'Sweet on You' is coming out next week?!
I kind of can’t believe that I haven’t talked about this, but I feel like i should have been? I should have done a countdown, reminded you guys almost every day that HEY this book is coming out!
But I don’t know, i’ve always listened to the notion that the best way to promote yourself is by writing more things, which I guess has been a guiding philosophy (chos) to my writing, especially as of late.
But yay, Sweet on You’s digital edition is coming out next week! This means that people will be able to read the adventures of Gabriel Capras and Sari Tomas as they become petty rivals to the most adorable of couples, if I do say so myself. A lot of people who have read this book comment on the food, on the way I wrote it, like it’s such a surprise that i would center a uniquely Filipino experience around the things we eat.
Is that so strange, though? I’ve said it before, but the book is a love letter to everything I’ve read from #romanceclass, from the delicious champorado from Summer Crush, the biko from Alta (oh god, the biko), to the simple mention of sorbetes from Heartstruck, food’s been a part of the romanceclass experience from when I started reading. It’s a dedication to all the Christmases I spent in Lipa with family, who taught me the value of a Simbang Gabi wish, or made me think tsokolate and bibingka are the unparalleled match.
Food is a uniquely intimate experience to me, it always has been, and I always like to take a little more care than to just casually toss words like ‘pancit’ or ‘lumpia’ around without knowing their associations, without knowing that pancit is not just pancit—it’s pancit canton, slippery and slightly sweet, with snap beans and seafood. It’s pancit palabok, filling and orangey, the kind of hearty pancit you crave when you’re especially hungry. Those little distinctions make the food extra special, and it’s a part of my everyday life.
I guess ‘Sweet on You’ kind of became an embodiment of that thesis statement unconsciously, because of who decided to publish it. Maybe it’s reaching a different audience (and yes, I noticed that! still processing feelings about that because I have noticed things haha) but nevertheless, i hope you enjoy this book and what it shares—my community, my food, and my idea of a really cute soft boy who likes to dance while he bakes, and a girl who just can’t back down from a challenge.
*Cue Apo Hiking Society’s Noche Buena*
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Sweet on You
Available on Amazon on October 19th!
In trade paperback January 2021
In audio soon!
All’s fair in love and prank wars
For barista and café owner Sari Tomas, Christmas means parols, family and no-holds-barred karaoke contests. This year, though, a new neighbor is throwing a wrench in all her best-laid plans. The baker next door—“some fancy boy from Manila”—might have cute buns, but when he tries to poach her customers with cheap coffee and cheaper tactics, the competition is officially on.
And Baker Boy better be ready, because Sari never loses.
Foodie extraordinaire Gabriel Capras wants to prove to his dad that his career choice doesn’t make him any less a man. The Laneways might not be Manila, but the close-knit community is the perfect spot to grow his bakery into a thriving business. He wasn’t expecting a gorgeous adversary in the barista next door, but flirting with her makes his heart race, and it’s not just the caffeine.
It’s winner takes all this Christmas. And more than one competitor might just lose their heart for the holidays.