Sounds Like Summer by Six de los Reyes — The Summer Storm Setlist / A Book Playlist

August 27, 2018September 26, 2020 Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

Hi readers! Last Friday I published my review of Sounds Like Summer by Six de los Reyes where I talked about how much I love this book. The book came into my life at the perfect moment and really had everything I love about a great romance novel. That is how this book playlist came to be. I also like to call this playlist the Sounds Like Summer — Summer Storm setlist. It mixes all those great summer, beach, music, and a full moon by the ocean vibes. Lux and Micah spend the perfect weekend together at the Summer Storm music festival with lots of live acts playing outside by the beach and I tried to incorporate all of the vibes of that into the playlist.

Book Review of Sounds Like Summer by Six de los Reyes

August 24, 2018September 13, 2020 Olivia Chanel1 Comment

Sounds Like Summer by Six de los Reyes

Publication Date: March 26, 2017.

Publisher: Independently published.

Genres: Romance, Mental Health, New Adult, and Contemporary Romance.

Recommendation: I highly recommend this book.

Purchase here: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice

Synopsis: It’s not just a weekend for Lux Castelo. She has a plan, of course.

Phase One: Escape to the beach for a music festival.
Phase Two: Deal with what she can’t control.
Phase Three: Return to reality whole and ready.

Nowhere in that plan is Micah Jacinto, self-proclaimed adventurer and the kind of boy with his head stuck in the clouds and the moon inked on his arm—everything her rational sense tells her to stay away from. And yet Lux finds herself welcoming the distraction. As they spend the entire weekend together, Micah leads her to rediscover the lost pieces of herself amidst the excitement and the confusion of a raving mosh pit.

But all weekends come to an end and Lux needs to return to the dreaded reality she’s running away from. Does being brave enough to leave summer behind mean being brave enough to ask Micah to stay?

Content warning: this book deals with depression, suicidal thoughts, and self-harm. Some of this will also be discussed in my review.

What makes Sounds Like Summer a must-read romance novel is the fact that it mixes the best parts of what makes a typical summer romance novel amazing with heavy hitting topics such as what it’s like to live with depression. This book is about Lux Castelo and Micah Jacinto and the weekend they spend at Summer Storm — a weekend-long festival filled with live music acts, parties, and time spent at the beach by the ocean. However, this book is about more than just the romance; this weekend is about Lux escaping her life for a weekend to process what she has been through because of her depression and to, for a moment, forget. After Lux and Micah spend this weekend together, they find out that what happens at a summer festival does not have to stay there and sometimes the smallest of coincidences can lead to the greatest of adventures, no matter how small and scary they might be.

Songs To Make You Stay by Jay E. Tria / A Book Playlist

August 6, 2018September 26, 2020 Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

Hi, people out there in my book galaxy! How are you doing? I’m here with a new blog post for you all and it’s another Galactic Book Playlist. Fun, am I right? I’ve honestly made more playlists this summer than I ever have before and it’s just the most exciting and fun experience; creating these playlists is almost like reading these books again. These playlists give me a chance to both find new music and relive the feelings I had when I first read the books. It’s the best combination. Expect a lot more of these playlists to come in the future.

This playlist is for the book Songs To Make You Stay by Jay E. Tria. It’s the last book in the Playlist series and it’s the novel that finishes the story of Shinta and Jill. I have also made a book playlist for the second book in the series, Songs To Get Over You, and you should definitely check that one out as well, which you can do here.

A Songs To Get Over You by Jay E. Tria Mixtape

July 13, 2018September 26, 2020 Olivia Chanel1 Comment

Hi there people in the galaxy! I’m back with another blog post and it’s another book playlist – this time one inspired by the #romanceclass novel Songs To Get Over You by Jay E. Tria. This book is about Miki and Ana. Miki is in a band called Trainman and is in love with his best friend Jill, who is the singer in the band and together with someone else. The book is about unrequited love, moving on and finding love elsewhere. It is the second book in the Playlist series, though I would argue you could read it as a standalone (but the first book is amazing, and Jill is the protagonist in that one so definitely read it first).

This playlist is dedicated to love that can be messy, unrequited, and hopeful. It is about the fact that love can be a powerful and strange thing and that the sadness of one love can lead to the happiness and future of another. I made the playlist to celebrate this book’s beautiful universe metaphors, the different kinds of unrequited love shown, and the feeling of firsts in new love when you finally manage to move on. If you haven’t read this series yet, I hope you will. You can buy the first book, Songs of Our Breakup, on Amazon and add it on Goodreads. The second book, Songs to Get Over You – the one about Miki and Ana – is also on Goodreads and can be bought on Amazon.

15 Diverse Books Flying Under The Radar with Less Than 50 Reviews on Amazon

July 10, 2018July 10, 2018 Olivia Chanel1 Comment

Hi, galaxy travelers and book readers! I’m back with another blog post and this one is all about diverse books in need of some love from you guys. It is said to be something magical about the number 50, at least in regards to the number of book reviews a novel needs to have on Amazon in order to unlock certain marketing privileges. Because of this, I decided to mention 15 books with less than 50 reviews on Amazon that you should totally buy, read, and support by leaving a review. If you have followed my blog for a while you might recognize this concept and ask, haven’t I seen a post similar to this one before and the truth is that, yes, you have. In August 2017, I did post a blog post called Twelve Diverse Books Flying Under The Radar and the purpose of that post was the same as this one — to recommend books in need of love and book reviews because they have less than 50 reviews on Amazon. To make things easier I have made a key that you can follow when you go through the list,

★ is seen with books that have less than 100 ratings on Goodreads,
✿ is shown next to books with queer authors, and
✱ is the symbol that is shown next to the books written by authors of color.

Disclaimer: I have not read all of these books so be aware that there might be incorrect information, and that’s on me. I have taken the information on here from synopses and reviews I researched for this post.

Now go forth and support these amazing books and authors. The books are sorted in alphabetical order after their title and they truly deserve your support. I hope you’ll find your next read in one of these fifteen books. Don’t forget to write a review when you’re done, just a sentence is enough!

What Happened In June? A Wrap-Up Post for June 2018 (Books Read and Bought, Including Free Books)

July 8, 2018July 8, 2018 Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

Hi, there world travelers and fellow book slayers! I’m here with a wrap-up post for June, maybe a bit late but it’s here nonetheless. June was a great month for me. My summer vacation from University started, I got all As on my assignments, I went to Gran Canaria with my mom, I saw Arctic Monkeys live, and lastly, I read lots of books. In June I read 12 books which feels like a personal record of some sort. I talked about what I read during my vacation in my blog post Books I Read in Gran Canaria. However, I got more read during the month than the books I mentioned in that post so I thought I’d list them all here together with my ratings of them.

Book Review of The Boyfriend Backtrack by Dawn Lanuza

June 25, 2018September 7, 2020 Olivia Chanel2 Comments

The Boyfriend Backtrack by Dawn Lanuza

Publication Date: October 3, 2014.

Publisher: Anvil Publishing.

Genres: Romance, New Adult, Chick Lit, and Contemporary.

Rating:

Purchase here: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice

Synopsis: If they say that life flashes right before your eyes when you die, do you also get a flashback of your exes when your perfect boyfriend is proposing to you? At least that’s the case for Regina Cortez. There’s her dramatic high school boyfriend, her first college crush, the irresistible heartbreaker, and the ever elusive one. By backtracking to her past, will Regina make it to ‘I Do’? Or will she just keep running away?

The Boyfriend Backtrack has overnight become one of my all-time favorite romance novels. The elegant and easy to get through writing and the mix of the friends to lovers and second chance romance tropes makes the book a hit. The main character of the novel is Regina, who after her boyfriend Kevin proposes, gets a flashback of all of her exes. This leads to a journey where Regina meets all of her exes again, in order to figure out what she wants and who her one true love is. Regina is an artist, a lover of France, and an amazing protagonist to follow.

Books I Read in Gran Canaria (ft. #romanceclass titles and an anticipated poetry read)

June 20, 2018July 6, 2018 Olivia Chanel2 Comments

Welcome galaxy travelers! I’m back with a new blog post, one where we get to catch up and I get to share some fun news. I know I have been away for quite some time, only blogging sporadically, but summertime is upon us and that means more time for reading and blogging. Between June 4 and June 11 I was on vacation in Gran Canaria (one of the Canary Islands which are a part of Spain) and during that time I got a lot of reading done. I thought I’d share the books I read with you. I read six books during my vacation and all of them were great reads. The following are the books I read, in chronological order, each with an individual rating.

ARC Review of The Queen’s Game by Carla de Guzman

August 1, 2017September 7, 2020 Olivia ChanelLeave a comment

The Queen’s Game by Carla de Guzman

Publication Date: August 1, 2017.

Publisher: Independently published.

Genres: Romance.

Rating:

Purchase here: Amazon

Synopsis: There are only two reasons why Nina would come back home to Cincamarre–one, if Auntie Delia promises to stop butting into her business, two, if her father died and she was made to ascend the throne to be queen.

Unfortunately for her, it was the second thing that brought her home.

As a princess who’s sunk a yacht and been caught kissing popstars, it’s easy for her aunt, the regent, to think she’s ill prepared for the throne. But Nina doesn’t think that having to fake date Felipe, the handsome, squeaky clean Prince of Concordia was the best solution for that.

Nina’s ready to learn the ropes of her new role and make it hers, and reconnecting with Felipe only makes her want to be a better queen. But is the monarchy ready for Queen Nina?

Thank you, Carla de Guzman, for my advanced review copy of The Queen’s Game. I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review; this does not affect my opinion. Any quotes mentioned below are taken from the ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

I am in love with The Queen’s Game and this contemporary romance story featuring Filipino main characters. As soon as I saw the blurb I knew I had to read it. I have a weak spot for contemporary royalty and mix that with #romanceclass and you know it’s a winner. This story features a princess, Nina, and a prince, Felipe, who grew up side by side because of their neighboring nations, Cincamarre and Concordia. Later on, in life, they reunite when Nina returns after several years of travel to attend her father’s, the king’s, funeral. What then begins is a story of a fake relationship that turns into something real. This book has royalty, fake dating and childhood friends; this book has it all.

{#SUMMERFEELS BLOG TOUR} Review of Summer Feels: A #romanceclass Anthology + Giveaway

May 15, 2017September 7, 2020 Olivia Chanel4 Comments

Welcome to the blog tour for Summer Feels: A #romanceclass Anthology. Today I have my review of this amazing book and a giveaway where you can win a gift card and a few books. You definitely have to join in on the fun!

Summer Feels: A #romanceclass Anthology

Publication Date: April 30, 2017.

Publisher: Independently published.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, and Anthologies.

Rating:

Selling points: A lot of short stories, there is something for everyone to enjoy during the summer.

Purchase here: Amazon | Print Copy (the Philippines only)

Synopsis: Summer loving happens so fast, as you’ll find with Summer Feels, an anthology of 23 stories of love under the summer sun by #romanceclass authors. Savor the candied thrill of firsts—first loves, first kisses, first solo vacations—and the bittersweet triumph of second chances. Tour the Philippines as the stories take you to mountain retreats and island paradises. Let the magic of the hot sun, clear blue skies, and lots of love take you on a roller coaster ride of feels. With stories ranging from sweet to sexy, there’s sure to be something for any fan of romance.

Featuring stories by: Elea Andrea Almazora • Erleen Alvarez • Ella Banta • Rachelle Belaro • H. Bentham • Halina Cabrera • Charlie Dio • Mina V. Esguerra • Elizabeth Galit • Georgette S. Gonzales • Ami Granada • Irene Jurado • Catherine Lo • Arlene Manocot • Bianca Mori • Eris Peñaluna • Farrah F. Polestico • Kit Salazar • Miel Salva • Fay Sebastian • Kate Sebastian • Yeyet Soriano • Marian Tee

About #romanceclass:

#romanceclass is a community of authors who attended various writing workshops organized by Mina V. Esguerra, readers of books by those authors, and readers of English-language romance books by Filipino authors. Visit romanceclassbooks.com to see the full catalog of books!

Giveaway

For this giveaway, you have the chance to win a gift card, some swag and even a copy of the book. You don’t want to miss out on the chance.

Prizes:

International: Amazon gift card worth $25
Philippines Only: Print books from some of the authors:
- My Dutch Billionaire by Marian Tee
- Kate, Finally by Yeyet Soriano
- Old Enemies Make the Best Lovers by Kate Sebastian

Enter the giveaway here: a Rafflecopter giveaway, and good luck to you, I hope you win!

Thank you, to the authors and editor Kate Sebastian, for my advanced review copy of Summer Feels. I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review; this does not affect my opinion.

Summer Feels is a book that’s cute and hot, and that makes you want to go to the ocean to take a dip to cool down. I doubt any other anthology will soothe your cravings for a good summer read like this one. The anthology starts out slow with short stories that are cute and lovely, and that will make your heart flutter and then gets hotter and hotter with every story. Towards the end, you will definitely need a fan and/or a dive straight into the ocean. The best part about this anthology was that I got the chance to read short stories both from #romanceclass authors I have loved and admired since before and also new ones where I want to devour every book they have ever written.