Hello Everyone!

With the fall semester fast coming to an end, there are many who feel they will finally be able to breathe again. For awhile, gone will be the race against homework deadlines, constant research and cramming for tests. The stress and anxiety will fade and enjoyment of the break and holiday season will take hold of many.

This site will also see some changes. Because of classwork, this site has seen regular updates and that will not change. What will change is the content to some extent. There will still be reviews, but no longer just for assignments, and the tone will go back to before.

With that said, this site will be reviewing 4 books during the holiday season. A few of the books mentioned were promised but never delivered; that will be rectified. The books are: What You Did, by Claire McGowan; Forgotten Bones, by Vivian Barz; Untouchable, by Jayne Ann Krentz; and Forget You Ethan, by Whitney G.

These reads have been a long time coming and here’s hoping the anticipation is worth the wait. So, after the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping, prepare for some good or bad news to average out your day. Until then!

See you soon,

The Book Diva

Hello Everyone,

A 2016 article by Governor Ducey extolled the need of more college graduates in Arizona for the success of family, state and future. As the year 2020 draws ever closer, the amount of employers accepting high school diplomas only is drawing further away. The time is fast approaching where a degree or certificate will be required to attain even the lowest paying jobs, let alone executive salary positions.

Most students aspire to attend either community college or university, while others have a specific career choice in mind that requires a certificate. With that in mind, many forgo this dream because of their economic situation. In other words, minorities miss the opportunity to further their education because they simply can’t afford it and cannot obtain financial assistance. Gov. Ducey and other Arizona leaders have come up with a plan to have 60% of Arizonans as college graduates by the year 2030. You can read more about it here: http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2016/09/17/arizona-needs-more-college-grads-ducey/90363958/.

Although the article is calling on the youth of Arizona, we must not forget about the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who never had the opportunity to attain secondary education because of economics and raising families. There are also some who feel they are too old or have been stagnant at their jobs for so long, furthering their education was never an option. Thus they never try.

What is failed to be understood is, if that unattainable position higher up is in fact attainable with a certificate, how much further can they go with an Associate or Bachelor degree? The program Ducey describes is not just for youths, but for the mature adults interested in getting out of the rut they find themselves and adequately equipped to compete with the younger generation for the better paying positions, in addition to the experience they bring with it. If given the opportunity, who wouldn’t go for the higher pay, better benefits and greater quality of life?

So, as Gov. Ducey urges, young and old should take this opportunity to attain greatness for themselves and for their home state. Make your family proud, make Arizona proud, but most importantly, make yourself proud! Until later!

Happy Studying,

The Book Diva

Hello Everyone!

In the midst of fall, there are changes being experienced by many. The extreme heat is giving way to warm or cooler weather, depending on the location, the bright green of the landscape is changing to various shades ranging from browns, to reds and yellows. It is a beautiful time of the year.

In the home, artificial air can now be shut off in favor of fresh, natural air courtesy of open windows. At night, the fuzzy socks comes out and the favorite soft throw is available for snuggling on the couch or comfy chair, with a good book. Don’t have a good book to read? Maybe waiting for that anticipated book to release? Here is an alternative, the Webnovel app.

Webnovel has a variety of translated Chinese web novels that are excellent; one such novel is Trial Marriage Husband: Need To Work Hard.

Trial Marriage Husband is about a woman betrayed on the day of her marriage by her fiancé and colleague at the Civil Affairs Bureau in China. There, she encounters a man, who has been stood up by the woman he was contracted to marry. They decide, spur of the moment, to marry for a trial period, never expecting a great love to follow.

Meet Tang Ning, a beautiful, intelligent, warm-hearted woman, who will do anything for the man she loves. When she finds out on the eve of her wedding about his and her colleague and friend’s betrayal, she is still willing to give him a chance, since she gave up family and career for him. When he stands her up in favor of his mistress at the Civil Affairs Bureau, she decides to move on with her life and jump start her stagnant career. Enters Mo Ting, a handsome CEO, who has also been stood up by his contracted bride. He must marry that day, before his family pushes an unwanted marriage on him, not to mention putting the family business in jeopardy by having incompetent, greedy family members inherit.

