The Duke is Mine by Eloisa James

For book 3 of my #50bookpledge, I picked Eloisa James’ The Duke is Mine. It’s book 3 (a coincidence!) of Eloisa James’ Fairy Tale series and is based on the tale The Princess and the Pea. I love fairy tales and I love how others are able to interpret fairy tales in their own way. For example, most Disney renditions of fairy tales are romanticized versions of the originals. Of course, it’s not difficult to make them “happier” since most of the originals, especially those from the Grimm brothers, are, well, grim (no pun intended).

When it comes to historical romances, I love reading those that are in a series since I usually find myself drawn to the other characters that appear in apart from their own books. Since I read the first two books in this series (the first based on Cinderella and the second based on Beauty and the Beast), I was excited to read this one. And since I’ve always enjoyed the story of the Princess and the Pea, I wanted to see how Eloisa James would make this story her own.

Here’s the synopsis of the story taken from Eloisa James’ website:

Tarquin, the powerful Duke of Sconce, knows perfectly well that the decorous and fashionably slender Georgiana Lytton will make him a proper duchess. So why can’t he stop thinking about her twin sister, the curvy, headstrong, and altogether unconventional Olivia? Not only is Olivia betrothed to another man, but their improper, albeit intoxicating, flirtation makes her unsuitability all the more clear.

Determined to make a perfect match, he methodically cuts Olivia from his thoughts, allowing logic and duty to triumph over passion…Until, in his darkest hour, Tarquin begins to question whether perfection has anything to do with love.

To win Olivia’s hand he would have to give up all the beliefs he holds most dear, and surrender heart, body and soul…

Unless it’s already too late.

What I loved more about this story is that I could relate well with the heroine. What makes the heroine different from those in other stories? The heroine, Olivia, is plump. And because of that, I can relate with her insecurities. Yes, she’s pretty comfortable in her own skin but like me, she thinks that people like the hero couldn’t possibly find her attractive. It makes me happy that Tarquin accepts Olivia for her curves and actually finds her more attractive because of them. I’m glad that Olivia finds a person who loves her for who she is and I hope that I’ll find my “prince” someday too.

Of course, Tarquin isn’t the typical prince in most stories. This hero isn’t a rake which is not usually the case with more historical romances. He’s a bit stiff and he tends to lose himself in working on mathematical equations. Not exactly “heartthrob” material. But once the reason for his gravity is explained in the novel, you could really feel for him. Olivia coming into his life was definitely a good thing because, apart from healing the pain in Tarquin’s heart, she also taught him that love is a good thing. And it is. Despite the pain that love can cause, the happiness it brings will always be able to heal the hurt.

You can read an excerpt of the book from Eloisa James’ website so you can determine whether you’d like to read the book. If you’ve finished reading the book, you can also read a few notes from Eloisa regarding the book. There are a few fun tidbits there that add to the enjoyment of the book.

Anyway, I’m going to continue reading the next book on my list so I’m off for now. Until next time.

♥ Niece

The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

I chose Rick Riordan’s The Throne of Fire as book 2 of my #50BookPledge. It’s the second book of The Kane Chronicles (the first one being The Red Pyramid) and, similar to the Percy Jackson series, features gods and goddesses. This time though, instead of Greek ones, we meet the Egyptian gods and goddesses.

This book actually came out Summer of last year but only got to finish it recently because I’ve been putting off reading it. I’m definitely glad I decided to finally read it. It’s a pretty good sequel to the first one. Here’s the synopsis of the book from GoodReads:

Ever since the gods of Ancient Egypt were unleashed in the modern world, Carter Kane and his sister Sadie have been in trouble. As descendants of the House of Life, the Kanes have some powers at their command, but the devious gods haven’t given them much time to master their skills at Brooklyn House, which has become a training ground for young magicians.

And now their most threatening enemy yet – the chaos snake Apophis – is rising. If they don’t prevent him from breaking free in a few days’ time, the world will come to an end. In other words, it’s a typical week for the Kane family.

To have any chance of battling the Forces of Chaos, the Kanes must revive the sun god Ra. But that would be a feat more powerful than any magician has ever accomplished.

First they have to search the world for the three sections of the Book of Ra, then they have to learn how to chant its spells. Oh, and did we mention that no one knows where Ra is exactly?

