Gin no Saji a.k.a Silver Spoon

This time I'm going to talk about a new series that has captured my interest so much I can't wait to read the next chapter ^^ Like it said above, the title is Gin no Saji (translated as Silver Spoon). This is the story of a teenage boy who got fed up with his school and home, tired of being compared to his "wonderful and brilliant" older brother who got in a famous university in Japan in the first try. At the beginning of the story, Yugo Hachiken, our hero, experience the alieness of the world around him, down to the animals. You see, he applied and got accepted in a farming/dairy school, but he himself never did go to the farm, not even once. So he's absolutely, positively clueless about what he wants to do there, except to get away from his home. That's where the funny things started happening. All of his classmates (boys and girls) are raised in a farm and had already known what they want to study, like about running a big farm to how to make  processed foods (such as sausage or bacon) that can last longer without the aid of chemicals. While searching for his answer, Hachiken found himself adapting and even enjoying his time in the school, eventhough the work is hard and the reality sometimes hurts. Imagine that you favor a piglet because its small compared to its' brothers and sisters, so you took pity on him. But as luck would have it, in just three short months that piglet turned into a healthy (read large) pig and will be sent to the slaughterhouse in a few days time. For someone who never cope with that kind of harsh reality that farmers deal with everyday, it'll really brought you down. As a reader, I know that that's what the pigs are bred for, but my heart still ached when the time had come for Pork Bowl (yes, that's the name given to it by Hachiken) to be sent to the slaughterhouse. But as they said, life goes on, and so does Hachiken's life. 


As of now I think this series only just reached volume 4, but he's still in his first year of high school, so I hope there's still many more of Hachiken in the future. Oh, for those of you who like mangas, I think the artwork will seem familiar. That's because the artist is Hiromu Arakawa, the creator of Full Metal Alchemist ^^  Now I can't wait to read the newest chapter. See you all later!! 

Driving Mr. Dead

Whew, time does go by so quickly. I haven't got the time to update this blog :( But now I'm here and ready to rock! :D

This time I'm reviewing a book from one of my newest favorite author, Molly Harper, Driving Mr. Dead. The setting of this book, Half-moon Hollow, actually linked with another series by Ms. Harper, the Nice Girls'  series, but it's a standalone book, so you don't have to read the series before reading this one.

Driving Mr. Dead is just a novella, so the length is only 160-ish pages, but how I wish it was longer! The heroine in this book is Miranda Puckett, a twenty-something woman that hasn't found her calling in life, since her callings usually cut short by disasters. She has tried many jobs before, including as a magician assistant (accidentally set fire on the magician), a photographer (again, fire ruined her studio), and this time as a chauffeur for Beeline, a premier vampire concierge service. Her job is to take vampires from point A to point B in a car she dubbed the Bat Mobile, in the daylight, while the client is "dead to the world".

Her first task is to pick up one Mr. Collin Sutherland from his home in a rural area (read in the forested land) and drive him to Half-moon Hollow, where he needs to give an important item in the suitcase to the head of the vampire council in town. Sparks do fly when they first met, but that's because Mr. Sutherland is a very picky man that sent a 16-page contract to Miranda's boss about what can and can not be done along the way, like only playing classical music when he's awake, prepare a warm type A just after he's awake, no littering whatsoever in the car, the speed limit is 65 mph, and the list go on and on and on.

Along the way, the sparks of dislike changed into sparks of interest, as they trade life stories and beginning to understand each other's behavior. Of course that happened along with quite a few mishaps, mishaps that drew them even closer. I love how Ms Harper made the process go slowly, so we can feel that it's natural for them to be attracted to one another, not just lust at first sight, but a deeper understanding of one another.
Well, let's just say that those mishaps include a Z-cup boobs, a couple of thieves masquerading as two good Samaritans, and a credit card confetti (of the wrong card).

I listened this story from an audiobook, and in my opinion, the narrator does a very good job. Sadly, this book only have a Kindle and audiobook version. Hopefully, in the near future, they release this story in print. For now, I'll just wait for the next book by Ms Harper, The Care and Feeding of Vampires, the story of Miranda's boss and owner of Beeline.

Rating: 5 gooey chocolatey smores!

Until we meet again!

H.I.V.E.: Overlord Protocol

Last night I finally finished listening to the book above, H.I.V.E (Higher Institute for Villainous Education) book 2: Overlord Protocol by Mark Walden. This is so much better than the first book! Oh, for those who haven't read the first one (it's H.I.V.E: Higher Institute for Villainous Education) you can skip reading it, although it's better if you read it first, since that's where we were introduced to the main characters and there's no introduction whatsoever in the second book. This series is targeted for teens, but I'm sure whoever likes Artemis Fowl series will likes this series too ^__^

This time our heroes and heroines (or should I say villains?) were facing what almost like an insurmountable challenge, from deadly ninjas, the deaths of one of a main character and G.L.O.V.E operatives, also betrayals from right and left. Unlike the first book where the action is only on the latter half of the book, Overlord Protocol jumps straight down to so many actions until you feel like you're watching an action movie, with lots of    bullets flying, bombs exploding, and swords clashing. And that's just the beginning. Although the traitor is easily deductable, there's still one more surprise at the end. I won't tell you, because it's going to spoil everything. You have to read it yourself if you want to know about it ^__^

PS: If you want to read the excerpts of each book (as of now, there's already seven books in the series), you can go to the H.I.V.E hub or you can order the book from here. Just leave them a message, and they'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Format: Audiobook
Rating: yum yum yum yummy (it meant four and a half s'mores)