"Boku wa, Tori ni Naru" ("If I Were a Bird")

I have just finished watching the entire series, Code Geass R2: Lelouch of the Rebellion. Wow, what an amazing epic story. I almost lost faith in this series midway through the second season but I stayed loyal to the end. After 50 episodes (almost a year!), I'm definitely glad. The ending also has a major surprise.

Right now, I will discuss one of the songs from the second original soundtrack (OST) called "Boku wa, Tori ni Naru" (English translation: "If I Were a Bird") by Hitomi. I strongly believe this should have been the ending of Episode 25 instead of the Ali Project song. It has a lovely night box melody that turns mysterious and majestic. This song is so good and addictive! When I find the lyrics, I will update this review and post them (English and Japanese) on the blog.


Update! Stay tuned for my review of Code Geass! I will have it ready in November.

UPDATE: I have posted the lyrics in English and Japanese. Click on the link below to access them.


When I just can’t find my way
You are always there for me
When I am out of my way
You are always there for me

When I just can’t find my way
You are always there for me
When I am out of my way
You are always there for me

Like a bird in the sky
You set me free
You give me one heart
Like a star in my night
You’ll always be a part of me

When I just can’t fly my way
You are always there
You are always there
You are always there for me

In my darkest dreams
I hear you call me
You give me the reason to live
In my dirty heart
I hear you call me
And you reach out to carry me away

No one can save my soul
Only you

Like a bird in the sky
You set me free
You give me one heart
Like a star in my night
You’ll always be a part of me

Kurai tsuki anjisuru
Sono hikari no saki de wa
Futashika na sonzai no
Boku no yume ga umarekawaru

Isogi ikiru kedo
Gomen ne

Tori ga sora o tobimawareru you ni
Boku wa jiyuu ni ima nareru n da

Boku wa jiyuu ni ima nareru n da

Tori ga sora o tobimawareru you ni
Boku wa jiyuu ni ima nareru n da

Like a bird in the sky
You set me free
You give me one heart
Like a star in my night
You’ll always be a part of me

Like a star in my night
You’ll always be a part of me

Review: A Bite to Remember (Argeneau Vampire #5)

If you're going to fall in love with a vampire, make sure it's a bite to remember.

A Bite to Remember, by USA Today Bestselling Author Lynsay Sands, is the sixth addition to the Family Argeneau series. This novel centers on the life of Vincent Argeneau, nephew of Marguerite and cousin to her children (Lucern, Bastien, Etienne and Lissianna). Vincent is a 400+ year old vampire who lives in Hollywood and is the son of Victor Argeneau. They share one genetic trait: they cannot drink bagged blood because they lack a certain enzyme to ingest it. Therefore, Vincent must feed off human hosts during the day to control his hunger. Marguerite suspects that Vincent might become self-destructive because he has lost passion in his interests (for example, theatre), lost some body weight, and seemed more disinterested and detached from life. She also visits him in Los Angeles. In the meantime, someone has a grudge against Vincent. This mysterious person tries to shut down his plays through hypnotizing actors with “contagious anemia” and destroying stage equipment and sets. Before someone gets hurt, he closes the productions indefinitely to figure out who is behind this mess.

Bastien calls on his private investigator friend, Jackie Morrisey, to unravel the mystery of this case. She along with her assistant, Tiny, travel to Los Angeles to meet the vampire. Sexy, intelligent, and discreet, she is an excellent problem-solver when it came to dealing with vampires. However, Jackie has a secret: she has a negative preconception of immortals. Psychologically damaged from a sour relationship with a previous vampire, she vowed to act in a business demeanor, not sleep in the bed with Vincent! She can’t fall in love with a spontaneous, wealthy vampire, or so she thought. Opposites certainly do not attract, right? Unfortunately, the suspect is on a murderous rampage and leaves Jackie near death. Can she accept her new fate? Can she still follow the suspect’s lead? Or will it be her last bite to remember?

I loved this book so much!! I could not stop reading!! I would rate this book #2 to Single White Vampire This was truly a mystery novel that kept me wanting to read more and more every day! I was not disappointed with the amount of sexual imagery in the novel either because Sands chose to focus more on the case as well as new characters in the novel. This was truly a mystery novel with a great ending that I had not expected at all! This book reminded me why I enjoyed reading P.N. Elrod’s Vampire Files (Jack Fleming), Tanya Huff’s Blood (Vickie Nelson) and Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire (Sookie Stackhouse) series. I was drawn to the characters’ imperfect but human emotions as well as their ability to solve mysteries.

Readers will also learn that vampires can alter their body shape. While Vincent is lean because he never desired to eat real food, Lucern has a muscular body shape because he was raised in a time period where people fought with swords in combat. Even though those days are over, Lucern still ats food to keep his muscle mass. We also meet the Notte vampire family, who are originally from Italy, who play a critical role in the novel. This book was so good that I am giving it five stars. It was comical as well as suspenseful. In addition, all of Marguerite's children have life-mates so readers will appreciate the fact that the storyline does not have any more loopholes.

