You don’t want to miss out on a really really amazing, brilliant story
Kung gusto mong magkaron ng madaming feelings (mostly matawa)
QUICK AND TAMAD SUMMARY
A bank robber has taken hostage a group of strangers. Bank robber sya pero sa apartment viewing naganap yung hostage situation. From an outsider point of view, kakabahan ka kasi baka kung anong mangyari, but what happens inside that apartment is something else.
Funny and heartfelt. Memorable and quirky characters.
Our April BOTM
Akala ko, Big Magic na ang top book ko for 2021. Pero after ko ‘to basahin, wala na. Sobrang nalito na ko. Sobrang ganda!!! Book of the month namin ‘tong Anxious People and ang dami rin nila na na-inlove sa story, sa writing, sa cleverness, sa characters at kung ano pa mang namiss ko. Ang galing talaga.
You’re in the mood to read something strange and different
You want to read about disturbing and misanthropic characters, but still very likeable
You want something haunting and charming at the same time
QUICK AND TAMAD SUMMARY
It’s a story about two sisters, Merricat and Constance, living in a “castle” without adult supervision because everyone in their family is dead (hindi counted si Uncle Julian kasi may sakit sya and si Constance yung nagaalaga sa kanya). They are super anti-social and hate sila ng mga townspeople for being unusual and rich.
You want an okay psychological thriller involving a married couple (don’t expect Gone Girl levels)
DON’T READ IF…
You’re a loving pet owner
You have low tolerance for torture
QUICK AND TAMAD SUMMARY
It’s about Jack and Grace na seen by their social circles as the perfect couple. Pero ang suspicious ng pagka-perfect nila kasi magtataka ka bakit walang sariling cellphone si Grace, nung hiningan sya ng e-mail address binigay nya yung e-mail address ni Jack, at laging hindi sumisipot si Grace sa lunch invites ng mga amiga nya and kung makakasipot man sya, kabuntot nya lagi si Jack. So medyo given na dito na si Jack yung psychopath. Kaya ang tagline nung book is, “The perfect marriage? Or the perfect lie?”
A ship is set to sail to Amsterdam to transport a super valuable and mysterious thing called ‘The Folly’. But someone is wreaking havoc and the passengers are relying on Samuel Pipps (world’s greatest detective) and Arent Hayes (his loyal bodyguard) to uncover the culprit. Thing is, Samuel is being held prisoner, so Arent has to step up and do the investigating himself.
This book is an adventure. Na-inlove ako dun sa setting and how the author narrates the story. It’s as if I’m there as a passenger enjoying the sea breeze, watching the dolphins, and being amused and entertained by sailors fighting. Super fond of how the author describes scenes.
Dusk arrived in ribbons of purple and pink, a few stars puncturing the sky. There was no land in sight. Only water.
I also liked how the chapters were short. My Kindle is set to show how many minutes each chapter would take to read, and most of the time it would show ‘5 mins left in chapter’, sometimes even 1 minute. So whenever I see that the next chapter would only take 2-6 minutes to finish, the tendency is to read “just one more chapter”.
I can’t remember being bored reading this book. Impatient maybe. Kasi gustong gusto ko nang malaman kung sinong nag-devise ng plan to sabotage the ship! They all seemed so innocent. Sobra.
Also, this is our book club pick for November.
START OF SPOILERS
Una kong hula ay si Vos. Ang creepy nya kasi pero parang ang obvious masyado. Kaya napunta naman ako kay Sara. Kasi she seemed so kindhearted. Kaya naiisip ko na baka may surprise sa huli na masama pala sya. And sobrang hate nya din pala yung asawa nya (justifiably so) kaya hindi pa rin talaga sya lusot. Gustong gusto na nyang makawala kay Governor General. So andun yung motive. Kahit nung nasa island na sila sya pa din yung primary suspect ko 😂
Naisip ko pa na, with the urge from Sara, si Lia ang nag-plano ng lahat. Kasi nga Promil kid sya. And at one point naisip ko rin na baka related si Lia kay Samuel Pipps kase pareho silang gifted. Mali nanaman!
Yung mga gripping scenes dun sa book is yung storm and nung nagkakagulo na. Feel na feel ko yung chaos. Nung una diba parang adventure lang tapos after mangalahati, puro patayan na. Nagulat ako nung pinatay yung Captain. Napaisip tuloy ako bakit nga ba nag-deviate sa plan si Crauwel? Magtatanong pala ko sa book club Discord.
Kaya naman kase hindi ko napagkamalan si Creesjie, kasi yung pinapakita nyang character is someone who only cares about having a wealthy husband. So I only perceived her as a simple minded woman who’s a gold digger and cares too much about her looks. Tsaka diba nagpakita sya ng interest kay Vos nung nag-propose sya and promised her a comfortable life. It’s all an act pala. Kaya rin nasa baba sya ng list ko of suspects gawa dun.