These two meet and click, and the start of a bumpy, roller-coaster marriage filled with revenge, schemes, and backstabbing gives way to a love- filled, close knit, passionate, doting union. The two manage to successfully navigate the treacherous waters of the entertainment business, while not letting misunderstandings ruin the trust and friendship they have built; delivering much deserved face slapping, with the ultimate doting husband.

This is a great read to kick off the autumn months. A story that will have you losing time and sleep, binge reading. The best part is, where most Chinese web novels seemingly go on forever, usually hitting 1,500+ chapters, Trial Marriage Husband is completed with 1274 chapters, giving you hours of reading pleasure.

So check out the Webnovel app, add this in your library and embark on the journey of love and discovery with Tang Ning and Mo Ting, two well developed, lovable characters. Also, refer to some of the previous posts on this site, where other web novels were reviewed, for more recommended titles. Until then!

Happy Reading,

The Book Diva

Hello Everyone!

Reading is a favorite pastime of many. The ultimate escape, to many different countries, cultures, time periods and even worlds, depending on your preferred genre. As great as reading is, when done it for fun, it is not so fun when it’s enforced reading, especially depending on the requirement (i.e school).

It is easy to go into a bookstore or various reading apps and sites like Kindle, to pick out a good book to read, but when your teacher/instructor sets materials to be read, you tend to cringe, shy away or run screaming into night, all the while cursing said teacher/instructor. You just know it’s going to be some old, boring, hard to read story that will numb your brain and cross your eyes. Your pain is understood. But in the midst of all of those dusty paperweights, there may be some hidden gems. One such gem is Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour.

The Story of an Hour is a classic short story that tells of a woman who is informed of her husband’s death and the stages of grief she experiences as she tries to come to terms with life without her husband. Louise Mallard is told of Brentley’s, her husband, death by her sister Josephine and Brentley’s friend Richards. They are worried because of her weak heart.

Since this is a short story, there is little to no character development, also very little plot action, but plot and theme are relevant to the time and setting of the story, when women were still subservient to men and forced to conform to societal standards. That aspect is what makes the story so interesting, and it being short, gives it even more of an impact at the climax of tension and story’s end.

So, if you feel the need to flex your literature muscles, or just to have something to discuss at a party to make yourself feel intelligent and well read, this is a fun little gem to read, analyze and maybe recommend and discuss with your book club, with a little twist at the end to really add to a conversational piece. Grab yourself a copy at your local library, download it to your e-reader or listen to it on audio and have a good time. Until later!

Happy Reading!

The Book Diva

Hello Everyone!

On a beautiful, warm Sunday, you may be relaxing, chilling with your family and friends, eating Sunday dinner. Or you may be working. You could even be on the grind doing homework. If you are, take a break, rest your mind and focus on this blog for a moment.

This blog is usually reserved for book reviews, but let’s take a detour. Let’s talk about anime. Anime, for the uninformed, is a Japanese form of animation, or cartoon, most often based off Japanese comics called manga. There will not be history lessons and facts about the origin of anime, this isn’t that type of blog. Instead, the topic is about watching not learning about anime, and one anime in particular. Introducing one of the popular anime of 2019, Black Clover.

Black Clover is a fantasy show that tells the story of two boys, abandoned as babies, to a church in a tiny, poor village. Being it’s based in the fantasy genre, there is magic involved. One of the boys has it and the other doesn’t.

Asta and Yuno grew up in Hage village. Yuno has amazing power at the young age of 15 and is the hope of the village. Asta, also 15 doesn’t have a lick of magic, but that doesn’t stop him from training hard in the hopes of developing magic. Both boys are close and considers each other rivals in the bid of becoming the next Wizard King, the most powerful magic user and protector in the Clover Kingdom.

The boys leave Hage to travel to Clover Kingdom, to test to become magic knights, the first step towards becoming the Wizard King. What follows are the trials and triumphs during their time in Clover Kingdom, with most of the focus on Asta, the hero in the black cape.

Black Clover is an anime with a lot of feel good messages, namely ‘never giving up’, Asta’s catch phrase. The plots are immersive and entertaining, containing plenty of action, increasingly developed characters and lots of comedic moments, thanks, in particular, to one of the magic knight squads. Social discrimination is also rampant in the Clover Kingdom, which both Asta and Yuno are slowly overcoming with their incredible power and determination.

