Moon and Coffee

books, travel, nursing, and all of life's in-betweens

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?

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Say No to the Duke by Eloisa James

Yeah, no. Say No to the Duke disappointed me. Actually, disappointment is putting it lightly. I was actually pretty excited going into this book. It had an interesting premise and I saw a few friends on GR rated it 4 or 5 stars. I’ve never read any of Eloisa James’ books before, so this was a first. Not exactly a great introduction to a new author, ya know? But wow this book fell flat.

At least The Duke and I by Julia Quinn was entertaining and I enjoyed the ride up until That Scene. But Say No to the Duke? Let’s go through the pros and cons, shall we?

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The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

I “accidentally” fell down a rabbit hole that is historical romance. And by accidentally, blame my mom, who suddenly remembered how much she loved reading romance. 

I’m sure you’ve either seen or read all that needs to be said about The Duke and I by Julia Quinn. Many reviewers have pointed out the following trigger warnings for this book: sexual assault, sexual content, dubious consent, and sex while intoxicated. 

Ok, so I went into the book knowing what happens. But I still wanted to give this book a try. So how did these impact my reading experience? 

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Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

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.

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Rise of a Queen by Alexis Samson

A disappointing follow-up to Fall of the Elves, this book proves and is a reminder that second book syndrome is (unfortunately) a thing. Rise of a Queen does not live up to its predecessor and falls flat. Yes, this book continues to build on the beautiful, breathless lore from the first book. Unfortunately, it is not enough to save this book from the glaring issues such as awkward and languid pacing, nonsense fillers, ridiculous dialogue, and characters with no other purpose aside from making Zariah look more interesting. Silly scenes would ruin the tension. Oh, how that irked me beyond measure. Then there’s the lack of diversity, along with there are questionable attitudes and dialogue towards humans by the “superior” elves.

Please note: there’s spoilers because I have to discuss a few things.

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Book Review: Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten

F | Gratuitously jammed packed with explicit rape, incest, violence against women, awkward sex scenes, more rape, pregnancies, torture, and oh look, more sex — Tsarina is nothing more than poorly written erotica masquerading as historical fiction. It felt like Tsarina tries too had to be like D&D’s version of Game of Thrones. It’s a try-hard edgy, full of awkward and/or violent sex, and misogynistic treatment of female characters. While there is nothing wrong with erotica or sex in books, Alpsten takes it to the extremes in this novel. It is lewd and terribly written. Alpsten managed to take such colorful humans and turn them into one-dimensional caricatures who think of nothing but sex and drinking. There’s no plot here but showcasing sex, sex, violence, and more sex. Politics gets thrown out of the window here, along with the pacing.

I genuinely feel sorry for Catherine I that this book is attached to her name now.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Goodreads | BookShopOrg | IndieBound | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

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.

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