by KB Meniado
With my mission of stacking more Filipino books into my to-read list, prowling for romance lit has become one of my regular routines. Not that they’re undercover or released in secret or anything like that because, let’s be real, romance has infiltrated many a bookstore shelf today, making them hard to miss.
(Also, it’s not exactly classified information I love reading this genre.)
With all my stalking, I’ve found one of my targets: Fall Like Rain by Ana Tejano. *James Bond music plays in the background*
THE STORY
Rain De Castro has been in love with her best friend, Mark Velasco, for almost the entire time she has known him, but she’s clearly in the friend zone because he’s happily in a relationship. Or so she thought, until the news of his break-up reaches her. Now that Mark’s single again, she decides that it’s time to get out of the zone. But when her cousin Lissa comes into the picture and sets her eyes on Mark, Rain feels troubled when he gets a little too friendly with her. Rain is determined to fight for what she feels this time, but is it worth the effort if it’s a losing battle from the start? Will she back off to give way for her best friend’s happiness, even if it means losing him to someone else again? Get a copy: Amazon (ebook) / Read reviews: Goodreads
WHAT I LIKED
Let’s start with the most obvious one: who wouldn’t pick up a book with a gorgeous cover like that? It compliments the inside so well, too—two people brought together by the romance and/of rain. Speaking of the story, I enjoyed it a lot. I liked seeing myself not only in Rain, but also sometimes in Mark, and the rest of the characters, too. The situations and settings were so Filipino (big events, family discussions, the strange connection between rain and traffic), I was left ~soaked with emotions, aka “This is so me?” Not that I have any best friend in love with me right now (platonic love, maybe, but not romantically!), but after having read so many foreign (American, more like) novels, the familiarity and relevance of this story shot through my heart. And I swear, the slow-burning romance was just ugh. Beware, okay, the tingles can last for a loooong time!
tl;dr
Fall Like Rain by Ana Tejano had me sold—I enjoyed the longing and the chase so much. To wash me away with feels? Well, mission accomplished! ☁
BOOKBED 
Anything to share? :)