Arrianne's Corner: 2019

Saturday, August 3, 2019

Book Corner # 22 – Mixology Series by Alyssa Rose Ivy

Mixology Series consist of 2 books in total, targeting to young adult readers above 18 years old. Both stories take place in modern time in a small town in Outer Banks, North Carolina. Both books can be read as a stand-alone, although it is advisable to read them according to their orders for better understanding of the stories, especially for the second book, since there’s a continuation story for the main characters from the first book.

1. Book 1 : Shaken Not Stirred (Mixology #1)

(Maddy & Colin)

eBook, 23 Chapters, 249 Pages (ebook)

Genre : Contemporary Romance, Young Adult Novel

Finding the perfect guy is like mixing the perfect drink. It’s all about the taste and presentation.

Maddy’s gone off the deep end, at least that’s what her family thinks when she handles her med school rejections by moving to the Outer Banks. It doesn’t help that she’s paying her bills by bartending and is sharing walls with two guys, even if one of them is her childhood best friend.

Her choice of men seems more balanced on the surface – Colin is driven, sexy, and gainfully employed, but she can’t help spending her Thursday nights searching for the perfect drink for Lyle, whose music captivates her with its haunting lyrics. Maddy believes everyone has a perfect drink – and finding Lyle’s isn’t a challenge she’s willing to lose.

Maddison, but mostly known as Maddy, is a 22 year old Chemistry graduate, who is clueless about what will she do about her life after she got rejected into Med School. Now in the crossroad of her life, she currently been living in a small town called Corolla in Outer Banks with her childhood friend, Macon and her other roommate Brody, and Bartending at Surfside Bar & Grille for a living.

Shaken Not Stirred is a story about Maddy’s journey in finding love between Colin, a workaholic real estate guy, and Kyle, a mysterious musician. It is a sweet simple love story and quite ok for a light reading. The story tells from Maddy’s perspective only, and truth to be told sometimes I find Maddy’s character confusing and a little annoying, but to be honest I just can’t blame and hate her. That’s what people do when they are at a crossroad of their life. This book is not a spectacularly a great book since nothing much to resolve towards the ending, but this book also not bad either since I honestly can’t put it down until the end and a little curious with what will happen to the characters after that.

Rating for Shaken Not Stirred is 6.5/10.

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Maddison, atau biasa dipanggil dengan Maddy, adalah seorang gadis berusia 22 tahun lulusan S1 Kimia, yang sedang kebingungan dengan pilihan jalan hidup dan karier nya setelah gagal diterima masuk ke sekolah kedokteran. Saat ini Maddy memutuskan pindah dan tinggal di sebuah kota kecil bernama Corolla di daerah Outer Banks, berbagi apartemen bersama dengan sahabat sejak kecilnya, Macon, dan satu temannya lagi, Brody, dan bekerja sebagai seorang Bartender di Surfside Bar & Grille untuk membayar biaya hidupnya, sementara Maddy mencoba memutuskan pilihan jalan hidup dan kariernya setelah kegagalannya masuk ke sekolah kedokteran.

Shaken Not Stirred menceritakan kisah mengenai perjalanan cinta Maddy dalam usahanya menemukan cinta dan memilih pasangan yang tepat diantara Colin, seorang workaholic di bidang real estate, dan Kyle, seorang musisi misterius yang pilihan minumannya tidak dapat ditebak oleh Maddy. Kisah dalam buku ini merupakan kisah cinta yang manis dan simple, dan cukup dapat menghibur sebagai bacaan ringan. Kisah dalam Shaken Not Stirred diceritakan melalui sudut pandang Maddy, yang jujur saja kadang aku mendapati karakter Maddy sedikit membingungkan dan sedikit (hanya sedikit) menyebalkan, walaupun aku terus terang tidak dapat menyalahkan dan membenci karakter Maddy ini, karena memang kisah dalam buku ini mengenai perjalanan menemukan jati diri dan pilihan hidupnya. Dan persimpangan dalam proses memilih pilihan hidup itu yang tepatnya yang dihadapi oleh Maddy di sini. Buku ini pada dasarnya tidak termasuk buku yang secara spektakular sangat bagus karena pada akhirnya tidak banyak yang terselesaikan di akhir cerita (mungkin karena masih ada lanjutan buku berikutnya), namun cukup bagus karena aku tidak dapat berhenti membacanya dari awal sampai akhir cerita dan terus terang cukup penasaran mengenai apa yang akan terjadi pada para karakternya setelah akhir cerita dari buku ini.

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Rating untuk Shaken Not Stirred adalah 6.5/10.

Characters in Shaken Not Stirred are as follows :

Madison “Maddy” : a 22 years old girl living in Corolla, a small town in North Carolina, and working as a bartender at Surfside Bar & Grille.

Colin Morris : Maddy’s boyfriend, works in Real Estate, 26 years old.

Macon : Maddy’s roommate and childhood friend.

Brody : Maddy’s and Macon’s roommate.

Mary : one of the waitress at Surfside Bar & Grille.

Max : the owner of Surfside Bar & Grille, Maddy’s and Brody’s boss.

Lyle Waverly : one of the musician performing weekly at Surfside Bar & Grille.

Carly Morris : Colin’s little sister.

Miranda Morris : Colin’s mother.

George Morris : Colin’s father.

Kim Morris : Colin’s and Carly older sister.

Gabriel Fitzgerald : Colin’s Boss.

Suzanne : Gabriel’s wife.

2. Book 2 : On The Rocks (Mixology #2)

(Carly & Macon)

30 Chapters, 277 Pages (ebook)

Genre : Contemporary Romance, Young Adult Novel

Love is best served on the rocks.

My roommates look really good naked. At least one of them does. I’m sure the other one does too, but I haven’t seen him without his pants on. Living with two guys wasn’t something I’d ever considered, but the opportunity fell in my lap, and I’d have been crazy to turn it down.

College went by in a great big blur leaving me with less of a direction than I had going in. Add in a family that wanted nothing to do with me, and my post-college plans were less than clear. What’s a girl to do when she has nowhere else to turn? She moves to the Outer Banks and learns to bartend. After all, it was my horrible bartending skills that led me to my roommate’s bed and into his heart.

On The Rocks follows a few months after the ending of Shaken Not Stirred. In this second book in the series, the story more focusing to the love story between Carly (Colin’s little sister) and Macon (reform playboy, Maddy’s childhood best friend), while there’s also still some story about Maddy and Colin told from both Carly’s and Macon’s perspective. To be honest I don’t have high hopes for this second book in the series, but surprisingly it is better than the first one. The dual perspective from both Carly and Macon really helps in understanding the story better. I love Macon and Carly since the first book, and delighted with how their story goes.

Rating for On The Rocks is 7.5/10.

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On The Rocks dimulai beberapa bulan setelah akhir cerita dalam Shaken Not Stirred. Dalam buku keduanya ini, kisah cintanya lebih berfokus antara kisah cinta yang terjalin antara Carly (adik Colin) dan Macon (playboy yang sudah bertobat, sahabat Maddy sejak kecil), walaupun ada juga lanjutan kisah Maddy dan Colin yang diceritakan melalui sudut pandang Carly dan Macon. Sejujurnya aku tidak menaruh harapan besar untuk buku kedua dalam serial ini, tapi secara mengejutkan buku keduanya ini lebih bagus daripada buku pertamanya. Dua sudut pandang baik dari Carly dan Macon juga cukup membantu dalam menjelaskan jalan ceritanya dengan lebih baik. Aku sangat menyukai baik Macon dan Carly sejak di buku pertamanya, dan cukup puas dengan bagaimana cerita mereka berjalan.

Rating untuk On The Rocks adalah 7.5/10.

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Characters in On The Rocks are as follows :

Carly Morris : 22 years old, Colin’s little sister, just graduate from college.

Colin Morris : Carly’s older brother, works in Real Estate.

Maddy : Colin’s girlfriend, working as a bartender at Surfside Bar & Grille.

Macon : Maddy’s childhood best friend and former roommate, works as a diving instructor.

Brody: Macon’s roommate, a chef at Surfside Bar & Grille.

Mary : one of the waitress at Surfside Bar & Grille.

Max Bankwell : the owner of Surfside Bar & Grille, Maddy’s and Brody’s boss.

Miranda Morris : Carly’s and Colin’s mother.

George Morris : Carly’s and Colin’s father.

Kim Morris : Colin’s and Carly older sister.

Caleb Anders : the son’s owner of the diving shop where Macon is working.

Jasper : Kim’s husband, Carly’s and Colin’s brother-in-law.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Book Corner # 21 – The Two Dukes of Wyndham Series by Julia Quinn

The Two Dukes Of Wyndham series are stories of two Gentlemen and stranger cousins whose fate and love life about to change one night along with the fate of an Dukedom. Both stories happen parallel at the same time. Both books best be read together back to back in any order at the same time for better understanding of the whole series, or also could be read as a stand-alone novel. Both books in the series contains adult materials and not suitable for readers under 18 years old.

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Serial The Two Dukes Of Wyndham berkisah seputar dua Gentlemen dan sepupu yang nasib dan kehidupan cintanya menjadi jungkir balik berubah seiring dengan perubahan dari gelar Duke. Kedua cerita terjadi parallel bersamaan. Dan kedua buku ini sebaiknya dibaca bersamaan secara berturut-turut dalam urutan apapun, untuk lebih memahami keseluruhan cerita di dalam serial ini, walaupun kedua buku ini dapat juga dibaca sebagai buku yang berdiri sendiri. Kedua buku ini mengandung material dewasa yang tidak cocok untuk para pembaca di bawah 18 tahun.

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1. Book 1 : The Lost Duke Of Wyndham

(Jack Audley and Grace Eversleigh)

First Published in Indonesia on 2009 by PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama

Paperback Edition, 22 Chapters, 416 Pages (for Indonesian Edition)

Genre : Historical Romance, Adult Novel

Other book in the series : Mr. Cavendish, I Presume

Jack Audley has been a highwayman. A soldier. And he has always been a rogue. What he is not, and never wanted to be, is a peer of the realm, responsible for an ancient heritage and the livelihood of hundreds. But when he is recognized as the long-lost son of the House of Wyndham, his carefree life is over. And if his birth proves to be legitimate, then he will find himself with the one title he never wanted: Duke of Wyndham.

Grace Eversleigh has spent the last five years toiling as the companion to the dowager Duchess of Wyndham. It is a thankless job, with very little break from the routine… until Jack Audley lands in her life, all rakish smiles and debonair charm. He is not a man who takes no for an answer, and when she is in his arms, she’s not a woman who wants to say no. But if he is the true duke, then he is the one man she can never have…

2. Book 2 : Mr. Cavendish, I Presume

(Thomas Cavendish and Amelia Willoughby)

First published in Indonesia on 2009 by PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama

Paperback Edition, 22 Chapters, 392 Pages (for Indonesian Edition)

Genre : Historical Romance, Adult Novel

Other book in the series : The Lost Duke of Wyndham

There went the bride…

Amelia Willoughby has been engaged to the Duke of Wyndham for as long as she can remember. Literally. A mere six months old when the contracts were signed, she has spent the rest of her life waiting. And waiting. And waiting…for Thomas Cavendish, the oh-so-lofty duke, to finally get around to marrying her. But as she watches him from afar, she has a sneaking suspicion that he never thinks about her at all…

It’s true. He doesn’t. Thomas rather likes having a fiancée — all the better to keep the husband-hunters at bay—and he does intend to marry her…eventually. But just when he begins to realize that his bride might be something more than convenient, Thomas’s world is rocked by the arrival of his long-lost cousin, who may or may not be the true Duke of Wyndham. And if Thomas is not the duke, then he’s not engaged to Amelia. Which is the cruelest joke of all, because this arrogant and illustrious duke has made the mistake of falling in love…with his own fiancée!

Both stories in The Lost Duke Of Wyndham and Mr. Cavendish, I Presume happen at the same time around 1819 in Lincolnshire, England. Both stories tell a tale about the fates of two pairs of lovers that connected with the confusion for the title of Duke of Wyndham. There are 4 main characters that become the center of focus in this mess, which are Thomas Cavendish, Jack Audley, Amelia Willoughby, and Grace Eversleigh.

Thomas Cavendish is the 7^th Duke of Wyndham after his father’s death several years ago. Or so he thinks. He was raised since his childhood to become the heir of an old Dukedom along with all the heavy responsibility that follows to preserve and manage their massive estates and family fortunes. Thomas always took his responsibility very seriously and he is doing a very great job at expanding the family fortune for years.

