Worried that prom is gonna bite?

In this exciting collection, bestselling authors Meg Cabot (How to Be Popular), Michele Jaffe (Bad Kitty), Kim Harrison (A Fistful of Charms), Stephenie Meyer (Twilight), and Lauren Myracle (ttyl) take bad prom dates to a whole new level – a paranormally bad level. Wardrobe malfunctions and two left feet are nothing compared to discovering you’re dancing with the grim reaper – and he isn’t here to tell you how hot you look.

From vampire exterminations to angels fighting demons, these five stories will entertain better than any DJ in a bad tux can. No corsage or limo rental necessary. Just good, scary fun.

Rating: Roughly♥♥♥♥♥ + 1/2

The New York Times bestselling author of the acclaimed Nina Reilly thrillers brings her prodigious storytelling gifts to this first-ever collection of short crime fiction. From desperate housewives to hard-boiled PIs to an appearance by Nina Reilly herself, these chilling short mysteries-many appearing in print for the very first time-set the mood and ratchet up the suspense as only Perri O’Shaughnessy can.

Here are tales of love and betrayal, rage and revenge-nineteen sizzling stories that run the gamut from classic whodunits to winding thrillers to an unusual cozy that casts Gertrude Stein as an unlikely Miss Marple. And here Perri O’Shaughnessy has created some of her most sinister and compelling characters yet: a college student who devises an ingenious method for getting her sexy teacher’s attention . . . a haunted ex—homicide cop who takes a long walk into his blood-shadowed past in a twisting tale of brutal murder and escalating violence . . . a model wife who surprises both herself and a bothersome furnace man when she is confronted with an unacceptable ultimatum . . . a lemon tree that plays a pivotal role in the tale of a woman who at long last asserts her independence. . . .

From a blood-soaked scheme that’s born at a slot machine in Vegas to the violence that ensues when the fat lady stops singing, Sinister Shorts shows us life at its most menacing, murderous, and unbearably suspenseful. And it proves once again the unique and captivating genius of Perri O’Shaughnessy.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Do you believe in love at first fight?

Any ship arriving from England means good news for Virginia colony farmers. The “tobacco brides” would be on board—eligible women seeking a better life in America, bartered for with barrels of tobacco from the fields.

Drew O Connor isn’t stirred by news of a ship full of brides. Still broken-hearted from the loss of his beloved, he only wants a maid to tend his house and care for his young sister.

What he ends up with is a wife—a feisty redhead who claims she is Lady Constance Morrow, daughter of an Earl, brought to America against her will. And she want to go straight back to England as soon as she possibly can. She hasn’t the foggiest notion how to cook, she dares to argue with her poor husband, and spends more time working on mathematical equations than housework. What kind of a wife is that? Drew’s Christian forbearance is in for some testing.

Headstrong and intelligent, deeply moral but incredibly enticing, Constance turns what was supposed to be a marriage of convenience into something most inconvenient, indeed.

My Php0.20:

I loved reading this historical romance (apparently with slight Christian themes. However, it also has slight application of sexual themes. It won’t be a romance if it didn’t. It’s still quite conservative anyway. THAT is a good thing. )

The book is set in a time when women were treated as commodity, and sold off in exchange for tobacco. Here, we have Constance, daughter of an Earl who was won by a farmer, Drew O’ Connor. The man didn’t want a wife and was afraid to be attached to another woman because of a painful past. Read it to know what it is. I found their constant bickering very entertaining and couldn’t help wishing they’d act on all the romantic tension already!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ + 1/2.

Even in a tiny apartment, there were enough rooms for Frannie to get into trouble…

First, there was the bedroom…where it all began in such a casually romantic way.

Next, the bathroom…where things took a suspicious turn.

Finally, the living room…where she picked up the phone and prepared to break the news to the boyfriend she barely knew…

When Frannie Mackenzie got sick all over the sweater section of a major urban retailer, she couldn’t quite believe that this was a reaction to gray being this year’s black. So she went back to her postage-stamp-sized apartment and took inventory. Jeans tighter? Yes. Boobs bigger? Yes. And the absolute proof-positive…the stick had turned blue.

Frannie decides to give up cocktails, late nights, and anything else fun that the big city has to offer. But one thing — or rather person — she’s not sure she’s going to get to keep is the surprised father in the situation — an experimental jazz musician with the improbable name of Calvin, who’d taken off to Europe before Frannie figured out parenthood had awkwardly united them. Falling in love was the last thing that Frannie expected, and the happiest surprise of all.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ + 1/2 (heehee)

No wonder legend cast her as a goddess. What man or mortal could contend with anyone who loves so many, causes so much chaos–and is beautiful enought to die for?

