BTS AND ARMY ARE DOING WELL | LOVE YOURSELF SPEAK YOURSELF [THE FINAL] IN SEOUL DAY 1 2019-10-26

The 5 things I want to talk about when I attended the LYSY The Final in Seoul.

An Open Letter to BTS #ARMYwithLETTER

This is an open letter to BTS that I wrote and submitted to Weverse for #ARMYwithLETTER project.

To BTS,

Namjoon, I really admire how reliable and dependable you are. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard your role is as the leader of BTS, the biggest boy group in the world today, and I have so much respect for you because of that. You take your role with so much responsibility. Also, your messages and lyrics serve as inspiration for many of us and makes us feel reassured that we are not alone in feeling and experiencing things.

Jin, I really admire how sure you are of yourself and I mean this in a good way. Because of this you can give care as an older brother to the group, I feel like the group is more secured because you are there. I also admire how intellectual you are. I also appreciate how you go out of your way to make Armys laugh and make Armys feel happy and enjoy the show that you guys put out, it’s again because you are there, we feel secured.

Yoongi, I always feel like you are the most mysterious one but I also have this feeling that you will be the one to understand a person because you are sensitive to your surroundings and I really admire you for that. I appreciate your lyrics and music and talent and how it can make me feel raw with emotions yet empowered.

Hobi, I really admire your character, you always have something good to say to a person, or a member, or a situation, or a place. You will never let anyone down and that’s really an admirable character. I always strive to be like you even just a bit and it’s a continuous effort. I appreciate how you can be the source of the group’s mood, I always feel happy because you make sure we are happy. I will always be in awe of your talent, the way you dance and how you command the stage with your presence, wow. It’s true when you said you are our hope.

Jimin, I really admire how caring you are to your brothers and how you are ready to give hugs whenever they need it. How you are always the one waiting for them so that they won’t feel lonely if no one is with them. I also really admire your stage presence how you can literally steal hearts of every Army because of your charm and with your all-out performance, and that sweet voice of yours. You are truly sexy, cutie, and lovely.

Taehyung, I really admire how connected and grounded you are with your emotions and how you can make this emotion transpire to us/me whether it’s through a song, or lyrics, or dance, or acting, or art, or your message. I will always be in awe how you were able to do that connection with Army especially with me. I probably won’t be Army if I haven’t saw you in Hwarang, or would I still be because it’s destiny to become Army? Tae, your talent affects me in ways I wouldn’t be able to explain in words.

Jungkook, I really admire how you are the epitome of a ‘golden maknae’ because everything you do turn into gold if you let it - be it in singing or dancing or performance or video editing or boxing or any sports really, and everything else you do, it always come out super good and always beyond expectation. I also really admire how even being the youngest in the group didn’t make you slack off but instead became as hardworking as your older brothers. To be put at the center is probably a big challenge, one you embraced and thrived in. Seeing you now being so passionate about your every performance is truly an inspiration for us to always give our best.

BTS, oh where do I even begin. I’m tempted to write a long one that would truly capture my feelings as a fan but I’ll keep it short and not bore you if I haven’t bore you yet. You are very hardworking - from producing songs that capture the heart of Armys to practicing to perfect a performance, and everything else you do - it’s really admirable. I am truly grateful how after all these years of being in the industry and after achieving so much, your passion, energy and humility didn’t change at all, it’s still the same. It’s nice to see that you still enjoy performing after all these years. You didn’t get complacent even when you started achieving your dreams and that’s saying something about the character of the group. Instead you still give an all-out performance as if you have to prove something, as if it’s 2013 again. I pray that you always keep that passion in whatever you do or whatever you want to do in the future. Thank you for being there when no one is with us, for making us feel heard and understood, for being an inspiration, for making us laugh and for making us happy. I will continue to cheer for you and pray for your good health and happiness.
BTS, 화이팅!

