maevesays

Hi. Welcome to my Writing / Book and Manga Review Blog.

I'll be mostly reviewing YA books and shoujo manga, but there may be adult reads reviewed here and there depending on my mood.

I'll ONLY be reviewing books that I personally like and would recommend. If there's a book I read and didn't like, I won't blog about it. I'll leave that kind of review to other people.

I am the author of a Philippine-pubbed chick lit novella, A Fling to Remember, as well as a YA paranormal romance e-book, Evren: Enter the Dragonette, which was released by Sapphire Blue Publishing.

Finally, I write better than I speak.

'Nuff said.

maevesays

It's my first time to join this kind of challenge but I'm really looking forward to it. It's the norm for me to read this many (12 is a minimum actually) YA books anyway. Hopefully, it's also going to help improve my writing (I never did say I hadn't any selfish motives for doing this challenge).

At the very least, I'm hoping to pick up new YA vocab. It's not that I'm so old I don't know how teens speak anymore, but I am Filipino-Chinese and I live in the Philippines so obviously, I don't get to be around US / UK teens all the time. And believe me, teens here in the Philippines are different from teens in the other side of the world.

I was once one of them so I know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, hope you guys join me there as well. It's still early days so if you've got time to spare and you typically devour YA books whenever you can, this is the challenge for you.

For more details, click here.

See ya!

maevesays

Blurb:

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Claire: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna—and readers—have long awaited?

My Review:

I am super in love with this book. Totally in love! It's something I won't tire of reading over and over and over and I know each time I read it, I'll fall in love all over again.

What makes this book irresistible can be spelled with one name: Etienne St. Claire.

Yes. The hot guy is what makes this book a must-read. The female protagonist, Anna, is amazing. But her love interest, Etienne St. Claire, is what's going to keep you turning the pages. The way the author's described him makes you wish you'd have a chance to date him when you were a teenager. ESC (escape? haha) is not perfect, and that's what makes him a lot cuter.

And if you think this book has no depth, think again. These kids are real with real issues to deal with, but they're not written with so much realism that you can't appreciate the sweet, fun, thrilling, and charming romance unfolding between the two leads.

If you haven't guessed by now, YES - I can't stop gushing (gushing!) about this book.

If you want to fall in love, read this book!

maevesays

Heya. My Young Adult paranormal romance (had to really specify the genre, lol) is now out from Sapphire Blue Publishing.

Back Cover Blurb:

Sixteen-year-old Deli Winters wakes up, dying. A voice asks her if she wants help, no matter the cost, and she agrees. The next thing she knows, a monster is bathing her in fire. She has become Evren: immortals with dragons for souls.

Deli is pretty, bubbly, and stubbornly optimistic. She’s not what anyone would think the ideal girlfriend would be for someone like Lucian Chevalier, her gorgeous, aloof, and perpetually busy savior. But Deli is in love with him and in between dodging the traps of Sanger High’s Queen Bee and working hard at becoming an ass-kicking Evren warrior chick to avenge her parents’ murders, Deli is determined to win Lucian’s heart…whether he likes it or not.

Wanna know more about Deli?

Here's a post from her blog that I wanna share with you. I think it's much better than an excerpt. lol

Posted on February 20, 2010
0025H
Heya!
Can you tell I'm in such a happy, happy, happy mood?
It's been forever since I last posted.
But boy do I have some news for you, my anonymous reader.
Well, last week, after training, I got to be alone with Lucian.
And you know what happened?
Omg omg omg could you guess what happened?
I know I sound crazy but cut me some slack, ok?
I've been waiting for this a loooooong time.
We finally KISSED!
And my gawd, was it more than I ever...
Oh damn, I hear Lucian gritting his teeth from the other side of the house.
No, I'm not exaggerating. I really can hear him!
You know, extraordinary Evren powers all that.
I think he...
Oh shit. I knew it. He found my essay in Spanish.
Well, heck. It's not my fault I only know love words.
You know, like te amo Lucian?
Oh, damn, damn, damn. I have to go for now.

