A Penny For Your Thoughts, Book review, Down The Memory Lane, Time Heals What Love And Reason Cannot

Captured by Grace

2 Comments

Feeling low in spirit as of late, and desperately needing a superhero, a savior to rescue me and tell me that everything will be all right, I was captivated and mesmerized by this beautiful book by Dr. David Jeremiah.

Entitled: Captured by Grace

And with the subtitle that caught my heart… No One is Beyond the Reach of a Loving God. The first time I saw this book, I knew that I must have this book.

This whole book is an absolute comfort and encouragement to the believer in many ways.

The underlying theme of this book is grace but once you read this book you will “see” much more of God’s love for you and that He provided the gift of grace so that you might have a rich and true life in Him, and to be captured by His grace.

The author points out that we are saved by grace through the selfless acts of Jesus our savior and we are filled by the Holy Spirit and become an entity ,a sacred temple of the Spirit of God.

Sometimes we all lost the purpose of life, we find that our world is shattering and the whole world is against us. And we find it hard to continue going on. If you struggle with your life or have an inner crisis this is a great book to call upon our hero, God, and be captured by His grace and believe once more, that whatever happens…He shall take care of us without fail, in His own majestic way, beyond human comprehension.

For the first time, this is a 5 star, spiritual read for me. Food for the soul. Absolutely recommended for those who are in low in spirit, and in need of comfort from up above, and those who need to believe again.

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their Booksneeze bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review and therefore, the book review is 100% my own opinion.

Cleffairy: Count it all joy when you fall into various trials knowing that the testing of your faith develops patience. But let patience have its’ perfect work, that you might be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4)

Continue Reading

A Penny For Your Thoughts, Book review, Time Heals What Love And Reason Cannot, writing

Resurrection in May

12 Comments

It’s been rainy and it’s been really depressing. Everything seems to be gloomy and dark, and thank God for Resurrection in May. It arrived from US just in time to cheer me up and brightens my day… er… night. Resurrection in May gives me a yet another reason to stay away from the bloody PC and to snuggle up with a good book again before I go to sleep. This is my fifth book from Booksneeze. 😀 Can you believe it? Five free books from them. 😛

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their Booksneeze bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review and therefore, the book review is 100% my own opinion.

Resurrection In May written by Lisa Samson revolves around May Seymour, a graduated from college with the world at her feet and no idea what to do with it. A mission trip to Rwanda brought her a sense of purpose in loving others. During the trip, the genocide began and she chose to remain in the village, which was subsequently slaughtered mercilessly. Only May survived the genocide, and she was completely traumatized by her entire experience.

So, May journeyed to heal on the farm of Claudius Borne, a sweet, old man who understood plants and animals far better than people. She stayed there for many years.

The story is then fast forward to years later and having not stepped a foot off Claudius’ farm, May learns an old college flame, now a death-row inmate, is refusing to appeal his sentence. Can she convince him to grab hold of life once again?

Their surprising friendship turns the tables, for the prisoner, Eli Campbell, has a deeper faith from which to draw than she. Eli slowly begins to pull May from her cloistered and recluse existence. With the help of Eli, their tiny town, and ultimately a renewal of faith, May comes to life once again.

This book is a story about faith, liberation, hope, and second chances. This is also a story of love. How it sneaks into your heart when you’re most unaware of it. I enjoyed the correspondence between may and Eli, and I must say, they’re touching, and could really make you think.

If you think that this book is a fluff of a fiction, then you’re dead wrong. This is no ordinary easy read. It’s emotional, melodramatic, and above all, eye-opening.

Would I recommend this book to you? Yes, cuz it’s not only beautifully and creatively written, but it’s also thoughts provoking. Resurrection in May, is a beautiful story about redemption.

I rate this 4 out of 5 star.

Cleffairy: There are things that will uplift your spirit when you’re down. There are things that will give you hope when you cry out of distress, and there are things that will strengthen your faith for God, and this book is one of it. An inspirational read, definitely.

