Summer Feels: A #RomanceClass Anthology

Summer Feels: A #RomanceClass Anthology

Sharing information on a new book launching on April 30, 2017 at U.P. Town Center!

Summer loving happens so fast, as you'll find with Summer Feels, an anthology of 23 stories of love under the summer sun by #romanceclass authors. Savor the candied thrill of firsts—first loves, first kisses, first solo vacations—and the bittersweet triumph of second chances. Tour the Philippines as the stories take you to mountain retreats and island paradises. Let the magic of the hot sun, clear blue skies, and lots of love take you on a roller coaster ride of feels. With stories ranging from sweet to sexy, there's sure to be something for any fan of romance.

Featuring stories by:

Elea Andrea Almazora • Erleen Alvarez • Ella Banta • Rachelle Belaro • H. Bentham • Halina Cabrera • Charlie Dio • Mina V. Esguerra • Elizabeth Galit • Georgette S. Gonzales • Ami Granada • Irene Jurado • Catherine Lo • Arlene Manocot • Bianca Mori • Eris Peñaluna • Farrah F. Polestico • Kit Salazar • Miel Salva • Fay Sebastian • Kate Sebastian • Yeyet Soriano • Marian Tee

Edited and compiled by Kate Sebastian

Cover and interior design by Miles Tan

Here's a teaser of the cover:

About the Designer

Miles Tan likes inhabiting imaginary worlds, from fantasy books to sci-fi shows to cheeky mysteries to role-playing games. She works with websites, plays with graphics, and is now currently painting with words.

Finding X is her first published novella. Her short story “Something Real” is included in the YA Luna East anthology, Kids These Days.

To learn more about her books, visit milestanbooks.com. To see more of the cover art she’s designed, check out milestanbooks.com/works.

Book links:

·       Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y51NJ9H

·       Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34817829-summer-feels

·       Print copy preorder links (Philippines only): http://bit.ly/summerfeels-pof

Stories included in this anthology:

·       “All about That Bass” by Fay Sebastian

·       “Alter Christus” by Catherine Lo

·       “Fall for Me” by Miel Salva

·       “The Game of Twenty Questions” by Elizabeth Galit

·       “The Summer You Said Hello” by Ami Granada

·       “At the Bermuda Triangle” by Elea Andrea Almazora

·       “Beachin’ Summer” by Arlene Manocot

·       “Buddy System” by Yeyet Soriano

·       “Busy out of the Friendzone” by Charlie Dio

·       “Flying with You” by Rachelle Belaro

·       “Guide for a Day” by H. Bentham

·       “Ready to Run” by Kit Salazar

·       “Secondhand Wanderlust” by Erleen Alvarez

·       “The Search for the Kissing Monster” by Ella Banta

·       “Anything Can Happen” by Marian Tee

·       “Four Basic Principles” by Bianca Mori

·       “Love after Summer” by Irene Jurado

·       “Lucky in Paradise” by Farrah F. Polestico

·       “The Swimming Instructor” by Eris Peñaluna

·       “Wedding Night Stand” by Mina V. Esguerra

·       “An Overdue Adventure” by Kate Sebastian

·       “Buttered Sunset” by Halina Cabrera

·       “Then Derrick Was Back” by Georgette S. Gonzales

Being in a Baker's Shoes: A Review of Save The Cake by Stella Torres

Save the Cake by Stella Torres
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Being in a Baker's Shoes: A Review of Save The Cake by Stella Torres (*spoilers ahead)

My first reaction to the story was: why is everyone talking formally and without contractions (ex. I do not understand why women put on makeup)? Even if most of the characters are Hispanic or half-Hispanic...I'm not sure they talk like that today. Maybe a generation ago. Weirdly enough, there are some contemporary expressions like addressing women in a familiar way by saying "girl." I'm putting this up front because it was a distraction to reading the story.

Now, onto the story. I loved all the descriptions of the baking. Though, I didn't understand why Eloisa and Monica are always worried about their cakes falling apart (also, I'm not sure anyone would pay for a fondant-covered cake that had ribbons to cover cracks). It was nice to be in the kitchen and baking supply warehouse with Eloisa. That was when she was in her element. I had problems with her character, though, when it came to love. I felt that she was either repressed or had double standards. Why was everyone, including Eloisa, judgmental about Hazel getting married legally before getting married in church? This is especially worrisome when I find out what happened to Eloisa in Singapore. Why was she suddenly making out with Sean Alvarez the first chance she gets alone with him? She's 28 years old! Why would she be concerned about her older brother and father getting in the way of her relationship?

I liked how Eloisa changes from kitchen assistant to a woman with her own business. In fact, if the story revolved just around that I think I would have been satisfied. I feel that Eloisa is more inconsistent in her love life. I'm not sure if she's liberated or conservative. She certainly *acts* conservative but when I get to know more about her, she *thinks* in a liberated way. That would have been fine except she also *judges* in a conservative way. Don't get me wrong, I like complex characters. However, Eloisa's choices seem disjointed sometimes. I don't know where she's coming from. There was actually no conflict in the way of love. I just found it weird that she moved so fast with Sean. That was what led me to believe she was repressed. However, her relationship with Gino (flashbacks) made me rethink that. Maybe being far from her family emboldened Eloisa?

Lastly, I didn't think the conflict between Paul (her older brother) and Eloisa is so believable. Paul's concerns about Sean are too superficial. If Sean really had a hidden past, I would understand why he was so protective and unreasonable. But Sean is a perfectly nice guy with no history of fooling around with women. So Paul was overreacting *all* the time. I would have wanted more scenes where Paul was just being a jerk, in general, rather than concerned about Sean, just to bring up the fact that Eloisa and Paul really can't work together. I also found it strange why she would find any reason to blame her friends, Hazel and Denise, for the brouhaha in Singapore. That was her own fault (or Gino's, if you look at it another way). I didn't see how she could distrust her friends over that incident.

