Book Review | Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in My Country by Patricia Evangelista

Pages: 428

Goodreads Rating: 4.20 / 5 stars

My Rating: 5/5 stars

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir

Publication Date: October 17th 2023

Publisher: Random House

Synopsis:

A fearless, powerfully written on-the-ground account of a nation careening into violent autocracy—told through harrowing stories of the Philippines’ state-sanctioned killings of its citizens—from a journalist of international renown

“My job is to go to places where people die. I pack my bags, talk to the survivors, write my stories, then go home to wait for the next catastrophe. I don’t wait very long.”

Journalist Patricia Evangelista came of age in the aftermath of a street revolution that forged a new future for the Philippines. Three decades later, in the face of mounting inequality, the nation discovered the fragility of its democratic institutions under the regime of strongman Rodrigo Duterte.

Some People Need Killing is Evangelista’s meticulously reported and deeply human chronicle of the Philippines’ drug war. For six years, Evangelista chronicled the killings carried out by police and vigilantes in the name of Duterte’s war on drugs—a war that has led to the slaughter of thousands—immersing herself in the world of killers and survivors and capturing the atmosphere of fear created when an elected president decides that some lives are worth less than others.

The book takes its title from a vigilante whose words seemed to reflect the psychological accommodation that most of the country had “I’m really not a bad guy,” he said. “I’m not all bad. Some people need killing.”

A profound act of witness and a tour de force of literary journalism, Some People Need Killing is also a brilliant dissection of the grammar of violence and an important investigation of the human impulses to dominate and resist.

ARC Review | Bride by Ali Hazelwood

Pages: 410

Goodreads Rating: 4.11 / 5 stars

My Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Genre: New Adult Paranormal Romance

Publication Date: February 6th 2024

Publisher:  Berkley

Synopsis:

Add to Goodreads

A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance.

Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again…

Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was….

Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she’s ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf.

ARC Review | Accidental Attachment by Max Monroe

Pages: 422

Goodreads Rating:  4.06 / 5 stars

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Publication Date: April 30, 2023

Publisher: Self published

Synopsis:

A successful writer accidentally sends her new (and super-dreamy) editor the wrong manuscript. Instead of the full-length paranormal novel she promised Longstrand Publishing, she sends the fan fiction she’s written about her crush…on him—including every detail of the hot, steamy “physical activity” she’s fantasized about happening between them.

And Chase Dawson may be the hottest man alive and a super-talented editor to boot, but he’s completely oblivious that he’s the star of the manuscript he just convinced his boss to green-light.

Brooke Baker has been through a lot in her thirty-one years of life.

A divorce.
A career change.
A move to New York City from “small-town” Ohio.
Not to mention, she has a bit of a medical condition that involves occasional fainting spells, mild embarrassment, and the companionship of her adorable service dog and canine sidekick, Benji.

But none of it has prepared her for this.

None of it prepared her for Chase Dawson.

Strong jaw, blue eyes, cut muscles, and a perfect swoop of superhero-worthy black hair, Chase’s features are those of a book boyfriend and then some. Obviously, Brooke would know—she literally filled an entire manuscript with it.

A manuscript no one was ever supposed to see.

Will she survive two months of revising and editing the sizzling romance she imagined with Chase in extremely close quarters with him? Or will the constant white lies and overwhelming attraction make her spontaneously combust?

Book Review | Happy Place by Emily Henry

Pages: 400

Goodreads Rating: 4.03 / 5 stars

My Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Publication Date: April 25th 2023

Publisher: Berkley Romance

Synopsis:

Add to Goodreads 

Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t.

They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.

Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.

Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?

A couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends in this glittering and wise new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.

ARC Review | Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

Pages: 368

Goodreads rating: 4.10 / 5 stars

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Publication Date: November 7 2023

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

 

Synopsis:

Add to Goodreads

In this clever and swoonworthy YA debut from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis, life’s moving pieces bring rival chess players together in a match for the heart.

Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess.

Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist….

As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren’t only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent…and infuriating…)

Blog Tour | Stories from an Undisciplined Hearts by Bryan Zantua

Pages:  200

Goodreads Rating: 4.25 / 5 stars

My Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

Genre: Speculative Fiction, Sci-Fi

Publication Date: October 26 2023

Publisher: Lost Cats Press

Synopsis:

A country ravaged by loneliness. A glimpse of a plane crash. Bizarre visions. A death-defying quest for vengeance. Questions about what it means to truly live. A missing cat.

Melancholic, existential, dreadful but with a dash of hope, the twelve stories contained in Bryan Zantua’s debut collection explore the anxieties that come with living in a constantly evolving world through a Filipino lens. Set in places that teeter between the real and the imagined, prepare to go on an emotional journey that crosses the lines of love, loss, emptiness, nostalgia, yearning, and everything else that constitutes the undisciplined heart.

My Favorite Books of 2023 (So Far)

Look who’s back? ME!

Wow. It’s been a year since I last posted. It’s been a hectic year especially with my job and taking time attending on personal stuff. I’m on an indefinite hiatus and my reading slump took me over. Frankly, 2023 isn’t my reading year. I am used to reading at least 50 or 100 books but I’ve read less than those numbers. I miss reading novels and I miss talking to my friends in the bookish community. I’ve been more active on Instagram as I get to share my activities outside book blog. 

So far, I have read 30 books (Goodreads says 28 — I haven’t marked 2 books as read because it’s not on the list) and here’s a sneak peak of my favorite books of 2023 (so far). This is not in chronological order. 

Book Review | Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Pages: 384

Goodreads Rating: 4.27 / 5 stars

My Rating: 3.5 /  5 stars

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publication Date: May 3rd 2022

Publisher: Berkley Romance

Synopsis:

Add to Goodreads

One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn’t see coming….

Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves. 

Unexpected Hiatus, Reading Slump, Life Taking Over

Long time no see everyone! ❤

I hope everyone is doing well and it’s been months since I last posted book reviews, wrap-ups etc. I truly miss you guys. These past 4 months have been tough outside the book community and I have been out of the loop. Anyways, I have been on a reading slump since. I have a short attention span and mostly feeling tired because of work. I was really busy that I abandoned my blog. Reading felt like a chore and it overwhelmed me. I apologize for letting the publishers down for not reviewing the books on time. I have to take an unexpected break due to health reason.

I guess this is a long overdue monthly wrap-up from April until July.

Book Review | Nightfall by Penelope Douglas

Pages: 621

Goodreads Rating: 4.24 / 5 stars

My Rating: ★★

Genre: New Adult Dark Romance

Publication Date: July 24th 2020

Publisher: Penelope Douglas LLC

Synopsis:

Add to Goodreads

From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Douglas comes the thrilling, final installment in the Devil’s Night series…

What happens when it’s five against one and nowhere to run?

EMORY

They call it Blackchurch. A secluded mansion in a remote, undisclosed location where the wealthy and powerful send their misbehaving sons to cool off away from prying eyes.

Will Grayson has always been an animal, though. Reckless, wild, and someone who was never bound by a single rule other than to do exactly what he wanted. There was no way his grandfather was going risk him humiliating the family again.

Not that the last time was entirely his fault. He might’ve enjoyed backing me into corners in high school when no one was looking, so they wouldn’t catch on that Mr. Popular actually wanted a piece of that quiet, little nerd he loved to torture so much, but…

He could also be warm. And fierce in keeping me safe.

The truth is… He has a right to hate me.

It’s all my fault. Everything.

Devils Night. The videos. The arrests.

I’m to blame for all of it.

And I regret nothing.

WILL

I never minded being locked up. I learned a long time ago that being treated like an animal gives you permission to act like one. No one has ever looked at me any other way.

Their only mistake is believing anything I do is an accident. I can sit in this house with no Internet, television, liquor, or girls, but I’ll come out of here with something far more frightening to my enemies.

A plan.

And a new pack of wolves.

I just didn’t expect one of my enemies to come to me.

I don’t know who smuggled her in or if they meant to leave her here, but I can smell her hiding in the house. She’s here.

And as the security detail leaves the supplies, the gates close, and the door to my gilded cage opens, giving me free reign of the house and grounds for another unsupervised month, I remember with a smile…

Blackchurch houses five prisoners. I’m only one of her problems.

*Nightfall is a full-length, romantic suspense suitable for readers 18+. It’s necessary to read the prior installments in the series before starting this story.