Scan barcode
hazelstaybookish's review against another edition
3.0
Actual rating: 3.5
Manila, Seoul, London and New York- different cities, different multiverses- and in each one, Celia Alix is in love with Ben. But in Manila, her current multiverse, he's getting married. As Celia travels through different possible lives through her dreams, she finds out whether she and Ben will ever belong together in another universe.
I think my favorite aspect of Cities is the various settings for each multiverse. Aside from being a book nerd, I love love traveling and I've already visited both Seoul and London (and of course I live in Manila!!) so I've seen most of these places for myself and I have to applaud Carla De Guzman for capturing them so well in the story. The book surely brought up the feeling of wanderlust for me, making me wish I could travel to those places again and also finally go see New York. Alas, unlike Celia, I'm unable to even dream of a different multiverse where I'm exploring beautiful cities.
Anyway, I think Celia was a good main character- quite easy to connect to if you've ever had to deal with confusing and impossible feelings for a friend. There's definitely that angst in the book that comes from being in love with the your best friend's husband-to-be. The drama that ensues between the weird love square Celia, Ben, Vivian and Henry are apart of would make quite the telenovela if you ask me. Anyway, I liked how these emotions were drawn out with each multiverse and despite my frustrations, I really enjoyed reading Cities.
Carla De Guzman's writing was also to my liking. I usually have problems with third person narratives but this one went smoothly. The concept of the multiverses was creative too, although it may get a tad bit perplexing at first if you think about it too hard. I say just go with the flow and take in the story.
I think I'd have loved this book if only it went deeper into the characters (Vivian and Henry most especially), but I did like Celia's story, the one in Seoul most of all because it was super cute. The ending was wrapped-up satisfyingly and I was fond of the way the book changed my perspective on "what-ifs" and "could've-beens". Cities is an inspired story of love and the complexity of destiny and will take you to lovely places and interesting multiverses. I'm always on the look out for books written by Filipino authors and I'm glad Carla De Guzman's turned out to be a nice read.
Manila, Seoul, London and New York- different cities, different multiverses- and in each one, Celia Alix is in love with Ben. But in Manila, her current multiverse, he's getting married. As Celia travels through different possible lives through her dreams, she finds out whether she and Ben will ever belong together in another universe.
I think my favorite aspect of Cities is the various settings for each multiverse. Aside from being a book nerd, I love love traveling and I've already visited both Seoul and London (and of course I live in Manila!!) so I've seen most of these places for myself and I have to applaud Carla De Guzman for capturing them so well in the story. The book surely brought up the feeling of wanderlust for me, making me wish I could travel to those places again and also finally go see New York. Alas, unlike Celia, I'm unable to even dream of a different multiverse where I'm exploring beautiful cities.
Anyway, I think Celia was a good main character- quite easy to connect to if you've ever had to deal with confusing and impossible feelings for a friend. There's definitely that angst in the book that comes from being in love with the your best friend's husband-to-be. The drama that ensues between the weird love square Celia, Ben, Vivian and Henry are apart of would make quite the telenovela if you ask me. Anyway, I liked how these emotions were drawn out with each multiverse and despite my frustrations, I really enjoyed reading Cities.
Carla De Guzman's writing was also to my liking. I usually have problems with third person narratives but this one went smoothly. The concept of the multiverses was creative too, although it may get a tad bit perplexing at first if you think about it too hard. I say just go with the flow and take in the story.
I think I'd have loved this book if only it went deeper into the characters (Vivian and Henry most especially), but I did like Celia's story, the one in Seoul most of all because it was super cute. The ending was wrapped-up satisfyingly and I was fond of the way the book changed my perspective on "what-ifs" and "could've-beens". Cities is an inspired story of love and the complexity of destiny and will take you to lovely places and interesting multiverses. I'm always on the look out for books written by Filipino authors and I'm glad Carla De Guzman's turned out to be a nice read.
yogomagpie's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I liked the concept of parallel universes and exploring the different possible interactions between the same four characters in each world/city.
Some parts were cheesy, others felt a little shallow, but overall it was a good, light read. I really enjoyed how the ending was handled.
I wish there was a city/chapter with Ben/Henry and Vivian/Celia!
Some parts were cheesy, others felt a little shallow, but overall it was a good, light read. I really enjoyed how the ending was handled.
I wish there was a city/chapter with Ben/Henry and Vivian/Celia!
inahreads's review against another edition
3.0
I actually had a hard time reading this book because of the multiverses it offered but it was pretty much enjoyable. I think, I might have just been a bit overwhelmed by the idea of parallel universes. Still, I did enjoy reading this book. It was really a fast read. I devoured this book in four hours or less.
The thing about this book that kept me going was the experience I got from the characters' perspective of being in Seoul, London and New York. In a span of 119 pages, I got to experience the three places (four if you include Manila).
The characters were interesting, yet a bit unappealing for me. I certainly couldn't relate to them but they were pretty well-written. I also couldn't feel the chemistry of Ben and Celia, although I adored their geekyness for things I also like such as TV series. I liked the pop culture references throughout the book such as Doctor Who, TeenWolf, Star Wars, Sherlock and Vampire Weekend (I like this band :D). I really couldn't describe the characters because they seem different for every chapter except for some, which I assume, is the real universe in which they exist. Well, for starters, they're definitely Filipino and that's the only thing I'm familiar to with the characters. I loved Henry though. I shipped him and Celia since the start. Haha
I certainly enjoyed the London chapter of this book. From the way the story was told and the setting to the situation of the characters, I really loved it! It being bands and music fests/gigs to places in the UK that I want to visit sometime.
I certainly enjoyed the ending! That's for sure. Despite some issues I had with the book, I'd still recommend this especially to fellow Filipinos craving for a contemporary read that's close to the heart.
The thing about this book that kept me going was the experience I got from the characters' perspective of being in Seoul, London and New York. In a span of 119 pages, I got to experience the three places (four if you include Manila).
The characters were interesting, yet a bit unappealing for me. I certainly couldn't relate to them but they were pretty well-written. I also couldn't feel the chemistry of Ben and Celia, although I adored their geekyness for things I also like such as TV series. I liked the pop culture references throughout the book such as Doctor Who, TeenWolf, Star Wars, Sherlock and Vampire Weekend (I like this band :D). I really couldn't describe the characters because they seem different for every chapter except for some, which I assume, is the real universe in which they exist. Well, for starters, they're definitely Filipino and that's the only thing I'm familiar to with the characters. I loved Henry though. I shipped him and Celia since the start. Haha
I certainly enjoyed the London chapter of this book. From the way the story was told and the setting to the situation of the characters, I really loved it! It being bands and music fests/gigs to places in the UK that I want to visit sometime.
I certainly enjoyed the ending! That's for sure. Despite some issues I had with the book, I'd still recommend this especially to fellow Filipinos craving for a contemporary read that's close to the heart.
More...