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Image from weheartit.com

Image from weheartit.com

It’s not a secret that I hardly ever blog here anymore, except for the blog tours I joined, or the suddenly occasional bursts of review inspiration. But to be honest, sometimes I forget that this blog exists nowadays, perhaps because I have several blogs running, too. Case in point – I meant to post this on February 29, but I was out of the country then. Then I told myself, I’ll post it on March 31, and true to form, I almost forgot again.

I don’t want to make this long, and it’s not like I have a ton of readers here nowadays. So without further ado/other fanfare, here it is: I’m closing I Like It Dog-Eared today, March 31, 2016.

No earth-shattering reasons, except I think I’ve outgrown it, and I want to focus my energies on something else. :) I suppose I could have just let it languish and not leave a note, but I like closure. :P That, and I feel guilty getting all these emails for reviews and such when I’m doing such a bad job reading and reviewing, too. So since it’s the leap year, anyway, I figured it was a good time to announce this.

I’m still around, of course. There’s the personal blog for all the life stuff. I will still blog about books, but most of them will be in the new author blog. Reviews/bookish posts there will be mostly books by Filipino authors, to support the community, but some other books may find its way there. No pressure, and probably not the kind of reviews that I used to do here. I’m still on Goodreads, too, and also posting occasional reviews there, as well.

I won’t take the blog down completely, so other people may still find the reviews (comments for most of the posts will close though, because I doubt I’d have time to read them anymore). That said, my views from all those years that I’ve read and reviewed all these books will have changed now if I reread them again, as everyone’s reading tastes change, so do take these opinions with a grain of salt. :)

So thank you, to everyone who followed, commented, and read books because of the reviews I posted here. It’s been fun. See you around!

Onto the last page.

Cheers,
Tina

Blog Tour: The Hometown Hazard – Review + Author Playlist

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The Hometown Hazard by Dawn Lanuza
Published on January 29, 2016

Genre: New Adult, Romance
Goodreads | Amazon | Buqo

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?

TheHometownHazardEbI wasn’t completely sure what to expect with Dawn Lanuza’s The Hometown Hazard, except that it was romance because it seemed like it. I read and enjoyed Dawn’s first book, The Boyfriend Backtrack, and I love spin-off stories, so when the blog tour came up, I signed up immediately.

This was different, definitely. Like I said, I came in expecting romance – and there was romance, definitely – and finished the book finding more. The Hometown Hazard had a small town, childhood friends, secrets, and a mystery that will keep you on your toes, wondering if there is really something in what Kip and Jules were following.

First, the mystery: what fun. I liked how Jules’ small town came alive in this story, and how all the people that the duo contacts rises from the pages, too. It was easy to imagine why Jules left without really finding out why because if you’ve been in a small town for so long, it’s just natural to go to the city, right? But don’t take my word for it, because there’s more in the main character Jules, and even more in the lead interest Kip. The mystery was unveiled skillfully, and like any good mystery, it makes you want to reread to get the clues again.

And of course, the romance: oh, Kip. I think anyone who’s read this will agree that Kip is his own character, totally different from the other boys that Dawn wrote about in The Boyfriend Backtrack. Kip was charming and adventurous and I totally get why one would want to follow him around. In some ways, I felt that the romance didn’t really take centerstage here, but I didn’t mind because it played off great with the other aspects of the book.

The Hometown Hazard has great pacing, lovely characters, and an adventure you wouldn’t want to miss. It’s the kind of book you’d want to bring home to a trip to the province…and then you’d end up wishing there’s a Kip wherever you’re staying. :)

Favorite quotes:

I think it’s possible for you to love someone but not necessarily like them at times. Do you get that?

If I haven’t forgiven myself, I wouldn’t be strong enough to love someone this much.

“How do you undo a ghosting?” Leslie asked.
“You make an appearance,” I laughed. “And stick around.”

Check out The Hometown Hazard playlist:

About the Author:

Dawn Lanuza started writing stories when she was just a kid (they weren’t good or even finished). She works for the music industry by day and writes meet cutes and snappy comebacks by night. ‘The Boyfriend Backtrack’ is her first book. She currently lives with her family and an adopted dog.

Author Links: Amazon / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

 

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Blog Tour: Rumor Has It – Review

Rumor Has It

rumor has itRumor Has It by Farrah F. Polestico
Published on November 30, 2015
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Goodreads | Amazon | Smashwords | Kobo | B&N 

It’s senior year and it’s now or never. Callie Rivera always wanted to be part of her school’s drama club, and she finally musters the courage to audition for Shakespeare’s classic A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Only she got the audition dates wrong and landed a role that only existed in her wildest dreams. And her co-actor? None other than Landon Arcival, theater actor extraordinaire, not to mention Callie’s (former) crush— or so she says.

Callie is living the dream, until she wakes up to a nightmare. According to the rumor mill, she is sleeping with different guys in her school. Of course, it isn’t true, but who would believe her? And the worst part? It may or may not be her fault the rumors spread in the first place.

What to do? Callie finds herself in the middle of a hot mess. But then Landon proposes the perfect plan that can fix everything, but only if they don’t fall for each other first.

First off: look at that cute cute cute cover. It’s so cute and sweet that I wanted to take a bite from it, or at least eat some candy while I was reading it. :D

Callie Rivera finally took the chance to audition for the school’s drama club, but she got the audition dates wrong and found herself landing a role in the club’s major production for the year. What made it even more awesome was she was playing a role with her (former) crush, Landon Arcival, also known as Golden Boy in her head. All seemed to go well, until a rumor that she sleeps with different guys spread in her school. (Not true, although she did lie about it at one point.) As Callie tried to find a way to get out of the mess, Golden Boy comes up with a plan. Should she go for it?

Rumor Has It reminded me of two things: Easy A, and Amy Spalding’s The Reece Malcolm List. There’s rumors, performing arts and so many interesting characters only reminiscent of high school. Rumor Has It has all those interesting characters, from Callie to her best friend Beatrice and to the theater folks. I liked the entire dynamic of their high school — a lot different from what I grew up with but still believable that it was easy to get lost in the entire rumor mill.

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And Landon - I agree with Callie: he was definitely charming. I liked it every time he was on scene, although some of the things he did was a little bit cheesy (or maybe I’m just getting old haha). But he was such a joy to read and all his little ways charmed me, too. I liked how he made his way in Callie’s life and stood up for her, and I was really rooting for him to get the girl (and for Callie to get the guy). And star gazing! That was cute. :)

Overall, Rumor Has It is a book as cute as its cover. Not too candy sweet, but still sweet enough to leave a smile on your face when you’re done. :) Looking forward to reading the author’s other books!

About the Author:

Farrah F. Polestico wanted to be a lot of things in life— an engineer, a nurse, an astrophysicist. But it wasn’t until she was thirteen when she knew for sure she was going to be a published writer. And now she is. When she’s not up all night writing her next book, you can find her reading anything and everything from a Charles Dickens novel to old grocery receipts.

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