BOOK REVIEWS: Anna Dressed In Blood

Thoughts: The title itself gives me a spooky/ horror vibe. At first I was thinking of Stephen King's novel Carrie but later on as I started reading it and finally meet our in house ghost name Anna, my perception changed to the modern day Bloody Mary. The book in my opinion is a coming of age story of a ghost whisperer with a twist. Instead of helping lost spirits find their peace and crossover, our protagonist name Cas send those rogue bad spirits to the other side with the help of his athame knife he inherited from his dead father.

To say the least, Cas is our 21st Century Ghost Buster. With the help of his new found friends, a queen bee name Carmel and a young witch name Thomas, Cas took his job seriously and only vanquish ghosts that are guilty of harming humans. But then the challenge of his lifetime started when he comes face to face with Anna's ghost. The main reason of hunting Anna is to kill her but the wheel changes when Anna finally show Cas her life story and instead of driving a knife to eliminate her, Cas felt something for Anna that made him look at her in a different perspective.

The bond that they created made Cas took a step back and rethink about his profession. But then what is happening between them is just a tip of the iceberg because something is lurking behind that will going to throw all of them off the wagon.

Ghost love story is weird and creepy but the premise of this book is light and easy to deal with. The writer did a great job making a spooky subject into a fun and entertaining read. A lot of times I found myself laughing in some of the scenes.

Favorite Scene: My favorite moment would be, every time Cas showed up in Anna's door step, in her Victorian haunted house somewhere in an abandon suburb to talk her out so he could kill her. While she was busy throwing him on the wall and sending all her fury to kill him first, Cas couldn't admit that while his ribcage is breaking, he couldn’t get enough of her. So despite of all his bruises and limping, he still keeps on coming.  

Like/Unlike: Of course I like this book and I am currently reading book two.

Favorite Character/s: Thomas and Cas

Xoxo

BOOK REVIEWS: The Host

I have this book in my eBook-shelf since for-e-v-e-r. I really don't know what took me so long to pick this book and read it. I knew that the movie adaptation will be coming soon but I normally shrugged this off and pass.

Then the first week of February came and I was in a book-sale killing time which I normally call it my ME time during weekends.   I was randomly picking books when a copy of "The Host", came tumbling down and landed on my hand. At first I was skeptical if I should buy it or not since I already got the eBook version of it on my iBook. But still the idea of having the actual book in my hand was too hard to resist. You know, despite of this electronic revolution that we have in this new age, still, nothing can beat reading with a tangible book in your hand. The smell of the paper, the nostalgia, the feeling of flipping the pages, it's just different.

So I ended up purchasing the book in a lower price and went home.

I started reading it. At first, I found it hard to think that this book is actually written by Stephanie Meyer, the author who started the Twilight Mania. Well, I don't really hate that series, I admit that I literally devoured those four books and even watch the movie. But as many readers said - we should not be judging the book by its movie in which I definitely agree. The movie adaptation can be awful, especially when the actor portraying the lead role murder the character that you grow to love but that doesn't mean that the book is equally distasteful.

Now, I don’t normally read post apocalyptic or post-invasion whatever type of genre. The first dystopian world I encountered is that of the Hunger Games and Oh yeah! How can I forget that wonderful book called Warm Bodies? I love that book!

Though there are others that I braved myself reading but I am not going to talk about it right now.

Okay back to The Host. I am intrigue with the premise of the story. A worm like alien with a size of a thumb called the Soul, inserted in a human body (The Host) for it to have access of that body and gain total control. That’s how this little alien succeeded its invasion and won the planet Earth. Humans are in the brink of extinction because The Souls are targeting them to make a Host of their bodies. But just like the old stories of Alien Invasion, Humans will not easily give up without a fight. They will always fight back. Technically, that’s the entire story goes…

But what makes this book tick for me is how the characters are woven together. A lot of reviews online claimed that they are undeveloped, they maybe are but as I always said, I am not a critical reader and as long as the novel entertains then that book served its purpose.

I like those main characters of the alien Wanda and the host Melanie. Though the two of them are trapped in Mel’s body, still, you can easily see the difference between the two. Then there is Jared and Ian and Mel’s uncle Jeb and many more – humans that are part of the resisting colony. Now, Wanda is a Soul, an alien, but the longer she stays with the human the more she become attached to them and even fall in love to one of them. She also realized that she is becoming more of them than being the Soul that she is. She understood the human ways of existing. Wanda’s struggle is very enthralling for me. Her inherent goodness and self sacrificing won her a spot in the human colony. She is genuine and I think her principle is more human than alien. When I finished reading the book, I am still longing to know more about the characters. I am happy to learn that Stephanie Meyer decided to continue writing this book in a series. I will definitely wait for the next installment.

    

Yeah, I've seen the movie too... I dragged my partner to the movie house just to watch it. Well, apparently I ended up explaining almost every sequence to him while watching. I have to say, I enjoyed it and the lead actor Saoirse Ronan who I think looks like a young version of Cate Blanchett did a great job portraying Wanda/Mel, so is that hot dude called Max Irons as Jared (drools).

