My Top 10 Romance Series

I just realized that I have never done Top 10 lists before. But hey….it’s never too late, so today I would like to start with my Top 10 Romance Series. These ten series are my all time favorite (at least up till July 2017) and I re-read them quite often (okay….maybe I skip read for the most part, but hey….I love re-reading my favorite romantic scenes).

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1. The Collector’s Society by Heather Lyon

Whenever people ask me to recommend the best romance series, I will definitely recommend this series. No other romance series I’ve read tops this one, so this one’s definitely my first on the list. I love EVERYTHING about this series! From the covers to the content. So, basically this series follows the journey of Alice (the Alice in Wonderland) and Finn (the Huckleberry Finn) of collecting and saving catalysts from different Timelines (famous storylines) so that their world would not be destroyed. As their journey progresses, so did their relationship. Never in my imagination that famous characters of different well-known classics can fall in love. ❤

2. Deep in Your Veins by Suzanne Wright

I came across this series through stalking a friend’s Goodreads account a few years ago (wow….I must’ve been desperate for some good romance). The covers are alright I guess, it pretty much look the same for all three books. What I love about this series was the kickass heroine, Sam Parker, who gave in to nothing even when confronting alpha males throughout this series. She’s strong and so bad-ass that I wish I could be her (even if I have to be a vampire like her). Her banter with Jared is definitely the highlight of this series hands down (at least for me it is).
P.S. There are two more books after the third, but I’ve decided not to include them as they are not Sam and Jared’s story.

3. Tairen Soul by C.L. Wilson

This series tells the story of Ellysetta Baristani and Rain Tairen Soul as they fight to save the tairen (panther-like creature that can fly….at least that’s how I imagine them to be) and the Fey, defeat the dangerous power of the Eld Mages, and complete their truemate bond. I remember the first time I read the first book, I felt the story was progressing a little too slow (I tend to favor fast-paced stories). However, once I got into the story, I could not stop reading and I actually finished the whole series in four days. I guess it’s probably the whole true mate thing that made me love the series so much, since I’ve always love the idea of soul mates.

4. A Court of Thorn and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

I have always love the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, so when I found out that Sarah J Maas is writing a series based on my favorite fairy tale, I just have to read them. In all honesty, the whole story is only loosely based on the fairy tale. It may not have follow the actual fairy tale closely, but I find myself drawn to Feyre and Tamlin, and later Feyre with Rhysand (Feyre first thought she love Tamlin, but after various trials and tribulations, she finds herself falling for Rhysand instead). I remember every time I finished a book from this series, I was screaming “WHY?????” as in why in the world did it end there, since the book isn’t going to be released until the following year. That feeling of devastation……and want for the next book. I guess it’s one way to exercise my patience.
P.S. There are three more sequels following the third. I’m not sure if it’s still about Feyre/Rhysand/Tamlin.

5. The Tiger Saga by Colleen Houck

This series tells the story of Kelsey on a journey to break a 300-year-old Indian curse, along side a white tiger named Ren. I first read this series in the form of ebooks, but after I finish the entire series….I just have to own the hardcopy. It wasn’t a popular series in Malaysia like it was in US back then, so it was difficult to get my hands on the hardcopy (I successfully got them all by the way). So….back to this series, aside from the sweet relationship between Kelsey and Ren, I do love the element of foreshadowing the author used throughout the story. It’s one of the things that kept me reading. I have waited six years for the fifth book – Tiger’s Dream, but there are no news regarding the release. Sigh….hopefully it will be released and not shelved.

6. Significance by Shelly Crane

Before I found the series mentioned earlier, this series was my number one favorite romance series. It’s one of those soul mate kind of story (one of my favorite kind). It follows the journey of Maggie and Caleb, from when they first met to when they got married. The only difference with contemporary romance, is that the main characters in this series have abilities once they imprinted on their soul mates (basically, what I mean is, they aren’t typical humans).

7. Fantasyland by Kristen Ashley 

Each book in this series follows a different couple from a different area of an alternate reality. All the couple plays an important role near the end of the fourth book, so I guess they are somewhat related. Each couple comprises an alpha male and a damsel-in-distress kind of woman in their 30s (the women can be strong when they want to be). I guess what I do like about this series is the setting, where man and woman can understand animals, and the existence of soul mates. I would have ranked this series higher if the main characters (hero & heroine) didn’t sound so similar in all four books. Even their personalities seemed to mirror one another, even though they are suppose to be different people.

8. Relentless by Karen Lynch

Out of the entire list, this one’s probably the one other series from the young adult genre (aside from Tiger Saga). There are only kisses between the hero & heroine, and no intense sexual scenes. I pretty much (not entirely) left YA genre behind me once I got into my 20s, as I prefer reading romance with more intensity (ahem….more x-rated scenes). Despite the mild kissing scenes, this series still got me hooked once I started the first book. Basically, this series follows Sara Grey’s quest for answers about her father’s death. She later met Nikolas Danshov, who told her that she is actually a Mohiri – warriors with inner demons that fights against evil demons. When they first met, their inner demons both recognized each other as their true mate, and voila another soul mate story.
P.S. I wish more authors write stories like this…..sigh….

9. Slammed by Colleen Hoover

I think this is the only contemporary romance series that made it to my Top 10 list. I know I said Colleen Hoover is my all time favorite author, but I can’t seem to make myself rank this series higher that the ones before. I love the romance between Layken and Will, and I absolutely LOVE the poems written throughout this series. It’s definitely one of a kind series, but I guess I love the author’s standalone novels more (namely Ugly Love and Hopeless).

10. Healer by Maria V. Synder

And finally, Healer series by Maria V. Snyder! This is my final pick for my Top 10 Romance Series list because I absolutely love the kick-ass heroine, Avry, who is a Healer but is hated and hunted by everybody as they believe Healers are the one who started a deadly plague. In the beginning of the first book, she was almost executed but was saved by Kerrick. I guess you can probably surmise by now that they both got into a tumultuous relationship and thus the three novels in the series 🙂

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So, that’s the end of my list. I have read a lot of series throughout the years, especially the popular romance series like Twilight Saga, Throne of Glass, Mortal Instruments…etc. But if I were to ask to pick ten series to read for the rest of my life………………..okay who am I kidding, I can’t survive with just ten series for the rest of my life. Well…….I guess this list of series are just the ones I love so much that I have re-read my favorite scenes more than any other series.

My Semester 5 : In A Nutshell

It is nearly the end of the first-half my third year in university. I have abandoned my blog for so long that I can see virtual dusts gathering. As per usual, this semester is so hectic that I didn’t have time to read, not even the time to  be inspired to compose a poem (I do have a very short one that I compose with a friend of mine, maybe I will post it later).

I did, however, have the time to BUY books – another hobby of mine aside from reading. I got these books from the annual Big Bad Wolf sale at MIECC, The Mines.

My absolute favorite would be The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Works!! Not that I have read it, but I love the cover and the fact that it’s Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classic! It’s very hard to acquire in Malaysia, and I bought it for just RM 10  (approximately $2).

The other books are not exactly my kind of genre, but I’m trying to read something other than New Adult, Romance & Fantasy. I gave up reading The Interior by Lisa See, it’s not as great as it sounds in the synopsis – loved her Snow Flower & The Fan, so I thought I could try this one….well….that’s RM 8 wasted. And I just completed The Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama yesterday, it’s not too bad I suppose – still not my cup of tea. I’ll try the rest soon…though it will take some effort on my part.

I finally got Enchanted Forest – the coloring book that is so popular worldwide. Not sure if I wanna color it though, it’s so pretty……that I can’t bring myself to ruin it with my rusty coloring skills (*laughs*).

I’m gonna read November 9 later, and I think there’s going to be a review for it. since everyone has been raving about how good the story is on Goodreads, which is to be expected when it comes to Colleen Hoover’s books.  🙂

Other than buying books, I have visited a literary festival held in Penang just last month – George Town Literary Festival (GTLF). I was only there for a day though, to meet one of my all time favorite Malaysian write – Tan Twan Eng! I do wish that I had more time to join some of the events held during the festival. (T.T)

P.S. He signed my favorite book (that is written by him), The Gift of Rain. If you still haven’t read it, DO READ IT.

While I was in Penang, I did drop by one of the bookstores – Gerakbudaya Bookshop. It sells a variety of books – ranging from Malaysian authors to famous award winning authors. Sadly (for my purse…), I have bought a few books.