Since he was a child, his father arranged Thomas to be married to Amelia Willoughby, the second daughter of Earl of Crowland, who also lived in the nearby village in Lincolnshire. And after years and years pass by, the engagement between Thomas and Amelia is hanging there without any indication from Thomas to ever set the wedding date. He just treats Amelia politely with the lack of interest and only consider her as another duty that he prefer to delay as long as he can, since he feels that he’s not ready to marry yet.

But when Amelia turn 21 years old and still there’s no sign from the Duke that he wants to marry her in any time soon or at least make the effort to really get to know her besides a few polite words about the weather and required two dance at social events, Amelia decided that she finally had enough waiting for him and grew impatient for her fiancée’s behavior. She began to stand up for herself, and it turns out her action makes Thomas started to notice her, not as an obligation like before, but finally as a person that he cared for. But too bad not long after that everything begins to fall apart in their world, as a stranger claimed as Thomas’ long lost cousin appear out of nowhere, which make the matter of the Dukedom title is a bit of a mess.

Jack Audley is an English veteran, raised by his aunt’s family in Ireland. After the war, he decided to stay in England and surviving by robbing from the wealthy (with mostly his robbery prizes goes to other war victims who are sick and crippled all across England after the war). Until one fateful night when Jack and his men stop the carriage of the Dowager Duchess of Wyndham (Thomas’ grandmother) and her companion, Grace Eversleigh. That night, the Dowager Duchess recognize the similarity between Jack and her beloved second son, John Cavendish, who died 29 years ago during his trip back home from Ireland. John’s death really upset the Dowager Duchess, especially it happens a year before the death both of her husband, the Duke of Wyndham the 5^th and their eldest son and heir, Charles. All that tragedy unexpectedly made Thomas’ father (the youngest, and the least favorite son of the Dowager duchess) became the next Duke of Wyndham the 6^th.

And since John Cavendish was Thomas’ father older brother, that makes Jack entitled to become the next Duke of Wyndham, not Thomas. But that only happens if Jack can prove that his parents’ marriage was legal in front of the law. Besides there’s also other reasons that makes Jack reluctant to accept to become the next Duke of Wyndham. And Amelia’s future also tangled in this mess, since her engagement contract clearly mention that she was engage to Duke of Wyndham, not mention Thomas specifically. Thomas also tortured since he’s falling for Amelia. Could he just give up Amelia married to someone else? And Grace is also in the same situation with Thomas, since she falls hard for Jack even there’s a big status difference between both of them if Jack indeed proven to be the next Duke of Wyndham. Therefore, all party involves agreed to travel to Ireland to check the legality of the marriage between Jack’s parents, and make sure that Jack is the true heir to the Dukedom.

Julia Quinn shows her magic again in both books in the series with her ability to tells interesting stories from two different perspectives. Although the storylines are a bit flat compare to JQ’s other works, but I cannot deny that both books are quite interesting to read since we as readers can experience the story from four different point of view (Jack, Thomas, Amelia, and Grace) and their perspectives in dealing with the same problem. Both love stories quite good and entertaining even they are so simple without any major surprises or plot twist at all in the book. And as usual as her trademark, Julia Quinn write about a medical condition in The Lost Duke of Wyndham, and there’s a brief moment of Lady Whistledown’s Gossip Column appear at the ending of Mr. Cavendish, I Presume.

Rating for both The Lost Duke of Wyndham and Mr. Cavendish, I Presume are 7.8/10.

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Kedua kisah di dalam novel The Lost Duke of Wyndham dan Mr. Cavendish, I Presume ini berjalan parallel secara bersamaan pada sekitar tahun 1819 di daerah Lincolnshire, Inggris mengenai nasib dua pasang kekasih yang saling berkaitan satu sama lain dengan gelar Duke of Wyndham. Ada 4 tokoh utama yang nasibnya menjadi pertaruhan dalam kerancuan ini yaitu Thomas Cavendish, Jack Audley, Amelia Willoughby, dan Grace Eversleigh.

Thomas Cavendish adalah Duke of Wyndham ke-7. Atau ia sebelumnya beranggapan bahwa ia adalah Duke of Wyndham ke-7 setelah kematian ayahnya. Ia dibesarkan dan dididik dari sejak kecil untuk menjadi penerus gelar Duke yang turun temurun sudah sangat tua beserta seluruh tanggung jawab berat untuk menjaga dan mengelola Estate dan harta warisan milik keluarganya. Dan sudah bertahun-tahun Thomas menjalankan kewajibannya tersebut dengan sangat serius, dan sangat baik pula.

Sejak kecil Thomas sudah ditunangkan dengan Amelia Willoughby, anak perempuan kedua dari Earl of Crowland yang juga tinggal di Lincolnshire. Dan selama bertahun-tahun pertunangan tersebut berjalan, Thomas hanya memperlakukan Amelia dengan sikap acuh tak acuh dan menganggapnya sebagai sebuah kewajiban yang terus berusaha tundanya karena Thomas memang belum tertarik untuk memikirkan pernikahan. Tetapi pada saat Amelia sudah berusia 21 tahun, dan dari Thomas belum juga terlihat tanda-tanda ingin segera menikahinya ataupun setidaknya tanda-tanda dari Thomas untuk sedikitnya berusaha mengenal diri Amelia selain beberapa patah kata sapaan dan basa-basi sopan saat mereka bertemu di acara-acara social, kesabaran Amelia mulai habis. Ia mulai menentang Thomas sehingga sang Duke tersebut mulai memperhatikannya bukan sebagai kewajiban yang enggan dijalaninya, melainkan sebagai pribadi yang mulai dikaguminya. Sayangnya pada saat itu pula muncul masalah mengenai siapa pewaris gelar Duke of Wyndham yang sesungguhnya, karena ternyata sepupu Thomas, anak dari kakak ayahnya, baru diketemukan keberadaannya.

Jack Audley merupakan veteran prajurit perang Inggris yang dibesarkan oleh keluarga Bibinya di Irlandia. Setelah perang selesai ia memutuskan untuk menetap sementara di Inggris dan bertahan hidup dari hasil merampok kereta para bangsawan (sebagian besar hasil rampokannya dibagikan juga kepada para veteran perang yang cacat yang saat itu bertebaran di Inggris). Sampai pada suatu malam saat ia dan kawanan perampoknya mencegat sebuah kereta yang ditumpangi oleh Dowager Duchess of Wyndham, nenek Thomas, dan pendampingnya Grace Eversleigh. Sang Dowager Duchess mengenali kemiripan antara wajah Jack dengan wajah anak kesayangannya, John Cavendish yang diberitakan sudah meninggal 29 tahun yang lalu di laut dalam kecelakaan kapal saat perjalanan kembali ke Inggris dari Irlandia, setahun sebelum kematian suaminya Duke of Wyndham ke-5 dan putra sulungnya, Charles. Seluruh tragedy keluarga itulah yang menjadikan ayah Thomas menjadi penerus Duke of Wyndham selanjutnya (walaupun ia merupakan anak bungsu dan yang kurang disukai oleh ibunya).

