Wicked Review: Savor by Kate Evangelista

Published: September 2015

Publisher: Spark Books

Series: Vicious Feast #1

Acquired: Paperback

Amazon

 Mature and explicit content. Not recommended for readers below 18-years-old. Yup, you've got to be that old to read my story. Consider yourself warned.

I’m Dakota Collins, a tough talking, eye patch wearing, workaholic photography student. Why am I important? Well, maybe because I get to spend an entire month with Vicious, only the sickest indie rock band out there.

You see, I needed a subject for my Spring Showcase introspective in order to graduate. During a chance encounter at a club I’d been sent to cover for the Daily Gossip, our ironically named college paper, the features writer I usually teamed up with introduced me to the band—by accident, I might add. It involved a run in with a scary, bald bodyguard. Anyway, long story short, I signed a contract to take pictures of Vicious.

I should have known their handsome, yet way too serious for his own good bassist, Luka Visraya, wouldn't be able to keep his hands to himself. He’s gorgeous and all, but the way he smiles spells trouble with a capital L. I’m in for a long month with him around.

Crazy shit happens and then some. So, if you want the skinny on Vicious and the events revolving around my stay at Lunar Manor, read my story.

Again, refer to the warning above.

Yup, my emotions. I don't even know where it went. I have a strong feeling the lovely Kate Evangelista has it. She probably had it while she was writing Book 2 of this series. I don't know. Or maybe it was with Luka Visraya the whole time. Normally, I would be angry. But not today. To hell with my emotions. I don't want them! (Kidding!) 

We have Dakota Collins who is a photographer. She's proud of her work and her skills even if the whole world doesn't know her yet. She just hasn't found the right subject for her project until she stumbles inside Sacrifice where the hot indie rock band, Vicious, is playing.

I wish that Vicious was a real band. I mean, the way Kate Evangelista wrote how Vicious is as a band, I had a hard time picturing in my head how the band sounded like. It was unique. Vicious has four members: Phoenix, the vocalist, Dray, the drummer, Demitiri, the guitarist, and Luka, the hottest bassist I have ever read in my entire life. Okay that was way out of hand.

I mean, blonde hair, blue eyes, with a piercing on his brow, and that sexy stare. He's a walking sex god basically. You get the picture.

Things fall into place when the band agrees to be Dakota's subject for her project. In return, she has to live with the band in the mysterious Lunar Manor. Lunar Manor is where the band lives, records their music, and makes their music. It belongs to Luka's family. The way it was written on the book was, well, quite ludicrous really. Dakota had her own quarter. Not a room. A FREAKING QUARTER.

Said quarter is a few steps away from said hot bassist.

As Dakota goes along with her project, saving Luka as the last, she can't help but be drawn to the bassist. She enjoyed her time at the manor. The days trickled into weeks and she had befriended the members of the band. She has gotten to know them better than any of their fans. She knew their strengths and weaknesses. Or at least, that's how Kate Evangelista wants me to think because I know there are some things about the characters that isn't completely out there yet. Hence, book 2.

It's beautiful, enchanting, sexy as hell, mysterious, and perfect. I have never read something like this in my life. You have to read this. (When you fall in love with Luka Visraya, which of course you would, hit me up on Twitter! Or comment below. You know where to find me.)

When Kate Evangelista was told she had a knack for writing stories, she did the next best thing: entered medical school. After realizing she wasn't going to be the next Doogie Howser, M.D., Kate wandered into the Literature department and never looked back. Today, she is a graduate of De La Salle University - Manila with a Bachelor of Arts in Literature. She taught high school English for three years and was an essay consultant for two. Currently she writes full-time and is based in the Philippines.

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Wicked Review: The Kitchen When It Sizzles by Chrissie Peria

Published: September 2015

Publisher: Spark Books

Acquired: Paperback

Amazon

Olivia Nadal is an almost perfect girl with an almost perfect life. She has stunning good looks, an exciting job that pays well, men lining up to date her, and a homey little condo she calls her own. The only thing keeping her from perfection is her utter inability to cook.

Enter Nate Olivarez, a hotshot chef who's filling in for Olivia's cooking instructor. Sparks fly when they meet, but a fling with the visiting hottie is the last thing Olivia needs. But as things keep heating up in the kitchen, she can't help but wonder. Can things work out between her and Nate? Or is the sizzle all set to fizzle

I can't even begin to describe how smoking hot this book is. It had 142 pages of hotness and food. I was sold.

