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

The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos was a sweet, heartfelt and romantic story of fake dating/colleagues to lovers.

I really enjoyed the dynamics of Dalisay and Evan’s building romance, and loved the slower pace. The insights into Filipino tradition were interesting, and added extra depth authenticity to their relationship. The commentary on the tension between cultural and familial traditions, expectations personal identity was thought proposing, and the dual POV really helped with understanding Dalisay and Evans experiences.

The narrator did a wonderful job with the various accents, and the audiobook really brought to life the vibrancy and energy of the Ramos family (and contrasted greatly with the quiet and control of the Saatchis).

Thank you RB Media and NetGalley for this audiobook. Opinions expressed are my own.

I absolutely loved this book! The attention to detail in both teaching the reader the culture Dalisay belongs to and the five stages themselves made for such a fun read. I loved the narrator, both main leads, and all of the supporting characters. I would love to see this made into a movie.

Thank you NetGalley for this audiobook!!

Fake dating (or fake courtship in this case) with mocking friends is a top trope for me and this book was so cute I die 😭 The third act breakup always wrecks me but I was dreading it in this one bc they were such a cute couple! Nicole's side story had me almost crying on my walk, I would love it as a whole book. Pinky and JM cracked me up regularly but were so supportive I loved it so much. I would have loved an epilogue with them travelling together but otherwise no notes!

Sigh I should of dnf this 3 differnt times but I'm stubborn and keep going. I felt like it was disconnected either the 5 steps should of been 80% of the story. Then the drama but having it be over before the 50% mark then it was fine then back tracked. It just didn't flow for me and I didn't vibe with dalisay. Wasn't my favorite.


Thank you NetGalley for this audio arc in exchange for my honest review.

Dalisay and Evan have recently started working together. When Evan asked her out, it was a definite no from Dalisay. She is very traditional in her Filipino heritage. She expects Evan to go through the five stages of courting.

This book was a bit of a hit and miss for me. There were places that I felt Dalisay was a bit mean to Evan. But, maybe it was just me. I did enjoy their banter. And when he did the boy band number…that had me giggling!

However, even though the courting started out as a joke, I felt the relationship was more one-sided. Evan cared more than Dalisay in my opinion.

The narrator, Amielynn Abellera, did a pretty good job, especially with the accents!

Need a cute romance…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

I loved listening to this new release. It was SO cute! It was filled with so much Filipino culture. I loved learning about the Five Stages. The characters and story were so cute. Highly recommend if you’re looking for a cute RomCom read.

Thank you DBMedia and netgalley for the advance reading copy. I loved Dalisay & Evan's love story, their personal growth throughout this novel and their relatable relationships with their family (full of love but also challenges and arguments). This is a lower spice novel but it was so sweet I was smiling the whole time I listened to the audiobook 🥰

This was a great multicultural romance and I learned a lot about Filipino courtship. I enjoyed the romance between the two characters who had great banter. I also enjoyed watching how they navigated the modern dating world, cultural differences, family and workplace dynamics. The narrator did a fabulous job with this one adding to my overall enjoyment!

I wanted to like this book, so much so that I really, really tried. But ultimately, I just don’t think it was for me.

That’s not to say it’s not for someone else! I think it does a lot of things really well. The family tradition and Filipino representation are excellent. Dalisay is well-developed and strong. There are a lot of humorous parts, especially during the “courtship” part of the book.

Which leads me into what I had some issue with: I wanted the courtship to be a much larger part of the book. It feels like the hook of the story is over very quickly, and then the book becomes something very different. Not bad—just not what I was expecting. I was disappointed that the 5 stages ended at around the 40% mark, as I was really enjoying Evan and Dalisay slowly learning more about each other and the slow tease of it all.

I also don’t think this needed to be a dual POV. In fact, I wish it had been solely Dalisay’s story, and that Evan’s actions were a bit more mysterious. I far more enjoyed spending time with Dalisay’s family, with her bond with her sister, and her own expectations for herself and exploring them.

Overall, I do think this is a good story… I just wish some things had been done differently.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.