The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate

Introduction: I will go directly to the point... I love this book! It touched me... made me realize and understand certain aspects of life. I feel for the characters... I just wish all of them will eventually find love, since they already have friends who will stand by them at all points of their lives.

Overview: As 28 year old New York paralegal Rebecca Strand's widowed father lays dying, he confesses a secret: he had an affair 26 years earlier when Rebecca was just a toddler. Now he wants Rebecca to deliver the secret stash of letters he wrote, but never mailed, to the daughter he fathered. Rebecca's lawyer boyfriend, Michael, is adamant that she forget the woman exists. He's sure the woman will be an opportunist who will demand half of Rebecca's father's million-dollar estate. But Rebecca, now without any family in the world, can't help but wonder about her one living relative. With her relationship with Michael in tatters, Rebecca drives from New York City to Maine to find Joy Jayhawk, who operates a Weekend Singles Tour service out of an orange mini-van that her regulars dub "The Love Bus." Enter a cast of lovable, colorful characters, from Joy's eccentric mother to the singles on The Love Bus, and a sexy carpenter for whom Rebecca finds herself unexpectedly falling in love...

My Opinion: This book tells a story of a woman who wanted to have a sister. Actually, its about a woman who wanted to belong... who wanted to be accepted as herself and not to try hard to fit in. When Rebecca found out about her half-sister from a death-bed confession of her father, she was determined to find her. Only however, Joy is not as positive about this whole "I have a sister" revelation as her. But the best thing that this portrayed, is that we cannot always get what we want... especially not if we give up at once. We have to try hard for the people we care about. The relationship stories of Joy and Harry and Ellie and Tim... showed very contrasting faces of love. It tells us when to keep holding on, and when to give up. The seek for love by the ladies of Divorced Club of Wiscasset is hilarious yet inspiring... their bitterness to their failed marriages and their hope of finding the "right one".


This book... is about love... for family, for friends... and for that someone who will treat us the way we deserve to be. :)

My Rating:

Dracula by Bram Stocker

Introduction: I have never read any classic, and was obliged to do so when the reading group I recently joined suggested that we read and discuss Dracula (as our Halloween gig ;p). I would really prefer the original version of Dracula by Bram Stocker, but its unavailable for me at the moment. So I decided to read the one edited by Jan Needle.

Overview: The story of the notorious vampire Count Dracula, lord of the "un-dead", who rises from his coffin at night to suck the blood of the living is, undoubtedly, the stuff of nightmares. A lunatic asylum, a bleak Transylvanian castle, an ancient cemetery...these are the dark backgrounds to the even darker deeds portrayed in this most bloodcurdling of tales.

My Opinion:  Although I didn't have the chance to read this book before a week ago, I certainly know the story as this has been made to a movie or a TV show or even became as a hand-down story from my parents or relatives. Dracula is indeed one of the most famous horror novel ever written. Set in the 19th Century Victorianism, it depicts how at that time men (without thinking twice) weep and risk their lives protecting the virtue of a lady they highly respect and adore. Although it was sad how they failed the battle against Dracula when Lucy died and became one of the "un-dead", atleast it showed their brotherhood and pure spirits in their struggle to rid Mina of the same fate. It wasn't really clear whose the protagonist in the story since Jonathan, Van Helsing and Dr. Seward seems to equally grace the story, each having their own remarkable identities. But I guess this made the story even more interesting as you can sympathize not only with one character but everyone in the story. I love Mina's character particularly her being a determined and brave lady, her being knowledgeable about things that surprises the men, and her love for her husband. This book is easy to read (since it has already been translated to suit the younger generations) despite the heavy setting, and the illustrations made a clear shot to my imagination. The headings in red, white pages with ‘blood-soaked’ borders and detailed pencil drawings are very dramatic and complements the story. Yet another book that kept me glued to my seat (well, bed literally).

My Rating: