Book Review: The Right Move (Windy City Series #2) by Liz Tomforde

“Sometimes the quietest love is the loudest.” – Ryan Shay.

I disliked the first book so much, but I heard that it would get better from so many reviews, so I decided to give it a try. Honestly, I can’t believe there is so much difference between protagonists written by the same author. Ryan Shay is the newest Captain of the Devils, Chicago’s NBA Team, and the last thing he wants is a distraction like Indy Ivers, his sister’s best friend. Indy has nowhere to go, and her best friend has the craziest idea to let her stay at her brother’s place. Ryan and Indy are polar opposites, but there is a spark…

Ryan Shay healed this series for me. I liked him so much because of the way he was. I liked that whatever happened to him, he didn’t turn worse, but handled it really well. What happened to him was so out of the box, I was not expecting it, but it shows he was the green flag from the start. He is caring and lovable, a male lead hard to find. He is a standard book boyfriend who knows what his girls want; he is a perfect act of service to exist.

Indy Ivers’ character was amazing. I found her amusing, and her thoughts always made me laugh. I liked that she was so understanding about living with Ryan rather than being arrogant about it. I liked that I did not see any arrogance in this book. She is beautiful inside and outside, I liked how confident she is in herself.

The chemistry is really great too. The bickering and the tension, and I liked that there was nothing forced between them, but it came naturally. His care for her was enduring, and her understanding of him is what we call an understanding couple.

Just like the first book, there is nothing about basketball in the book, which was disappointing. The last part was okay, so basically, both talked about each other’s flaws, and still, they had a misunderstanding about the same. I hated it to the core. The ending, to be honest, I had enough with this book. At the 75% mark, I had enough because that would be the perfect ending, but no, the remaining 25% was just a misunderstanding of things that they had already talked about. I think the biggest complaint of mine from this series is that it is too long, and I get bored.

In the end, I found the book all over the place, and my interest went below zero. The plot was nice and definitely out of the box. But I don’t know why stars need to take instructions about how to live their personal life from the team that didn’t sit right with me. According to me, it was really good in the beginning, but again, in the end, I wanted to get over it quickly. Because I got bored, there is nothing that I remember and would highly recommend. My biggest pet peeve is long chapters and long books, especially in romance. Maybe that is the reason I liked it, but just not much.

Give it a try if you want. Will say Ryan Shay is the ultimate book boyfriend.

“His quiet love. It’s always the loudest.” – Indy Ivers.

Rating: 3/5

Side Note: I just want to clarify that this is entirely my opinion; you are free to love this book, and I am free to give my opinion on this book. I would be very happy if you loved this book, but please do not take this review to heart; it is okay to have different tastes. Thank You.

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Pause.

Pausing is powerful, it creates space to refocus.

When it is said that having too much and not having too much time standing in the same line makes so much sense to me now. Basically, when we are busy, we want free time, but when we are on a break, we get bored, isn’t it true? In life, when we are busy, we are busy in our brains, and as adults, finding time to pause never crosses our minds, which makes us so drained of life. Taking a break is so important that we often think it’s like wasting our time, but no, because just like physical being is important, our mental state also needs a rest. Ironically, we are so busy in life that we have to think about taking a break from our routine. Obviously, it is not easy to just say, and the mind will shut down, but think about it in a way by asking yourself questions about how much you need it. Everything needs a reset, and the same goes for your mind and body. When we continue to do work in auto mode, we become tired and drained, and life starts to become more stressful than it already is. That is why pausing is very important, as it helps you enjoy your life, and you can take a deep breath peacefully. What does pause actually mean? According to me, having a big breakfast without hurrying to get back to work, taking a slow walk to a favourite cafe or bookstore, or maybe just sleeping and watching FRIENDS. Things that bring you happiness from inside that will help you rebuild your vision for life are why taking a pause is important. Remember, in life, we have to look far ahead, so taking a pause in between will help you reach it slowly but happily. Sp of you were thinking of taking a pause, but are unable to just do it, and you will thank yourself later.

The pause is a place of power. Go there often.

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write

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Book Review: Mile High (Windy City Series #1) by Liz Tomforde

Okay, every single thing that I have heard about this book screams for me to not read it at all. However, I thought how bad it could be and trust me when I say it was…(no words). I never thought I could ever dislike any book the way I dislike this one. The book follows the story of Stevie, a flight attendant who gets a new job working for the most egotistical and self-righteous diva in the NHL. She meets the hockey player, Zander, who is a huge playboy and a narcissist. Both hate each other, but can’t say the same about the attraction between them.

Let’s start with the character of Stevie. Did I hate her? No, but did I love her? No. In the beginning, I thought she would be a strong character with a curvy body and bold personality, but I was so wrong. She would have been such a great female lead, but she gave in so fast, and the reason for it is that I can’t even write it here because it was so embarrassing when I read it. I wanted to see her passion and her bold personality, but I was so disappointed. I liked that the author did a great job of portraying her insecurities with her body, but there is nothing else about her that I would call interesting.

Now, let’s talk about Zander. Sigh. What a character! I disliked him the second he was introduced. He thought Stevie wanted his autograph, which was not the case and got offended. Hello??? I hate male leads who try to be over-smart and absolutely annoying for no reason. In the first half of the book, he was giving me pick-me energy (side eye). The way he talked about his previous partners, I was not having it, and then his back story came, and that made me want to bang my head against the wall because apparently, it was a PR stunt?!?!

Then the storyline, what was it? I never knew I would ever read a book with this kind of storyline. The first shocking thing was that there was no mention of hockey at all. Where is the part about competition???? I couldn’t vibe with the storyline at all. I found a lot of potholes. Also, the storyline was kind of muh! Especially the PR stunt from Zander’s agent. Their interaction felt so forced. I hated their first interaction because I felt that the author kind of forced them to interact.

Another thing is that a contemporary romance being 600 pages blows my mind because there would definitely be a third-act break-up that I despise. In this book, there was and at 28%, a lot happened so I knew it would bore me to death and then I DNFed it.

Even though I have DNFed this book, I have heard that the series gets too good, so I am definitely going to give this author and this series another chance.

Rating: …

Side Note: I just want to clarify that this is entirely my opinion; you are free to love this book, and I am free to give my opinion on this book. I would be very happy if you loved this book, but please do not take this review to heart; it is okay to have different tastes. Thank You.

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Living.

You will bloom if you take the time to water yourself.

Yesterday, I visited places where I used to go when I was not in a life crisis. It is so funny to me that some places remind me of my life, where I was happy and where I was living. I remember the time when living was not hard, and I didn’t have to think about what I needed to do next. And the next moment, I wonder why I can’t be like that anymore, why it is so hard to just live in the present and the endless questions. The sudden realization has led me to denial and deep thought about how I am just surviving the life that I should be living. The realization has opened my eyes to how my life has changed so much. I used to go out and see the world beyond the four walls and now how the four walls have trapped me in them. I have just become a person who thinks about what I need to do the next day and how much pending work I have to complete. And amidst where is the part where I should be happily living and looking forward to life. The sudden realization has awakened something in me that I just can’t let go of, and I feel sorry for myself because the routine I follow is the same, with my stress level is increasing. I really want to just sometimes relax and let it be because I know with time it will happen, and everything is going to be okay. I always think about why life has to be like that, why we have to fight every single day to live the life that is given to us, and maybe I will get the answer to this question when I truly understand when I get back and start living my life again. Maybe I should stop thinking about the next moment; maybe I should start living life the same way before. And I know I can do it; it is just the pressure of my own self that is not letting me enjoy my life.

The world around you is beautiful when the world within you is peaceful.

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write

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You can do it.

If you know you can do better…then do better.

I was not the kind of person who wrote proper goals but rather went with the flow. However, this year my best friend gave me a planner and for the first time in my life, I wrote a goal and guess what just within two months one of the biggest goals of my life is getting fulfilled today. I topped my first year of masters and saying I am over the moon would be an understatement. This is my first big achievement, I was not expecting this early. Let me tell you, I did my bachelors in something else but I was just leading my way ahead without actually gaining proper knowledge. So I decided to change my faculty and do something very different and I am so glad I took that step. It’s been a year and a half and almost six months left till I get my master’s degree and I never regret taking such a big step out of my comfort zone. By coming out of my comfort zone, I have realized that I could do so much but I need to be brave and just do it. It was hard coming out of my comfort zone and doing something so different because at this point it’s either going to take me up or throw me on the ground. And as we can see it gave me the wings to spread as much as I want to. When I started to take myself seriously, my passion and my strength I realized I could do it all, there is no negative voice that stops me, I just have one thing in my mind I want to do and I can do it.

