WHAT SHE’S HIDING by Art Bell

RATING: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗

Publisher: Ulysses Press

To be published: March 25, 2025

Format: e-ARC

Pages: 304

Maybe we don’t really know our friends until we do something to hurt them.

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Synopsis:

Successful young New York City lawyer Henry Gladstone’s world turns treacherous when his ex-wife, who he hasn’t heard from in years, bursts into his office and anxiously announces that if he doesn’t hand over a quarter-million dollars, they’ll both be killed. Henry dismisses her story as a foolish attempt to steal his money and, despite still being in love with her, tells her to get lost. But, when he comes home to find his apartment ransacked, he begins to think she may just be telling the truth.

What She’s Hiding is a harrowing journey through the glittering heights and shadowy corners where Manhattan’s legal world meets the dark underside of the city. This novel turns the screws of tension tighter with every chapter, leading to an explosive conclusion that will leave readers breathless.

TAGUWASI by Herbert De Leon

RATING: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌖

Publisher: Self-published

Published: March 01, 2023

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 334

We have people we are fighting for out of love and that alone makes us dangerous.

Synopsis.

Behold Taguwasi, master of the wind…

On a nameless mountaintop on the northernmost tip of the known lands, the Lakandian called Lumalindaw meets another of his kind; Taguwasi, master of the wind. The two champions of the Poons befriend one another as Taguwasi invites Lumalindaw to join him and his family to eat, rest, and recover his strength as he continues his search for the witch Muwan.

As was common amongst the pre-colonial peoples of the Philippines, Lumalindaw and Taguwasi’s family share tales of their lives and adventures as they feast and chew betel nuts together. Lumalindaw tells the tale of his tragic life and exile from his family while Taguwasi and his family tell him of their shared adventures and destinies.

The tale of Taguwasi is an adventure story taken from the different points of view of Taguwasi’s wife Innawagan, her three brothers, the two magical kumaw birds, the anito Bago, and the Lakandian Taguwasi himself. It is a tale of abduction, heartbreak, and triumph as two magically endowed beings called the manulib, take the beautiful Innawagan captive and set the entire tale into motion. Join the Lakandian Taguwasi and his family as they struggle against impossible odds in their fight to win their freedom from that which holds them bound in darkness as well as their past.

LUMALINDAW by Herbert De Leon

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LAM-ANG by Herbert De Leon

RATING: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

Publisher: Self-published

Published: August 10, 2022

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 457

It is one thing to hear about magical and unnatural things in the world, but it’s quite another thing to actually see it with one’s own eyes.

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Synopsis:

The war of the three realms begins here…

In the heart of the Samtoy Nation during the pre-colonial era of Philippine history, the world of Filipino heroes, deities and mythological monsters collide in an ambitious re-telling of a classic Filipino epic.

Our story begins with Namongan, a healer and midwife from an isolated village in the Ilocos Region who discovers that she is destined to bear a child blessed by the Poon deities. This child is Lam-ang and he is the first Lakandian. Maturing at a rate unheard of amongst mere mortals, Lam-ang also possesses the strength of a hundred men and was trained to be the greatest warrior for good the mortal realm has ever seen.

Together with Mangmankik, an anito spirit assigned to look after him by the Poons, Lam-ang sets out on a quest to find the missing pieces of the Gayaman Amulet and rescue his father who was abducted by the insidious night creatures on the night that he was born.

This book covers the first half of the life of Lam-ang, derived from the Ilocano epic Biag ni Lam-ang. The story follows the adventures of our hero as he uncovers the truth about himself as well as the truth about his role in the war between the forces of good and evil that threatens not just the fate of the world of men but all the realms of the spirit world as well.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

RATING: 🌕🌕🌕🌖🌑

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Published: May 19, 2020

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 528

“Wars are won with heads, not hearts.”

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Synopsis:

Ambition will fuel him.
Competition will drive him.
But power has its price.

It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined—every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute . . . and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.

All About, 2021

2020 was a year of uncertainty and fear. I lost my job right when the pandemic hit our country. Finding a new job was challenging since most of the establishments are closing due to lockdowns.

2021 was the year of loss, grief, self-doubt, and self-discovery.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

RATING: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Published: August 24, 2010

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 398

“It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart.”

-Finnick Odair

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Synopsis:

My name is Katniss Everdeen.
Why am I not dead?
I should be dead.

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss’s family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans—except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss’s willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels’ Mockingjay—no matter what the personal cost.

Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag 2021

Hello, bookworms! Can you believe that we are already halfway (more than halfway) to 2021? Also, Harry Potter’s birthday!

Anyway, for 2021, I only managed to read 23 books so far. I am taking it nice and slow. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself this year, so that’s that.

I would cut my intro short since there are a lot of questions for this tag. Let’s just get into it!

Book Recommendation for Fans of You’ve Got Mail

Hello, fellow bookworms. As you have read from the title of my post, I am here to recommend you some books, but not just any books. These are books that would sate your movie hangover if you have marathoned You’ve Got Mail a million times.

If you clicked this blog post and don’t know what movie I am talking about, it’s the 1998 films starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. But if you still don’t know, and haven’t watched it yet, you have to watch it, like right now!

You’ve Got Mail is one of my all-time favorite RomCom movies. Not only that, but it also enlightens me as to what type of romance I want to consume in terms of books. After rewatching the movie tons of time, I suddenly have the urge to read something with a similar plot to sate my movie hangover.

As a result, I scoured the internet for book recommendations with the same plot or trope. Let me tell you, some of those books turn out as a flop. So my book recommendations today are all the books that I have read. I will let you know what aspect of the story reminds me of You’ve Got Mail in the book, and how much I enjoyed them.

In addition to that, I also added a couple of recommendations on the last part of this blog dedicated to those who simply love the mysterious pen pal trope even if they are not similar to You’ve Got Mail.

So without further ado, let’s get into the recommendations.

April & May 2021 Wrap-up & Book Haul

Hello! Happy Pride month. I still can’t believe that it’s already June, already halfway through 2021.

Another month means another wrap-up. And since I haven’t posted any wrap-up for April, I decided to combine my April and May wrap-up.

I fell into a slump towards the end of April and for the whole month of May. So I only have 4 books to share for this wrap-up. I also have some exciting books to share with you that I have hauled in April and last month. So without further ado, let’s get into the wrap-up!