Continue Reading

A Penny For Your Thoughts, Book review, Mythology/ History

The Last Wife of Henry VIII

16 Comments
This is yet another book that I borrowed from Smallkucing’s Mamarazzi, and like Empress Orchid and The Last Empress by Anchee Min, this book, entitled, The Last Wife of Henry VIII written by Carolly Erickson intrigue me to the point that I found the book really hard to put down. I finished reading all the three books within 2 days, and I must say, all of the books whisked me away into both Ancient China and Medieval England.
The Last Wife of Henry VIII tells the story of Catherine Parr, the sixth and last wife of Henry VIII of England. Catherine Parr, affectionately known as Cat Parr in the story brings you into the world where heads rolled everyday at the pleasure of the King and England trembles.
While history books reduced all Henry’s Queens into some sort of historical figure, this book tells the story of Catherine Parr delicately and emotionally while weaving historical facts into it.

From her childhood, Catherine Parr lives on the fringes of the court of Henry VIII, her mother was Catherine of Aragon’s (Henry’s first wife)lady-in-waiting.

As the years goes by, Henry bestows the favors of his friendship, and Catherine is lulled into a false sense of security by the King, never imaging that the king will one day set his lusty eyes on her as his sixth wife.

When his attentions become inappropriate, Catherine is happy to be free of this unpredictable court, deeply in love with her unprepossessing husband, Ned Burgh, although Burgh’s family estates are obtained through the intercession of the king.

When Ned dies in a tragic accident barely a year into their marriage, Catherine’s lands are claimed by her irascible father-in-law and his powerful contacts in the church. A marriage to John Neville, Lord Latimer, affords Catherine some sanctuary, her much older husband demanding little but her affection.

Catherine is challenged to protect her interests through religious turmoil and rebellion against the king, her husband growing fragile and incapable of running their affairs. Ambushed by a long-averted by need for affection, Catherine falls hopelessly in love with Thomas Seymour, uncle to the unhealthy young prince Edward, heir of Henry through Jane Seymour.

Although he has promised to marry Catherine after the elderly Lord Latimer dies, Seymour has ambitions of his own; it is Thomas Seymour, in fact, who delivers the news to his intended that Henry intends to marry Catherine soon after the beheading of the foolish Catherine Howard.

When Henry VIII of England fell in lust with Catherine Parr, he had just had his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, executed for deceiving him. He divorced his fourth queen, the German Anne Of Cleves, because he was not attracted to her. Henry dubbed Anne of Cleves the Flanders’s mare.

He’d lost his third wife, Jane Seymour, after she gave birth to his only legitimate son. Henry put aside his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and split with the Church of Rome in order to divorce her, so that he could marry his second wife, Anne Boleyn, only to have Anne executed for treason for betraying him.

Knowing that history, and apparently already engaged to Jane Seymour’s brother, Thomas Seymour, Catherine Parr was both reluctant to marry Henry, and aware that refusing could have serious consequences for herself and her family.

So Catherine Parr married Henry VIII of England on July 12, 1543, and by all accounts was a patient, loving, and pious wife to him in his last years of illness, disillusion, and pain.

Catherine Parr was the daughter of Sir Thomas Parr, who served as Henry’s Master of the Household, and Maud Green. She was educated well, including in Latin, Greek, and modern languages, and she also learned theology. Catherine was first married to Edward Borough until he died in 1529, and then to John Neville, Lord Latimer, who died in 1542.

Catherine Parr helped reconcile Henry to his two daughters, Mary (Bloody Mary), daughter of Catherine of Aragon, and Elizabeth (The Future Queen Elizabeth I), daughter of Anne Boleyn. Under her influence, they were educated and restored to the succession. Catherine Parr also directed the education of her stepson, the future Edward VI.

Catherine was sympathetic to Protestant cause, and could argue fine points of theology with Henry, occasionally infuriating him so much that he threatened her with execution. She probably tempered his persecution of Protestants under the Act of the Six Articles. Catherine herself narrowly escaped being implicated with Anne Askew.

Catherine Parr served as Henry’s regent in 1544 when he was in France, but when Henry died in 1547, Catherine was not made regent for Edward. Catherine and her former lover, Thomas Seymour the regent. Thomas Seymour was the Edward’s Lord protector. He was Edward’s uncle and did have some influence with Edward, including obtaining his permission to marry, which they did on April 4, 1547.

