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#StrangeLit: Incredible Truths
Beware the tale that distracts you with the telling -- it's planting a truth in your mind, and you may find yourself believing in the incredible too. Sit back and let it happen, while reading.
This paranormal collection includes 10 interesting stories from Filipino authors that will surely capture your minds and rule your hearts.
Nexus Series Book 1: Anathema by Ysa Arcangel
A Sky of Wishes by Kristel Ann Cruz
Bloodline Maharlika by Anne Plaza
Shake-Ups by Elea Andrea Almazora
As The Night Ends by Alveel Kaith Cimafranca
The Secret Society by S.J.M Fuertes
Talulikas Chronicles by Clark Feliciano
Stormy Hollow by L.C Mills
31st by Cindy Dela Cruz
Viva Voce by DJ Paraguya
This paranormal collection includes 10 interesting stories from Filipino authors that will surely capture your minds and rule your hearts.
Nexus Series Book 1: Anathema by Ysa Arcangel
A Sky of Wishes by Kristel Ann Cruz
Bloodline Maharlika by Anne Plaza
Shake-Ups by Elea Andrea Almazora
As The Night Ends by Alveel Kaith Cimafranca
The Secret Society by S.J.M Fuertes
Talulikas Chronicles by Clark Feliciano
Stormy Hollow by L.C Mills
31st by Cindy Dela Cruz
Viva Voce by DJ Paraguya
ebook
First published September 30, 2015
22 people want to read
About the author
Ysa Arcangel
16 books136 followersYsa Arcangel is the author of the Moments to Remember Series, Underneath It All and Love at First Sit. She has also written an urban fantasy novella, “Nexus Series Book 1: Anathema”. She is based in Manila and is a loving partner to a very talented chef. She is also a fan of tattoos, a lover of giant dogs, and an enthusiast of extreme sports.
In real life, she is a Spanish speaking GDS Consultant and mother to three amazing kids. Her alter ego is an attention seeking and a hopeless romantic author who melts over a tattooed hero with 6-pack abs. Her alter ego is extrovert and a social media junkie. And just like in real life a coffee addict.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 13, 2015
1. Stormy Hollows: ★ ★ ★
The story follows Hera Miller, a vengeful witch who Maleficent-ishly uttered a curse that when the final batch of kids from their group turned sixteen a war will again ensue. Eventually and obviously, the war was triumphantly won by the good witches but ended up having no powers anymore.
I was quite overwhelmed by the amount of words, info and too many characters contained in the first chapter which disguised itself as an introduction. The description and the quote really got my attention but after a seemingly endless dragging back story, the interest slowly faded into ashes.
The author needs to learn how to trust her readers. A girl was named Luna, of course, we know she was named after the Moon. A pyrokinetic's power is fire. You'll know what I mean.
I am not a fan of shifting POVs specially from third to first and specially multiple. I mean, what's the point when you can narrate everything smoothly using one type of POV. Throughout 'The Fall' chapter, I was like...Oh f*ck, she shifted again.
The author wrapped it like she was talking to stupid readers. Of course if there is 'to be continued' there are still a lot of things to come.
The world building was great but the writing was juvenile. I have hopes that I'll love this book if the author will "re-imagine" it again but as of right now, it's just not for me.
2. Talulikas: ★ ★ ★
The story is about the night full of adventure for friends Allan, Isagani, Lilian and the charming Marissa who turned out to be some sort of supernatural creature.
All I could say is the author has a good grasp of the English language. I honestly cannot for the life of me understand the dialogs but was able to follow the story he exemplary narrated.
Quick and enjoyable read.
I just wanted to know one thing. What is Talulikas?
3. Shake-Ups : ★ ★ ★
This short story follows Rosie Rivas an online associate who is destined to be the Fairy Queen.
Short and simple read. The author did not overfill it with details and too much flowery language, just enough to set the scene.
The metamorphic transition by the end of the story was quite confusing. I mean, what really happened? Did she fulfill her destiny? Succumbed to whatever power she has within her?
4. Vica Voce: ★ ★
This story reminds me Angels and Demons and National Treasure. Forces called 'Historians and 'The Brotherhood' seeking the 'Hand of God'. Apparently a being that can write history before it actually happens and can also rewrite the future. The main characters is Art, who was cursed to live for eternity protect history with his sidekick Barry, who turned out to be his protector.
Wow this short story was practically long. The author could use some 'chapter' tag to break each long paragraphs.
No breaks in paragraphs even when a new character speaks or reacts to the other speaker. It is quite confusing.
Missing punctuations
At some point, the author has to trust the reader to understand what he/she is trying to convey. There are too much filler behaviors and words, even the sound of gun fires!
I managed to finish the story. Phew! It wasn't even finish at all. I wasn't informed.
I do believe that it should have been edited a few more times before being published. Kudos for the time the author put on his/her research.
5. Nexus Series Book 1: Anathema ★ ★ ★ ★
The story follows Anathema, the offspring of Demon and Angel. She was cursed to be the gateway of the souls for both human and supernatural creatures to purgatory for eternity. She has a pure heart with a dark soul.
I was immediately hooked on this from the very first page. My favorite aspect of the book has to be the fight scenes between the Alexus and Calix, who are both hot in their own way. This author has a knack for writing breath-taking, pulse-pounding fight scenes!
Very few grammar lapses but that didn't stop me from enjoying the story.
Love triangles in YA books is becoming an annoying trend. Books where the love triangle is the main definer of the lead girl threw me off. But this book is plot driven rather focusing on the development of the three characters. At this point, I don't know who the character will end up with. That's a plus point. I want to see how it's all going to unravel in the next book.
Readers who enjoy angel related story but are tired of the same old brand new theme will benefit from reading this story. I would recommend this book to anyone, religious views aside.
6. 31st: ★ ★
This story is about Felicia, a middle-aged woman who left her hometown to move on from painful past only to find out that futuristic place she moved to wasn't safe. Vengeful dwarfs take a soul every 31st of October.
Apparently, her life was spared. She fell in love with Chris, her pretend neighbor and a dwarf too who gave up his powers and immortality to be with her. The ending was open ended but I actually didn't care.
I wasn't rooting for any of the characters. The story read like a fairy tale.
It was ok. Short read. I didn't love nor hate the story that much. The transition and pacing needs work. The story has a lot of potential but the delivery was lacking for me.
7. A Sky of Wishes ★ ★ ★ ★
This short story follows Aries, a call center Team Leader, who has a mother diagnosed with cancer. He resorted to 'wish upon a star' in hopes that the star will grant his wish and lengthen his mother's life.
A jolly and very adorable Astra came and agreed to fufill his wish in one condition - he will take Maia's heart, the kind-hearted nurse Aries befriended during his mother's stay at the hospital.
It was a quick and delightful read. I don't want to spoil you with the ending.
The only thing I noticed is the name David? Who the heck is David? Maybe the author overlooked it.
8. Bloodline Maharlika: ★ ★ ★
The story follows Owenn or Tala, a demigod, and her quest to protect the world against the mighty god Apolaki with the help of her Companions.
Grammar was splendid though the author kept repeating 'truth be told' and 'albeit' in several chapters. Pro-writing aid could be of help.
Once I had read the description, this book intrigued me enough that I knew I had to read it but the stake was vaguely established. The abstract personification of pure evil that was Apolaki wants to destroy everything because he decried Bathala's human love was quite a motive. Whyyyyyyyyy?
Unfortunately, the author fell into one of the most hated fantasy fiction cliches - The Mentor - Why does it always have to be an older guy to look after the heroine?? On this story two older guys. Oh they are historians! What a coincidence. And then there's the oracle of some sort. Go figure.
The author made use of some Filipino words without the proper translations. An end note translation would be helpful for foreign readers.
I will warn you it ends in a cliffhanger. A WTF cliffhanger without any warning or hint.
Overall I enjoyed the book. There's not a whole lot of downtime so reading is quick and well paced.
9. As The Night Ends: ★ ★ ★
The story follows C, a jane of all trades heroine who was hired as a pretend girlfriend only to find out she was something more than that.
First of all, I love the main character. She is witty, brave and kick-ass.
Her chapter got a prologue in disguise part which was really quite annoying. I think the story will move even without it.
Her attempt to write in 3rd person omniscient confused the heck out of me. The introduction of too many characters in one chapter is pretty overwhelming. Head hopping could have been done perfectly if the chapters were break evenly.
The writer made big info dump towards the end of the story instead of sprinkling information throughout.
The dialogs more often than not had an unnatural air about them, the banter between the two lead characters is quite amusing though.
