If Only You Knew

ERPS Series #1

by alluringli

If only I knew, would things be different? And if only you knew, will things change?

Celest Haeia Ybanez is tired of being the NBSB girl in her circle. Blame the academic workload, the fictional boys, the strict curfew created by her mother, and even the ones who told her they'd wait until she was in college—graduating na siya pero wala pa ring nagpaparamdam sa kanya.

She promised herself that she’d date someone in her last year in college... and now, she meets Iscaleon Altreano, a meek architecture student who's also graduating this school year. She makes a plan upon seeing him. She knows that Iscaleon is way out of her league; kaya nag-offer siya na magpanggap si Iscaleon na boyfriend niya kahit hanggang sa graduation lang nila. For experience, for memories, and for her to have a memorable first boyfriend.

Everything is fun... if she only knew how it can get hurtful if things get real.

Genres: Young Adult

300 pages, ebook

Published December 30, 2023

Reviews

[Eunoia]

I bought the physical copy solely because I wanted to read the special chapters since I felt like the ending was rushed, and anticlimactic. I would love the special chapters to mainly focus on the main leads because their moments together are somewhat lacking. However, the special chapters for the male lead's parents were longer than that one lackluster SC for the supposedly LEADS of the book.

The parent's story isn't even special. I was looking forward to reading the entire PDF file sent by the ML to the FL because maybe it can add more depth into the lackluster ml's POV but get none; It was also an important part of the novel per se in my opinion. Should've added it because it is much more necessary than the parent's story. The author focused too much on the parents and to be honest, they should have their own story instead. Like a novella or something:>

All throughout the story, I kept giving chances to the male lead; he appears to be a soft boy, greenflag type of lead but he is definitely a red flag. 🍉🍉🍉🍉

His characterization is kinda messy. I think the author cannot decide what he should be. He is inconsistent may it be on dialogues, and actions. He did stupid things that weren't explained or justified even on the wattpad version.

The female lead is kinda okay-ish but kept on appearing as very thirsty to be in a relationship. :> which is okay given that she has never been in a relationship before but that shouldn't be what the female lead is all about but on how she is written? she appears to be that, unfortunately. I like her the best though.

no ratings bc it would be unfair to the author; afterall, when i first read it a year ago, i loved it.

[reesereads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: 2.25/5

I honestly don’t know what to feel for this book (Initially read this because I love Iscamena cameos 🤭.) The whole characterization is so messy, especially Iscaleon. Alam mo ‘yong sobrang push and pull ng ginagawa niya?? Alam ko na may explanation naman na si Cal sa Epilogue kung bakit hindi siya nagparamdam kay Celest pero prior to that?? I just can’t feel him… He acts loving tas biglang ippull ‘yong “fake boyfriend” card like tangina ano ba??? I almost DNF this book dahil sobrang ick talaga na jowang-jowa na si Cel and lowers her standard para magka-boyfriend like??? TEH LALAKI LANG ‘YAN

Tapos ‘yong whole conflict about Tita Istelle having a lung cancer? Sobrang forced. Super daming miscommunication na sana if mas nag-reach out si Cal, mare-resolve naman. Ang ending kasi na-ghost si Cel (knowing na NBSB siya then broken fam pa) All we needed is assurance. And it was not delivered 🫩🫩

Final verdict: Iscalade >>>> Iscaleon

I want to love Iscaleon, I really do. Sa POV niya mukhang mahal naman talaga niya si Cel pero the whole miscommunication thing (to think na nag-initiate naman na si Cel na mag-usap yet hindi pa siya ready??) uhm, idk. He did not grovel enough to earn that second chance after ng pang-ghost niya kay Cel after grad.


Si Cel naman is sobrang rupok. He hurt her yet isang suyo lang sa kanya ni Cal okay na lahat? Justified na kasi di naman nag-cheat?? I won’t be available to someone who does not even notice my absence girl you are better than this…

Lackluster ending I was silently wishing na hindi sila EG kasi ‘di ko talaga ma-justify HAHAH I really think na ‘di rin sila magtatagal kasi they lack trust and foundation sa relationship nila since they started the whole thing as “fake dating.” (sana i-reveal na lang ng author kung anong laman nung “If Only You Knew” file para mas malaman ko pa POV ni Cal kasi kulang talaga eh.) ‘Di ako satisfied. Anyhow, fiction lang naman ‘to LMAO.

[ava · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was sooooo boringggggggg. God, these books are way too overhyped 🤦🏻‍♀️. Every single character—whether in the Senior series or the ERPS series—just feels so lacking 😭. Their personalities are inconsistent, and honestly, they all type the exact same way. You can’t even tell them apart through their text messages because their personalities blend together.

Take Cal (?) for example: he was described as this perfect gentleman, even his friends saw him that way, and then suddenly he acts completely different in chat (?). Like… what? 😭 I even forgot the FL’s name, but she basically had the same personality as one of the leads in IOYLM (?), and I can’t even remember their names because they’re practically interchangeable. Same with Masha in the new story—again, the personalities all feel the same. The only way to tell them apart is through their flaws, and even those feel tacked on. 🤦🏻‍♀️

The only ones I genuinely and actually liked were Kiran and Nacia.