If you have never watched an anime or if you are well versed in anime but have never seen Black Clover, now is the time to give it a try. But a word of warning, be careful watching this anime, you may find yourself hooked after the first episode and tempted to neglect your studies, work or even loved ones. Black Clover is effective escapism!

Happy Watching,

The Book Diva

Hello,

I am Oletha Hall a.k.a The Book Diva. As you can tell from my pseudonym, my passion is books. I love to read. Obsessively. My life revolves around reading. When I finish a good book, I don’t know what to do with my life. I do have other interests, but reading is my identity. If you ask anyone who knows me about me, the first thing they will say is “she reads… A LOT.” the genre I read the most and am very passionate about is romance novels. I read contemporary, historical and romantic suspense/thrillers. I am currently binge reading Chinese romantic web-novels and comics. They are very interesting. I also love to read romantic and action manga. This is who I am. Welcome to my world!

Ok, I admit I am exaggerating. I do have other interests and hobbies, but a big chunk of my life is spent in a book, whether print (hard/paper back) or an e-book. My Kindle is the closest friend I have at the moment-my best friend deserted me to move with her husband- how DARE she. The next best thing in my life is music. I love music. My father plays the saxophone, so I grew up with music. I mainly listen to K-pop, R&B, Gospel, Pop and Country, in that order. If I could play any instrument(s) it would be piano and/or guitar. I took piano lessons briefly as a child, but sadly, we couldn’t afford to keep it up, but I never lost interest in music.

My other interest is watching anime. I was watching anime before I knew that’s what it was. Dragon Ball Z took the place of The Power Rangers for me. I thought it was just an awesome cartoon, but I was wrong. I also watched an anime called Case Closed, which is my favorite, but again, I didn’t know it was an anime. Now, I watch a lot of different anime, including: My Hero Academia, Black Clover, Dragon Ball Super, and Fairy Tail, just to name a few. If you pay attention during discussions on Canvas, my profile pic is from Case Closed.

My hobby is playing The Sims 3 and 4. I really enjoy playing The Sims. Playing God is so fun. It is the thing I do when I am in between books and anime.

Despite that, my main thing is books. To the point that if you explore this sight, you will realize that it is a book review site, as evidenced by my URL. So, that is what I will continue to focus on. Although I haven’t had much time to blog lately, I am hopeful that after this semester, I will have the time to continue. I am so going to enjoy this part of the assignments, because I will have the chance and excuse to go back to reading and reviewing books, even if it means losing sleep, which I often do, especially when a book is addictive.

I am glad to share my obsession with you, and hope you enjoy the journey into my ever changing, but very consistent, romantic world.

See you soon,

The Book Diva

Hello Everyone!

Wow, it has been a very long time since I posted a review. School took over my life, but I have been enjoying the challenge. It just didn’t leave me with much time to read any good books.

The good news is, within the next two weeks, I plan to read 3 books, and review them. I will be reading Untouchable-Jayne Ann Krentz; Forgotten Bones-Vivian Barz and What You Did-Claire McGowan. I will give my honest take on these books, good or bad. So stay tuned.

In the meantime, I have still been reading Chinese web-novels. They are an easy read because the chapters come out daily, as a result, they don’t take much time to read. I am currently reading my favorite web-novel to date. It is The Beautiful Time With You! It is a really, really good read.

The Beautiful Time With You is by an author known for novels filled with angst and misunderstandings, but it isn’t that type of story. It is a light-hearted romantic-comedy. It is a light and easy read that will have you laughing out loud with their antics.

The Beautiful Time With You is about a handsome, rich, young college man named Lin Jiage, who is the Prince of the Math Department, and is heir to his family’s company. He is also the second best Player’s Unknown Battleground (PubG) gamer worldwide. He has been engaged for six years to a girl he has only met a few times, and didn’t like. Needless to say, he is cold and arrogant. Despite his good looks and popularity, he doesn’t date. There aren’t any girls he is interested in, especially not girls in his social strata.

While playing PubG with his best friends and roommates, he meets a girl in game with the username Yao Loves Ice Cream. This girl is Shi Yao, a beautiful, young Campus Belle of the English Department… and Lin Jiage’s fiancee. Her entire focus (when she isn’t playing PubG and studying) is food. She loves food, the ultimate foodie (as evidenced by her tag).

This engaged couple has no idea they are playing on the same team in game. At the same time, even though they initially wanted to end the engagement, they are slowly getting to know each other and in the process, getting to like each other. It is a slow, but hilarious build amidst Shi Yao’s obsession with food, as they fall for each other in game and in real life.

They are a likable couple. Individually, they are interesting characters, but add in their comic relief roommates, family and most especially, Lin Jiage’s grandfather, who is determined to have Shi Yao as his granddaughter-in-law, and you have a very entertaining read, that I would one day love to see as a drama.

Well, that’s all for today! I will be back in the next few weeks with a review for the books I plan to read. Until then…

Happy Reading,

The Book Diva

Hello Everyone,

I’m back! It’s been a long time since I’ve reviewed books on this site. So to kick off summer in the desert let’s talk.

To start off, I haven’t blogged in a while because I haven’t read anything worth talking about. I have reviewed two books that I didn’t like and explained why I didn’t like them. The thing is, doing that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I grew up under the philosophy of if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything. So, when I wrote of why I didn’t like the books, I felt as if I was attacking the author. I know, I know, it’s not attacking the authors, just giving an honest opinion, which most authors appreciate. It’s just uncomfortable for me. Now, if I am reviewing a book and ranting and raving about a detestable character in the novel, well that’s fine. A good antagonist gives a book depth and makes it that much more enjoyable. If you love or hate a character, it gives credence to the author, validating the talent and the hard work the author put into it. It’s just like when watching a movie/tv show. If you hate a particular person, it’s makes you respect the talent of the actor/actress, who immersed themselves wholeheartedly in the role and caused the reaction they were going for. It’s the same for the characters in books. So if I become annoyed, happy, sad, angry etc. I am giving the author what they want.

What I’m trying to say in my long winded way, is I have been disappointed and disillusioned by what I have been reading these past months of silence. I couldn’t take it anymore. I put away my Kindle, buried my library card in my junk drawer (I hope I can find it when I get over this snit) and retreated to the world of anime. It got to the point where I almost decided to upload anime reaction videos and write a synopsis of the episodes. This site was close to getting a drastic makeover.

But I love reading. When the anime I was watching ended (Classroom of the Elite, if you watch anime you should check it out, it’s really good) I decided to find the light novel it was based on to nourish my newly developed obsession of the story, while I wait for upcoming novels by some of my favorite authors: Jayne Ann Krentz, Nora Roberts, Maya Banks, Whitney G, just to name a few. Since Classroom of the Elite was obviously written in japanese, I decided to find a translated version of the novel and I did find it. It was during the search that I accidentally came across my guilty pleasure.

I found Chinese novels. Yes, you read that right. Chinese. Novels.

At that moment, I entered a whole new world (queue Aladdin). I am used to reading Japanese mangas, and Korean manhwas, but never considered Chinese novels, to be more accurate, they actually are web novels. My curiosity got the best of me after reading the summary. Now, I’m hooked.  The web novel that started my current obsession is called Hidden Marriage, which is still ongoing.

There are of course different genres. Hidden Marriage is a modern day story set in the entertainment scene, with one of the reoccurring themes of Chinese web novels- vengeance. Being betrayed by family or loved ones and getting revenge; in this case betrayed by her sister and childhood sweetheart, hated by her parents and exiled, just to come back years later to take revenge for the pain endured and finding love along the way. Compelling stuff.

But my absolute favorite and the prevalent theme of most Chinese web novels is…transmigration. Where the heroine (since it’s mostly women who are betrayed in these stories) dies in her original life, just to be reincarnated, either some years in the past to undue the events leading to her unfair death and take revenge on those who hurt her, or into a new body, where the previous host was treated harshly and the heroine makes it her business to exact vengeance for their unfair life and death, with both hers and the previous owner’s memories intact. Three such novels are Perfect Secret Love: The Bad New Wife Is a Little Sweet also titled 100% Sweet Love: the delinquent wife is a bit sweet (1st pic), written by the same author of Hidden Marriage. This story follows the reset of life to change the mistakes of 7 years ago in the modern era; The Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage (2nd pic) where the heroine lived and died a betrayed Empress in the historical era and was reincarnated to before she became an Empress to change the destiny of herself and her family; lastly, Divine Doctor: Daughter of the First Wife (last pic) in which our heroine was a doctor of Chinese and Western medicine in the Marines during the 21st century and is sent to the historical era, with the memories of her past life and that of the host body she is occupying. She also has a cheat in the form of having access to her modern day pharmacy in the historical era via a tattoo on her wrist.

