Book: Chocolate Shoes and Wdding Blues by Trisha Ashley

★★★/★★★★★

“When you were a little girl you wanted to run the shop when you grow up and find the right Cinderella shoes, as you called them, for every bride.”

I'm a big fan of a good chick lit and I can say I enjoyed Tansy Poole's story. Chocolate Shoes and Wedding Blues was my first book of Trisha Ashley and the first time I saw the cover I was sold. The words chocolates and wedding, not to mention shoes, were enough to make me buy this book.

The story follows Tansy Poole's story when she inherits her Aunt Nan's shoe shop in Sticklepond. She lives with her fiance Justin in London but with their relationship going downside, Tansy decides to stay in Sticklepond and think things through while managing her new shop. Enters an old friend/first love, Ivo Hawksley, who transfers to the cottage next to Tansy's shop to mend his broken heart after the death of his wife.

It's been a fun read and the story is a bit predictable but you won't help but love the characters. I especially liked Tansy and Aunt Nan's relationship. They were so close my heart broke when Aunt Nan passed away. The bond between people in their town is also admirable. They look out for each other and support each other in everything. I didn't like Justin and Tansy's stepsisters all throughout and Ivo was a little annoying a first but I grew to like him in the end.

Overall it's a good read, there were repetitions of sentences and a lot of exclamation marks but still, I enjoyed the whole book.

Poem: Here we go again

I’ve been trying to forget everything about you
Your smile, your words, your touch
It’s hard but I’m getting there
Now here you go again reminding me too much.

It’s been months since I last saw you
I thought we’d never see each other again
So I tried moving on and letting you go
But here you go again reminding me of when

We’ll hold each other's hands
We’ll look into each other’s eyes
We’ll laugh and dance and sing on top of our lungs
And now here I go again remembering the why’s

Why we stopped caring
Why we never said what we mean
Why we didn’t try hard enough
Now here I go again wondering what could’ve been

Should we listen to what we’re feeling?
Or should we just pretend it’s nothing?
Because lately I’ve been thinking
What if we give it another try?

Book: Salt by Nayyirah Waheed

 ★★★/★★★★★

even the small poems mean something. they are often
whales in the bodies of tiny fish.

Well, it took me a long time to finally get around this book but now I know why a lot of people loved it.

This poetry collection is beautiful but it hurts at the same time. It touches the subject like racism, sexism and those are difficult but important topics. Some pieces hit me hard but some I just didn't connect with.

you
are
your
own
standard of
beauty.
–– mirror work

knowing your power
is what creates
humility.
not knowing your power
is what creates
insecurity.
–– ego

Movie: The Fate of the Furious 2017

★★★★★/★★★★★

Main characters:

Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto

Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs

Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw

Michelle Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz

Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce

Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Tej Parker

Scott Eastwood as Eric Reisner 

Charlize Theron as Cipher

Director: F. Gary Gray

I saw the movie with my Dad and sister the other night and I know we'd been late to the party since the movie came out over a month ago but who cares? Fate of the Furious is still as good as the past installments and we definitely enjoyed all the thrilling car chase scenes, banters between characters, the action and the unexpected turn of events. But somehow, it's sad to see the movie without Paul Walker's character, Brian.

The 8th installment focuses on Dom as a woman called Cipher forces him to join her team and makes him betray his family. Dom goes rogue after a mission (retrieve an EMP device in Berlin) with his team, sending Hobbs to prison and leaving the others wondering what he has done. Dom then delivers the EMP to Cipher and later we see how Cipher convinced him to help her and I think any man would've done the same thing! To stop Dom and Cipher on whatever they plan to do, Mr. Nobody assembles the team, with Hobbs being the new leader plus Deckard Shaw, who also wants to take down Cipher for what she did to his brother.

 It's 2hrs and 16mins long and I enjoyed every second of it. And when you think the action stunts and plot couldn't get any better, you're wrong. Because this movie keeps on surprising us! And it's really hard not to love the character even more especially when you've grown fond of each and every one of them already. The additional characters of Charlize Theron and Scott Eastwood also make it more fun and the plot a little intriguing.

Overall, I loved the movie! Now I can't wait for Fast & Furious 9 because I can only guess it'll be better and more exciting than the last!

Summer Mixtape #1 ♫♪

♪ You Look Good - Lady Antebellum ♫

♪ A Whole Lotta You - A Rocket To The Moon ♫

♪ 17 - Avril Lavigne ♫

♪ Hello Friday - Flo Rida ft. Jason Derulo ♫

♪ Crash - Usher ♫

♪ Broken Record - Krewella ♫

♪ Dance With Me Tonight - Olly Murs ♫

♪ Runaways - All Time Low ♫

♪ Dance With Me - Kelly Clarkson ♫

♪ It Won't Kill Ya - The Chainsmokers ft. Louane ♫

♪ Don't Come Down -The Maine ♫

♪ 3 AM - Meghan Trainor ♫

♪ Galway Girl - Ed Sheeran ♫

♪ It Ain't Me - Kygo & Selena Gomez ♫

♪ Love Me Like You Mean It - Kelsea Ballerini ♫

♪ Summer - Cassadee Pope ♫

♪ Runaway With Me - Carly Rae Jepsen ♫

***

  Hope everyone's having a great summer! 🌞

May 2017 Music Videos

 Heaven - PVRIS (May 1)


Thunder - Imagine Dragons (May 2) 

Told You So - Paramore (May 3)

Galway Girl - Ed Sheeran (May 3)

 Take On The World - You Me At Six (May 4)

Good Goodbye - Linkin Park ft. Pusha T and Stormzy

 

Can I Be Him - James Arthur (May 8)
 

Sign of the Times - Harry Styles (May 8)

 Malibu - Miley Cyrus (May 11)

If - R5 (May 11)

Kissing Strangers - DNCE ft. Nicki Minaj (May 11) 

Bon Appetit - Katy Perry ft. Migos (May 12)

Gunner - Machine Gun Kelly (May 12)


 Don't Let Me Be Yours - Zara Larsson (May 12)

 Middle of the Night - The Vamps & Martin Jensen (May 15)

No Promises - Cheat Codes ft. Demi Lovato (May 16)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!! ❤

🌸🌸🌸

To all the Mommy, Mama, Ma, Nanay, Nay, Mamay, Mom, Mie, Mamsie... HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY po!

