Wicked Review: Welcome To Envy Park by Mina V. Esguerra

Published: January 2015

Publisher: Anvil Publishing

Acquired: Paperback

Amazon || Get this for only P185 at your nearest National Bookstore (PH readers)

Moira Vasquez is a doer. A planner. A get-up-and-goer. At twenty-two, she left her hometown to work in Singapore, to satisfy a need to travel as well as give her savings account a boost. Five years later and she's back in Manila, with a shiny new apartment to her name, but no job, no career, no boyfriend. She meets Ethan Lorenzo, the quiet hunk of an IT consultant on the ninth floor of her condo building, and he's a welcome distraction during this period of having absolutely nothing going on in her life.

But she has a plan - of course she does - and this is just a short layover on the way to the next country, the next job, the next big thing. Or will she be missing out on something great that's already there?

As a twenty-one year old, I long to live independently, have a stellar career, maybe be in a relationship, ensure that my mother and my brother are doing well, travel to different places, and have the best life ever. I know I still have my whole life ahead of me.

But with Moira Vasquez, those things or at least one of those things should be a done deal already. She's twenty-seven years old. She spent five years in Singapore to work and experience life in another country. To others, that would've been the life. That was it! She was in a different country, a more progressive one at that. So imagine the surprise of Moira's family and friends when she moves back to the Philippines to look for a job.

Now, Moira has moved in her new swanky unit in an expensive place. She has no job as of the moment. But she does have a hot neighbor. In this book, I realized that uprooting yourself is hard. She spent five years in Singapore, for crying out loud, only for her to come back in Manila without a name for herself. Moira thought that when she came back, everything will be the same. Her good friend, Roxie, has a stellar career even if she stayed in the Philippines. This is where Moira struggled. She had to go through the motions again.

Mina Esguerra has introduced me to different characters who are so full of life and reading the book in Moira's perspective, I learned a lot about life. Some of them are well better off than her, some are going through some of the toughest experiences she couldn't even imagine having to go through at her young age. Welcome To Envy Park isn't really a romance novel. It really is about choices you make in life and how you live with those choices. It's very easy to read and very engaging. I learned a lot from this book.

Mina V. Esguerra writes contemporary romance and young adult novellas. She has a bachelor's degree in Communication and a master's degree in Development Communication, put to good use in her work as trainer and content management consultant. Mina lives in Metro Manila, Philippines, with her husband and daughter.

She finds inspiration in the lives and experiences of other people, so the answer to "Is this story based on you?" is always, always "No."

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Wicked Review: The Boyfriend Backtrack by Dawn Lanuza

Published: September 2015

Publisher: Spark Books

Acquired: Paperback

Amazon || Get this for only P185 in your nearest National Bookstore! (PH readers)

If they say that life flashes right before your eyes when you die, do you also get a flashback of your exes when your perfect boyfriend is proposing to you? At least that's the case for Regina Cortez. There's her dramatic high school boyfriend, her first college crush, the irresistible heart breaker, and the ever elusive one. By backtracking to her past, will Regina make it to 'I Do'? Or will she just keep running away?

There are those exes who make you question why the heck did you even date them in the first place.

There are those who are so unforgettable that they leave destruction in their wake (aka YOU)

No matter the cause, exes are a constant reminder of our past, even if we so desperately want to forget them. This is why Adele, Taylor Swfit, and Ed Sheeran exist. This is why partying till you drop exist. This is why a makeover exist. Exes. They are one of the topics you and your friends constantly talk about. Exes.

The Boyfriend Backtrack starts with a proposal. Regina is doing well. She has a stable job, a place of her own and a boyfriend. That's what most twenty-somethings wish to have. She and her boyfriend share the same love for photography. Kevin is a nice guy, really, the kind of guy you bring home to Mom and to those horrible family reunions. Sure, he travels a lot but then he would always come home and spend his time with Regina.

When Kevin popped the question, Regina said yes. Just when you think all is right in the world because she uttered that three letter word, well, hold your horses. Regina had flashbacks of her exes. ALL OF THEM. If I were Regina, it's pure torture. I mean, here you are, about to embark on the next chapter of your life and certainly, exes are the least of your concerns.

Most of Regina's exes were jerks...legit jerks. Like, there's Dirk, who wrote a song about Regina and called it "Devil Woman". I mean, really? Then there's Thomas...don't even get me started on that guy because he's such a -- the D-word -- and I swear to God, like, all of my exes are like him. Hah.

It was good fun. Reading The Boyfriend Backtrack was like reading my history of exes, not that they were many okay but the whole thing was pretty bad. It was so real and that's what I love about this book. I also love the relationship between Regina and her two friends, Leslie and Jules. Even if they don't see each other on a daily basis, they are a tight knit group of girls.

But there is one ex that Regina never had. Chase Sevilla. How do I begin to explain just how perfectly lovable Chase Sevilla is? *dreamy sigh* He's a dreamboat. I swear. I just...ugh. Why can't he be real? I have no idea. Technically, they didn't "date". But they kissed once. No, wait, twice. All of a sudden, both of them fell off of the face of the earth after that.

The Boyfriend Backtrack will make you want to rethink your relationship choices, both old and new. It will make you want to go out with your girlfriends or guy friends and have a drink and talk about how fate, love, and all those things are so fickle. I'd like to think that exes, even if thinking about them annoys us, makes us a better person, one way or another.

Dawn Lanuza started writing stories when she was just a kid (they weren’t good or even finished). She works for the music industry by day and writes meet cutes and snappy comebacks by night. ‘The Boyfriend Backtrack’ is her first book. She currently lives with her family and an adopted dog.

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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