes me realize just how much I love and hate time-travel story with sparks of romance. Why? I love it because it’s usually more romantic than any other kind of romance, much sweeter, and deeper in every way. Yet I hate it because it’s usually also crueler and sadder… because whatsoever kind of plot it goes with, the characters would never end up together eventually. Trust me. I’m not giving a spoiler here but the truth is it’s a fact in the history of time travel story I ever read. The couple would not stay together because it’s just against the rule. God…
then why these authors cruelly write such amazing love story of them in the first place??

Okay, ignore my stupid rambling.
‘Cause no matter what I complain here, this book proved to give me something more.

The beginning of the story felt a little pointless (and plot-less) as we introduced to background story of the heroine, Cassandra. I couldn’t really see the point of slipping the scene of her breaking into her neighbor’s pool and such except that it only made me see Cass as some annoying brat at first. But then I found the reason why a few chapters away later. And wow, it was kind of mind-blowing for me because I almost missed it that it caught me totally off guard. Cass is a girl with issue on her own which was being in the mid of what-will-I-be-later-in-the-future trap of anxiety just like any other teenagers her age. She loved to paint but she wasn’t sure if it was something that she would make a career out of. And a series of other interests that her mom totally supported but ended up being left out again and again. She might be a little difficult to connect with in the beginning but after she met Lawrence, she became much more likeable that she drew me in. Lawrence’s character meanwhile is amazingly loveable. And did I mention that he’s a poet? Dude, nineteen-twenties boy with a hell of a skill in writing poetry? Hell yeah, count me in! He might be a little too cheesy for some but seriously, cheesy-poet is just one of my biggest weaknesses in life (someone slap my mouth shut, please).

The plot was simple and well-built. Even though I somehow could guess certain scene but I still found the story as intriguing and mind-blowing. This book also made me laugh a lot of good times with Cass’s hilarious reaction of Lawrence’s cheesiness. Seeing this couple just made me want to make love-shaped confetti out of my work files and pour it all over my bed (seriously people, just slap me hard already). It was just so cute when Cass contemplated between telling or not telling Lawrence about the coming World War II, imagining him in a uniform and all. And I liked how wise Cass could be sometimes. I also liked Cass’ family. Even though their involvement in the story was not that much but I loved the portrayal of happy family they were in.

The ending was the best. When I thought this book would put a smile on my face in the end, it also didn’t forget to make me cry. It’s not that because I was sad, it’s because the ending was so beautiful that I cried. Ms. Collins did a nice job portraying the difference between the eras and slipped in little clues here and there to be unwrapped in mind-blowing revelations. The tension was real that I could feel it as if I was the one who’s on the scene battling with time and danger. I really liked it when she did that.

With lyrical and beautifully rhymed writing, Until We Meet Again is a time-travel story you would be engrossed deeply in, especially those who enjoy romance a little too much like me. And as a closing, here I present you a poem by my new favorite poet, Lawrence <3>

‘Of truth and sea, her eyes become
Bound, endless in the vast beyond.
And morning starlight’s milky shine
Reverberates her soul in mine’
(Chapter IV; Until We Meet Again)

Love, read, and review,

Cynthia D.

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Book Review: Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
Rating: /5

Get a copy here!

AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY

Elsewhere has a very unique idea of a story. Actually I was a bit taken aback by its topic of afterlife and how casual the author made it looks like. I was a little worried that this would be the kind of story that too morbid to my liking that would make me feeling strange all day after reading it. Well, it did make me feels strange all day since the moment I turned its last page, but it was this ‘can’t-stop-my-mind-from-wandering-back-to-it’ strange, a little of ‘what-the-hell-did-I-just-read’ strange, and thrown in a ‘weirdly-entertained’ strange. It was every strange feeling all mixed up at the same time, filled my mind with it like that feeling when you watch a foreign ancient cartoon from a country you never heard before. God, even talking about it makes me feel strange…

The Unique Plot
The kind of afterlife Zevin brought up here was this place not much different than Earth with rules that so much different from Earth. I’ll try to put it here as simplest as possible.
People who died on Earth were brought―or rather shipped―with this ship called S.S. Nile to Elsewhere. In Elsewhere, those dead people got to live all over again under one most essential circumstance: instead of growing up and continuing their ages, they aged backward here. It meant, when someone died on the age of 40, they would lived in Elsewhere from the age 40 all the way down to seven days old as they shrunk back into babies (WTH, I know). These babies then would be sent back to Earth through the River so they could be born into a new family and lived a whole new different life.
That’s, people, the main point of the story. It was pretty simple unless the details of the Elsewhere itself was anything but simple.