It wasn't a bad story, but it wasn't really the story for me.
10. The Secret Society: ★ ★
The story follows Maxine Drew, who is in searched for the real reason of her father's death. She was thrust into a futuristic world when she accidentaly touched the mysterious, cold hearted Seth who keep on saving her from any danger. She joined an academy where teens study to develop their unique abilities to prepare them to save the city of Cosmos, only to find out that her father was still alive and was the one running the school.
Does that sounds like a paranormal story? Nah...not for me. It sounds like a dystoromance. I generally enjoy these genres, unfortunately few books actually deliver for me.
The book intro taking you back to 2007 made it sound very promising. The stake is high but the depth of the story was, unfortunately, dissappointing.
I really like the ideas that the author presented. But why two stars? Max is such a Mary Sue. She is totally that girl. Too many dull moments and monotone conversations.
The few chapters didn’t really grab my attention. Its probably a sign that it wasn’t the book for me. I felt completely unattached and disengaged.
Overall, I was not impressed. The world she wanted to build is interesting but I had no feel of it. This book could have been good but needs a lot of work .
The story follows Hera Miller, a vengeful witch who Maleficent-ishly uttered a curse that when the final batch of kids from their group turned sixteen a war will again ensue. Eventually and obviously, the war was triumphantly won by the good witches but ended up having no powers anymore.
I was quite overwhelmed by the amount of words, info and too many characters contained in the first chapter which disguised itself as an introduction. The description and the quote really got my attention but after a seemingly endless dragging back story, the interest slowly faded into ashes.
The author needs to learn how to trust her readers. A girl was named Luna, of course, we know she was named after the Moon. A pyrokinetic's power is fire. You'll know what I mean.
I am not a fan of shifting POVs specially from third to first and specially multiple. I mean, what's the point when you can narrate everything smoothly using one type of POV. Throughout 'The Fall' chapter, I was like...Oh f*ck, she shifted again.
The author wrapped it like she was talking to stupid readers. Of course if there is 'to be continued' there are still a lot of things to come.
The world building was great but the writing was juvenile. I have hopes that I'll love this book if the author will "re-imagine" it again but as of right now, it's just not for me.
2. Talulikas: ★ ★ ★
The story is about the night full of adventure for friends Allan, Isagani, Lilian and the charming Marissa who turned out to be some sort of supernatural creature.
All I could say is the author has a good grasp of the English language. I honestly cannot for the life of me understand the dialogs but was able to follow the story he exemplary narrated.
Quick and enjoyable read.
I just wanted to know one thing. What is Talulikas?
3. Shake-Ups : ★ ★ ★
This short story follows Rosie Rivas an online associate who is destined to be the Fairy Queen.
Short and simple read. The author did not overfill it with details and too much flowery language, just enough to set the scene.
The metamorphic transition by the end of the story was quite confusing. I mean, what really happened? Did she fulfill her destiny? Succumbed to whatever power she has within her?
4. Vica Voce: ★ ★
This story reminds me Angels and Demons and National Treasure. Forces called 'Historians and 'The Brotherhood' seeking the 'Hand of God'. Apparently a being that can write history before it actually happens and can also rewrite the future. The main characters is Art, who was cursed to live for eternity protect history with his sidekick Barry, who turned out to be his protector.
Wow this short story was practically long. The author could use some 'chapter' tag to break each long paragraphs.
No breaks in paragraphs even when a new character speaks or reacts to the other speaker. It is quite confusing.
Missing punctuations
At some point, the author has to trust the reader to understand what he/she is trying to convey. There are too much filler behaviors and words, even the sound of gun fires!
I managed to finish the story. Phew! It wasn't even finish at all. I wasn't informed.
I do believe that it should have been edited a few more times before being published. Kudos for the time the author put on his/her research.
5. Nexus Series Book 1: Anathema ★ ★ ★ ★
The story follows Anathema, the offspring of Demon and Angel. She was cursed to be the gateway of the souls for both human and supernatural creatures to purgatory for eternity. She has a pure heart with a dark soul.
I was immediately hooked on this from the very first page. My favorite aspect of the book has to be the fight scenes between the Alexus and Calix, who are both hot in their own way. This author has a knack for writing breath-taking, pulse-pounding fight scenes!
Very few grammar lapses but that didn't stop me from enjoying the story.
