For the longest time, Charice Eliza Mendoza hash't let anyone get too close to her, not even her mother or her best friend, Bianca. It may seem like a lonely life, but that's exactly how she prefers it: having very few attachments, no connections to her past, and no one knowing who she really is.
Then Daryle Seuk Kang walks into her life. The high school heartthrob and all-around golden boy has been eyeing to get to know her better.
Will Charice finally learn to warm up to someone? And what will she do once people discover her secret?
I do a lot of light reading because there are times when you actually don't have that much time to spare to read. But it seems I can't go on for a week without reading something new. So I read this.
The story line was shaky, still not very defined. From start to end, you would have the feeling that it was made up as the author went along. It's a good light read, but somehow disappointing. You aren't left pondering anything in the end except, "That's it?"
The main character is dubbed as an "Ice Princess". But it was never stated why she was cold, what exactly was a competitor, why she treated her mother that way. There was no history, so you don't know how to feel about what she was going through.
Then comes this guy who evidently fell in love with both sides of the main character, the cold, stoic, aloof high school girl and the "Ice Prencess" gangster. You don't see where he came from, he just appeared. Same, there is no history and so you don't actually get to identify with the guy. He says he can't speak Filipino but he does it a lot. Somehow, his character was very inconsistent.
The character build up was quite poor, actually. And the plot was not properly built up, as well.
Most light reads wouldn't leave any impact, but you would end up feelng good. This book, however, left me nothing at all.
I would give it 0.5 star but apparently I can only tap a whole star. I don't know why it was rated at an average of 4+ but this story just didn't make any sense.
NOTE: A LOT OF HATRED CAN BE READ BELOW. I'M NOT REALLY AN ONLINE BASHER BUT MY HEART AND MIND CAN'T JUST STAY CALM. I've read this story (book version) months ago because of a friend and it never left my mind. I have to give my opinion about this. Luckily, I found it here. This is my first ever review in Goodreads so here goes...
First, why are the characters Korean? Tell me. Because I don't understand. It's surreal. I can give them a pass but nah. I guess the author is just living in her own fantasy world which will not gonna happen...ever.
Second, there was the annoying Korean characters where nobody can read. It was a waste of space. And then after the characters, they put a translation. What the heck! It was so much easier for the author to describe the characters that they were speaking in Korean. I swear, MOST of the author's readers can't also read a single character.
Third, the main character's character was not justified. Why? Because she described herself as this quiet, uncaring, uninterested girl but there's a lot going on in her mind. She's very talkative and she knows A LOT. And those words are opposite of each other. See? "Uninterested" IS NOT EQUAL TO "All-knowing".
Fourth, HOW IN THE WORLD DID SHE BECAME A WHOLE NEW PERSON JUST BY USING A MAKE-UP? A gangster, really? Is the author even serious about that? What the heck was that? Did she wear a make-up just like McDonalds? Coz if she did, I won't ask anymore. But if you picture her as a pretty woman, WOW. I want to know what make-up she's using. I'm gonna use it, too.
Fifth, very unrealistic timeline and plot. She's sixteen if I remember correctly. And sometime in her past, she's a gangster. And that was exactly 10 years ago. How old is she then? Well, my math skills aren't that perfect but I can subtract and add. And the result was 6! Seriously? At 6 yrs old, she's already a gangster? And there's more. She's not only an ordinary member, SHE'S THE LEADER. Oh my God. Seriously. I. Just. Can't... I can't even remember what I'm doing when I was 6 yrs old!!!
Sixth, unbelievable romance. Ugh. Highschool stuff is cheesy but I didn't really believe in their "romance". There's no further emotion aside from flirting. Yes, the words were there. The "I love you" and "I love you, too" stuff. But what I'm saying is that the words didn't justify the actions. I guess the Filipino term was "HUGOT". I didn't see that in the story. The romance was "pushed and made" when it should be "grown and nourished".
Yeah. I guess I can say that I'm a hater because of what I wrote above but this story shouldn't be on shelves. It was under-developed. It was a mess. And it deserves to be polished. Over a million reads on Wattpad shouldn't be the basis of publishing books but that right must've taken with responsibility. The author should've checked and corrected the errors because it will leave a mark in the industry for a long time...maybe even forever.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
First few pages sumakit na ang puso ko. Pwede bang umiyak? Na-invade na ng mga koreano ang librong ito!
Hiatus muna ako. Again. I never do hiatus whenever I read a book. Pero nakakalungkot lang na parang hindi ko magawa sa sarili ko ang tapusin ito.
Sigurado ako na ang mga ganitong libro ay patok na patok para sa mga k-pop fanatics. I'm not a fan of kpop nor against it pero ang akin lang, since nasa pinas ka at pilipino rin ang nagbabasa, stick to that. Stick to the culture. Stick to be a FILIPINO! Siguro ako lang 'to, pero I am very a patriotic person. Hindi ko mapigilang malungkot sa tuwing nakakabasa ako ng ganito, making the other nation superior to your own story? Not my cup of tea.
Ang bigat sa dibdib. Ang bigat bigat. Okay lang sana ang half half, pero pala kapag yun lang lagi hindi na maganda.
Hindi na ako magtataka kung isang araw purong koreano na o hapon ang bida sa mababasa ko sa mga story. Pinapayaman lang natin ang kultura nila at binabaliwala ang atin. Nakakaiyak. I cry for my own country.
Daryl was cool including his friends. They resemble the F4. It would be so much better if only the plot was well-defined. But there are a lot of flaws. It was stated that she was dubbed as the "Ice Princess" because she was cold. But it was never mentioned why. I thought that as I go along with the story, the reason why she was cold will finally be revealed but no. Instead, more questions are formed than answered. And about this "gang" thing, she was some kind of popular gang leader. And I think it has gone overboard. It was not realistic anymore. The typical gang type would be something tolerable, like a guy who usually goes to fights. But in this story, the gang type is like a competition to them. Like a play-type competition. And her dad died because of an injury due to fights because of this gang competition. Given that, her mother should be prohibiting her from this gang world. But instead, her mother is excited when she thinks Charice engaged into fight. Every time I read something, it leaves a feeling in my heart. But after reading this, I felt nothing at all. If I wouldn't go over to the pages, I wouldn't even remember any of it days after reading it. It was supposed to be good, if only the story line would be much clearer and polished. In general, it was okay. But being 'okay' is not enough to be able to leave an impact or feeling in my heart. It was 'okay' but it could have been better.
He's dating the Ice Princess.. Nabitin ako sa Story.. but I must say kudos sa writer it was one great story, hindi dahil ito ang pinaka mabilis basahin kung hindi ay kakaiba ang ending, then the plot of the story was great, although almost the usual High school story but it was nice nakaka kilig... talagang kinilig ako oh well that's the edge of this story kahit bachelor kikiligin haha
I actually dont know what happened (i couldnt find this book in wattpad anymore) but based on what I remembered at this moment, This book was published way back 2012 or 2011 i think? and it just brings back so much memories to me 😞i feel so nostalgic, i cannot deny the fact that this book has left a deep impression on me, (though this book is really old or if you'll set aside the hangul words included in the book, you will see that the plot and twist in the story is really on point) charice and gosu have always been my favorite characters in wattpad because they were so popular in our room when i was in elementary, and reading this book again just reminds me of how young my understanding was before, I was only 13 when i read this book and Im 17 now, i hope you'll read this guys hahaha, i feel like i am in elementary again 😂💖 and so much love to the author of this book!"
I love this book so much to the point that i read this over and over. I started reading it when i was in eight grade, the first book that i read and i will never ever forget the characters in this story. This book was so special and i really hope that i can find this book so i can buy it again 😭
Maganda yung story kaso lang bitin yung sa last. Sana meron pang book 2, hindi kasi pinaliwanag kung paano naging gangster si Charice. Maganda po yung story, sana meron pang book 2!
This is so beautiful! I really enjoy reading this! I kinda relate to Charice! I'm also a Kpoper and i'm slightly an Ice Princess too. GoCha is the sweetest couple ever <3