My Php0.20:

Wow, Aphrodite is that wanton. ‘Nuff said. Kidding aside, it is an enjoyable read.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

BEWARE…

OF THE SMART WOMAN…
With a marriage on the rocks and a career in nose-dive, Lynn is in desperate need of a life make-over. She finds it in Brandon Brock, the macho CEO on the cover of Fortune magazine’s “America’s Toughest Bosses” issue. To restore her reputation, all she has to do is snag the notorious chauvinist as her new client, take a cue from My Fair Lady, and turn this pig into her own Pygmalion…

WITH A SCORE TO SETTLE…
The perfect plan? Not so fast. Somebody has been out to sabotage Lynn’s happiness, and before she can reclaim her career–and her heart–she’d better figure out who it is…

My Php0.20:

A good enough read. Fairly funny but I don’t quite like the female protagonist. Themes of backstabbing friends, unfaithful lovers, and “taming the lion” are evident. I’m not quite convinced of the “Wyman method” though. If you’re in for a light read, you can grab this book.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Runaway by Karla Maquiling 

When the going gets tough, pack your things up and move!

Heart-Core Metal by Nikki Domingo

If you’re in love with a ROCK God, will you ROLL with the punches?

My Php0.20:

I enjoyed reading both stories! The first story is about a woman who seeks a fresh start after every breakup, making large changes such as finding a new job, packing her bags and moving into a new city, and anything that could majorly cut her off from her old life. The latter is about a girl who “fell in love” with a rock star, not knowing that the “right one” was beside her all along. The authors were able to squeeze believable stories into 60 pages. Though the first story is somewhat open-ended, I am optimistic that the pair would end up together. In the second story, I found myself pitying the guy friend a lot. He was making way for the girl and the rock star to be together because he wanted her to be happy! The girl was just so stubborn and dense! Hahaha!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Blurb: Self-confessed “Hagette” Cynthia de la Rama seems like the perfect girl: she’s tall, thin, pretty, charming, and fashionable. So why hasn’t she found the right man? Her gay friends think it’s a defective gaydar to blame. Most of her exes were in the closet. She’s right about ready to give it all up for a well-dressed, celibate existence. That is until two men enter her life at the same time: the bad boy who disappeared without a trace many years ago (and whom she hasn’t gotten over yet) and an aloof, handsome model with a knack for doing the laundry. The only problem is, will her gaydar let her down yet again?

My Php0.20:
I had fun reading this book. I’d like to believe that I don’t have a defective gaydar but I used to have this weird fantasy of wanting to make a gay man fall in love with me. Hahaha! This is a good, quick read. I found the use of Tagalog words cute. Of course, as what often happens, the gay bff saves the book by upping its humor value.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Puppy love. Many have experienced that first flush in their cheeks, that tingling sensation, that different beat in their chests… Ah! The beauty of love at its most innocent! Or maybe not…

F. Sionil Jose is the author of the well-acclaimed Rosales saga (which I have yet to buy and read). I love anthologies and this collection of his short stories is a gem! I really want to read his novels in the future. Puppy Love and Thirteen Short Stories portrays love and its different facets (a love that is…, the love for…) and the loss of innocence. Humor is laid on thin and a certain heaviness is present in most, if not all of the stories. These are very thought-provoking and realistic (except maybe for one) that I often found myself questioning the reasons for the characters’ behavior, why they have different notions about justice (who deserves it, who should give it, how they would get it, will they ever get it), and if hope isn’t very far from anyone who would choose to keep it alive.

Puppy Love, the first in the collection, is about a man haunted by his first love who was separated from him by the war during the Japanese occupation. The story gives a nod to Wuthering Heights (a classic novel that makes my nose bleed so much I can’t get past the second chapter). Remembering your first love  is indeed bittersweet.

The Female Principle is about a man and four women and how each has led to his ruin. Females! Are we really that bad? I think highly of Filipinas and I really hope that not all are as pathetic, selfish, self-righteous, and manipulative as the female characters.

The Letters is about how the sense of belongingness differs from one person to another. There are those who yearn the peace and quiet in the country and those who fit best in the upbeat and ambitious city life. Especially if a certain someone was “left behind”.

The Other Forest tells us the story of how love is separated by our ambitions and our notions of what our purpose in life really is. How one can set aside love for a greater purpose, in this case a calling from God.

Waltz in my opinion, is the most heartbreaking story about a taboo topic. Does falling in love with your first cousin really count as incest? For years the characters do not act on it, do not talk about it, but know that it’s there right in between. A tempting apple to take a bite of, and with a dance and a kiss they did. The woman is a bride in waiting and the reader is left to his/her own conclusions. Will they accept their fate or will an “incestous” infidelity ensue? We could only wish to know.

