Wicked Photo Diary: April 2015

Hi y'all! I'm introducing a new "thing"-for lack of a better word on the blog. It's called "Wicked Photo Diary". Just like any other millenial out there, I'm obsessed with Instagram. I currently have:

- 554 posts
- 333 followers
- 949 following

Every end of the month, I'll be recapping what happened to my life via this diary for people who don't follow me on Instagram. Just so you know, I'm not really forcing you, okay? I'm just giving you an idea. You could follow me on Instagram. Totally not forcing you...(click the photo to follow me on Instagram. I love you to bits.)


April 4, 2015

Yes, food. I love food, don't you?

April 8, 2015

This is the day I announced to everyone on Instagram that I'll be writing and finishing my very first novel. Update, I'm still 2,000 words short of my goal and April is done. But I'll still finish it.

April 10, 2015

The Iron Throne invades Manila! I set up a trip with my brother at the Bonifacio Global City just so we can take pictures on the Iron Throne and walk around. The Iron Throne was too high so I sort of half-sat on the throne so my short legs can reach the floor.

Taken at the Adidas store in BGC. This is my failed attempt at stealth photography (duh!) because the sales people were looking at me funny because I fangirled so hard when I saw this Bayern Munich poster.

April 11, 2015

No trip to BGC won't be complete without visiting Fullybooked and taking a photo of the gorgeous book mural.

April 11 was also #NationalSiblingsDay. Here's mein bruder/my brother.

April 12, 2015

This was taken at Boot Camp which is a store away from Adidas. Since I'm a new football fan, I got so excited that I touched all of the jerseys. But my favorites are the DFB (Deutscher Fussball-Bund) or the German National Football Team's second kit. The first one is the white one and also the away kit of FC Bayern Munich at the far right.

April 13, 2015

This is the first teaser for my novel, That One Summer, made by yours truly.

April 15, 2015

Pardon the duck face. This is my very good friend, Honey, whom I haven't seen since we graduated in high school some five years ago.

April 27, 2015

I was a happy duckling. FC Bayern Munich were crowned champions or Deutscher Meisterschaft for the 2014/2015 season of the Bundesliga. This is record breaking because this is their 25th title! They won it pretty early and in the comforts of their home. Wild, huh?

So there you have it. How was your April so far? Let me know in the comments!

{Blog Tour: Review} Baited (3-Part Serial) by Ali Parker

Title: Baited (3 Part Serial)

Author: Ali Parker

Published: April 12, 2015

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Rebecca Martin has achieved most things one might hope to by thirty. She is a successful business owner, drives a nice car and is wrapping up the details on a custom built home on the lake. The only thing she is missing is someone to share her accomplishments with.

One man has never been far from her thoughts – Kade McMillian, but his return to town after far too many years of chasing his dreams couldn’t be more poorly timed.

With a younger man demanding Rebecca attention at the office, she has to decide between reconstructing a relationship from her past or diving in deep to something new and seemingly forbidden.

This is my first time to review a serial and I'm really excited for you guys to know what this serial is all about. So Rebecca Martin is successful and is a force to be reckoned with in her firm. She's got everything she could've ever wanted in life and she's just thirty years old.

Her friend, Parker, is trying to set her up with a younger employee, Jason. Jason is young; he's just 22 and he's the best accountant in their company. Rebecca doesn't want to lead Jason on and one of the reasons is Kade McMillan, her former best friend whom she fell in love with.

I love how Ali Parker created Rebecca Martin. She's very headstrong with her opinions. She's not the heroine that will likely be so head over heels in love with the male character. She's what other female characters lack: she's very smart.

Over the course of the story, Becca finally lets Jason have his way. She agrees to Jason's proposal that they give each other a try. But then Kade McMillan steps in. What's supposed to be a sort of warm welcome to Kade turned out cold. Becca realized that she doesn't have feelings for Kade anymore. It was all too late for them.

All in all, you could say that I totally loved this series. I recommend this for anyone who wants to try New Adult Contemporary Romance aka YOU.

