If you want to read a book with Filipino representation that incorporates our culture, then this is a book for you! As a Filipino, I shamefully admit that I’m not so familiar with these five stages. Courting or ‘panliligaw’ is a part of our culture, especially in the older generations. And it’s good to see this being incorporated in a story that is set in America.

With the title, I expected to see more aspects of the courting culture in the story and thought it would rather be a slow burn romance as this was mostly the case when courting stage happens. Although it was understandable since it was all for a bet, I expected more on it. Though I’d say, it was able to save itself when another panliligaw happens by the end.

At first I was in doubt how it is a spicy romance while the title talks about the five stages, since in our country especially for the older generation, sex before marriage is a taboo. But since this is set in America and tackles more about Dalisay getting freedom from her somehow not-so-perfect and deeply-cultural family environment, it was understandable how things went to that point.

It’s a good read/listen especially for steamy roomance fans who wants to hear more about Asian Filipino culture. But I suggest that you read it instead of the audiobook, I think I would have enjoyed it more had I just read it instead of listening. What really bothers me throughout my experience listening to the audiobook is how all the Filipino characters have this stereotypical-slow-and-strong-Filipino accent. It’s so bothering knowing that not every Filipino talks that way in English, and they have the same accent, intonation, diction etc. The many times I screamed, ‘my god, here we go again, no please, not every Filipino talks like that!’. This is more on the narration part of thr audiobook, though, and not on the book itself. So please take that with a grain of salt.

Overall, it was a decent book that explores various cultures and family dynamics. I hope to see more incorporation of Filipino values and cultures in books someday!

This was a fun romcom that shared a lot about culture. I thought that was great. But also it’s important to know that just because someone says you should something a certain way doesn’t mean that’s the only way.

Fun cute and funny. Love a nice light hearted emotional romance that makes you feel things. The narrators killed it as well

I couldn’t get into This book. I tried to start the audiobook and generally found it slow. Then the title was archived prior to me being able to continue so I wasn’t able to finish.

This was my first Melissa de la Cruz book and I truly enjoyed it so much! I absolutely loved the audio and I just flew through it I had such a good time. The narration was really good and I didn't want to stop listening. I did wish I felt more of the chemistry between the two main characters but I will be recommending this book!

If this was a YA book, I would understand the immaturity of Dalisay. However she’s an adult and her drama halfway through the story seemed immature. I was enjoying the story until then, but I lost interest after that (I did finish the book though). I really like the five stages of courting plot, that was interesting, however I would have liked more emphasis on it. I also like her sister’s story that is woven in and wish more family stories had been added. I think more family history would have added to Dalisay’s backstory, especially since she kept claiming that Evan didn’t know her or where she was coming from. The audiobook narrator was good, everyone’s voices were very distinct and added emotion to the story.

*Provided an ALC (advance listening copy) audiobook from the publisher for review. All opinions are my own.

The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos-a standalone

By Melissa de la Cruz-new to me author

Publication 7-9-24, Read 7-19-24

Genre: Rom-Com, Multicultural Interests

Tropes: attraction at 1st sight, family drama, slow burn romance, Filipino courtship rituals, book lovers, office romance, LGBTQIA+

Setting: San Francisco, CA

⚠️ h is a virgin, closeted gay (not H/h), homophobia

Thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for this ALC🧡 ! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

The narrator is Amielynn Abellera with all characters read by 1 person. The voices fit the characters with standouts of Evan, Dalisay, and Pinky. Their voices were the most distinct, but I could easily tell the difference between all characters. The reading style brought the story to life and the pacing flowed easily with the story. The narration and the author were in sync, and the narrator paused and announced at the start of a new chapter. The book had a table of contents which helped me follow along with the audio.

Dalisay Ramos(26) has just been hired by Overnight-a travel app company. She has been given the job Evan wanted- Senior Editor of Urban Asia division. They meet, Evan asks her out, but she says no. Dalisay is from Manila and believes in Filipino courtship rituals. Evan has to prove he's seriously interested in her. They bet that if Evan completes the five stages Dalisay will give him her tour of Asia for work. If he doesn't complete them, she will go on one of his trips.

This was a truly romantic journey that Evan wooed Dalisay by putting in a little effort. It was refreshing to see them put in the work to get to know each other's interests, friends, and family before hooking up. I loved the drama from Nicole(her twin sister) and their mother.

My recommendation is to read the audiobook because you can adjust the speed, skip parts easily (if desired), and picture the characters more vividly.

Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫Audiobook Review

What a great read! I truly enjoyed this book and it was a fun multicultural romantic comedy. It was sweet and had some spice. Our FMC Dalisay Ramos is Filipino and has recently moved for a new job from Manila. Evan Saatchi our MMC, is instantly attracted to his new coworker. Evan is rejected by Dalisay when he asks her out.

Evan soon learns that in the Filipino culture there are five stages to accomplish before you can officially date. Evan decides to go through these five stages and it made for such a cute book. I loved the cultural influence and enjoyed learning about it. The romance was also so much better with a proper courtship instead of the current hookup culture.

The audiobook was narrated by Amielynn Abellera and she did a fantastic job. The accents were great and really enhanced the storyline and characters.

🩷 Office Romance
🤍 Travel lovers
🩷 Filipino & Asian Rep
🤍 Matchmaking
🩷 Proper courtship

Thank you to the author Melissa De La Cruz and Net Galley for the advanced copy of the audio book!

This was a good book. Probably more of a 3.5, but I always round up.

Evan meets Dalisay Ramos at work where she’s just moved from Manila to take a senior editor position with a travel magazine. He’s immediately struck by her beauty, style, travel experience and he asks her out pretty quickly. This turns out to be the wrong move. Dalisay is very in touch with her Philippine culture and a potential suitor should make a real effort. She turns him down flat.

When he tells his friends-two of whom are also Filipino- they let him know she expected more from him. He and Dalisay end up making a bet that he won’t go through the 5 Stages of Courtship. At this point, it’s literally just a bet without a real romance on the line. I think, gentle reader, you know this ain’t gonna stay a bet.

There’s so much going on in this book: there are gay side characters, cultural disparity, and some steamy times.

It’s really interesting reading about the courting and why these acts are important. It’s also very important to see how this tight-knit family merges their values into their new American life.

All in all, a good book worth reading.

I received an ALC from #netgalley. All thoughts are mine alone.

#romance #contemporaryromance #arc #lovestories #courting #audiobooks #narrators #voiceacting #voiceactors

This is my first DNF on NetGalley. It just wasn't for me. I won't be leaving this feedback on any of my socials though.

I'm not sure if it was the narration or the writing style that couldn't keep my attention. I may try to read it to see later down the road.

Thank you NetGalley and Union Square & CO for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!
For the longest time, Evan Saatchi had his sights set on being promoted to senior editor at Overnight, a travel app. That is until his newest coworker, Dalisay Ramos, gets the gig instead. Now, Evan no longer yearns for the job but for the beautiful Dalisay. When Evan asks her out and Dalisay refuses, citing her disdain for "American hook-up culture," a bet is formed. If Evan can complete the Five Stages, a customary courtship ritual practiced by lovers in the Philippines for years, he will receive Dalisay’s Asia trip. If he fails, Dalisay will get to galavant around Italy on Evan’s Europe trip. But what happens if instead of catching flights, they catch feelings?
"The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos" by Melissa de la Cruz offers an interesting take on popular romantic tropes with a refreshing twist. I really enjoyed learning about the five stages, as it was something I had never encountered before. This story reads as a pure rom-com, complete with witty banter between characters, romantic gestures, and tear-jerking moments that make the final kiss all the more rewarding.
While I enjoyed this story, I believe there are aspects that underperformed. Most notably, the relationship between Dalisay and Evan felt very surface-level. We learned much more about Evan, and as a character, he was more present on the page than Dalisay. Unfortunately, Dalisay felt almost like a side character at times. Although I loved her storyline of finding a true connection with Evan and becoming sexually confident, she often seemed like a background character. Additionally, the third-act breakup felt contrived. Their fight was trivial, and although it set up Evan completing the stages again, the conflict could have been less immature for characters in their thirties.
Overall, "The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos" is an enjoyable story about culture, love, and forgiveness that I believe any rom-com fan will appreciate.

I got this audiobook as an ARC listen on NetGalley. This was such a fun listen. This book is a fun love story that centers a lot around family traditions. Evan and Dalisay have to navigate their love story while respecting Dalisay’s old family traditions. There are of course some hiccups along the way.

This was a cute romance story. I liked getting to see how romance works in other parts of the world, especially since the "five stages" is so different from how modern American romance works. I also always enjoy seeing the process of a person adopting American culture and seeing how it works with their own. Like, Dalisay is still a Filipina, but she picks up American aspects and includes the parts that work for her into her own identity. It's probably something really basic, but I dunno. I just enjoy it xD

Dalisay and Evan were a cute couple. I liked watching Evan deciding to put more and more effort into the five stages, especially as it drew closer to the end. I also really liked Dalisay's family, which made it feel even better watching Evan win them over. Also made it nice watching the family growing closer by the children finding their own footing as themselves.

There is a third act break-up which I wasn't a huge fan of. Although I liked the idea of it, it felt like the lead up wasn't great, and the resolution was pretty hand waved as a "I was just upset" thing. Which, considering I liked what they were aiming for with cultural divides, just made it fall extra flat for me. I did like what it led into, but, yeah, not so much the rest of the break-up.

