Actual Rating: 3.5⭐

Let’s talk about the good things first, the first half part of the book is very entertaining as Evan enter the five stages of courting a girl from the Philippines. I wasn’t aware of those courting stages so I find the experience really sweet and also funny.

Dalisay and Evan grew up differently and comes from different culture but it didn’t stop them from falling to one another nonetheless, I was rooting for them both right from the beginning!
I love the warm-hearted feeling of Dalisay’s family and how they welcome Evan right in as well.

However, I find the second half of the story a bit weird. I wasn’t really a huge fan of the third break-up scene near the ending, not to mention Dalisay can be very frustrating.
<spoiler> I wish Evan didn’t have to do the five stages again, instead I was hoping Dalisay would do it in return. Evan has done so much but it seems like Dalisay didn’t give the same effort in this story. </spoiler>

Overall, it’s a pretty entertaining and enjoyable read. The courting stages are absolutely fun and I kind wish it was still practiced nowadays!
If you’re looking for a simple slow-burn workplace romance then you might like this one!

The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos was a sweet, heartwarming rom-com.

When Evan Saatchi falls for his new coworker, Dalisay Ramos, he embarks on “The Five Stages of Courtship.” These stages of courtship are part of Daisy’s Filipino culture. To make the deal even sweeter, Dalisay makes a bet with Evan, promising him a travel opportunity in exchange for completing the tasks successfully. As Dalisay gets to know Evan, she realizes she may have misjudged him.

Melissa de la Cruz has a way of writing that makes it easy to get lost in a story. She develops characters well and her plots move quickly.

I loved the aspects of Filipino culture that de la Cruz explored. The five stages mentioned in the title are based on courtship rituals in Filipino culture. De la Cruz found ways to take the traditions and make them comedic and realistic in ways that felt true to the characters. Some of the rituals explored led to funny and embarrassing moments. These were some of the most fun parts of the book.

It was interesting to see how the characters’ love lives were influenced by their heritage and commitment to their families. While many rom coms put primary focus on the romantic protagonists, de la Cruz included friends and extended family members. This allowed for greater diversity and representation, which was nice to see.

De la Cruz also added some family drama aspects to the narrative. These moments added more sincerity to the characters.

De la Cruz does a great job of giving her characters realistic flaws, so they’re not one-dimensional in service of the plot. These layers made the dynamics between characters more interesting.

As a character, Dalisay could be finicky. As the plot progressed, it was easier to understand her motivations better. At times, it was hard to side with her character because she was being too hard on Evan.

If you’re looking for a sweet rom com that explores culture and family dynamics, then add The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos to your cart.

Thank you NetGalley and Union Square & Co for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was such a cute and and heartwarming love story! I really enjoyed the main characters, both in their romance and their family dynamics. I also really enjoyed the subplot with Dalisay’s sister.

Check this one out if you’re looking for something with:

💕 Workplace romance
💕 Making him work for it
💕 Filipino and LGBTQIA+ rep
💕 An absolutely adorable dog

Thank you so much to Union Square and NetGalley for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

This was such a wonderful contemporary romance. I loved learning about Filipino courting traditions. Evan whole-asses the 5 stages and it was so beautiful to watch him gain respect for the traditions that Dalisay love.

I enjoyed watching Dalisay learn that sometimes following your heart is more important than tradition and culture. As her dad always said “Remember where you came from. Remember where you are going.”

They both gained confidence in themself and their relationship. It was a beautiful romance

Arc provided for a free honest review.

Melissa de la Cruz's "The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos" is a charming exploration of cultural traditions and modern romance, though it sometimes falls short in depth and originality.

The story revolves around Evan Saatchi, who becomes infatuated with his new co-worker, Dalisay Ramos. Fresh from Manila and leading their travel app’s Asia division, Dalisay values tradition and family above all else. When Evan boldly asks her out, he is promptly rejected. Learning from his Filipino friends that Dalisay expects her suitors to undergo the Five Stages of traditional Filipino courtship, Evan skeptically embarks on this unfamiliar journey. His initial doubts—especially about the aspects of servitude and singing—turn into determination when Dalisay bets he won't make it through the stages.