Dan berhubung bahwa John Cavendish merupakan kakak dari ayah Thomas, sehingga konsekuensinya Jack lah yang seharusnya berhak menjadi pewaris gelar Duke of Wyndham, bukan Thomas. Tapi itu dengan catatan bahwa Jack dapat membuktikan bahwa pernikahan kedua orang tuanya dilakukan secara sah di mata hukum. Akhirnya semua pihak yang terlibat sepakat untuk melakukan perjalanan ke Irlandia untuk melihat arsip pernikahan kedua orang tua Jack yang dapat membuktikan bahwa Jack adalah benar-benar pewaris gelar Duke of Wyndham yang sejati. Akan tetapi masih ada beberapa hal yang Jack sembunyikan dari semua orang, yang membuatnya enggan untuk menerima gelar Duke tersebut.

Bagaimana nasib Amelia yang di dalam kontrak pertunangannya jelas menyebutkan bahwa ia ditunangkan kepada Duke of Wyndham? Bagaimana nasib Thomas yang mulai jatuh cinta setelah mengenal Amelia lebih dekat? Apakah ia bisa merelakan Amelia menikah dengan orang lain? Dan bagaimana nasib Grace yang jatuh cinta pada Jack walaupun perbedaan status antara keduanya jika ternyata benar Jack merupakan Duke of Wyndham?

Di dalam kedua buku ini Julia Quinn kembali menunjukkan kepiawaiannya dalam merajut cerita dengan cukup apik dari dua sudut pandang empat tokoh utama yang berbeda antara dua orang sepupu Thomas dan Jack serta Amelia dan Grace. Menurut aku untuk jalan ceritanya agak datar, tapi kedua buku ini cukup menarik dan enak untuk dibaca karena berasal dari sudut pandang 4 tokoh utama yang berbeda dalam menghadapi suatu masalah yang sama. Untuk kedua kisah cintanya cukup menghibur dan bagus, walaupun alur ceritanya sederhana dan mudah ditebak tanpa adanya unsur kejutan besar atau plot twist cerita di dalamnya. Dan seperti biasanya Julia Quinn menyisipkan kondisi medis di dalam The Lost Duke of Wyndham. Dan juga munculnya kolom gossip Lady Whistledown, walaupun secara sekilas di bagian akhir cerita dari Mr. Cavendish, I Presume.

Rating untuk The Lost Duke of Wyndham dan juga Mr. Cavendish, I Presume masing-masing 7.8/10.

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Thursday, July 25, 2019

Book Corner # 20 – Girls Wearing Black Series by Spencer Baum

Girls Wearing Black Series by Spencer Baum is a Young Adult Paranormal Fantasy series. Consist of total 4 books in the series that should be read according to their orders. Most of the stories sets in Thorndike Academy, an exclusive and prestigious high school for the children of congressmen, senators, judges, lobbyists, and corporate bigwigs, located in Potomac, Maryland, near Washington DC. The stories circle around the life of some Senior students in Thorndike Academy.

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Serial Girls Wearing Black oleh Spencer Baum merupakan serial Paranormal Fantasy yang ditujukan pada target pembaca muda. Serial ini terdiri dari total 4 buku di dalamnya yang harus dibaca secara berurutan dari buku pertama hingga buku akhirnya. Kisah dalam serial ini sebagian besar mengambil latar belakang di Thorndike Academy, sebuah sekolah elit dan berkelas yang para muridnya sebagian besar berasal dari kalangan keluarga anggota kongres, senator, hakim, para politikus, dan pengusaha kaya. Sekolah ini berlokasi di daerah Potomac, Maryland, dekat dari Washington DC. Kisah dalam serial ini berpusat pada kehidupan para siswa Senior (kelas 12) di Thorndike Academy. Kisah dalam keempat buku ini terjadi dalam kurun waktu kira-kira satu tahun, dengan ada banyaknya kisah kilas balik ke masa lalu sebagai latar belakang cerita untuk para tokoh yang ada di dalamnya.

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1. Book 1 : The Homecoming Masquerade

eBook, 34 Chapters, 258 pages

Genre : Romance, Paranormal Fantasy, Young Adult

Other Books in Series : The Festival of the Moon (Girls Wearing Black #2), The Rose Ransom (Girls Wearing Black #3), The Bonding Ritual (Girls Wearing Black #4)

In a posh suburb of the nation’s capital, at the most exclusive high school in the world, the vampires who secretly run the government have created a game for America’s daughters of privilege. Show up to Homecoming in a black dress and you’ve entered yourself in a contest where the winner becomes a vampire, and the loser becomes the winner’s first victim.

Only the wealthiest, most connected students can hope to win, so when new girl Nicky Bloom wears a black dress to Homecoming, everyone assumes she has a death wish. They don’t know that Nicky has her own agenda. As the dance continues into the night, they will find out that Nicky Bloom is far more than she seems.

The Homecoming Masquerade tells a paranormal fantasy story around some Senior students at Thorndike Academy. It sets at the night of Thorndike’s Homecoming party, which is the opening of the Annual Fundraising Tournament or mostly known as Coronation. During the Coronation, all the girls choosing to wear black dress at the Homecoming dance party will be competing in a year-long fundraising contest. The girl who makes the most donation at the end of the year, will be declared as the winner and will be crowned Queen at the Senior Prom, and will be made into an immortal or a vampire. The girl who rank at the bottom will become the winner’s first meal.

The Homecoming Masquerade centers around two girls, Nicky Bloom and Jill Wentworth. Both working as agents for The Networks, and their mission together at Thorndike’s Homecoming Ball is to gather as many support for Nicky to win Coronation, which will give the Networks the opportunity to take down the immortals, especially Samarin Clan for good. There’s only one problem for both Nicky and Jill to get all the support they need to win this: Nicky is new in town and in Thorndike Academy and practically knew no one, while the other girls wearing black has the advantage since they and their families maybe already preparing to win The Coronation since they were born.

