[BookWorm] Review: The Hexed

Just an hour or so ago, I finished 'The Hexed' by Heather Graham.

Why did I choose to read this book? Because... Cover looks cool! Witchcraft! Salem! Powers! Murder! Whoo!!

It took me a while to finish it though. Three days, I think. No, maybe more. For me, it is the kind of book that doesn't really compel you to stay up late and read.

Summary:

Devin Lyle has recently returned to the Salem area, but her timing couldn't be worse. Soon after she moved into the eighteenth-century cabin she inherited from her great-aunt Mina—her "crazy" great-aunt, who spoke to the dead—a woman was murdered nearby. 

Craig Rockwell—known as Rocky—is a new member of the Krewe of Hunters, the FBI's team of paranormal investigators. He never got over finding a friend dead in the woods. Now another body's been found in those same woods, not far from the home of Devin Lyle. And Devin's been led to a third body—by...a ghost? 

Her discovery draws them both deeper into the case and Salem's rich and disturbing history. Even as the danger mounts, Devin and Rocky begin to fall for each other, something the ghosts of Mina and past witches seem to approve of. But the two of them need every skill they possess to learn the truth—or Devin's might be the next body in the woods... (from Goodreads)

Review:

To be honest, I had high hopes for this book.

The reviews I've read were wonderful, and nothing gets me interested more than witchcraft, Salem, paranormal, investigations, and all the other elements in this book.

For the romance part of the story, I felt at first that the attraction was one-sided. Like it was just Rocky who was interested and Devin was a bit aloof. AND THEN... well, I thought she was possessed or it was just a dream. Hey, anything is possible in this book!

With regards to the investigation, I could not understand why the rest of the much experienced Krewe team would just wait for Rocky's call or decisions. And they would not split up to investigate. And why would they just focus on a certain group and not all. Why not check out ALL possible aspects/suspects/scenarios? Just because Rocky said so?

Earlier in the book, I liked the witchcraft and Salem history - which I consider to be well researched. I am a fanatic, I admit. However, tying everything together made me think it was all pointless. Either that, or I snoozed through some parts - because I honestly just found crumbs that refused to lead to a concrete unveiling.

As for the killer, I had that pegged from the start. I don't know. It seemed logical from the start. But Ms. Graham is skilled at making you think if you've got your analysis from the start.

Overall, I felt the book was a bit disappointing - apart from the details, everything felt messy and just... meh. Especially the romance part. No spark at all. They said it was spooky or creepy, but I disagree. Nada.

However, I LOVE AUNTIE MINA! I LIKE POE! And I like the fact that you can read this book standalone.

 I was planning to read the entire Krewe series. But... I guess we shall see.

Speak Out?

I can't.

I tried.

I failed.

I tried and tried, and I failed.

So I won't.

Perhaps its not because I did not try, but I am met with people who make it impossible to speak out.

OR, it is because of fear.





What do I want to do?

Speak out?

Yes.

Will I?

No.


I've come to realize now that it is better if I just become submissive.

Tuesday Morning, 4AM

I have not a wink of sleep.

I cannot breathe, so my solution is to write - sort of - to let it out.

One friend said, if you want something, you ask for it hard enough, and the Universe conspires to get it for you. Scriptures then state, God works in mysterious ways. Put those together and what do you get? Heartbreak Super Nova.

I did read somewhere that when you ask for something, God will most likely give it to you, but often not in the way you expect it.

I thought I learned this lesson. But now I've had to re-learn it the hard way.

I do not know how to go on. This life is empty, and I have struggled for a while.

Mistakes, we all have them.

Paths, we all have them.

But when you ask for something, I guess the question is, 'Will you get what you ask for? Or will you get what you deserve?' I think it is a mixture of both.

Leave it to God to make something out of it.

So I asked, nay, begged God to do something. I asked it from the core of my being. Something I have not done in a while. It was one of those prayers where you throw in all your tears and will into it. Praying to God. And yeah, He answers.

But not quite how I imagined it to be.

