Book: Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

★★★★/★★★★★

“Is this how it goes? You fall in love, and nothing seems truly scary anymore, and life is one big possibility?”

Always and Forever, Lara Jean was a big surprise when Jenny Han first announced that To All the Boys I've Loved Before (review here) will have a third book. Everyone was excited, so was I! The first two books were lovely and swoon-worthy but I think my favorite is Always and Forever, Lara Jean.

The conclusion to Lara Jean and Peter's story is inside Always and Forever, Lara Jean which I think is so cute and just perfect. I can't say I was a big fan of Peter Kavinsky in P.S. I Still Love You (review here), or To All The Boys I've Loved Before for that matter, but in this book, he's just so adorable and he's such a sweetheart! 

“Peter will love Lara Jean with all his heart, always”

 Lara Jean is enjoying her last year in high school; she's in love with her boyfriend Peter, her dad is going remarried and Margot will be home just in time for the wedding which excites them all. Everything is going right and she's having the best time of her life when suddenly her plans change when her College acceptance letter arrives. It makes Lara Jean think of a new plan which might affect her relationship with Peter. 

I love how the book focuses on Lara Jean and some of the changes in her life. Her father re-marrying Ms. Rothschild is a big change for them and I love how it makes not only her but Kitty and Margot as well to grow and accept the new addition to their family. Graduating high school and going to College is another big thing for Lara Jean and when her plan to go to the same university with Peter has changed, she has to think of a way how to compromise. Of course she wants to stay in a relationship with Peter and she's going to do everything just to keep it. 

All the characters have grown so much in me and I still love how heartwarming the story is. Lara Jean getting even closer with her family, her relationship with Chris (yes, her bestfriend, Chris!) and Peter, how she makes big decisions for herself and how much she's matured in this book. And the romance, of course I'm going to talk about the romance! Lara Jean and Peter are just sooo cute I want to keep them to myself! Peter Kavinsky actually made me fall in love with him!

“Being vulnerable, letting people in, getting hurt... it's all part of being in love.” 

Overall I adored this book! And if only it's not the last book! My advice, if you want a cute and lovely read, try To All the Boys I've Loved Before series if you haven't already. It wouldn't disappoint.

21 ❤

Don’t just give your heart to any guy, give it to someone who reaches for your hand during a prolonged moment of silence, just to remind you they’re still by your side. Give your heart to a man who pulls you close after a fight instead of pushing you away. Give it to a man who doesn’t make you doubt yourself or causes you to feel guilty for something you didn’t do. Give your heart to someone who’ll comfort you throughout periods of insecurity, when you’re feeling inadequate or lost. Someone who continuously reminds you of your worth.

Give your heart to a guy who would never cause you to feel inferior in your relationship, because he’ll do everything his power to make you feel the opposite. Give it to a man who shows genuine interest in your passions and supports you in every aspect of your life. Someone who will go the extra mile to make you smile.

Give your heart to a guy who will make you a priority instead of a second option.

A guy will follow you anywhere in the world merely because a life without you is unimaginable. 

Give your heart to a person who asks if something is wrong, instead of keeping silent for the sake of not starting an argument. Give it to the guy who takes responsibility for his actions and apologizes when he’s done something wrong. Someone who doesn’t allow an argument to overshadow your relationship or keeps score. Give it to the man who shows up at your doorstep to apologize simply because the thought of you being upset hurts him. Give your heart to a person who finds time to text you when he’s out with his friends rather than waiting until the end of the evening. Give it to someone who won’t take your feelings for granted and reminds you how he feels each day.

Give your heart to a man who will safeguard it with his life, because he knows the true value it holds. Don’t just give your heart to anyone. Find someone spectacular and never let go.

(c) Preach It

Book: Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately by Alicia Cook

★★★/★★★★★

Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately is another poetry book I was excited to get my hands on. It talks about grief, loss, love and such which will surely hit you at some point. The book is divided into two sides, Side A and Side B, and each side has track list like a cassette tape. 

Side A has full length poems, some I related with and some I totally loved! The song associated at the end of each poem also added some impact which I also liked. Side B has black out version of some poems from Side A which I think are my favorites.

Track Twenty Five
I am never going to be the girl with the perfectly
straightened hair or creased clothing. Even at my
most put together, I’ll look a bit   d i s h e v e l e d.
My socks will never match, but no one will notice
that except for my lover and airport security. At
the most inopportune times, I’ll have a run in my
stocking or a runny nose.
I’ll combine foods even a pregnant woman
wouldn’t crave. On way more than one occasion,
my friends have said out loud, I would not want to
spend one minute in your head.
I was always aware of what I encompassed. I have
never tried to conform because I did not feel the
pressure to do so (thanks, Mom!). Yes, this self-
assurance led to my grade school years being a
living hell, but even then I recognized that time
of my life as temporary .
I do not fear, nor am I ashamed of, myself.
As long as I am happy, it is my God-given right
to be odd. To be my true self.

