chi – Page 3 – Chi Yu Rodriguez Books

FEELS: NOTED || The Last Night of Her Wake by Chrissie Peria

Disclaimer: Everything you will read after this will be spoiler-free. This is not an actual review. These are just feelings, put into slightly incoherent words that hopefully make sense enough for you to understand how a certain book affected me. There will be no technical comments, no nitpicking. Just feelings, all the feelings.

Get it on Buqo

First things first: Don’t forget to follow the #StrangeLit blog tours. Which will be going on for the rest of the month!

Do download the Buqo app and purchase your own e-book copy of #StrangeLit Killer Seasons, and rate it on Goodreads. ♥

This story in the #StrangeLit Killer Seasons bundle is one of those stories where… you think you know, but you really have no idea. I mean, the title itself should be self explanatory, right? Someone died. A girl died. It was the last night of her wake and she’s probably not dead. You’re probably going to read a story about how she’s watching over her coffin, spitting out ironic commentary about the people coming to visit.

It’s probably going to be this hilarious story about how the afterlife sucks, told in the point of view of a girl who died.

Well, simply put… NO.

It’s a story about how life sucks, told in the point of view of those who got left behind.

Continue reading FEELS: NOTED || The Last Night of Her Wake by Chrissie Peria

GUEST POST || Personal Taste by Therese Barleta

First things first: Don’t forget to follow the #StrangeLit blog tours. Which will be going on for the rest of the month!

Do download the Buqo app and purchase your own e-book copy of #StrangeLit Darkest Dreams, and rate it on Goodreads. ♥

My featured author for today is Therese Barleta. She’s a good friend–smart, armed with beautiful words, but is one that isn’t very fond of people-ing. (Like me.) So I thought, what better way to open her up to people than to force her to write something that will give everyone else an inside look at that big brain of hers. (There’s also an interview coming up from another friend of ours. We are, as the author will say behind the cut, “sadistic” like that. :p)

Read more to learn about her and her #StrangeLit story, When It Rains In Mystic River.

Continue reading GUEST POST || Personal Taste by Therese Barleta

#StrangeLit Fateful Turns || Excerpts and Things

First things first: Don’t forget to follow the #StrangeLit blog tours. Which will be going on for the rest of the month!

Do download the Buqo app and purchase your own e-book copy of #StrangeLit Fateful Turns, and rate it on Goodreads. ♥

With eleven stories, Fateful Turns is the biggest collection of stories from the #StrangeLit workshop. (Can you say, bargain? ♥♥♥) Behind the cut are a few excerpts from four of those stories. Hopefully, some of the ones you haven’t quite read about yet. 🙂

Continue reading #StrangeLit Fateful Turns || Excerpts and Things

DREAM CAST || In Over Her Head by Anne Plaza

First things first: Don’t forget to follow the #BacklistRevivalProject hashtag, to stay updated on all the books we’ll be bringing back to life this year.

Do rate/review In Over Her Head on Goodreads, or give a shout-out to the author on Twitter and Facebook.

Get the book on Amazon | Smashwords | iBooks

All she wants is to get even…

Erika Apostol’s quiet and unassuming life gets disrupted when she learns that Richard Javier, the very same person who broke her heart many years ago, is now back in the country. Her world is turned upside down as old feelings she thought were buried resurface to haunt her once more.

Determined to give Richard a dose of his own medicine, Erika finds herself involved in an outrageous plan devised by her friends. They enlist the help of Jerome Gonzales, an attractive and charismatic DJ (with a playboy reputation), to pose as her significant other.

As the plan goes in full swing, Erika discovers Richard’s jealous side, and that there’s something more to Jerome than meets the eye. Will this grand charade work out the way it should, or will she be left with nothing in the end?

We read books and as soon as the author starts describing a character so-and-so, we form this image in our head of someone–some familiar or unfamiliar face that becomes our peg for that character. It may not always be the same with everyone else, but we stick to it. Because it makes the character feel more alive in our heads as we read along.

Author Anne Plaza gives us her own Dream Cast for In Over Her Head and it’s nothing if not a whole lot of eye candy. ♥

“When I was writing In Over Her Head for #romanceclass, Mina asked us to come up with character profiles for our stories,” says Anne Plaza. Continue reading DREAM CAST || In Over Her Head by Anne Plaza

FEELS: NOTED || Only A Kiss by Ines Bautista Yao

Get it on Amazon | Buqo | Local bookstores

First things first: Do rate/review Only A Kiss on Goodreads, or give a shout-out to the author on Twitter and Facebook.

When she was nine-years-old, Katie knew she wanted Chris to give her her first kiss. It wasn’t because she was in love with him (no way, he was her best friend! Besides, she was in love with his fourteen-year-old big brother), it was because she could make him do anything she wanted.

Besides, it didn’t really mean anything. It was only a kiss after all.

But then things started to change. They grew up. They parted ways and went to different high schools. And other girls and boys—well, just one particular boy—came into the picture, throwing their lives upside down.

Told from the alternating points of view of Katie and Chris, this love story between two best friends will tug at your heartstrings and leave you thinking how the simplest things can mean so much.

I went back in time, that’s what happened when I read Only A Kiss. I went back to re-live a childhood that wasn’t mine, filled with cotton candy, rainbows, and firsts I never had. From the very beginning, it was wonderful and fluffy and just… see that gifscale up there? Totally accurate.

