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Joyce is Booked, Mall Of Asia, Pasay City (2026)

14/09/2026

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗨𝗡𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗬𝗠𝗢𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗦 (𝗯𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗻)
Genre: romcom
Rating: 4.5⭐️

Sometimes, you just need a book that asks absolutely nothing of you except to have fun. This was that book for me. 💕

After a string of emotion-heavy lit-fics, The Unhoneymooners was the perfect palate cleanser — light, funny, romantic, and just the right amount of spicy. Thanks to this being Bookish Moms | PH’s September BOTM, I finally picked it up, and what a delightful little escape it was! 😍

Olive and Ethan absolutely cannot stand each other. Unfortunately for them, they’re now stuck pretending to be newlyweds in Hawaii after everyone else at their siblings’ wedding gets food poisoning. So they go on the honeymoon that was supposed to be for the newlyweds… together. One hotel room, one tropical island, one fake marriage, and two people who would rather be anywhere else. 😅

Except, as these things tend to go in romcoms, the line between ‘I hate you’ and ‘why are you suddenly looking so good?’ gets a little blurry. 👀

I’ve realized that I consistently enjoy Christina Lauren’s particular brand of romcom.🥰 The storytelling is easy and engaging, the banter is fun, the kilig makes me feel young, and the spice? Very nice. Nothing too scandalous, just enough to keep things interesting.✨

Did this book make me wiser? No.
Did it expand my worldview? Probably not. 😂
Did I have a ridiculously good time reading it? Yes. And I think that counts for something.

And honestly? Sometimes a book doesn’t need to do more than make you smile and swoon. 💕

12/09/2026

Author signings and people sightings at today’s MIBF! 📚✨

✨ Dr. Will — the reason I came back today! Finally met Doc in person and got Hospital Cats Love Turon! Yaaaaay! Loved your talk, Doc. Soooo funny! 😁

❤️ Tita Claire Betita de Guzman — SUPER FAN HERE! Brought my Good People, waited an hour in line, and it was 100% worth it. So nice to finally meet you po! 🥰

🚐 MRR Arcega — got my signed copy of Reasons to Hate the Commute. Can’t wait to read this! 🤩 No author photo because RollyDR3 | Books was the one who sprinted to their booth while I was busy waiting in another signing queue. 😂❤️

✨ the lovely faces of the Bookstagram community — seeing familiar faces at MIBF always makes the experience so much more fun. 🥰 So happy to see youuuuu, kat ☆ Obi Diane RB Tess Beatrice Masaluñga Aubrey 🎀 💓

A 5⭐️ MIBF day! The traffic and parking were a pain, but the books and people made it all worth it! 🫶🏻

A special shoutout to my hubby (not in photo) who ran around SMX buying books for me while I waited in line. Every bookish girl needs a supportive book-buying husband. 😂❤️ You’re the best, RollyDR3 | Books 😘

10/09/2026

A quick MIBF run turned into a 6 + 1 book haul. 🤩📚

I had ONE HOUR, a very specific list of 14 books, and a mission to get in and out because I had work to do.

I managed to find 6 from my list… plus one unexpected addition that I simply had to get. 😂

Still have a few books to hunt down on Saturday, so clearly, this MIBF trip isn’t over yet! 👀

06/09/2026

Today, I wore green to celebrate Ilya and her story of healing, self-discovery, and finding her happy ever after again. 🍀💚

And of course, because today, we had a very special bookish session with the woman who brought her to life, Ms. Ines Bautista-Yao.🫶🏻

What a memorable Zoom night with my Bookish Moms | PH sisters! So much fun, laughter, and meaningful conversations about a story that resonated with so many of us. ❤️

Thank you, Ms. Ines Bautista-Yao, for spending your evening with us, for sharing your stories, and for making our little bookish gathering extra special. We’re so grateful you said yes to joining us! 🥹💚

Definitely a night to remember. ✨

06/09/2026

MIBF is upon us! 📚✨ So… are you ready?

As far as my to-buy list is concerned, I believe I am! 😁 Sharing my current book wishlist here, assuming I can actually find these titles at the fair. And honestly, I’m hoping they’re not all there because hubby’s wallet might just go on strike. Hahaha! 😂💸

If you think there are titles I absolutely NEED to add to this list, please send your recommendations my way! I’m always open to enabling, and being enabled. 🤭📚

What do you plan to pick up at the book fair? 👀

05/09/2026

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗪𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗔𝗬 (𝗯𝘆 𝗘𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝗯𝗲𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁)
Genre: literary fiction
Rating: 5⭐️

You know a book is really, really good when you finish it and suddenly find yourself thinking about your own life instead of just the story. That was this book for me.

And honestly? Not much happens.😅 There’s no big, gripping plot. It’s mostly conversations, memories, observations, and all the things people say, or choose not to say. And yet… I was completely invested.

Artie is such an interesting character. He carries so much inside him, and you get to know him through the things he says and the things he leaves unsaid.