Ali Parker is a contemporary romance writer who is looking to flood the market this year with lots of great, quick reads. For those of you who love a full-length novel, we'll be boxing up the serial trilogies into a box set a week after the last release.

We're looking forward to putting out both Baited, and Ali's latest project, Jaded in the month of April.

Want to know when Ali releases something new? Join her mailing list!

http://eepurl.com/bjFlZD

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Wicked Review: Fake Boobs by Ryan Ringbloom

Published: February 1, 2015

Acquired: Digital copy

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Tori Albert is eighteen, her confidence level is zero. Her life experience…also zero. She’s a girl lost in the shuffle, hiding in the shadows, craving attention. If only someone, anyone, would notice her, maybe life would improve. 

Grant Donovan can’t stop noticing Tori, but she is young, inexperienced and naïve. She is also his best friend’s younger sister. Grant knows the best thing he can do is just walk away. So why the hell isn’t he walking away?

When a late night knock lands across her bedroom door, Tori knows what stands behind it could end in disaster…but how many time does opportunity come knocking?

Just when she thinks her luck is finally changing, the assurance Tori believes she has finally found is taken away. With new assets and a new goal in sight, Tori will soon learn her new found confidence isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Unfortunately, some things you just have to learn the hard way. 

The minute I saw this on Netgalley, I knew I have to have this book. I loved this book so much. This had me on the edge of my seat laughing and crying at the same time.

Tori grew up with thinking that she's Plain Jane. She graduated from high school a virgin and she's never had a boyfriend. People are envious of her because she's thin and she never gains a pound when she eats. What they don't know is that, she's more envious of others, especially those with a huge bust.

I felt Tori's insecurities and I almost felt sad for her. She considers herself as invisible and ugly when I know she's not and she doesn't see it. But now, she's starting college and things are about to change. With the help of her roommate Kenna, she's slowly starting to feel like a normal girl. She wears make-up and she feels good about it.

Then there's Grant. How often have we seen a younger sibling falling for his or her older sibling's friend? Such relationships are either destined for greatness or they go down the drain. Grant cares for Tori in a brotherly manner. But obviously, that's just his excuse. They spent the holidays together in each other's arms before it all ended.

Grant is very thoughtful to a fault. He values his friendship with Tori's brother, Jim, as well as Tori's well being. As much as he wanted to be with her, he can't. He has life planned out for him. He'll go to aviation school in Florida and finish college and then start working. Tori wasn't a part of his plan but he definitely wants her there, he just doesn't know where.

Tori began to revamp herself. Because Grant rejected her, she's got herself fake boobs and men lined up for her...and her new chest. She's not satisfied. She wants Grant to notice her. She wants Grant to love her.

I just want to say that this is a must read for everyone. Not only is it a really nice contemporary romance but it makes you think about the really important things in life.

Ryan Ringbloom is a YA/NA author who lives for anything Romance. The passion, love, angst, awkwardness… she loves all of it. When Ryan needs a break from reality she sneaks off to read a romantic story or write one of her own. Drinking coffee, reading Tweets and hugs from her five year old are the best part of her day.

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Wicked Review: Forever Now by Elise Sax

Published: November 29, 2014

Series: Forever #1

Acquired: Digital Copy

Amazon

When Tess's mother abandons her during her senior year at high school, she must find a way to keep the secret and survive until graduation. She's surprised when Cruz, her crush and an aspiring model, moves in to help. Tess has dreams of studying in Paris, France and becoming a writer...impossible dreams without money or family. But as Tess and Cruz's relationship grows closer, Cruz will do anything to make sure Tess's dreams come true. But at what price? 

Forever Now is the first book in the Forever young adult / new adult trilogy about finding love, living dreams, and overcoming great odds. 

Forever begins now.

I managed to finish this earlier in the day and I was in a daze when I swiped the screen after the last page of this book. My mouth was hanging open. My eyes are wide. My heart is beating erratically. It was that good.