Continue reading FEELS: NOTED || Only A Kiss by Ines Bautista Yao

The Bye-Bye Bouquet… in paperback?

In case you missed it, my first full-length romance novella went LIVE on Amazon last February 14, 2016. Before I proceed with anything else, I just want to say thank you to those who pre-ordered the e-book, and those who purchased the e-book after it went live. ♥♥♥ I’m currently working on getting the e-book available in other online platforms, but I’m opening the option of holding the actual book in your hands… right now!

If you want a paperback copy of The Bye-Bye Bouquet, fill up the form below. If I get at least 10 orders, I will have the first batch of books printed.

…and I will also love you and appreciate your support oh so very much. 🙂

So flex those fingers and start typing!

Continue reading The Bye-Bye Bouquet… in paperback?

FEELS: NOTED || The Hometown Hazard by Dawn Lanuza

Get it on Amazon | Also available on Buqo

First things first: Don’t forget to follow the #TheHometownHazard blog tour, join the giveaway, and get a chance to win a free e-book copy of The Hometown Hazard!

Do rate/review The Hometown Hazard on Goodreads, or give a shout-out to the author on Twitter and Facebook.

Jules Coronado has been away from her hometown for almost a decade but when an intruder breaks in to her childhood home, she finds herself coming back. Changes evidently took place in her small town, including her childhood best friend’s younger brother, Kip – now tall, slightly scruffed, all grown up and caught climbing into their garden wall.

Kip Villamor has a mission and despite Jules’ doubts, they team up: going on fieldtrips, tackling unsuspecting men, and trespassing offices to dig up dirt. But Jules has secrets of her own, one that might be exposed – unless she keeps her walls up. But climbing walls are Kip’s forte, remember?

Will her secrets keep her on his side, or will it force her to disappear again?

It was the cover that got me at first when I saw the blog tour invite. I mean, look at how pretty this is! Obviously, a good cover is a big factor. But I’ve gotten books with nice covers, and ultimately put them down before I could even finish the story. It didn’t happen with The Hometown Hazard. (Though we did get a little “tense” for a bit, right, Dawn? :p)

I expected an in-your-face romance when I signed up for this tour. And I did get romance, definitely! But The Hometown Hazard is a lot more than just romance. It has suspense, and a sense of mystery that reminded me of the crime procedurals I love watching on television–with more sexual tension, of course. ♥

Continue reading FEELS: NOTED || The Hometown Hazard by Dawn Lanuza

COVER REVEAL + GIVEAWAY || The Bye-Bye Bouquet

It was December 2015 when an idea came to me and never left. The Plot Bunny was so strong, I already had a title and a blurb within hours!

Depending on how you look at it, it was either a smart or a really stupid idea to aim for Valentine’s Day release. I only had one month to finish a fifteen thousand word novella. There were a lot of things going on in my life and there were days when I struggled to write even just a sentence or two.

I still ended up going over by one week but guess what? More than twenty thousand words later, I finished my first ever, full-length romance novella, The Bye-Bye Bouquet. Somebody hold me.

Every month for the past year, like clockwork, Meile Simon has gotten orders at her shop for the same type of bouquet, from the same guy, delivered to twelve different girls. By the third month, she starts to take note.

Warren Leigh likes women. He does. He knows there are too many beautiful women out there just waiting to be plucked by the right guy. But he firmly believes that personal relationships with them must have an expiration date.

When the girl who likes to watch flowers bloom encounters the guy who’s only in it while the fragrance lasts, curiosity gets the best of both of them.

In the midst of intermittent weather, will their connection blossom or wilt?

Continue reading COVER REVEAL + GIVEAWAY || The Bye-Bye Bouquet

Starbucks || Double Planner Sticker Promo!

It’s the home stretch! The Christmas season is almost over (though, is it ever really over, in this country?) It won’t be long before our favorite Starbucks Holiday Drinks will disappear from the menu. With them will be the chance to get your hands on the 2016 Starbucks Moleskine Planner.

Did you claim one already? Did you claim one too many, like me? Or are you still counting the blank circles in your Starbucks Christmas Traditions Promo Card?

Fear not! Starting today, January 5, 2016, until January 17, 2016, all Starbucks Philippines branches will be awarding you two stickers for every single purchase of a Starbucks handcrafted beverage! Isn’t that neat?

This means that even if you’re only starting now, all it will take is one visit a day to get that planner! (Half that many visits if you bring a friend or even better–a date. *wink wink*)

Remember that for every planner redeemed, a donation will be made to partner NGOs Teach For the Philippines and The Peta Theater. So drop by the nearest Starbucks branch near you! You’ll be giving a gift in more ways than one. ♥♥♥

GIVEAWAY || Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay is the final installment of author Suzanne Collins’ New York Times Best Selling series, The Hunger Games.

Want to get your hands on your very own copy of this epic trilogy’s action packed conclusion? All you have to do is like this page then share the post below to qualify for the draw! Collection of entries will end on Sunday, December 6, 2015, and the winner will be announced the next day.

Good luck! And may the odds be ever in your favor. 😉

https://www.facebook.com/chiyurodriguez/photos/a.1658685937708723.1073741829.1606295296281121/1672934256283891/?type=3