Evan’s attempts to navigate these stages provide both humorous and heartwarming moments, as his earnest efforts to win Dalisay’s heart and prove her wrong transform their interactions into a sizzling, albeit secret, romance. The courtship rituals bring a delightful cultural element to the story, making it an interesting read.

However, while the concept is engaging, the execution sometimes feels predictable. The characters, especially Evan, could have benefited from more depth and development. The portrayal of Filipino traditions, while central to the plot, occasionally felt superficial and could have been explored more richly to add layers to the narrative.

The highlight of the book is the tension between modern love and family expectations. This theme is handled thoughtfully, showing the struggle to balance personal desires with cultural and familial obligations. Dalisay’s character embodies this conflict well, making her a relatable and sympathetic figure.

In conclusion, "The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos" is an enjoyable read that offers a sweet and sometimes humorous look at love and tradition. While it may not be groundbreaking, it provides a pleasant escape with its unique cultural backdrop and charming romance.

♡𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 &| 𝐞𝐀𝐫𝐜 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰♡
3 🌟
-
𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 :
•rom-com
•Filipino Tradition
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The premise of this story is what caught my attention. The Filipino's tradition aspect of the five stages, the same courtship ritual that lovers in the Philippines have performed for generation. The pacing was a little weird to me, and I felt like the FMC Dalisay was a little selfish in the beginning. Even though it was a bet between her and Evans. I felt like if she wanted him to go through the five stages, she should have at least tried to get to know him as well. Like whats his favorite color, drink, flowers, etc. She didn't realize she didn't know that stuff until 50% in the book. The romance development throughout the book was good.
The narrator Amielynn Abellera did a good job telling this story! The audiobook is 4🌟.
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 July.9
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Thank you, Netgalley, RB Media for the (ALC)-audiobook and Union Square for the (eArc)-eBook for my honest review.

I found this to be such an interesting read, especially learning about the five stages of courtship and getting to learn more about the culture. While it may have originally started out as a bet, Evan soon found himself committed to the courtship task. I really loved the gift giving stage and how absolutely savage Dalisay was as she trashed the teddy bear and bit through the balloons to pop them. She was holding nothing back as she completely and thoroughly rejected Evan’s gift. One of the more interesting yet heartbreaking elements was watching the MCs navigate their cultural differences and the level of impact this differences had on their relationship. Fair warning, this does have the dreaded third act breakup, but it does give us the opportunity to experience the five stages a second time leading to the more than worthwhile zoo scene. I combo read this book between ebook and audiobook. I enjoyed both versions. Amielynn Abellera did really well with the narration, and if you’re on the fence trying to decide between the two, I would recommend the audiobook, but there ins’t a wrong choice.

Seeing this ARC got me excited because I love seeing Filipino representation in romance books! The whole premise intrigued me as I was eager to see how Evan would woo Dalisay through traditional Filipino courtship. At that point, it was so fun and adorable. However, there were some aspects that didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

Learning that Dalisay was not a Filipino born in the US but had recently migrated got me hooked. I wanted to see how a character with purely Filipino roots would be portrayed. In this regard, the book did not disappoint. Dalisay was relatable and valued her family and their traditions. It was wonderful to see how deeply the culture was embedded in her and her family members. The Filipino representation was done well, reflecting many practices familiar to my own family. Even the mention of the song "Maharani" by Alamat made me giddy because I enjoy listening to that song. The stages of courtship were really enjoyable, particularly how Evan executed them towards Dalisay. I also loved how strongly the family and extended families got involved. To be honest, I wasn’t really aware that there were “officially” five stages of courtship, but I recognized all these different ways of courting from my own experiences, though not to this extent. The courtship stages were my favorite parts of the book because they were so fun and endearing. Evan really put effort into respecting Filipino culture and traditions. However, I felt that this part was rushed. The pacing was off, making it hard to stay engaged with the book after that.

Evan was an adorable character. He seemed very harmless and wasn’t arrogant or presumptuous throughout the courtship. He definitely passed all the stages with flying colors! I really appreciated how he tried his best to execute everything respectfully. Although he was motivated by their challenge, he was genuine and sincere throughout. He was a delightful character, and I was rooting for him to succeed. Dalisay, however, was a disappointment. She was so unlikable as a character. Her dismissiveness and arrogance were off-putting. While we’re past the conservative expectations of women, Dalisay’s behavior towards Evan was neither conservative nor respectful. Women were expected to repress emotions and affection in the olden times, but Dalisay was dismissive and disrespectful. She didn’t speak properly to him, initiate friendly conversations, or make an effort to get to know him during the courtship. This felt so off-putting for me. Of course, women are allowed to say “no” to men and push them away if they act predatorily. But since she made this agreement fair and square, she could have at least put some effort into acting civil. One of the things that really pissed me off was when she threw away the gifts Evan gave her daily, in full view of him! That was just plain rude. As a Filipino, we were taught to be respectful and not waste money or things. She could have given these things to charity and moved on with her day. But no, she had to show him that. It left a bad taste in my mouth. I was more interested in getting to know Nicole and Pinky! Speaking of Nicole, she is Dalisay’s twin. I was weirded out that a parent would give a beautiful Tagalog name like “Dalisay” to one child and a generic “Nicole” to the other. I expected parents to follow a theme with names, so it was strange that the twins' names lacked an apparent likeness. I’m not sure if this was even explained in the book because I wasn’t invested in it after the first half.

After the whole courtship, I was already disengaged from the story because I didn’t feel any connection or chemistry between them. They weren’t really talking or making moves to get to know each other. The timeline felt disjointed, making it hard for me to continue investing in the story. I hoped that the courtship storyline was stretched out and they developed a slow-burn romance through that. This book had great potential and aimed to tell a beautiful story, but the execution just wasn’t for me. I would still recommend this to my fellow Filipinos because of the representation of Filipino culture and traditions. That part was truly a treat for me.

A fun romcom that features MMC Evan Saatchi and FMC Dalisay Ramos. Dalisay moves to America to run a travel app division and meets Evan. He feels an instant attraction and asks her out, but she honors tradition so she rejects him. She wants the traditional five stages of courting ritual that has been done in the Philippines for generations. They make a bet on whether he can complete all the stages.

I love the Filipino culture and family traditions that were in this book. I have some family that are Filipino so it was nice to see. I found it to be well written and engaging. The characters were great and relatable. I love Dallas Lola. The relationship was heartwarming. If you like romantic reads, this one’s for you.

This book was fun look into Filipino culture, I truly enjoyed getting a look into how another culture does things when it comes to dating. I’d never heard of this custom and was very intrigued with it and how it means so much to them.

Dalisay was an interesting character, and I related a lot to her in the way she’s cautious about jumping into things and like to have lists and plans but she was kind of self-centered, Evan did everything, and she didn’t make much effort and that could be part of the courting, but it made the book kind of flat. I also thoroughly enjoyed that it takes place in SF, I’m from the Bay Area and not enough books are set here. I do wish the courting had better pacing and there wasn’t much said about Evan’s background/heritage which I feel was a missed opportunity. Loved the D&D and Evan’s character, he felt more fleshed out than Dalisay which was unfortunate. Overall, it was a decent read but did drag.

I was excited for this book because we Filipinos hardly ever get representation in books. However, I felt like I was trudging through this read. There is something about the main character that just irks me. I also think that Melissa dela Cruz’s writing is probably just not for me. I’m sure someone out there will appreciate the story this book wants to tell, it’s only unfortunate that I wasn’t one of them.

I loved the premise of this book and learning a bit about Filipino culture was interesting to me. I would like to see if the courting could’ve been spaced more. I appreciated Dalisay’s perspective on her heritage. With that being said, I wish that I learned more about Evan’s heritage. It was missing.

While there were some parts of the story that I struggled with, I did find this book to be an enjoyable read.

I was interested in how Evan tried to win over Dalisay; I adored the diversity and chemistry that was great to see; however, the writing style wasn’t for me. I wasn’t connecting with the story most of the time and felt myself getting easily distracted.

This doesn’t take away from the author. I’m more of a fast-paced suspense person, and I’m sure this is someone’s five-star read!! The book's third part also ruined it for me; I'm not a fan of those breakups when there was so much time spent on getting the characters together. I would still recommend reading another book by the writer.

This was a huge disappointment. I love the idea behind The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos and was especially excited to learn about the Filipino tradition--especially since it's one I hadn't heard of before--but the execution was shockingly bad.

It's been a while, but I've read books by Melissa de la Cruz before and don't remember having such a hard time with her writing. To be blunt, it read like something an elementary school student would write. The sentences are pretty straightforward and there isn't a lot of variation in sentence structure. In terms of content, a bulk of the story is devoted to dry and unnecessary descriptions of people (ex. a "dark-skinned Asian woman") or rote recitations of their actions. It reads more like the mini descriptors in a script or screenplay than part of an actual novel.

I also wasn't a fan of the actual story. The pacing felt off--we get through all five stages within the first half of the book and the "tension" at the midpoint was pretty disappointing. From the outset, I didn't really buy the premise and am not sure why de la Cruz chose to abruptly pivot from an insta-love at first sight to some kind of psuedo rivals-to-lovers dynamic, but neither were particularly convincing. I just never really bought the stakes and felt like Dalisay and Evan's relationships never went beyond the physical. Some of the more serious aspects of the book like Dalisay and Evan's anxiety, the complex family dynamics, and cultural differences were glossed over, and I was disappointed they felt like they were treated pretty superficially.

As much as I like the idea behind The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos, it think it needs a lot more development.

2.75 stars

I was really hoping to love this more than I did. I loved Evan right away, the nerdiness, D&D, rescuing an elderly dachshund, just seemed like a genuine guy. And the fact that he was willing to go through the 5 Stages without really knowing if he was going to win her over or not.

But Dalisay... She was a really unlikeable character for me. She seemed to put zero effort into knowing Evan or showing that she was interested. She made him do ALL the work. I was really bothered by the fact she threw away all the gifts during that stage, I get that it was a form of "banter." But she did nothing at all to encourage him in these stages.

It's a fine book for people who like the 'insta love' trope. I loved the diversity in characters (side and main), the traditional values and cultures. The pacing of the book was off for me. I would have liked them to get to know each other a bit first before jumping right into the 5 Stages. Plus, there isn't much development between them or the characters after they get together.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

This felt like it should be YA rather than new adult or adult?

I didn’t mind the main characters. I liked the nerdiness of Saatchi with his comic con, staying fit to play certain characters, D&D group, and everything. I felt like he was multi-dimensional and we would’ve been friends irl. Dalisay, on the other hand just felt really entitled and spoiled. I didn’t like how she handled herself - just was mean to flirt and it rubbed me the wrong way.

Overall, it’s a fine read. It did feel like it was over half way through. I almost wish it had been? Like that the focus was just on the five stages, stretch that out and build more character development just during that rather than an awkward ending.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Dalisay is extremely unlikable, the entire time she wants Evan to compromise but is unwilling to do so herself. Very selfish and blames it on “tradition”. The author tried to show the importance of tradition but I feel like she made the character an entitled brat.

This is probably my sign that Melissa de la Cruz' writing style is not it for me. This book was very bland and the main characters don't have any chemistry. Evan acts like a creep towards Dalisay and I swear I don't see any love interest/boyfriend material traits from him. Both Dalisay and him acts too mechanical and didn't feel like actually human beings in the real world. It's not the worse, but I'm just over it.

This book was an extremely pleasant surprise. Firstly, it was super interesting to learn about the Filipino “five stages of courting.” It’s not something I ever heard of before, and I found the whole thing really cool. Would I die if a guy sang to me on the street? Yes, probably, but I would enjoy seeing it happen to someone else. I love that both main characters were attractive but also pretty nerdy. It made them more human in my eyes. The author has a great sense of humor, and I laughed out loud several times. All in all, this was a fun read and a cool insight into this age old tradition. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc.

The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos by Melissa De La Cruz is a delightful romantic comedy that effortlessly combines humor, cultural nuances, and heartfelt moments. Set against the backdrop of Filipino courting traditions, the novel follows the journey of Dalisay "Daisy" Ramos, a charming Filipina-American woman, and her unexpected courtship by the charismatic lawyer, Alex Montes.
Daisy's character is relatable and endearing as she navigates the complexities of her dual identity, caught between her family's expectations and her own desires. Alex, on the other hand, is a refreshing blend of confidence and authenticity, making him a perfect match for Daisy.
What makes this novel stand out is its ability to weave together familiar romance tropes with a fresh perspective.
The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos" is a heartwarming and engaging read that offers a unique glimpse into Filipino culture while delivering a satisfying romantic story. Perfect for fans of contemporary romance looking for something fresh and heartfelt.