wchereads's reviews
378 reviews

There's a lot I did like about this book. I adore Joanna and Walela and I was very invested in Ember's journey, wishing the best for her. Take the romance out and I would still love to read a story entirely about her struggling with her relationships with her family and ultimately making up with them and healing.

And that's probably one of the issues I had with the book: that this is a rom-com and I didn't exactly care about the romance. At least, I didn't dislike it, so I was able to keep reading. But what made this book difficult and even painful for me to read was the secondhand anxiety I was experiencing from reading Ember trying to make sure no one finds out about her lies and her relationship at work. Like literally making out with MMC IN THE OFFICE while the boss stepped out and allegedly wouldn't be back for a while - readers, he was back before the scheduled time. My anxiety was PEAKED and I could not stomach reading it. The

blackmailing business

genuinely made me lose my will to live - like I know Ember was suffering too but damn if I was in the same situation I would simply end it all. I am not the gods' strongest soldier. The only way I was able to finish this book is by skipping parts that were making me feel to anxious, only skimming enough of it to get a general idea of what happened. I did read the chapters

after she was fired

in their entirety though. Like I said, I was very invested in her familial bonds.

I would still love to check out the author's next release but this book proved to me that workplace romance simply isn't for me and I should probably stick with historical and fantasy romance!

I'm gonna attempt to actually write a review of this book other than "I AM INCONSOLABLE". 

It's not working. I just love Jo and Liza with my whole heart and soul. It is unapologetically queer (featuring a bisexual woman on the aromantic spectrum!), unapologetically pro-sex work, a truly diverse and inclusive romance that paints a realistic picture of the lower-middle class struggles in the Philippines, and so tender and lovable. I love Jo and Liza. (starts weeping)

I am so honoured to have a friend based in the Philippines who was kind enough to purchase the blush books version and mail it to me. I am indebted to her for the rest of my life. JUST LOOK AT THIS COVER. JUST LOOK AT HOW BEAUTIFUL THEY ARE- (weeps even more loudly)

I thought of Wild Thorns often while reading this book. Both books, to quote myself, present the only sort of two sides I care to read about and understand - not that of the colonizer and the colonized, but whether to resist or to give in.

While reading Wild Thorns felt a lot like that "you can only watch" meme (a variation on the trolley problem where you have no access to any switch and can only watch while a train run over a track full of people), reading Beside the Sickle Moon made me felt like... I was the viewer, the conductor of the train and someone tied to the track at the same time. There's not much to say other than it felt so painfully real.

One thing I deeply appreciate about the author is the way he really does not pull any punches. Despite the protagonist's anti-resistance stance, he never stopped referring to the Israeli military as IOF and used the terms "settlers" and "Zionists" to refer to "the Israelis" properly. At one point, the author even made reference to how the CCP treats the Uyghurs and how "Israel" took inspiration from that. Other than the one memoir I read by a Uyghur woman, I cannot remember another book that mentioned the CCP's genocide of the Uyghurs straight up. It is sadly very unknown internationally and a lot of criticisms of the CCP are being painted as buying into the US propaganda which is just... It's a whole another can of worms that I will not open in this review.

If you find yourself feeling lost a chapter or two into the book, just keep reading. Trust me that everything will makes sense, especially as things start unfolding in the second half.

Also, it did NOT have to end like that. That was literally my first text to a friend who recently read the book after I finished: "WHY DID IT END LIKE THAT CRYING EMOJI"

An invaluable, vulnerable and brutally honest book about Palestinian resistance and living under an oppressive regime that I will not forget anytime soon and will be recommending alongside Wild Thorns.

Thank you to the author for providing a review copy! I am honoured to be able to read this story.

Thank you to #netgalley for providing the e-arc. This book was published on April 9th, 2024.

While this book had good information on: 

it wasn't exactly an engaging book and reading it was an frustrating experience. Part of it was due to how technical the language is, though this is not a point of criticism, just something I'd like to point out to new readers.

The book is separated to two parts: part I consists of speeches and documents and part II consists of articles and essays. Part I can be a bit dry due to the nature of those text, but I was also annoyed by the amount of whole lot of nothing languages like thanking the United Nations and the US American president for the progresses made and what an honour it was to have them here and whatever. Those can be easily edited out and nothing of essence would've been lost. Part II was definitely more interesting to read.

I also think part I could benefit from moving Chapter 9 and 10 to the front as those could be good for readers unfamiliar with reparation to go through first (it's me, I'm readers).

Have I mentioned how editing could make this book better? WHY are ISRAEL and REPARATION JUSTICE/SUCCESS mentioned in the same paragraph? TWICE? IN THIS CURRENT CLIMATE? I am not pretending to be a very informed person, since I myself am not educated until after October 2023. But IN TWENTY TWENTY FOUR? I am going to hope that this text is ARC only and the published version does NOT normalize the so-called state of Israel. 

Some ableist words have also been used in this book - namely the r-word (as a verb) and "crippling". Yes I know the r-word has other meanings but at this point let's just not. There are other words one can use to mean "going backwards" or "preventing progress". And instead of "crippling", might I suggest "devastating", "undermining", "undercutting", or "defunding"? 

reading the physical books after already devoured everything online.

this is easily the funniest manhwa i've ever read and i will love abigail and blanche forever. kudos to the author also for calling out double standards and fatphobia

i apologize for ever liking makima

i will never emotionally recover from this

What in the name of Jesus Christ did I just read

NOT QUANXI!! NOT LIKE THIS!!!!!!

Thank you to #netgalley for providing the e-arc! This book is set to publish on Oct 21st, 2024.

Reading this book made me feel so loved. Like I am an important person and very much matter. This sentence alone probably explains why I felt that this book would've been invaluable to me had I read it when I was younger. Not only did the author take care to make sure their words are kind and affirming, they would also honestly acknowledge that the limitation of their knowledge as a result of growing up white in the west. They would always mention how intersectionality plays a role and how power imbalance from the differences of age, class, gender etc. complicates the picture, even if they were not necessarily writing from an intersectional perspective. In this way, they ensure that their advice are generally applicable while not excluding or invalidating anyone with different experiences. 

Even though it's titled "The Ace and Aro Relationship Guide" and it's definitely written in a language very approachable to young readers (making it a tad repetitive at times though not a huge issue for me), this book will be helpful for anyone interested in learning more about building, sustaining (and knowing when to end) any kinds of relationships, not just aspec folks. Not to mention the more people who understand the ace-aro spectrum, the better.

I also think that it will come in handy when one hopes to build a community trying to survive in the face of violently crumbling empires. After all, a community is also a network of many relationships, and I for one would very much like to radically re-imagine a future where we decouple certain actions and feelings from exclusively romantic and familial (by blood only) love and all care for and support one another.

🥰