Book Review Still Life

Upang maitaguyod ang pangangailangan nilang mag-ina, lahat ng paraan ay ginawa ni Anna nang pumasok siya sa mundong hindi niya nakasanayan—ang Manila. Lahat ng klase ng raket ay pinasok niya—basta marangal at kikita siya rito. Hindi iniinda ang pagod dahil ang mahalaga lamang sa kaniya ay matugunan ang pangangailangan nila ng anak, lalo't single mom siya at wala siyang ibang aasahan kundi ang sarili lamang niya. Subalit ang pagiging ina niya'y sinubok nang isang araw ma dengue ang kaniyang anak at kailangan niya ng malaking pera. Isang kaibigan ang nagbigay ng raket sa kaniya na may malaking suweldo. Ang hindi niya aakalain ay dahil sa raket na iyon ay muli silang magkikita ng lalaking iniibig niya. Si Brett Valle. Ang ama ng kaniyang anak. This story is book two of Still Holding On.

Humanity has finally done it and destroyed the world. After the spread of the killer virus that no one had a cure for, countries started to fight as greed has pushed them to expand their territories. And in the process, they provoked mother nature to take a stand. The plague evolved into something that twisted and deformed humans; they were neither dead nor alive. Just walking empty husks that fed on flesh and had one purpose, killing. The supernatural were exposed to the rest of the world; as they weren't spared and got affected, too. The result of this knowledge was chaos. Instead of creating one unity, the rest of the living were fighting among themselves and the undead. The entire world turned into a big arena and it was (survival of the fittest).

Hindi inasahan ni Laura na may epekto pa rin sa kanya si Lance makalipas ng mahigit isang taon na hindi nila pagkikita. Napagtanto niya iyon nang muli silang magkita sa wedding rehearsal ng mga kaibigan nila at nang masundan pa ang mga pagkikita nila. Hindi man naging opisyal ang relasyon nila, si Lance ang unang lalaking totoong minahal niya pero bigla na lamang na naputol ang komunikasyon nila. Nalaman na lamang ni Laura na inagaw nito ang girlfriend ng best friend nito. Sinubukan ni Laura na iwasan si Lance dahil siguradong magugulo lang nito ang maayos niyang buhay kapag muli silang nagkalapit. Pero hindi siya nagtagumpay dahil tila sinasadya ng pagkakataon na magkasama sila. Eventually, Lance asked her for a second chance. Pumayag naman si Laura. Ang akala niya ay wala na silang magiging problema, pero natuklasan niya ang malaking kasalanan na nagawa sa kanya ni Lance.

Their marriage was a deal. Loving him was Dianna’s biggest mistake. Dianna Bahr and Theodore Rodriguez were bound by an arranged marriage. One built on power, not love. What grew between them wasn’t affection, but cold silences, shared lies, and a bed that never felt like hers. When Dianna finally walked away, she swore never to look back, no matter how much her heart still ached for the man who destroyed her. Five years later, a phone call shatters her carefully rebuilt life: Theo has been in a terrible accident… and he’s lost part of his memory. Now, he believes they’re still married.....and he wants her back. Forced to return to the house that once broke her, Dianna finds a version of Theo she never knew. Warm. Attentive. Almost kind. But loving a man like Theo has never been safe. Because memories may fade.... .....but obsession never does.  

Harmony is a teenage girl living in Taguig, her family is wealthy and she can get everything that she asks for. But also because of that, she didn't have anyone. Her parents are always away and no one tries to befriend her. She’s basically a loner. Not until she got dragged into a fight that rather changed her life. She got something that she never wanted to have. A disease. A fight between life and death. Hoping to survive, she met a few people that accompanied her through her journey. Violet Hayes, the girl who hated her during middle school. Page Crawford, the nerd transfer that everyone dislikes. Magnus Grey, a strange boy who always looks at her from afar. But the question is, how can they help someone who’s losing hope as the day goes by? How will Harmony cope with her daily life trying to live normally?

Kaegal Eris Zaldua is almost at his 30's yet he haven't been in a relationship nor experienced sex, yet he's liberated and opened minded person. Because of his family's reputation he tend to hide his true identity, in order to cover up his sexuality he full filled their image by gaining a lot of achievements in life so that when he finally confessed regarding to his true identity he might be accepted easily by his family particularly to his father who keeps on thinking of their family's reputation. In the other hand, he found out that among with his friends he's the only one who's still a virgin which triggered him to explore and to have a sex life. But while trying to have an erotic life his first love showed up and later on his friend who have feelings for him for a long time confessed with him. What risk will he grasp to open the door of his closet?

Walter Gray Arkinson is a simple guy who loves to perform. In his 18 years of existence, he never fell in love. He's scared to fall in love with anyone due to his traumatic experiences. His parents are both victims of arrange marriage, and his father constantly cheated. Until one day, he met Angelica Shane Gonzales. Ang mundo nyang tahimik naging sobrang makulay, pero paano kung magkaroon na naman sya nang napakadaming problema? They say that when you love, you must trust the one you love. But what if you trust too much and get broken? Will you still be able to trust again? kakayanin mo bang sabihin na "Sya Parin"? All Rights Reserved

Love makes the world go round, sabi nila. Pero iba para kay Alexena dahil pinatigil nito ang isang bahagi ng buhay at pagkatao niya. Kahit na dala ang sakit ng kahapon ay pinili niyang mag-move forward at ngumiting muli upang ipagpatuloy ang buhay. Ngunit pagkatapos umalis nang walang paalam makalipas ang ilang taon ay hindi niya kailanman inakalang maglalaro ang tadhana at pagtatagpuing muli ang kanilang landas ng nag-iisang lalaki na kanyang minahal at iniwan sa nakaraan. Pero nagbago na ito, wala na ang bakas ng pagkatao ng lalaking kanyang nakasama noon. Wala na ni anino ng suyo kapag tinatapunan siya nito ng tingin at lambing sa tinig kapag kinakausap siya. Sa halip ay puro pang-iinsulto at masasakit na salita na lamang ang lumalabas sa bibig nito sa tuwing bubuka iyon. At ang nakakaloka pa ay napapansin niya na palagi na lang siya nitong pinag-iinitan at pinepersonal. Palagi ring iritado at akala mo ba ay may buwanang dalaw sa sungit. Aminado naman siyang may malaki siyang kasalanan dito. At mukhang dumating na rin ang panahon ng paniningil nito, ayaw man niya ay kailangan niyang magbayad. Ngunit sa kabila ng mga iringan nilang dalawa at hindi pagkakasundo ay hindi maikakailang ito pa rin ang nag-iisang tao na may kakayahang patibukin nang mabilis ang puso niya. Akala niya ay okay na siya, akala niya ay naka-move on na siya rito. Pero mukhang mali ang lahat ng naging paniniwala niya dahil tutol man ang isip niya sa kanyang nararamdaman ay sadya namang may pagkatraydor, suwail at balimbing ang puso niya basta pagdating na rito ang usapan. Love is sweeter the second time around, maging applicable naman kaya ang kasabihang iyon sa dalawang ito? O sa halip na maging matamis ay baka naman pait ang malasahan at maging kapalaran ng mga ito sa dulo?

Hana bertemu kembali dengan teman masa kecilnya namun disituasi yang berbeda. Seiring kebersamaan yang telah dilaluinya bersama Gibran, Hana jatuh cinta. Namun disisi lain, Gibran memilih pergi dengan yang lain.Bagaimanakah kisah cinta Hana dan Gibran? Apakah terus berlanjut atau memang telah usai?

"I want you back, Cali." I utter, looking at her eyes. "What?" Shock written in her face. "I want you back," She scoffs, "You must be gone crazy." "I'm serious. I want you back. I still love you, Cali..." She slaps me. "You want me back? Then you are a jerk! You left me. You left me here when you already made a promise that we'd always be together." The sounds of her crying and her broken voice broke my heart into pieces. "Sorry. I'm sorry, " After all, this is all I can say. My tears started to fell on my cheeks.