Book Review: Save Karyn by Karyn Bosnak

I have been dying to get my hands on a copy of this book for years! Finally found one from BetterWorldBooks.com last month and decided to order it. It finally arrived in the mail a couple of days ago.

I know what you're probably thinking, I should just have bought an e-book or download one for free, but I've always been a fan and fond of reading the "book" itself, as in in physical form. Anyways, here's what today's book is all about.

Taken from GoodReads.com -- technically from the back of the book itself. :P

Drowning in $20,000 of credit card debt, shopaholic Karyn Bosnak asked strangers for money online -- and it worked!

What would you do if you owed $20,000? Would you: A) not tell your parents? B) start your own website that asked for money without apology? or C) stop coloring your hair, getting pedicures, and buying Gucci? If you were Karyn Bosnak, you'd do all three.

Karyn started a funny yet honest website, www.savekaryn.com, on which she asked for donations to help her get out of debt. Karyn received e-mails from people all over the world, either confessing their own debt-ridden lives, or criticizing hers. But after four months of Internet panhandling and selling her prized possessions on eBay, her debt was gone!

In Save Karyn: One Shopaholic's Journey to Debt and Back, Karyn details the bumpy road her financial -- and personal -- life has traveled to get her where she is today: happy, grateful, and completely debt-free. In this charming cautionary tale, Karyn chronicles her glamorous rise, her embarrassing fall, and how the kindness of strangers in cyberia really can make a difference.

I really love Karyn Bosnak's way of writing, it's always so simple but unique at the same time. This book became my source of motivation during the last couple of days. After I was done with it, I knew that her lessons did not end where the last words in her book were printed, she imparted it with me.

This book about a major part of her life is a wake-up call to everyone who is probably on the verge of giving up on everything. Save Karyn motivates and teaches the value of giving wholeheartedly without expecting something in return. She might have made a terrible mistake before, but who doesn't anyway, right?

I personally think that her purpose of sharing her story in this book is not just to let people know that she had a genius idea that helped her out of the mess she was in but also through her story, she imparted probably the best life advice anyone could share and that is to never tire to give, forgive and fight back with kindness.

Save Karyn made me think hard about some areas of my life and it even made me want to be a better person not only for my own good but for the benefits of other people who helped me in the past and to those who might someday need my help.

Save Karyn, in my opinion, is better than any self-help books that ever exist. Five delish cookies with milk.

    

Book Review: Borrowed Children by George Ella Lyon

Read this book when I was is the fourth grade. I didn't understand it well back then, all I knew about it was it's about a young girl that was forced to stay home, manage a household and take care of a newborn baby. Nevertheless, I loved it. Here's the summary from GoodReads.com:

Twelve-year-old Amanda Perritt is pitched head-first into adult responsibilities when she has to quit school to care for her newborn brother and invalid mother. She gets an excape, she thinks, when she's offered a trip to stay with her grandmother and her sophisticated Aunt Laura in Memphis. But during the visit, she discovers unexpected parallels between her mother's childhood and her own and comes to understand her own individuality as well as what it means to be part of a family.

Years later, I decided to look for a copy and finally found one. I've decided to re-read it and I was surprised that my perspective and understanding changed. The story seemed too complicated to me before to find sense in it, but right now I can tell that it's little complexity showed nothing more but a pre-teen's perspective about a complicated life situation she suddenly delved into.

This book tells the story of 12-year old Mandy Perritt and how she became a mother instantly to a newborn baby and how she sacrificed her love and thirst for a good education when her mother fell really ill after giving birth to her little brother.

This book is worth reading. Might even take you back to that old pre-teen feelings you had when you felt deprived of something but at the same time instills the value of appreciating whatever you have instead of thinking that you're being deprived of for other people might have experienced worse than you did.

Great story! Four cookies!