I’m not sure if the stories under Endings are really endings of F. Sionil Jose’s other short stories. I found it hard to understand the last three, so please bear with my interpretation. Twilight is about how our dedication to our “craft” can’t be passed on to the next generation who we are expecting to continue the “legacy” (in this case an old woman passing on her rice cake business to her granddaughter who actually detests it). The Wind’s Mill is about a boy who is afraid of a lot of things and is often teased for it (the ending is either about adoption by a foreigner [American?] or an American visitor during the American occupation or Commonwealth period [Forgive me, I lack understanding]). No Escape is about a brother who died due to I don’t know what because even the two sisters have no idea either (I bet their mother did since she’s the one who’s always out. All I could derive from it is it’s a time of war). The Machine is about the advent of agricultural technology and I don’t know why one family says they “won’t be needed” anymore (maybe they are workers in a hacienda? they’re definitely not carabaos).

A Walk With My Grandson I believe is the author’s personal experience involving his walk with his grandson to get ice cream. Awwww… Generation gap is presented in a lighthearted tone, and we see how different yesterday and today are yet still similar in some ways.

Dream Videos is about a professor who is unfaithful and impotent (a perfect excuse to be an infidel?) who finds excitement and fulfillment in imagination and dreams, and living life to the extreme.

Knowledge is to put it simply about a bitch who used her influence on a simple, poor college guy to help her with her paperworks. Years later, he is the employee, she is the employer. Just as he thought the gap that wealth and power brought was bridged by “friendship”, “a sense of gratitude” and that the new boss would “respect his ideas and regard him as an intellectual”, the  bitch dismissed his thoughts. The bitch thought very low of the Filipinos who “do not think”. Let’s stand up people! Raise the quality of what we watch/listen to/read. Less of showbiz chismis, more of political awareness and social concern. At the end, I was mad that the man was scared of what the bitch could do (like fire him). Knowledge, knowledge, knowledge. How preciously one values it like gold or silver, and how lightly one regards it (knowledge is nothing without power? I thought knowledge is power?).

Walking on Fire is a fantasy and is quite freaky. History of a land owned by the Cobello clan.

Children’s Stories for Adults is quite enjoyable. Dalipawen (a woman’s undying love for an ambitious man. The Height of Martyrdom naman ha!) made me cry a lot! The Molave and the Orchid is also good. It’s about the young giving perspective to the proud old. The orchid teaches love and humility to the molave. In the end they were still together! (table and flower in a vase)

Read the book. ‘Nuff said.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

My Imaginary Ex

When Zack asks Jasmine to pretend to be his ex-girlfriend, she gamely agrees, thinking it would be fun. A few years later, she still has to keep convincing people that they were never together! Then one day, she finds out he’s getting married–to someone she’d just met once! All of a sudden, things aren’t so clear-cut anymore. Can Jasmine sort out her feelings (sometimes she can’t even tell real from pretend when it comes to her and Zack) before it’s too late?

This week will be filled with reviews of literature by Filipino writers because I’m feeling quite patriotic. That and I’m too lazy to pore over more lengthy novels from the West. Hehe.

So the second review to grace this blog would be another chick lit. (Hurrah!) It’s actually my second time to read this because I want to remember all the details before I write anything about it. “Que horror!” if I mixed this up with some other book I’ve read. =))

The novel started immediately with the problem shoved to our face. I like its being straightforward, no beating around the bush. Then the next chapter takes the reader back to how it all started, which is actually, with a lie. From there we alternate from present to a more recent past, and we become frustrated with Jasmine and Zack’s push-and-pull relationship. As for the characters, we have a college version of Zack who up to the present has intimacy/privacy issues; a Jasmine who used to avoid everyone blooming into a more confident version of herself  (passionate and sexy, as Zack put it at the end of the novel); Lena and Marjorie, second and third ex (technically first and second) respectively, quite different but similar in their concern for Zack; and of course a good chick lit won’t be complete without the villains: cheating, scheming bitch Kimmy, and egotistic, condescending ex-BF Tim (glad he didn’t have a lot of print exposure though).

An excerpt:

In a nutshell, this is about a guy who couldn’t bring himself to tell the girl he loves how he truly feels, and relied on dropping hints that an all-too-dense Jasmine can’t pick up. This is also about a girl who for almost a decade, was unconsciously in denial but wondered why sometimes she couldn’t tell between real and pretend. Ultimately, this is about the people surrounding them, observers of a love story that wasn’t before, but was actually in the making. In Jasmine’s recall of an emotional college graduation, she realized, “Because it looked like everyone knew it but us, and that made me want to cry.”

All in all, I highly recommend this to those who enjoy good, clean enough (well there’s a passionate scene near the end. Who could blame them? They waited nine years for things to happen!) chick lit. I personally don’t like Western counterparts that are too passionate (read: graphic *cringe*).

The parting line of the novel was very cute. I quote Jasmine:

“He was, in many ways, still my Zack from college.”

Awwww… Bring on the cheese!!!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