XoXo
Deli

7 comments
you go, girl! love ur story. keep it comin!
    posted by purplechick
so this is what happens when i leave u n my big bro alone. rofl
    posted by dyv000
WILL. YOU. PLEASE. STOP. POSTING. ABOUT. ME. HERE?!
    posted by anonymous
omfg! u guys know my blog?
    posted by deli
It's hard not to when you don't log out from your account.
    posted by anonymous
*giggle* u type like a forty-year-old. but i luv u anyway. muah!
    posted by deli
Deli....
    posted by anonymous

Lemme know what you guys think!

This is the best manga of all! For me at least.

Itazura na Kiss is about Kotoko's life-long love for Naoki. The first time she heard him speak, she just knew she was in love with him. Never mind that they were worlds apart - he was a genius, known throughout Japan, and gorgeous and rich. She was poor, not exactly beautiful, and definitely not smart (she's Class F, he's Class A). But what Kotoko lacks in talent and skills she makes up for heart and determination.

Naoki's the cold-blooded type. He just isn't into emotions but somehow, he just can't help but feel exasperated, irritated, and amused whenever Kotoko's around.

The series spans about ten years of their lives, from high school to college to work...

The mangaka, Kaoru Tada, died however before completing the series. But there are 22 volumes in the series so it's a fairly comprehensive one at that.

It's still not licensed by any American company. Why, why, why?!!!!

The art's old-fashioned, but it's really the story that counts.

It got adapted for TV in Japan and in Taiwan, the latter even hatching a 2nd season due to extreme popularity. And then it was recently announced that there's going to be an anime adaptation so I'm looking forward to that, too. 

Pixie Pop or, as it's originally called, Gokkun Pucho, is about middle-schooler Mayu and her quest to make her crush, Amamiya, fall in love with her, and her friendship with the drink fairy Pucho.

The art's fantastic, especially when you consider that this was Toyama's first ever work! I got surprised that the protagonists were just twelve years old though. It turned me off at the start - I was kinda expecting child's play but I was thankfully mistaken.

Gokkun Pucho is a fun and lovely manga! There are three volumes - it's licensed by Tokyo Pop so you don't have to worry about translations anymore.

There's nothing quite like this historical from Lynsay Sands.

Lady Clarissa's virtually blind without her spectacles and that's why she ends up being a hazard in and out of the dance floor and to everyone around him. She's pretty, but her clumsiness turns off all men. Oh, if only she could tell them it was because her stepmother had forbidden her to use her spectacles! Then again, her stepmother did tell her spectacles just made her look ugly so maybe it's a lose-lose situation?

Lord Adrian used to be gorgeous, but a disfuring facial scar made him feel ill at ease at showing up in public places. Forced out his self-imposed exile by his mother, Lord Adrian eventually found out about Lady Clarissa and her fatal clumsiness.

One dance was all it took for Lord Adrian to know the reason behind Clarissa's clumsiness. Adrian and Clarissa fell for each other rather easily, but would the feelings stay the same if Clarissa happened to know Adrian's true appearance?

I can't really say anymore but this was just a fun, fun read! Don't expect Alpha heroes here though.

Rate: 10 / 10

If you're like me and you're not much fond of Goth, you might find yourself thinking twice when you see the covers of Caine's vampire series. BUT don't let it fool you. Here's another situation where you just shouldn't judge a book by its cove. It may look Goth, angst-filled, and edgy, but trust me, it's not like that.

The Morganville Vampire series is a delight to read. First, you get to meet Clare - she's sixteen, already in college because in advanced placement and stuck in an unknown college rather than her dream school MIT (college acceptance is a breeze for her) because of uber-protective parents.

Life in Morganville sucks for Clare because she accidentally made the meanest girl in school appear stupid. To cut the long story short, Clare later on finds herself running away to save her life and that's when she ends up in the Glass House. There, she'd meet Goth girl Eve, blond god musician Michael, and dark-haired hunk Shane.

From them, Clare will eventually learn that her troubles are just beginning. Morganville turns out to be literally run by vampires. Most series nowadays feature vampires as benign characters but it ain't so in Morganville and that's what makes it so interesting!

Okay, I know I suck at making summaries - I just can't seem to write them as fluidly as I usually do when it's my stories I'm summarizing. But really, I mean it: Morganville Vampire series is a must-read! The romantic relationships developed in the series are just so cute and adorable! But don't get me wrong. This isn't a cutesy series. If you want action, you'll get it from here, too. But if you're looking for romance, you'll have plenty of that as well from the series.

Rate: 10 / 10 of course!