   

Transform yourself with Schick

So after watching Iron Man 3 with hubbie a couple of weeks back, I found out that another superhero movie is coming out in the theaters again! This time though it will be everyone's all time favorite superhero: SUPERMAN. Also known as Man of Steel. Yup another man made of iron, but probably more classic than Iron Man himself.

I was actually looking forward to watching this new film but I was not quite sure when it will come out yet. Thank God for Nuffnang and Schick!

Schick. Free Your Skin.

I just received an e-mail promo from Nuffnang and they're giving away two (2) free tickets for the movie screening of Man of Steel this coming June 14 at the Shangri-la Cineplex. How awesome is that, right? Here's the cool promo banner:



I highly encourage that you join their blog contest if you want to win tickets for the premiere, too! It's actually pretty simple, just answer the question:

“If you had the powers of MAN OF STEEL for one (1) week, how would you use it?”

Well, here's my own take on how I would use Superman's powers:

If I remember it right from the Superman comics I've read when I was younger, Superman had the superhuman intelligence, superhuman breath, x-ray vision, combat skills and of course, how can anyone forget the superhuman strength and solar battery that he possessed?

Using these powers in particular would actually help me in my personal mission to help the NBI track heinous criminals and their masterminds to help eliminate crimes in our country using all of the mentioned superpowers.

With the superhuman intelligence I could easily help the authorities to track down petty criminals to big time, mafia-like chieftains, especially those who are involved so much in the drug business.

Along with it, is using the physical superpowers in defying those who would try to fight back to the authorities.

I would totally kick-ass. IF this DOES happen, I would make sure that I have my own tight and hot superhero outfit. LOL

But these superpowers should not all be used in fighting crime (and looking hot haha) but it should be also used in helping solve other issues such as using the superhuman intelligence to help scientists and doctors find cures for various diseases such as cancer, lupus, polio and AIDS/HIV.

Also, helping in assessing and assisting the children with special needs and the mentally challenged would be of great help to those who needs it for free, since assessment and caring for our physically, mentally and genetically challenged brothers and sisters costs so much. I guess the super strength would also help me train batch after batch of volunteers that would also like to help in caring for our brothers and sisters in need, as training is also pretty expensive for the volunteers.

Apart from these, I'd use my superhuman intelligence to figure out a process that would help extract solar energy from my body so that people who are not fortunate enough to have electricity would have one from my solar powers.

Last, but not the least... I'd fly all the way to Mindanao to talk to the rebels and try to make them understand that violence isn't the only key to protect one's land, heritage or to show off their powers. It is about the things that they can do to make their place a safer place to live.

And those are the things that I would do if I were given the powers of the Man of Steel for an entire week. I hope you'd participate in this too, I would love to read about what you can do. :)

Per DTI-NCR Permit No.1843 Series of 2013.

Online Tutorials

With the rapid growth of technology it is impossible for kids and teenagers to keep up and focus with their studies, especially with the new video games that are coming out of the market frequently.

Computers made it impossible to force children and teenagers alike to pick up a book especially when they can always Google all the information they need, but although it is good that information is just within reach, there is still a negative side to it.

The down side of this is that children and teenagers would lack the real skill they need with their studies such as social interaction and being inquisitive. They might even fail to develop enough learning skills if they just depend on searching for quick answers.

Another is that not everything we find on the internet is credible enough to be a source of valid information as anyone can post anything online these days.

So is there a solution to this?

Solution is probably a big word for this type of problem, but remedy is just the right one.

If the children cannot be easily taken away from the computer why not install educational softwares that they may find fun and interesting. This is very helpful for children whose age ranges from 4 to 10 years old and although this is just a temporary remedy, (as children would later on find it boring as they age) parents might be able to help their children develop some of their basic skills in reading and solving minor math problems.

Another remedy is that giving children 2 to 3 hours of computer usage per day. In this way, children will be disciplined enough to manage their time well between their chores, homework and leisure time. Doing this might also help your children to go out more and interact with other children to develop their interpersonal skill.

