asian authors. Archives — Moon and Coffee

January 26, 2026

Empress of Bright Moon (The Moon in the Palace and The Empress of Bright Moon) duology by Weina Dai Randel

Hello friends! Yes, I’m back. Shocking, isn’t it? After a long hiatus (and a terrible reading year), I finally felt the urge to write again. Let’s get into it, shall we?

Wu Zetian is one of my favorite historical figures. Perhaps like many in the West, I was introduced to her a decade ago through Tumblr and Empress of China. I recently found a YouTube account that has the English subtitles. No surprise, I found myself itching to read books about Wu Zetian. This leads me to Weina Dai Randel’s Empress of Bright Moon duology. The duology includes The Moon in the Palace and The Empress of Bright Moon. I read both books back in 2016, so I thought, “Why not make these my first reads of 2026?”

Should have left them back in 2016.

Weina Dai Randel’s The Moon in the Palace and The Empress of Bright Moon are disappointing and frustrating reads. She manages to turn interesting historical figures into one-dimensional, lackluster characters. Unfortunately for all of us, she makes some into mustache-twirling villains to keep Wu Mei — her version of Wu Zetian — perfect, good, and pure.

Honestly, I wish I had a glass of wine right now.

January 4, 2022

When Night Breaks by Janella Angeles

Second books in a series/trilogy/duology usually fall in one of two categories: exceeding the magic captured in the first book or falling short of expectations, leaving readers unsatisfied. Unfortunately, When Night Breaks by Janella Angeles lands in the latter category. Look, my friends, I adored Where Dreams Descend, but I can’t say the same about When Night Breaks. The final book in the Kingdom of Cards duology disappointed me. So now I’m left asking:

Where did it all go wrong?

March 20, 2021

The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng by K.S. Villoso

Thrilling. Bewitching. Marvelous. Astounding. Those are just a few words that I can use to describe K.S. Villoso’s The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng, which concludes the epic trilogy known as Chronicles of the Bitch Queen. I cannot believe that this book blessed my eyes. Just when I thought that K.S. Villoso’s writing couldn’t get better; she proves me wrong by knocking my socks off with this phenomenal book.

Thank you so much to Angela Man and Orbit for sending me a free copy. My views are my own.

Oh dear, where do I even begin?

March 5, 2021

Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix by Julie C. Dao

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix does not live up to its predecessor, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns. It pains me to say this because I enjoyed the previous book. But the book deities weren’t kind to me in this round. I had to force myself to finish this book. Why didn’t I DNF it? I needed to know what happened to Xifeng. But aside from that? I could care less.

So, what went wrong?

February 17, 2021

Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan

Even though it’s been a few days since I finished this book, Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan has stuck with me. I was transported back home to Manila thanks to Batacan’s prose. I could vividly imagine every single scene. If I shut my eyes for a moment, I could hear the characters’ voices even now because they felt so alive. Batacan not only analyzed the criminal justice system in the Philippines, but she also shined a light into the Catholic Church’s corruption and misdeeds.

Where do I even begin with this love letter to this book?

February 1, 2021

Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

A flash from the past! I read this book back in August 2020 for Wikathon and never uploaded the flash review to the blog. Whoops? But this is a great opportunity to share my love for Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay once again.

Look, have you ever read a book so good that it left you numb afterward because your brain legitimately cannot process how amazing the book was? That’s me right with this book.

September 15, 2020

ARC Review: The Ikessar Falcon by K.S. Villoso (Caffeine Book Tour)

A+ | Thrilling, intricate, phenomenal. I genuinely don’t think I will ever be able to describe how much I adore The Ikessar Falcon by K.S. Villoso. Every single detail is ornate and elaborate. This book is a grand cathedral wherein every single element — from the stone to the artwork to the chandeliers to the pews — were carefully selected and lovingly crafted to bring this world and these characters to life. Like its predecessor, this adult fantasy succeeds in being so full of life and being so unapologetically Filipino by reflecting those good and bad aspects of Filipino society.

Warning: I am assuming that you have read The Wolf of Oren-Yaro before reading this review. Please click below at your own discretion.

Trigger warnings for this book include the following: sex, violence, threats of sexual violence made against children.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the publisher and Caffeine Book Tours as part of my participation in their #DethroneTheDragonlord tour. Thank you Shealea from Caffeine Book Tours and to Orbit Books for providing me with this copy in exchange for this honest review.

September 1, 2020

Book Review: The Farm by Joanne Ramos

B | This is the sort of book that — if I was an ethics professor — I’d want my students to read. It will not only force you to examine your own beliefs on the immigration experience, parenthood, surrogacy, a surrogates rights, and wealth, but it will also anger you and make you uncomfortable. It is a reflection on our society, class, reproductive rights, parenthood, the American dream, and on the Filipino immigrant experience. The book is solid. However, Ramos’ execution could have been better.

Now, before I get into the rest of this review, please note that this is an #ownvoices review. I make this statement as a Filipino immigrant living in NYC with a Filipino mother who made the move here to the US before sending for me so I could have a better life here.

August 8, 2020

Flash Review: Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

A | I usually don’t start reviews like this but I feel the need to warn any potential readers of what you’ll see in this book, especially since I know a number of people who are reading this for Wikathon.

This book is not for the faint of heart. It’s not for people looking for a warm, fuzzy, and cozy mystery/thriller. No. This book is brutal and gut-wrenching. It doesn’t hold back at all. There is abuse, violence against women, murder, and multiple rape scenes. Please remember to take care of your own mental health.

Now, I enjoyed the book a lot.

From the start, the book gripped me and refused to let me go. I know. I got through the book so fast. I sort of wished I used Bookly to find out exactly how many hours it took me to read the book. But I just couldn’t stop. Had it not been for the fact I was determined to play video games last night, I would have finished this book in one sitting. It’s that good.

But you know what? Despite the fact that I enjoyed it, the book unsettled me, specifically because of the rape scenes.

I was not at all prepared for this, especially because none of the reviews I saw mentioned them. I think what’s making it worse to the point it’s lingering is the fact that the scenes were so raw and brutal.

Still, I would absolutely recommend this book to those who can handle reading this.

It’s a good book. Even though we know what happens to Angela in the end, it’s learning about what lead to her death and the immediate events after that kept me going. It was also the mystery of those dead women and their kids. Even though I ended up guessing the twist at the end, Jennifer still managed to surprise me.

Again, give this book a shot if you are okay with the above warnings because it is absolutely worth picking up.

August 6, 2020

Book Review: Where Dreams Descend (Kingdom of Cards #1) by Janella Angeles

A+ | Lush, breathtaking, show-stopping, splendorous, marvelous, decadent, exquisite. These are just a few words that I can use to describe Janella Angeles’s debut novel. Many of the reviewers I trust have described this book as something akin to a dessert. You know what? I agree. It’s a salted caramel cheesecake. It’s that Bake Cheese Tart from Japan that I adore so much. I have not fallen in love like this with a book in a long, long time. There are some things that I hope Janella improves upon in the second novel. However, these issues did not take away from the fact that I absolutely enjoyed everything that this book offers.

Read this for Wikathon w/ Rose, aka @thatbookishteacher, and you should absolutely check out her blog.

There might be minor spoilers below.