Just like that, you can do it as well. Nothing in life is comfortable, especially things that you want in your life. You have to come out of your comfort zone and just do it. You don’t have to wait for the result, do it because you like it, because it makes you happy, because you see yourself getting better, and because you are enjoying it that is enough reason for you to just do it. I know you all can do it and it may look hard but your future, your passion, your happiness everything is calling your name so just do it.

Just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

You can do it.

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write

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Book Review: What Lies Between Us by John Marrs

Clearly, we can see that I am in my thriller era and my next pick was What Lies Between Us by John Marrs, it was my first book by this author. The book follows the story of a mother and a daughter, Maggie and Nina. However, their relationship is very different from that of a typical mother-daughter relationship. Every night Nina helps Maggie after dinner to go to the attic and ties her with heavy chains that keep her there. Because Nina can never forgive Maggie for what she has done to her. Also, there are many secrets that Maggie has kept that Nina doesn’t know and she will keep it that way no matter what.

I don’t really know what I felt while reading this because it is more than a thriller, there are thrilling vibes however it is not exactly like a thriller book but more a horror story between a daughter and a mother. Nina’s character is one of the most dangerous characters I have ever read in a thriller. The way she was from the start showed and gave me all the hints of the plot twist. I was actually traumatized by Nina, her point of view was so aggressive and just out there, it’s crazy.

Maggie’s character shows a lot to the readers. I can understand she loved Nina a lot and would do anything for her but I felt like if she asked for help a lot of people would be alive. But a mother can go to any extent to save her daughter. I was so shocked reading how Maggie, the mother, did anything possible to save her daughter, Nina.

The storyline is very traumatizing and very deep. The book gave me a headache because there are shocking revelations throughout, and all of them are deeply disturbing. The plot twists were not shocking at all because I guessed almost all right, and that is what makes it not a thriller for me but more of a horror story about a daughter and a mother. Because as the revelations are made, the story turns crazier.

The vibe is so creepy and I was shocked by what I was reading. Nina is a very complex character and reading her different phases of life gave me creeps and I can never forget her character. The book gave me a headache in what I was reading, however, I felt it was more horror than a thriller. And the book was kind of slow so that did not fit right with me. The setting is very disturbing as well as the characters of Maggie and Nina.

I wouldn’t put out there to recommend this book but if you want to read please check the trigger warnings.

Rating: 3/5 (Please check trigger warnings)

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Everyday is same but why…

You know all those things you’ve always wanted to do?

You should go do them.

Every day is the same but why is the pressure on our mind increasing, why are we becoming more emotionally drained, why do we have to worry about our future rather than enjoying our present, why are we not becoming happy but sad, and why does life feel so hard? I have come to a realization that all my days look mostly the same however as I am moving on I feel myself getting more tired emotionally. I feel connected to flawed characters more whenever I read books or watch movies. I understand them more and their perspective comes first in my mind. And I wonder about the thought that used to come, will I ever be able to live like those in movies or books, is it coming true? But where is the happy part? I feel the pressure of the future has thoroughly made living in the present breathless. As we go on, we sleep at night and wake up to another day and just ponder on how we have to follow the same routine but now we have more baggage on our mind. I feel like as we move on we should be moving upwards in life, feeling ourselves more happy and grateful. But as days go on we are getting more drained and sad and I am afraid. Seeing a whole different side of the world makes me appreciate life more, especially my present and how living in the moment is so important. Every day will be the same, it’s life however it’s all up to us we have to fight for our lives. I have learned that for things that I want in my life, I have to fight for it, if I have to make my life good then I need to find a reason for it. Guys life is worth fighting for believe me, everyone wants to live a good life, a life they can remember forever but for that, we have to fight every single day. I know some days it’s hard but just think you are worth everything so fight and make life worth it so that even when every day will be the same you will find happiness moving forward.

You deserve good things.

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write

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Review: ‘Crash Landing on You’ K-drama (2019)

“You shouldn’t be good to people who beat you up. Those who throw punches don’t know how much it hurts, only those who take punches do. If someone tries to harass you, throw a punch first.” Yoon Se-ri

If I could convince you to watch one K-drama please let it be this one. This drama has everything, a beautiful laid-back setting, cinematography that makes you swoon on it, a breathtaking couple with sizzling chemistry, a thrilling plot, a second couple that makes us cry a bucket of tears and a group of the most amazing friends that we all wish to have. Crash Landing on You talks about Yoon Se-ri, a South Korean heiress who because of a paragliding mishap found herself in North Korea. Ri Jeong-Hyeok is a North Korean army officer who found her and decided to help her hide and send her back to her country.

Let’s start with Ri Jeong-hyeok, what is not there to not love him? Putting yourself at risk to hide a girl from the enemy’s country and make sure she is safe in his house, and then walking into the enemy’s country to protect her, how high the standard has to go. I loved his cold personality and at the same time his clueless self. That man appeared so cold infront of her yet did everything that she wanted. Why because he loves her? No, because he felt that he needed to do that. He is smart in many things but an absolute loser in love. When he realized he had feelings for her and nothing was making sense to him, he was so funny doing some embarrassing things that never failed to make me laugh. His aura throughout the drama was unmatched. He did everything for his love and I loved to watch it. This drama has the scene of him going out of control because the woman he loves is in danger. (the best scene)

Yoon Se-ri is a savage and at the same time a complete crackhead. The way she was so clueless being in North Korea and trying to be normal by being a complete crackhead was so fun to watch. I loved the contrast in her character, the fact she gets to enjoy freely in a country where she knows no one and on the other hand her own family doesn’t want her. I loved her character, she is seen as badass, savage, beautiful, and a welcoming woman.

Their friendship group was the best. In a drama where the plot line is about helping the leads, I love friendship groups. Because they add comedy as well as character to the drama. I loved the friendship group, they were hilarious. I loved that slowly they all warmed up to Se-ri, the hug of them when they met Se-ri again is imprinted in my mind forever. Because of them, both the leads got together and she got to go back to her country.

The plot line is so dramatic but perfectly executed. The way the episodes were coming and everything started to make sense had me so immersed in the show that I couldn’t stop watching. I loved the side of North Korea, the place, the people and the food. The vibe was so cosy yet haunting. I loved every second of this drama. The cinematography was breathtaking, the train scene, the house, the place everything fitted the drama so well. The costumes added an amazing richness.

The chemistry is everything. They are a real-life couple, what less would you expect? The understanding, the love, and the unspoken words between them every scene of their screams was dreamy. Their eye contact and hug after meeting again, I can never forget the scene. The promise was kept. The second lead couple, Seo Dan and Gu Seung-Joon this drama also stood high in giving me a second couple syndrome. Their story was so heartbreaking. Through the second lead couple, I understood that two broken people can fix or break each other more, and I cried with them.

I highly recommend this drama, please just watch it.

“I was wrong. When I die, there is someone who cries for me. The fact that you are that person makes me both sad and happy.” – Gu Seung-Joon

My Rating: 9/10

Total Episodes: 16

Genre: Melodrama, Romance, Comedy

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Choices.

“I never knew at one point in life I would be forced to give someone else the pen to write my story.” – MA.

You are very lucky if you have choices, I never really understood the importance of choices until I stood where I did not have any choice. And you know what was the worst part it was because of the mistakes of others rather than mine and my future has to suffer because of it, because of others. Sometimes life makes you stand at that corner where you are not left with any choices but helplessness and it hurts seeing how you become so helpless to even make choices in your own life. Every choice has a consequence no matter if it’s the choice of your own or others but the thing is when we are thrown into that choice we are forced to take up things that we never intended to take, It hurts seeing how different our life has become because of that choice and how better it would be if you choose yourself. But life never works that way it makes you go through hell, and it reminds you at every moment of the choice you never had until finally, you accept what has happened, and now it is the time to move on. Having the power to make choices in life is a treasure that not everyone can afford, I have learned that the hard way and once the choice has been made there is no going back. People say that making this choice is good for you, but how would they know what is good for us? Would they be there if something went wrong, no absolutely not! Life throws you into situations with no choice but just a way full of thorns that you need to go through alone, while your choice was never yours but the path is. Once the choice has been made, you have to take the responsibility and the consequences alone. But the funny thing is that the choice was never yours. You never got the right to choose what you truly wanted. You were just thrown to stand at the edge of the cliff and jump, but in reality, you just wanted to fly with wings.