More than anything, though, I found myself reflecting on Artie’s relationship with his wife. I kept thinking about how she didn’t seem to notice the changes in him, even when other people did. And whenever he tried to tell her something, she often seemed to dismiss it rather than really listen. Then there’s Flossie, Artie’s friend, with whom he could simply be himself. Why couldn’t he be himself with his wife?🤯 This question really got to me. Because isn’t that one of the loneliest things — to be married to the person who is supposed to know you best, and still feel like you can’t fully be yourself?

This book made me think about marriage, communication, and how easy it is to stop really seeing the people we love.🥺 We think we know them so well that we sometimes stop asking questions. We hear them, but don’t necessarily listen. We see them every day, but somehow miss that they’re changing.

And maybe that’s what I loved most about this book. It made me look inward.💓

Quiet. Thoughtful. A little heartbreaking. I’ll admit, the ending left me wanting more, but that didn’t take away from how much I loved the book as a whole.

Definitely a 5-star read for me. ✨

💭 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘺?

03/09/2026

So far, these are the books that completely won me over in 2026 — the ones I couldn’t stop thinking about, kept bringing up in conversations no one asked for, and happily gave five stars. 🥹📚

Most are literary fiction, with historical fiction, romance, a memoir, and sci-fi also in the mix. ✨

What’s on your five-star stack this year? 👀⭐️📚

31/08/2026

A little August recap. ✨

If you scroll through my camera roll, you’ll see family photos… and then an excessive amount of books and food. 😂📚🍜🍰

Apparently, I am forever caught between my next book and my next meal. 🤭 Reading, eating, and repeating. 📚🍽️

💭 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩? 👀

30/08/2026

𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗟𝗬 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥… 𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗡 (𝗯𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗮-𝗬𝗮𝗼)
Genre: contemporary romance
Rating: 4⭐️

A happy ever after after an annulment? That was a premise I found both intriguing and hopeful, so I knew I had to pick this one up. 📖

Ilya’s story follows her as she navigates life after the end of her marriage, all while raising her twins and trying to figure out what life, and love, could look like for her moving forward.✨

What I enjoyed most about this book was how relatable and realistically paced everything felt. Ilya didn’t simply move on from her marriage overnight, nor did she immediately embrace the idea of falling in love again. She had fears. She had doubts. And all of them felt understandable. Because starting over is one thing. Starting over when you have children depending on you is another.

And then, of course, came the kilig. 🥹💕

I loved that Ilya found someone who could genuinely love her despite all the realities of her life. But what I loved even more was that she found someone who wasn’t intimidated by her brains.

Ilya’s previous marriage showed how damaging it could be when a partner feels threatened by your strengths.💔 Her being smart and driven made her husband feel inadequate, and instead of working through those insecurities, he found someone who made him feel more secure about himself.

So seeing Ilya find someone who could appreciate her brilliance without feeling emasculated by it? That was incredibly satisfying.🙌 Because the right person shouldn’t be threatened by what makes you shine. They shouldn’t make you feel like you have to be less intelligent, less ambitious, or less capable just so they can feel like enough.

Overall, this was a hopeful and enjoyable read about motherhood, marriage, heartbreak, healing, and taking a chance on love again.🥰 It reminded me that life doesn’t always go according to what we originally imagined. And sometimes, happily ever after doesn’t happen the first time around. Sometimes, you get to find it again.💓

26/08/2026

𝗪𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗟𝗘𝗥 (𝗯𝘆 𝗔𝗻𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘁𝘁)
Genre: literary fiction
Rating: 5⭐️

This was such a lovely read. Not at all action-packed — it’s slow and easy and wonderful, and somehow I never wanted it to move any faster.✨

Daphne is 53 when she unexpectedly comes face-to-face with Eddie, the man who was once her stepfather. She hasn’t seen him since she was nine. Their chance encounter at the Met opens the door to a past she thought she had long since left behind, and to a complicated story about her mother, Eddie, a devastating accident, and the years that followed.

What I loved most was how Patchett takes what could have been a dramatic family story and tells it with so much gentleness. It made me think about how much of our childhood is built around stories we are told, or memories we believe we actually remember, and how different the truth can look when we finally grow old enough to understand it.

I LOVE EDDIE! He may not be the perfect husband (for reasons you’ll discover if you read the book), but he is undoubtedly an amazing stepfather.🥰 His relationship with Daphne is incredibly moving. There’s something so beautiful about how a person can feel so much love for someone else’s child even when they don’t have the title or the legal ties to prove it.

Aaaah this book.🥹 Sometimes you just need one that feels like sitting down with someone and listening to them tell you a really good story. This was that book for me. 🤍 It’s thoughtful, tender, a little bittersweet, and so beautifully written.

Definitely my favorite Ann Patchett so far. 💓

Joyce is Booked

14/09/2026

12/09/2026

10/09/2026

06/09/2026

06/09/2026

05/09/2026

03/09/2026

31/08/2026

30/08/2026

26/08/2026

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