Book review: Amazing Guardian (Ran Orihara) (1 & 2)

At first I thought these books were translated from the Japanese novels but turned out it was locals haha Im being fooled! Nope dont make it wrong I always love local novels and Im one of those hardcore readers. This series contain 2 books and I've been eyeing them since last week before my exam was done. The story tells about Hogosha Gakuen, a high school in Tokyo suburb. There's a legend that has been kept for 17 years and still going on which is called "Guardian". Guardian protects the school quietly but no one knows who they are. They have a website where Hogosha's students can send email of their request and they will make it come true. As long as they are students of Hogosha and they send an email when they're at school, the email will be considered to be fulfilled. So there are these guys: Asa, Naito, Kaze, and Izumi who are students' council members and they're considered as the highest hierarchy besides the headmaster. In the morning they are just students but at night they're the Guardian. I find this book so cool by the way the writer describes the characters. I have never met books like these where the stories are purely told in a very Japanese way. The cover is drawn like a comic one which is also another plus point for me: comic-like novel. I love it when they called Asa as Princess Asa when she is at school but nobody actually knows in fact she's a super bad-tempered girl since she always acts elegantly in front of others. Naito is also my favorite: he is cool and charismatic and Asa's childhood friend. I can sense something is going on between Asa and Naito but too bad Asa is not sensitive HAHA this book is my recommended one for March and I hope you'll love this one like I do. Adios!

Book review: Restart (Nina Ardianti)

This book has made me going back and forth a few times to bookstore because: first, I want to buy it because the cover is so attractive and second, I've never read this author's book before so it's not a guarantee that great cover makes great story too. At last I make a gamble because the book's price is in my range and yes, I dont regret. It starts with Syiana as the main lead, a banker with everything in her life is scheduled. She thinks her life is great because when something doesnt go according to her plan, she hates it. We also find out that her boyfriend for 3 years, Yudha, cheats on her when she thought that she would spend the rest of her life with him. Then comes our hero, Fedrian/Ian, Dejavu's band member slash the rising star of the year slash Indonesia's 50 most eligible bachelor. He just came right on time when she's heartbroken. I think this is a very ordinary romance story but I find it good and the author writes it perfectly. The way Ian approaches her for the first time, does sweet things for her, always by her side when she needs, his sarcasm way of talking and I-dont-care reaction are what I love the most. The most memorable part for me is when Syiana met Ian for the first time in HK but at that time Ian's friend puked at her shoes and when Ian came to help him, he thought she was the one who brought him to the bar. She got mad and threw beer in her glass to his face, not knowing that he's the hot guy on demand now. Through fate they met again and when Syiana's workplace decided to use Dejavu as their brand ambassador, she just knew them. It continues as Ian suddenly added her bbm pin and asked her for lunch, and the story goes on. He is indeed fast forward. When usually most male characters will be charming and sweet, he is different. I did love sweet and charming guys but sometimes something out of the box can make different point of view. The cover itself has been a plus point for me, especially for the red color, and another thing I like is that the characters are connected from one novel to another. I just knew that Syiana's bestfriend, Edyta, was the main character in Nina's previous novel, Fly To The Sky. This is really my style as my first one is AliaZalea's series and second is Ilana Tan's series. The conflict at the end was too little and easy to solve whereas usually others made it more intense before the leads can finally get together. We also almost didnt find any antagonist character. Anyway Restart can be your reference if you are a fan of romance story. 4 starts for this one^^

Synopsis:
"Semua orang pernah patah hati. All you have to do is move on."

Aku selalu mengira tak akan bisa hidup tanpa cintanya. Aku lupa, semua luka perlahan-lahan akan sembuh juga. Biarkan saja waktu yang menjadi obatnya.

Saat itu akan tiba, ketika aku benar-benar menerima kenyataan bahwa kini tak ada lagi 'kita'. Sekarang hanya aku, minus dirinya. Dia pergi terlalu lama dan aku terlalu bodoh terus-terusan memikirkan dirinya. Aku bisa hidup tanpa kenangan dan senyumannya. Kalau sebelum mengenal dia saja aku bisa bahagia, apa bedanya bahagia setelah tanpa dirinya?