I’m a Heartless Monster…
I was amazed with how detailed the author described Elsewhere from its setting, its rules, the way of living, to the cycle of ‘life’ people goes through there. And what impressed me more was the fact that she told it all in this casual tone of third person perspective that kept changing from one character to another. At first it was a dog perspective then it was a girl’s perspective then another character. It altered back and forth real smoothly that you didn’t feel bothered by it. And the casual tone I’m talking about here is how the story came out a little more comical than it supposed to be, what with the dead and afterlife topics. The heroine, Liz, was this kind of character who thinks too much and keeps a lot of rather silly opinion of things in her mind. She didn’t even mean it to be funny but it came out that way nevertheless. Even the cause of her death that was real tragic (a hit and run accident) slowly became not that sad as she thought of it over and over again. And I feel really really, truly, bad for saying this, but the way she mulled over the event again and again in her mind made the tragedy sounded more ridiculous than sad. And again, something as sacred as one’s last word could be an evidence of such an embarrassing downfall for human generation when it came to Liz’s. God, this book is trying to turn me into a heartless monster!

Amusing Romance
I almost didn’t have any issue with this book (beside the strange feeling) until Zevin decided to throw in some romance sparks within the story. If you haven’t notice, I’m a big fan of romance. But I know when to not expect romance in a book. Elsewhere becomes one of it. The first half of the book was pretty (weirdly) enjoyable and somehow purposeful (???). When the romance came in, the rest of the story became even weirder than before. It confused the story a little, I think, because all of sudden it was about Liz’s feeling to this Owen guy than her perspective about life in Elsewhere anymore. Somehow I understand the reason why the author felt the need to slip a romance into the story. But the thing is, this book has a characteristic of short-length scenes and fast-paced plot. So the romance was executed quickly: it was insta-love (no doubt). But the interesting part is―God, I can’t believe this―the appearance of romance in this book was only adding material to the humorous part. Owen is a really unbelievable character who’s going through some love-crisis. I’m not even going to reveal what I mean here but there was this scene between Liz and Owen that struck me as what must be the most ridiculous romance scene ever written in a book.

Lesson(s) Learned
Anyway, the ending I can assure was decent. Despite how much I laughed while reading the book, I could see where the author wanted to go with this story. That people, when given a second chance, they tended to second-guessed it than used it as best as they could. In Elsewhere, everyone was given the ‘last’ second chance they could ever get and might be the best one as well because as they aged backward, it also meant to reflect to things they’d had done in their life on Earth. Some wasted it by keeping themselves deep in sorrow, regret, and anger. Some did not. Fifteen years Liz took us to a journey of self-acceptance, appreciating life, and of living in the moment rather than worrying the future that’s uncertain and the past that has passed. Oh, and I loved the analogy of tree that one of the characters used to describe the connection between Elsewhere and Earth. That’s the simplest way to put it!

Final Thoughts
In the end, I don’t know if I have to say that I love this book. Elsewhere is definitely not a bad book but it’s not something that I would want to reread again in the future because of this odd aura that surrounding it. Zevin’s idea of this story was an amazing one and the way of telling she chose for this book was utterly unique. She combined two very different worlds of death and humor and made this genius combination that strangely comical. If I didn’t keep feeling weird while reading this, I was sure this would be one of my favorite books. But all in all, this would be the most unique story I’ve ever read in my life.

Love, read, and review,

Cynthia D.

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Book Review: Fate (The Legacy #1) by G.G. Atcheson

Fate by G.G. Atcheson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

*I received a digital copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*


Get a copy here!
AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY

There were times when I read the blurb of a book and thought I’d enjoy it only to find out later that I didn’t quite enjoy it. It wasn’t because the book was horrible or what. In fact, I rarely hate a book in my life (I could count with my fingers just how many books I’ve read that I really hate). It was usually because I couldn’t get into the story; because the book apparently didn’t work for me or maybe wasn’t my cup of tea.

That was what happened with me and Fate.

Fate by G.G. Atcheson is a crossover of fantasy genres between paranormal and sci-fi. Please note that I’m a big fan of sci-fi books and other times I enjoyed paranormal ones as well. I was surprised that Fate blended both genres into one tale and it’s really a sad truth that it didn’t work quite well for me. Believe me when I say that I wanted so much to love this book. I even listed below everything I loved about this book and those parts actually made me enjoy reading it. We’ll get there in a bit.

Lutnalind Zhendar Xavelk didn’t know that his latest mission would bring him into a long torturous journey in some foreign planet light years away from her home planet, Xhartan. When his spaceship crashed in the woods somewhere on Earth, LX went with name Alex going around the crashed area to find out where he was exactly. Trained as navigator for million years, Alex was expected to fix the ship and find a way to survive on his own while at the same time keep an honor of his pledge to his people.

But fate brought him to meet Mellie, local inhabitant who emanated different aura from other humans he ever encountered on Earth. Unlike with humans, Alex couldn’t sense her coming near him. And that’s only the first strange things about her. While trying to figure out what kind of creature she and her friends were, Alex had to hide his true identity and play pretend as one of them. He later realized that Mellie was a vampire yet she was a sweet girl and she welcomed him warmly even though some of her friends clearly resented his existence among them.

As Alex found himself got tangled with his feeling for Mellie, he was soon followed by several other problems coming his way. With human’s wanting to capture him, Alex had to juggle running from the authorities and keeping his new friends safe. Alex realized he became emotionally too attached with his new friends and Earth and it surely wouldn’t do him any good. Moreover with human’s false judgment upon his appearance on Earth when truth was it was the reserve. With it came the risk of crossing his pledge right in front of his eyes. Now Alex was left with options whether he should care about Mellie and the planet she lived in or stay true to his oath as Lutnalind. And the stake? Would he able to come home after all?

I’m going to put two lists of what I felt about this book. One for things I liked and the other one for things I didn’t like. I’ll go with the later first.

What I didn’t like

- Maybe I shouldn’t consider this point as ‘things I didn’t like’ because it’s more like it just didn’t work for me. I said this before, I loved sci-fi so freaking much and I enjoyed paranormal story a lot sometimes but the idea of combining both genres took me by surprise. Some people might find this worked for them but I’m sorry but I personally thought it was far beyond make sense. I didn’t say this combination was bad, really. It’s just because sci-fi was already one big world, one big fantasy world. And paranormal was another big world. And they went on real different paths. Combining two very different characteristically world wasn’t an easy deal. And in this book, it was combined with human world making it three different worlds on the same plate. This was not what I felt personally about Fate. Generally speaking, if there would be any book playing with this kind of combination in the future, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t pick it up, whoever the authors might be. Still, I appreciated Ms. Atcheson to work with this newly fresh idea and bravely put it into a series. It’s a first, and it’s a big deal, and a lot of people thought this was genius, so I guess she’d succeeded.

- The character Mellie was not quite developed I must say. I couldn’t comprehend her personality. Maybe because this book was basically told in Alex’s POV and he didn’t think much of her personality than he thought of his feeling for her. Also the scenes involving her didn’t say much about her characteristics. It just consisted of her crying over Alex, her confessing her undying love for Alex, and things like that. Thus, I found her character was distant and that’s one minus point for me.

- The romance between Alex and Mellie was so instant. I felt like it lacked of chemistry. Maybe it was partly because of my issue with the crossover genre leading to my not-quite-good opinion of paranormal creature paired with extraterrestrial being. Their romance didn’t quite touch my heart, really.

What I liked

- The sci-fi parts. I loved the technical parts a lot. I loved how the author described how the spaceship worked, how the repairing occurred, I loved just everything describing Alex’s planet, its culture, and all. I loved all the details she put into this section.

- I loved character Alex who put a high loyalty on his people back in Xhartan. He also tried hard to stay true to his original peaceful personality and how he always tried to avoid killing people no matter innocent or not.

- The funny scenes! Gosh, I laughed a lot reading Alex’s confusion in speaking human’s language. It’s just too funny how he struggled with choosing the right form of contractions to use most of the time. This was a few lines where I swear I lost control of my laugh.

“Well, when you said… he’t… hmm no”, I frowned and shook my head.

That did not sound right.

“He’st…”

No, not better.

After rubbing the back of my neck, I tried one more time, “Hem’st?” 

Tell me this didn’t crack you up! He was trying to form a contraction of ‘he must’… Lololol!

- I liked that the author opted to put epilogue in this book. Most authors wouldn’t do that for the first book of a series. It somehow made the cliffhanger more bearable.

And that’s how I felt about this book. I’m thinking that maybe if this book was told in a whole different circumstance (a.k.a. under one particular genre, sci-fi maybe), I’d love this book. But it wasn’t, so this time I had to settle with 3 stars. It’s just me, though.

Love, read, and review,

Cynthia D.

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Release Day: The Ugly Stepsister by Aya Ling (+ Excerpt & Giveaway)

  

One of my favorite YA reads is released today!

As you can see I already posted a pre-release review of the ARC copy of The Ugly Stepsister yesterday and it earned 4.5 stars from me! You can check my review here and below I got an excerpt and a little bit trivia about author's inspiration to write this book. Enjoy!

Publication date: June 12th, 2015

Genre: YA fantasy/fairytale retelling

BLURB:

When Kat accidentally rips apart an old picture book, she's magically transported into the world of Cinderella--as Katriona, one of the ugly stepsisters! Life turns upside down now that she’s a highborn lady and must learn how to survive the social season, including how to get through the door in a huge metal hoop skirt. To get back, she'll have to complete the story, right to the end of happily ever after. But the odds are huge: the other stepsister is drop-dead gorgeous, the fairy godmother is nowhere to be found, and the prince, despite being insanely hot, openly dislikes balls. Can she ever return to the modern world?

Buy links: Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ Apple ~ B&N ~ Kobo

HOW THE BOOK CAME TO BE:

Some readers liked the idea of Kat entering the fairy tale by ripping apart the book. Well, here’s the actual book that inspired the concept. You can see that the cover has completely fallen off:

*note: this book is at least 20 years old! I’m so glad I was too sentimental to toss it away, or I might not have come up with the idea!

EXCERPT:

“Girlie, wake up.”

I open my eyes again. This time it’s dark, but from the moonlight streaming through the window, I sense that I’m still in this strange historic-setting room. The candelabra next to my bed has been snuffed out. The fire in the hearth has gone out, but the embers are still glowing.

Then I discover something more shocking than the weird room I’m in.

A semi-transparent being is hovering in thin air, right above the bed. It’s quite ugly—its eyes and nose look squashed together, and it has a stumpy body with arms and legs that look alarmingly short in proportion to the torso.

I am so shocked that I just stare with my mouth wide open. Is that ghost going to eat me up?

“Awake now, are we?” the ghost speaks. His voice is kind of high-pitched with a note of playfulness in it.

Oh no, not again. I pinch my arm again, really hard this time, and yelp in pain. My fingernails have drawn blood.

The ghost starts to laugh. “Two hundred years later and humans are still as dumb as before.”

I am beginning to feel crazy. Here I am in a strange room, with an ugly ghost, and no matter what I do I can’t wake up.

Maybe I’m dead. Maybe when I fell down the stairs I got hit with something really sharp and bled to death. Ouch. I feel over my head, but it seems all I’ve got is a sore spot that feels more like a bruise than a gaping wound. Besides, this room seems a far cry from hell.

“Hey you,” I call to the ghost. “I’m dead, aren’t I? Is this a place I go to before I go to heaven?”

The ghost throws his head back and laughs—a high, raucous sound. I’m surprised that no one hears him—either they can’t hear him or are too deeply asleep. “She thinks this is heaven! Wait till I tell His Majesty…”

What the hell is going on? “Aren’t you a ghost?”

That only makes him laugh harder. He clutches his sides, wheezing, like I’m the greatest comedian in the world.

“You…thick-headed, pea-brained human,” he gasps, wiping his eyes. “Haven’t you seen this room before?”

“In the downtown museum?”

“No, silly, a book.”

Moonlight streams in through the window. Several framed paintings hang on the walls—the biggest one depicts a beautiful garden. The scene does seem familiar; all it lacks is a maid kneeling in front of the fireplace.

“Cinderella?” I gasp. This is the room that’s illustrated on the first page. “Why am I seeing it in a dream?”

“She still thinks it’s a dream…” the ghost mutters, shaking his head. “Look, don’t you remember what happened to the book?”

I rub my temples. “It…fell apart?”

He nods. “When you ripped up the book our king created, a curse is triggered for tampering with his magic. So as punishment, you’re transported into the story itself.”

“Your king?” This is getting simply ridiculous. “Who is this king, and who are you?”

The ghost settles on the foot of my bed. “Might as well tell you or you’ll never get it—I’m Krev. I’m in service of His Majesty Barthelius, the Goblin King.”

“Goblins?” I fall back on the pillow, narrowing missing the headboard. “Please tell me I’m hallucinating, or I got a concussion.”

“We’re from another dimension, but our king has always been interested in human stories. That’s why he created his own books hundreds of years ago. He left a few copies in your world, but never expected that they’d disintegrate.”

“Oh god,” I sink down further into the blankets. There has to be some mistake.

“You’ll find out soon enough. Or you can just go back to pinching your arm.” He rises in the air—now I notice he has a pair of tiny wings. “Bye.”

“Hang on,” I blurt, and sit up. “Okay, suppose I believe you. How am I going to get back?”

Krev grins, showing a row of pointy teeth. “Now you’re listening. All you have to do is put the story back together again.”

“Huh?”

“Finish the story to the very end, where they live happily-ever-after.”

Damn. I’m in a role-playing game. Not that I’ve played any, but it just seems that way to me.

Speaking of role-playing…

“That woman Martha called me Katriona. She said I lost my memory, so I’m not a newcomer in this world. So who am I?”

His bulging, toad-like eyes gleam. “Guess.”

I scowl at him. Well, obviously I’m not Cinderella, given the silken nightdress I’m wearing. And obviously I’m not the evil stepmother either. In the mirror I look just as I am, not some middle-aged woman.

“Am I one of the ugly stepsisters?”

His grin grows wider.

Damn. “If I have to be in the story, why aren’t I Cinderella?”

The goblin suddenly goes off in a peal of laughter. “Cinderella! She thinks she’s pretty enough to be Cinderella!” And he rolls over and over in the air until I feel dizzy and embarrassed. “Don’t you know how the spell works? You assume the role of the person you resemble most.”

Yeah, thanks for pointing out the impossibility of me being the protagonist. I suppose if Paige is the one who dropped the book, she’d become Cinderella.

And even though I still find the whole thing ridiculous, I’m kind of intrigued as well.

“So all I have to do is get Cinderella to the ball, the prince falls in love with her, and then the curse is broken and I can return?”

He waggles a crooked finger at me.

“Not yet. You can’t stop at the ball, when she runs out and leaves her slipper behind. You must follow it all the way to the end. The story is only finished when they’re married with wedding bells pealing and white doves soaring.”

Whoa.

“So when is the ball?”

“No idea.”

“Where’s the fairy godmother?”

“No idea.”

I drop my jaw. “Hello? Are you telling me that I have to find everything on my own while you just hover there and do nothing?”

He shrugs. “That’s because you ripped everything off except the first page. The curse starts where you leave off.”

“And if I do nothing? What if the prince won’t hold the ball? What if I can’t find the godmother?”

Krev lets out an evil chuckle. I have an ominous feeling of impending doom.

“Then you will remain in this book. Forever.”

*read more excerpts on Aya’s website: http://www.ayaling.com/the-ugly-stepsister.html

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Aya is from Taiwan, where she struggles daily to contain her obsession with mouthwatering and unhealthy foods. Often she will devour a good book instead. Her favorite books include martial arts romances, fairy tale retellings, high fantasy, cozy mysteries, and manga.

Connect with Aya: Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

GIVEAWAY:

To celebrate the release, Aya is also offering a giveaway in which THREE winners can:

          1. Get a paperback copy of The Ugly Stepsister OR any book Aya has on paperback (open internationally!)

          2. Get to name a minor character in the “sequel” novella (will probably be Edward’s niece and nephews)

Here's what you can do to enter the giveaway:

          1. Click HERE to share the book release on Facebook

          2. Click HERE to share the book release on Twitter

          3. Share the book release on your blog. Click HERE for an easy copy-paste media kit that you can adapt however you like. For example, if you have already posted a review on your blog, you can add my author bio, excerpt, giveaway info, etc. Please fill in the link of your post as well, so I won't miss a single entry.

*If you do everything above, you’ll get three entries and have a greater chance to win!

The giveaway ends on June 20. Winners will be announced on June 21.

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