Sad Girls by Lang Leav

AUTHOR: Lang Leav
PUBLISHER: Andrews McMeel PublishingPUBLICATION DATE: May 30, 2017PAGES: 362
SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS:
“Your first love isn’t the first person you give your heart to—it’s the first one who breaks it.”
Sad Girls is the much-anticipated debut novel from international best-selling author Lang Leav. A beautifully written and emotionally charged coming of age story, where young love, dark secrets, and tragedy collide.
School is almost out for Audrey, but the panic attacks are just beginning. Because Audrey told a lie and now her classmate, Ana, is dead. Just as her world begins to spin out of control, Audrey meets the enigmatic Rad—the boy who could turn it all around. But will their ill-timed romance drive her closer to the edge?

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MY RATING: Until now, I'm still torn on whether I should be generous to give this a two-star rating; or just settled with my initial rating of one. The first 30-40% of this novel got me hooked while the rest, I can no longer tolerate. Audrey's personality and way of thinking, and the ending are both irksome; include the lengthy storyline and you will have one boring novel.

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Memories by Lang Leav

AUTHOR: Lang Leav

PUBLISHER: Andrews McMeel Publishing

PUBLICATION DATE: October 6, 2015

PAGES: 256
SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS: Best-selling poet Lang Leav presents a gorgeous hardcover gift book featuring the best of Lullabies and Love & Misadventure plus thirty-five new poems for fans to discover, along with original color illustrations by the author.

For fans of Lang Leav, this beautiful gift book is a must-have! Beloved pieces from Lullabies and Love & Misadventure are collected together in this illustrated treasury. In addition, 35 new poems that have not been published in any Lang Leav collection offer something new to discover. The author's original art is presented in lovely four-color illustrations.
Lang Leav's evocative poetry in a gorgeous package with ribbon marker and cloth spine is an irresistible gift for any poetry lover!

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MY RATING: I've got to enjoy only 6 out of the 35 new poems/prose in this 3rd book of Lang Leav. I was anticipating that this could be better than her 2nd book, Lullabies. But I was quite disappointed that it didn't meet my expectations. These are the 6 poems/prose that I like in this book: Virtual Love A Writer's Plea Take me someplace where I can feel something—I want to give away my heart. Tell me his name so I can know love when it speaks to me. Give me someone I can write about. Dear Love In Love You’ve not yet had your heart in halves, so little do you know of love— to tell me I will soon forget, there will be others to regret. Now all the years have proved you wrong, my love for him burns bright and strong; you can’t divide the stars from night— from love there can be no respite. Hope The Saddest Thing

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The Universe of Us by Lang Leav

AUTHOR: Lang Leav

PUBLISHER: Andrews McMeel Publishing
PUBLICATION DATE: October 4, 2016
PAGES: 240
SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS:

Lang Leav presents a completely new collection of poetry with a celestial theme in The Universe of Us.

Planets, stars, and constellations feature prominently in this beautiful, original poetry collection from Lang Leav. Inspired by the wonders of the universe, the best-selling poetess writes about love and loss, hope and hurt, being lost and found. Lang's poetry encompasses the breadth of emotions we all experience and evokes universal feelings with her skillfully crafted words.

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MY RATING: I tried to like the poems in this book by Lang Leav. But it seems that no matter how much I try, I can't seem to connect to almost 90% of the content of this collection. I just found some poems too pretentious while some are bland and vague.

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Lullabies by Lang Leav

AUTHOR: Lang Leav
PUBLISHER: Andrews McMeel Publishing
PUBLICATION DATE: September 16, 2014
PAGES: 248
SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS:

A sequel to the hugely popular, best-selling Love & Misadventure, Lullabies continues to explore the intricacies of love and loss.

Set to a musical theme, love's poetic journey in this new, original collection begins with a Duet and travels through Interlude and Finale with an Encore popular piece from the best-selling Love & Misadventure. Lang Leav's evocative poetry speaks to the soul of anyone who is on this journey.

Leav has an unnerving ability to see inside the hearts and minds of her readers. Her talent for translating complex emotions with astonishing simplicity has won her a cult following of devoted fans from all over the world.

Lang Leav is a poet and internationally exhibiting artist.

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MY RATING: I had high hopes for these poetry books of this author because they are always on the bestseller list in our local bookstores here. So I was really curious about what's the hype and give some time to read them. Just like my review of her book Love & Misadventure, I was thinking that maybe I was neither in love or heartbroken that's why I cannot fully grasp those poems. But I guess it's not me because there are other not-so-good reviews about this. Still, regardless of the low rating I gave and the bad review, I found some good poems in this book such as When, An Artist in Love, Forewarned, The Dream, The Poet, Perfect, Ode to Sorrow, and Almost. While the short stories I enjoyed are Patience Dyslexia, Dead Poets, Despondency, and Nostalgia for Today.

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Love & Misadventure by Lang Leav

AUTHOR: Lang Leav

PUBLISHER: Lang Leav

PUBLICATION DATE: April 26, 2013

PAGES: 176
SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS:

Lang Leav is a poet and internationally exhibiting artist. Awarded a coveted Churchill Fellowship, her work expresses the intricacies of love and loss.
Beautifully illustrated and thoughtfully conceived, Love and Misadventure will take you on a rollercoaster ride through an ill-fated love affair- from the initial butterflies to the soaring heights- through to the devastating plunge. Lang Leav has an unnerving ability to see inside the hearts and minds of her readers. Her talent for translating complex emotions with astonishing simplicity has won her a cult following of devoted fans from all over the world.

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MY RATING: These are the poems that I like in this book: Just Friends, Afraid to Love, A Way Out, The Keeper, and Jealousy. Is it me or it is just that some of the poems included here are either lack of depth or feelings? But despite that, I really like Lost Things and Dead Butterflies; especially the latter. I might have enjoyed these books of Lang Leav if I am either in love or heartbroken at the moment.

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Smoke & Mirrors

AUTHOR: Michael Faudet

PUBLISHER: Andrews McMeel Publishing

PUBLICATION DATE: November 14, 2017

PAGES: 240
SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS:

Smoke & Mirrors is the third book from internationally bestselling poet Michael Faudet, author of Bitter Sweet Love and Dirty Pretty Things—both finalists in the 2016 and 2015 Goodreads Readers Choice Awards.

Michael Faudet’s latest book takes the reader on an emotionally charged journey, exploring the joys of falling madly in love and the melancholy world of the brokenhearted. Beautifully captured in poetry, prose, and short stories, Faudet's whimsical and sometimes erotic writing has captured the hearts and minds of thousands of readers from around the world.

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MY RATING: ★★★★★ Just within this year, I was able to read the first two poetry books of Michael Faudet and I was quite disappointed, thus I have to rate them low. But this latest and soon-to-be-published poetry book of Faudet is very impressive! I can count a lot of poems that are remarkably well-written most notably Destined To Be Yours, Love, and A Beautiful Deception. Once released, I would definitely obtain a copy because this is for keeps.

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Bitter Sweet Love by Michael Faudet

AUTHOR: Michael Faudet

PUBLISHER: Andrews McMeel Publishing

PUBLICATION DATE: October 25, 2016

PAGES: 208
SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS:

Bitter Sweet Love is the much-anticipated second collection of internationally best-selling poet Michael Faudet, author of "Dirty Pretty Things," a finalist in the 2015 Goodreads Readers Choice Awards. Michael Faudet's whimsical and often erotic writing has captured the hearts and minds of literally thousands of readers from around the world. He paints vivid pictures with intricate words and explores the compelling themes of love, loss, relationships, and sex. All beautifully captured in poetry, prose, quotes, and little short stories.

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MY RATING: Similar to Faudet's first published of a compilation of poems, this 2nd book of the author didn't please me. There are few prose and poems that are a bit okay yet still far to be considered remarkable or exceptional.

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Dirty Pretty Things by Michael Faudet

AUTHOR: Michael Faudet

PUBLISHER: Michael Faudet

PUBLICATION DATE: November 18, 2014

PAGES: 274

SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS:

Dirty Pretty Things is the much-anticipated book by Michael Faudet. His whimsical and often erotic writing has already captured the hearts and minds of literally thousands of readers from around the world. He paints vivid pictures with intricate words and explores the compelling themes of love, loss, relationships, and sex. All beautifully captured in poetry, prose, quotes and little short stories.

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MY RATING: I was really curious about what's the hype about this poetry book. It's price around USD 12-13 when I saw it in our local bookstore so I thought that maybe it is really worth the price. But to my great dismay, the hype and the price doesn't equate to the quality of the poems in this collection. The author wants to convey passion of love and lovemaking, but really the poems are just mediocre. I was really curious on what's the hype about this poetry book. It's price around USD 12-13 when I saw it in our local bookstore so I thought that maybe it is really worth the price. But to my great dismay, the hype and the price doesn't equate to the quality of the poems in this collection. The author wants to convey passion of love and lovemaking, but really the poems are just mediocre. I also purchased Faudet's 2nd book of Bitter Sweet Love. And despite the average rating of the said book here in Goodreads, I'm still giving it a chance to amuse me.

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Adventure Time: Candy Capers #1-6

AUTHOR: Yuko Ota, Ananth Panagariya, Ian McGinty
PUBLISHER: KaBOOM
PUBLICATION DATE: May 13, 2014
PAGES: 128
SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS:

An all-new stand-alone ADVENTURE TIME story featuring Peppermint Butler and Cinnamon Bun!

FINN AND JAKE ARE MISSING?! Don't worry Candy Kingdom, Peppermint Butler and Cinnamon Bun will... protect... you? This is a mini-series you definitely don't want to miss, with talent of Yuko Ota and Ananth Panagariya of JOHNNY WANDER writing our candied heroes and Ian McGinty of UGLY DOLL on art, there is nothing that can go wrong!

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MY RATING: The stories per issue, I guess, are not entirely coherent to each other. I'm quite disappointed with the flow of the story. The only thing I'm raving about this is the digital artwork.

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Adventure Time: Marceline and The Scream Queens #1-6

AUTHOR: Meredith Gran, Liz Prince, Yuko Ota, Ananth Panagariya, Kate Leth, Polly Guo, Jen Wang, Faith Erin Hicks
PUBLISHER: KaBOOM
PUBLICATION DATE: June 4, 2013
PAGES: 128
SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS:

The smash-hit spinoff comic series based Cartoon Network’s top-rated cartoon, Adventure Time, is here! Join fan-favorite characters Marceline and Princess Bubblegum for riot grrl rock-fueled excitement in this brand-new ADVENTURE TIME mini-series! Thanks to a newfound interest in music, Princess Bubblegum joins Marceline's paranormal rock band for a tour across the land of Ooo! But when they’re threatened by everything from scenesters to beasts born of self-doubt, can they make it to the RADDEST GIG EVER in time?! Written and drawn by acclaimed cartoonist Meredith Gran (Octopus Pie), this graphic novel collecting the entire hit series is a must-have for any ADVENTURE TIME fan!

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MY RATING:Marceline and Princess Bubblegum are my favorite characters in Adventure Time so I really enjoyed reading these comic issues. Aside from that, the story about Marceline's struggle and the friendship between her and Princess Bubblegum is a must-read.

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Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake Card Wars

AUTHOR: Jen Wang
ILLUSTRATOR: Britt Wilson
PUBLISHER: KaBOOM
PUBLICATION DATE: May 10, 2016
PAGES: 160
SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS:

Adventure Time's favorite gender-flipped duo is back with an all new caper!

Cake is a Card Wars champ who can't be beat, and Fionna...is really tired of getting beaten! They set off in search of a challenger who can really test Cake's mettle. When they stumble across some gamer slugs, they think they've hit the jackpot, but these guys have never heard of Cake and refuse to even play with her!

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MY RATING: The Card Wars tournament is really amazing so I wonder if there's an Adventure Time Card Wars that is being sold by Kaboom or Cartoon Network. I immediately search if there's any and I'm surprise that they have a mobile game available for download. Will definitely check that out because of how this particular comics issues made me like that game.

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