Boy in Uniform by Abby Wilder: review

 According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary unrequited love is :  not shared or returned by someone else. Well, if you have any questions about the way you feel when your loved one doesn't love you back, read this book.

I almost , just almost, feel sorry for Bracken . I understand that the way he feels is not his fault, together with the serum and his upbringing, it may be understandable to a certain point. However, the way he acts is unforgivable.

Never chase anyone, Bracken, a person who appreciates you will walk with you.

Bako National Park in Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia

On the island of Borneo you can find this wonderful national park which is worth a day trip . Only in Costa Rica  have I seen such  lush vegetation and variety of free and wild animals.

Wear comfortable trekking shoes and clothes and you will enjoy thoroughly if you like nature as much as I do. There is a small place on the island where you can eat and buy drinks. The guides are experienced and the splendid weather made our time in Bako unforgettable.

Early in the morning we left from Kutching on a boat and disembarked on a beach. The scenery was breathtaking .

Our guide took us to different parts of the park and we had a great time taking pictures of the wildlife.

Some monkeys were on the paths and a bit frightening. We were instructed not to look at them in the eye and we did so. Their hollering made my hair stand on an end.

This one was the scariest.

We had lunch in the park and then walked around to take more photographs.

If you have the chance, don't miss it !

Girl Behind the Glass by Abby Wilder: review.

This books starts with a whole city surrounded by a glass dome. A city of people living on pills, not food and whose names are inspired by nature. Willow and her friends Bracken and Ash truly believe that they are better off inside the dome but things change when Willows parents Bear and Dune make a decision that will change Willows life forever .

What I really liked about this book was that , unlike in most of the dystopian novels I have read, the world outside the not-so-perfect dystopian society is not full of meaningless violence and horror. Outside the dome you can find good people, in fact really likeable characters, who are willing to help each other and live peacefully. Those people still behave like regular humans , struggling for survival but without killing one another , trying to make the best of a bad situation.

There is a romantic love triangle , which is not rare in this type of novels but here , there is a twist I didn't see coming (I was distracted) that takes that romance to an unexpected level.

By and large one of the most enjoyable dystopian books I have read lately, highly recommended.

The Selection Series by Kiera Cass: reading order and opinion.

I started with The Selection by mere chance, I didn't have any other book available at the moment and was in the mood for something NICE  and simple, preferably romantic; just an easy good read for the Christmas season which would have nothing to do with Christmas.

What started by chance, soon became something that I was looking forward to, but as I finished the novel The Selection I found out that this saga was extensive and decided to classify it in an orderly way. 

  

This is the official order,I hope you find it useful: 

 Queen Amberly's selection.

Prince Maxon's point of view.

A regular girl may become a queen.

Six women left for one heart.

The story from Aspen's point of view.

The story from Marlee's point of view.

America  the queen.

What happens two years later

Princess Eadlyn's own selection.

Finale

If you feel like reading a fairy tale, this series is for you. There are many clichés and the plot is quite simple and predictable at times but reading a nice book off and on is good for busy minds.

Amy Kathleen Ryan's Opinion: On Loving Yourself.

Amy Kathleen Ryan is one of my favourite authors AND SHE FOUND MY BLOG READ THIS POST AND MADE A COMMENT, OMG!. She's the writer of the wonderful trilogy Sky Chasers, one of the best sci-fi YA saga ever . She recently wrote a post on her blog about loving yourself. Beautiful!

Amy's Opinions: On Loving Yourself.: I was always a little uncomfortable with the phrase, "Love yourself." Aside from it being a bit touchy-feely, I feel it puts too...

The Prince by Kiera Cass: opinion

Thanks to this novella , we get to know Prince Maxon a little bit more. I would have liked , though, to know more about his relationship with his father and why as a grown man didn't do anything to make the situation better for himself.

The Favorite by Kiera Cass: opinion

Marlee and Carter's love story has all the elements of tragic romance with a happy ending: forbidden love, punishment and a secret wedding. A must read if you liked the series.

The Queen by Kiera Kass: opinion.

This novel gives you an insight into the life of Queen Amberly . I don't know why I thought she was going to be a stronger female character, given that she has to deal with the king whom I disliked even more after reading the novella. I find it difficult to understand her deep love for such a man but it takes all sorts, I guess.

The Heir by Kiera Cass : opinion.

I thought that I wasn't going to read another one of the series , but I just couldn't help it. I got another book and it was a DNF. I missed the dresses, the palace, the romance , even how predictable some parts were.


In this book the princess is forced to select among 35 young suitors. A new selection in which she participates unwillingly. As a matter of fact , she is the least romantic princess I have read about. Since her personality is so different from her mother's , the book offers a new perspective of the selection process and it turned out to be one of my favourite ones of the series and not predictable at all in the end.

Pizza Papa in Guilin, China: The Worst Pizza Ever.

I love pizza and when I am abroad I usually go to pizza restaurants, I think it is one of the safest things you can eat anywhere.

While I was staying in the town of Guilin , I felt like pizza so I went to a place in one of the main roads which was packed with locals. I tend to think this is a  sign of delicious food, unfortunately I was wrong.

The worst thing is that the pizza looked really good and appetising but it tasted like plastic, worse than any frozen pizza I have ever eaten.

We ordered some sausages ,which I devoured, they were much better than the pizza and I was starving.

And I had my first Chinese Coke, which was sweet but not as bad as I thought it might be.

I really dislike giving negative reviews but sometimes they help other travellers. If you have been there and liked it , blame my taste buds, which may have been suffering from jet lag.