I’m very happy to report that I had a very productive month in terms of reading. By the end of January, I’d been able to read five books (two audiobooks, two ebooks, and one graphic novel/komiks anthology). I’m not sure I’ll be able to post reviews about all of them, but I have two of them right here:
This Time It’s Real by Ann Liang
Every time I read a YA book and feel a little miffed at the main characters for their overall attitude or the decisions they make, I remind myself to stop and ask: Am I feeling this way simply because I’m an adult reading a book about teens? Sometimes the answer is yes, but sometimes I meet YA characters I feel I actually can click with, and I wonder if I simply gravitate to certain personalities. Hm. Something to think about.
Anyway, what I really want to say is that I liked the main characters in This Time It’s Real better than the last YA romance I read. While seventeen-year old Eliza still made questionable decisions that created a complicated domino effect in her life (Ehem—roping in a C-drama actor into your fake dating scheme so you could cover up a lie and get your dream job? Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.), I was so rooting for her to succeed. I wanted her to get the boy AND the job, and everything else she feels she hasn’t been able to enjoy in her young life because of her family constantly moving. Ultimately, that’s what we want from romances, right? Someone to genuinely root for and care about enough to wish them a well-deserved HEA.
Reading This Time It’s Real reminded me of the warm fuzzies I felt watching the film adaptation of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before for the first time. The book was totally rom-com beats, although my small (?) gripe would be that I would have wanted to see more of the fake dating between Eliza and Caz. The ones we were “shown” were pretty cute and I just wanted more. Other than that, I thought Eliza and Caz were cute and they were good for each other.
Oh, and one more thing: I liked that this book also tackled Eliza’s other worries—dealing with moving from one place to another, never making any lasting friendships, or facing the possibility of losing the one trusted friend she has because of the distance between them. Her concerns and the people around her who helped her process them made Eliza feel very real to me, brought me back to when I was younger and had (some) similar worries too. And even if she sometimes felt like she was alone, it was so nice to see a solid support system around her.
Finished: January 14, 2023
Format: Audiobook
Read on: Everand (formerly Scribd)
Overall rating
One Night at the Penthouse Suite by Bianca Mori
If you like the tone and pacing of Korean chaebol and revenge dramas with a dose of theatrics that Pinoy teleseryes serve, this book is PERFECT for you. One Night at the Penthouse Suite is an established-couple romance between the heiress and new CEO of a large Filipino corporation and a call center manager, whom we first met in a short story called One Night in the Streets of Makati.
In this book, Cora, the new CEO of the Ciacho Group of companies, is met with resistance by some members of the board, AKA the “old guards” of the company. They think she doesn’t possess the same managing chops her father did, so they put together a scheme that will ultimately expose her inexperience. All of this happens while Stephen, Cora’s ever-supportive boyfriend, battles his insecurities and comes to terms with what it means to be in a relationship with such a powerful woman.
Bianca Mori’s writing is so delicious and thrilling, and the pacing with which this story unfolded made it seem like I was watching a movie unfold. (Complete with a dramatic violin OST a la Innocent Man, LOL.) It had relationship drama, family drama, and even a bit of corporate espionage! And just like watching any good KDrama, I found myself staying up late to read “just one more chapter” because I needed to know what happens next.
I loved Cora and Stephen together and as individuals. I loved that Cora was shown to have a vulnerable side even if she literally owns 51% of this company (hehe). I also appreciated the look into Stephen’s true feelings and the way he was able to finally process them without losing his sense of self. I also super loved Celine and Anita Cacho and their powerful scene with Cora toward the end of the book. Tears were shed, true story. Any chance we could get Celine a HEA too? Ehem.
Finished: January 19, 2023
Format: Ebook
Read on: Kindle
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