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.

Love this book and would recommend. Multiple cultural characters, he falls first, rivals to lovers winning a bet.
She gets job that he’s been pushing for and on her first day he asks her out, but only finds out that it’s a major error on his part due because he culture there is 5 stages of courting. First he goes thru the stages to win a bet with her on the getting her job, but while he was going thru the stages he falls for her.

This book was so sweet and I learned so much about the Filipino culture. Melissa de la Cruz did a phenomenal job. I cannot wait to read more of her work!

A story about loving where you come from and learning what parts you want to hold tight to.

I loved learning about different Filipino traditions, the banter between the characters, diverse, the idea of being courted, and the family bonds portrayed in this novel.

Through Dalisay and Evan, this book shares about the chances we take and the ways we hold ourselves back from what we really want because of others’ expectations. It was interesting to see how different cultures view family and the impact that family can have on decision-making. I liked this book because it showed the hard and complicated parts of being in a relationship with different culture backgrounds, but also reminded that everyone deserves to have happiness even if it looks different than everyone thinks.

The narration by Amielynn Abellera and the writing by Melissa de la Cruz was beautiful and painted a picture of the Filipino culture. As a side note, this is my first audiobook with some detailed spice and I was not ready.

Thank you to Netgalley, RBmedia, and the author for this audio arc for my honest opinion.

I was really interested when I saw this book and the heavy Filipino representation in it. I loved how much of Dalisay’s background and culture was included in the book. I also thought it was interesting to have both Dalisay’s experience and Evan’s friends included and the differences between being raised Filipino vs Filipino-American.

I did like Evan and I also really enjoyed Evan’s group of friends. Unfortunately I did not like Dalisay at all. She did not try to understand Evan at all and even after she acknowledged that, still did not make any real effort for him.

The pacing of the story was a bit strange and I wish it would have flowed a bit differently. Evan had already completed the stages by the halfway point of the book and then the plot kind of got lost for me.

Overall, not a terrible book but not my favourite either. I will definitely still try reading more by this author in the future.

The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos is such a cute romance. It is also spicy! Such a great balance, and the gestures made are swoon worthy.

This book has so much to offer, from cultural insights, to varying perspectives on family, to handling difficult things both big and small. I loved the dynamic between the two main characters, and felt their love for one another.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story, which was well done by one narrator who reads both POVs. I listened at 2x speed (1.75-2x speed is my normal audiobook listening speed).

Thank you NetGalley and RBMedia for this advanced audiobook copy.

3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was cute! Thank you NetGalley, RBmedia, and Recorded Books for access to the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I love a book with dual POV but the narration was only by a female narrator. She was great! But I wish we got dual narrators. I loved learning about these five stages of courting and it was really interesting. I like that we got both POVs of the main characters during this journey from two different cultural backgrounds. The stages just felt a little rushed and then it seemed like we were already through all of them but the book was only at 50%? The pacing just felt a little off in that it both felt rushed and too long. It also felt a little repetitive even though the grand gesture was cute and made a bit more of an impact it was just…I don’t know maybe just the structure of the book made the pacing feel off and repetitive. It’s hard to say without spoiling. Overall I really enjoyed learning about the Filipino traditions but didn’t really feel the chemistry between Dalisay and Evan.

It was interesting to learn about the five stages. However the spicy parts were a bit awkward. Dalisay comes off as a Middle Aged woman for the majority of the book.

The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos was my first Melissa de la Cruz book and I had a good enough time reading it, but I certainly think a bit of tweeking could have made it so much better. Right off the bat, I was intrigued by the prospect of the five stages and while Evans plight to move through the stages was entertaining, I felt that there was so much wasted potential. There were so many unused opportunities for comedic relief throughout that I was honestly a bit disappointed. The characters were fun, if a bit dense at times, and I truly enjoyed the supporting characters and the Ramos family dynamic. In my opinion, Dalisays sister Nicole and her mother had much more meaningful and impactful character development than Dalisay and Evan did. I also thought that the pacing was strange in places and perceived tension around conflict was either absent or completely unfounded, making it so hard to take any of the “issues” seriously. Evan asked Dalisay out at first glance without any kind of yearning or described desire, almost in a “why not?” gesture. The only reason he even began to woo her, was to win a bet to get a trip. Then, despite Evan asking Delisay out for the first time in the middle of their office space, directly following a conference with all kinds of coworkers around, suddenly about halfway through the book, dating a coworker was taboo and they were both concerned about their positions being terminated if anyone found out. When Evan broke the heirloom decoration during stage four, I really expected him to go all out as a grand gesture and attempt to fix it, scour the internet or his travel destinations for something similar, or making something new on his own to replace it. Instead, it was brushed under the rug and he “felt bad,” but did nothing about it. Delisays family wasn’t even upset about losing something that supposedly meant so much. I also thought that Evans interaction with Becca at the zoo was odd and kept waiting for something significant to come from it, whether it be Dalisay finding out or even Evan getting some kind of closure, but it just seemed a stilted and awkward conversation that went nowhere. From his earlier conversations, he had come to peace with Becca not being the one for him years before, thus the reason that he broke things off with her. Overall, I just felt that so many aspects that I love were hinted at, but not executed well, making it very hard to take some of the story seriously. It was cute, but I doubt very much that I will read it again.

Thank you so much, NetGalley for the ARC!

I wanted to enjoy this book and LOVED the cultural aspect of it but the plot was not there for me. The 5 stages felt so rushed and this read as such a wholesome romance book that the smutty parts took away from the story for me. It felt a little odd and choppy at certain parts. I think this could have been a great read but I felt let down by the homophobia and overall plot points.