Tess grew up with dreams of becoming a writer. She considers herself invisible. Her mother is treating her really bad. High school is a pain for her. Then comes Cruz, the good looking boy who managed to sweep her off her feet. Her mother leaves her with Cruz and the two find ways to survive while both of them chase their dreams.

Tess meets her only friend in the world, Dahlia. In the eyes of Tess, Dahlia is her savior. High school isn't painful to her now that she has Dahlia. She even helped her secure her first year in Paris. A friend who goes the extra hundred miles for you without asking for anything is friend to keep.

The only problem Tess has is that she's falling in love with Cruz. I wasn't really that drawn to their love story. I mean, it was all so fast. Tess is just seventeen and Cruz is a high school dropout. Yeah sure he's good looking. I feel like there's something lacking with Cruz. Then there's Tess' mother. She's bitter and annoying. I felt so angry with her. I wanted to rip her apart like how she ripped Tess' dreams for Paris.

BUT! There's a big BUT that I did not expect. Just when I thought that Cruz and Tess' relationship is superficial, I thought wrong. What Cruz did for Tess was unreal. I don't think any guy would be able to do that. It scared the heck out of me. I'm not going to put what Cruz did just Tess can get back on track to Paris but one thing is for sure, you will be blown away.

Elise Sax worked as a journalist for fifteen years, mostly in Paris, France. She took a detour from journalism and became a private investigator before trying her hand at writing fiction. She lives in Southern California with her two sons. An Affair to Dismember is her first novel.

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Camp NaNoWriMo 2k15: That One Summer

HALLO! Oh my God, you guys! I missed you all! Did you miss me too? It's officially summer here in the Philippines and it is scorching hot with at least 35 degrees Celsius per day. It's enough to fry an egg on top of my head.

So anyways, I haven't read anything yet. I'm so behind my Goodreads Reading Challenge because of school and with this novel I'm writing. Yes, you heard it right. I'm writing again after 123456789 years. I feel the need to go back into writing because after all, I plan to make a living out of it so what better way to let my creative juices out than writing it. I am joining Camp NaNoWriMo for the first time in my life. I've had a lot of friends joining this and they've been telling me to join. Usually, the standard word count goal is 50,000 words but since I am newbie, I'm gunning for 10,000. I feel like if I set a goal that high I won't be able to reach it. But with 10,000, I think I can.

All I can tell you right now is that this story I'm writing is about romance, loss, summer and life. I can't really give you the exact plot yet because I want it to be a surprise and I suck at writing summaries if I haven't finished it yet. But just know this is something close to my heart and something I want to share with you guys.

COVER:

Photo is not mine though. I found this on Tumblr and tweaked with the saturation and added this really nice font.

INSPIRATION:

This is Mats Hummels. He's the captain of Borussia Dortmund and a defender for the German National Football Team. If you're into football, you'd know that he's a World Champion. I am currently immersing myself with everything football but mostly focusing on the Germany league, Bundesliga. His face got sort of stuck in my head and then he became the inspiration for my male protagonist, Kyle Donovan. Isn't he just gorgeous? *brb swooning*

So, there's Nina Dobrev, Zoey Deutch, and Marie Avgeropolous. All three are gorgeous ladies and are my picks for my female character, Sara Hudson. I couldn't pick between the three. They're all very beautiful and play very strong women on TV and on film.

The following photos are from Tumblr. I was mindlessly scrolling down and reblogging when I saw these photos that remind me of summer. Credits to the owners!

MUSIC:

19 You + Me by Dan and Shay

Dakota by A Rocket to the Moon

Summer by Calvin Harris

The City by The 1975

Waves by Mr. Probz (Robin Schulz Edit)

I was supposed to make a Spotify playlist for this to post here but there's something wrong and I have about 60 songs on that playlist. I know. I listen to a lot of music ranging from alternative rock to EDM. Not only are the songs on my playlist remind me of summer, but they are also my companion whenever I'm writing.

So there you have it guys. My journey to reaching my 10,000 words goal has started and I can't wait for it to finish. I know I have you guys on my back so wish me luck!