The timeline in The Homecoming Masquerade only take a few hours from start to finish, since the storyline in The Homecoming Masquerade mostly some back stories of each characters, and lots of flashback. This book serves more like a groundwork of the next 3 books to come. It is quite interesting, but you have to be patient to read it since this book has a lot of flashback and backstory for most of its supporting characters. This book is quite interesting to read since it basically combining the political situation in Washington DC with the influence of the Immortal Samarin Clan. This first book holds a great potential for a good story, if only you are patient enough to follow all the back stories for a lot of supporting charcters.

Rating for The Homecoming Masquerade is 7/10.

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The Homecoming Masquerade menceritakan kisah fantasi paranormal yang terjadi pada para murid senior di Thorndike Academy. Kisah dalam buku pertama dalam serial ini mengambil latar belakang di malam pesta Thorndike’s Homecoming, yang menjadi malam pembuka dari acara Turnamen Tahunan pengumpulan Dana atau lebih dikenal sebagai acara Coronation. Selama acara Coronation, semua siswi yang memilih untuk memakai pakaian hitam ke pesta dansa Homecoming ini, akan berpartisipasi dalam kontes pengumpulan dana selama satu tahun pelajaran penuh. Peserta yang mendapatkan donasi dana terbanyak di akhir tahun pelajaran, menjadi pemenangnya dan akan dinobatkan sebagai Ratu Senior Prom, dan sebagai hadiahnya akan dijadikan sebagai salah satu manusia abadi atau vampire. Sedangkan peserta yang berada di ranking terbawah dalam kontes ini akan menjadi makanan pertama dari pemenang kontes tadi.

Kisah dalam The Homecoming Masquerade ini berpusat pada dua tokoh utama wanita bernama Nicky Bloom dan Jill Wentworth. Keduanya bekerja sebagai agen dari The Networks yang menyamar, dan misi mereka di malam pesta Thorndike’s Homecoming Ball adalah mengumpulkan banyak dukungan bagi Nicky untuk memenangkan Coronation. Kemenangan Nicky dalam acara Coronation akan memberikan kesempatan bagi The Networks untuk mengalahkan para manusia abadi, terutama Clan Samarin yang menguasai Amerika. Hanya satu kendala bagi keberhasilan misi Nicky dan Jill : Nicky merupakan murid baru di Thorndike Academy, sedangkan para saingannya sudah mempersiapkan diri mereka dari sejak kecil.

Seluruh kisah dalam The Homecoming Masquerade terjadi dalam kurun waktu beberapa jam dari awal sampai dengan akhir, dengan banyaknya alur flashback dan pengenalan cerita dari tiap karakter yang berperan dalam The Homecoming Masquerade. Buku pertama dalam serial ini lebih berperan sebagai pengenalan kisah keseluruhan di dalam ketiga buku selanjutnya. Buku ini cukup menarik karena mengkombinasikan keadaan politik di Washington DC dengan pengaruh dari Klan Samarin, namun memang membutuhkan cukup kesabaran dalam membacanya dengan banyaknya flashback dan backstory dari para karakter pendukung (yang cukup banyak) di dalam buku ini. Menurutku buku ini cukup menyimpan potensi sebagai pembuka dari kisah yang cukup baik.

Rating untuk The Homecoming Masquerade adalah 7/10.

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Characters in The Homecoming Masquerade are as follows :

Nicky Bloom : one of the main protagonist, a new transferred student at Thorndike Academy, member of an underground organization, called The Network, dedicated to overthrowing the immortals who ruled Washington and the world.

Jill Wentworth : one of the main protagonist, a Senior at Thorndike Academy, a hacker for The Network, daughter of one of a wealthy and powerful family, her father was a power breaker in Washington DC.

Kim Renwick : one of the girls wearing black, a strong candidate to win, daughter of the notorious Washington lobbyist Galen Renwick, a very wealthy and powerful family that was feared by the other families.

Mary Torrance : one of the girls wearing black, the blonde bombshell ,daughter of a highly powered lawyer from Atlanta.

Samantha Kwan : one of the girls wearing black, daughter of Executives at Ventigen Corp.

Annika Fleming : one of Jill’s friend, one of popular girl at Thorndike Academy, daughter of the governor of Oklahoma.

Mattie Dupree : one of Annika’s friend, coming from a family of Washington lawyers.

Jake Castillo : one of Annika’s friend, his father was a former Secretary of State.

Jenny Young : one of Annika’s friend, her father was a Congressman.

Ryan Jenson : his family one of the wealthiest family in Washington, Jill’s former boyfriend

Elliott Toffler : one member of The Network.

Jada Razor : the biggest pop star in the world, and held secret sympathies for The Network.

Art Tremblay : the eldest son of property magnate Merv Tremblay.

Pauline Wabash : one of Kim’s follower.

Amy Thayer : one of Kim’s follower.

Rosalyn Smith : one of Kim’s follower.

Andrea Peterson : one of Kim’s follower.

Vince Weir : one of the student at Thorndike Academy,

Walter Wentworth : Jill’s father, the owner of a software company

Carolyn Wentworth : Jill’s mother, a brilliant programmer who invented a software called “Clean Street”.

Brian Kingsbury : one of the students at Thorndike Academy.

Gia Rossi : a Network’s agent.

Shannon Evans : Annika’s best friend, died in a boat accident just before school starts.

Renata Sullivan : chair of Thorndike Academy school’s Board of Regents, an immortal.

Sergio Alonzo : a powerful immortal

Daciana Samarin : a very powerful immortal, the head of the powerful Samarin Clan.

Melissa Mayhew : an immortal incharges at The Farm (a ten acres of land in South Florida where a homeless kids raised as a slave and food for the immortals).

Dominic Volcker : Melissa’s immortal bond.

Francisco ‘Frankie’ : Nicky’s long lost childhood friend, kidnaped by immortal and raised at the Farm to be a slave.

Galen Renwick : Kim’s father.

Helena : a Network agent, undercover as Nicky’s mother.

Phillip : a network agent, undercover as Nicky’s father.

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2. Book 2 : The Festival of the Moon

eBook, 42 Chapters, 300 Pages

Genre : Romance, Paranormal Fantasy, Young Adult

Other Books in Series : The Homecoming Masquerade (Girls Wearing Black #2), The Rose Ransom (Girls Wearing Black #3), The Bonding Ritual (Girls Wearing Black #4)

Still reeling from the events of the Homecoming Masquerade, Nicky Bloom must prepare for the second event of the Coronation contest: The Festival of the Moon.