Narrated in two different wisecracking voices, featuring a large cast of new and unforgettable characters, and with adventures spanning the globe, this second installment in the Kane Chronicles is nothing short of a thrill ride.

I’ve always been interested in reading on mythology. I think that if I didn’t take up Computer Science in college, I could’ve gone to study mythology. My love for mythology started when I first discovered a book on Greek mythology in the school library when I was in the third grade. From that point on, I ventured into reading on Roman mythology (which is closely related to the Greek one), Egyptian mythology, Norse mythology, and even tried to read on Filipino mythology (which is native to me since I’m from the Philippines). I’ll admit that the ones I know most about though is the Greek and Roman ones. I’m not entirely sure what it is about mythology that fascinates me so much. If I were to make a guess though, I think it’s because it combines the ordinary with the extraordinary, logic with magic.

I find that I liked The Throne of Fire more than The Red Pyramid (and that makes me regret putting it off for so long). It could be because The Throne of Fire was a tad more fast-paced than the first one. I also liked that we ventured more into the characters in this book. Of course, the first book was focused on introducing the main characters rather than delving deeper into their psyches.  The character development doesn’t only focus on the main characters but also goes to develop the secondary characters (like the gods Horus and Set, and the goddess Isis). I think that the main characters were portrayed a bit older than written though which is a bit confusing. I sometimes forget that Sadie is only 13 while Carter is 14. I sometimes feel like they’re 3 or 5 years older than they are.

Well, it’s already late (it’s already 1 in the morning!) so it’s time for me to sleep now. I’ve already finished book 3 of my #50bookpledge so I’ll be writing my review-of-sorts for that soon. Good night (or morning or afternoon, depends on what location in the world you’re situated in) dear readers.

♥ Niece

Nature's Gradients (Part 1). Taken from the pedestrian walkway from The Venice Piazza to Three World Square at McKinley Hill.

I was supposed to write a blog entry about books 2 and 3 of my #50BookPledge today. Well, at least, I would’ve written about book 2 today and written about book 3 tomorrow since I’m trying not to fit all my blogging in one day. (It’s difficult because I tend to procrastinate or I completely lose my train of thought so I end up not being able to write the blog entry.) While walking back to the office from McDonald’s though, I was awed at the beautiful colors of the sky and I started feeling giddy.

It’s not an entirely foreign feeling to me though.

Sunset View. Taken somewhere in Palawan.

As I was taking a picture of the sky, I realized that happiness always bubbles up in me every time I gaze upon the sky. There’s just something about the sky that’s completely fascinating. It doesn’t matter what time of the day it is (dusk, dawn, and everything in between); it doesn’t matter what the weather is (sunny, cloudy, rainy, maybe even snowy). The sky never fails to keep me in awe. Even when the sky looks gloomy, I still find myself in a state of happiness.

Looking at the sky reminds me that the world is a beautiful and magical place.

Aoi Sora. Taken while walking from our house to our Parish church, Holy Family, in Kapitolyo, Pasig.

Manila doesn’t have much greenery around. Most of the cities are filled with trucks and cars and jeeps and buses and taxis and motorcycles. Traffic in Manila is messy and confusing. There are walls on the highway that are painted with graffiti even if the government paints over them every so often. There are tons of billboards that are extremely distracting and “add nothing to the aesthetics of the road” (quoted from my sister @darianneantoni). The streets are filled with bits and pieces (and sometimes piles) of trash. Some of the roads are even damaged and uneven. The river systems, such as Pasig river, are so dirty that they say that there are no living creatures in it. The water in Pasig river isn’t anywhere near blue or green; it’s a dark musty brown, maybe even black.

Of course I’m not saying that all that applies to all places in Manila because I’m sure that most of The Fort Bonifacio area, McKinley Hill area, and the rich areas scattered around the Metro are exceptions to these. The fact still remains though that the Manila area is not always a pretty sight. I’m not going to lie by saying that Manila is not beautiful; au contraire, it’s beautiful in its own urban way. But it’s beauty is usually hidden behind the dirt and grime and smoke and mess.

Horizon. Taken from the roof deck of our house.

The sky differs from the ground in that the sky, regardless of the amount of pollution in the air, still looks beautiful. The colors of the sky is never the same shade of whatever color is in the sky. The sky fills me with hope. When I feel sad, I subconsciously turn to the sky and I feel the burdens of my spirit lift, and my spirit begins to soar. There are times when I look at the sky and I feel at peace, like the sky is telling me that everything will be all right. Most of the time, I feel like a kid who sees something interesting and I end up suppressing the urge to skip as I go because simple unadulterated happiness is overflowing in my heart.

