The Sunday Currently: Volume 1

Long time no post, huh? I know, I know. Here's the thing. I’ve been busy dealing with real life stuff which resulted to me having a hard time keeping this blog up and running. Sometimes a barrage of words rushes through my mind, I get this sense of “I know I should type it in and make a blog post out of it” but when I face my laptop or I’m in the middle of writing my post – the spark in me little by little fizzles out or time restrains me from finishing it up. Let’s not dwell too much on that, shall we? As a comeback post, I’m using siddathornton’s The Sunday Currently. I haven’t done this here in my blog yet (hence the Vol. 1 in the title) and so it’s going to be a new feature that I’ll be updating weekly or we’ll see what I’ll come up with the schedule for this. In addition to that, I think this is a great idea for me to reintroduce myself and talk about where’s my head at concerning my blog, Fandomly Bookish. Okay, let’s start!

Reading (or should I say, I’m going to read) Finding my Forever by Heidi McLaughlin. A couple of days ago, I find myself wanting to read. It was an out of the blue move for me because I’m currently into this reading slump period which was brought on by It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover. But surprise, surprise, not only did I finish one book in a few days but I ended up with two, which were the first two books of this series. I have to say that McLaughlin’s books are addicting. Once you start reading it and get introduced with her set of characters, you just can’t help it but to be curious about everyone. So that’s what happened to me. I devoured those books and now planning to add another one.

Writing this blog post. For a long time, I haven’t felt this level of joy with blogging. Probably it has something to do with it being a comeback post and at the same time, a new feature. I’m also having fun with just letting my thoughts out through a blog post. I’m planning to write another post today or tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed for that one.

Listening to You and Me by Ahn Hyeon Jeong from W Original Soundtrack Part 7. Twitter friends wouldn’t be shocked with this but I’m sure my dear blog readers will be. I think ever since this blog existed not for once did I mention any Korean related stuff here and you’d be amazed with my progress in this area. Just so you know guys, my playlist is invaded and filled to the brim with Korean songs. Most of those songs are from the original soundtracks of the Korean dramas that I’ve previously watched and am currently watching. Some people will probably say that I can’t even understand the lyrics, so why listen? Wait. Hold up. This is something that I’ve came to realize after all these weeks that I’ve spent listening to these songs – I might be clueless with their lyrics but the emotions of the artists transcend the message of the song and affect me. And Google’s around too. I could do a one click to read about the English translation and double the song’s effect on me.

Thinking about the things that I should consider to spice up this blog and make it come alive. I have a few things up my sleeves and I’m still trying to finalize it in my mind. I'm also thinking about W - Two Worlds and Waves of Memories by Jonaxx. What a mind-boggling duo! 

Smelling the carbonara and fried chicken from the dining room. It's my cousin's 20th birthday and we had  a simple gathering awhile ago and the smell of the  foods and festivity are still lingering in the air. Happy Birthday, cous!

Wishing that I can really push through with those plans that I’m currently thinking. I’m wishing that I won’t be placed under a reading and blogging slump too. It’s seriously messing up with my plans.

Hoping that W – Two Worlds leaves its viewers fully satisfied and ends happily. Right now, W is delivering the satisfied part (just a few more triggers and my mind would probably explode already) but on the other end, nope. My heart is thoroughly crushed by that cruel ending and cliffhanger from Episode 13. This Korean drama is a MUST WATCH!

Wearing a tank top and shorts that I usually just wear inside our house. My comfy clothes.

Loving all the love my Twitter account is getting. I love all the interactions and mentions. I love my Twitter friends. Hi!

Wanting to make some changes here in my blog for quite some time now but distracted to do it. I think, I might be able to pull it off this time around. 

Needing more behind the scenes videos and photos of Lee Jong Suk and Han Hyo Joo. For added feels and my strong need to check up on what’s happening with the two of them in between takes. I also need my on-screen couple – Kang Chul and Oh Yeon Joo – to end up together and be their saccharine selves.

Feeling sleepy. I didn’t get enough sleep last night because my mind went into an overdrive and kept on thinking about different things from my blogging life and real life. Decisions, decisions, decisions…

Clicking through my blog to able to post this.

