The Girl in the Steel Corset

The Girl in the Steel Corset had been sitting on my TBR list for almost two years before I decided to read it. It was part of my Off The Shelf Challenge in 2012 for e-books and I planned to finish it before the year ends but after the first chapter I stopped reading because I liked it so much I need to have a hard copy.

The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

Steampunk Chronicles #1
Trade Paperback, Harlequin Teen, 480 pages
YA, Steampunk

Read from January 07 to 13, 2013

In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one… except the “thing” inside her.

When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch.

Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her and says she’s special, says she’s one of them . The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets, against the wises of his band of misfits. And Finley thinks she might finally be a part of something, finally fit in-until a criminal mastermind known as Machinist threatens to tear the group apart.

 

I was on a book hunting rampage for almost a month, but no luck. I couldn’t find a copy in any local bookstores. My only option then was to order it from Book Depository but the wait to get it delivered will kill me (Yes, I was that desperate). It was the holiday season and I know the delivery would take some time. I included it in my GR wish list as a last resort in hope that a kindhearted bookish soul would give it to me.  And yes, someone did.

The “Grace” sisters gave this to me. Thank you Grace & Kai!

As everybody knows majority of the books I read are contemporary.  I seldom pick up UF/F/Steam punk novels but when I do, oh gosh, I devour them! TGitSC was part of my fantasy marathon in January and it’s an easy favorite. Cross’ debut novel is wow.

I like heroines who know how to kick some ass. Make them conflicted, bold, volatile and fearless—I’ll love them! Finley Jane has it all. She’s one helluva of a fighter. Having two personalities in one body makes her a psychological freak but it also made the plot exciting and different. It’ll make you wonder what side of her will win or if she’ll be able to come into terms with her evil dark side. It’s not that I’m pro-violence. I just like heroines who give me the “Charlie’s Angels” vibe (though Finley is far from being an angel).

Griffin King is O-KAAAY. Did I tell you I have a penchant for London Society? I was always fascinated with nobility. I read Historical Romance for this reason. And Griffin being a Duke makes him an automatic book boyfriend material! Haha. Seriously, it’s a plus but not entirely the reason why I find him a possible book boyfriend. He is nice. He doesn’t have the “you-can’t-touch-me-attitude” of a man in his position. He’s a gentleman. And he got a nice behind. Ayiii.

One of the things I liked in this book is how romance isn’t the main focus of the story. We know it’s there, we see how Griffin and Finley gradually develop their relationship but Cross didn’t deviate from the novel’s main plot to rush their budding romance. At least we have something to anticipate in this series. The supporting characters are fine too. I like Emily’s brilliant mind, Jasper’s happy-go-lucky, western attitude and Jack’s bad boy, mysterious aura. Sam is the only character I didn’t like in this book. He’s a stupid, selfish, ingrate man.

A lot had been said about this novel, but if you love taking risk and is up to reading something different, The Girl in a Steel Corset is a must try.

Fantabulous: I can’t stop talking about it!

Other Reviews:
Dark Faerie Tales
reading is the ultimate aphrodisiac.
ermilia

Challenges:

Book # 4 of 2013

Blurb and Cover Photo: Goodreads

It Takes a Man and a Woman: Movie Review

Sarah Geronimo and John Lloyd Cruz had proven once again that their tandem is a blockbuster hit. It Takes a Man and a Woman is the third installment of the highly anticipated love story of Laida Magtalas and Miggy Montenegro. I had a hard time convincing Jeff to come with me and watch the film given the long queue and Iron Man as its competitor but I finally managed to tag him along and watched it last week.

It Takes a Man and a Woman (2013)
Star Cinema and Viva Films

Duration: 120 minutes
Released Date: March 30, 2013

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Watched on April 2013

The film follows the life of Miggy (John Lloyd Cruz) and Laida (Sarah Geronimo) after their break-up which occurred after the events in the second film.

Miggy, is now in a relationship with Belle (Isabelle Daza) while Laida is now a fiercer woman after living in the United States. They try to co-exist in the same company while Laida tries to oppose Miggy’s business decisions through a series of events which made them realize the real definition of true love.₁

Director: Cathy Garcia-Molina
Writers: Carmi Raymundo & Raz de la Torre

Stars: John Lloyd Cruz, Sarah Geronimo, Isabelle Daza

 

If you’ve read my Filipino movie reviews, you’d know that Sarah G. is my guilty pleasure. I’d seen the first two films and swear I wouldn’t miss the final installment. The teaser shown a month before its release was intriguing and was an enough push for movie goers (and those who’ve followed Laida and Miggy’s relationship) to see the film and find out how a happy, super in love couple broke up.

This third movie had the same formula that made the first two movies a hit. Sarah and John Lloyd’s chemistry is undeniable. Their sweet, kilig moments will make you smile.  And the hirits? It’ll give you hearty, boisterous burst of laughter! But what set this apart from the first two films are the maturity of the characters and the difficult situations they dealt with that made them who they are now. The feelings of betrayal, pain, lost and forgiveness added depth to the story.

The cast is commendable. Zoila and friends added fun to the film. Laida’s parents and Belle made the plot stronger. John Lloyd is good. He had the Miggy vibe we loved and hated. Sarah G. is as vibrant as ever. Her perky, chic demeanor is a contrast to the sophisticated, classy Belle. She still had the tendency to overact but since the supporting cast & John Lloyd carried her well, it isn’t as annoying as her other films. I liked it so why 3 Kiss Marks? I was amused but it failed to amaze me. It isn’t as bad as the other rom-coms I’ve seen in the past but the ending was a disappointment. Like, duhhh? The proposal and wedding are super-duper-mega-over-corny! Need I say more? I was close into giving this a 4-kiss mark rating but the last 10-15 minutes of the film ruined it.

If you are looking for a good Filipino rom-com to watch, put It takes a Man and a Woman in your list. And if you can’t convince your boyfriend(s) to come with you, don’t make them. Go watch it with friends. Trust me. I know. I owe him an action flick film for making him endure almost two hours of cheesiness (his words not mine).

Mediocre: I can tolerate it but I want more!

3.5 Drama Awards – Acceptable but not eye catchy.

Other Reviews:
TIT FOR TAT
elizabethramosgonzales
in the pink of

₁ Wikipedia
Movie Trailer: Viva Ent(YouTube)

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What’s Up Friday? (11)

Updates of what’s keeping me busy and what’s in store for the month.

Hello! After several weeks of being MIA, I finally felt the urge to be social again. I’m so thrilled to be back! The weeks of silence in all social media sites and my absence in most social gatherings had been a nice change. I know I’d been busy with online games but that isn’t just the reason why I haven’t been anywhere lately. Life had gotten on the way and there were challenges that dampened my spirit. I got really tired and I want a moment of peace—a time to think things through.

The first thing I did was to see my TFG friends. Oh my. I missed them. Because I can’t say no to TFG’s 3rd year anniversary party, I went to F2F 16 without even reading a single page of Gilead. Obviously, I “missed” a lot of happenings (or more of chismis) in my brief absence. So I had a lot of catching up to do. I also went online on Twitter for the past days and WOW. It was freaking fun. I got updated with people’s raves, rants, cat fights and crazy, nonsense, irritating tweets!

Watch Pad
Series

Aw. I haven’t checked any new Asian series. Suggestions? I’ll review Rooftop Prince anytime this month. I’m also looking forward into seeing Flower Boy Next Door and Missing You though I’m not sure yet of what to watch this month. I’d have to check first and see what’ll get my attention.

Movies
I’m on a Filipino Movie Marathon for May! It started with It takes a Man and Woman then out of the blue I listed a couple of Pinoy films I’d want to see.

Book Corner

This is going to be tricky. My reading is not back in full swing yet. I’m into my “depending-on-my-mood” reading again so I’m struggling with my “supposedly” reading plan. Being away doesn’t mean I didn’t read. I did, around 10-15 books? I’m just not in the mood to update my GR account. The books I read are random. Gaadd, I even went back to Historical Romance hoping it would ignite my sleeping bookworm blood. But no luck. I’m not there yet. *sings “let’s take it slow… so slow…”*

Currently Reading
Ahm. Nothing? Magic Burns and Cloud Atlas are on my GR’s Currently Reading Shelf for 48 years now. Haha.

Next Read
I hope I can read Why We Broke Up this month. It’s a spillover of my Required Reading for February and I wish that Maria is wrong (this will not be my spillover on June, nooooo!)

Being away for some time helped and made me appreciate being online and social again. I’m hoping May would be fabulous and exciting. I’d be here, maybe not as often as before, but one thing I know is for sure—I. Am. Back.

P.S.
I haven’t gotten rid of Ragnarok 2. I guess it would stay for a while. iRO2 NA opened this week and Philippines is up next this June. I’m still playing RO2 SEA and look at my character now. ^.^

Look at that! Finally level 50 and I have a Bapho Staff! But not enough players are in the game anymore. So I have to jump ship to NA.

I’m thinking of playing Tera Online. I already created a character and tried it for a few minutes but I’m still having difficulty with the controls, so maybe I won’t play it… yet.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia, Korean Drama

 

The Reason for my Blog Silence

Yo! Hiya everyone! Breaking my silence to let you know why I’m off on blogging for a while now.

My Ranger character in Jormungand. The image isn’t detailed because my VGA sucks. I have to change it and once I have a new VGA, I’ll play Tera Online! Hah.

See that? Yeah. Still playing Ragnarok 2 though its pretty obvious that the game is nearing it’s death. I reached level 50 for my Ranger character in Jormungand after a month of playing. There had been a big drop in the community which affected this server most, so I was already thinking of dropping the game. However, my gamer friends in the office started playing in another server and they coaxed me of creating a new character in Freyja.

That’s why I’m starting all over again with a new class. Meet SariaBelle. My Sorcerer.

11 levels na lang! ^_^

I’m still not used to playing this class where I can support and attack at the same time. Kind of makes me go gaga in dungeons because you have to semi-support and kill too. Unlike in my Ranger, all I have to do is attack and kill. The casting time is also a bitch. I don’t know if I’m useful or useless in dungeons because by the time I finish casting, my target’s already dead. Those DPS really hit fast, you know? LOL.

I also tried the PvP Colosseum using this class and I’m such a noob. Got kicked out after the first three rounds because I can’t figure out how to target the players! I’m used to tabbing my targets but I found out after researching that I have to click on the players to attack them. WTF. I’ll reach level 50, semi-complete my equipment (it’s hard to get the epic items immediately) and kill them all!

It’s fun playing with friends you know in real life. You’ll have an automatic party in entering dungeons and killing mini bosses for Khara. We also talk about this in the office non-stop. Haha.

I might not be active in blogging for a few more weeks. And I’m also packing my things to move in to Jeff’s place. A little busy in the office as well. Hmfff. But I’ll be back. =) (Or in gaming language, “GTG AFK BRB“)

For those who play, see you! Ro2 @ Freyja, SariaBelle!