Review: All's Fair in Blog and War by Chrissie Peria

My friend Tina participated in one of my favorite authors, Mina Esguerra's romance class. Her book is still in revision right now but this book? This particularly cute, sweet and oh so very entertaining book? It's part of that class and it is SO GOOD.

Title: All's Fair in Blog and War by Chrissie Peria
Release Date: June 2013
Source: Blog Tour
Buy: Amazon

Summary:

Five Cuevas @fivetravels
Three guesses to where I'm going next. Starts with an M. Ends with a U. Has a lechon named after it. #travel

Twenty-something travel blogger Five thinks she has hit the jackpot when she gets invited to glittering Macau for an all-expense-paid bloggers tour. Think majestic old churches, sparkling casinos, exhilarating bungee jumps, and the world's most unforgettable egg tarts. The trip is practically perfect, except for one little glitch. She gets assigned to be travel buddies with Jesse, the world's most infuriating photo blogger, and it's definitely war at first sight.

Will Five let Jesse turn her dream vacation into a total nightmare? Or will falling in love be on the itinerary?

It was the chance of a lifetime. When Five got an invite to travel for free and explore Macau in exchange for writing a blog post about the experience, she was beyond excited. A seasoned traveler, Five wouldn't pass up such an opportunity. The trip was supposed to be enjoyable, except for the arrogant jerk who rubbed Five the wrong way from the moment they first saw each other. And as it turns out, they were to be travel buddies. Will her trip to Macau be as enjoyable as she hoped? What adventure will she be in and will she ever change her opinion of her jerk of a travel buddy?

I was barely 5% in the novel but I knew I was gonna love it. Five is such a fun character to read of! Even her name makes one very curious of her. I like getting inside her very organized, very workaholic head. And I couldn't blame her for thinking ill of Jesse because the guy had it coming. I didn't think I'd like Jesse because his attitude rubbed me the wrong way as well, but who knew he can be such a charming person underneath?

It all started from a misunderstanding. They were enemies who became friends, who bonded over things they didn't expect to have in common. I love the romance build-up between Five and Jesse. The moments they shared together were nothing overly dramatic or grand, but you feel the transformation with every scene. That budding feeling of something good between a guy and a girl, uncertain, questionable. That moment when you realize that maybe, it's love. And ultimately, the moment when you realize that maybe it's not. That you're the only one feeling that way. Five's pain at thinking it was nothing but a ploy to be a better blogger twisted my insides. It was such a bittersweet experience for her, and I could very well relate through all the motions she went through to face what happened. I liked Jesse for being man enough to say sorry, for bridging that gap to end the misunderstanding. They seriously both need to work on communicating with each other better.

I have never been to Macau before, but this story just makes me want to pack my bags and take a flight straight to Macau and start exploring. I miss the thrill of going through a journey to a new place outside of my own country. I wanted to explore all the places Five and Jesse explored, taste the food they ate, conquer my fear of heights and do bungee jumping and just capture the beauty of a foreign place with so much to offer.

Novellas like this one are hard to come by, because despite being short and sweet, it gives you complete satisfaction, that feeling of completeness, that even though it is short, you know that the story has been written thoroughly and very well, that that shortness is enough for a reader to fully enjoy the story and that not a lot of words are needed to create such a sweet love story. All's Fair in Blog and War is such a cute, endearing romance that will make you feel warm and fuzzy inside when you finish reading. I loved every moment of it!

Content (plot, story flow, character):

I was skeptical at the insta-love at first but it didn't seem to be like that anymore by the way Jesse and Five spend those 3 days. I just want: More! More! More!

Shining: Worthy of a Goddess' Love!

Book Cover:
Super gorgeous!