There you have it. I'm done filling out 'The Sunday Currently' feature and I certainly had fun! How about you? What were the things that you accomplished today? What were the thoughts that circled through your mind? Want to share it to me? Just comment down here on my blog post or let's talk about it on Twitter @ @fandomlybookish! I'd be glad to entertain you!

RAMBLINGS | 'SHADOWHUNTERS' TV Series

Photo grabbed from Twitter

Hi, Book nerds and Fangirls!

It's been a long time since I’ve posted a ramblings feature here in my blog and I think it's just fitting for me to talk about the ‘Shadowhunters’ TV series. A lot of casting announcements happened in the Shadowhunter fandom recently and I seriously love it. It has been a long time since my fellow Filipino Shadowhunters made noise all over social media sites and now we even managed to trend stuff over Twitter (Worldwide and here in the Philippines). Most of the casting announcements, I’ve been up and using our The Mortal Instruments Philippines Twitter account (@TMI_PH) to join in the fun and fangirl with Shadowhunters across the globe.

As of now we have SIX actors on board with the show: Dominic Sherwood (Jace), Emeraude Toubia (Isabelle), Alberto Rosende (Simon), Kat McNamara (Clary), Matthew Daddario (Alec) and Isaiah Mustafa (Luke). Behind each casting announcement is a fandom quite divided into four: 1) Shadowhunters who are immediately on board with the actors, 2) Shadowhunters who believes that those actors will do well but still prefers the TMI movie cast, 3) Shadowhunters who will wait for the pilot episode before handing in their judgment and lastly, 4) Shadowhunters who negatively comments on the casting. I’m part of that group who has been constantly giving the casting team thumbs up with their picks. I love that the ones they’ve cast were not that famous and how it shows diversity within the cast members. But on the flipside of that, were boat load of negative comments and others with issues regarding changes to be made in the TV series.

Thus, pushed me to create this post and hopefully get everybody’s attention.

This morning, I posted a Facebook status and asking my friends this question: “Is ‘The Vampire Diaries’ TV series faithful to the books?”. I know the answer to this but question I just want them to answer my question. All of them responded with a “No.” and some even expounded that the series is far from the book and that there were characters who weren’t in the book but appeared on the TV show. If you want to take a look at it, here’s the link to that.

When evening came and I logged in onto my Facebook account again, I decided to compose a new status on how relevant my previous status is with the point that I’m making towards the ‘Shadowhunters’ TV series. I edited out my recent Facebook status and added more to it. But if you want to read the original status, you can read it here.

My thoughts: 

So, what’s the purpose of my previous status regarding ‘The Vampire Diaries’ TV show?

I just want to make a point on how Hollywood treats book to TV series adaptations. I'm not saying that 'Shadowhunters' TV series will not be faithful to the books (we still don’t know how the TV series plot line will go) but when the rights for having it adapted into a show was acquired, Cassie signed it away. Adapting it into a TV show means it will open a whole of possible diversions and changes in the story line and even with the characters. Just like this: “Luke Garroway is an NYPD detective investigating a string of “demonic” murders. This is a change from the books, but it’s one we’re embracing because it sounds like Luke will have a more expanded role in the series.” – from MTV’s article. In TV shows they can add, they have the freedom to expound more on the world and characters. Just like with ‘The Vampire Diaries’. I think it will be so much easier to develop since Cassandra Clare already created a very broad Shadowhunter world and it will only need the TV series crew the right timing on how they’ll fit (let say), ‘The Infernal Devices’ events to ‘Shadowhunters’. They could have flashbacks or whatever they want. With that being said, fans need to be open to these possibilities and stop being so narrow-minded.

Another thing, it's just the start of the casting process and some people are already reacting negatively. Some even resulted to being racists. It’s okay if you don't like or kind of iffy with the actors that were cast. It's normal and I know what you're feeling too with having a perfect TMI movie cast, it's really hard to let go of the previous actor’s images and how they delivered their roles flawlessly. But to result being racists, is a BIG NO. That's just rude and downright mean. We haven't even seen those actors act and portray our beloved characters but it seems like others are already set in stone that they hate this and that actor. Even going further with saying that they’ve lost hope with the adaptation. Those actors were chosen for a reason and only the casting directors and Cassie have seen that. Give them a chance, people. If you end up not liking their acting during the pilot episode, rant away. I don't care. But not now because we don't have the room to judge them.

Let's try and trust the 'Shadowhunters' crew. I know that every decision they're making, us, the fans, is always on the forefront of their minds. We should also consider ourselves very lucky too because the network is involving Cassie with major decisions regarding the show. Plus, we have a lot to be grateful for.

If Shadowhunters will keep this up, this could end up being the show's downfall. I don't want that. We don't want that.

Remember…

TRUST. 

SUPPORT. 

BE OPEN-MINDED.

Share your thoughts on the comment section below, Shadowhunters, book nerds and fangirls! I’d love to know your insights on this particular topic.

RAMBLINGS | March HIATUS

Hi, book nerds and fangirls!

Fandomly Bookish is quite back after entering a hiatus throughout the month of March. I’m writing this blog post to share to you what I’ve been up to for the past month and what were the things that led me into having a blogging hiatus. Nothing to worry, though, for I didn’t get sick or anything. So yeah, let’s get down to it.

#NoWIFI

Yes, we don’t have WIFI connection right now in our house because we’ve decided to have it cut off due to weeks and weeks of crappy connection. I don’t know when we’ll have a replacement for it. And you know what? I’m actually kind of okay with that. Recently, I’ve also felt like I need some time to step away from being so active in my social media accounts and focus more on my life outside of it. I know it will take a toll on my blogging duties but on the flipside I’ll be able to take a break and just chill aka read more books. Speaking of books, I’ve read quite a number last month and I ended up not being able to write book reviews because, phew the pile and my fervor for reading pushed me to read the next book right after the one that I’ve finished. I hope I’ll be able to have time soon to go through those books again and write mini book reviews for it. I updated my Goodreads account and in there you’ll be able to see the ratings for those books. I hope those ratings can still help you in choosing your next reads.

#ConfessReleasePH

The whole month of February and for the most part of March, I’ve been constantly answering emails, communicating to a bunch of people, coordinating with the entire Colleen Hoover Philippines team to organize a release party and the first ever Filipino CoHorts gathering. This event definitely kept me busy every single day because our team is constantly tweaking the flow of the event (adding and removing activities), I’m always checking on my email account and constructing replies. I even felt the need of gluing my eyes and hands to my laptop and phone. Tiring but it was very fulfilling when you have an end result of a very successful event. The release party was definitely a huge success and I can say that everybody in attendance had a great time. The vibe of the event was very chill and friendly. There were games, great performances and everybody had a great laugh. I’m planning to write a blog post about this event together with another one which constituted for me to have the “best weekend ever”.

#OTRATMNL and nursing my PCD

After years of waiting, I finally had the chance to watch and hear One Direction perform live last March 21^st and it was so surreal. I still can’t believe it but when I scroll through my phone’s voice notes and listen to the ones I’ve recorded during the concert, it proves to me that that particular night really happened. It was real. I really had the pleasure of hearing them sing and talk live in front of me. I’ve been a fan of this band from the very beginning and for me to able to witness them performing was very fulfilling. Their voices were really beautiful and if you’re very keen into distinguishing the similarities/awesome differences between the studio version and their live performance, you’ll just be doing two thumbs up. They were perfect and they really deserve everything that they have achieved all through the years. I’m very proud to be a One Direction fan!

RAMBLINGS | All About Advance Reader’s Copies...

I wasn't planning on writing a blog post for today but then an issue came up which concerns books and blogging. It caught my attention and I just can't help myself from keeping mum about it. 

It started off when somebody posted (in a certain Facebook group that I'm part of) a screenshot of an IG account which apparently sells ARCs. What the? Seriously, they're selling ARCs? Uh-oh, I smell chaos. Oh and I'm quite right with that 'cause once I logged in onto my Twitter account, a lot of my Filipino book blogger friends took notice of that specific post too. 

So now, here we are and you'll be reading through my sentiments about selling ARCs. 

The owner of this shop clearly don't understand the label placed by the publishers on the front cover of those ARCs: "UNCORRECTED PROOF NOT FOR SALE". I’m sorry but don’t give us that first sale doctrine you’ve posted over your IG account because le duh it has been stated that ARCs aren’t for SALE. That’s basically the term that these publishers set when you were granted ARCs.