But if a child or a teenager is really finding it hard to cope with his or her studies due to excessive usage of the computer or other distractions he or she might have, it might be best to hire a tutor for the child as to have someone to guide them with their academics and also to have someone to constantly remind them about their schoolwork. Doing so might also develop the child’s skill in communication and expand his or her knowledge by having someone to ask information from.

It is best to hire a professional teacher for the job. When in doubt, ask for a resume and contact the character references the applicant listed. Parents may also want to consider hiring an online tutor for their children who can work with their children after school and even during the weekends as to not bother with having someone coming over and covering extra expenses such as transportation and food allowance.

This is also an ideal way to help children cope with their academics when their own parents are busy enough with work and house chores while still using the computer. This unconventional way of learning is in no way promoting excessive usage of the computer for children, but it is just simply to help children learn while being able to do what they like to do and that is be in front of the computer.

If you can't break them, join them!

Online learning is also a good way to help a child develop his or her's inquisitive skill as the child may have someone to ask and clarify details and information from. It also adds extra interaction with another person to develop their communication skills well.

Although it is still strongly encouraged that parents give their children limit in using the computer and let them play outside and interact with other children, still it wouldn't hurt to let the children learn while doing what they like to do.

If you are considering online tutorials and don't know where to start, send me an e-mail at miavenus[AT]hellokitty[DOT]com. I'd be very glad to send you my resume. :)

Book Review: Omerta

What is there left for me to say for such a capturing, entertaining, and page-turning, magnificent piece of literature? I don't mean to sound overrated here, but this book is just as magnificent as The Godfather itself.

Here's the summary from GoodReads.com:

To Don Raymonde Aprile's children he was a loyal family member, their father's adopted "nephew." To the FBI he was a man who would rather ride his horses than do Mob business. No one knew why Aprile, the last great American Don, had adopted Astorre Viola many years before in Sicily; no one suspected how he had carefully trained him ... and how, while the Don's children claimed respectable careers in America, Astorre Viola waited for his time to come.

Now his time has arrived. The Don is dead, his murder one bloody act in a drama of ambition and deceit --- from the deadly compromises made by an FBI agent to the greed of two crooked NYPD detectives and the frightening plans of a South American Mob kingpin. In a collision of enemies and lovers, betrayers and loyal soldiers, Astorre Viola will claim his destiny. Because after all these years, this moment is in his blood ...

Mario Puzo truly is a great author of mafia stories; with his knowledge of mafia stories, federal strategies and his creativity, he was able to make his readers crave for more of each of his works. I honestly find Omerta very compelling, and although I felt that there should still be more to it, I find its ending satisfying.

Each page is like a movie scene, reeling before your very eyes. This book made me want to make a movie out of it. Five cookies!

    

Bloggers.com Featured Profile

I was really surprised to have a couple of new foreign Twitter followers yesterday when I came home from church. I accepted their requests of course, but little did I know that my profile on Bloggers.com was already featured. It took me about two hours to finally see their tweets about me and well, as usual when I get shocked and excited, I screamed like a little girl--literally. :blush:

So yeah, it rattled a couple of living things in this huge box and it may be a little embarrassing but I was just so in awe because I haven't even accessed my Bloggers.com profile for weeks! Plus, I was not sure I was even getting votes let alone enough to be featured, but I did and I am just really thankful.

I've received comments from people I don't even know congratulating me and some were even telling me that they're glad I was finally featured. And I was just like, "Wow!" there really are people reading my blog after all and some of them really liked what I write about. And although the comments were not that many that it floods my comment box on Bloggers.com, still they're something. Oh no, scratch that, that's really something! :D

Thank you for all the people who commented, voted and liked my blog! I was honestly thinking of transferring this blog to my other domain because I cannot access it without a proxy, but with such honor, how could I ever do it? I might just stick to using proxies just to add some content. Cheers guys and Godspeed everyone! :D

Ilocos, Wedding, Teaching Demo, Contest and Used Books

Well the title is really lame and blatant, sorry for that. I should really be sleeping now but I just really want to blog about the past three weeks. I know I should have blogged sooner, like right after I got home from the four day tour to Ilocos, but work load seemed to have piled up in an instant when I got back. So here I am, writing this late at night, powered by caffeine. This is going to be another lengthy post, so please bear with me since I tend to forget things easily that I just had to write everything down.