Love and support always,

Kaye, ARMY

ARMYwithLETTER

to_RM

to_JIN

to_SUGA

to_JHOPE

to_JIMIN

to_V

to_JUNGKOOK

Niall Horan Brought Sunshine in Manila | Flicker World Tour Manila

Niall performing On My Own

It was raining hard in various places in the Philippines during the weekend of Niall’s concert, Metro Manila included but despite the rain and flood, it didn’t stop us from attending his concert. Niall came through and gave us the best show that brought sunshine to compensate the bad weather. This is Niall’s third time here in the Philippines, can you believe that? First was when they performed here during their OTRA Tour, then he came back the year after for a vacation in Boracay and El Nido (his infamous Southeast Asian escapade) and he’s back for his own concert!

Flicker World Tour took place in Mall of Asia Arena on June 10, 2018. It wasn’t a sold out show and after the concert, I was like WHY IS NIALL SO UNDERRATED? I know concert tickets can be expensive especially for a student fan but a group of 1D fans came up with the Flicker of Hope project where fans can donate any amount to be able to buy concert tickets for other fans. Niall acknowledged the project during his concert and it was amazing.

ALL THE LOVE TO HARRY STYLES | Harry Styles Live on Tour Manila

It felt surreal to see Harry Styles live it almost felt like when I saw One Direction live for the first time in Singapore - like I can’t believe that what just happened happened to me. Like in utter awe to the whole thing then I don’t know how to feel or react afterwards like I need to process what happened and then slowly it starts syncing in that I just watched Harry Styles, my favorite One Direction member perform and it was amazing. As you probably know by now (because it’s also in my bio and I have a page dedicated to One Direction in this blog) that I’m a solid One Direction trash. I have been a fan for a long time and I continue to be - even when there’s 1D drought because hiatus though there's really not a drought because solo music. But I’m also being a sentimental idiot because seeing Harry alone felt kind of different because the last time I saw Harry live was when One Direction performed here in Manila as a 4-piece (it was a fantastic night) and seeing him performing solo felt like a punch in the gut because I always associated every member of 1D as one, in a band. But don’t get me wrong, this is all in a good way. Harry gave his best and he did a very good job in giving the best show every night and I’m just so so proud for him and I’m proud to be his fan. I’m just feeling a bit sentimental when I think about it.

The Manila concert was held on May 1, 2018 - it was Labor day and though nobody cares, it was also my 8 years work anniversary. It was sweet to celebrate it by going to Harry’s show. Philippines was the first show in his Asian leg of the tour. The concert took place in Mall of Asia Arena, with attendance of around 14k. It was sold out! The organizers actually added more seats the weekend before his concert and those too have been sold out despite having an obstructed view.

Ed Sheeran was Back in Manila and It was Perfect | Ed Sheeran 2018 Divide Tour Manila

I knew I would not miss his comeback concert in Manila after missing his Multiply concert last 2015 here! This show was supposed to happen in November 2017 but got rescheduled due to his accident. I was more okay for it to be rescheduled than totally cancelled because I really want to watch him live!

I pride myself a casual fan of Ed, I love his songs so much, I can sing most of them. My favorite song from his entire discography so far is I’m A Mess. I relate to the feelings of the song so much it was my anthem when I was so frustrated with what was happening in my life at the time. ‘I’m A Mess’ captured the exact emotion I was having and it’s so therapeutic that someone is giving me the same angst that I was feeling the same way it’s therapeutic that I can sing out my angst by singing the song. I just really felt the connection. I’ve been listening to Ed since Plus, and love his songs but that was the first time I connected to a song in that degree. I know I’m gonna sought out this artist with his future albums because of that connection. And that connection really is the secret to enjoying his songs, his concert, his performance. To all artist, in fact. To all things if we’re generalizing it. But for the sake of this post, I want to focus with Ed Sheeran.

The Divide Tour in Manila took place last April 8 at the Mall of Asia Concert Grounds. It is this big parking lot most days that turns into a sick concert venue when it needs to. LMAO. I like concert grounds because of the vibe. But I agree that I’d rather have some sections elevated so everyone at the back can still see the stage. But it is what it is.

A COURT OF WINGS AND RUIN Thoughts and Feels

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

This is an attempt to review A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas. This is the third and final book to Feyre and Rhysand's story. I don't know how many books or novella there will be after this it feels like a never-ending tale. I'm really excited for ACOWAR because this is sort of a final book from her and I'm excited to know how SJM conclude her story because this is the first time we will read a conclusion novel from her but, blech, it wasn't even the last book. But, for all intents and purposes, I still treat this as the last book in the Feysand ACOTAR trilogy. I'm also excited for this book because I really really love ACOMAF and the ending of ACOMAF leaves so much potential for the next book.