Note that, there shouldn’t be monetary transactions involved when it comes to ARCs too. Publishers aren’t gaining profit from it and this shop just has the nerve to sell these ARCs. ARCs which were given and delivered to them for free. That’s just so wrong. Purely unethical. If you don't want those ARCs, the best way is for you to donate, lend or host a giveaway on your account.

The owner also didn’t factor in that he/she should consider him/herself to be lucky and privilege to have those. It's a blessing to receive an ARC and what more with SEVERAL ARCs at that. Damn, acquiring ARCs is a tough task to accomplish, you know? I’ve worked my ass off before I was granted print ARCs by Harper Collins International and am always working hard for the eARCs. This is just a very sad and disappointing situation. 

Anyways... Book nerds who happen to stumble upon ARC sellers, please please don’t patronize them. If you want to acquire ARCs, go over Twitter and test your luck in ARC giveaways! That’s the best way to snag a copy of your anticipated releases. 

Here are some additional reading materials for you if you want to know some thoughts coming from bloggers regarding this matter: StackedBooks, This Is Not Your Book Blog and Writer for Misfits. 

What is happening to us, Philippine book community?

Okay. I'm done here. I just hope I got my point across to you, my blog readers.  x

MOVIE TALK | FIFTY SHADES OF GREY

I’m no uber fan but as person who read the book, I can say that 'Fifty Shades of Grey' fans and readers will definitely be pleased with its movie adaptation. With fans being the reason for this book getting a movie deal, the author and the movie crew truly honored it by giving them a film that they will certainly approve of and will live through with their expectations. I may have issues here and there but I have to give it to them for staying faithful to their material. I’ll be discussing more about my thoughts regarding this movie in several divisions that I would love to comment on. Rest assured that I would be highlighting both the strengths and weaknesses of the movie.

Material vs. Content of the Movie

I’m going to start this off by saying that I’m no way okay with most of what happened in the story, Fifty Shades of Grey. There were just so many issues that deemed unacceptable for me but I won’t go deeper about that in this post. Maybe you’re thinking why I even bothered watching the movie when I have issues with it. Simple, I want to know how they are going to translate and handle such a controversial book. Are they going to choose the road of romanticizing it? Or are they going to be bold enough and stick with the content and how it was presented in the book? 

The greatest possible fear that I have in my mind with the thought of having this book being made into a movie was if Hollywood would romanticize it for commercial reasons. Because they just couldn’t do it and persuade/twist the public’s mind into thinking that everything is okay and acceptable with that kind of relationship like Ana and Christian. It wouldn’t be Fifty Shades of Grey if that happens too. But fear not, my dear Greysessed, the movie didn’t take that route. The movie making people presented everything as raw as the book and left it open for public’s own input. They didn’t shove it down the viewer’s throats that it’s okay to be involved in something like that and I admire them for doing just that.

They heavily focused on the sex scenes. I know that it’s the core of the story and relationship of Christian and Ana and I applaud them for mostly retaining the important sexual moments between the two. But once the sex scenes commenced it turned out to be one sex scene after another. Again, I know that there are a number of sex scenes in the book but they could’ve at least inserted breather moments in between those. Breather moments could have helped in setting the tone and pace of the movie and not giving the viewers some kind of a whiplash.

I know it’s a common concern for book to movie aficionados to note differences and scenes that didn’t made the cut. It’s an annoying habit, right? But hear me out first, on the previous paragraph I mentioned about breather moments. The email conversations in the book could be just that. The emails were highly important in this series because it’s the part wherein we see some development between the relationship of Ana and Christian. Yes, there were email conversations in the movie but it wasn’t enough to showcase their growth.  I must say that if these emails were included in the movie and given much focus, it could’ve catapulted it into a better one. Small scenes like that could’ve added more to the entirety story.

But all in all, the movie is really the book. 

RAMBLINGS | UNTIL TRILOGY by Jonaxx (Queen J!)

I know that this is quite a late post already since Until Trilogy by Jonaxx ended last week. I’ve just been so busy with real life and I also need time to gather my thoughts about the completion of the three-part story of Klare and Elijah’s journey to love and happiness.