Ilocos Tour

I finally did it! After years of waiting for the right time to go on a vacation in Ilocos it finally happened and who would have thought that I'd be doing it with the entire College of Education?

As you know (if you have read my previous post) I wasn't really psyched about going to Ilocos when the tour date was finalized and announced because it was sooner than I expected and I was just starting to save for my pocket money. Luckily, my mom was generous enough (as always) to provide me with everything I needed prior the trip. Mac also bought me snacks for the bus and he bought me an iPad too, partly so I wouldn't be bored during the long trip and I guess it's an advance anniversary present :P

Anyway, Ilocos was wonderful! I never thought I'd enjoy it as much as I did. The following were our itineraries for three days:

First Day: Vigan, Pagudpud, Polaris Beach Resort, Bangui Windmills, Patapat Bridge, Burgos Lighthouse, La Elliana Hotel, La Preciosa Restaurant. Second Day: Paoay Church, Malacañang of the North, Bagnos Laoag Sinkung Bell Tower, St. Monica Church, Marcos Mausoleum and Memorabilia, Museo Ilocos Norte, Pidig Chirch, Salcedo Hotel, Third Day:The Miraculous Vigan Church, Plaza Burgos - Burgos Museum, Juan Luna Museum, Hidden Garden, Shrine of Our Lady of Charity

I loved every bit of it, no matter how long the trip was and no matter how tiring it could be to tour and walk around different places all day. It's an experience I wish to do all over again, perhaps in other places too. Here are photos by the way, I'll let them speak for me.



My Kuya's Wedding

So my older brother got married last Saturday, February 9th, I was part of the entourage and it was just simply fun and exciting. I am really happy that he finally decided to settle down and start a family of his own. I honestly admire him for being able to hold it too long to get married, I mean he's already in his mid-thirties and he just got married. Although I think he should have done that years ago, but I guess he wasn't ready then and it left me thinking how does one know that he or she is ready to get married and start a family?

The musing just got worse when I caught the bouquet during the reception...I know it's too early to be talking about weddings, but I guess that's just a wake up call for me, that I should be doing my best to attain my goals and finish project "Mia" first before I think about starting project "wedding". Perhaps one needs to finish certain things first, you know like accomplish career and personal goals before planning for the big day, and I think that's what I should really do now before I start considering hiring a pre-nup photographer.

Apparently, the divider between student life and reality becomes thinner as graduation day comes closer, making me think about what I really wanted to do first after I graduate. I need to get my plan laid out once and for all, although I know I won't always attain them all, but it's worth a try and it may also just serve as a guide as to what I should accomplish in the following years to come before I finally throw my own bouquet on my wedding night. ;)





Final Teaching Demonstration

In other news, I have been preparing for my final teaching demonstration. I have been under a lot of mental and a bit of physical stress lately just trying to get my presentation done and sensible, hence the reason why I wasn't able to blog immediately. So far though I am doing great, I have finally pulled my head off stand-by mode and started working on my learning guide and invitation designs.

I finished all three today, the final presentation, my learning guide and my invitation card. I will be having my final lesson dry-run on Monday, hopefully this time I'll be able to discuss my lesson about Les Miserables (the novel) in just 30 minutes so that I'd still have ample time for the group enrichment activities, reporting and closure activities. I tested my first presentation last Monday and I wasn't able to give the group activities within one period because of the long discussion. So I made major adjustments with the help of my cooperating teacher; gosh, I really don't know where I'd be without her, I wish she knows how grateful I am to have her as my cooperating teacher since I'm not really good in expressing my feelings verbally, hence the reason I keep a blog. :))

Anyway, Felice had her demo earlier today and I'm just happy that she finally got over with it and she was able to pull through perfectly. I am really proud of her and I'm extremely grateful that all her hard work had paid off and it paid off well. Mine will be on Tuesday and I'm fervently praying that I'd get similar results.


