Photo / Penguin Random House SEA
Love is in the air, and so is exciting book news! Penguin Random House SEA, in collaboration with WhenInManila.com, is thrilled to unveil Meant to Be In Manila by Mica de Leon, the highly anticipated second novel by national bestselling author Mica de Leon.
A heart-fluttering tale of fate, second chances, and romance in the vibrant streets of Manila, this swoon-worthy read is set to steal hearts everywhere.
With a fake engagement, unexpected chemistry, and a city full of possibilities, Meant to Be In Manila reminds us that sometimes, love finds us when we least expect it—but exactly when we need it most. And what better time to share this enchanting love story than the most romantic day of the year? Read more to get a look at the official synopsis of the book:
She’s done with destiny. He’s chasing the past. But fate has other plans.
Sophia Hermosa is done believing in “meant to be.” After uprooting her life for love—only to be ghosted the moment she lands in Vancouver—she’s heading back to Manila, heartbroken and humiliated.
Enter Rafael Herbert: an architect on a mission to win back the girl who ghosted him.
When a fateful seat assignment brings them together, they strike a wild deal—he’ll be her fake fiancé for her brother’s wedding, and she’ll help him track down his lost love. But as they navigate Manila’s bustling streets, old churches, and hidden gems, their fake romance starts feeling a little too real.
Maybe love isn’t about finding the right person—it’s about finding the right person at the right time. And maybe, just maybe, that time is now.
If Jennifer Crusie’s Anyone But You and Abby Jimenez’s Just For The Summer had a love child, it’d be this: a swoon-worthy and laugh-out-loud romance from national bestselling author Mica de Leon of Love on the Second Read.
Nora Nazerene Abu Bakar, the vice president and publisher of Penguin Random House SEA, says, “Mica de Leon has a gift for capturing love, laughter, and the serendipitous magic of romance in her books. Her upcoming book, Meant to Be In Manila, is a heartfelt celebration of finding love in the right place at the right time. We’re thrilled to bring this highly anticipated novel to readers, and there’s no better platform than WhenInManila.com to share this news with everyone in the Philippines!”
Photo / Penguin Random House SEA
WhenInManila.com also exclusively sat down with author Mica de Leon, who has been the Don Carlos Palanca Awards for Literature awardee twice, about her upcoming book and her success with her debut book, Love on The Second Read.
Meant to Be In Manila beautifully captures the magic of second chances and fate—what inspired this story?
Meant to Be In Manila was inspired by a review given to Love On The Second Read. I read all reviews of my books, and I learn from them. And this is not me taking all reviews personally—I don’t, but I do appreciate that readers give my books their time to read them and give their honest reviews. I am very grateful. I felt that I owed it to them to write better books. I always want to write a better book than the last one I wrote.
So with Meant to Be In Manila, I wrote a book that is very intrinsically Filipino. I wanted to write a book about how much I love my country. So in the tradition of Love on The Second Read where nerdy trivia is used as banter, there is trivia about the Philippines’ culture, history, food, books, architecture, and landmarks dropped as quirky, nerdy, flirty banter in this new book.
It’s also inspired by my sister and cousins and their children who were born abroad—especially my nephew, Raphie, who was born in Australia and may very well grow up and come of age there. I want him to know his homeland, the Philippines.
Low-key, it’s also a book that challenges the notion of romance as a non-serious genre of literature. I do believe with all my heart that romance is serious literature. Because Meant to Be In Manila is also how I coped with my country’s very politically charged environment after the elections. It also presents a subtle commentary about historical revisionism.
Manila plays a significant role in this book. How did the city influence the story, and do you have any favorite locations that made it into the book?
Absolutely! Manila has been representative of my country’s many eras—from war to political turmoil to colonization to revival. Manila is a city of transformation and adaptation.
It presented such a beautiful yet tragic metaphor for the ups and downs of a person’s life, and I wanted to be able to parallel Manila’s history with the character’s personal growth—of survival and of coming to terms with their past in order to move forward, even without closure.
I love the Manila Bay sunset. It is said to be one of the most—if not the most beautiful sunsets in the world. And that made it into the book—it’s actually the backdrop of one of my favorite scenes in the book.
Your debut novel, Love on the Second Read, was a hit. How does this second book differ in tone or themes?
Oh my god! That is so generous and kind of you to say! Love on The Second Read and Meant to Be In Manila are similar in that they are both very nerdy. Love on The Second Read nerds out about literature, and Meant to Be In Manila nerds out about Philippine history and architecture.
This time around, I think Meant to Be In Manila’s theme is a tad darker than LOTSR—but not so dark that it’s still not lighthearted and joyful and hopeful—just the way I like my romances. With MTBIM, I took my time really developing the characters and allowing them to be in the moment in the setting of the city I love.
How important was it for you to showcase Manila’s charm and Filipino culture in a romance novel?
Very! Very, very important. I think one of the advantages of also being a fantasy writer is that I learned to be more adept with maximizing setting in developing character and plot.
Meant to Be In Manila is ostensibly about personal and national identity and the many transformations it has to go through after each victory and defeat, after each joyful moments and tragedies.
In a way, Manila itself was a secret character in the book. Without it, MTBIM wouldn’t be what it is.
If Meant to Be In Manila were adapted into a movie, who would you cast as Sophia and Rafael?
Good question! I think I would love to see Liza Soberano as Sophia, and for Rafael, Darren Barnet.
What is the message you hope for readers to take away from this upcoming book?
Ultimately, I want people to see how beautiful my city and my country is. I want them to know that the Filipino is a people defined by surviving through the many tragedies that we had to live through in our history. I want them to pick up that though there may never be closure for some of our tragedies and though some of our tragedies result in something irreparable and those things may change us forever, the Filipino is a people that survives and thrives and finds joy and love in our lives.
Readers can now add Meant to Be In Manila to their Goodreads by clicking here. For other books by Mica De Leon, please visit here.
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