The original inhabitants of the city of Atlantis were an advanced civilization with regenerative capabilities because of nanos technology. In addition to incredible physical strength, their skin would heal quickly and remain youthful indefinitely. Unfortunately, they had to avoid the sun because the nanos will eat away at the organs in the search for more blood. Overtime, they developed fangs to retrieve blood from a host for survival. A proper form of punishment by death would include a beheading or lying outside in the sun for the nanos to eat away the organs. The vampire council has very strict rules in which all vampires must abide by to keep their existence unknown to humans.

Vampires are not dead or soulless blood-sucking animals. They don't age, can walk in the sun (although it reduces their blood supply in their pale skin and rather be nightwalkers), very strong, can read people's minds, can have sexual intercourse and reproduce to have babies! To keep their population numbers down and less obvious to humans, however, they have a child once every century. They even work among humans although they lie about their condition and travel frequently to avoid stares and their discovery as vampires. They can eat regular food to keep their bodies in shape, but must have blood supply to soothe the hunger and heal quickly. A stake can kill them because the heart cannot pump blood to stop the swelling and bleeding. Garlic and holy crosses do not harm them.

There are currently four more books published in this series. I have a lot to read and catch up! The next story focuses on Lucian, 3000-year-old ancient vampire (and brother-in-law to Marguerite) who finds the world predictable and dull until a hunter operation turns sour and an attractive surprise falls in his arms. Sands is so gifted when it comes to creating sexual imagery in her characters!

Stay tuned for the next novel in the Argeneau Vampire series, Bite Me If You Can.

Review: Smoke and Shadows (Tony Foster #1)

...it began with shadows--shadows that seemed to be where shadows didn't belong, shadows that almost seemed to have an existence of their own....Tony tried to ignore it---until he found Nikki Waugh's body...and felt the shadows' touch.... Then shadow cast its claim on lee, and a stunt crash went wrong for no discernible reason, and Tony knew he had to find out what was threatening everyone on the set. And of course, he needed Henry's help...."

Smoke and Shadows, by award-winning Canadian novelist Tanya Huff, is the first book based on the side character, Tony Foster, from the Vickie Nelson Blood series. The setting is contemporary in Vancouver, British Columbia. Tony relocated to the West Coast with Henry Fitzroy, 500-year-old vampire bastard son of King Henry VIII of England, to establish a new life for himself. Once a homeless kid at living on the streets at age 15, Tony returned to school for his GED and has his own place. Now at the age of 23, e landed a job as a Production Assistant at CB Productions for the syndicated TV show, "Darkest Night", a vampire-private investigation series. Surely nothing could have been worse for Tony until the unexpected happened.

He started to notice shadows. Weird shadows that did not belong there. Then the shadow's touch claimed someone's life. Then everyone on the set touched by the shadow started to act weird and/or become injured. Tony knew he had to figure out what was threatening people. Once he realized he was dealing with magic beyond his comprehension, he needed Henry's help. Once Arra Pelindrake, the special effects technician and wizard from another world, told Tony the truth about the situation, he had no choice but to accept the unbelievable. Tony, Henry and Arra will have the impossible task to save the entire world before the Shadowlord destroys everything.

I was very happy Tanya Huff, same author of the Vicki Nelson series, began to experiment with a different genre. I will admit I had little initial interest in wizards. I learned a few things in this new series. Tony Foster is an open homosexual who still acts masculine. It is nice to know that one can be gay and not fall predisposed to stereotypes. I knew nothing about wizardry, but from my perception of Arra, it is not an impressive skill. Henry is still struggling with the knowledge Tony needs to live his own life. It seems Tony and Henry were very close relationship-wise. Tony still remembers Vicki and Michael whenever he needs help with the police from the Blood series. I was happy that Huff uses these references.

I wanted to like this book but it presented many problems. First, Henry Fitzroy is a minor character in this series. Very different if you're used to reading the Vickie Nelson "Blood" books where Henry was a major character. Huff wants to give Tony the center stage, but it's hard to grasp since many fans want to learn more about vampires, not wizardry. Second, Huff tries to hard to make Tony act typical young adult and as a result the plot suffers. I am usually not a stickler for profanity, but it was not necessary. When Tony felt alone, he was right: no one was there to sympathize with him, including the reader. Last, some parts of the book bored me. Since Henry was only active at night, Tony and Arra had the responsibility to take care of evil shadows during the day. Tony is not a particularly interesting person to watch when he fights. The plot as a result suffers tremendously near the end.

I still recommend this book because I have high hopes the next books in this series will involve more Henry and Tony mastering his new wizardry skills. This is my first book on wizardry, and I understand why I avoid this type of genre. Treat Henry as an accomplice and not some type of liability or non-existent character!

Also check out the Vicki Nelson Blood novels (5-6 total). I will need to read the sixth book, Blood Bank, which came out recently. R.I.P. the TV Show, Blood Ties. I haven't heard any updates so I'm assuming there will be no second season.

Stay tuned to the next book in the Tony Foster Wizardry series, Smoke and Mirrors.