Overall, it was nice to be in a pastry chef's shoes. I would have wanted more baking and self-discovery and less fooling around with Sean.

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#3 of 36: Which One Will It Be?: A Review of In Over Her Head by Anne Plaza

In Over Her Head by Anne Plaza
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Which One Will It Be?: A Review of In Over Her Head by Anne Plaza

My first observation: the language was distracting. Mainly, the past tense kept getting in the way of the present tense.

Now that I've gotten that first observation out of the way, let's get to the story. The Jerome vs. Richard mystery did keep me at the edge of my seat. I was wondering who Erika would end up with. I thought it was an effective way of keeping my attention as a reader. Lorra, Erika's best friend, was kind of annoying. However, instead of the main character undergoing a transformation by the end of the story, it was actually Lorra who went through it. It kind of makes me want to see the story from her perspective instead of Erika's.

I also noticed that Jerome is more developed as a character versus Richard. I get to see him transform from possible jerk to a sweet and thoughtful guy. On the other hand, Richard is just a jerk, period. I don't even know why Erika still liked him. The conflict between Erika and Richard was just so well established that I hardly found any reason for Erika to still fall for Richard.

Overall, this was a page-turning read. Read it to find out who Erika ends up with. :-)

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Sugar & Spice: A Review of Only A Kiss by Ines Bautista-Yao

Only A Kiss by Ines Bautista-Yao
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sugar & Spice: A Review of Only A Kiss by Ines Bautista-Yao

This review has been long overdue.

You know that it's a good story because you get lost while reading it. Well, that's what happened to me when I read Only A Kiss. Surprisingly, the most interesting character in OAK is the girl that Chris falls in love with sometime during his high school years. For some reason, I found her more interesting and complex than Katie (or even the girlfriend he ends up with in college). She's a bit of a jerk but I find that I gravitate towards characters who are not that easy to figure out.

Overall, this was a very sweet read. I finished it in exactly a week (and I had a very busy schedule last December!). I really loved how both Chris and Katie get to really develop as individuals (with their own loves and lives) before they start a relationship with each other.

Lastly, and I think a lot of people have already commented on it, OAK's cover is just gorgeous.

Disclosure: I am a friend of the author. :-)

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Love Is Stronger Than Death: A Book Review of The Fault In Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Everyone and my neighbor has probably read this book. Even a guy who professed not to have cried at any point during the book...still read the book. So, let me just add one more reader (and review).

This book brought on the waterworks. I tried to think if the author really set me up for emotional blackmail by making the main characters cancer patients. But no, it's the portrait of being alive that actually makes the characters worth crying over. I liked that there was no sugar-coating of how cancer is like. It sucks. It's very, very painful (there's a poignant part in the book where a nurse praises Hazel Grace for calling a pain rating of 10 a 9). I mean a pain rating of 9? I don't know what that might be like even if I've gone through Lamaze and two Caesarian sections. Would it be close? And to live with it constantly? No, I don't know. But I appreciated what that might be like...and still love.

I don't blame Hazel for thinking of herself as a ticking bomb. It's a totally logical position, given the circumstances. At first, I thought that Gus Waters' crush on her was totally unreal (but that's explained later...and I'm not giving away any spoilers). The early relationship was a little awkward and I thought that Hazel was overcompensating for being sick by being totally nerdy. But then, I slipped into the story and got lost. I guess that's a good sign for a novel. And I cried along with them on the downturn (the downturns that happen in life...exaggerated, in this case, by their staggering sickness).

There's a bit of meta in it through a book, An Imperial Affliction (the story within the story) by a Dutch writer, Van Houten. And Amsterdam does become a setting in the book at some point (I won't go further). But it's on the side and it makes the story more poignant, I think. Maybe it's a metaphor for the best days of one's life.

Reading this book reminded me to *stay* alive. To be alive. Yes, death happens, death sucks...death is in the background of all things. But as, as the Song of Songs put it so well: love is stronger than death.

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Falling for The Sanchezes (and Romeo!): A Book Review of Taming Romeo by Rachelle Ayala

Taming Romeo by Rachelle Ayala
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I started reading this book in February. Then life caught up with me. I recently went back to it in the first few days of May and boy, did my summer get hotter! Finishing the book was memorable to me because I did it right after doing the groceries. This reminds me that reading can really be squeezed in anytime, anywhere.

The reason I love this book, though, isn't really about Romeo (although, he is one hot love interest!). You know what I loved about it? I loved Evie's family. There's nothing like an intimate portrait of a Pinoy family. That's what stole my heart. My favorite character, apart from Evie, the main character, is her older sister, Choco. Her dynamics with her family is hilarious and it's so true of an eldest Pinay daughter to be the mediator (and burdened with having to take sides at some point).

But please don't get me wrong! This is a steamy read, for sure. The fantasy of having a bad (bad, bad, bad) motorcycle-riding Romeo (also a Pinoy soap opera star) who names his Yamaha, Juliet, and who wears a lip ring...will come true. The setting moves about from the West Coast to the East Coast but it is totally Pinoy at heart. The pace is really quick and the characters will win you over. The only person I don't get in the whole book is Eric Shen, Evie's missing-in-action boyfriend (if you say it over and over, you'll have a laugh) but then again, there are really guys like that. But could he be that bad? They did share a long relationship. Anyway, don't let me give you spoilers. Just read it.

Taming Romeo was a fun, roller-coaster ride of love (and sex! and contraception!) and also a lovely little portrait of the migrant Pinoy family who still keeps a giant spoon and fork in their living room. What's not to love?

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