Chrissie Peria wowed me with Olivia, the heroine who seems tho have everything except well the ability to cook. It wasn't hard to imagine Olivia in her top grade kitchen with no clue as to what to do. So, she signed up for classes with renowned chef, Chef Julia.

But it wasn't Chef Julia who met up with her. It was a hot, half naked chef. Seriously. Nate Olivarez is one hot specimen that I will pay good money to see and have inside my kitchen. My brain is full of mush and dreamy sighs because Nate Olivarez. You have to have this book because you have to experience Nate Olivarez for yourself. I can't describe him without melting into a puddle. OMG.

This book made me really hungry. Like Olivia, I really do want to learn how to cook but the kitchen scares me. I don't even have a top grade kitchen. But the food, oh man, I had to Google what sticky pork ribs looked like and, man, it was gorgeous. I haven't tasted it though. I watched a lot of YouTube cooking channels for me to be at par with all the cooking jargon in this book.

Soon enough, Nate and Olivia fall for each other. They start dating and they are the epitome of a beautiful couple. They are both successful in their careers. Everyone thinks they are perfect for each other. But the thing is Nate isn't a permanent resident in Manila. His life is based in the U.S. Olivia knew about this from the start. She knew that Nate couldn't stay. She fell for him hard, so hard that she ended up getting hurt and it went downhill from there.

The Kitchen When It Sizzles is the perfect hot, contemporary read you should add to your reading piles. Also, if you want to take a quick break from reading heavy story lines, then by all means, go ahead and read this book!

When not obsessing over fictional people doing fictional things, Chrissie obsesses about food: the eating, the cooking, and the procuring of it. An advertising copywriter in her past life, she now spends most of her time writing, taking photos, cooking, and babysitting a tiny human and a curly-haired dog. She still plays with dolls and she thinks that bacon is the answer.

Her first novella, All's Fair in Blog and War, was awarded Best Romance in English at the 2014 Filipino Readers' Choice Awards.

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Wicked Photo Diary: November 2015

Wicked Photo Diary is a feature on the blog where I recap what happened in my life, bookish and non-bookish, in the form of my Instagram photos. Do follow me on Instagram here.


November has been a bleary month for me. I only had a few reviews posted on the blog. I didn't get to finish my NaNoWriMo project (again). I got so sick I spent almost two weeks in the hospital. I played Pokemon on my old Android phone. Wifi was lost for almost a week. So, there. November wasn't amazing.


November 02, 2015

I just clocked in 2K words on my NaNoWriMo and then took a nap. When I woke up, I was burning. I came down with dengue, this horrible disease that's treatable but is so expensive. I hated the hospital, even if the nurses who tended to me were beautiful and handsome people. Ugh. Don't get sick, guys. Stay healthy, always.


November 16, 2015

The Beginning of Everything - Robyn Schneider

After being sick, I finally found my jive to read again. This has been sitting around on my bookshelf for quite some time now and my brother demanded that I finish the book already. It was beautiful. I may have to buy this immediately.

November 17, 2015

Granddad cut off the branches of our ginormous mango tree. Thankfully, there ain't no fruits yet. It will take a long time for the branches to grow back and to harvest mangoes. Mangoes are my favorite and I can't live without them.

November 20, 2015

Savor - Kate Evangelista

I finally started reading the #SparkBooks I bought last month. They were all amazing but this one was my favorite out of the bunch. It was beautiful and grand. *dreamy sigh*

November 29, 2015

Momma asked to take a photo...I said yes. Nuff said.

What Else Happened On The Blog?

Wicked Review: November 9 by Colleen Hoover

Wicked Review: The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

 

Wicked Review: The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

Published: August 27, 2013

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Acquired: Borrowed Paperback

Amazon || Barnes and Noble || The Book Depository || Fullybooked

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra’s ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one’s singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes?

I'd like to thank my brother for lending me his copy. He's awesome all around.

So, when I finished the book, I didn't feel anything. I mean the book was good. The way it was written was amazing. The characters and their feelings were so real. But, I felt sort of meh afterwards. I don't know why.

And then, someone said let there be light. Kidding!

Here I am writing this review and all the feels are coming back. It hit me like a freight train and now I'm lying on the ground in a puddle of my own feels.