This review will be spoilery consider yourself warned.

A Court of Thorns and Roses Trilogy by Sarah J. Maas (UK Edition)

MASSIVE September and October Book Haul

I have a lot of books to show you for my September and October book haul!
To let you guys know, September is my birth month and because of that I've gone a little crazy in book buying.
But come October I got a little guilty of my spending that I managed to buy 4 books.

Without further ado, here are my book haul for September and October.

August Book Haul, August Wrap Up and September TBR

August Book Haul

From Left to Right

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

What I Thought Was True by Becca Fitzpatrick

The Flash Rebirth #5 by Joshua Williamson

The Flash Rebirth #4 by Joshua Williamson

August Wrap Up

I read 6 books this August and those are:

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child by Jack Thorne - 4 stars out of 5.

And I Darken by Kiersten White - 3 stars out of 5.

Frost Blood (ARC) by Elly Blake - 3 stars out of 5.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo - 4 stars out of 5.

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo - 3 stars out of 5.

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider - 4 stars out of 5.


September TBR

This September, I plan on reading the following books:

• Empire of Storms (TOG5) by Sarah J. Maas
• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
• Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
• Leave Me by Gayle Forman
• The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

That's it for this post.

Thanks for reading this!

Link are on both sides where you can find me on the internet.

Love,

Kaye =)

EMPIRE OF STORMS Thoughts and Feels

"Nameless is my price."

My much-awaited 5th book in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas! And boy oh boy, this installment is amazing! This is better than Queen of Shadows and that's enough for me to be glad about this book! Lol!

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. Mainly because it still managed to give me feels eventhough I have a few issues with this book. Nevertheless, though, those issues didn't affect my enjoyment for this book.

If you haven't read the series, you should definitely try.

This post will be full of spoilers about my thoughts and feels for Empire of Storms.

Let's get straight into it!

July Book Haul, July Wrap Up and August TBR

I was on a roll this month - in terms of the amount of book I've read and my book haul. =D

Let's start!

July Fairyloot Unboxing - Pirates and Power

So I ordered the July Fairyloot box and I'm so excited to share the contents!!!
This is my first Fairyloot box - actually, my first book subscription box ever.

It's so packed, you guys, and I love every single thing in it!!

Fairyloot is a YA fiction monthly subscription box. In this box, you will receive one recently published YA Fantasy book and bookish goodies related to the book's theme. >Here<

The theme for July box is Pirates and Power.

I'm not so much a pirate story fan but this box is special and I just couldn't resist not ordering because the contents are special - 2 books (1 finished and 1 ARC or Advanced Reader Copy) and 6 goodies! This is really special as this is the first time they've done it.

Without further ado, let's do the unboxing! =D

Fairyloot's box is so beautiful. I personally like that they added this quote in their box.

 

June Book Haul, June Wrap Up and July TBR

Let's get down to it!

June Book Haul

I didn't buy much book this month because I planned to trim down by TBR first before buying more books.

Chapters 34 and 35 of Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Percy Jackson's Greek Gods by Rick Riordan (illustrations by John Rocco)

That's what I bought for the month of June!

ONE DAY Thoughts and Feels

Rated it 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

Ok, God, it took me almost 5 years to pick this book up! I'd like to think that I should have read it earlier but sometimes, it's the right book at the right time.

"Whatever happens tomorrow, we had today; and I'll always remember it."

I LOVE THIS BOOK. SO MUCH.

It's so beautifully written. So wise. So deep. Very relatable. So funny. So many feelings. SO BEAUTIFUL. Engaging. Moving. Ahhhhhhh

I love how it tells the story of the ups of downs of adulthood through Dexter and Emma's pov because as an adult, at some point it's very relatable - the struggles, the bitterness, the happiness, the sadness, the high from success, the anger, the passion, etc. It's just really close to reality. Sometimes you make it, sometimes you don't but it does not mean it's permanent and who knows when the wheels are turned.