I think, it was a couple of weeks after I read Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews that a friend of mine gave me a heads up about Until He Was Gone. She said that the story contains a cousin falling in love with one of his cousins. That’s new for me, cousins. At first, I was unsure if I’d read it or not because … Come on! I feel like I’m subjecting myself for another round of constant heartache. But then she mentioned that it’s a Wattpad story written by Jonaxx, okay, I’m sold. If you’ve read my previous posts here in my blog, I’ve been a fan of Queen J for quite long time already. But well I got lost in a sea of Young Adult and New Adult books which resulted for me not being able to visit my Wattpad application. Yes, I've been missing in action. Then she further elaborated that it has interesting characters, a pair that I’d definitely fuss over with because of their chemistry and I’d die for wishing and shipping them to be together till the end of the story. But despite everything that she said, I'm more curious as to how Jonaxx is going to handle such a conflict for this book. This is a sensitive topic. Not an easy and common conflict to tackle. You have to brave enough to write it. How is she going to weave and surprise her readers? With those thoughts in my mind, I dropped whatever that I was reading at that time and started my journey. 

Now after several months, it’s done. Klare and Elijah’s story has been written already… How are you, guys? Still reeling over Until Trilogy’s ending? Then that means that I’m not alone. 

BUT BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE. I'm going to post a HUGE SPOILER HERE. 

THEY WEREN'T REAL COUSINS. I just want to get this out before I went on my merry way of gushing about my feels. If you're curious as to how it happened, then read the entire trilogy and don't just stop until you've finished Book 1 or Book2. Though if you've been a keen observer, I'm sure you've correctly pieced together some of the suspicious things that happened in the first book. 

Now, I can resume. Thank you so much, Queen J for sharing this trilogy to us. Thank you for this beautiful roller coaster ride that we’ve been riding for the most part of year. Every tear we’ve shed, every heartache and anger we’ve felt and just about any emotion that you’ve gotten out of us, were unquestionably worth it. Until Trilogy isn’t something we’re going to forget any time soon. Right?

RAMBLINGS | ARCs, Shipping Celebrities, Until Forever Trilogy and Mayon Volcano

There’s just a lot of stuff to talk about and I’ve chosen four thoughts that are constantly bugging me and flashing like a neon sign inside my head.

ARCs from HarperCollins. Yehey for review copies from HC! Thank you so much, guys! I received THREE ARCs in the mail two weeks ago but I didn’t have the chance to make a “Thank You” post about it! Actually, two of these books that I got weren’t exactly included in my request list but I’m still excited to dive into it. So what are the titles that I got, then? Hmmmm. I have a review copy of Sara Shepard’s The Perfectionist, The Dolls by Kiki Sullivan and The Invisible by Amelia Kahaney. I haven’t read any books coming from these authors (YES, I haven’t read The Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard *shame on me*!) so I really don’t know what to expect towards their writing style and how they tackle their stories. It excites me, though. I’ll probably read The Dolls after I write my review for His Wounded Light by Christine Brae tonight. Again, Thank you so much HC for these lovely books!

Rob - FKA Twigs. I guess this thing between them is real already, huh? </3

I’ve been repeatedly telling myself for the past years that I should stop shipping celebrities because it’ll just give me heartache when they don’t end up together. Like, shipping Zac-Vanessa and Ian-Nina. But ughh, I JUST CAN’T STOP. Now, I’m currently mending a broken heart AGAIN!

Since Twilight days, I’ve been shipping hard and waiting for Rob and Kristen to be together. I’ve been social media stalking them and even joining a team who blogs about their movie premiers, sightings and all that jazz. That’s how hard I fall for them. So, you can probably imagine how ecstatic I was when I saw photos of Rob and Kristen holding hands and just seeing them together in one photo back in the days. *jumps up and down* And you can also imagine how down I was when the July 2012 (I think) issue and April 2013 break-up news hit the web. *tissues everywhere*

During those tough times, I still have this huge hope that there’ll be a sighting (with photos) of Kristen and Rob together after that alleged break-up. I have high hopes and desperate for something or anything to surface. Plus, I have faith that they were still together, like together together, because there weren’t any rumors surrounding them regarding other guys and girls being linked to them. Well actually, I really don’t believe articles in the web. It’s like I (or I think, any fangirl in any fandom has) have this principle that goes like this, “pictures or it didn’t happen”.

Photo grabbed from Just Jared Jr.