 I think I’ll read them after my finals. My study week is too short for me to finish all the books that I have and don’t forget e-books.

I guess that’s all for now. I want to start reading some of the books AND try studying at the same time. Hope to update my blog with another review soon. Ciao~

 

Digital Storytelling : The Butterfly Lovers

I have been so busy with my assignments and university activities that I had no time to read at all 😦
BUT the semester is going to end soon! 😀
So, I was looking through what I had done for the past 2 years (1 and half to be exact) while I was in university, when I came across a short video I made in a digital storytelling workshop I had attended, and I thought “Hey, why not share it?”.

Since I used only Movie Maker, it’s just a very basic video~
I’ll probably try making another when I have the time and mood. 🙂

P.S. I noticed that Western fairy tales – Cinderella, Rapunzel…etc, are often popularized but not with Asian fairy tales – The White Snake, The Lady of the Moon. I love Western fairy tales, but I wish people would know more about Asian fairy tales.

My Thoughts On “Into The Woods”

When I started this blog, I never thought about posting anything except my personal opinions on books I’ve read and also some mediocre poem I’ve come up with. So, posting (or blogging, I’m not sure since I’m still new at this blogging thing) my personal opinions on movie feels very foreign since I have to put it into words (I’m use to verbalizing them and not writing them). Well, here goes nothing….

“Be careful what you wish for….”

My love for fairy tales and that quote caught my attention……right……actually that’s not really true. It was the AMAZING trailer with the AMAZING casts that made me want to watch the movie.

I was soooo…..excited about watching the different fairy tales blend into one movie. This must seem ridiculous to those who knew about the original musical play, but I really have not heard about the existence of that play till this movie trailer came up. So I was ecstatic!  (*squeals~~~~*)

The movie is okay I guess. If you ask me to rate it out of 5 stars, I would give it 3.5. The music and the cast who sang it was GREAT. I love love love….the prologue- where all the main fairy tale characters chants “I wish….”, and most of all, Meryl Streep’s Stay with Me.

On the other hand, the plot is not as amazing as I thought it would be.
I so love how each of the fairy tale adapted stayed as close as the original; for example, Cinderella’s stepsisters had their toe/heel cut off in order for them to fit into the glass (or rather gold) slipper – this is a part of the original fairy tale that was often left out in movie (be it Disney or other adapted movies). Though I am kind of disappointed that the iconic GLASS slippers are replaced with GOLD slippers, as it’s something….a symbol that represents Cinderella. I guess I’ll just have to wait for the Cinderella movie that is coming soon~

The two prince – Cinderella’s Prince Charming and Rapunzel’s prince, are actually brothers in this movie. A pleasant surprise I must say, one that I love too. I secretly love the idea that my two favorite princesses are going to be related through marriage – sisters-in-law (*squeals~~~*)!!!! AND then, that dream of mine was crushed (and ruined the fairy tale)…..because apparently Prince Charming is a playboy. He kissed another (I won’t say who) woman just after he married Cinderella.

“I’m raised to be Charming….not sincere.” – Prince Charming

What made it worse was that I Google-ed for the original play’s summary……I read that both prince (Prince Charming and Rapunzel’s prince) are both unfaithful – they both went and pursued Snow White and Sleeping Beauty in the woods after they got tired of their respective princesses. My childhood fairy tales….ruined. Now….”I wish…” I hadn’t Google-ed for the original play’s summary.

That was not the only part of the plot I didn’t like, the ending was kind of a let down too. The “Happily Ever After” is not exactly the one that I was expecting, a little….boring after all the spectacular King’s Festival, potion ingredient hunting, wolf stalking Red Riding Hood…etc. There are characters dying in the end and Cinderella not having the normal  “Happily Ever After” (at least Rapunzel got hers). It’s a letdown to me when the movie ends with the Baker recounting all the events to his newborn baby with Cinderella, Red Riding Hood and Jack around him (*sigh*).

Overall, Into the Woods had great casts (Meryl Streep, Chris Pine, Johnny Depp….etc) and music, but I can’t say the same for the plot. I would recommend it to those who love musical plays and fairy tales (that is if you don’t mind the twists/changes).