I relate to Emma when she was angry at the world eventhough the world didn't do anything to her - maybe that's why she's angry lol. But even that wasn't permanent. She outgrew that and became hopeful and possitive again towards herself and everyone.

I love how platonic Dex and Em's relationship is/was. But then, I just really love well-written platonic love stories. And this is just exceptional!!

I cried when they fell out.

I cried harder when they made up. Because that was also the time she thought he came back to her only to lose him again because he's engaged and going to be a dad. OMG I cried during their "I miss yous" and "no more disappearing" conversation.

I love no matter what Dexter have become, Emma will always love him no matter what and will always be there for him if she can. And that Emma was the first and the only one that come to Dexter's mind when he wanted to share his stories and experiences. He always wants to talk and be with Emma. And I don't know why they can't be together already - well I love how it executed in the story. That life happens to them before they can't take it any longer and start their life together as a couple.

The movie was beautiful but there are a lot of things they didn't include. Plus of course, the book is always better.

This is the kind of book that I will read again at some point in time in the future. I know I will. It's beautiful.

Have you read One Day?

What do you think of it?

Did you like it?

What's your favorite part?

My favorite parts are:

• During Tilly's wedding, when Dex and Emma went to the maze. They had a row for years and thought they'd outgrew each other. But they just need a breather from each other, I guess. They talked in that maze and they made up and it's so good.
• When they went to a holiday with their crazy rules which they broke hours after they made them. Except scrabble.
• When Dexter was in India, drunk, he wrote a letter to Emma that he forgot to post and was then lost (actually it's in the possession of the girl he slept with that night). I think it was the first time Dexter was honest with himself.
• Of course when they finally got together.
• I love the last part as the author reveal more of what happened on their first night together.

There are a lot of amazing parts but these are the ones that made me feel so much feels.

Thanks for reading this!

Love, Kaye =)

Because I Love Whatever Harry's Hair Is..

The time has come for Harry Styles to cut his glorious locks!
The long, curly, gorgeous, and glorious hair is more than just hair to a lot of us, fans!
As Harry's hair grew longer and longer, it seems Harry also grew more and more awesome and confident for who he is and who he wants to be.
We're all there to witness it like we're always there with him (and them) no matter what!
Always have. Always will.

But eversince the news came out that he'll be in the Dunkirk movie, everyone new that sooner rather than later Harry will cut his hair for his role in the movie. (Or is there really a movie? LOL. That's another story. Harry hasn't confirmed anything but we're just going to roll with it, aye? Aye.)

Last May 6, he posted hit cut-out hair on his Instagram :

He not just cut his hair, he donated it to Little Princess Trust! How lovely of him!

There's a lot of pictures going around of his new hair and he looks so good!! I will post his picture with his new hair here but let me just take down this memory lane and make an appreciation blog post about Harry's beautiful hair and its evolution.

This is not in any order whatsoever, will just put here randomly.

All the pictures posted here are not mine. Credits to their owners!

Let's begin, shall we?

A COURT OF MIST AND FURY Thoughts and Feels

"To the people who look at the stars and wish."

"To the stars who listen -- and the dreams that are answered."

There are no words to describe the awesomeness of this book and how it affected me, and those kinds of reviews are the hardest to make. I will try my best!

I love ACOMAF! I love its world. I love the characters. I love how it’s written. I love everything about it.

It is everything I hoped it would be and MORE! This is so much better than ACOTAR.

LADY MIDNIGHT Thoughts and Feels

Lady Midnight is the first book in the new trilogy, The Dark Artifices, by Cassandra Clare.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!!

At this point, I've read 30 of Cassandra Clare's books and novellas and all of them are about Shadowhunters!

We’re going to do this again because I wouldn’t want to spoil anyone albeit no one’s really reading my blog. LOL. Cassie (Cassandra Clare) said that her series or trilogy can be read independently of each other. Like you don’t really have to read TMI or TID or TBC or TSA if you plan on reading Lady Midnight. BUT, I highly suggest and recommend people to read all of it because there are references in the books that you will appreciate more if you’ve read all of them.

Let’s begin with some non-spoilery thoughts:

So Lady Midnight takes place 5 years after the Dark War (happened in TMI) in Idris and follows Emma Carstairs as our new protagonist along with all the Blackthorn kids. Emma was out and about investigating the death of her parents in order for her to find who is responsible for their death so she can revenge them. That’s the basic plot of LM until the plot gets bigger that gives us a very interesting and rich story Cassie has ever made.

I don’t usually like Cassie's first book in a series not even with her series of novellas but this one? I LOVE IT.

The plot was carefully written and in such a way that readers will not figure it out – which is always an amazing thing for me when authors can surprise me like that. I appreciate the world building and how different LA Institute with other institutes that we’ve known - and the view! By the beach! And of course, the characters were written beautifully and when I say beautifully I don’t mean perfect with no flaws but actually the opposite – the characters are flawed, diverse, and each their own person and contribute uniquely in the entirety of the story. When I met the Blackthorn kids in CoHF and knew what they’ve been through and that they’ll have their own book series, I knew right there and then that these kids will give me so many feels when I read LM/TDA. And yes, they gave me too many feels. I can’t wait to get to know more about them. Their story is really intriguing as well the tragedy or the “problematic” story of their ancestors. The Blackthorn bloodline kind of always caught themselves in a tragic/problematic situation maybe that’s why they have that family motto: Lex malla, lex nulla (A bad law is no law).

But as far as characters are concerned, it’s not just the Blackthorns that are interesting; there are also new characters that we’ve only met here in LM. Some characters from the previous books made an appearance as well.

Like in all of Shadowhunters books, there will always be an element of love, blood (could mean family or death), betrayal and revenge.

I guess that’s for the non-spoilery thoughts.

Clockwork Princess and Lady Midnight are my favorite Shadowhunters books to date!

Now, to the spoilery thoughts and feels...

CONFESSION OF A 1D FAN

*In Harry’s voice* There are 5 things that I love most about One Direction.

And these are also the reasons why I became a fan, why I’m a fan, why I’m still a fan and most probably why I will be their fan forever.

10 YEARS OF TWILIGHT AND MY READING JOURNEY (SO FAR)

Whenever Twilight was opened up, I always remember my reading journey because Twilight played a big part to it.

Join me as I relieve it again.

I haven’t read Twilight on its release date.

I haven’t even known Twilight until Summit turned it into film.

I haven’t watched the movie on release day.

I haven’t even started reading Twilight until days before I was sure I will be watching the movie.

I have no idea how Twilight will impact me as a reader.

QUEEN OF SHADOWS Thoughts and Feels

We are now in the 4th book (out of 6) of the Throne of Glass series and so much have happened. So much that ToG felt like a lifetime away but in Erilea's world, it was only 9 months that have passed.

I don't know where to start because this book was a full of happenings and problems and adventures. What I'm sure of is that this post will spoil you the WHOLE series. I recommend this series - it was such an action-pack filled fantasy and adventure (and ships, if you're into that).

I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars rating on Goodreads. Initial rating was actually 5 stars because the ending was amazing but after hearing and reading some reviews and reflecting my own thoughts and feelings based on what I've read and peoples' reaction toward the book, I changed it to 4 stars.

First and foremost, I just want to just put this one out in the bag: this series has turned into ship wars. I HATE THAT. I'm disappointed by what the author did to the story that it centered on the ships when they have a bigger fish to fry. I just - I DIDN'T BUY THIS AND READ THIS SERIES BECAUSE OF THE SHIP/S. I'M HERE FOR THE STORY.

Random Bookish Things

What/who got you into reading?
Before it was just the idea of being a bookworm, I really like to be called a reader/bookworm even though I haven’t read that much book then and I’m not serious about it; or I paid no attention to any bookish things before. I read quite a few but it’s here and there. I remember Twilight lit the “spark” for my reading habits because after that I just want to read and read and read.

Your first favorite book?
I’ll say Twilight got me so bad. *in a good way*

Your current favorite book?
I have tons. But the recent addition to my ever growing favorite books are Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson, Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas and The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer.

Favorite book of all time? 
A lot. Harry Potter, The Infernal Devices, tfios, Ready Player One, Love, Rosie, The Host, etc. Sorry, it’s really too many =)