Catherine gave birth to her only child, a daughter whom she called Mary, in August, 1548, and died a few days later of puerperal fever. There have been suspicions that her husband poisoned her in order to marry the Princess Elizabeth.

This book is a five star read, though I would not recommend this book to those who likes happily ever after. This book is no fairy tale, and has no happily ever after in it. This is not a story of a romance. It tells the story of a woman who was a Queen. A Queen who lives in the time where love is rather unreachable and power is the only thing that can give you the sense of security.

This is also not a novel for those who are squeamish, for there are parts where executions are described so vividly that it could easily give one nightmares.

Take this as an example. The author was describing the execution of Henry’s firth wife through the eyes of Catherine Parr:

Her hands shaking, she took off her hood and knelt down, crossed herself, and laid her head on the cold wooden block. The headsman took the heavy axe, lifted it, and brought it down with a loud thwack. I shut my eyes. I couldn’t watch. When I opened them I saw a ghastly sight. Blood was spurting out from the wounded neck, flowing down over the wooden block and onto the black gown, staining it crimson. The body was heaving, the hands and arms twitching and fluttering like wings of a dying chicken. But the head hung, limp and all but lifeless, mouth agape, and eyes staring, still attached to the body. The headsman lifted the axe a second time, and struck, and then a third. Finally the head fell onto the planking of the scaffold with a soft thud, the Queen’s beautiful long auburn hair reddened with gore.

If you put yourself in Catherine’s Parr’s position, I daresay that you could imagine the horror she felt, as she was the next one to be Henry’s Queen.

Yes, this is no happily ever after. This is life. This is history. And if you like realistic story and into historical fiction, you will like this novel.

Cleffairy: What would you do if you have no choice but marry a man who never even hesitate to chop off his wife’s head?

Continue Reading

A Penny For Your Thoughts, Book review, Mythology/ History

Betrayal& survival in the Forbidden City

15 Comments

In my last entry, I penned down my thoughts about prostitutes as well as Empress Orchid by Anchee Min book.

This is a continuation of that entry. This time, I’ll be reviewing The Last Empress by Anchee Min- the sequel to Empress Orchid.

I pestered Smallkucing’s Mamarazzi for quite some time for both of the books, and she had generously lend the books to me, so I think that it’s only fair that I do some justice to her, and the books by reviewing it. 😀

This historical fiction, a continuation of Empress Orchid hurl you into the world of the last empress of China. An extraordinary and probably one of the most misunderstood woman in history, considering how China is against women ruling above men.

This book… brings you into a world where one could have everything, and yet have nothing; a world where betrayal and ruthlessness is the very key to survival. A story of being… a woman, and just human.

The story begins with the death of Orchid’s mother, and the arising conflict between her and Prince Kung over political matters. The relationship between Orchid and her son, Tung Chih, began  to fall apart too at this point of the story.

Just after Tung Chih’s 17th birthday in 1872, the selection of Imperial consorts for him is completed. The chosen Empress for Tung Chih is a an 18 years old beauty known as Alute.

Orchid was displeased with the selection of Alute as the Empress as she preferred  the daughter of a provincial governor named Foo-cha. But in regards of family matters and decisions regarding to her son Tung Chih, the higher rank wife, Nuharoo’s words is a command, and though Tung Chih is her son, she could not make decisions for him. Nuharoo’s words as ‘first royal mother’ overrule Orchid’s words.

After the selection of Imperial consort for the new Emperor Tung Chih, Antehai, orchid’s eunuch and confidant died. His death had a great emotional impact on Empress Orchid – and it is at this moment that she admits to ‘giving up’ on Tung Chih, as she realizes that her relationship with Tung Chih could never be like the one he shares with Nuharoo.

Around one year later, tension begins to mount between Orchid and  her daughter in law Alute. This is first observed after Tung Chih develops a sexually transmitted disease symptoms. Alute refuses to answer Orchid’s queries about the situation, maintaining that it is between Tung Chih and her alone. Orchid becomes irritated at Alute’s aloofness, and is further annoyed with Alute’s rude attitude towards her. But her annoyance soon turns to happiness when Alute claims that she is pregnant with Tung Chih’s first child.