Contest and Used Books

I won first place in PixieChronicle.com's giveaway! :D I won a .info domain, a $20 coupon for romwe.com and three months advertising on Marinella Rose's blogs! AWESOME right? :D Will announce my new domain soon :)

Late last month, I discovered a second hand book bargain shop online and what's better is that it's totally legit and some percentage of the books you buy gets to be donated to charity. It's BetterWorldBooks.com!

I ordered a couple of books that I have been dying to read for ages. I know I could have just settled with the ebooks, but there really are some books that I want to read in print. Although while waiting for my books to arrive today I did finish about five books, all zombie novels and four of which were written by Jesse Petersen ;)

So yes, that's right. The books I ordered finally came in the mail today and I am so excited in reading them all! But perhaps I won't be able to pick up one of them until after I finish my final teaching demo and after I finish my narrative reports too. So it kind of sucks but it sort of adds to the excitement anyway. :P

By the way, before I end this post I wish to apologize to my blog friends for not being able to visit their sites in the last three weeks, I promise to do it ASAP. Cheers!

The Zombie Whisperer by Jesse Petersen

Although the story is quite predictable and the cover is a little off, still this final book in the Living with the Dead series is a better ending than I have expected.

In this last book, we follow Dave and Sarah who are living a quiet life in a farmhouse somewhere in Montana after their heart pounding adventure in the previous book. This time though, Dave was reluctant to leave the farm but Sarah thinks otherwise, until a chopper landed on their yard revealing Nicole and The Kid asking them to go back to some lab in Seattle with them, wherein they have continued the research about the cure and the process of exterminating hordes of the undead using the cure.

Eventually, Dave got Sarah to agree to go back to Seattle where the apocalypse began, and there, a new adventure began. They met new people, fought more zombies to clear out some parts of the university, fixing the fence, unfolding secrets in which Sarah had her fair share of and betrayal.

Towards the middle of the novel, Sarah confessed that she's pregnant and she have been keeping it from Dave and everyone all along, that is why she didn't want to leave for Seattle in the first place. But there seemed to be something wrong with their baby, it seemed that it has acquired Dave's 'bionic' traits and it grows faster everyday. With this, Sarah and Dave have attracted some unexpected guests from the previous book and are now after their little Zombie.

I honestly find it quite unoriginal, with the fast paced pregnancy and the physical toll it brought to Sarah, add to that Dave's cold reaction and feelings towards their baby. It really reminded me of Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn, but then again, it's entertaining, especially that readers get to read about Dave's thoughts about the events and an additional narrator was added when Sarah was knocked out and kidnapped towards the end of the story. At the end, as expected, they managed to survive another breathtaking and life-risking event which saved the world from further destruction and slowly restored it to become a safer and livable place.

It was still action packed and still gives me the urge to keep on reading until the very last page. And although it has become quite Breaking Dawn-ish and had some errors in the text, I still loved it. Four cookies!

Eat.Slay.Love by Jesse Petersen

Yes, I pledge guilty for being addicted in reading the books in this series and you can put all the blame to Jesse Petersen. I just had to buy the third book (in ebook form) in the Living with the Dead series after finishing the second one. Although the second book was lengthy enough, still I can't get enough of Sarah and David; I just sort of fell in love with them and their story.

I honestly liked this book better than the previous ones in the series. I guess it's because of the less predictable scenarios and more action filled pages. Zombies doesn't seem to be the main problem of Sarah and David now in this part of the series, and I liked that the author was able to look into the fact that fellow humans are also a huge threat to other survivors but she was able to balance out the situation with Kathleen's character and her crew.

Found bits of errors in the text though, like misused words and wrong use of linking verbs, but it may just be because I was reading the ebook format. Anyway, the ending was a bit lacking as usual, but at some point I really thought that it was the last book in the series. I just sort of fell in love with Sarah and David, that at some point I got disappointed thinking it was the last book, but alas! It is not.

It was a short read, but it's something zombie novel lovers would definitely enjoy. :) Four cookies and a high five! haha :D

Flip This Zombie by Jesse Petersen

As I have mentioned with my previous review of the first book in the Living with the Dead series, the story left me asking for more and true enough, the second book in the series filled the lacking space that the first book left. So I acquired an ebook of the second book and started reading away as if I've nothing to do at all.

In the second book, we follow Dave and Sarah forming some sort of a trade business during the apocalypse by means of zombie extermination. They were tasked to kill zombies for other survivors in exchange for supplies, and with their team work and what seemed to be a stronger marriage, they slashed and fired away every zombie in their way.

Until they came across a scientist who claims to have been studying the "epidemic" and who is in the process of finding the cure in an underground lab of an old military warehouse. The scientist hired them and sent them to missions where they encountered stronger zombies which apparently revived some of the logic left in them, that made Sarah and Dave call them "bionics". During their first mission, they have also come across with a pre-teen boy, whom they address to as "The Kid" throughout the story.

Towards the latter part of the novel, the couple discovered far difficult challenges more than the apocalypse itself, and it's the mad-scientist, the cure and Dave getting bitten.

The second book is definitely better than the first book. Far more exciting and action packed and more witty, if I must say. Not as disappointingly short either. I honestly liked it better than the first one. The language situation was practically the same though, but it gave the book a more personal diary feel to it, as if Sarah was really writing it herself rather than just plainly narrating it.

I really can't wait to read Eat. Slay. Love. :) This deserves four cookies.

Married With Zombies by Jesse Petersen

Thanks to Manel Loureiro, I decided to go on a Zombie novel reading marathon. I am having my internship and the vacant time could get really boring, so I decided to give Jesse Petersen a shot with the first part of the Living with the Dead series, Married with Zombies.

Married with Zombies tells us the tale of a married couple Sarah and David who, at the time of the spark of the apocalypse, were at the brink of divorce and are going to couple's counseling. During one of their sessions they noticed that the road was unusually practically empty, considering that they live in Seattle wherein traffic was just part of their lives. Apart from that, they found their therapist ripping the client before them into shreds.

With the world starting to fall apart and humanity into shambles and hordes of the undead, Sarah and David realized and learned far greater things about themselves and their relationship, which eventually saved their marriage and made them stronger.

This is really a good book to read if you are a fan of zombie novels or if you're just looking for an easy, adventure packed, book. Although it lacks more story towards the end, still it was action packed and a really enjoyable book to read. It will definitely leave you asking for more of it, so I'm giving this book four cookies for the awesome, action-packed adventure.

Book Review: Bohemia by Veronika Carnaby

Sometime in mid-December last year, I received an e-mail from Ms. Veronika Carnaby herself, asking me to write a review for her debut novel, Bohemia. Along with the e-mail came a free digital copy of the novel itself, and I couldn’t be more grateful about it.

I still could not believe that she chose me and my blog to write and feature a review about her novel; it’s such an honor to be one of the chosen few. So enough of raving, here’s the book’s plot:

Book Summary:

In her debut novel, Veronika Carnaby picks up where the Beat Generation left off. Set in 1960, Bohemia chronicles a group of twenty-somethings who defy the "ideals" of a mid-twentieth century society to seek creative fulfillment. In the process, they spotlight the creative path that artists of all mediums tread, all the while depicting the challenges faced by youth in the decade that changed the world.

