This was an advanced reader copy sent by the publisher. I was excited to read this book based on the premise. I've never seen a romance or YA book with Filipino characters before and I liked the idea of the main characters being Filipino. This was also great for the first few chapters, but all the footnotes to read got pretty tedious pretty fast.

There aren't only modern Filipino references to learn - ethnic cuisine, slang words, so many little tidbits of culture that make this book interesting, but for someone completely unaware of the culture all the unfamiliar terms become overwhelming. On top of this there are also historical references and a whole fantasy world building to learn.

There's a surprising supernatural revealation halfway through the book, and that's when I gave up on this one. At that point I lost my interest in finding out what the female lead was going to do/become, but she seems powerful.

Reserving for Female Empowerment bookbox.

This book was an advance reader copy given to me by the publisher. It's unique in that it "explores the history of the Phillipines through the first-person perspectives of Filipino American characters." I think the constant footnotes explaining the Filipino references get a little tedious, but someone who already understands these references without needing a lot of expository dialogue or a glossary might enjoy this.

There are young adult and paranormal elements here. Releasing to the Feminism/Girl Power Bookbox.

♀ ♀ ♀ ♀ ♀ ♀ ♀ ♀ ♀ ♀

Taken from the Feminism / Girl Power Bookbox.

💞 💞 💞 💞 💞 💞💞 💞 💞 💞

An interesting, short book that I zipped through. I enjoyed learning about Filipino mythology and history.

The writing was not done well. But it has potential. Pacing was all over the place, characterization was lacking. Just all around needed some work. But, I think, the author has potential to get better with more practice and I would definitely read more of from this author.

Now, as to the actual story. Despite the writing quality, I was really interested in the story. I flew through this book! But I have to say, and yes, SPOILERS AHEAD!






SPOILERS AHEAD-->
Vampires! Yes, vampires. This is a vampire novel! There are vampires in this book. You didn't realize it was about vampires? I didn't either. The cover didn't hint toward vampires. The synopsis doesn't say anything about it being a vampire book. There is absolutely nothing about this book that says vampires. But it is a vampire tale. Not your typical vampire tale. It's about Filipino vampire mythology. I'd never heard of it with publishers only publishing vampire books with Euro or American-centric vampires. It's quite refreshing to read a story from a different cultural perspective about vampires! Love it! How many times have I written vampire? Too many! Ha! Vampires! Vampires! Vampires! Are you quite done? Vampires!...vampires. Eh, I might be done. Vampires...

Is there a love triangle? Yes and no. It's complicated. And here is where you get to read my rant. More spoilers here and if you plan on reading this book then please, for the love of Filipino vampires, don't read on.

Ok. This spoils the ending. So again, I warn you not to read on if you want to read this book. The book has two main characters. Adrian and Dorothy. Are they in love or not in love. I give credit here to the author, there was some foreshadowing but I'm still mad. I don't think the twist was done well. You want them to get together or something. But all of a sudden it was always Stella. Yes, in hindsight you can see what the author was trying to do. But what about Dorothy? I'm guessing this is why Christian kept popping up. Seriously, I thought he was going to be some sleeper agent working for Sitan. But, nah. He's there so that she has a love interest to go back to that she doesn't really have an interest in. Is she and Stella supposed to go back or are they supposed to stay protected in Mandalagan? But that's not really what got me upset. What I'm upset about is that Dorothy is a main character. She is THE female lead. But in the end when Adrian and Stella hook up, Dorothy is forgotten. Not just by Adrian and her best friend/sister, but also by the author. There is no wrapping up of her storyline. She goes from main character to a bit player. What?! What part does she play in Mandalagan? She's not the one, apparently. Fine. But what IS her story? She's still a vampire. Is she still royalty? I'm guessing so. Is she mad at Adrian and Stella? Is it a non-issue now that she is Enlightened? Is she now Enlightened? So many unanswered questions. Ok, I think that is the end of my rant, for now.<-- END SPOILERS

✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩

One of the starting books for the To the Stars: A Science Fiction Bookbox 2.0 | Now with a new Fantasy & Horror Upgrade! + Shrinking Patch!

✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩

I'm claiming this from the To The Stars bookbox, despite the iffy ratings so far!

Later: I suppose the cover-art should have tipped me off, but I was a bit surprised to find this intensely Filipino-lore-and-legend-based story set mainly in Las Vegas! Once I settled in, it was a rather chaotic tale, mixing teen romance, a secret legacy, and a very nasty series of threats with the many elements of Filipino myth. (I didn't mind the footnotes, myself, though it did tend to make the story feel less dramatic; might have worked better to have an appendix with glossary?)

The romantic complications didn't go the way I'd expected, which might have been a good thing if I felt that any of the characters were really all that deep; then again, they had more epic things to worry about, and this does seem to be the first of a planned series, so that all might work itself out down the line.

Oh, and props to Spatial for the in-depth - and hilarious! - spoileriffic comments, which I saved until I'd read the book.

I left this book in the Little Free Library; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

** Released for the 2022 Keep Them Moving challenge. **