A week-long celebration of the immortals and the girls vying to become one, the Festival of the Moon begins with a wild party in the woods and ends with a date auction, where all the boys of the Thorndike senior class bid for the right to wine and dine one of the girls wearing black.

With help from Jill Wentworth and the rest of the Network, Nicky dives headfirst into the world of lust, gossip, and intrigue that is Thorndike Academy. And as she and the other girls wearing black struggle for position, Nicky must keep her true identity a secret, not only from the other students at school, but from the vampire who is watching her every move.

The story in The Festival of The Moon starts a few hours after the ending in The Homecoming Masquerade, and ends in 2 weeks’ time at the night of the Date Auction event as the highlight event in this second book. In The Festival of The Moon, the main mission for both Nicky and Jill is to get a big donation for Nicky at the night of Date Auction so Nicky could get closer to 1^st place position. As Ryan already give his promise to support Kim, both Nicky and Jill didn’t have any other choice but to place their bet on Art Tremblay to gain his support at the Date Auction.

The story in The Festival of The Moon is quite thrilling and full of surprises, although still feels a bit dragging with a lot of backstories for every characters. And since there are a lot of supporting characters in this book, the development for each one of them feels only touch the surface. Too many characters in this series kinda makes me dizzy when reading it because too many things happened at the same time and it is hard to keep up with all the things going on at once. In The Festival of The Moon Jill also found out the dark secret about her family and the truth why Ryan broke up with her years ago. I’m also not a fan for the new character, Zack. I’m sorry if anyone disagree with me, but I think Jill’s love story with Zack is just too fast to be call a true love. But overall, this is an OK book to read.

Rating for The Festival of The Moon is 7/10.

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Kisah dalam The Festival of The Moon dimulai beberapa jam setelah akhir kisah dalam buku pertamanya The Homecoming Masquerade, dan mengambil total waktu 2 minggu dari awal sampai di malam acara Date Auction sebagai puncak ketegangan di dalam buku kedua ini. Dalam The Festival of The Moon, misi utama yang diemban oleh kedua tokoh utama kita, Nicky dan Jill adalah untuk memenangkan donasi besar bagi Nicky di acara malam lelang tersebut sehingga Nicky dapat menjadi selangkah lebih dekat ke peringkat pertama. Dan berhubung Ryan sudah menjanjikan dukungannya kepada Kim, baik Nicky dan Jill tidak memiliki pilihan lain selain mendekati Art Tremblay untuk mendapatkan dukungannya di acara Date Auction.

Jalan cerita dalam The Festival of The Moon cukup menegangkan dan ada banyak kejutan yang tidak disangka-sangka, walaupun alur ceritanya masih ada terasa sedikit lambat. Dan dengan banyaknya para karakter pendukung di dalam buku ini, pengembangan bagi para karakternya terasa kurang tergali scara mendalam. Banyaknya para karakter pendukung ini juga salah satu factor yang membuat aku agak kesulitan untuk mengikutinya, dengan banyak hal yang terjadi secara bersamaan. Di dalam The Festival of The Moon ini Jill akhirnya mengetahui rahasia mengenai keluarganya dan hal yang menyebabkan Ryan memutuskan hubungan dengannya beberapa tahun yang lalu. Dan satu hal yang kurang aku sukai adalah munculnya karakter baru, Zack, dan menurutku hubungan antara Jill dan Zack terjadi sangat cepat sehingga sulit bagi pembaca untuk dapat benar-benar merasakan bahwa itu merupakan cinta sejati (tapi ya itu hanya menurut pendapat pribadiku ya). Namun ya secara keseluruhan, buku ini cukup OK kok.

Rating untuk The Festival of The Moon adalah 7/10.

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Characters in The Festival of The Moon are as follows :

Mary Torrance : one of the girls wearing black, daughter of a highly powered lawyer from Atlanta.

Samantha Kwan : one of the girls wearing black, daughter of Executives at Ventigen Corp.

Annika Fleming : one of Jill’s friend, one of popular girl at Thorndike Academy, daughter of the governor of Oklahoma.

Mattie Dupree : one of Annika’s friend, coming from a family of Washington lawyers.

Jake Castillo : one of Annika’s friend, his father was a former Secretary of State.

Jenny Young : one of Annika’s friend, her father was a Congressman.

Ryan Jenson : his family one of the wealthiest family in Washington, Jill’s former boyfriend.

Art Tremblay : the eldest son of property magnate Merv Tremblay.

Alvin Green : one member of The Network.

Vince Weir : one of the student at Thorndike Academy.

Brian Kingsbury : one of the students at Thorndike Academy.

Marshall Beaumont : one of the students at Thorndike Academy.

Walter Wentworth : Jill’s father, the owner of a software company

Carolyn Wentworth : Jill’s mother, a brilliant programmer who invented a software called “Clean Street”.

Gia Rossi : a Network’s agent, spying at The Farm.

Shannon Evans : Annika’s best friend, died in a boat accident just before school starts.

Renata Sullivan : chair of Thorndike Academy school’s Board of Regents, an immortal.

Sergio Alonzo : a powerful immortal

Daciana Samarin : a very powerful immortal, the head of the powerful Samarin Clan in America.

Melissa Mayhew : an immortal incharges at The Farm (a ten acres of land in South Florida where a homeless kids raised as a slave and food for the immortals).

Dominic Volcker : Melissa’s immortal bond.

Francisco ‘Frankie’ : Nicky’s long lost childhood friend, kidnaped by immortal and raised at the Farm to be a slave.

Falkon Dilinger : the leader of rival vampire clan in Europe.

Zack Lomax : Jill’s new boyfriend.

Galen Renwick : Kim’s father.

Helena : a Network agent, undercover as Nicky’s mother.

Phillip : a network agent, undercover as Nicky’s father.

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3. Book 3 : The Rose Ransom

eBook, 54 Chapters + Prologue, 237 Pages

Genre : Romance, Paranormal Fantasy, Young Adult

Other Books in Series : The Homecoming Masquerade (Girls Wearing Black #1), The Festival of the Moon (Girls Wearing Black #2), The Bonding Ritual (Girls Wearing Black #4)

Relieved that the Date Auction was a success for Nicky, Jill Wentworth already has a plan for the next event in the Coronation contest: The Rose Ransom.

A strange ritual with a sordid history, The Rose Ransom sends the entire class on a hunt for a girl who has been kidnapped. Jill is certain she knows which girl will be taken and how she can locate her once she’s gone.

But minutes after she sets her plan in motion, Jill gets an alert that something strange has happened at the Bloom mansion. Hacking into the mansion’s security cameras, she finds a horrible scene of carnage. Three agents and one vampire were murdered during the Date Auction.

With Nicky on the other side of the world and the entire mission in jeopardy, Jill uncovers a conspiracy that could tear the Samarin clan apart, and learns that for this year’s class, The Rose Ransom is much more than a game.

The Rose Ransom is the third book in the series. The story starts just where The Festival of The Moon left off, the night on the Date Auction. With Nicky and the other girls wearing black go on their date, Jill thought that the first step in their mission was a success. But that was until she found out something is wrong at the Bloom mansion, and their entire mission has been compromised. With three Network agents gone, and Nicky is in great danger, they have no choice but to abort the mission and go into hiding for a while.

The story in The Rose Ransom takes a few months from the start until the ending. In The Rose Ransom, both Nicky and Jill took different dangerous journeys down memory lane to find the truth about their parents and their pasts.

Hmm… There’s a lot going on in The Rose Ransom. In this book, we finally got some answers regarding Nicky’s pasts and about her parents. Overall the story quite good, but I’m a little bit disappointed since Jill’s and her mother’s story a bit dominating in this 3^rd book. I can say that around 2/3 of the book focusing more to Jill’s story and only a 1/3 goes to Nicky’s story. I want Nicky’s story to unfold more than Jill’s, since there’s still so many unanswered questions around her past, but I guess the author maybe save it for the final installment.

Rating for The Rose Ransom is 6.5/10.

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The Rose Ransom merupakan buku ketiga dalam serial ini. Kisahnya dimulai langsung menyambung akhir cerita dari The Festival of The Moon, di malam acara Date Auction. Dengan Nicky dan para gadis berpakaian hitam lainnya berangkat dengan para pasangan kencan mereka, Jill berpikiran bahwa langkah pertama dalam misi mereka berjalan dengan sangat lancer. Tetapi kejutan menakutkan yang menanti Jill di rumah keluarga Bloom menunjukkan hal yang sebaliknya, bahwa misi mereka sudah terbongkar. Dengan meninggalnya tiga agen anggota Network, dan Nicky berada dalam bahaya besar, tidak ada pilihan lain bagi mereka semua yang terlibat selain membatalkan misi mereka dan segera bersembunyi sampai kondisi aman.

Jalan cerita dalam The Rose Ransom terjadi dalam beberapa bulan dari awal cerita sampai dengan akhir buku ketiga. Dalam The Rose Ransom, baik Nicky dan Jill menjalani perjalanan berbeda yang sama-sama berbahaya menelusuri masa lalu mereka untuk menemukan kebenaran mengenai latar belakang masa lalu orangtua mereka.

Hmm… Ada banyak hal yang terjadi di dalam The Rose Ransom. Dalam buku ini, akhirnya ada beberapa jawaban mengenai masa lalu Nicky dan orang tuanya. Secara keseluruhan jalan cerita dalam buku ini cukup bagus, walaupun aku cukup kecewa karena cerita mengenai Jill dan ibunya cukup mendominasi di buku ketiga ini. Sekitar 2/3 dari buku ini lebih berfokus pada Jill, dan hanya ada 1/3 bagian saja yang berfokus pada kisah hidup Nicky. Menurutku kisah Nicky seharusnya juga mendapatkan bagian yang cukup besar dibandingkan lebih berfokus pada kisah Jill, karena ada banyak hal yang masih belum terjawab mengenai kehidupan masa lalunya, namun mungkin (hanya mungkin) pengarangnya memang sengaja menyimpannya untuk buku terakhirnya.

Rating untuk The Rose Ransom adalah 6.5/10.

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Characters in The Rose Ransom are as follows :

Nicky Bloom : one of the main protagonist, a new transferred student at Thorndike Academy, member of an underground organization dedicated to overthrowing the immortals who ruled Washington and the world.

Mary Torrance : one of the girls wearing black, the blonde bombshell, daughter of a highly powered lawyer from Atlanta.

Samantha Kwan : one of the girls wearing black, daughter of Executives at Ventigen Corp.

Ryan Jenson : his family one of the wealthiest family in Washington, Jill’s former boyfriend.

Annika Fleming : one of Jill’s friend, one of popular girl at Thorndike Academy, daughter of the governor of Oklahoma.

Mattie Dupree : one of Annika’s friend, coming from a family of Washington lawyers.

Jake Castillo : one of Annika’s friend, his father was a former Secretary of State.

Jenny Young : one of Annika’s friend, her father was a Congressman.

Art Tremblay : the eldest son of property magnate Merv Tremblay.

Alvin Green : one member of The Network.

Vince Weir : one of the student at Thorndike Academy.

Brian Kingsbury : one of the students at Thorndike Academy.

Marshall Beaumont : one of the students at Thorndike Academy.

Karmela Sweet : one of the student at Thorndike, heiress to a jewelry manufacturing conglomerate from Germany.

Walter Wentworth : Jill’s father, the owner of a software company

Carolyn Wentworth : Jill’s mother, a brilliant programmer who invented a software called “Clean Street”.

Gia Rossi : a Network’s agent, spying at The Farm.

Shannon Evans : Annika’s best friend.

Gordon Krause : master hypnotist works for the Network.

Renata Sullivan : chair of Thorndike Academy school’s Board of Regents, an immortal.

Sergio Alonzo : a powerful immortal

Daciana Samarin : a very powerful immortal, the head of the powerful Samarin Clan in America.

Melissa Mayhew : an immortal incharges at The Farm (a ten acres of land in South Florida where a homeless kids raised as a slave and food for the immortals).

Dominic Volcker : Melissa’s immortal bond.

Bernadette Paiz : one of the immortal, Melissa’s friend.

Mark Spinoza : Bernadette’s immortal bond.

Francisco ‘Frankie’ : Nicky’s long lost childhood friend, kidnaped by immortal and raised at the Farm to be a slave, currently working at Renata’s mansion.

Falkon Dilinger : the leader of rival vampire clan in Europe.

Zack Lomax : Jill’s new boyfriend.

Tarin : a Network agent.

Lena Trang : one of the Immortal in Samarin Clan.

Galen Renwick : Kim’s father.

Helena : a Network agent, undercover as Nicky’s mother.

Phillip : a network agent, undercover as Nicky’s father.

