BOOK REVIEW: Fashionista In Love by Yna Paulina

Photo c/o Precious Hearts Romances

TITLE: Fashionista In Love (4763)

AUTHOR: Yna Paulina

FROM: Precious Hearts Romances

PAGES: 128

Para kay Tin, ang synonym ng “fashion” ay siya. Dahil sa branded na mga gamit, nakakalimutan niya ang kanyang ama na parang walang pakialam sa kanya. Dahil sa magagarang sapatos at damit, nawawala sa isip niya ang mga problema.

But one day, her father died and a dreadful secret came out—nakaw lang pala ang pinagmulan ng yaman nila. Noong taxi driver pa lang ang kanyang ama ay may nakaiwan ng bag na naglalaman ng napakalaking halaga sa taxi nito. Ang perang iyon ang ginamit ng kanyang ama sa pagsisimula ng negosyo na sa kalaunan ay lumago, sapat para bansagan itong “Hotel King.” Pero sa pagkawala nito ay siya ang napag-iwanan nito ng responsibilidad na ipagtapat ang katotohanan sa totoong nagmamay-ari ng perang pinagmulan ng kanilang yaman—si Mr. Gerardo Mercado. Mabubuting tao ang pamilya Mercado at sa kalaunan ay pinatawad siya ng mga ito.

Naging magkaibigan sila ng anak ni Mr. Mercado na si Tintin na kapangalan pa niya. Isa siya sa mga nag-alala nang bigla na lang itong nawala. Bakit nito kailangang umalis? Tintin had an amazing family. She also had Paul, her gorgeous fiancé.

Ginusto ni Tin na hanapin si Tintin. Sa paghahanap na iyon ay nakasama niya si Paul. Hindi niya inasahan na may kung anong damdamin na binuhay sa kanya ang binata. She found herself falling in love with Paul.

Namamana rin yata ang pagiging mang-aagaw. Her father stole somebody else’s money and now she was tempted to steal somebody else’s fiancé… fashionably.

 

REVIEW

GENRE

Love Story, Drama, Slight Humor

PLOT

The plot was good at the beginning, leading me to anticipate a nice external conflict at least, but it felt short the rest of the way. It was a breeze to read, though.

POINT OF VIEW

Hero POV here became a crutch. I craved for the heroine’s POV regarding the hero’s important scenes.  Short stories like this should favor the heroine's thoughts.

CHARACTERS

KRISTINE

A rags-to-riches-girl with her humbleness and morals retained. Sometimes, I felt like she was too good to be true, but then there are a hundred ways to explore a character. Bakit nga naman hindi ang ganitong klaseng karakter? I’m just not sure how I should feel about her. She didn’t make me sympathize with her. I felt detached with her character although her portrayal was consistent. A little spice, aside from being a shopaholic, would have made her more interesting.

PAUL

I had a hard time swallowing his good guy character. Yes, he was motivated to move forward, to avoid making the same life as his mother, but I still found him lacking. I expected that his family background will have a deeper influence on his character, but it wasn’t shown effectively. The potential for complication wasn’t explored at its best. He should've been a HERO, instead he became an ORDINARY man. He needed more passion and mystery and spice. It was hard rooting for him.

Medyo hindi niya rin nakuha ang tiwala ko agad dahil nang dumating ang heroine ay nasa buhay pa niya si Tintin. I didn’t want to see their scenes, complete with dialogues and the hero's emotions. It felt like he was taken and I, as the heroine, was just second option. And that being the conflict didn't work for me, too.

MEANING

n/a

COMPARISONS

n/a

OTHER DETAILS

I like the details in the descriptions and narrations—always relevant to the story, the setting, or the characters.

I like the Victorian table. Just that word and I have an idea how the room looked like.

I wished her father’s revelation had more impact, like putting it in the beginning, leaving greater troubles for the heroine. Again, the teaser ruined the plot for me. 

And the hero’s POV. It’s not stimulating, sexy, or intimidating. 

The falling out between Paul and his fiancee and the heroine’s entrance, it was realistic. Perhaps too realistic that I had to relocate this book's genre from "romance" to "love story" (there is a difference, yes). It showed love, but it didn’t fulfill a romantic fantasy for me. Paul stepped over a line. The book was more of a Nicholas-Sparks-type of genre than romance.  

My favorite scene was the appearance of Jacques. Just a couple of sentences, but he was the most stimulating thing in the book.

I’m not sure I liked the dialogue, but it certainly flowed to where it’s supposed to go. Like convincing me that an affair is unavoidable. Clever.

CONCLUSION

The author has good technique, I just don’t know if it was used at its best in this book. It’s "almost there”. Nice read, though. 

RATING:  2 STARS  ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