Tung Chih’s illness worsens and in 1875 he dies with his mother beside him. Around the same time, Alute sends Empress Orchid a message threatening to commit suicide. Convinced that she will give birth to a son, Alute states that she should be entitled to the regency upon giving birth and so expects Orchid to hand over power to her. Empress Orchid refuses to do so, as she believes that Alute only sees the glory of being an Empress. She also believes that Alute has little experience with political and court matters and therefore, rendering her unsuitable for the role as Empress of China.

Upon learning of Orchid’s refusal to step down, Alute commits suicide by dousing herself with opium, smuggled into the Forbidden City by her father.

After the death of Alute, Empress Orchid learns that there was a possibility that Alute’s pregnancy was not real. Orchid also realizes that Alute may have been mentally disturbed.

Yet these possibilities had no effect on English journals describing Orchid as an intimidating character who contributed to the death of her son whilst portraying Alute as the victim. Many foreign reports and articles soon begin printing false reports of Orchid’s actions as ruler of China, suggesting that she is solely responsible for China’s decline due to her cruel regime. However, such stories are seemingly published only to justify their further invasions of China.

After the death of Tung Chih and Alute, Orchid adopts her sister Rong’s son Tsai-Tien after realizing that her sister’s mental disorder caused the death of three of her infant sons.

Orchid then renames her nephew Guang-hsu upon his succession to the Dragon Throne. Initially, Orchid felt no motherly love for her nephew as she only adopted him to prevent his death at Rong’s hand. However, a mother-son bond eventually forms between the two. Nuharoo disagrees with Orchid’s methods of bringing up Guang-hsu, causing yet more tension between the two characters once again…and Orchid felt that it’s the history is repeating itself.

Shortly after the appointment of Guang-hsu as Orchid’s successor, her love interest, Yung Lu announces that he is planning to marry and move away to faraway Sinkiang. Orchid’s health begins to decline badly a short while afterwards. Soon after Orchid realizes that she is no longer at full health, she receives information that Empress Nuharoo has collapsed from an illness. Nuharoo then dies, and rumours suggest that Orchid is responsible for her death.

Several years later (after increasing attacks by foreign countries), Orchid and Guang-hsu move to Ying-Tai. During her stay, Orchid becomes the victim of an attempted assassination, supposedly organized by her adopted son. After Guang-hsu learns of the mistake he made that almost cost Orchid’s life, he becomes deeply shamed and loses the will to live. His attempted reform of China also fails, and he too succumbs to illness. Attacks by a rebellion group named the Boxers soon force Orchid, Guang-hsu and their servants to flee. They return to the Forbidden City after the attacks subside.

Orchid’s health then deteriorates further and during this time, she meets with Robert Hart, an important contributor to the stability of China’s economy. On November 14th 1908, Emperor Guang-hsu dies. Orchid also dies the following day, after appointing her grandnephew Puyi, who is still a child as her successor.

One amazing that that she did before she died was that she left a will, stating that there shall be no more Empress Dowager appointed as regent to those child-Emperors.

I seriously prefer Empress Orchid in comparison to The Last Empress. The Last Empress, while realistic, is also very depressing. It showed that when things get worst, sometimes, things would never be better again, no matter what you do to rectify the problems. Rectifying problems and ruling an empire would require changes, motivation and co-operation, but in this book, the whole China was bound by traditions, and the mindset of the people cannot be changed overnight, hence…the fall of the dynasty.

The Ching dynasty would have fallen, even if it wasn’t in Empress Tsu Hsi’s hand. I doubt the emperors could do much… considering the damages, the corruption, the rebels and not to mention the revolutionists who wants to reform China. Typical of men. When they succeed, they will boast about their conquest. When they fail, they will blame the nearest women. In this case- Empress Orchid.


Cleffairy: In The Last Empress, those emperors are good for nothing, but dying young and leaving their mess to be cleared by others.