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4. Book 4 : The Bonding Ritual

eBook, 51 Chapters, 474 Pages

Genre : Romance, Paranormal Fantasy, Young Adult

Other Books in Series : The Homecoming Masquerade (Girls Wearing Black #1), The Festival of the Moon (Girls Wearing Black #2), The Rose Ransom (Girls Wearing Black #3)

It’s a new semester at Thorndike, and a time for new beginnings.

For Daciana Samarin, it is a time to take control of the school after a lengthy absence. Eager to inject some excitement into a contest that has one girl far ahead of the others, Daciana rolls out a relic from her past, and invites the girls wearing black to explore its mysteries.

For Jill Wentworth, it is a time to evaluate priorities, and determine if the potential rewards of her assignment at Thorndike are worth the risks. Ever the rationalist, Jill believes Washington has become too hot for the mission to continue. But with a changing of the guard atop the clan, there are new opportunities for the Network to explore, including one that just might keep Jill in town, despite the danger.

For Nicky Bloom, it is a time of discovery. Having learned the truth about her family, and the memories that drew her across the ocean, she is prepared to face the truth about herself, and what she wants most in life. When she was in Italy, she had a chance to kill Sergio Alonzo and she didn’t take it. Now it is time for her find out why.

The fourth and final book of Girls Wearing Black follows the seniors of Thorndike Academy in their final semester, when they will conclude the contest that will see one of them become a vampire, and another the vampire’s first victim.

The Bonding Ritual is the 4^th and last installment in the Girls Wearing Black series. The story still continues to tell about the mission that both Nicky and Jill are doing for the Network to take down the Samarin Clan for good.

With The Rose Ransom event finished and one of the girls wearing black got a huge lead on the Coronation, and with their entire undercover mission is in jeopardy, the teams (Nicky, Jill, Helena, Phillip, and Ryan) are getting ready to leave town and abort their mission, when something (or someone to be precise) intervene with their plans and convincing Nicky, Helena, Phillip and Ryan to stay and finish the mission. Only Jill didn’t agree with the others, she still thinks they all should leave before anyone else get hurt. Besides there’s no point to continue with the mission when Nicky didn’t have the chance to win Coronation. But when Daciana Samarin adds something interesting to the Coronation, Jill just cannot say no to that challenge.

Well this last book in the series interesting enough to keep me reading until the last page, although the ending is not as good as my expectation would be. I kinda disappointed that Nicky’s role is getting smaller and smaller. Don’t get me wrong, I like Jill, but I just think that her storyline already dominated in the 3^rd book, and the last book supposed to be about Nicky. But too bad there’s no important development made to Nicky’s storyline and character. Instead the plot is kinda repeating itself.

Rating for The Bonding Ritual is 6.5/10.

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The Bonding Ritual merupakan buku ke 4 dan terakhir dalam serial The Girls Wearing Black. Jalan cerita dalam buku ini masih melanjutkan kisah mengenai misi dari Nicky dan Jill dan organisasi bernama The Network yang bertujuan untuk menjatuhkan klan Samarin (klan para manusia abadi yang berkuasa di Amerika dan dipimpin oleh Daciana Samarin) untuk selamanya.

Dengan selesainya even dalam The Rose Ransom dan salah satu peserta mendapatkan jumlah donasi yang jauh mengalahkan tiga peserta lainnya dalam Coronation, dan dengan kondisi seluruh operasi penyamaran mereka dalam bahaya terungkap, para anggota tim (Nicky, Jill, Helena, Phillip, dan Ryan) segera bersiap-siap meninggalkan kota dan membatalkan misi mereka, ketika sesuatu (atau lebih tepatnya seseorang) turut campur dalam rencana mereka dan meyakinkan Nicky, Helena, Phillip dan Ryan untuk tinggal dan menyelesaikan misi mereka. Hanya Jill yang masih tidak setuju dengan keputusan itu dan masih berpikir bahwa sebaiknya mereka seharusnya berhenti sebelum ada orang lain yang terluka. Selain itu menurut Jill, sudah tidak ada alasan lain untuk melanjutkan misi mereka dengan keadaan terakhir bahwa Nicky tidak mempunyai kesempatan sedikitpun untuk memenangkan Coronation. Tetapi saat Daciana Samarin mengumumkan suatu hal yang menarik untuk even yang terakhir di dalam Coronation, Jill tidak dapat berkata tidak terhadap tantangan tersebut.

Well, buku terakhir ini cukup menarik sampai pada halaman terakhir dengan banyaknya kejutan-kejutan yang terjadi, walaupun akhir cerita dalam buku ini tidak sesuai dengan ekspektasi. Aku masih tetap kecewa dengan semakin kecilnya peran Nicky di dalam buku terakhirnya ini. Jangan salah sangka, aku cukup menyukai Jill, tetapi menurutku Jill sudah cukup mendominasi dalam buku sebelumnya, dan buku terakhir ini seharusnya lebih berfokus pada Nicky. Tetapi sangat disayangkan tidak ada pengembangan penting yang terjadi pada pengembangan kisah Nicky dan pertumbuhan karakternya. Sebaliknya, plot cerita dalam buku ini malah sedikit terasa mengulang hal-hal yang terjadi sebelumnya.

Rating for The Bonding Ritual is 6.5/10.

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Characters in The Bonding Ritual are as follows :

Mary Torrance : one of the girls wearing black, the blonde bombshell ,daughter of a highly powered lawyer from Atlanta.

Samantha Kwan : one of the girls wearing black, daughter of Executives at Ventigen Corp.

Ryan Jenson : his family one of the wealthiest family in Washington, Jill’s former boyfriend.

Renata Sullivan : chair of Thorndike Academy school’s Board of Regents, an immortal, member of the Samarin clan.

Sergio Alonzo : a powerful immortal

Daciana Samarin : a very powerful immortal, the head of the powerful Samarin Clan in America.

Laura Heidegger : an immortal, the newest member of the Samarin Clan.

Galen Renwick : Kim’s father.

Edith : the curator of Thorndike’s many museum.

Frankie : Nicky’s childhood friend.

Eve Kendrick : an Network agent

Suzette Jenson : Ryan’s mother.

Roger Jenson : Ryan’s father.

Alvin Green : one member of The Network.

Mattie Dupree : one of Jill’s and Nicky’s classmate.

Karmela Sweet : one of Jill’s and Nicky’s classmate.

Zack Lomax : Jill’s ex-boyfriend.

Helena : a Network agent, undercover as Nicky’s mother.

Phillip : a network agent, undercover as Nicky’s father.

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