Mas mataas si Pipps sa suspect list ko kesa kay Creesjie. Pero sa isip ko kasi, sobrang imposible na maging involved sya kasi nga nakakulong sya. Sobrang pa-victim pati nya. Ang hirap din maging sobrang suspicious sa kanya kasi nung binigay yung background nya sa una, akala mo yun na ‘yon. Not until nung na-reveal sa huli yung totoong family history nya. Tapos yung Saardam pala is specifically designed para makalabas sya sa kulungan nya. Tss.
Anyway, nung hindi pa nari-reveal ang lahat, nag-panic ako dun sa fake act ni Isabel. Kala ko talaga totoo! In fairness kay Sara and Arent naisip pa nila ‘yon.
RATING [4 🌟]
While I enjoyed almost everything and sobrang nakakaloko yung culprits, I feel like the ending is the weakest point in the book. Hindi ako super na-satisfy dun sa execution nung reveal. And yung ending, parang, ganun na lang ‘yon? But I must say it’s still worth reading kahit medyo let down yung ending.
Nakakaasar yung magkapatid kasi halos walang remorse. Mej nakakaasar din yung sobrang curiosity ni Sara and Lia nung ina-unfold na nung magkapatid kung pano nila na-execute yung devious plans nila. Parang may halong wonder pa nga. Mas nangibabaw yung curiousity nila kesa sa galit.
Although ang intention talaga is to kill Jan Haan, ang dami pa din nadamay na tao. Plus the animals huhu. Mapapatay pa ni Vos si Arent. So parang hindi ako ganun ka-agree na walang justice. Naging “Let’s just forgive and forget and form a star-studded group.” na lang.
QUOTES
I chuckled at this:
“What brings fine sirs like yourselves down to the arse end of the ship?” asked the constable, putting a dried piece of fish into his mouth. Far as Arent could tell, there wasn’t a single tooth waiting for it.
Power should be a burden, not a shield. It should be used to everybody’s betterment, not merely for the person who wielded it.
Sara: Courage isn’t an absence of fear. It’s the light we find when fear is all there is.
Sammy had once told him that love was the easiest thing to spot, because it didn’t look like anything else. It couldn’t hide itself, it couldn’t disguise itself, it couldn’t go unnoticed for very long.
This is our book club pick for October and kakatapos lang namin mag-discuss about it.
SUPER QUICK & TAMAD SUMMARY:
May serial killer sa town nila na pumapatay ng magagandang babae. Ang bida ay si Ellery na mahilig mag-play detective. Kasi feeling nya may connection yung pagkawala ng aunt nya from 20 years ago dun sa recent murders.
At first, kala ko super YA vibes. Yung typical highschool ganaps na ang annoying nung mga characters. Pero hindi naman sya naging heavy sa ganon kaya naging okay naman. Nag-focus talaga yung author sa suspense/mystery aspect which is good. Nag-enjoy ako manghula.
START OF SPOILERS
Naaasar ako kay Ellery kasi labas ng labas. Kita na nga na may killer on the loose. Although very typical yun sa mga horror movies, na parang nawawala sa tamang pagiisip yung character tapos lalabas pa din ng kwarto or ng bahay na as if ang tapang tapang nya.
Nafrustrate pa ko nung itutuloy pa din yung homecoming dance. Bakit itutuloy?? Bakit hindi sila nagiisip? Pero it turned out, wala naman nangyari. Pa-effect lang na feeling mo may mangyayaring masama nung araw na ‘yon.
And ang useless na lang din nung pagka-worry ko for Ellery kasi hindi naman sya yung target talaga nung killer. Si Brooke talaga (recent victim).
Sobrang dami kong napagbintangan na killer sa book na ‘to. Pero may tumama naman sa hula ko. Yung mga obvious suspects like Ryan and Vance or even Declan, inalis ko na sila sa list ko kasi ang dali naman kung sila na agad. Dumaplis sa isip ko na si Peter yung killer kasi dinescribe sya ni Ellery as, “good looking” and “charismatic”. So naisip ko, ah so mukang papasa ‘tong matandang ‘to sa mga teenage girls. So dun na-form yung theory ko na baka may secret relationship sila ni Lacey noon (the second victim).
Mga 85% into the book, naumay na ko manghula. Matatapos na wala pa ding hard clues. Pero shortly after, ni-reveal na din na si Peter na talaga.
So eto na nga yung ending. Yung last line na, “I thought she was your mother.” Super chillz! Yung akala mo tapos na kasi na-reveal na yung killer pero may twist pa sa huli.
My status updates sa Goodreads while reading the book 😆
RATING [3.5 🌟]
So dahil sa last line na ‘yon, imbis na 3 out of 5 stars yung ibibigay ko, nagi syang 3.5 stars. Walang lingering effect yung story for me. Yung tipong after ko basahin irerecall ko pa yung mga series of events? Hindi sya ganon for me. After ko matapos and ma-woah sa ending, okay na na ko.
Book club meeting
QUOTES
[I found this part sweet.] Your brother saved you, Nana had said. She was right. I just didn’t realize which one.
Our next book is The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton. Suspense/mystery ulit so I’m excited!
Gleniz da Menace 