What's New
This Filipino Romance Novel Confronts the Ghosts of the Past, Including No-Good Exes
Check out an exclusive chapter preview inside to hype the kilig.
by Leana Vibal
Published on Jul 16, 2025
(SPOT.ph) There’s a special kind of happiness that hits when you see your story played out in the media. Beyond the usual “Uy, Pilipins!” excitement, there’s something validating about seeing characters who sound like you, grew up like you, or even just share your name. It feels more personal, like someone outside of your circle is seeing you.
Thankfully, we’re seeing more and more Filipino stories being made available to an international audience these days. But they tend to lean heavy: migration struggles, intergenerational trauma, fantasy epics with political undertones—all valid, of course. But wouldn’t it be nice to have more feel-good stories, too? The kind with no torrid affairs, no confrontations that conclude with a dramatic slap across the face—something sweet, simmering, and with lots of kilig.
Roll your eyes all you want, but come on—why would you say no to a love story set in Manila? That sounds pretty good right about now, considering everything going on around us IRL. And that’s exactly what Meant to Be in Manila delivers.
This new rom-com by Filipina author Mica De Leon gives us all the swoons with a setting and cast we're all too familiar with. We got first dibs on a special chapter in the book and by the looks of it, this might be one of our favorite reads of the year.
This new rom-com by Filipina author Mica De Leon gives us all the swoons with a setting and cast we're all too familiar with. We got first dibs on a special chapter in the book and by the looks of it, this might be one of our favorite reads of the year.
What is Meant to Be in Manila all about?
Meant to be in Manila is the latest young adult read from two-time Palanca Award-winning author Mica De Leon, who's also penned the fantasy trilogy, the Seed Mage Saga, and enemies-to-lovers rom-com Love on the Second Read.
In Meant to Be in Manila, De Leon takes the classic fake-dating trope and brings it to life against the chaotic streets of Manila. Sophia and Rafal are two young adults reeling from being ghosted by their ex-paramours. When a fateful plane ride brings them together, Rafal agrees to be Sophia's proxy wedding date to avoid the gossip train from her meddling titas—for as long as she tours him around Manila to track down his ex-lover. But as they snake their way through Manila's storied streets and hidden gems, they start to realize, maybe love isn't only about finding the right person—maybe it's timing, too.
Click to Enlarge
Here's one of the first printed copies of Mica De Leon's Meant to Be in Manila. Photo courtesy of Mica De Leon..
ADVERTISEMENT
Here's an exclusive chapter preview for Meant to Be in Manila:
Here's a chapter in Meant to Be in Manila by Mica De Leon. Swipe right to see more. Illustration by Warren Espejo.
In the first few paragraphs of this preview chapter alone, you can sense the chemistry between the leads, Rafal and Sophia. De Leon does a pretty good job of setting up the budding tension as the characters delay what the readers know to be their inevitable romance. We were grinning like schoolgirls as we read it, but beyond its candy-colored cover, vivid Manila imagery (of course, Jollibee needs a cameo), lingering moments, and stolen glances are plot points that subtly speak truths about our society.
There's more to Meant to be in Manila than just swoon-worthy lines and kilig. Swipe right to read more. Illustration by Warren Espejo.
After all, De Leon’s writing has always been more than just romance. Whether it’s feminism, Filipino identity, or slices of history, she finds ways to weave big ideas into her stories—romance novels included. In an exchange with SPOT.ph, De Leon reveals that underneath all the romance and kilig, Meant to Be in Manila was her way of processing the events of the 2022 national elections.
"Meant To Be In Manila is perhaps my most political book yet," De Leon says. "I wanted to humanize 'historical revisionism'—a term thrown around to explain the results of that election. But to me, it was such a nebulous concept that offered no real explanation—at least not the kind that was suitable enough for me to go on living life as if the People Power Revolution never happened."
"Meant To Be In Manila is perhaps my most political book yet," De Leon says. "I wanted to humanize 'historical revisionism'—a term thrown around to explain the results of that election. But to me, it was such a nebulous concept that offered no real explanation—at least not the kind that was suitable enough for me to go on living life as if the People Power Revolution never happened."
In a fitting twist of fate and perhaps a sign that this book was meant to be, De Leon shares that she finished her first draft on February 25—the anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution.
“I wrote it in exactly three months—from November 25, 2022 to February 25, 2023. It wasn’t intentional, and I swear to god I’m just as baffled as you that it actually happened. I have the original Google Docs draft to prove it!”
And while all this talk of historical revisionism and EDSA People Power is admittedly heavier than your usual rom-com fare—a far cry from what we described as a light-hearted read at the start, De Leon is quick to clarify that Meant to Be in Manila is still a love story at its core.
"I wanted to see how revisionism affects real people who have to go on with life without closure [...] from not knowing what happened to the people they loved," she adds.
And because De Leon is self-confessedly an optimist and a hopeless romantic, she veils these weighty themes in a pink candy-colored book that speaks of "the joy in a tragic life, the hope in a hopeless place."
Click to Enlarge
Mica De Leon is a two-time Palanca Award-winning writer for her essays on romance, feminism, history, fantasy, and the Filipino identity in the aftermath of Martial Law and the 2022 presidential elections in the Philippines. Photo courtesy of Mica De Leon..
Perhaps the best way to sum up De Leon's thought process while writing Meant to Be in Manila is that the political is deeply personal. To be able to adequately convey revisionism and the ache of loss without resolution to a larger audience, De Leon mined the familiar. She shares that nearly everyone in the book is inspired by someone you actually know—some as close as your own family.
"Every character in the book has back stories that you may find similar to someone in a modern Filipino family—the meddling titas, a super traditional parents and grandparents, OFW relatives, etc. I wanted to write about people living without closure, and to do that, I needed to draw from real people," she says.
From our conversation with De Leon, there was one thing we gleaned for sure: Meant to Be in Manila isn't your run-of-the-mill fake dating romance novel. With characters that feel all too real moving in a setting pulled straight from our daily commute, Meant to Be in Manila is a light-hearted challenge to remember, even when the world tells us to move on.
“There’s a phrase I repeat constantly in the book that sums up everything I wanted to say: You forgive. You forget. But you never let it go, " De Leon shares—a direct nod to Taylor Swift's Bad Blood, and a shoutout to her fellow Swifties. But pop culture references aside, for De Leon, it's just a millennial way of saying "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it"—a reality we know all too well.
Mica De Leon's Meant to Be in Manila will be released on August 12, 2025 under Penguin Random House Southeast Asia. For more information, visit Penguin Random House SEA's website.
Also read: This YA Rom-Com Novel Puts the Spotlight on Filipino-Chinese Teens
Also read: This YA Rom-Com Novel Puts the Spotlight on Filipino-Chinese Teens
Leana is Spot's go-to for Arts & Culture and Things to Do. On any given day, she’s either glued to her screen—or gliding underwater like the mermaid she swears she is. Contact: leana@spot.ph
You Might Also Like