Title: When Sparks Fly
Author: Ines Bautista Yao
Genre: Sweet Romance
Description:
Twenty-four-year-old photographer's apprentice Regina has always felt like the plain, dull orange next to the shiny red apple that is her best friend Lana. But then she meets Ben—the first guy to ever break Lana's heart, and the first guy to ever make Regina feel that he only has eyes for her. As Regina finds herself falling hard for Ben, she also finds herself breaking all the rules of best-friendship. Will she give up the love of her life for Lana, or will she finally realize that she deserves her share of the spotlight, too?
Links:
Ratings: 4.5/5
My Thoughts:
Okay. So I took me this long to finish reading this even though I still have a trilogy to worry about. But I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s because I got to enjoy reading this story no matter how some of the scenes here really riled up my heart not once, but many times. Okay, I hope that one made any sense. I tend to write something, even in a book review, as if I’m rambling.
Before I forget, thank you, Bookish Diaries, for letting me participate in this blog tour. Ansd not just a blog touer, I must say. It’s a release day blog tour, which means one is also extremely important to the author, as well. This is the first time I read a book authored by Ines Bautista Yao so I don’t have anything to compare this novel’s writing style to another of her works. So for now, I’ll just write what I think about this.
For one, I don’t have any problems with the story’s pacing. It’s not that fast and not that slow, as well. In 20 chapters, everything was covered up, though I still have a few questions that I’d just push aside for now. Maybe if I read it again, I’d be able to find an answer.
Now for the characters.
Regina sort of resembled me when it comes to her patience in waiting. At least, I know I did the same thing. I’ve been doing it till now. Probably even her pessimism and her imagination getting ahead of her. Well, not all the time. But the one thing that I could truly relate to her was her insecurity that even lets her push aside most of what she wanted when she could already feel that someone was better than her. In Regina’s case, it’s always Lana who is better and more noticeable. In my case, it’s my sister.
Lana did come up to me as a brat who was so used in getting what she wanted. Or maybe because she was so used having the attention drawn to her natural charm that she was like that. But I was glad she really valued her friendship with Regina even though she walked away and wallowed for a while. That friendship saved Regina from trouble, whether they admit it or not.
As for Ben, a typical playboy. Or not. Probably just a charmer. But when love finally hits him, man! I really don’t know what to call him. But I’m sure he’s dedicated, can be a little tongue-tied when his usual tactics don’t work, and definitely too trusting. At least he was with Alexa. Seriously, I really hate that girl. But I’ll forget about her. At least, when he finally crossed paths with Regina, he knew when to tone down his friendliness with other women. At that point, I knew he was serious about committing with someone.
Opportunities knocked, and each of them did what they could to never let the chance disappear. There might have been some setbacks, some misunderstandings, some mistakes along the way. It even came to a point where they nearly neglected or pushed away what could really make them happy. Yet in the end, it’s those who took the risk to grab that chance laid in front of them who finally achieved the closure and happiness that they’ve waited for so long. At the very least, this is what I thought about the story.
I’m glad I was given a chance to read this one.
About The Author:
Reading and writing are close to Ines Bautista Yao's heart ever since she was a child. She graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in AB Communication Arts. She has been a teacher at the Assumption College San Lorenzo and the Ateneo de Manila University's English department.
Her debut novel One Crazy Summer was first penned in 2007 when she was pregnant with her first daughter Addie. Being a mother has taken much of Ines' time so she was only able to write 13 pages of her novel. She completed her story in April 2011, while three-year-old Addie was sleeping and inspiration struck her again. Two months later her story was complete. After eight months, her dream of publishing her own book came true. The book was only launched last January 26, 2012, but Ines is already writing her second novel.
Most readers can remember Ines as the former editor-in-chief of K-Zone Magazine and Candy Magazine . At present, Ines is working as an editor of Summit Books. She is also married to photographer Marc Yao, whom she says she consults whenever she's stuck in the middle of a story she's writing.
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