So, while I continue to patiently wait for the anticipated novels, I will continue to indulge in this deliciously guilty pleasure in between releases of the Cocky Brother Series by Faleena Hopkins, about the six hot, Hot, HOT Cocker Brothers and their offsprings. Each book is a good, non-repetitive read and if there weren’t so many of them, I would blog about them. Needless to say, this series is a must read. Just Saying!

Happy Summer and Happy Reading,

The Book Diva

P.S. If you are interested in hearing more about these web novels, leave a comment and I would be more than happy to blog about them.

P.P.S. If you have any suggestions on great summer reads for me to review or just for my enjoyment, leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.

“Walk with me. We’ll figure out where we’re going later. Ready to walk with me?” Sean

Hello Everyone,

Happy Valentine’s Day! What better day to write about runaway brides than today? So while I gorged on Valentine’s chocolate, I decided to indulge in a rom com by one of my favorite authors Rachel Gibson.

The story begins with the start of the Chinooks Hockey Team series Simply Irresistible, where we meet Georgeanne Howard, who leaves her fiance, a man old enough to be her grandfather, at the altar. She jumps into the car of John Kowalsky, a Chinooks Hockey player, who is unaware Georgeanne is his boss’s runaway bride. Georgeanne and John spend what should be her honeymoon together doing…well, I guess you can imagine what they were doing. Seven years later, they meet again. But Georgeanne has a surprise for John. He is shocked to discover he has a daughter named Lexie. John is determined to be a part of Lexie’s life, meanwhile Georgeanne has loved him all of that time. John has to decide if love is worth the risk to his career if his boss finds out.

The answer is yes, because 20 years later, they are happily married with their three kids. The oldest, Alexis (Lexie) Kowalsky has followed in her mother’s footsteps. She leaves her fiance at the altar live on a reality TV show. She meets our hero Sean (the Irish form of John…hmm, irony anyone?) Knox, who like Lexie’s father, plays for the Chinooks (John is now their coach), while running down the dock towards the waiting seaplane in her sparkly high-heeled shoes. Sean is also a passenger of the seaplane on his way to visit his mother in Canada. Also like her mother, she spends what should be her honeymoon hiding from the paparazzi with John. That’s where the similarities end.

Sean and Lexie are seen together in Canada. To keep her business from going bust and her reputation from being trashed anymore than it already is, they decide on a fake relationship to keep the press at bay. In the midst of this they fall in love.

This book was hilarious. Watching Sean navigate between his coach John’s dislike of him as a player and his hypochondriac mother, all while dealing with Lexie’s own brand of crazy and deny he is in love? Good times people.

Lexie walks a fine line between not disappointing her parents, curbing her impulsiveness, owning a successful business and dealing with the guilt of humiliating her fiance on national television. She is a nice but competitive person, so even though she doesn’t love the bachelor of the reality show she is a part of, she can’t help but want to win. She comes to regret the impulse but doesn’t regret falling in love with Sean.

These characters pulled me completely in. I felt sorry for Sean’s childhood, yet I applauded his care of his mother and following his dreams. Lexie cannot be accused of being entitled and spoiled. She is a strong-willed and compassionate woman. It was fun reading about Sean and Lexie’s exploits in loove. It was also fun revisiting the main characters from Simply Irresistible.

The Art of Running in High Heels is a fun read. Rachel Gibson gave us characters you can relate to. Lexie is a mix of both parents as we got to know them in their book, so she is comfortable with who she is. Sean’s interaction with the Chinooks after being traded to them and his growth as a man and as a team player was a pleasure to witness. Their chemistry was more of a slow burn than a raging inferno, which brought a sense of calm to the romance. That made this a good read on a cold Valentine’s Day.

So snuggle up with your leftover chocolate and enjoy the runaway brides, like mother like daughter books. They are worth learning to run in high heels.

Happy Reading,

The Book Diva

P.S. Running in High Heels should have it’s own spot in the Olympics, just saying.