An afternoon of books and ‘kilig’
Romance readers, this one’s for you.
Have a kilig-filled Saturday at the “Books That Make You Blush: A Blush Books Book Signing Event,” happening today at The Studio at Fully Booked BGC from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Get to meet authors Mina V. Esguerra, Brigitte Bautista, Tara Frejas, Six de los Reyes, Danice Mae P. Sison, and Dawn Lanuza and have them sign your books.
Hear all about Blush Books—it’s a romance imprint that’s a collaboration between #RomanceClass and Komiket! Get to know the authors and their novels. There will be a panel and Q&A session featuring these romance writers (so have your questions ready) and theater actors will be at the event to do a live reading.
Here are the books that will be featured and their official descriptions:
‘Better at Weddings Than You’ by Mina V. Esguerra
“Daphne Cardenas is the best wedding planner around, and everyone knows it. That’s why her friend Greg hired her as an emergency replacement one month before his wedding—because he fears his fiancée Helen is falling for the guy they first hired for the job.
“Aaron Trinidad is new to the wedding industry but years of conference planning and loads of charm make him good at it. Really good at it. Planning the wedding of his friend Helen should be easy, and it is. To be unceremoniously fired isn’t good for his new career, but the chance to learn from the best might be the silver lining.
“Aaron and Daphne have chemistry, but there’s history with Helen that at least one other person considers a threat. Who’s the planner who can fix this impending disaster?”
‘You, Me, U.S.’ by Brigitte Bautista
“Best friends Jo and Liza are as opposite as night and day. Sex worker Jo swears by the worry-free, one-day-at-a-time dance through life. Salesclerk Liza has big plans for her family’s future, and there is nothing bigger than a one-way trip to the US. But an almost-kiss, a sex dare, and news of Liza’s engagement to her American boyfriend unveil feelings Jo and Liza never thought they had. Deciding between staying together and drifting apart puts Liza’s best-laid plans and Jo’s laidback life in jeopardy.
“When love clashes with lifelong ambitions and family expectations, someone has to give in.”
‘Scandalized’ by Tara Frejas
“Fi Legaspi is living the dream working in Seoul as a road manager for one of South Korea’s hottest bands, East Genesis Project. Until she isn’t.
“Her life turns upside down overnight when paparazzi photos of her and East Genesis Project band leader Jo Yihwan go viral, sparking rumors of a dating scandal. Finding herself in the middle of a hostile fangirl witch hunt, Fi seeks the comfort of home, and to her surprise, not the person she had been pining for years. All too suddenly, it’s no longer just her career on the line, but also her heart.
“Will she walk away from everything that matters to her, or fight to keep her dream alive?”
‘Beginner’s Guide: Love and Other Chemical Reactions’ by Six de los Reyes
“Falling in love is a chemical reaction. Just ask Kaya Rubio, 25-year-old molecular genetics graduate student and research assistant. Fed up with her spinster aunts’ relentless reminders and unsolicited advice regarding her Single Since Birth status, she designs a scientific, evidence-based methodology to find her a suitable partner in time for her cousin’s wedding. As any good scientist knows, any valid experimental design requires a negative control.
“Enter the most unsuitable candidate for a potential boyfriend: the messy, easygoing, café owner Nero Sison. Her null hypothesis? Going out with Nero would establish her baseline data without catalyzing the chemical reaction she seeks.
“But when Kaya’s recorded results refuse to make sense, she is forced to come to the conclusion that there are some things in life that are simply, by nature, irrational and illogical. And that sometimes, chemistry doesn’t always happen inside a lab.”
‘Flipping the Script’ by Danice Mae P. Sison
“Miri dela Merced’s film director grandfather and Pabs Paglinauan’s studio head grandmother had a huge falling out that ended Lolo Ikong’s career. At 17, Miri finds herself in the same summer film internship program as the down-to-earth film studio heir Pabs, whom she’s decided to automatically write off, just because of his lineage. As Miri gets a crash course in her expectations vs. the reality of what’s it like to work on a real movie, her true feelings for Pabs become harder and harder to ignore. In between attending outdoor screenings of classic Pinoy movies and battling monster production assistants together, can flipping the script on a decades-old grudge be only a few sequences away?”
‘LuvByte’ by Dawn Lanuza
LuvByte includes three stories:
‘Five Stars’
“What happens when the boy who left finally comes home?
“Tessa Manalo had always been where she was, in a small town where she was born and raised, now with a normal desk job, and a pretty quiet life. Once upon a time, she used to sit next to Sam Herras—yes, that Sam Herras—big-city living, talented, and a member of the popular boy group LuvByte. But all of that is in the past … so why would he message her out of the blue to tell her he’s coming home at last?”
‘Noted’
“[Breaking] LuvByte member Oli reportedly dating a non-celebrity for over a year.
“Hardworking and dedicated to her job, Grace was used to working long hours and spending whatever spare time she had alone. After a week of pulling all-nighters, she found her studio apartment suddenly occupied by her brother’s friend. Determined to make her unwanted visitor go away, she devised a plan with her pen and neon-green Post-Its. But who was this person staying at her house? Why did he work odd hours? And how was she supposed to keep him out, when he’d already started to let her in on his secrets?”
‘Orange’
“She just wanted to sleep. He just wanted to sing. Couldn’t they just call it quits?
“Being woken up by a loud singing voice was not how Yasmin envisioned her Sunday morning, especially after her night shift. Unfortunately, she lived in an apartment above the popular boy group LuvByte. Being reported for ‘noise’ is not what Kota would call his well-managed, money-making, life-changing singing voice. Too bad his neighbor and her cat hated his guts. He’s annoying. She’s intimidating. Yet they can’t seem to help but run into each other …”
Copies of the books will be available at the venue. You can also have previously bought copies signed—just get a pass for them at the entrance.
Register via bit.ly/3EixGG2. Walk-ins are also welcome. Admission is free.