My thoughts:

Bohemia is really my type of novel, considering that I have this burning passion for everything nostalgic, and it’s really not that hard to fall in love with it. Veronika Carnaby’s way of weaving words, events and characters together is totally capturing. It was as if I am slowly being taken back into time in the 60’s and watch everything happen before my eyes. She really did paint pictures with words, and that’s my number one basis of a great book.

Bohemia is very realistic as well. Considering the time-table of the story, I think it was really difficult for a person to write something based from a very different era, but everything came naturally with Bohemia, from the jargon, the culture to the fashion. It’s that sort of book that makes you crave for more as the story progresses and leaves you disappointed in the last page because you think there should be more to it.

Veronika Carnaby was able to bring back the 60’s in this modern world and introduced it to another generation with downright success through her debut novel.

Bohemia is a very easy read, in my opinion, it’s not too long but it’s not too short as well, and it’s really capturing. I personally recommend it to anyone who’s planning to build a reading list, or to add it to their existing ones as this is really a great addition to any booklover’s shelf.

About Veronika Carnaby:

American writer and poet Veronika Carnaby carries a vintage charm about her that transcends well into her written works. Recognized for her Beat-style prose and innovative voice, Carnaby’s pieces have gained international recognition after appearing in such publications and functions as The Ed Sullivan Show, Empty Mirror Magazine, Dan's Papers Literary Journal, SESAC Magazine, SXSW, and the SESAC New York Music Awards. In past projects, she has worked with the likes of Archie Shepp, Ben E. King, and prolific Nashville songwriter and co-owner of Bug Music, Roger Murrah, among others. Since receiving the 2001 Young Authors Award for Excellence in Short Story Writing, she has welcomed the opportunity to share ideas of literary merit with the circles of Sir Paul McCartney, Roger McGuinn, Nancy Sinatra, and Roger Waters.

Channeling the caliber of her greatest influences, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, The Beatles, and Bob Dylan, Carnaby infuses her writing with a poignancy and passion for literature, music, and twentieth century culture. Whether through her feats or her unprecedented knack for the written word, Carnaby has etched an indelible mark as a pioneer in her own right.

You may check out Ms. Carnaby's personal website here. You might also want your own copy of the novel. It's available on Amazon.com for only $9.99. ^_^

Book Review: Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End

I kicked off my 2013 with a Zombie novel because I was really getting impatient from waiting for the season comeback of The Walking Dead. I am just really grateful of Goodreads as it has been my guide to great books recently. I have my Goodreads account for a while now, but it wasn't until recently that I made use of it. LOL

I found a good zombie book written by a Spanish author and the first book in his series was translated in English, so I decided to go with it. I immediately looked for an ebook, bought it and just started with my adventure.


Plot from Goodreads:
The dead rise…

A mysterious incident in Russia, a blip buried in the news—it’s the only warning humanity receives that civilization will soon be destroyed by a single, voracious virus that creates monsters of men.

Humanity falls…

A lawyer, still grieving over the death of his young wife, begins to write as a form of therapy. But he never expected that his anonymous blog would ultimately record humanity’s last days.

The end of the world has begun…

Governments scramble to stop the zombie virus, people panic, so-called “Safe Havens” are established, the world erupts into chaos; soon it’s every man, woman, and child for themselves. Armed only with makeshift weapons and the will to live, a lone survivor will give mankind one last chance against…

My Review: It was a bit boring at first as it's written in diary form, sort of like Jonathan Harker's diary in Bram Stoker's Dracula. But like the said novel, the story gets better as it progresses; it's naturally written style, I think, is what made this novel easy to read, while the events made it more exciting to read. Loureiro, although I have never read his previous works, captured me with every line of this book with its realistic turn of events and its heart-pounding horde chases, gun shootings and car drifting. I am honestly getting impatient waiting for the English version of the second book.

I'm giving this book five cookies for the awesome flesh-hunting, heart-pounding adventure. :)