“One wrong choice makes you question every single thing in your life” – MA.

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write

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Review: ‘Amidst a Snowstorm of Love’ C-drama (2024)

“I don’t know how long I was on the phone that day. And he kept watching me through the window.” – Yin Guo.

I feel like C-dramas are the best palate cleanser, they have everything from love to friendship. It brings comfort to just relax and watch. Recently I came across a C-drama that has made me think what kind of a man I want. This drama changed everything for me and I am so shocked that the actors didn’t fall in love with each other because everything was so intense. The drama I am talking about is called ‘Amidst a Snowstorm of Love’ and follows the story of Yin Guo, a billiards prodigy who gets stranded with Lin Yi Yang during a Snowstorm at a tournament. Yi Yang stopped playing billiards but as both bonded, he started to see Yin Guo’s passion that wanted him to get back at the game.

Let’s start with the star of the show, Lin Yi Yang, the man you are. You guys he literally made the already set standard higher than the sky. His character development was the best, OMG the way he worked on himself, his career and him as a human, loved every second of it. I don’t think he deserves the hate he got for his mistake. Come on, please he was just thirteen, he was just a child and the people legit gave him so much hate for a mistake he made as a child. He is one of my top fictional C-drama men, he is perfect. OMG you guys, his eyes expressed so much, the love he had for Yin Guo was everything.

Yin Guo is very shy, OMG her shyness made me pause the video, and I think it makes sense if a man like Lin Yi Yang stared so intensely I would faint right there. But sometimes she acted too immature, I don’t like the female lead who is afraid to show their relationship publicly. There are just certain scenes where I just can’t stand her. There is no character development of hers, he is just the one talking about his background but she never shared about hers which I wanted to see.

“Last year I was at a small bar that’s the first time I saw her. I didn’t go inside, instead, I stood outside and watched her for about five minutes. Of course, she didn’t know this. I can still recall my thoughts at that moment. I have to meet her I have to go inside buy her a drink and get her number tonight. I knew exactly what I was thinking I knew, I knew she was the one. But I have no idea how to approach her or what to say to impress her. She is so pretty. I was scared to make any mistakes. Trust me. I was really afraid of screwing it all up. Well, what can I even say, she is so perfect and I might need to spend the rest of my life seeking her love. So, I’m not in a hurry at all.” – Lin Yi Yang.

The plot is mostly romance, however, they focused a lot on Lin Yi Yang’s mistake that he made when he was thirteen and billiards. I really wanted the friendship group to bond more, go on trips and enjoy, if they removed some billiards and added more on this it would become so comforting to watch. The friendship group of Lin Yi Yang was everything they legit cried when he said he was coming back in the game. This drama is a very slow-burn romance, I love slow-burn romance so this drama was perfect for me.

The chemistry, OMG every scene of theirs was so romantic because Lin Yi Yang’s expressive eyes towards Yin Guo was everything. Lin Yi Yang’s act of service OMG what is not that he has not noticed about her, he did everything for her, the care and the way he makes her comfortable. There is so much romance in this drama every scene will want you to pause and look up and think when will I get a man like Lin Yi Yang. I wanted more of their conversations to show their growth but every conversation revolved around billiards, which I thought overpowered their development. He was the only one who opened up about everything while from her side she never shared much which I wanted to see. He falls in love with her at first glance and their height difference is just beautiful.

When I first met Lin Yi Yang’s friend group, I thought many would be negative, but as the story progressed, I loved how each of them supported him so much, their tears seeing him get back on track. I hope everyone gets this kind of friendship where the friends are happier than you for you. Yin Guo’s brother, another character I thought would be negative, but he was the cupid shipper for them; I loved him.

The drama is filmed across Finland, France and China so the cinematography was top-notch.

If you love slow-burn romance and an act of service phenomenal man, then this drama is for you.

I’m not a big talker. But I want to chat with you.” – Lin Yi Yang.

My Rating: 8/10

Total episodes: 30

Genre: Sports, Romance

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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