Overall, a fun time in the end!

I'm conflicted between hating this book and actually enjoying it. As an Asian myself, I'm well aware of the courting culture, but the way the author presented it here is quite ‘shallow’ and lacks understanding of why certain things matter. The author just nonchalantly explains it.

I imagine readers who have no idea about the concept of courting might think that Dalisay and her family are selfish and self-centered, as it was portrayed that way. In reality, it should be a two-sided effort of gaining respect and blessings. The writing is definitely the problem here.

The conflicts that caused Dalisay and Evan to break up felt like they were thrown in just for the sake of creating conflict for the ending. It could have been good if the author had explored why cultural clash is a problem in their relationship more deeply. The second courting and the lead-up to the ending felt rushed, and it all went downhill from there. It's a shame that the concept and little sprinkles of cuteness can't compensate for the lack of a good storyline and execution.

As for the narrator, I'm sorry to say the accent did not bring the story to life. I just felt annoyed the entire time, thinking, "Is this how other people think we speak? Are they making fun of us?" Not cute in the slightest.

I will not recommend this book to those who actually want to learn about courting culture, but I will recommend it to those who just want a cute, almost one-sided effort romance book.

The Filipino courtship rituals in this book were a major draw for me. I couldn't wait to dive in! The story centers on Dalisay, a recent immigrant from Manila, and her co-worker Evan. Sparks fly between them, but when Evan asks Dalisay out, she insists he follows her traditional Filipino courtship values. This means completing all five stages of a unique dating ritual.

Despite not knowing Dalisay well, Evan surprisingly agrees and embraces the challenge. But is that all it was to him? Did he see it as a game to win?

Dalisay's feelings for Evan are clear, but her hot-and-cold behavior, where she pushes him away and then pulls him back in, became a bit repetitive for me. I understand it's meant to build romantic tension but from my perspective.

When I originally read the novel, it was a good story. Still, it was due to the narrator who truly made me give this story four stars. The narrator truly showed the development and growth of both characters and the importance of the traditions of Filipino courtship. Listening to it in contrast to reading it made it much more enjoyable as I cheered them on.

“The five stages of courting Dalisay Ramos” is a cute multicultural NA workplace romance.
Dalisay is Filipino, so when she first meets Evan, and he asks her out for drinks, she is not impressed by his ‘efforts’ Seeking advice from his Filipino friends, Evan leans the five stages of courting that are custom to Dalisay. During their next encounter, Dalisay kind of bates Evan into trying out the Filipino style of courting.

I thought that the five stages made for an interesting premise to a love story. Dalisay, her family, Evan, his family and friends are all very well-rounded characters and make for an entertaining read. I was rooting for Evan and Dalisay, although I could relate to Evan just a little bit more and found that Dalisay was a bit hard on him sometimes. Evan seemed to be a sweetheart that really made an effort to impress her.

Evan and Dalisay’s courtship is cute, and the story is overall s*x positive, although I didn’t find their chemistry very convincing. I did want them to be happy, but if the author had told us that they each found someone else, I would have been totally okay with that too.

Overall, this is just a cute multicultural story, with not too much chemistry or heartache to it.
I listened to the audiobook version of this book and really liked the narrator. I found her to be very fitting to the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for gifting me this ALC of the audiobook to review. All opinions are my own. I was not paid to leave this review.

This was a good book, if perhaps not a great one. I didn't like how short the actual courting bit was, but I did really enjoy how Dalisay's culture was front and center through all the conflicts in this book. I think this book is great for anyone who wants to immerse themself in a new culture and see how, ultimately, love is something that connects us despite culture. The narrator also did a great job of bringing life to the characters in a way that seemed authentic. All in all, a good read.

I felt skeptical of this one for quite awhile into it. The first five steps was funny and cute so I was surprised there was so much of the book left when they were over. I did not appreciate the way the FMC made her issues into his issues though. In my opinion, he felt guilty for their breakup and it was definitely her problem. She was terrible to him. However, the book redeemed itself a bit when he did the second round of 5 steps which was even cuter than the first.

I was fortunate enough to receive a physical arc of The Five Stages of courting Dalisay Ramos from the publisher as well as the audio courtesy of NetGalley.

I will state this book has taken me over a month to complete. I alternated between formats and that helped a bit but overall, it was just underwhelming. It wasn’t bad by any means but it just left me wanting more. I didn’t love the chemistry between the characters. I enjoyed the inclusion of the 5 stages, it was interesting to read but they kind of felt rushed 🥺 I wish I could have had more about the five stages.

I loved this book, the 5 stages were such an interesting premise, it allowed to book to keep moving forward and it was fun to learn more about Filipino culture.
Great representation
I loved every one of the characters, they are all well developed and fit together like a natural family
The writing felt a little choppy but the narrator was really good so it helped to read it