On Romance and April Feels Day
7:00 AMBack in 2011, I had a love affair with Nicholas Sparks. I hoarded his books and while sometimes he left me satisfied, there were times when he just broke my heart. It was good while it lasted, but I soon got tired of him and started to look for light-hearted romance.
I then discovered Mina Esguerra's books from Chachic's Book Nook. Chachic reviewed Fairy Tale Fail and it got me intrigued. I liked the idea of reading a story about a twenty-something living in Manila, like me. Chachic said that she read it as an ebook, but back then I was not as fond of e-reading as I am now. I then emailed Mina asking how to score a copy and to my surprise, she promptly replied to me.
Because I am too impatient to wait, I just bought the ebook then. That actually made me realize how reading ebooks wasn't that bothersome as I initially thought. Mina was (and is) so nice and I really appreciated how she didn't push me to buy the paperback even if that would mean profit for her.
From then on, I followed Mina Esguerra and by doing that, I got notified of sign-ups for advanced reader copies, book promos, free writing classes, author events, among many other things. (You can do so too, her blog is here.) Last Saturday, I attended #romanceclass authors' event, April Feels Day.
So. much. feels, you guys! The program included poetry reading (featuring Pierra Calasanz-Labrador’s The Heartbreak Diaries), tarot card reading, romance writing and publishing Q&A, mingling with and signing of books by the authors and the favorite part of most, if not everyone in there - the live reading!
The live reading of romance books featured some very talented performers: Rachel Coates, Gio Gahol, Jef Flores, Salve Villarosa (Cuckoo for Books), and Herv Alvarez. I listened to audiobooks and I've seen book readings on youtube before, but heck, those didn't prepare me for all the kilig (note that kilig is not in italics anymore! haha) and other feels caused by live reading. My favorite performances were the reading of All's Fair in Blog and War by Chrissie Peria and The Real Score by Kesh Tanglao. I was literally giggling like a school girl while listening to Rachel Coates and Gio Gahol. In fact, I am positive the girls around me were doing the same. Us to British Gio reading The Real Score: *swooooooon*
I really enjoyed April Feels Day and it was so nice to see that Filipino Romance genre is flourishing. I hope I get to attend more events like this, maybe in a bigger venue next time to accommodate all the feels, you know?
If you wanna see more about the fun things that happened, Mina did a good recap here. You can also explore #aprilfeelsday on Instagram.
I haven't read some of the books that were performed, but the readings were so good, I had to buy them as soon as I got home. I'd always love to find more books though, so if you have a recommendation, that would be awesome. I already finished The Kitchen When It Sizzles by Chrissie Peria, so I'm gonna review that soon.
2 comments
Oh wow, I think that's awesome that you discovered Mina's books through my blog! It's stories like these that make me feel like blogging is worth all the effort, because I get to spread the word about books that I've enjoyed. So jealous that I wasn't able to attend April Feels Day. Hopefully I can be in Manila for the next event.
ReplyDeleteOther #romanceclass titles I've recently liked: Loveless. Childless. Clueless. by Miren B. Flores and Choco Chip Hips by Agay Llanera.
Bought Choco Chip Hips and it's added on my TBR list. Will check out Loveless. Childless. Clueless. Thanks for the recommendations! :)
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