Monique Pardillo > Recent Status Updates

This far into the book, I'm only ever intrigued by what happens next like how a vertical drama from a Facebook sponsored reel makes me want to if the main character ever gets the justice that she deserves.

Arsinoe has my heart all throughout the book. It's almost as if the author likes her the most because she is the most well-fleshed out character in the story.

JOSEPH SANDRIN THE CHEATER THAT YOU ARE!!!!

It was a pretty dreary start in my opinion but as I reached halfway towards the story, it's hooking me in. Arsinoe is a pleasure to read about and might be my favorite character next to Mirabella. However, Joseph Sandrin can literally get lost that fucking cheater.

I still can't fucking stand this book.

I hope I get to see how regretful Sadie is as the story progresses. She was annoyingly stupid when her mother kept calling her and was unable to keep her foot down when Cruz was breathing down her neck about a promising career that could outshine Max's.

What the fuck was that dinner scene? Trying to build some sort of animosity between Ethan's dad and Penny but all of a sudden they were laughing and giggling without any explanation? That just looks like lazy writing to me.

I really want to stop reading after reading through two sex scenes that didn't feel the slightest bit romantic nor did it contribute to the development two of the main characters' lackluster dynamic or lack thereof.

I want to DNF this but at the same time I don't. There are some redeeming moments for the FMC but in the end it falls flat all over again by the unnecessary moments that aren't consistent with her persona. Ex. her glaring at shelby when she left the bar with Ethan to appear petty like? Her dad so far is the mature one and has given her good advice but ofc FMC refuses to listen.

Okay, things are sort of picking up right now. The FMC is still a tad bit annoying but it takes a while to get accustomed to her personality (or lack thereof). There is more context to her return in Magnolia Springs and there is a steady build of who she is as she explores the town that she grew up in and I'm all for it. I hope I won't be disappointed, fingers crossed.

Nora Ehpron never fails to put things into perspective. From hating on her purse, scrutinizing her high-maintenance rituals to parenting, she is a certified complainer but one that makes absolute sense. It's hard to ignore the privileged life that she lives but she is speaking from experience.

I'm barely into the story and I'm starting to dislike the FMC already. It's one thing for a character to dread coming back home to their hometown, bumping into the people that she grew up with but its another to call an old high school classmate a "bitch" for recognizing her but when the classmate shows no further interest of conversing with her she hates her even more??? Idk but the character is insufferable.

It has taken me a couple of weeks to get this far. I'm really tempted to DNF this book but I'm determined to finish it.

I can’t stand this series. The FMC is unbearable and has little to no depth in any of her thoughts and being. I’m not entirely convinced of her mission or purpose because she seems to grapple with it due to her muddled feelings for two men.

Loving it so far! For the first time, I feel as thought I’ve broken through the fog that has been blocking me from ever gaining clarity.

The writing is absolutely breathtaking.

The characters are well-fleshed out so far and I can't wait to read more.

This might be the most insufferable FMC ever. I could hardly keep in mind that she needs to save her sister because of the love triangle that she seems to be more invested in.

An easy read but it doesn’t mean that it’s good. If anyone told me that Sarah J. Maas wrote this, I wouldn’t doubt it for a second. There twists and turns but we’ve seen them before and it’s practically abused at this point.

this book took me out of a reading slump.

I thought of finishing this book in a week but it has become a difficult read for me and I decided to stop and put it back on the shelf because of how heavy the stories were.

I plan to read this next after I finish Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism, and I hope that I will muster up enough strength to finish this and go through the book without letting the overwhelming sense of helplessness consume me.

The mechanics of a cult are seen everywhere in our daily lives but because of the term's negative associations (Charles Manson Murders and the Jonestown Massacre), describing something a cult is usually perceived to be something dangerous to the welfare of society.

"By the day the thirty-two were killed in Bulacan, President Duterte's pursuit of beauty had already failed. He had won the presidency promising to end the evils of drugs, crime, and corruption within three to six months of his administration. "No excuses," he had said, before extending his own deadline another six months."

"In the list of his dead, Lascañas inclued two more alleged drug dealers. Their names were Cecilio and Fernando, and they shared more than his last name. 'In my absolute loyalty to [the mayor's] campaign, I had my own two brothers killed.'

'I submit myself to God," Lascañas said in testimony before the Philippine senate. "I am satisfied."

"But I am after all a trauma reporter, and my view of the palace is from the ground, inside the miserable tent cities stinking of piss and shit where fathers wait for their drowned daughters to come home. "You are my bosses," Aquino said of his people. If they were still alive, it should be enough. It was in this context that word came from the south. Change was coming, and his name was Rodrigo Duterte."

"The plunder of a nation began the moment martial law was declared. Unprecedented looting of the country's natural resources and wealth ensued. Marcos and his cronies exerted vise over the national economy until it came under their total control or became their private possession. The term grand larceny is inadequate to describe the magnitude of what transpired during the reign of theft."

“The world came up with the world ‘Imeldific’ to describe one’s lavish and ostentatious lifestyle, in reference to the Philippine’s former first lady, Imelda Marcos. While it is undeniable that her unabashed opulence paid and stolen from the poor Filipinos, this unimaginable spending and display of wealth is a practice from the Philippine elites prior to the Marcos regime.”

too many fucking books to read god