Category: Book Diaries

JUST LOVE (Life in a Book #3)

by Leibop, posted in Book Diaries

“If you truly love someone, you should never lie in the name of love. Never lie to spare them pain. Love them enough to tell the truth. Then love them enough to sit in the pain with them. That’s what love truly is.”

I can’t recommend this book highly enough. It’s one of those books you can never move on from. A fair warning, this book completely ruined me. I felt miserable for a week, I was worried my mental state was going downhill.

This story hit me hard. My heart ached for her, and for him even more so. I was so hurt that I had to stop reading at some point, to process my emotions and calm my heart down.

But there’s one thing I can say for sure, letting go of someone you love is certainly one of the hardest and most painful decisions in life. If you ever happened to be in that situation, you would surely understand.

When you truly love someone, you want them to be happy and live the life they deserve, with or without you. You love them more than yourself, that their happiness is greater than your own, and you would rather have your heart broken than see them suffer on your account.

Love is such a powerful emotion it compels you do things you never thought you would do. You discover strength in yourself you never knew you had. I was in awe of Rhett. His character resonated deeply with me. Because I would do anything for the one I love.

Their story started as sweet and funny, until the inevitable happened and threatened their relationship beyond irreparable, or so they thought.

I remembered I couldn’t sleep after finishing the book. So many questions ran through my head, questions I didn’t really have answers to: How can love be so beautiful yet painful at the same time? Is love truly enough? At what point is it not enough?

I’d like to believe that love is more than just a feeling, especially when it comes to relationships (well, in my experience). It’s a choice that we make every day. It requires unconditional commitment to be able to look beyond each other’s differences and imperfections. To be there not only for the good but also the bad, the ugly and the crazy parts of life. It can be real hard work but totally worth it.

And so is this book, it surely lives up to its title. Everything in this book is………. just love.

My Life in a Book #2

by Leibop, posted in Book Diaries

Where Light Meets the Dark

Beneath His Stars/In Her Space by Amie Knight

He lived in the dark.
I worshipped the stars.
What a pair we were.

Good girl meets the tattooed boy from the wrong side of the tracks. But there’s much more to this story.

This was an emotional rollercoaster read.

I was so wrapped up in the story that I finished the two books in two days of intermittent reading. I have a life outside my books too! I read on and off during the day (I still put in the time to read while at work) and before bedtime.

And that’s saying something.

In my book world, completing a book in the least amount of time means it’s freakingly good, regardless of the length and how much free time I have.

And I don’t just read for the sake of reading, I always read for pleasure.

This book has the most heartbreakingly beautiful words. I just want to get lost in them.

It makes me look up the stars at night and appreciate the darkness. Because if it isn’t for the dark, we’ll never see the stars. One can’t exist without the other.

Sometimes our lowest lows bring the highest highs. Just like the darkest nights bring out the brightest stars.

When we learn to look through the darkness, we begin to appreciate the light and see the magic of life.

Even myself, at times, I feel strangely drawn to the dark. Not in a sinister sense. I just find comfort and relaxation in darkness or in the dim light.

Like clockwork, I would switch off the lights and just bask in the silence and peacefulness of my dark room, usually after a long day of work or for no reason at all. I love my dark solitude. I’m learning more and more each day to embrace my inner darkness. Am I giving you a creepy feeling? Haha

I mean, don’t get me wrong. Most days, I live by the sun but I feel like in my darkest hour, it’s the moon that watches over me.

If I were to describe this book in a quote, it would be,

“I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars.”

~Og Mandino

Tonight, don’t forget to look up. The beauty of the night sky is a marvel to behold.

My Life in a Book #1

by Leibop, posted in Book Diaries

A Forbidden Romance

Veiled Innocence by Ella Frank

This book awakens so many memories of the past. A reminiscence of the good old college days.

People used to portray me as a goody two-shoes. Well, in retrospect, I was a hard-working student and had the self-discipline of a tireless worker bee that flies to an average of 8,000 flowers, 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, to gather up nectar to bring to the hive while collecting pollen for the entire brood flock. Wow. Define hard-working. Hope the insect reference helps. Haha

But, I also think we have a rebellious streak in all of us, something that human beings have in common.

I’ve had my fair share of thrills and chills. Most of them involve doing idiotic things and breaking a few rules here and there, which admittingly gave me a sense of euphoria that I would never get from books (irony, these days).

And there was the crushing hard-falling in love phase. Even the most diligent of the most deligent went through this at one point.

It was an inevitable part of every teenager growing up.

In my case, my HEART overruled my brain every time. Unluckily for me, my heart was a chaser. Yes, I chased a guy for years. Sometimes it would scare me how my heart would go to extreme lengths just to prove that it was right.

In a nutshell, the heart wants what it wants. IT NEVER LISTENS.

My college friends will totally agree. Even stupid pain can’t make it stop. Quite the contrary, it feeds off pain. And when it takes over, it always chooses love despite the ugly consequences, ever willing to suffer.

At the end of the day, it’s the foolish heart that gets shattered, not the sensible brain, when everything falls apart.

If I were to describe my experience through this book in a quote, it would be,

“Hearts are wild creatures, that’s why our ribs are cages”

P.S. I never had an affair with a professor. Haha

Although, in a parallel universe, provided that he is as hot as Mr. McKendrick, I’d leave the door open.