[rae · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was just a book of compiled miscommunications.

i like the fake dating trope but this was one was so messy. no proper build-up and lacks tension. there was no proper transition to them meeting, agreeing to the set-up, and getting confused to what's real or not. i don't mind the overused trope, but at least make it intriguing.

overall the book was just messy, just like cel and cal's relationship. and i mean it in a /not/ good way. i am also confused with each character's personality. cal is presented as someone nonchalant and mysterious, but also very makulit online. yes it's cute, but the execution is not that good. the last minute istelle subplot and explanation for cal being reserved also felt like a cheap twist.

i was hoping to get into more filipino wattpad authors aside from those i read... maybe i'm not the right audience? but i really enjoyed the altreano family dynamics. the chat excerpts were really funny. but other than that, this was not really a good read.

[Ethan Jay · Rating 2 out of 5]

At the beginning of the book it really made me giddy and have butterflies in my stomach, but the book really lost me from the middle to the end. The middle to the end really felt rushed and was very predictable. Another problem I had with this book was the grammatical errors ! Like in the beginning of the book I didn’t find any, but towards the end?! ooo the amount of errors were astronomical ! It felt like they spent all their money on an editor on the first half of the book and just decided to send it towards the end and publish it unedited. Anyways the book could’ve been so much better had they decided to take their time with ending just as they did(if they even did, but it was better and really made me feel “kilig”) with the beginning of the story.

[‎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

i honestly don't know... i just really found this boring and anticlimactic. i really tried to connect with the characters but either they're lacking or inconsistent. and i know iscaleon wanted to generally respect her mother's decision pero like ??? di ko rin maramdaman yung kilig sa banters 🥲 they obviously liked each other since the start, so i don't really understand why they kept on using the "fake dating" card when they were so transparent. iscaleon's parents involvement, despite the emotions it was supposed to evoke from the readers, didn't even feel remarkable for me.

[Umi Tellenie · Rating 5 out of 5]

—🦋Umaygawdd! I luvvv thisss OA FMC and NONCHALANT MMC troupeeee waahhhh! Sa lahat ng story ni Miss Alluringli, eto lang yung feeling ko mej nabigyan ng hustisya yung details. Usually kasi sa Seniors Series kulang sa details ih, parang minadali. Pero eto! Waahh! It’s a real five star for me! This is the best ever! It uplifts my standards so high ackk! Super green flag ni Iscaleon, the same as their family itself. I love them SM!
Emmena Add this to my Comfort list of story
⛈️⛈️⛈️

[ifri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iscaleon is so cute !!! but I am missing some parts of the emotional scenes though I know that the author is trying to convey light-hearted books lang. It’s just iba yung conversations na ginagawa ko sa utak ko versus sa actual na scenes whereas nagiging comedy nalang siya instead of sob-worthy scenes. But it’s all good though!! 🩷 Cel and Cal’s dynamic is cute !! 🫶🏼 Maging ako rin mismo ay nbsb so I do kinda relate to Celest a bit. And also, bitin ang ending 😭

[saegarettes · Rating 4 out of 5]

sobrang in heat ang ante mo HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA tangina ni celest LT! tapos is iscaleon putangina ... wala! sobrang impakto na talaga ng mga real men pag sa kanya iccompare. buti n lng binili ko yung book, MHM SARAP NG SCs mabubusog ka talaga ;p ang ano lang sa mixed signals nung una ha ... pero totoo pala talaga na nasa loob ang kulo ng mga quiet guy. will reread!

[master mind · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had to DNF this one😭😭😭

The male character is so inconsistent. Gusto ko pa naman yung character niyang inosente and pa-sweet. Kaso may mga nagagawa siya na out-of-character.

Also, as an accountancy student, hindi ko lang ma-take 'yung bumagsak si character sa subject na hindi board course.

[Dokushoka Ai · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good book! I recommend! Choice of words by author is always on point, I love her!

[Jai · Rating 4 out of 5]

luv this so much, js didn't expect Iscaleon being freaky on his dump account (⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠)

[Shania Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

saks langg, medyo inconsistent lang yung guy. expected plot

[Alen · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved them so much I had to add it sa Goodreads ko (sana malagay rin ibang books dito)

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Celest is my fictional character. Love should indeed be gentle 💗

[charisse eleonor · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is my fantasy as a nbsb 😣😣😊

[َ · Rating 1 out of 5]

everything felt flat and inconsistent.

[Jillian Ranis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favvv

[marlly · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ ½

[rilkean heart · Rating 2 out of 5]

pls the amount of "bile on my throat" was taking me outttt 😭😭 almost dnf this one 🥲

[Felicity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iscaleon just why 😭😭😭 huhu this could have been a 5 out of 5 but I reallyyyyy felt sad and a bit disappointed because of the ending part :((

It is still a happy ending tho.

[Lioveside · Rating 5 out of 5]

My CalCel 🤍

[Konomi Serein · Rating 3 out of 5]

- Ang cute ng dynamic ng main leads loveit <333
- They could've resolved the conflict agad kung nagcommunicate lang sila😭😭

[aeri · Rating 4 out of 5]

crush na crush ko si iscaleon

[Kish Coleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

cute

[Lotus ⋆࿔* · Rating 5 out of 5]

The characters are absolutely enjoyable. Nakakakilig yung chats, and the art is so pretty. I NEED a man like Iscaleon.

[desree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best babies🥺🥺 Iscaleon was the complete opposite ng younger brother na si Iscalade HAHAHAHHAHAHAH, he looks shy outside pero wild inside ems. It was a good read:))

[Xel · Rating 4 out of 5]

ang sarap mo iscaleon!! ang funny neto 🫰🫰 fast paced lang siya, ang witty ni girl

[iyah ⋆˚꩜.ᐟ]

I can’t. I just cant. 😓