Currently Listening To:
Taylor Swift, “Mean”

Track Sixty Three

Poem:Prove Me Wrong

I’ll give you my heart, not in half
Because I want you to have all of me
My smile, my pain, my whole being
If you take it, you take everything

I’ll give you my word, that sweet “yes”
But promise you’d never break my heart
My mood swings, my hobbies, my past
Accept them and I promise we’ll last

Just prove me wrong, that you’re not like the others
That you won’t hurt me too
Then my heart, my words, my all
My everything will be yours

Book: The Night Stalker (Detective Erika Foster #2) by Robert Bryndza

★★★★/★★★★★

“My point is that bad people are everywhere. The world is filled with good, but it’s equally overwhelmed with bad. People who commit horror and evil. You have to concentrate on what you can do, what you can influence. The ones who you can hunt down.”

Several months ago I picked up and enjoyed The Girl in the Ice, the first book in the Detective Erika Foster series by Robert Bryndza, and now I just finished the second book The Night Stalker which I can say I liked better. We see more inside of Erika's character and I know she's not perfect, she has her flaws and all, but don't we all have some? She may act all though in front of her colleagues but deep inside she's also scarred. And that's what makes her an interesting protagonist.

With a suspenseful start, The Night stalker was able to keep me glued to the pages while Detective Erika Foster tries to catch yet another serial killer. It starts off with Erika and her team investigating the murder of Dr. Munro, which at first they suspected has something to do with gay bashing because of the gay magazines they found on the scene but when they found another body, killed in the same manner as Dr. Munro, they start to think otherwise. And if there's one thing Erika is sure, it is that there's another serial killer in town and she's going to get him. Or her.

The twists and turn of events made the book more thrilling and I liked playing the game of guessing who the killer is or who will be the next victim every time I read something like this! I always try to guess or find clues but in this one I failed to. I was actually quite impressed with the flow of the story and how Bryndza put depth into every character in the book. The respect and loyalty between Erika and his colleague were something I also liked. I especially adored Peterson and Moss! And Isaac! We see more of Erika and Isaac's friendship in the book and I liked it because we see a different side of Erika whenever she's with Isaac.

Isaac put his hand on hers. 
“You can’t save the world, Erika.”
“But I could do a better job trying,” she said, wiping away a tear.

That said, The Night Stalker is a great sequel to The Girl In The Ice and Bryndza did a good job in this one. More compelling plot line, well-developed characters and an intriguing character for a killer!

Movie: Spider-Man: Homecoming 2017

★★★★/★★★★★

Main characters:

Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man

Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes

Jon Favreau as Harold "Happy" Hogan

Zendaya as Michelle "MJ" Jones

Marisa Tomei as May Parker

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man

Director: Jon Watts

With his first appearance in the movie Captain America: Civil War last year, Spider-Mar surely excited everyone for his new solo movie Spider-Man: Homecoming which is one of the most anticipated movies this year. I've seen the movie with my sisters and a friend the other day and we really enjoyed it!

Tom Holland plays the new Spider-Man and seeing him on the big screen is refreshing. Spider-Man is much younger in the movie and trying to prove he can be an Avenger too, he does what Tony Stark always does and what Tony Stark shouldn't do, always looking for trouble. Lol. Honestly, I was waiting for more action but what I got were more laughter and entertaining scenes. Tom Holland played his role very well and I think he was born to be Spider-Man! 

*****

If you haven't watched Spider-Man: Homecoming, watch it now, you guys!

Yana's 21st Birthday!

[H] [A] [P] [P] [Y] 
[B] [I] [R] [T] [H] [D] [A] [Y]
 Had a simple celebration for Yana's 21st birthday! My sisters and I prepared dinner and of course, there was a DIY photobooth which we really enjoyed! :D

 

*****

 Wishing you all the best Yan, good health, more birthdays to come and of course good luck on your career, whatever you decided to take. :)

Book: Her by Pierre Alex Jeanty

★★★★★/★★★★★

She hesitates
when it comes to opening up
because she has fallen in love
too quickly before and none of those
she fell for opened their arms to catch her.

Can you blame her for making sure that
your hands are big enough
to hold her heart,
your intentions are true enough
for your arms to open,
and you’re strong enough to catch her.

Another poetry collection that I totally loved! I related to almost everything inside this book and every piece spoke to me. It's empowering and all the feelings were real that I was touched though sometimes it hurt.

She is independent, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t like having someone she can depend on.

It's really a lovely book with beautifully written and inspiring words. If you find yourself looking for a great poetry collection, I highly recommend you pick this one up!

You deserve
to be with
someone
who searches
for the beautiful
things in you 

Say It Aagin by Marié Digby ♫♪

The thing about love, is I never saw it coming
You kinda crept up and took me by suprise
And now there's a voice inside my heart that's got me wondering
Is this true? I wanna hear it one more time

Move in a little closer
Take it to a whisper
Get just a little louder
Say it again for me
Cause I love the way it feels when you are telling me that I'm the only one who blows your mind
Say it again for me
It's like the whole world stops to listen when you tell me you're in love
Say it again

The thing about you is you know just how to get me
You talk about us like there's no end in sight
The thing about me is that I really wanna let you open the door and walk into my life

Move in a little closer
Take it to a whisper
Get just a little louder
Say it again for me
Cause I love the way it feels when you are telling me that I'm the only one who blows your mind
Say it again for me
It's like the whole world stops to listen when you tell me you're in love

And it feels like it's the first time
That anybody's ever brought the sun without the rain
And never in my whole life
Have I heard words as beautiful as when you say my name

Say it again for me
Cause I love the way it feels when you are telling me that I'm the only one who blows your mind
Say it again for me
It's like the whole world stops to listen when you tell me you're in love

Say it again
Say it again
Say it again

Say it again
Say it again
Say it again

Say it again
Say it again
Say it again

When you tell me you're in love

Say it again 

June 2017 Music Videos

 Strip That Down - Liam Payne ft. Quavo (Jun 1)

Power - Little Mix ft. Stormzy (Jun 8)

Down - Fifth Harmony ft. Gucci Mane (Jun 8)

Bad Liar - Selena Gomez (Jun 14)

There's Nothing Holding Me Back - Shawn Mendes (Jun 20)


 Something In The Way You Move - Ellie Goulding (Jun 21)

Your Song - Rita Ora (Jun 22)

Unpredicatable - Olly Murs & Louisa Johnson (Jun 22)

Want You Back - HAIM (Jun 22)

Amen - Hunter Hayes (Jun 26)

 Remember I Told You - Nick Jonas ft. Anne-Marie & Mike Posner (Jun 27)


Like That - Bea Miller (Jun 29)


Rescue - Hunter Hayes (Jun 29)

JUSTIN BIEBER LIVE IN MANILA 2017

Annnnd, he's back, you guys!!! Justin Bieber is bringing his Purpose World Tour here in Manila on September 30, 2017 at the Philippine Arena.

 It will be Bieber's second time in the country after a successful show last 2011.

Ticket prices are already announced and for more details you can visit MMI Live.

THECHAINSMOKERS LIVE IN MANILA 2017

MMI Live presents

Memories...Do Not Open Tour

THE CHAINSMOKERS

Live in Manila

With special guest: Nick Martin

September 13, 2017 - 9:00pm

Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City

 

For the second time around, the EDM duo The Chainsmokers will visit the country for another exciting show!

For more details and ticket prices you can visit Manila Concert Scene.

Book: Nevernight (The Nevernight Chrnonicle #1) by Jay Kristoff

★★★★/★★★★★

 “Your mind will serve you better than any trinket under the suns...It is a weapon...and like any weapon, you need practice to be any good at wielding it.” 

My first Jay Kristoff novel and I liked it! I'll be honest, I was not interested at first, got bored a lot of times but didn't notice that I was actually already enjoying it at some point. It'd been a hard read for me, the writing style is kinda not in my taste, it was very dense, but, but! I was engrossed with the story and I grew to love the characters nevertheless. Not to mention the footnotes anymore because I stopped reading them early in the book.

Nevernight is actually hard to rate and review. At some point I was convinced I'll only give it 2 stars but in the end realized it deserved 4 stars! Now I don't know how to explain. I think it's a matter of liking the book as a whole or not. In short, you have to be patient with this book! There were parts I didn't like but there were also parts I really loved. That's how crazy this book was for me. I'm torn between disliking it to totally loving it!

Own nothing, Mercurio had said. Know nothing. Be nothing.
Mia breathed deep. Swallowed hard.
Because then you can do anything.

The book tells the story of Mia Corvere, a girl who chooses to enter a school of assassins, to train and master the skills she needs to get what she desires most; vengeance for her family. At a young age Mia lost her father, mother and a younger brother but found a friend in Mercurio who later becomes her teacher. There's also Mister Kindly, a cat who is not a cat, a shadow Mia befriended when she was young. With Mercurio's assistance, Mia goes through a series of trials just to get to Red Church and along the way meets Tric, a boy who like her also wants to get revenge. At the Red Church, Mia starts training, she meets new friends/enemies and learns about the skills she needs most if she wants to avenge her family. 

The boy stared at the hands that held his. “This is a dark road we walk, Mia.”
“Then we walk it together. I watch your back. You watch mine. And if I fall before the end, you get Scaeva for me. Make him scream. And I’ll swear the same for you.”

Like I said, you have to be patient with this book. It's 450+ pages long with dense writing, violence, intense scenes, sex and strong language. It is bloody, you guys! Dark and edgy with twists and turns you wouldn't imagine. There's a bit of romance, only a bit, but I'm satisfied. You see, I'm a sucker for romance in every book and I'm contented with what little this book offered. I actually loved Tric! Like, really. He's both sweet and a badass and I liked that he cared for Mia as Mia did for him. The supporting characters are also all pretty interesting. Ash and her brother are pretty cunning and I loved all the Shahid. With world building, a lot say it reminded them of Harry Potter and even though I haven't read but only watched HP, I can agree it somehow reminded me of Hogwarts. The Red Church is cool enough to be Hogwarts, I think.

Overall, it's a great book. A pretty slow beginning but when the story starts to grab you, you wouldn't want to stop reading. Now I'm pretty excited to read the sequel, Godsgrave!