Continue Reading

A Penny For Your Thoughts

Of Prostitutes & Review

24 Comments

I’m not feeling so well these days. It must be the damn weather affecting me and making me feverish. Curling up with a good book these days seems to hold more appeal than anything else.

One night, while I was about to nod off, something from the telly caught my attention. A program produced by TV3 known as 999, highlighting all sort of current social issues and crimes.

I did not make it a habit to watch this program, but something caught my attention. A raid by the authorities in a brothel. They were showing pimps and prostitutes clad in skimpy clothes.

All right, at this point, you may ask me… what’s so eye-catchy about the scene? It is not those attractive, perfectly sculptured half nude young female specimens that caught my eyes, but one prostitute in particular. She was clad in nothing but the bed-sheets.

She was in her mid thirties, tanned, rather plump, and not really good looking. That’s not exactly the image of… call-girls or prostitute that I have in mind. I’m absolutely under the illusion that all prostitutes are alluring, sexy, and young.

And then the narration started. Then I found out that the prostitute in question is a widower in her late 30s. Selling her body, serving 8-10 clients per day, earning more than what I earn in a month in just one night. I gasps in shock then, and turned to my husband and asked him why men would be interested to have sex with someone like that? I would understand it if… if she’s young, and sexy, and fair…but she’s…let’s just say she’s not that attractive and yet men are paying to have sex with her.

My husband told me that he doesn’t know why people slept with her…but…a few seconds later, I realized belatedly that what I’ve asked was a very stupid question. It’s almost the same thing where young women go for old, bald, married men but with a load of cash to spare. It is not their virility they after. It is wealth and status.

It’s not quite about some hot, mind blowing sex, isn’t it? It’s about being in the illusion of being in control, getting whatever you desire and being fooled into thinking that you’re on the top of the world…escaping reality. What’s a few hundred, or even a few thousands for such feelings? It is a form of escapism.

Not everyone are lucky enough to get such feelings, and I guess, the job of a professional sex worker is to do just that. That must be why people actually paid that plump prostitute who is in her 30s for companionship instead of choosing those young, doll-like chics.

I assume…there must be competition between her and those younger, prettier, sexier looking prostitute, and to be able to earn so much, to serve so much clients… there must be something that’s she’s really good at; that there’s a lot of clients goes to her repeatedly, enabling her to earn so much in just one night. I think, it’s not just her experience in bed…. but her skills in spinning illusions.

These thoughts, the thoughts of prostitutes, and spinning of illusion and giving some sort of visions to others, reminds me of a book that I’ve read…in this book, prostitution is not only legal, but also thriving, culturally speaking, and the main character, Empress Orchid, or rather, Lady Yehonala who is the last Empress of China also visited a brothel to learn some ‘skills’ in order to prepare herself to ‘serve’ her Emperor ‘husband’.

The book is known as Empress Orchid written by Anchee Min.

The Empress Orchid is a fictionalized account of the Empress Dowager Tsu Hsi, who was the power behind the throne for the last 46 years of the Ching Dynasty in the 19th century.

Orchid was a Manchurian born into poverty, but came to the Forbidden City to be one of the emperor’s 3000 concubines after deciding that the Emperor is a better choice of a husband than her retarded cousin.

She was one of his seven wives. She was chosen to be wife no.4, and she survives the dangers and palace intrigues.

Soon, after acquiring the ‘skill’ from the brothel and charmed her Emperor husband, she become one of his favourite wives, and the only one to bear him a son, who ascend the throne at a young age upon his father’s death.

With her son as regent, Orchid struggles to lead an empire already on its final legs. Anchee Min’s novel is full of historical detail and sheds new light on an empress demonized by Chinese history. A woman who was blamed for the fallen dynasty.

The novel’s first third focuses on Orchid’s gradual climb into favor. The opulence of life in the Forbidden City is hardly to be believed, and Min’s descriptions are so lavish that the story’s pace is quite leisurely.