AND THEN THIS. This one, hit hard. I can’t even. I can’t believe that it’s happening already. Huff … If Rob’s happy then that’s it. I respect that. I won’t result into bashing Rob and FKA Twigs because of them being involved in a relationship, like others fans that I can see on Twitter. Remember, we are just FANS. We don’t have a say on who they take on dates. But I’m like you, guys, I’m heartbroken too. I’m upset too. We are just experiencing something a normal and devoted fan who’ve been following Rob and Kristen for years. *virtual hug*

Though, I’m still holding on to that idea that this is just a phase, a bump or whatever you want to call it that, in Rob and Kristen’s relationship. I’m still holding on that they’ll get a forever. Ha! Who’s with me?

I don’t know, I’ll probably stay away from shipping celebrities from now on … I’ll just stick to fictional characters. Hahahaha :) 

Fandomly Bookish Recommends ... | Wattpad Authors and Stories [2]

WOW! Thank you so much for supporting my debut post last week under this weekly feature that I've created. I was really overjoyed and actually going nuts to see loads of people responding to my post. Seeing how people are agreeing, commenting and complimenting how I’ve written that blog post just warms my heart. I never really thought that it would spread on the web like wildfire. Phew!

*coughs* Avon, mah friend, you have a huge part in this blog achievement. I was so shocked that you truly posted it on that group (a group I didn’t know that existed until you’ve mentioned it that day. Tsk. Tsk. Bad!). Anyways, Thank you. Thank you.

And this. Massive thanks to Queen J and her royal supporters because without you, guys, reading and sharing that post it wouldn't exceed to a THOUSAND reads! Totally insane, right? But oh well, that’s just how awesome Queen J and her readers are (including me, yeah?).

Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH! *virtual group hug* 

I just hope that Non-Wattpad readers were also able to read this post so that there’ll be fruition with the goals of this feature and those are 1) for Filipino readers to learn how to appreciate works written by Filipino authors and 2) to promote Wattpad worthy-read stories. My feelings actually get hurt when I see people generalizing everything and continuously ranting on about how Wattpad stories are. Please. Stop. I want people to realize that not all stories in Wattpad are badly written and in “jejemon” style (said by some of my Facebook friends). There are actually good stories in Wattpad that really deserves the hype and of being published. Give Filipino Wattpad stories a chance, you guys.

So to those who’ve read my blog post, last week and will be reading this one … I hope you try and share it with a Non-Wattpad reader friend of yours. ‘Cause maybe there’s still hope that he/she will give chance and read a story or two from Wattpad. We never know.  

Back to what this feature is all about. When I saw that the number of reads for my first ever Fandomly Bookish Recommends ... | Wattpad Authors and Stories feature was increasing and increasing by the minute, I knew that I have to dig into Wattpad and look for more authors/stories that I can feature. And I really did that. I asked for recommendations from my friends and look into Wattpad PH related accounts for What’s New and What’s Hot. That’s why I got tons of new Wattpad stories to read and I’m so excited about it! 

One of the titles that got my attention was Akin Ka by @asherina_kenza. (Congratulations, Ash for getting Akin Ka published under Sizzle!) I remembered that I already have this story loaded into my Wattpad account and I just have to look for a time to read it. Luckily, I have time to read this one last week and I’m so glad that I did. Akin Ka is under the New Adult genre and that’s the type of book that I always read and deal with here in my blog. I read Akin Ka for two days straight and only to find out that there’s a prequel and sequel kind of story to it! Dagnabit! Nobody told me that!  Can you guess what I did?

Fandomly Bookish Recommends ... | Wattpad Authors and Stories [1]

I read Wattpad stories. Yes, you've read that right. I actually started reading stories from Wattpad way back when I was still a college student. Sophomore or Junior year, I think. It was around that time when Wattpad stories was selling like hotcakes in the online Filipino reader community. So you know, I just have to try and know what the fuss is all about.

I think some Filipino readers tend to shy away from Wattpad stories because of the previous experiences they had with some stories written and published on that site. It could be because some stories isn't up to par with their taste, the quality of how it was written and how some story lines get clichéd and all. Take a hint here, it's actually a hit and miss in Wattpad when it comes to the stories you'll find in there. You just have to be very patient in looking  for a writer (and stories) that'll really suit you when it comes to his/her writing style, on how he/she narrates and wrap up the story and how she treats her characters. It's like looking for a gold in a dark and scary gold mine. 

Photo grabbed from: Jonaxxstories Facebook Page

To help you out with your Wattpad dilemma, I've decided to make this feature in this blog wherein from time to time I will share names of authors and title of stories that I immensely enjoyed reading. This feature aims to promote Wattpad worthy-read stories to my fellow Filipino readers. 

Here's my first recommended Wattpad author: She's known as Queen J by her avid readers or Jonaxx in the entire Wattpad community. Queen J, wohoo! She wasn't the first author that I came across in Wattpad and her works weren't the first ones that I've read. But (I think) she's the only author that I constantly and consistently looked forward to on what she's going to lay down the table next. And yes, I've read every single bit of her works. Even her tweets and posts in Facebook. LOL!

I can still perfectly remember the first story that I've read coming from this author and it was her work entitled, DOWNFALL CHRONICLES. At first, I was undecided if I'll push through reading it because I've also had my fair share of stumbling across stories that scared the heck out of my braincells. But I'm very glad that I continued to read it because I didn't expect it to be like that. It turned out to be a very emotional read and a story that I'll forever remember.

FIRST TIME I WON SOMETHING AND IT’S AN ARC OF UGLY LOVE | Ramblings

Towards the last week of May, I entered the Twitter giveaway of Ms. Johanna Castillo (Colleen’s editor) for the ARC of Ugly Love. It was a simple contest wherein I have to retweet a tweet of hers and then I’ll be entered into the giveaway. I gave it shot and only to find out a few days after that I won the contest! WOOT WOOT! 

MY GOODNESS! I’ll get to read UGLY LOVE months/days before the release? Holy shit, yes! I was ecstatic.  From that day on, I was in contact with Ms. Johanna for the updates of the whereabouts of my galley.

The month of June entered and it’s still a no show on my doorstep. *messages Ms. Johanna*

I was getting really worried that it got stuck somewhere and I won’t be able to have it in my hands. I was shitless scared for it was the first time I won something  (IT’S A BOOK THAT I’M EAGERLY ANTICIPATING) and I’d probably end up not being able to receive it. That sucks, right?

Then entered the first week of July, still a no show. *wrings my hands*

July 21 came in. 

And to my surprise, there was a package waiting for me!!!

I was praying to all the Saints for the package to contain the ARC already! Phew, please! I slowly opened it and took a deep breath before I checked the content … AND TADA!!!! Rejoice! Squeals were heard. I was happy dancing around the house. Even my fangirl heart is tapping away inside of my body! 

I CAN'T EVEN DFHASJFIOAS!!! MY CoHo fangirl heart cannot contain
all the feels when I saw this baby! 

RAMBLINGS: HarperCollins & ARCs ...

It's been a long time coming ... These are the ARCs that HarperCollins Publishers sent me!!! :)

I WAS UTTERLY SURPRISED when a package was dropped off of our house last Friday, May 2! I totally wasn't expecting it because in the previous email HC sent me, Ms. Megan (Hi!!!) said that she would be emailing us first if the ARCs are already in the mail. And I didn't have any clue if my request for the ARCs would be granted ASAP or not because THIS was my first time to be included in their list of bloggers that they would make an offer for ARCs. So, I'm such a clueless gal. 

Anyways, enough with that. I just want to THANK HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS AND MS. MEGAN again for being so accommodating from the very beginning and for giving me this opportunity of reading and writing reviews for these books way before it's publication dates. This is a really huge deal for me, guys. I cry. After 12374748949383 years (LMAO!), I finally feel that I've accomplished something for my blog. :) 

Here are the titles of the books that they've generously sent me together with their corresponding book covers and synopsis: 

Title: NASH (Marked Men #4) 

Author: Jay Crownover (Website | Twitter)

Publisher: William Morrow

Publication Date: April 29, 2014 

SYNOPSIS 

Will their past determine their future?

Saint Ford has worked hard to achieve her childhood dream of becoming of nurse. Focused on her work and devoted to her patients, there’s no room for love. She doesn’t need a guy making waves in her calm, serene life—especially when he’s the unforgettable hottie who nearly destroyed her in high school. Dark, brooding Nash Donovan might not remember her or the terrible pain he caused. But he turned her world upside down... and now he’s trying to do it again.

Saint has no idea that Nash isn’t the cocky player he once was. Uncovering a devastating family secret has rocked his world, and now he’s struggling to figure out his future. He can’t be distracted by the pretty nurse he seems to meet everywhere. Still, he can’t ignore the sparks that fly between them —or how she seems so desperate to get away from him. But the funny, sweet, and drop-dead gorgeous Saint is far too amazing to give up on—especially since she’s the only thing in his life that seems to make sense.

When Nash discovers the truth about their past, he realizes he may have lost her heart before he could even fight for it. Now, Saint has to decide: is Nash worth risking herself for all over again?

Add Nash on your "to read" list in Goodreads, using this link. 

Ramblings: Diary Ng Panget The Movie

Ramblings. I don’t usually write local (Philippine) entertainment related posts here in my blog but for Diary Ng Panget (and future Wattpad stories turned into movies?), I’m definitely making an exception. I’m not much into the local scene of our entertainment industry but I do watch movies and TV shows from time to time. That’s pretty much it. Then Diary Ng Panget The Movie happened.

It’s a known fact that I’m very updated and active every time an international book (that I love/like) is being adapted into a movie. My Facebook account’s constantly blowing up everyone’s news feed with updates, set photos, trailers, TV spots and movie stills from those movies. I know and I admit it, I’m such a “Book to Movie” junkie. Here’s the catch, I have NEVER FOLLOWED (keep tabs/social media stalking people involved in the project just to get a glimpse of the cast on set and what scene they are currently shooting) a PINOY movie being made/shot, not until this one.

I’ve been a fan of Diary Ng Panget way before it was even published as a book and doesn’t have any movie company optioning it of turning it into a movie. There you go, imagine me flailing around the house when I learned about it possibly becoming a movie. So we have a Wattpad story, book and then add the fact that there’s a potential movie … go figure. That’s actually expected of me to go gaga over it. When their shooting went underway, there were days when all I can see on my Facebook wall are updates and set photos from Diary Ng Panget. March has been a very enjoyable month for me because of the updates and teasers we got for this film.

April 2 experience. This movie made me experience another FIRST. I have never stood in line and waited just to be able to watch a Pinoy movie, not even the Metro Manila Film Fest movies made me do it. When I watch movies, I usually avoid crowds and long lines because I’m a very impatient person and that’s just not my scene. Huff. But for Diary Ng Panget, I did it. I stood in line for about an hour and thirty minutes just to be able to enter the theatre house and watch the movie. Looking back to this experience, I can say that everything that I endured during that waiting period was all worth it.

Movie. Wow, when we were walking out of the cinema after we’ve finished watching Diary Ng Panget I actually felt great and was just surrounded with an air of satisfaction with how they adapted the book. It was very faithful; they were able to stay very close to the book and was able to justify the material that they have. Yes, there were scenes that didn’t make it in the movie BUT the good thing here is they were able to capture the WHOLE VIBE OF THE BOOK. They were able to translate it really well through the lines, the banters of Cross and Eya and just every scene of the movie screams something that Denny, the author, would make her characters say and do. The movie made me giggle, laugh out loud (with tears in my eyes), squeal (or bordering on screaming), clap my hands, made me go like “awwww” and it really invaded me with loads of “kilig” feels! I had lots of fun watching the movie. All good stuff, thumbs up!

The pacing of the movie is at times good but there were moments that it tends to settle in so fast and goes directly into another scene of the movie. But that’s common error in movies based on books, even Hollywood movies have that. There were also some scenes that I wished that were given a little bit more emphasis or at least prolonged the length of it. Like the “walis-dustpan” scene (and the scene after that), the hospital and the cemetery scene because those scenes actually showcases the different side of Cross and that could’ve added with his character building/development. Another scene that I wished they could’ve emphasized more is the Masquerade Ball that was held in Willford Academy because it was such a pivotal scene in the book and it also runs through towards the end part of the movie. Anyways, those were just my wishes and opinions. Seriously though, I think the DNP Movie team did a really great job in handling everything given the time frame they were allotted to work for this project. If I’m not mistaken, they started shooting last February 26^th (?) and the studio released the movie not even two months after they’ve shot it. So, congrats to you guys!