Aku pasti akan jatuh cinta lagi. Suatu hari nanti... dan dengan yang lebih baik dari dirinya.

"Semua orang pernah patah hati. All you have to do is move on." - Restart

Book review: Dirty Little Secret (AliaZalea)

The last one from Adriana dkk series. I only need 4 days to finish this book. I should say I love this one a lot. As usual, the writer describes the character not overdramatic yet just in a perfect way. This time, the main character is Jana Oetomo, one of Adriana's bffs, and Ben Barata, his ex-lover. Jana has twins and she was never married because of the painful memories caused by Ben years ago. Ben comes back from America to Indonesia to search for Jana who disappeared after he told her to abort her pregnancy. He regretted that and has been searching Jana for years but useless. He met Jana surprisingly in an event where his sister asked him to be her accompanion. One thing that he never thought is that Jana never abort her pregnancy and Ben was shocked to find out that he was father of twins. The story tells more about how Ben tries to win Jana and her twins' hearts. I find this cute since previously the Adriana series tells more about the process of a couple falling in love, not like this one where we already knew that Jana and Ben have fallen in love since the very first time and the feeling is still the same until now. DLS is also not as hot as all previous series; the intimate scenes are just kissing. I think this really suits as the last series since it's an anticlimax of all, being sweet without overrated. The ending is just the thing I hate the most; Im sure it's a happy ending but I think she doesnt describe it more detail. I'd like to see if she writes clearly what the ending will be like. The cover is also a minus for me since I prefer the style of previous series cover and Im confuse why they decide to publish those books with new covers when the old ones are already perfect. But still, I give 5 stars for this one; the storyline is just the best.

Synopsis:
MEET THE HERO

Ben Barata. Sukses dengan kariernya dan berkehidupan mapan, tapi masih merasakan kekosongan dalam hidupnya. Dan dia yakin kekosongan itu hanya bisa diisi oleh Jana, cewek yang menghilang tanpa jejak setelah hatinya dia injak-injak bertahun-tahun yang lalu. Dia bertekad untuk bertekuk lutut meminta maaf dan mendapatkan kesempatan kedua dengan Jana... Namun, bagaimana dia bisa melakukannya tanpa membuat Jana mengambil langkah seribu ketika melihatnya?

MEET THE HEROINE

Jana Oetomo. Ibu dari sepasang anak kembar yang bandelnya setengah mati dengan sebuah rahasia yang memberikan definisi baru pada ungkapan “skeletons in the closet”. Namun sepertinya rahasia itu tidak bisa tetap terkubur, terutama ketika Ben, orang terakhir yang dia inginkan mengetahui rahasia itu, tiba-tiba muncul kembali dalam kehidupannya. Dan dia lebih baik mati daripada membiarkan Ben dekat-dekat dengannya lagi. (goodreads)

Book review: Soulmate.com (Jessica Huwae)

I bought this book because of the recommendation of a fanbase in twitter. Tbh, I dont hate it but this is not my cup of tea. The story is just too flat and predictable that I dont feel any sparks in it. It tells about a woman called Nadya Samuella, an executive editor in a famous magazine. She's dumped by her boyfriend because he needs to marry another girl. Quite active as a blogger, she soon finds a guy named Oka, a Balinese, who often comments on her posts. They start to chat together through social networking and more intense through messages and phone calls. When Oka came to Jakarta because of work, they met up and talked like there's no tomorrow. I think this is the point where they start to fall for each other. Not long after that, Nadya visits Bali and this is where all of these start. They become a couple. She is happy with Oka beside her and feels that the whole world is siding at her. The nightmare starts when a news comes out that Oka is married. The worst part is she agreed to be his second woman although she was previously against any kind of affair. Then half of the story involves about their affair and how Nadya was unstable in deciding every matters in it. I was pretty pissed off, since it's too dramatic and it's just nonsense that she wanted to be a second woman in other people's marriage life. I mean like she has everything: beautiful, attractive, stable career, bestfriends, and how on earth she becomes that desperate?!! This book has been a bestseller, published in 2006 and the one I read is the 7th press released. This one is absolutely not the type of story I will read for the second time. Besides, she writes a lot of poems and tells the story using a chatting type not narration. One of the reasons why I also dont really like the story. But every people have their own preference right?

Book review: The Devil In Black Jeans (AliaZalea)

My longgggggg waiting moment has finally over. I got to read this book before its official release date which was 14 feb 2013. I didnt preorder it but some bookstores have sold it prior to that date. This book was aliaZalea's fifth book and many fans outside there have been excited even before it was released because she was in hiatus last year and didnt release any books.

The story is about the most handsome drummer in Indonesia, Jo Brawijaya, and his little sister's personal assistant, Dara. If you read her previous books, Jo Brawijaya is Revel's band drummer (Revelino Darby in Celebrity Wedding) and Dara is Adri and Nadia's bestfriend (Adriana Amandira in Miss Pesimis and Nadia in Crash Into You). His little sister, Blu Brawijaya, is a new rising star in Revel's company and Jo thinks she needs a personal assistant to help her doing her work. They do an open recruitment and finally chooses Dara after seeing Blu also likes her. Things start to be complicated when romance develops between them. Dara has a fiancee which she thinks is the most perfect for her. Jo tries to get closer to her and he feels she also has the same feeling but she doesnt want to admit. I highly recommend this book because I've read her previous books and it never failed to satisfy me. I had a high expectation towards this book since she has been in hiatus for more than a year while previously she always published 2 books in a year and it did satisfy me once again. Another reason why I love this book *spoiler alert* is because she always gives a happy ending in her story. I really hate story written with a sad ending (well, except for a book I knew). It made me feel just wasting my time reading that book. Five stars for this book!

Book review: Cheeky Romance (Kim Eun Jeong)

Usually I review dramas but I want to try review books sometimes. Well, Im going to review anything I like. This novel is the third book of Kim Eun Jeong, written in Korean but translated to Indonesian. The first book is So I Married The Antifan and followed up by My Boyfriend's Wedding Dress. I always hated translated novel because the feeling is just different when I read Indonesian novels and maybe the setting is different. When I tried to read her first book, it's good although I was confused at the beginning since too many characters were appearing at the same time. Then I also read her second book which made me amused again and now Im one of her avid fans. This book tells about a woman named Yoo Chae who has always been unlucky as a reporter. She never get any scheduled programs although she has worked for 2 years and the worst is her boyfriend, a reporter too, cheats on her with his senior who is a PD (program director). So Yoon Pyo, her lover-to-be, is a devoted obstetrician. He always care every pregnant woman although they are not his patients. Yoo Chae ever went to the hospital where Yoon Pyo works to accompany her bestfriend unnie who is pregnant. One day, she was told to be a MC for a culinary program to suburb where she will try new foods. This program is airing live. At that time, Yoon Pyo is happened to be at the same restaurant where they are shooting. She was given fugu fish (as you know it's dangerous to be eaten if not being cleaned properly) and red beans. Yoon Pyo thought she was pregnant because he ever saw her at the hospital and those foods are dangerous for pregnant woman. He yelled at her not knowing that the program is aired live. Soon Yoo Chae is known as 'Nation's pregnant woman' and Yoon Pyo as 'Nation's doctor'. The story will involve around how they settle their misunderstanding and as usual fall in love with each other. This is a 400+ pages book but you wont get bored of it. I like the storyline a lot. The writer is good at making their loveline not awkward because I often find some books are written weirdly in developing lovelines of the characters. I've read her books long time before her books are famous like now. Both of them are bestsellers in Indonesia's bookstore and Cheeky Romance is indeed very recommended.

'When was the last time we kiss? If anybody asks you about this, say to them it's today.'