Ezra used to have everything. He was famous. He was good at tennis. He had a girlfriend. he was destined to be homecoming king. But when he crashed his car, everything fell apart. What I love about him is his typical nature yet he's different. Just like every teenager, he wanted to belong. He wanted things to be the same before he crashed his car. He wanted to play tennis again because he was good at it. He was just an honest to goodness character. He's quick witted and smart and funny. You cannot not fall in love with him. His voice in the novel is strong, the kind that will resonate through your soul.

Then there's Cassidy Thorpe. She was the very definition of an enigma at the start of the book. Out of nowhere, she just pops in. New girl and different, she came from a boarding school and was master debater. She's eloquent, fierce, sarcastic, and smart. She gave me a strong Margo Roth Spiegelman vibe minus the disappearing act. She was so fascinating. You can't really categorize her because she's so different. I am shaking my head at how she blew me away.

Robyn Schneider did a great job with Severed Heads and Broken Hearts, because really this is the legit title of this book. She created an honest to goodness storyline and real characters. This novel had everything in it yet I think readers can find something different in it. If I had more hands, I'd give this so many thumbs up and the stars that I can collect because it is that good.

Robyn Schneider is a writer, actor, and online personality who misspent her youth in a town coincidentally similar to Eastwood. Robyn is a graduate of Columbia University, where she studied creative writing, and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where she studied medical ethics. She is also the author of the middle grade Knightley Academy books, written as Violet Haberdasher. She lives in Los Angeles, California, but also on the internet.

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Wicked Review: November 9 by Colleen Hoover

Published: November 10, 2015

Publisher: Atria Books

Acquired: Digital Copy

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Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.

Colleen Hoover never fails to give me a dose of much needed feels. She's good at making me miserably happy after finishing her books. She's a pro. Seriously.

I think I'll just spend my minutes writing what I loved about this book because I really loved the whole thing. I mean, Colleen Hoover writes book after book and they keep on getting better. I have no idea how she does it. She's a freaking machine, I tell you.

Fallon's life took a turn after that accident when she was sixteen. She had her life out in front of her. She was an actress and she was dang good at it. But a fire took it all away. She has a shitty father and a mother who loves her. She still wants to act and moving to New York to try out Broadway is the way she sees to keep herself sane, to pursue her goals.

Then there's Ben, the writer. He spends Fallon's last day with her as her "boyfriend" and their caught in this whirlwind of a romance. The whole thing gave me Before Sunrise feels. If you haven't watched that movie then you should watch it because it's amazing and it has Ethan Hawke in it and that's all you need in life. So, Fallon and Ben decide to meet each other again on the same day, November 9 for five years just to see if they really are meant for each other. Here's the catch, they have no means of communication. As in absolute zero.

For the duration that they are apart, Ben must write a novel about their relationship and Fallon must break out of her shell and her scars and that she must go out with five guys and be kissed by them. It's all pretty good. Five November 9s, they must meet and talk about what happened in that one whole year and then before the day ends, they fall back in the same routine and wait for November 9. Frankly, for me, I don't think I can ever do that. The writing the novel I can do, sort of. But dating guys and then have this one other guy for this one day for five years, maybe not.

Ben is high up in my book boyfriends list. He's a really good guy with a horrible past. He made Fallon happy. He made her beautiful. He was funny and quick-witted. His words about Fallon were so beautiful. I love him so much it kills me because he's fictional and I curse the world because there are no guys like Benton James Kessler.

Colleen Hoover is known for her plot twists and my God, I though the plot twist in Confess was the plot twist of the century, well, think again! I wish I could say what it was but for the sake of the readers who haven't started the book, well, I'll keep my mouth shut. The only thing I can say about it is that it will blow your mind and break your heart.

November 9 is painful and beautiful. All the Colleen Hoover books that I have read evokes all the right emotions. You will root for the characters in the end. It is that good.

Oh and, if you've read and love Ugly Love, then you will love this too because Miles and Tate cameo!

She loves music. LOVE music. Namely The Avett Brothers, Lumineers, Pink, Eminem. She is addicted to Diet Pepsi and could tell you in a taste-test which restaurant it came from. She gets stoked whenever she gets a message from Goodreads saying she has a new friend request. She wrote the Slammed Trilogy (Slammed, Point of Retreat and This Girl), Hopeless, Losing Hope, Finding Cindrella and Ugly Love.

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