It breaks me.

It tears me apart.

His answer.

At some point I regret asking Him. But the prayer has been answered. The speed of which makes me think He has been waiting for it for a while.

The pain is like a thousand knives piercing my skin, tearing at my flesh and making me cry out. It is like torture through boiling water, spewed from a metal ball peppered with holes. It feels like I've been lain on a table and other torture devices have been used.

No. That does not quite encompass it. These feelings. This pain. It is a bit too much.

I've been bawling my eyes out. I've collapsed into a heap and fainted due to hyperventilation. I've vomited, choked, and now my eyes feel as though they are about to be ejected from my head.

There can be no consolation. I deserve this.

So I let myself bleed the only way I know how.

Words.

But by God and His mysterious ways, I wish I'd been granted death instead of this.

Battle Royale: Of tea and coffee

Good morning.

Today is a Wednesday. It is Hump Day, and it truly feels like a hump of a day for me.

It would be easy to claim that I foresee the coming hours to be smooth, yet that seems highly improbable. That is why I started the day with tea.

I guess there remains this grand debate as to which is better. TEA or COFFEE. Many tea lovers would say, 'tea, darling,' while many coffee lovers would say, 'I don't have blood in my veins, just coffee.' Or something like that.

It's my mom that comes to mind whenever I read that coffee line. Though she drinks tea, too.

As for myself, I find that both have their own effects on my system.

If I prefer to have a really chill day, then I go with tea. I find it opens up the senses and encourages me to breathe. Oh, yes, I drink tea now. I used to loathe it with a vengeance, but now not so much. I still cannot stomach green tea though. I am simply a beginner.

On the other hand, if I prefer to SEIZE the day, then by God, I'm gonna have coffee. Lots of it. If I am stressed and losing will to survive, then my go-to is coffee. Lots of it.

At the end of the day, I still think I am more of a coffee lover, though tea and I are becoming fast friends.

For challenging days such as today, I started off with tea.

Ten bucks says I will drown myself in coffee before the day is through.

Have a good one, folks!!

*Note: This was written early in the morning from my phone. However, because the Blogger app royally sucks, this is now a late post.

Hi.

Oh, eeeew!

This post marks what would seem like a year of no posts.

On the contrary, I relocated to a proper domain name that was all fancy and stuff, and then, I neglected payments. One thing led to another, I am back here.

That means there were a lot of posts over there that I failed to backup.

And...

That's like a year of posts that went down the drain. But, whatever.

Let's start from today.

Happy Khmer New Year, folks!

[Vietnam] Hong Thien Loc Hotel

This is a late post. Why? Because I am lazy, and that is all there is to it. LOL

I am writing about it now, because I may be headed over to Vietnam over the weekend just for one night, and it would definitely be a shame if I did not write about the other experience and then I started writing about what is about to happen.

So basically, I already blogged about the trip to Vietnam in November. And the post ended when we reached the Hong Thien Loc Hotel (Pink Blessing Hotel).

As with most hotels that I've noticed in Vietnam, you have to climb up some pretty steep stairs just to get to the lobby, which was fine by the way.

Food and the food blog

I know it seems that I keep blogging about food.

It is definitely not a surprise that I am larger than life, because food and I are friends, but not best of friends. 

Am I making sense?

Anyway, I wrote about making a food blog a few months ago. And so I did. I know I was going to keep all the posts on this blog, but it just seems to disorganized. I am also giving in to my nature of being a blog creator. Sue me.

Another thing is that I also hope to ask my friends to pitch in if they want. But maybe its too lame.

So I created this new food blog:

Street Eggs

Why? Because I wanted to use that blog. I created the blog simply because I like the name. At first, I tried making it into a tech blog but eventually deleted all the blah posts and now I shall repost some stuff over to that blog.

Its also going to serve as my scrapbook of kitchen conquests so that I do not forget what I did and how my experiments turn out. It will also feature some dishes that I have tried, places I've dined at. And mostly blahs.

Do visit it when you have a time.