All's Fair in Blog and War by Chrissie Peria

Summary from Goodreads:

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

Travel blogger Five thinks she has hit the jackpot when the Macau Tourism Board invites her over for an all-expense-paid blogger tour in exchange for blogging about Macau. But while she happily signs up for the trip, she didn't sign up to be travel buddies with the infuriating Jesse. Will her dream vacation turn into a nightmare junket? Or will falling in love be on the itinerary?

When this novella was brought to my attention. I knew that this had a fair shot with me, despite the fact that I am not quite so big on contemporary romance. Two words: Blogging and Travelling. These are two activities that are familiar to me and which I have considerably enjoyed. The former, at a greater extent that the latter because I found myself being more of a lazy-ass of late. Lazy to pack, lazy to book the trip, lazy to haul myself off my really nice chair. But I have found other means (and much cheaper really) of travelling that suits me to a tee. Reading books. Starting with this one. Off to Macau we go! (heigh-ho, heigh-ho, heigh-ho)

First off, Loved the Prologue. It appealed to my love for anything that comes across as mysterious and enigmatic. And in this case, it was a glove. It foreshadows that some sort of heartbreak will be involved the future, and I was curious as to how that will happen. So, I caught the hook, time to be reeled in.

The protagonist, Five Cuevas, is a likeable character. She leans more towards the unassuming female lead type. Although, she does not really stand out, but she is relatable and identifiable, for me, at least, since I have been known as the most OC in my family and my group of friends usually accuse me of being the old lady of the group. Or what is referred to in this novella as the buzzkill. So yeah, I know Five and that made the story much more enjoyable for me.

The setting is also nicely crafted. Honestly, it was like I was in Macau. The scenery and the feel of the place is quite vivid. And the food descriptions border on mouth watering, and I am just reading off my Kindle then. Never had an egg tart, mind you.

The dialogue is brisk and snappy and quite funny in certain parts. The story is undeniably very easy to get into. I was quite anticipating the Valentine Scrooge, to come out with his trope-radar, ping-pinging all over. I don't mind tropes really, because what would I read then? They just have to be done to my taste. And not like say, extremely long or constant descriptions of body parts, or overwrought touchy feelys. But there was none of that here. It was light and sweet. I call it a minimalist romance, which is my kind of romance. There is that general atmosphere of will they or will they not, that kept me reading straight. It is suffice to say that I finished this in one sitting because I really wanted to know right then, what happens to them.

I know that I truly enjoyed this story, because I can pick out certain scenes or details that I liked. Instead of just a blur of smooze, and mush. From the top of my head, the "DIE" scene is pretty cool, I want that waterproof ink thingy; the pistachio ice cream scene was kind of cute; the glove scene was very kilig-inducing. 

It would have been nice though if, as the story progresses, I could have gotten a little more about who Jesse is, aside from being the charming big brother type. And Five too. While her character was explored more than Jesse, and I already liked her from the get go, I still wished for more meat and insight into who they are, to make them more rounded.  

Overall, I can say I had a great time reading this novella. I highly recommend this for anyone's travel read, or a weekend read, or a beach read, or a comfy couch read, or a patio read, (if you have a patio). It's lovely, light, and egg-tarty sweet story, with just the right amount of crispness for texture. :D  
    
Aaaaaad, here is the best part, GIVEAWAY TIME!

Chrissie Peria, the author of all's Fair in Blog and War was kind enough to offer us three e-book copies for three winners. To Join, here's what you have to do

• Answer the following question in the comments section. 
• Pick a place that you would want to visit right now, and state the first activity that you would do there upon arrival.
• Be sure to leave your e-mail address so I can contact you.
• The first three to answer the question in the comments section will be given a Smashwords coupon code, which they will use to claim the free e-book.
• Open to anyone who has a Smashwords account (you can create an account for free). Coupon Code is redeemable until August 15, 2013.

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED.