That is such a gorgeous cover, and the sound of a Filipino-inspired fantasy? Absolutely tantalizing! And while this book didn’t work out as well as I’d hoped, it still lived up to being a promising new voice in YA fantasy.

“Inay once told me that bravery only exists when you fear. I’ve hidden my whole life, and it’s time for me to be brave.”


When Narra’s mother disappears, she does the one thing she’s sworn she’ll never do – go to the city of Bato-Ko to search for her. But her mother is a prisoner in its palace fortress and there’s only one way in: entering the Sundo, the deadly competition for their people’s next ruler. Unprepared, friendless and posing as her sister, Narra has enough to worry about without adding in strange visions and the very handsome Guardian who seems to recognize her. But it’s the secrets from her past, not the competition, that may prove the most deadly.

I went in expecting the standard “teen must enter fantasy competition in order to….” (in this case rescue her mother from imprisonment) setup and there is that. Narra literally shows up to the competition with nothing. She’s spent her life as a nomadic cloth merchant, has very little knowledge of magic or combat or basically, well, anything that would be useful in the competition, oh, and she hates parties and sucks at making friends. That’s an amazing setup for an underdog and some crafty competitions! But rather than seeing Narra overcome the challenges through ingenuity or will or sheer spite, instead they’re mostly focused on her having visions of her past lives.

“How can our past lives matter if we are not supposed to remember them? It’s just a comfort to know that you will meet the people you love again.”


And that’s my big issue with this book. I’m not a big fan of past lives story lines and that plays a big part in this story. Things feel strangely familiar to Narra and people – especially Teloh, the cute guard – recognize her, but she has no idea why. It was especially annoying at the beginning because people – it’s Teloh, pretty much entirely Teloh – had all these expectations and baggage about Narra’s past lives, despite her repeatedly telling him that she didn’t remember him or anything else. It’s all wrapped up in an interested fate versus free will discussion, but at the end of the day, even that (and the cute doomed romance) couldn’t save it for me.

“You are a swift-moving current that alters everything around you. You are interesting, Narra Jal.”


That’s not to say there’s not a lot of good things about the book. The book draws from Filipino culture, from food to cultural mores to clothing. Elders are to be respected and family is everything. The magic system is also intriguing. Magic is performed through orasyons, written or painted magic spells, and it requires sacrifice, usually your life force. Narra also has a birthmark on her neck and shoulders that lead many people to (superstitiously) believe she’s cursed. While her mother has always tried to protect her, in the times she hasn’t been there Narra’s been subjected to violence and hatred since she was a child. And that’s part of her motivation for going after her mother – she wants to prove that she’s not worthless, that she can save the life of the person who’s saved her life so many times.

Overall, while there’s many good aspects, I just wasn’t a fan of a good chunk of the storyline. Despite that, I will be definitely be keeping an eye on this author and looking for what she writes next.

I received an advance review copy of this book from Neon Rainbow. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I wanted to love this book more. I truly did. I was excited when I first got it. But at the end of the day the book was simply okay. Nothing to write home about but certainly not trash. Personally I would have liked more focus on the competition and the MC's growth. As a person and as she found out more about herself. But the bulk of the focus kept going back to her past lives. That kept pulling me out of the book. I can't say that I much cared for any character in the book really. I don't need connect to all the characters to love a book but I should at least care about them and in this case I just didn't.

The Moonlight Blade starts off full of action. Tessa Barbossa did her thing with the world building. I really felt like I was in the fortress with them. While I didnt get lost with the world building, I would have appreciated having some sort of glossary for the various terms like Datu and Diwata. As the story unfolds I kinda figured that out. The magic used in this book was impressive. Besides the magic I enjoyed the romantic aspect of the book. Narra and Teloh are so in love despite their troubles past lives. I would definitely read another book by Tessa Barbosa.

Favorite Quote:

"He [Ressa] often told me he cared, but the words always felt lacking. The Demon told me nothing, and yet there was more meaning in one of its glances."
4.75/5 ✨️

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for this honest review.

Unfortunately, I could not get into this and there’s quite a simple reason for that: the narration. I personally find it difficult to enjoy stories written in first person present tense and thus quickly found myself disinterested whilst reading this and wanting to do something else.

I might grab a physical copy and give it a chance in that format, as this book was highly anticipated.

I was drawn in by the cover and synopsis, sadly though the writing style of the book just wasn’t for me, I struggled through but I could not adjust to it and it affected my enjoyment. I also struggled with the quality of the world building

Sadly not for me although I’m it might be for others

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reading copy of the moonlight blade by Tessa Barbosa. I was obsessed. This was such a good book and already a great seller.

I want to start this review by thanking NetGalley, Tessa Barbosa, and Entangled Teen Publishing for allowing me to read an ARC of this book!

All thoughts are my own!!

***

I really really wanted to love this book, and I tried SO HARD. I thought the idea behind everything was super interesting, and I’m always a sucker for a pretty cover. I had a hard time understanding the magic system and world building that are the baseline of this novel.

I found myself skipping most of the long endless paragraphs for the dialogue, only to entirely not understand the dialogue so I had to go back and read the paragraphs anyways haha. I understand that things are out of my control and this book was definitely out of my usual little fantasy zone - but the plot of this confused me to the point I felt like I was drowning.

There were things that I either had too much information for as well as no information at all. I was lost and confused but I know that this book was easy and loved by others - so I’ll let it be that way.

I will say the way that Tessa writes scenery and flashback scenes is amazing, those were the parts of the novel that I really enjoyed and think back on when I think about the book. Tessa is a good writer but this story just didn’t feel fully fleshed out.

First half was a bit boring, but it does pick up in the secong half. I really like the characters and the world building, and the competition was very interesting.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4/5 STARS

This is a YA fantasy with ties to Filipino mythology.

Synopsis:
Narra is a cursed girl who returns to her birth city and illegally enters a competition to become the next ruler. She has no experience with magic, but finds a strange connection with one of the guards that turns into something no one expected.

I really enjoyed this one! A book about a dangerous competition with magic involved hooks me every time. I enjoyed the mythology references and action scenes. It was fast paced and kept me reading. It goes back in time at some parts and I found the different names of the same people to be a little confusing, but you can get the gist of it. Sometimes there would not be page breaks to let you know that a scene was changing or it would end abruptly and I had to go back and reread a few times to make sure that I didn’t miss anything if I was reading fast.

Overall, this is a great debut YA fantasy and I would love to read her sophomore novel.

Thank you to Entangled Teen for the gifted copy! 🖤

Once I got into the second half of the book, I was totally hooked. The story was fast-paced and kept me up all night wondering what was going to happen next. The theme of family, both blood and found, was really touching and Narra, the main character, was a total badass. The romance between her and Teloh was perfectly angsty and kept me invested until the end. However, there were some issues that really bugged me. The first half of the book was confusing. The writing was sometimes repetitive and skipped around without giving me enough context to really understand the world and the magic system. Overall, I enjoyed The Midnight Blade but I do think it had its flaws.

This book was just ok with me. I found it confusing at times and hard to connect with. I’m sure fans of fantasy and YA will enjoy it but for me I struggled with it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm heartbroken this story fell short for me. On paper (pun intended), it had lots of traits that usually fall into my preferred checklist: an eastern vibe, a contest, a motley crew of characters that become a team or group of friends, as well as a misfit who becomes crucial.

But honestly, while the details were beautiful, the characters outside of Narra seemed distant and just out of reach, the plot tries to twist on itself, and key moments seem downplayed. Honestly, I knew too much about the inconsequential things, and not enough about those critical moments that shape a story. Key mysteries aren't solved, and the ending seemed to resolve quickly after some long and difficult chapters.

Overall, a long and difficult read.

Narra Jal is the kind of character I relate to on a personal level, one who has had life decided for her by things that are out of her control. Life isn't always sunshine and roses and Narra knows it.

When put into a no-win situation she chooses to fight, to fight not only for herself but for her mother and for her ability to survive not only the trials but life in general.

While she walks into the trials blind she finds.... well you'll just have to read it to find out.

I'll be honest, I don't know much about Phillipino lore so I went into this book somewhat blind but truly enjoyed it, the magic system was unique, and characters you find yourself caring about. The Moonlight Blade is a great book if you're looking for someone to root for.

I actually like the plot where the FMC is trying to figure out the mystery of her past, a complicated one but also interesting to know. A few things keep surprising me until the end which is one of the reason I keep on reading until the end.

The writing style is easy to read and the world building is also fascinating, although I wish there’s more explanation and exploration about the magic system in this world.
The plot is a bit confusing to understand at first but it’ll start to make sense as the story progress.

While the premise sounds interesting, there are some things that left me feeling slightly disappointed with it.
I could never turn down books with deadly trials or competition with badass main character and this book sounds like one, unfortunately the competition is not the main focus of the book. There are a few action scenes but most part of the story is spend with the MC trying to figure out the ‘ghosts’ of her past.

Overall, this is an interesting book although there are a few things that I wish was more developed.
You can give this one a try if you like a character driven YA fantasy about reincarnation and Filipino culture.

I received an advanced review copy for free through Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to the author and publisher!

Review: DNF
I’ve never done this before, but I can’t finish this. This was a DNF. I normally wouldn’t review a book that I DNF, but it was an ARC through NetGalley so I have to review it.
🗡
I only made it 15% into the book but couldn’t get myself to go any farther.

I have no clue what’s going on. The world building, the religion/mythology, the magic system, her curse…none of it made any sense yet and it didn’t keep my interest enough.

The premise of the story sounded interesting, but the writing style just wasn’t for me.

The Moonlight Blade by Tessa Barbosa was my most highly anticipated read for March and I'm pretty disappointed because it didn’t live up to the hype at all. It was also the first arc I ever received and so I am so sad that I just had a terrible time reading this. Thank you NetGalley, Tessa Barbosa, and Entangled Teen Publishing for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.

Let me start off with the good. I very much enjoyed reading another book by a Filipino author. I loved seeing Filipino words and Filipino culture reflected in the pages of a book. I also think the premise sounded interesting- I love stories that involve strong FMCs proving themselves as well as competition-trope stories.

That was it. I'm not trying to completely bring the book down- because if anything I would love for everyone to read more books by Filipino authors that are rich in my culture. But I do have to be true and honest with regards to my own thoughts and experiences.

The biggest issue I think the novel has is the lack of outline in terms of world building. I feel like the author wanted to do everything without realizing that readers aren't 1) Filipino and 2) don't live inside her head and therefore cannot understand the context of words, and names, in the same way that the author does.

Formulating an outline on how the world should unfold, as well as defining terms in the way that relates to the story would've helped clear up the majority of the confusion that even I, as someone who knows much about Filipino culture, ended up feeling. I do believe that a book, especially a YA book needs to stand on its own as a cohesive entity without a glossary and map and this book did not.

In addition to this I felt very detached from all the characters and the lack of emotional connection made for my first arc experience seem like work. There were so many characters, so many new names and terms that didn’t seem to be linked together that in the end I was just skimming and not really absorbing much of anything. I read a lot of Adult SciFi and Fantasy so I do not think this lack of understanding is my own fault as a reader.

Finally, the syntax and structure of the writing left a lot to be desired. It felt extremely unrefined and I felt that the author tried very hard to make sure all her ideas were coming across that instead, it came across as unpolished. I feel like words were repeated far too often in close proximity, there were just far too many conjunctions that made sentences confusing, and there were so many word choices that that made sentence structure feel very clunky.

I am no author and will never be one. But one of my favorite authors has said that beyond artistic integrity, a writer needs to be able to edit and narrow down their work, rewriting over and over again even if that means barely 20% of it matches what it was originally.

If you do want to read a book with a lot of Filipino culture in it, please pick this one up. I think Tessa Barbosa does have a lot of potential but overall I feel like this book would've worked so much better with an intense outline and a very a firm editorial hand.

I will always love an unskilled hero who is motivated by family. And The Moonlight Blade features Narra who enters a deadly competition just to try to save her mother. One element I appreciated were the secrets of Narra and her mother's relationship. How there's things she doesn't know about her mother, and it's not just an idealistic relationship. There are some real pieces of mystery and tension. At the same time, if you love a book with deadly competitions, then you'll have to add The Moonlight Blade to your TBR. While I found the first half to be a bit confusing, in terms of where the plot arc was leading, at around halfway through, the plot mystery begins to pick up and the pieces begin to click.

Unfortunately this one was a miss for me and I had to DNF. I was drawn in by the beautiful cover and the intriguing premise but the writing style of the book did not click with me. It just felt like something was off from page one. I struggled through a bit of the story to try and see if I would get used to it but I could not. The writing felt choppy at times with weird lines and I could never get into the story. I also felt quite overwhelmed at the worldbuilding and felt as if terms were constantly thrown out with no context to what they meant.

Given the summary of the book, I'd still recommend this to someone who could enjoy the writing style.

I recently finished reading "Moonlight Blade" by Tess Barbosa, and while I enjoyed the characters and the fast-paced action, I ultimately found myself underwhelmed by the plot.
On the positive side, the characters were well-developed and each had their own unique personality and motivations. I also appreciated the inclusion of Filipino culture and mythology throughout the book, which made for an interesting and refreshing read.
The action scenes were gripping and kept me on the edge of my seat, but I found that the plot lacked depth and complexity. The story felt rushed at times, and the ending, in particular, felt unsatisfying and abrupt.
Overall, I would recommend this book to readers looking for an entertaining read with strong characters and action-packed scenes, but don't expect a particularly deep or intricate plot. Three stars.

3 out of 5 stars (3 / 5) Narra has been considered cursed her entire life. When her mother’s life is on the line, she puts aside the danger and enters a competition for the next ruler of Tigang, purely to save her mother.

The competition is the reason I picked up this book. It felt like it would have a Hunger Games feel with teens competing for a leadership position. However, this was not the case. The book focused mostly on Narra’s past lives. Reincarnation and past lives is not a subject I come across often and I can’t say that it interests me. If past lives are going to have a large part of the story, I need that previous story and not just pieces of it.

The romance felt forced (past lives coming in again) and I never quite understood their relationship. I would have enjoyed more details into the politics and how that played into the competition. I assumed that was what I was getting; a book about politics, a competition revolving around these politics and a romance on the side. However, I found myself confused multiple times with what I’ll call “scene holes.” These are not necessarily plot holes, but scenes that jumped from one end of the room to the other without explanation, or people were present then all of a sudden not present in multiple scenes.

While the story has potential, the need for better flow and detailed explanations left me wanting more. “Big” moments needed more time and fanfare, and less side characters would have held my attention more.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the gifted copy!

The book releases March 21, 2023.