Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos healed my Filipino diasporic heart. Dalisay and Evan are super cute. I loved the humor throughout the entire novel. Bettie? Everyone has a Bettie. In my family, we call our Bettie Bumper.
Melissa De La Cruz works through kapwa and the importance of family for Dalisay while also exploring America. Evan Saatchi is such a funny and relatable character as well.
I love the fake dating/ fake courting and the bet that was ongoing. I also love how even though they did it, they found themselves falling in love. Is that a spoiler? The Ramoses are quite the bunch and honestly I related so much to all of them. The way the characters clicked and meshed together really had me wishing for my own five stages.
This is definitely going to be a comfort read for me.
It does have very minimal spice.
Melissa De La Cruz works through kapwa and the importance of family for Dalisay while also exploring America. Evan Saatchi is such a funny and relatable character as well.
I love the fake dating/ fake courting and the bet that was ongoing. I also love how even though they did it, they found themselves falling in love. Is that a spoiler? The Ramoses are quite the bunch and honestly I related so much to all of them. The way the characters clicked and meshed together really had me wishing for my own five stages.
This is definitely going to be a comfort read for me.
It does have very minimal spice.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A delightful love story.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Just meh. I thought it was a creative idea but I didn’t enjoy the characters.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
lighthearted
medium-paced
I'm conflicted between hating this book and actually enjoying it. As an Asian myself, I'm well aware of the courting culture, but the way the author presented it here is quite ‘shallow’ and lacks understanding of why certain things matter. The author just nonchalantly explains it.
I imagine readers who have no idea about the concept of courting might think that Dalisay and her family are selfish and self-centered, as it was portrayed that way. In reality, it should be a two-sided effort of gaining respect and blessings. The writing is definitely the problem here.
The conflicts that caused Dalisay and Evan to break up felt like they were thrown in just for the sake of creating conflict for the ending. It could have been good if the author had explored why cultural clash is a problem in their relationship more deeply. The second courting and the lead-up to the ending felt rushed, and it all went downhill from there. It's a shame that the concept and little sprinkles of cuteness can't compensate for the lack of a good storyline and execution.
As for the narrator, I'm sorry to say the accent did not bring the story to life. I just felt annoyed the entire time, thinking, "Is this how other people think we speak? Are they making fun of us?" Not cute in the slightest.
I will not recommend this book to those who actually want to learn about courting culture, but I will recommend it to those who just want a cute, almost one-sided effort romance book.
*Thanks NetGalley and RBmedia for the ARC
I imagine readers who have no idea about the concept of courting might think that Dalisay and her family are selfish and self-centered, as it was portrayed that way. In reality, it should be a two-sided effort of gaining respect and blessings. The writing is definitely the problem here.
The conflicts that caused Dalisay and Evan to break up felt like they were thrown in just for the sake of creating conflict for the ending. It could have been good if the author had explored why cultural clash is a problem in their relationship more deeply. The second courting and the lead-up to the ending felt rushed, and it all went downhill from there. It's a shame that the concept and little sprinkles of cuteness can't compensate for the lack of a good storyline and execution.
As for the narrator, I'm sorry to say the accent did not bring the story to life. I just felt annoyed the entire time, thinking, "Is this how other people think we speak? Are they making fun of us?" Not cute in the slightest.
I will not recommend this book to those who actually want to learn about courting culture, but I will recommend it to those who just want a cute, almost one-sided effort romance book.
*Thanks NetGalley and RBmedia for the ARC
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I felt skeptical of this one for quite awhile into it. The first five steps was funny and cute so I was surprised there was so much of the book left when they were over. I did not appreciate the way the FMC made her issues into his issues though. In my opinion, he felt guilty for their breakup and it was definitely her problem. She was terrible to him. However, the book redeemed itself a bit when he did the second round of 5 steps which was even cuter than the first.
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A story about loving where you come from and learning what parts you want to hold tight to.
I loved learning about different Filipino traditions, the banter between the characters, diverse, the idea of being courted, and the family bonds portrayed in this novel.
Through Dalisay and Evan, this book shares about the chances we take and the ways we hold ourselves back from what we really want because of others’ expectations. It was interesting to see how different cultures view family and the impact that family can have on decision-making. I liked this book because it showed the hard and complicated parts of being in a relationship with different culture backgrounds, but also reminded that everyone deserves to have happiness even if it looks different than everyone thinks.
The narration by Amielynn Abellera and the writing by Melissa de la Cruz was beautiful and painted a picture of the Filipino culture. As a side note, this is my first audiobook with some detailed spice and I was not ready.
Thank you to Netgalley, RBmedia, and the author for this audio arc for my honest opinion.
I loved learning about different Filipino traditions, the banter between the characters, diverse, the idea of being courted, and the family bonds portrayed in this novel.
Through Dalisay and Evan, this book shares about the chances we take and the ways we hold ourselves back from what we really want because of others’ expectations. It was interesting to see how different cultures view family and the impact that family can have on decision-making. I liked this book because it showed the hard and complicated parts of being in a relationship with different culture backgrounds, but also reminded that everyone deserves to have happiness even if it looks different than everyone thinks.
The narration by Amielynn Abellera and the writing by Melissa de la Cruz was beautiful and painted a picture of the Filipino culture. As a side note, this is my first audiobook with some detailed spice and I was not ready.
Thank you to Netgalley, RBmedia, and the author for this audio arc for my honest opinion.