Manila Takes Manhattan

Manila Takes Manhattan is so much more than a celebrity romance. It is not only a celebration of Philippine culture, it is an engrossing portrayal of New York and a love letter to art, music, and the hope that they can express.Strong willed Olivia and dreamy Mon are wonderful characters. Their meeting in the hallway of their apartment building is unique in my experience of meet cutes, and the ensuing sexual encounter seems to happen in a bubble outside of reality. Discovering that they are to be coworkers brings them rapidly down to earth. Their subsequent encounters are awkward at first, but gradually become more comfortable and eventually intimate. While the sex scenes are intense, explicit, and often kind of messy, the romance occurs in the intervals between as Mon and Olivia converse, share their experiences, and explore the city. There is a real sense that they are as intrigued by each other's heart and mind as they are by physical attraction.I appreciated the depiction of Philippine culture and the immigrant experience, though I am not qualified to assess its authenticity. It was easy to empathize with the MCs' feelings of being outsiders as well as with Mon's yearning for home. I did feel as though I learned a lot just from looking up unfamiliar words and names. The fact that I was willing to look stuff up is a testament to how evocative and colorful the writing was.There were a lot of supporting characters in this book, and every one of them felt rooted in vivid reality. Whether it was people involved in the movie production or Mon's friends Facetiming him from the Philippines, each added necessary warmth and detail to the story.If there was one thing I liked best about this book, it was the character of Mon. He was strong and gentle and had a really original perspective on his experiences. His interactions with Olivia allowed her to acknowledge the vulnerability beneath her shiny surface. I never saw their relationship as insta-anything, just the result of a lot of story stuffed into a relatively small number of pages.I would recommend Manila Takes Manhattan to anyone who enjoys a moderately steamy romance set within a colorful, lively background, whether that background is cultural, artistic, or geographic. So, five enthusiastic stars.

This book was entertaining and did a great job of capturing the perspective of an immigrant coming to the US.

Manila Takes Manhattan felt like a quick whirlwind romance, as one can probably expect for a celebrity rom-com. I loved seeing the Filipino rep between the two MCs, as well as their versions of the immigrant experience in America.The romance itself was cute and sometimes cheesy, yet at the same time felt super rushed with no real development. Or rather felt like the development only had two pages worth of thought and moved on with the plot.I did overall enjoy the book, though I definitely feel like I missed some of the Filipino references.

I am always looking for books with Filipino representation, and this book was such a refreshing read!Olivia finally has her big break in a movie and Mon is the aspiring producer and rapper who is set to establish the tracks for the film. The two navigate their relationship with a deadline in mind. These two both have a the Filipino dream of coming to America and establishing themselves - but both have very different experiences and ideals. It was interesting to see the dynamic that de Guzman set up for the two characters and what that meant for their interactions. I loved all the droppings of the Filipino culture throughout the book. They didn't feel like shameless plugs or grabs for culture, but genuine and authentic experiences.I wasn't too big on the third act break up in the book, I felt like it was something that could have been discussed and worked around.

Thank you for the ARC Harlequin & Netgalley!The characters of this book were pretty cute for this book, Mon and Olivia were incredibly sweet. It was really interesting to see the author highlight Mon's immigrant experience alongside Olivia's as Filipinos but I can't speak to the accuracy of the representation itself because I am not Filipino.If you are looking for more information on the representation, I recommend checking out some of the reviews that are written by Filipinos!As for the romance aspect, I felt like it was pretty sped up. It was giving insta-love, the first intimate seen we have with them is 5% in which to be honest, caught me a little off guard. I don't mind insta-love sometimes but the book itself was pretty short so keep that in mind as well.Another thing I want to point out is, I've personally never been a fan of modern-day references or situations written in romance books or just books in general. This book had a LOT of modern-day references which made me cringe. COVID-19 was mentioned, alongside reels, Tiktoks etc. I think mentioning COVID-19 was essentially the KILLER VIBES for me.