Always know that we thank you for the time, support, care, love and every single thing you give us.

And of course to my beautiful mom, I miss you already! See you in two months! Love you. :D

🌸🌸🌸

ED SHEERAN LIVE IN MANILA 2017

English Singer-Songwriter Ed Sheeran is coming back here in Manila on November 7th as part of the Asia leg of his Divide World Tour. He was here last 2015 for his Multiply Tour which everyone loved and enjoyed.  

You can see the official announcement here. 

 

More details will be posted soon.

Poem: One Lie Then Goodbye

Those were the days when we still smiled to each other
You would hold my hand and I'll blow you a kiss
Everything was so simple, things were working out
But now look at us, always screaming and things are going south

Those were the memories we treasured most
We were walking down the street with love in our eyes
Everything was dear to us, our words were enough
But we've changed, now we walk away when things get rough

Those were the good old times we thought would last
I promised to love you a lifetime and you did too
Everything felt so right, we thought we'd stay forever
But what happened to forever when you couldn't even stay longer?

That... was us
You and I... and our great love
Everything... everything was so perfect until that lie
Now I'm fighting for our love while you prepare to say goodbye

Those are my tears I can't stop anymore
Because you choose to walk away while I choose to fight
Everything I did, and yet you're still leaving
When you were the one who lied and left me hurting

Now this is my goodbye
It still hurts but I don't deserve this
Everything... everything will still lead me to you but...
I'll try to unlove you after this lie then I'll be fine

Book: King (King #1) by T.M. Frazier

★★¹⁄₂/★★★★★

“Stop being alive, and start living.”  

I've had this book with me for a while now and been meaning to read it but didn't have the time until last week. And to say I wasn't excited to get my hands on it when I first saw it was an understatement. I always love a good dark romance and with all the good reviews I'd seen, I was convinced that I'll totally love this book. 

On the contrary, I was a bit disappointed when I got around the book. I admit I haven't read that many dark romances but I had my expectations and sadly with King, I was underwhelmed. The plot has potential but I don't think it was well developed. There were heavy scenes that felt flat to me and though the writing is good, I think Frazier could've done better. Same with the characters. I really wanted to like Doe and King but they failed to appeal to me. I don't know what's wrong but I wasn't hooked with their story and at times they actually annoyed me.

“I found myself again in the most unlikely place. I’d found myself again in the haunted eyes of a girl who was just as lost as I was. Or maybe, we didn’t find each other at all. Maybe, we just decided to be lost together.”

 Right from the start I didn't know what to expect from Doe. She's lost her memories, she's homeless and just barely surviving. She's scared but she knew she has to survive so when opportunity presents itself, she knew she has to grab it. She's desperate. Next thing she knew she's at Brantley King's party with a newfound friend. There are bikers which to her mean protection. And though she's terrified, she knew she has to score one if she wanted to stay alive longer. 

King is a big bad boy. He lives outside the law. He's an ex-con who just got out of prison and is ready to get back to his old life when Doe suddenly shows up. Of course there's an instant attraction between Doe and King but both didn't want to act on it. It's too complicated for them. But along the way they start to grow closer and at some point decided they need to feel each other.

I know I should love King because I'm always drawn to alpha asshole jerks but for some reasons I didn't. I think he's too much to handle though there were times when I rooted for him.

“I would have given anything in the world for that smile and that breath, to have not been his very last.”

Of all the characters I think my most favorite is Preppy. He made me laugh, cry, giggle and cry some more! He's a very endearing character and I love that Doe has found a friend in him. He's damn funny and he broke my heart. Same with Grace. I think she's very sweet and lovely. 

Overall, I did enjoy the book a bit but there were so many things that didn't work for me. I failed to connect with the characters. Doe is too nice and too forgiving at times that it's maddening already. I also didn't get that way she acts sometimes and for someone who has amnesia, she's way trusting. King, on the other hand, is hella confusing. Sometimes he's nice, sometimes he's bad, sometimes he's both and I don't know how he does that! He frustrated me more than anything in this book. Also, I hated how he treated Doe sometimes, ordering her around and all. Then there's the last 10% when things got so crazy I didn't know what to expect anymore. The ending makes it worse by giving us a cliffhanger. Ugh.

So there. I know I ended up just ranting so forgive me but this is all just my opinion. I'm actually glad that a lot of people have loved it and hope the next person does too. I just think this book isn't for me.

Summer 2017 🌞

HELLO, SUMMER! 🌞

***
Last May 1 we had a get together with our relatives in Bulacan and decided to beat the heat by hitting Malamig Park Resort. It is located in Bustos, Bulacan, just a couple of hours away from the busy metropolis. The resort has kiddie pools, adult pools, private pools and a wave pool which you will surely enjoy.

It was a whole day of fun, just swimming, eating and of course catching up with our cousins. Our mom and dad were also with us so we really had a great time since it'd been a while since the last time we had a trip out of town. 

 ❤