Xoxo

  

BOOK READS: SHOOTING KABUL

I am very particular when it comes to genre of the book that I wanted to read. Lots of times I'm drawn to the cover of the book that makes me want to read them.   I don't consider this a good idea but of coarse it's not a bad idea either.

Just that, all through these years of spending hours in a bookstore particularly in a book-sale, I learned to flip at least few pages of the book and read the teaser of the story written normally at the back before purchasing it. I no longer rely on the the book cover itself.

The book cover and the content are totally different thing, created by totally different mind. There are lots of great books out there with stories that will pinch a heart with just a very simple cover. There are also a lot of awesome covers out there that will give you a straight to the trash-can stories.

"Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai is one of those great stories with simple cover. First, this book is not actually my genre because I am more interested with genre that deals around Fantasy Fiction and Supernatural stuff. So to say the least, this book is way out of my comfort zone. But just lately I decided to open myself to other genre to broaden my views. I want to learn more about sub-cultural books, historical fiction and thriller. A good autobiography is a go for me and some books that dwells between chic-lit or satirical prose probably written by female comedian or gay authors. 

Now, this gem of a book is from the sale section of the bookstore and I really got it in a very low price. The cover was just a so-so but the thing that caught me is the thought about a family escaping from the border of Afghanistan in the midst of the Taliban war. The journey that the family took to get to that border so they can hop on the Truck that will take them to America with the Asylum Visa given to people living in a war zone. The entire story is told by a young protagonist as one of the member of the family escaping. His younger sister has been left behind in the midst of the chaos when the truck comes and lots of family who wanted to escape the war are pushing their way to get into the truck. Because the little girl is so young, she loose her grip and lost her way to get into the truck.

The entire story is told in a subtle way and every scene and struggle of the family when they get to America is palpably executed well. The burden of our young protagonist is raw for his age and I really feel for the kid. He is a dreamer like me, but of coarse he shape his dreams to help solve his family's problem but because he is still young, he can only do much. The frustration that he feels is very real for me. A lot of times I choke to fight back tears.

This book also deals about how Afgan. families cope during the time of the 7/11 tragedy. This particular struggle is experience by our young protagonist when one of his schoolmates call him terrorist. 

All in all, I totally love this book. It's a simple read but it fills the heart with knowledge and love for religion, country and for being alive.

BOOK READS: HEAVEN CAN WAIT

It took me a while to finish reading this book for some reason. I didn’t say that I like it but it isn’t that bad either. There’s just something off about this book, probably it lack something…

For once, I didn’t know the purpose of the character. Yes, the character has an emphatic ability and can travel outside of her body and enter the realm of the dead. So she used this ability to help the dead get their closure and all. Other than that, she is also an Angel who decided to live among mortals in a dystopian world where humans considered supernatural beings as outcast and dumped them in a segregated place.

Then there is a half demon girl who’s some kind of hot in a femme fatal sort of way who worked as a bounty hunter for rogue creatures. But then she died in a very morbid way and now trying to reconnect with the Angel to pin those who are responsible with her death from the afterlife. This character for me is more interesting compared to the Angel whom the only dilemma she got is if she would give in from her sexual desires that she’d been suppressing since she clipped her wings and lived among mortals.

This could have been an interesting plot. However, it seems the author dwells mostly on the Angel’s emotional battles about moral values rather than pushing the narrative. The premises itself has so much potential to give action scenes blow by blow but the climax ended flatly for me, garnering a sort of confusion for the readers at the end.

Xoxo

BOOK READS: PENTECOST (ARKANE SERIES #1)

I first discovered this book while researching self-publishing and eBook writing on the internet. I stumbled upon Ms. Joanna Penn’s website, The Creative Penn, which provided me with an abundance of valuable information on those topics.

What initially drew me to the book was its captivating cover. As a reader, I often find myself picking up books based solely on their covers, and this one was no exception. While the premise of the book seemed promising, I was a little disappointed when the narrative didn’t quite match the beauty of its cover. However, there are always those rare gems that exceed our expectations—and Pentecost by Joanna Penn is certainly one of them.

From the title alone, I was hooked! Pentecost made me think of a story deeply rooted in biblical history and ancient myth. As a fan of fantasy fiction, I’m also an avid lover of historical fiction—especially when it weaves in elements of biblical wonders. I won’t give away any spoilers here, as I want you to experience the book for yourself, but I’ll share how I felt as I read it, keeping things vague rather than technical.

Ms. Penn’s writing is fast-paced, making it a thrilling read for those who enjoy high-action scenes filled with fighting, gunfire, and intense moments. The book features a strong female protagonist, which I loved, as I’m always a fan of "girl power" themes in both books and films. The characters’ journey to find the Stone of the Apostles spans a wide range of locations, from the Middle East to Spain, Europe, North America, and even Africa. These diverse settings made for an exciting and immersive reading experience.

The only drawback I found was that, as I became more absorbed in the story, I realized I wasn’t connecting deeply with the characters. They didn’t quite come to life for me, and I didn’t develop a strong emotional attachment to them. That said, the narrative itself and the mysterious myth surrounding the Apostles and their stone were intriguing enough to keep me going—and I ended up ordering the second and third books in the series.

All in all, Pentecost is a hidden gem!

Xoxo