On Orchid’s wedding day, June 26, 1852, now known as Lady Yehonala, describes her gown as “a medley of many reds. Rich magenta spiked with yellow, wine sparked with cream, warm lavender spilling to nearly blue. The dress was constructed with eight layers of silk and was embroidered with vigorous spring flowers, real and imaginary. The fabric was woven with gold and silver threads. It bore large clusters of jade, pearls and other jewels. I had never worn anything so beautiful, or so heavy and uncomfortable.”

Such exotic attire becomes a metaphor for Orchid’s early married life, which appears ideal, but is empty and almost unbearable.

She sleeps alone, guarded by eunuchs. Court etiquette prescribes 99 dishes at each meal, yet again, Orchid usually eats by herself only after her eunuch, An-te-hai, tests the food for poison.

Delicacies, clothing, jewelry, gardens, plays all the diversions of privilege can’t engage the 18-year-old Orchid mentally, spiritually or physically. Homesick, stifled by ritual, longing to visit her family, she begins a private quest to attract the emperor’s attention and affection.

Anchee Min entwines many story lines in the novel: the rivalry with the emperor’s first wife, Nuharoo, who takes over as mother to Tung Chih, Orchid’s son, the emperor’s failing health and increasing reliance on Orchid; power struggles among Chinese officials; and attacks by European forces, which drive the emperor into exile until his death in 1861.

At 26, the widow Orchid becomes Empress Dowager, but she is almost assassinated on her journey to return the emperor’s body to the Forbidden City. This segment of the book is the most rushed. Anchee Min’s efforts to do justice to both imaginative fiction and accurate history become strained. A huge cast of characters races through these pages, and keeping track of who’s who, much less whose side they’re on, grows difficult, but I enjoyed this book nevertheless.

Cleffairy: Trapped in a gilded cage, it is a wonder that Empress Orchid did not suicide.

Continue Reading

A Penny For Your Thoughts, Book review

Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge

3 Comments

Thomas Nelson Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their BookSneeze.com bloggers book review program. I was not required to write a positive review, and therefore, the review is 100% my honest opinion.

Captivating by John and Stasi Eldrege is a light read.

It is about setting women’s hearts free and releasing them to be all they were meant to be. I’m not quite sure if I understood it well… the way the authors intended it to be understood, but the book is about that, and I don’t think I like it that much in comparison to the previous books that I received as an advance read from the publisher.

I have always believed that we make our own destinies, and though God make plans for us, it is up to us to fulfill those that he had planned for us, and feminist all around is going to have my head for saying this, but I don’t feel that women are made to be His utmost creation. Women, are made to complement men, and complete each other.

Distorted belief, coming from a woman? I suppose it is somewhat distorted, but I didn’t really like this book, though it is a good read for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

I didn’t feel there was a strong theological basis for some of the statements made about God and His purpose and design for women. There were points that sounded very good, but left me wondering how in context a verse was applied or the scriptural basis.

Will I recommend this book for others to read? I suppose I would, but not to those who sees things in different perspectives.

I would rate this book, 2 out of 5.

Continue Reading

A Penny For Your Thoughts, Book review, Time Heals What Love And Reason Cannot, writing

Dress for book signing?

40 Comments

Want to see how I really look like?

Instead of looking at the headless ghost above? Well then, there’s only one way for you to meet me. In person.

Buy my book and attend my book signing that will be held soon. 😛 I’ll probably be wearing the white, zig zag dress from Irenelim Fashion.

The dress is courtesy of Irenelim Fashion Boutique, all white and comfy with zig zag pleating detail down the front, just the thing that I need for a book signing ceremony…just one simple and decent dress, nothing too elaborate.

Special thanks to Mamarazzi for editing my photos. 😀


A quote from Cleffairy’s novel:

Couldn’t they just start over and abandon their people and he suffer excruciating pain each time he uses his power and risk a short life in return of a new life with her here, with no knowledge of who she really is and what she’s destined to do?

Continue Reading

A Penny For Your Thoughts, Book review, E-books giveaways, writing

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

9 Comments

Like many other authors, they are readers. I’m no different. While I am an author, I am also an avid reader, and apart from going out and having a blast with close friends and families during the weekend, I usually curl up with a few good books scattered on my bed while the rest of my world are dreaming away.

