It was a rainy day then, but people still journeyed to Quezon City last June 9 to attend the launch of Mina V. Esguerra's new book, What Kind Of Day.


I've lived in Maginhawa years back and now every time I pass by, I get amazed at how many new stores and restos there are that I have yet to try. Wander Space is the venue for the book launch and it's a quaint little store perfect for intimate gatherings. Aside from the space for workshops, they also sell drinks, snacks, and an array of knick-knacks.

Their Hot Choco was good. It was so rich though that a mug can (should) be shared by two

Could be Mina's "ang daldal nila, paano na" face - (please forgive my blurry shots, still learning to use 35mm lens haha

Tara taking a photo of her Pio and Audtrey bookmarks with her hot chocolate

Book Launch Uniform

Bookstagramming Ben

If you want to order What Kind Of Day, you may purchase the ebook from Amazon and Smashwords or the paperback through Mina.
Being with #romanceclass people is always fun and last Saturday was not any different. Our next event would be the How to Meet-Cute lecture and some of our teachers would be our live readers. Surely it would be a riot. I hope to see you guys there?

With lush descriptions, Carla de Guzman took my breath away yet again with her new work, Chasing Mindy. The carefully-detailed setting allowed me to savor the narrative and made me feel as if I was taking a leisure trip to Paris.


Summary:

Mindy and Javier are not friends, okay.

Despite their mothers’ matchmaking, they’ve managed to stay out of each other’s way. Until Mindy goes to Paris for a week, and her mother insists she meet up with Javier. He’s in Paris to study, really looking forward to see you, she says. Watch over each other.

No thanks. Javier is taciturn and boring, Mindy is dramatic and has a tendency to yell at things when her eight siblings are brought up. It’s not a great combination.

But things start to look a little different under the Paris lights, and what felt like hate feels a lot closer to love.

Sassy and snarky, Mindy is a character you'll easily love if you like your girls to come with masterful eye-rolling and biting wit. The way she took charge of things just made me root for her to succeed. Javier, on the other hand, is totally endearing. He's flawed and a little brooding, sure, but he's smart (major swoon!) and really thoughtful. These characters' banter were entertaining, with all its Shakespeare references and snappy one-liners and comebacks.

Mindy comes from a big family, which naturally makes this story feature a large cast of characters. It was difficult for me to keep track of the names at times, but the supporting characters did make the story push forward and helped with the growth and development of both Mindy and Javi.

The story follows Mindy and Javi as they figure out who they wanted to be both in life and love, making this almost a bildungsroman. The way the characters made adulting decisions while getting around the complexities of a Filipino family was well-written that the result was authentic and relatable.

Just like Carla de Guzman's two other books, If the Dress Fits and The Queen's Game, Chasing Mindy is a story featuring adorable characters, a strong sense of place, and steamy scenes. If you're into those, pick this up and you won't be disappointed.

Poetry pieces from The Last Time I'll Write About You by Dawn Lanuza  and  Before I Lose My Nerve: (This is NOT About You) by Layla S. Tanjutco were adapted by Tara Frejas as spoken word. They were read by Migs Almendras and Sam Aquino.


Here's me and Layla with her new book, We Might As Well Be Galaxies:

Here's Layla getting all fragile:

Layla taking a photo with Migs-