2.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

It’s difficult to reconcile the fact that this author is the same one that wrote Encanto’s Daughter. Sure, there are some similarities, mostly the Filipino representation, but whereas that one held my interest and kept me glued to it with the adventure and action, this one did not. I enjoyed hearing about the various articles they were working on at the magazine and would love to read a few of them, particularly the one comparing European and Asian cities but the rest of the book reminded me of the variety shows I would see on TV in the Philippines, cheesy and overacted, and besides the wonderful descriptions of the food, I felt, put Filipinos in a bad light. This was not for me.

Over all great contemporary romance
I do like a good work place romance, its inherently forbidden without feeling taboo (most of the time)

This had all these great elements of a good work place romance. I love the diversity talks too esp about rep and treatment in the workplace. The only issue was the pace, I was constantly looking for the swoon factor that I need in romance. It felt a bit slow.
But I know many womens lit fans will enjoy this for that exact reason.

I enjoyed the story and how it showed many cultures and the cultures affect on relationships of all kind. I do feel like the story moved a bit slow in some places and then skipped through other parts too fast.

Overall it was a cute fun read. The audiobook was preformed by Amielynn Abellera who did a wonderful job!

Rating 3.5 ⭐️ (rounded up to 4)
Spice 1🌶

The first 50% of this book could have been a meet cute romance all by itself. However, the book just kept going and it wasn’t always for the better, which is why I’m only giving this read 3 stars.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

eBook and Audiobook duo review!

Dalisay Ramos and Evan Saatchi are co-workers at a travel website, and Evan has been mesmerized by Dalisay from her first day at work. He quickly learns that courting Dalisay is not as easy as simply asking her out for a drink. Moving to the States from the Philippines, Dalisay is a romantic at heart who wants her suitor to complete the Five Stages, or five acts in a courting ritual from the Philippine culture.

Evan was a trooper through all the stages! Even when he was trying to convince himself that it was all an effort to win a bet, there were moments when his romantic intentions really showed through. I thought it was so sweet and thoughtful for him to revisit these when he knew that Dalisay was the one. The passion that Dalisay has for her family, traditions, and culture is evident as it guides the whole story and foundation for her relationship with Evan. I liked her character for most of the book. I was a little taken aback and confused as to her motivations for stepping away from pursuing a relationship. It felt very miscommunication heavy for what was happening.

The family dynamics between Dalisay and her large Filipino family are wonderfully written, and I felt engaged and invested in their stories as well. I love Lola. I learned so much about Filipino culture and practices from this book! I loved reading a well-done romance with multicultural characters and culture.

I loved this story in audio format. The narrator, Amielynn Abellera, adds so much to the story with her accents and passion in her voice. I found myself going back to the audio version because I truly enjoyed the performance, or I would hear Abellera's different accents while I was reading the eBook copy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Union Square & Co., and RBmedia for providing me with an ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you Netgallery for this ARC

This story follows Dalisay Ramos and Evan Saatchi. This a duel POV workplace romance.

I will say this is such a unique and different romance book for me as it is explores the different courting/dating rituals from different cultures instead of very westernized norm of dating culture. It was really sweet and refreshing story.

After Evan asked Dalisay out for a date on her first day on the job after she has moved to America from the Filipino, she turns her down. Evan then finds out from his Filipino friends that there is a courting ritual called the 'Five Stages' which is what potential suitors normally do in the Filipinos.

Dalisay and Evvan end up betting that he could never complete the 'Five Stages'. Evan, not one to stand down from a bet learns about this cultural ritual and what it takes to impress Dalisay.

What started as just a bet , soon turns into more.

The first 80% of this book was more boring than watching paint dry. While I really liked learning about Filipino culture, but that was the only thing I liked about this book. Evan annoyed me, and Dalisay was just boring. Their subplots were just as lackluster as their relationship, and their version of slow burn didn’t feel authentic. They both had too much instant love/lust to have this slow burn romance, but then the 80% mark came. I almost DNF’d this book a million and one times, but the last 80% gave me all the romance vibes that I wanted throughout the book. It was a “too little too late” feeling, but the ending really was great.

📚 The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos by Melissa de la Cruz
📕 Genre: Contemporary Romance, Woman’s Fiction
🎧 Format: Audiobook
🎙️ Narrated by: Amielynn Abellera
📖 Read: June 2024
✨ Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

”Here's to stories worth telling.”

‧₊˚✧ Tropes ✧˚₊‧
ꕥ Workplace Romance
ꕥ Opposites Attract
ꕥ He Falls First
ꕥ Cultural Differences
ꕥ Love Bet

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book, however after reading the description I thought it sounds really cute.

Things that I really enjoyed about this book were the multicultural aspects! I loved the Filipino representation and I learned a lot about the culture. I also loved the themes brought up in this book on the importance of really earning one's attention. I loved how we were able to see the relationship between Dalisay and Evan grow stronger as they faced certain challenges.

While I really enjoyed that Dalisay was a strong female character, I felt at times she was a bit too harsh on Evan. She seemed so critical and almost hypocritical, which was a turn off for me.

Overall, I did enjoy this audiobook. The narration was on point. Will I remember this book in a week or two, probably not… but it was super cute while reading.

Check out my Bookstagram for aesthetics:
https://www.instagram.com/booked.and.listening/

Thank you NetGalley, RBmedia and Melissa de la Cruz for this audiobook. This is my voluntary, honest review.

Started out sort of cut but I couldn't finish or get onto it after we meet and get more time with our titular heroine. Delisay was snooty and way too much trouble for the bother. I did not like the way she judged so harshly and continued to have an attitude for no apparent reason.