Love triangles in YA books is becoming an annoying trend. Books where the love triangle is the main definer of the lead girl threw me off. But this book is plot driven rather focusing on the development of the three characters. At this point, I don't know who the character will end up with. That's a plus point. I want to see how it's all going to unravel in the next book.
Readers who enjoy angel related story but are tired of the same old brand new theme will benefit from reading this story. I would recommend this book to anyone, religious views aside.
6. 31st: ★ ★
This story is about Felicia, a middle-aged woman who left her hometown to move on from painful past only to find out that futuristic place she moved to wasn't safe. Vengeful dwarfs take a soul every 31st of October.
Apparently, her life was spared. She fell in love with Chris, her pretend neighbor and a dwarf too who gave up his powers and immortality to be with her. The ending was open ended but I actually didn't care.
I wasn't rooting for any of the characters. The story read like a fairy tale.
It was ok. Short read. I didn't love nor hate the story that much. The transition and pacing needs work. The story has a lot of potential but the delivery was lacking for me.
7. A Sky of Wishes ★ ★ ★ ★
This short story follows Aries, a call center Team Leader, who has a mother diagnosed with cancer. He resorted to 'wish upon a star' in hopes that the star will grant his wish and lengthen his mother's life.
A jolly and very adorable Astra came and agreed to fufill his wish in one condition - he will take Maia's heart, the kind-hearted nurse Aries befriended during his mother's stay at the hospital.
It was a quick and delightful read. I don't want to spoil you with the ending.
The only thing I noticed is the name David? Who the heck is David? Maybe the author overlooked it.
8. Bloodline Maharlika: ★ ★ ★
The story follows Owenn or Tala, a demigod, and her quest to protect the world against the mighty god Apolaki with the help of her Companions.
Grammar was splendid though the author kept repeating 'truth be told' and 'albeit' in several chapters. Pro-writing aid could be of help.
Once I had read the description, this book intrigued me enough that I knew I had to read it but the stake was vaguely established. The abstract personification of pure evil that was Apolaki wants to destroy everything because he decried Bathala's human love was quite a motive. Whyyyyyyyyy?
Unfortunately, the author fell into one of the most hated fantasy fiction cliches - The Mentor - Why does it always have to be an older guy to look after the heroine?? On this story two older guys. Oh they are historians! What a coincidence. And then there's the oracle of some sort. Go figure.
The author made use of some Filipino words without the proper translations. An end note translation would be helpful for foreign readers.
I will warn you it ends in a cliffhanger. A WTF cliffhanger without any warning or hint.
Overall I enjoyed the book. There's not a whole lot of downtime so reading is quick and well paced.
9. As The Night Ends: ★ ★ ★
The story follows C, a jane of all trades heroine who was hired as a pretend girlfriend only to find out she was something more than that.
First of all, I love the main character. She is witty, brave and kick-ass.
Her chapter got a prologue in disguise part which was really quite annoying. I think the story will move even without it.
Her attempt to write in 3rd person omniscient confused the heck out of me. The introduction of too many characters in one chapter is pretty overwhelming. Head hopping could have been done perfectly if the chapters were break evenly.
The writer made big info dump towards the end of the story instead of sprinkling information throughout.
The dialogs more often than not had an unnatural air about them, the banter between the two lead characters is quite amusing though.
It wasn't a bad story, but it wasn't really the story for me.
10. The Secret Society: ★ ★
The story follows Maxine Drew, who is in searched for the real reason of her father's death. She was thrust into a futuristic world when she accidentaly touched the mysterious, cold hearted Seth who keep on saving her from any danger. She joined an academy where teens study to develop their unique abilities to prepare them to save the city of Cosmos, only to find out that her father was still alive and was the one running the school.
Does that sounds like a paranormal story? Nah...not for me. It sounds like a dystoromance. I generally enjoy these genres, unfortunately few books actually deliver for me.
The book intro taking you back to 2007 made it sound very promising. The stake is high but the depth of the story was, unfortunately, dissappointing.
I really like the ideas that the author presented. But why two stars? Max is such a Mary Sue. She is totally that girl. Too many dull moments and monotone conversations.
The few chapters didn’t really grab my attention. Its probably a sign that it wasn’t the book for me. I felt completely unattached and disengaged.
Overall, I was not impressed. The world she wanted to build is interesting but I had no feel of it. This book could have been good but needs a lot of work .
Displaying 1 of 1 review