I don’t think I could ever be tired of looking to the sky. It’s one of those little things that people might take for granted but I’ve learned to enjoy. My source of simple joy in the world.

Double Rainbows Amidst the Gloomy Rain. Taken while I was driving home from picking up my sister at Robinsons Galleria.

I’m sorry about my ramblings but I really just wanted to share that. I don’t always feel the pull to write about something so random. But I enjoyed that. It’s been quite a while since I wrote something which helps me find more of myself. I hope you enjoyed reading this too.

Since it’s quite late, I’ll write my blog entry for the book 2 of the #50BookPledge tomorrow. I’ll turn in for the night now. Good night dear readers. I hope you all have the sweetest dreams.

♥ Niece

50 Book Pledge

For the year 2012, to help in my New Year’s Resolution of blogging more, I decided to join in SavvyReader’s 50 Book Pledge. Now you may wonder how that’s going to help. Well, I thought that I could spread the joy of reading by sharing with you, my dear readers, the books that I’ll be reading as part of my 50 Book Pledge.

Now what is the 50 Book Pledge? The 50 book pledge is a pledge you take to read at least 50 books before the year ends. That’s roughly a book a week. The purpose of this is to make reading a priority for the year. You don’t have to pressure yourself to finish 50 of course. If you’ve just gotten into reading or aren’t into reading so much, then a book a week might be too much for you. You could instead plan to finish 25-26 books (giving you two weeks to finish a book) or just 12 books (a book a month) before the year ends.

I’m starting on this a bit late (it’s already the third week) so I’ll have a bit of catching up to do. I’ll do my best to catch up though. I’m already starting on another book so that I’ll finish two books this week and hopefully, I’ll be able to finish two books next week so I’ll have caught up.

Trouble at the Wedding by Laura Lee Guhrke

So, for the first book, I decided to read Laura Lee Guhrke’s Trouble at the Wedding. It’s a historical romance which is a genre I’ve fallen in love with sometime during college. I used to hate romance books but I find historical romance books absolutely fascinating. It’s my first time to read a book by Laura Lee Guhrke. I discovered the book as I was browsing through Eloisa James’ website and I decided to read the book after reading the sneak peek. The sneak peek intrigued me and the synopsis made me want to read it all the more.

Here’s the synopsis of the book from GoodReads:

What happens when a woman is determined to marry the wrong man? When she just won’t listen to reason and rushes forward with wedding plans? When she just doesn’t care that she’s marrying a fortune hunting scoundrel who doesn’t love her? What’s her exasperated family supposed to do about it? Hire a different scoundrel to talk her out of it, of course.

American heiress Annabel Wheaton knows what she wants and love isn’t it. Born in a Mississippi backwater, with a twang as wide as the Delta, she wants respect to go with the millions her daddy found in a Klondike gold mine. But respect isn’t easy to come by in the closed Knickerbocker society of New York, and when the fortune-hunting Earl of Rumsford shows up, it seems like he’s just the ticket to make all Annabel’s dreams come true. When he proposes marriage, she happily agrees. That’s when the trouble starts.

Christian Du Quesne has always been trouble—a rake, a gambler, and when he was younger, a fortune hunter. He married once for the sake of the decaying family coffers, but he won’t do it again. When his older brother, the Duke of Scarborough, dies without issue, Christian become the duke and inherits a whole new pile of family debt with no way to pay it. When Annabel’s family hires him to show Annabel just what she’d be getting by marrying into Britain’s aristocratic class, he knows he’s the perfect person to talk her out of matrimony. Problem is, he only has four days to do it. Can he cause enough trouble in those four days to get her to call off the wedding?

One thing I love about historical romances is that I find the characters endearing. They’re also relatable even if they lived in a time different to ours. This book was no different. The heroine’s initial purpose for marrying was because she wanted to fit in and be accepted. I think that most everyone can relate to that. I know I can. Even if I say that I enjoy being different from others, I can’t deny that I’d be crushed if I was rejected as a person. The hero on the other hand is plagued with guilt over the consequences of his immaturity. It’s common for us to regret the stupid things we do out of immaturity.

As for their love story, I think it’s great how Christian not only made Annabel find a place in society but also how he accepted Annabel for who she was. Even at the start of the book, he didn’t want her to change – not her humor, her way of speaking, her vibrance. Annabel on the other hand gave Christian another chance. Not just with love, but with life. You can’t live your life in constant regret and Christian was letting his guilt rule his life. It helped him grow as a person but it also prevented him from finding happiness for himself.

Since I enjoyed this book, I might venture to read other of Laura Lee Guhrke’s works. I hope I’ll enjoy her other books too.

Well, that’s it for today. I hope you’ll join me in the 50 book pledge. If you’re joining, tell me all about the book you’re reading. I’d love to read about it. Who knows, I might decide to read that book as part of my pledge too.

It’s time for me to sleep so I must bid you all a good night. Until my next entry dear readers.

♥ Niece

Ending the year with a travel wish fulfilled: to go to Japan. I would’ve loved to be able to visit Tokyo too but I’m pretty happy that we’ll be visiting Kyoto apart from Osaka. I’m super excited for this trip because I’ve been dreaming to go to Japan for years. I hope I’ll be able to leech free wifi there so I can send the occassional update.

Anyway, we’re about to board the plane soon. See you when I get back dear readers. Happy holidays!

♥ Eceined

Safe and Sound - Taylor Swift (feat. The Civil Wars)

At the moment, the whole The Hunger Games world is abuzz with the news announced on Taylor Swift’s Twitter account just an hour ago. The Hunger Games movie soundtrack will feature a song by Taylor Swift (and The Civil Wars) entitled Safe and Sound. There’s speculation that this is not official yet since Lionsgate hasn’t released a statement regarding this BUT considering the fact that the news comes from Taylor herself and the album cover for the song on iTunes is the same as mentioned by Taylor, I think it’s safe to assume that this will be part of the soundtrack.

When I first read the news that Taylor Swift’s part of The Hunger Games movie soundtrack, I was skeptical. I have nothing against Taylor but all of her songs that I know of don’t scream (or whisper) “The Hunger Games material” for me. Of course, that just piqued my curiosity since I really wanted to see hear if Taylor Swift can pull off a song worthy of The Hunger Games.

The verdict? I was pleasantly surprised. The melody is haunting and I love that Taylor had some “breathy” parts in the song. It added to the sweetness of the melody. The lyrics were also beautiful and had a tinge of sadness even if it’s a love song.

Anyway, here’s the song for those of you who want to listen to it.

What did you think? Did you think Taylor was able to deliver a song that fits The Hunger Games? Tell me your thoughts in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.

♥ Eceined

Just close your eyes,
The sun is going down.
You’ll be all right
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light,
You and I’ll be safe and sound.

Pocket HD Camcorders

The next item on my wishlist is not a book but a gadget. I’ve always enjoyed taking photographs and capturing everything on film. If I could take a video of everything that happens in my life, that would be pretty awesome — kind of like how Tomoyo from Card Captor Sakura videotapes everything Sakura.

(I am aware that it’s impractical as it’ll eat up millions of video tapes and/or external memory drives.)

Tomoyo Daidouji

Every time I pass by a gadget shop that sells pocket camcorders, I always think to myself that I’d love to own one. I have wanted one since I discovered that there are such things. I think the idea of a very portable video camera is amazing since you can capture a memory in your life and watch it again someday. I love watching old videos.

I’m not too familiar with the different pocket HD camcorders around. I mostly know those which I’ve seen in stores and I’ve read around blogs. I suppose I should do more research but I fear that doing that would only increase the number of camcorders I’ll have to choose from. For now, I think I’ll be happy if I get a Flip UltraHD, a Sony Bloggie Duo, or a Kodak Playfull HD.

(I’m drawn to the Sony Bloggie Duo because it has two screens which means I can take videos of myself. That and it’s available in pink.)

Flip UltraHD, Kodak Playfull HD, and Sony Bloggie Duo

Anyway, I’m off dear readers. Drop me a line. I’d love to hear from you. Later skaters!

♥ Eceined

Image Source: A Freelancer’s Ultimate Christmas Wish List

My Christmas wishlist, it seems, is again pretty much dominated by books. I’m having a difficult time filling it up with things that aren’t books. I just enjoy reading so much that I think if the only thing I get from everyone for Christmas are books, I’d be pretty happy. The only downside to having many books is that I don’t have anywhere to place it anymore. My bookshelf is already overflowing with tons of books. Oh well. I’m never going to complain about getting books.

So, the first item on my Christmas wishlist (it’s not necessarily at the top of my list; it’s just the first item I picked to write about) is Lisa McMann’s The Unwanteds. I discovered this book while I was browsing the shelves of National Bookstore at Glorietta 5 with my sister. To tell the truth, I was drawn to the book because the tagline was “The Hunger Games Meets Harry Potter” (at least as said by Kirkus Reviews). It intrigued me since I love both The Hunger Games and Harry Potter.

The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann

Here’s the synopsis from the author’s official website:

Quill prevails when the strong survive.

Every year in Quill, thirteen-year-olds are sorted into categories: the strong, intelligent Wanteds go to university, and the artistic Unwanteds are sent to their graves.

On the day of the Purge, identical twins Alex and Aaron Stowe await their fate. While Aaron is hopeful of becoming a Wanted, Alex knows his chances are slim. He’s been caught drawing with a stick in the dirt-and in the stark gray land of Quill, being creative is a death sentence.

But when Alex and the other Unwanteds face the Eliminators, they discover an eccentric magician named Mr. Today and his hidden world that exists to save the condemned children. Artimé is a colorful place of talking statues, uncommon creatures, and artistic magic, where creativity is considered a gift… and a weapon.

The synopsis is pretty interesting. What I could gather from the synopsis is that it has certain elements that are present in The Hunger Games and in Harry Potter. I definitely don’t think that it’s a rip-off of either book though. The synopsis just kind of reminded me somewhat of The Hunger Games and somewhat of Harry Potter but the story seemed original to me (considering I haven’t read all the books in the world, I can’t make a hasty generalization).

If the synopsis didn’t catch your interest, maybe this book trailer will:

Anyway, I’m off to sleep. I’ll try to post another wishlist item before the week ends. Try being the operative keyword because I have a pretty busy week ahead of me: I’m part of the dance performance for the company Christmas party which I’m both really nervous and excited about, our team has to finish conceptualizing and shooting our video for the our Tower’s Christmas party competition which is due to be submitted in two weeks, and I’m on duty this weekend. Busy busy bee.

Until my next post dear readers. Good night! (^^)/~~

♥ Eceined

Bellatrix Lestrange

Bellatrix is probably one of my favorite villains on Harry Potter. I don’t like her because she has hidden goodness in her. On the contrary, she’s my favorite because she’s just so crazy and obviously very committed to the cause. Obviously, the craziness is not a good point in her but it draws me to her character. I really want to act like a crazy, deranged person without people looking at me like I’m actually… well, crazy.

One of the other reasons for picking Bellatrix is that I think her look is quite easy to achieve, considering that I have a budget and I don’t want to spend so much for a costume I’m not going to wear a whole lot.

I already did my research and here are links, pictures, and videos that can help you (us) achieve a Bellatrix look.

• Click here for a tutorial on how to achieve the Bellatrix look from head to toe (WikiHow).
• If you know how to sew, you can try and copy the Bellatrix costume done here:

Bellatrix Lestrange Costume

• And another reference for the costume here:

BELLATRIX LESTRANGE costume by ~LucyLovett

• Want to make your own Bellatrix wand? Here’s a picture for reference:

Bellatrix Lestrange

• How to do Bellatrix’ hair (from AudFaced on YouTube):

• How to do Bellatrix’ makeup (from AudFaced on YouTube):

AudFaced also has tips on how to achieve the complete Bellatrix look on the information part of her makeup video. If you need more ideas such as the clothing, go check it out too.

I’m definitely going to do my best to get Bellatrix’ look as close as I can. If I do this well, I can start cosplaying as Bellatrix. I only have around a week and a half to get ready though which means I’m definitely lacking time to prepare. Oh well. Still excited.

Bellatrix Lestrange Wanted Poster

How about you dear readers? What will you be dressing up as for Halloween?

♥ Eceined

Why couldn’t I just have kept my mouth shut? I don’t know why I tempted fate. I knew it wasn’t safe but that didn’t stop me. On the contrary, that fact made it more enticing. I should have fought that urge though.

Now, I’m in trouble. I don’t know how long I can hide this but I have to persevere. I have to do everything in my power to make sure the truth doesn’t come out. The stakes are too high

- Skye

* Part of the Skye’s Diary Freewrite Collection (freewrites for a story; working on character development).