Summary:

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?

1. The "Just Friends" trope is probably the most exploited one, but it still remains as one of my ultimate favorites. Ana Tejano effectively played with my feelings with all the subtle displays of affection and longing looks. The confusion and the overthinking were also so agonizingly real. Not that I've experienced those in real life, but these were what made me kilig and root for the characters to finally realize their feelings. “Only best friends can keep this dancing game on for so long.” 
2. That the characters liked each other more than because of their looks made them more real to me. It's also refreshing to read a New Adult book without the sexy times! We have too many romance books where the plot was driven by the characters' attraction to one another, but here, the affection stems from friendship, and that for me, was beautiful. 
3. Meah and Faith were loyal friends of Rain and they were definitely for keeps. I loved Meah especially. Out of the trio, I think I'm more like her: the honest friend who will encourage you to be brave and to say what needs to be said. 
4. Love interest is Type B, woop woop! Mark was Mr. Nice Guy and his subtle displays of affection were endearing. Sure, he's kind of torpe, but I liked how he sorted his feelings out first after his breakup with Camilla. Although, I don't really appreciate him waiting for Rain to reach out first, he more than made up for it for being so adorable. 
5. Rain's struggle to admit her feelings to Mark was the main story, but we also see her finding her true self and strengthening her relationship with her friends and family towards the end. The ending was satisfying in a way that you felt like everything fell into its rightful place. The timing was just right - Rain learned how to get out of her shell, be brave and admit to her mistakes. That I say, was good character development. 

I enjoyed this a lot and I don't regret that I've put off reading it until now because like in the story, I think it was just the perfect timing. Ana Tejano had recently published another book - one that's about Rain's friend, Faith. I quickly bought it right after finishing Fall Like Rain and was done with it after a few hours. Review about Keep the Faith will be up next.

You may purchase Fall Like Rain by Ana Tejano through these links:

Summary:

1.  This is my second C. P. Santi read and she's fast becoming one of my favorite authors. Like on Maybe This Time, I was delighted by her poetic way of describing things. It was amazing how she painted in the readers' minds the picturesque places Gia and Alex visited during the course of the story.
2.  Gia was passionate about her work and was a strong and loving mother to her twins. She was jaded by her hurtful past and was too cautious not to fall for our charming love interest. She was careful and I appreciated that she was someone who learned from her mistakes. In many romance novels, I get annoyed by the main character's indecisiveness, but here I understood where Gia was coming from that made me root for her happy-ever-after with Alex. 
3. Alex Roces seemed like a poster boy for Heartbreakers United with his handsome face and tattoed body. But he broke all the stereotypes that can be attributed to him and effortlessly proved himself to be worthy not just of Gia's affection, but of her adorable children as well. One order of an uber attractive scholar who will catch you when you fall, please!
4. The priests! Here we see priests not as mass celebrators, but as family members. This delighted me because I made friends with some friars and priests recently and I saw their playful and funny side that was also described by Santi in this book. I love how Uncle Emong and Nic were depicted as accepting and loving, as opposed to the misconception that all priests are uptight and judgey.
5. This book is very Pinoy, from the food, to the setting, the humor, and family values. 
6. I have highlighted many parts of the book and these are my favorite lines:

“Only two things were important: what you felt and what you were going to do about it.” 

“There are people who are capable of worming themselves into your life . . . quietly, stealthily. Until one day you’re surprised that they’ve made a place for themselves without you noticing. Until you’re so used to the fluttering butterflies in your stomach that you can’t imagine how life had been without them.” 

“Not everyone is made to follow the same road. But that doesn't make you bad—just different.” 

“But first we have to accept that our perfect vision of love often doesn't exist. Because love—true love—isn’t about perfection, it’s about faith.”

I'd recommend this to anyone who likes a story about conquering one's fears and being brave again to have faith in love.

You may purchase Dare To Love by C. P. Santi through this link: