• manga,  Uncategorized

    MANGA: Sora Kara Furumono

    Image result for sora kara furumono

    Sora Kara Furumono – Aki Senoo

    Sweet but troubled Takagi escapes the ups and downs of his life by hiding his true feelings. But what will he do when shy, awkward Kumoi suddenly appears and seems to read his every thought? When a mysterious drawing surfaces and raises even more questions about the past, the two boys are faced with a crucial decision: do they stick together, or retreat to the safety of their secret fantasies?

    When the Heavens Smile serves up seven stories full of sweet, fumbling romance and the day-to-day surprises of true friendship! Whether it’s in a noisy, nerve-wracking classroom or the book-lined rows of the library, each of these boys must come to terms with budding feelings and brand-new crushes. Which of these pairs destined to put aside their fears and stay together after the final school bell rings?

    Fragment: A really bad case of last song syndrome where kohai whistles a tune and sempai made him listen to the entire song so he could do it properly. Ended up doing something unforgettable. Would kohai even remember? I wished the author gave this an epilogue.

    I Love Strawberries The Most, Followed By My Dad: Ooh, shoujo-kun is the seme. A high schooler with girly interests compares his loved ones to fruits.

    Absolute Condition: Mole fetish? NO, just NO. (speaking as a person with bajillion moles all over, hate these ugly dots)

    Sirens: Talky age-gap romance involving lots of sex and talks of double suicide. Weird proposal at the end but it kind of worked.

    I Can’t Remember Now: Alcohol-loving Kacchan tended to get sappy and kissy with Midori when drunk but couldn’t remember afterwards. Everybody thought they were boyfriends, Kacchan insists they’re just friends. But was Midori jealous when Kacchan was seen with a girl? And why does Kacchan care? Really loved this one!

    That Which Falls From Heaven: Kumoi can see Takagi’s dead brother. Kumoi seriously liked Takagi. I don’t care.

    Fever Mark: Don’t care about this too. Why is it in manga, when someone has fever, they tend to get frisky?

    That Which Is Still Here: Student has a crush on the librarian and is willing to be his slave. Librarian used to have a crush on Takagi’s dead brother. Kumoi’s drawing gave them closure. Still don’t care.

  • book,  Uncategorized

    REVIEW: Prince Of Killers by Layla Reyne

    45178448. sy475

    Fog City: Prince Of Killers – Layla Reyne

    No indiscriminate killing. No collateral damage. No unvetted targets.

    These are the rules Hawes Madigan lives by. Rules that make being Fog City’s Prince of Killers bearable. Soon, he’ll be king—of an organization of assassins—and the crown has never felt heavier. Until the mysterious Dante Perry swaggers into his life.

    Dante looks like a rock god and carries himself like one too, all loose-limbed and casually confident. He also carries a concealed weapon, a private investigator’s license, and a message for the prince. Someone inside Hawes’s organization is out to kill the future king.

    In the chaos that follows the timely warning, Hawes comes to depend on Dante. On his skills as an investigator, on the steadiness he offers, and on their moments alone when Hawes lets Dante take control. As alliances are tested and traitors exposed, Hawes needs Dante at his back and in his bed. But if the PI ever learns Hawes’s darkest secret, Hawes is sure to get a knife to the heart—and a bullet to the brain—instead. 

    There’s no shortage of twists and turns in this new romantic suspense trilogy from Layla Reyne. Prince of Killers is book one of three. Fair warning: buckle up, cliffhangers ahead!


    Like many Layla Reyne fans, I was super excited to start on her new series. Obviously with all the glowing reviews, my expectations were skyhigh. Now that I’ve read it, in a word, Prince Of Killers was FAST.

    So fast that I was still savoring my tour of San Francisco with the Madigans before I realized it, they were already about to do the big reveal. I hardly felt the 5+ hours of the audiobook. Even with that kind of pacing, the story didn’t feel incomplete. The author was able to establish the need-to-knows, build-up, conflict and mystery efficiently. It’s just that I was lulled by the great writing and Tristan James’ narration. I had fun listening to Hawes and his siblings going about their business. Assassins going through the step-by-steps of their jobs never failed to fascinate me and I could listen to that kind of shit all day.

    I was expecting many twisty and shocking events though, but there were only one or two twists that were actually surprising.

    Dante Perry literally walked into Hawes’ life and I was taken aback at how easily the Madigan scion trusted this stranger. This from the leader of a family who trusted no one. Then Dante proceeded to breeze through everything.

    They started sleeping together from day one and from that point on, Hawes fantasized about his getting his HEA. He knew not everyone would be as lucky as his grandparents, Papa Cal and Rose, given his line of work. Still, can’t blame a man for being hopeful. But really? Day one? His brother Holt hasn’t even finished vetting the PI.

    I liked Hawes but for a master assassin, he came across as, well, not bad-ass. I know giving him ‘weaknesses’ was intentional in order to emphasized his humanity, especially to Dante, but I share the sentiment of those who gave lower ratings. Him making this poor a decision on something as major as to who he lets into his inner circle doesn’t ring true to his character. What would Papa Cal say, Big H?

    All this griping aside, I have faith in Layla Reyne and gladly suspended disbelief. One of her strong suits is creating characters you can root for and their awesome family dynamics. She did it in Agents Irish and Whiskey and its spin-off, Trouble Brewing. She also did it again here. She made me rally for the Madigans. As to Dante, I need to get inside his head first. Not warming up to him yet.

    Hawes for all his weaknesses and grey morality, his heart’s in the right place. His twin, Holt, best hacker in town and father of the year. Helena, their sister, now she is bad ass. A ninja moonlighting as a lawyer. Emilia, Holt’s wife, devoted mother and their on-call nurse, is a woman who can do scary things with your pressure points. Together they form a warm, cozy family who just happened to have a deadly business on the side. I really liked how they worked together which why I had a rude awakening when they finally unmasked the traitor. Tsk tsk tsk! To think I liked that character. Too bad. A great twist nonetheless.

    Which made me expect a big Madigan showdown. It was anti-climactic. The boss fight was over in a snap. I nearly missed the part and had to replay it just to be sure. Oh well, they did promise not to hurt the traitor.

    Prince Of Killers is a good series opener. It’s a fun, suspenseful book that promised more action-packed goodness in the future. It did not entirely not wow me but that’s par for course with many series openers I’ve encountered including LR‘s series so no biggie. I know the next book is going to be EXPLOSIVE. I am so hyped up for King Slayer because damn that cliffhanger! Also, Dante’s POV!

    I recommend the Fog City series if you like high-stakes romantic suspense stories about assassins with souls and LEOs finding love outside the law.

    P.S.

    Layla Reyne books here.

    Rating:
    3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked it

    Soundtrack: Shot In The Dark
    Artist: Ozzy Osbourne
    Album: The Ultimate Sin

  • Uncategorized

    Out on the street, I’m stalking the night,
    I can hear my heavy breathing.
    Paid for the kill but it doesn’t seem right;
    something there I can believe in .

    Voices are calling from inside my head.
    I can hear them, I can hear them,
    vanishing memories of things that were said,
    they can’t try to hurt me now.

    But a shot in the dark, one step away from you.
    A shot in the dark, always creeping up on you

    Taught by the powers that preach over me
    I can hear their empty reason
    I wouldn’t listen I learnt how to fight
    I opened up my mind to treason

    But just like the wounded and when it’s too late
    They’ll remember they’ll surrender
    Never a care for the people who hate
    Underestimate me now

    But a shot in the dark one step away from you
    A shot in the dark not a thing that you can do
    A shot in the dark always creeping up on you

    But just like the wounded and when it’s too late
    They’ll remember they’ll surrender
    Never a care for the people who hate
    Underestimate me now

    But a shot in the dark one step away from you
    A shot in the dark not a thing that you can do
    A shot in the dark always creeping up on you