Please don’t call the nuthouse just yet if you found me yakking away about books this coming week, cuz I’ve just finished reading 7 books in total in just one day, and I think each and every one of it deserves a good review.

Some of those books are borrowed from my elder sister, who is also a bookworm, while some others are mine… obtained them from a an access book store in the vicinity of Klang valley. And of course, being a cheapskate, there’s also downloaded books.

I’m gonna review the downloaded one first, cuz I have a pdf copy of it, and therefore, I can share a copy of the ebook with you if you want it.

This is the first book I want to talk about:

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer- recently published on 5th June 2010.

While I hate the movie adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Saga, I find the novels rather addictive. I’ve read Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and last but not least, Breaking Dawn, and even reviewed them. I’ve also read the unreleased/unpublished Midnight Sun draft, and I thought, Twilight Saga has ended for good with Breaking Dawn.

When I’ve heard about The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner a couple of months ago, I got rather excited, and anticipate the novel release.

All right, without further ado, let us proceed with the review.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is set in the ‘Eclipse’ time-line. In ‘Eclipse’, Bella applies for colleges, considers a marriage proposal and worries about a rash of Seattle murders.

She balances her star-crossed love for Edward against her moonstruck love for Jacob; she negotiates peace between the warring werewolves and vampires; and she witnesses a standoff between the ruling-class Volturi and an army of newly transformed vampires who have been violating vampire law.

Bree Tanner is one of these newborns, created solely to destroy her and the Cullens. Her role in ‘Eclipse’ is limited to five pages: Bree becames the Volturi’s prisoner, she begs for mercy, she is denied mercilessly by the Volturis.

But Meyer took a shine to the 15-year-old runaway-turned-vampire and began exploring her brief life as an independent writing exercise. That experiment eventually grew to book length, and Meyer decided to publish it and donating one dollar from every book’s sale to the American Red Cross and also giving fans free access to the text online on www.breetanner.com

Bree begins three months after the title character’s vampire transformation. She is living with other newborns in a Seattle flophouse, quenching her thirst for human blood while trying to figure out just what the enigmatic Riley, a sort of vampire RA isn’t telling the rest of them.

Hint: He’s working for Victoria, the evil ‘Twilight’ vampire who wants to kill Bella and destroy Edward Cullen and family for destroying her bonded partner, James.

Bree remembers little of her human life, other than that it wasn’t great, and her vampire life isn’t shaping up to be much better. Newborn vampires are a nasty bunch of creatues and regularly resort to tearing one another up as entertainment. Her only ally is the humane Diego, who also is conveniently handsome.

The plot yields a few tasty morsels. Fans will discover a few more good reason to detest and loathe Jane, the Volturi’s china-doll torturer, and Fred, a vampire whose superpower is to make people vomit, a nice addition to the world of Twilight.

As far as character development goes, ‘Bree’ bests the rest of ‘Twilight’. Bree and love interest Diego talk and act like real undead teens exploring a crush, as opposed to Edward and Bella’s pathological obsessive-love that defines the other novels.

Meyer’s dialogue in Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is more believable here than almost anywhere else in Twilight-world, but then again, the fans does not read Twilight for reality. People read twilight for the fantasy of it and those unbearably sweet passion.

Frankly speaking, this novel is rather disappointing but I guess it’s somehow expected. What else could you expect from the story of a young teenage girl? Passion and some rock and roll on the bed? I don’t quite think that would be appropriate.

‘Bree’ feels its fullest and most compelling in the last 30 pages, when the Cullens finally show up as Bree’s would-be saviors. Bree fails to notice, even once, how chiseled and godlike Edward is, which feels truly bizarre to fans who have known only Bella’s point of view.

I was left wondering and thinking about Edward and Bella at the end of Bree. Bree, is a good read, but not exactly something I’m used to, considering that I’ve read Twilight Saga that’s enormously told from Bella’s point of view.

Anybody wants a pdf version of The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner? Please email me at cleffairy@gmail.com for it, and I will try to send it to you asap.

Cleffairy: There’s always a different story from other perspectives. Life is just about that, isn’t it? Different perspectives.


Continue Reading

A Penny For Your Thoughts, Book review, Current Issue, Product review

The Prophecy Answer Book by David Jeremiah

2 Comments

Page count: 256 pages, hardcover

Author: David Jeremiah

Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers

Thomas Nelson Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their BookSneeze.com bloggers book review program. I was not required to write a positive review, and therefore, the review is 100% my honest opinion.

It’s said that the bible is full of codes. And this book is just about that. The codes in the Holy Bible, and the explanation for the events that has been prophesied in the Bible.

Prophecy Answer book explain the prophecy puzzles in plain, simple language. And it can be understood easily. There are 1,000 prophecies in the Bible so it’s natural to wonder, have any prophecies been fulfilled?

Do they really predict the future? And can we really know what will happen at the end of time? When will Armageddon be?

Dr. Jeremiah decodes and clarifies prophecy for the average person. He explains in simple terms what could otherwise be mysterious and even frightening, allowing readers to gain a balanced understanding and assuring perspective of the significance of prophetic events to their personal lives as believers in Christ. This book too, explain how the modern events that occurred every now and then is related to the Holy Bible.

Now, I’ve always loved mysteries. In comparison to the previous book that I received from BookSneeze that’s such a bore, this one is hard to put down, and it made me understand the events that has been predicted in the Holy Bible even more.

This is one book that I would read over and over again and would not get bored. It’s almost like reading the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. The only difference here is that while Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code gives you mind boggling question that could undermine your faith, this book provided logical answers that will strengthen your faith instead.

And yes, I would definitely recommend this to those who doubts what the Holy Bible had predict, as the explanation really does make sense. My favourite chapter of the book is The New Heaven and The New Earth, and I would rate the book 4 out of 5. It’s a good, serious book to read.

Cleffairy: It is nice to have answers for a change.


I review for BookSneeze

Continue Reading

A Penny For Your Thoughts, Giveaways/freebies, Product review, writing

A Summer Secret by Kathleen Fuller

22 Comments

The Mysteries of Middlefield Series: Book 1
Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2010
ISBN: 976-1-4003-1593-2
Young Adult
268 pages

As I mentioned in my previous blog entry,Thomas Nelson Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their BookSneeze.com bloggers book review program. I was not required to write a positive review, and therefore, the review is 100% my honest opinion.

I quickly flipped the book to read it, and finished it within 2 hours. This is what the book is all about:

A Summer Secret was written about a young girl named Mary Beth who has a twin bother and five younger brothers. As most older sisters, she has her fair share of responsibilities, chores and babysitting.

It seems like a huge burden to carry but with finances a problem, everyone in Mary Beth’s family do their fair share of work. Mary Beth gets tired of the boys being disgusting and obnoxious, making messes, invading her private space and their constant irresponsibility.

Tired of all the nonsense, Mary Beth seeks to find a place of her own. A place for privacy where she can record in her journal and have some serenity. She decides to find a refuge in an old abandoned barn in a neighbouring field which her parents have declared off limits. But then again, she desperately needs a place to call her own. It will be her secret.

There is only one problem. She is not the only person who is claiming the barn as their own. Her secret has been discovered and now she may be in grave danger.

From a reader and an author’s point of view, I think the storyline does not progress fast enough for the reader to get excited with the book. I nearly put the book down after a few chapters, and the so-called mystery in the book, is not quite a mystery after all. It’s rather predictable for me, and I wouldn’t really suggest the book to young readers. It will make the targeted audience scream with dissatisfaction, as the book is rather preachy and too wordy. The characters are not quite dynamic, and it’s quite a bore.

I would definitely not recommend this book to young readers, but I think some parents would prefer their young teens to read this book as they’re trying to lock up their children from facing the harsh reality and the things that goes on in the outside world. This book makes me think of Rapunzel all locked up in the tower by the evil godmother. This book, somewhat justify the godmother’s action.

I would rate this book 2 out of 5.


Cleffairy: I don’t think it is right for parents to restrict their children’s privacy and lock their mind in the tower like Rapunzel. The children would rebel, that’s for sure.



I review for BookSneeze

Continue Reading