Wednesday 24 December 2014

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

Hi Guys! 

I wish you all Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. As well as happy holidays. 

I guess I will be taking a bit of a holiday for next 1 week. I did schedule some amazing posts for you, but mostly during this one week holiday i will be writing some new reviews for the blog. And sharing them a bit later with you. 


Hope to see you all next year. And i will try for it to be much more interesting than this one. :)) 

Xoxo

Katie 

Tuesday 23 December 2014

Manga Review : Unmasked Noice by Ryouko Fukuyama



Title: Unmasked Noice 
Original Title: Fukumenkei Noise
Author: Ryouko Fukuyama
Artist: Ryouko Fukuyama

Year of Release: 2013
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Gender Bender, Romance, Shoujo

Status: Ongoing
Chapters (Translated in English): 23

Volumes & Chapters: 4 Volumes in total



Summary

Nino is a girl who harbours feelings her friend Momo. Just when she can no longer suppress her feelings, she encounters a boy who composes music..., and what is the promise Nino made to a boy she met who composes music? 

My Thoughts

Review covers 23 chapters.


I think this particular manga has been on my to-read list for at least half a year. Somehow, I always found other things to read or just plainly ignored it. And now for some reason, it is the very first one to be reviews on my blog. Fate? I don’t know about that. But as soon as I took up this manga the first 22 chapters went so fast I couldn’t believe myself, and then I was waiting for about 2 weeks for the next chapter to be translated. Now I have to wait for even more…

First let’s talk a bit about the plot. I think the summary doesn’t give us a lot, but at the same time it intrigues enough to start reading. Let’s say we have three main characters: Nino, Momo and Yuzu (Nino is a girl and Momo and Yuzu are guys). Nino and Momo are childhood friends, who are very, very fond of each other. They are always together doing stuff and especially sing different songs. Because of some circumstances Momo’s family has to move away and those two promise each other that their singing will be the sign to bring them together in the future.

Now, you’ll think total childhood friendship cliché. Well, sorry, to disappoint you. Because those two were inseparable, when Nino is left alone, she is suffering a lot. Because of loneliness she wants to scream and in order to stop her soul to scream out loud she starts to wear a mask over her mouth. Everything would have been amazing, or kind of, if she didn’t meet a boy called Yuzu one day when she had he breakdown. And so he asks her to sing his songs when she is having her breakdowns. Long story short, something again happens and Nino is left alone again, but now, she is singing when she wants to scream. Several years pass and now all of our main characters are high school students, but are they the same? Could it be that Nino can be reunited with Momo? Or something absolutely different is awaiting her? That’s for you to find out if you start reading this manga.

Now, a bit about the style of the manga and why I chose this particular one for today. I have read another work by Ryouko Fukuyama, Monochrome Kids, though it is still being translated in English and I am thinking of reading it in German. I can say with utmost certainty that if somebody would have told me a year ago that I will be reading and understanding manga, I would have laughed. To say the truth I’ve tried one about 5 years ago. For me it was just some pictures and words, I was always confused from where to start reading. I just wasn’t having fun. I don’t know what, but somehow around a year ago everything changed. I got a taste of ut and I liked it. But even now sometimes I’m lost when I am reading manga about music or arts. The author has to express his ideas and emotion through black & white world of drawings and words.

When I was reading Unmasked Noise, I felt all the characters to the extent that I thought they were real, that they lived around me. I got why they are so stupid, but the best part was that I was really feeling the music through the pictures and it was amazing. I think it was as if I was listening to the screams and songs while reading. I only had the same experience with Chiba Kozue’s Crayon Days, where through black & white I actually was seeing all 24 colors of palette. I guess, the next time I will write about that one.

When I was reading Unmasked Noise, I was on edge every time. I was intrigued by everyone’s past and was cheering them on their future. The characters are portrayed as real people, they are not the best people in the world, nor are they the worst. They are just people; they are high school students, who have their own dreams, fears, expectations and obligations. They are in love, but they all have to forget that feeling for the time being, first is to show each other that they are there, that their voices can reach their loved one hearts.

I really hope that this review was at least a bit helpful, I tried not to spoil (which was quite hard, because I want to say so much more). I guess I will just write another review when all the chapters are translated and I finish reading them. Christmas is just in a few days. Have great holidays and have fun!

XOXO


Katie


Rating



Monday 15 December 2014

Randomness before the sleep

Hi Guys! How's it going? I hope you all missed me and my reviews 😄

I don't know if it is the same for everyone, but my best ideas come to me in the shower or before i fall asleep. And as you can guess i remember only 1/4 of them 😭

Well somehow this is still cirtulating in my brain from yesterday. You may think of me as a sentimental person but i remembered an amazing part from "Spanish Ballad" by Lion Feuchtwanger. Have you read this book? I hope you did and have some good memories from it.

To say the truth i've heard about it from little age from my granny, she was saying that it is one of the greatest stories of love. And she retold me it so many times i kinda knew it by-heart. But then this summer because of an argument i was given the book in flash to read it. And when i finished it, my grandma has a shock of her life when i told her: "I don't really get it. Why is this book the greatest love story ever written?" I think after 5 or 10 minutes of shock she told me: "you should fall in love to understand it!"

If you've read the book you should know that Raquel dies because of her belief in her lover - Alfonso  . What i remembered yesterday was the dialogue between the king of Castille and his right hand. The dialogue takes place after he lost the war and Raquel dies. Alfonso asks his underling why Raquel did not leave the Castle. And the answer is amazing:

"Because you ordered her not to!"

This words had an amazing impact on me when i read them. And even yesterday when i remembered them i was thinking how can a person love the other one to the extent that she will not leave the castle in order to prevent her death, but stay there because her lover told her to wait there for him! 😲😲😲 i don't get it!!!! Do you? If yes please share you thoughts with me! 

You can find the book on Goodreads: 
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/349424.The_Spanish_Ballad

Hugs and kisses 😊

Katie 

Sunday 14 December 2014

Release Day Blitz: Forgotten by You by Carlie Sexton

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Synopsis 
Some decisions in life seem wonderful and wise. For Charlie Andrews and Mitch Hawkins, who have been blissfully happy together for seven years, nothing could have prepared them for that one fateful day. What they thought would be one simple choice to bring their future together sooner, became a disaster causing their future to change to bleak and bereft of hope, direction…and each other. 

When Mitch falls and hits his head, suddenly his past becomes his present, and his beloved Charlie, a stranger. Charlie’s heart is broken into thousands of pieces as she mourns the loss of her fiancé, who although alive, is dead to her. Will they be able to find their way back to each other, and overcome overwhelming obstacles, or will the domino effect of their choices cause ramifications beyond redemption? 

One decision. 

One day. 

One irrevocable mistake.


Buy Now 
AMAZON
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About the Author
I have always had a passion for reading my entire life. I love it so that I dedicated my life to educating children. As a teacher, I have had the profound pleasure of teaching children to read and explore their imaginations through a good book. Just recently I decided to write a story that had been on my mind. Now I have several that I want to turn into additional books. Writing has become a passion that I dearly love.

I live with my handsome husband in Southern California. We enjoy the relaxed lifestyle that California provides. We have two beautiful dogs, but on children.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carliesextonauthor
Twitter: carliesexton4

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