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Meant To Be In Manila
She’s done with destiny. He’s chasing the past. But fate has other plans.
Sophia Eunice Joaquin is done believing in "meant to be." After uprooting her life for love—only to be ghosted the moment she lands in Vancouver—she’s heading back to Manila, heartbroken and humiliated.
Enter Rafael Herbert: an architect on a mission to win back the girl who ghosted him.
When a fateful seat assignment brings them together, they strike a wild deal—he'll be her fake fiancé for her brother’s wedding, and she’ll help him track down his lost love. But as they navigate Manila’s bustling streets, old churches, and hidden gems, their fake romance starts feeling a little too real.
Maybe love isn’t about finding the right person—it’s about finding the right person at the right time. And maybe, just maybe, that time is now.
If Anyone But You and Abby Jimenez’s Just For The Summer had a love child, it’d be this: a swoon-worthy and laugh-out-loud romance from National Bestselling author Mica De Leon of Love on the Second Read.
Sophia Eunice Joaquin is done believing in "meant to be." After uprooting her life for love—only to be ghosted the moment she lands in Vancouver—she’s heading back to Manila, heartbroken and humiliated.
Enter Rafael Herbert: an architect on a mission to win back the girl who ghosted him.
When a fateful seat assignment brings them together, they strike a wild deal—he'll be her fake fiancé for her brother’s wedding, and she’ll help him track down his lost love. But as they navigate Manila’s bustling streets, old churches, and hidden gems, their fake romance starts feeling a little too real.
Maybe love isn’t about finding the right person—it’s about finding the right person at the right time. And maybe, just maybe, that time is now.
If Anyone But You and Abby Jimenez’s Just For The Summer had a love child, it’d be this: a swoon-worthy and laugh-out-loud romance from National Bestselling author Mica De Leon of Love on the Second Read.
- GenresRomance
Unknown Binding
Published August 12, 2025
3 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
Mica De Leon
8 books71 followersMica De Leon is the author of six books published by Penguin Random House SEA. Her first novel, Love on the Second Read, is a rom-com set in the Philippines about two Filipino book editors. She is also the author of the Seedmage Cycle Trilogy books—Winds Of War, Veins Of Power, and Seeds Of Conquest—which is an epic, high fantasy trilogy inspired by Philippine myths and folklore.
She is a Filipino author of swoony romance comedy novels and epic fantasy novels, and she has won the Don Carlos Palanca Awards for Literature in 2019 and 2022 for her essays on romance, feminism, history, fantasy, and the Filipino identity. She is also the Executive Editor of one of the leading publishing houses in the Philippines and has produced over 200 books in her ten years there.
She likes walking on the beach, dogs, cats, swoony and spicy romance novels, epic, sci-fi-fantasy novels, Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere books, Pierce Brown’s Red Rising, and Taylor Swift. She is still trying (and failing) to meet all the impossible deadlines she gave herself five years ago.
Connect with her on Instagram and Tiktok at @micadeleonwrites and on Threads and X at @micadlwrites.
She is a Filipino author of swoony romance comedy novels and epic fantasy novels, and she has won the Don Carlos Palanca Awards for Literature in 2019 and 2022 for her essays on romance, feminism, history, fantasy, and the Filipino identity. She is also the Executive Editor of one of the leading publishing houses in the Philippines and has produced over 200 books in her ten years there.
She likes walking on the beach, dogs, cats, swoony and spicy romance novels, epic, sci-fi-fantasy novels, Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere books, Pierce Brown’s Red Rising, and Taylor Swift. She is still trying (and failing) to meet all the impossible deadlines she gave herself five years ago.
Connect with her on Instagram and Tiktok at @micadeleonwrites and on Threads and X at @micadlwrites.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 10, 2025
mica de leon has a beautiful way of capturing readers through her raw portrayal of human emotions and realistic expression of grief; she doesn’t shy away from fleshing out the emotions that her characters go through, the loneliness that Sophia/Rafal felt, the confusion and life crisis that they experienced.
meant to be in manila is a story of two filipino, Sophia and Rafal meeting each other at the Vancouver Airport, meet-cute.. except it’s not a meet-cute at all because Rafal (a canadian-filipino stranger) found sophia WEEPING in the corner alone after being ghosted by her long-distance canadian boyfriend (who convinced her that he was going to marry her if she comes to canada), so rafal went to comfort sophia. fate brings them back together when they were seated next to each other in the plane back to Manila. rafal on the other hand finally is going to step foot on his homeland for the first time ever, in his journey of finding his online long-distance filipino girlfriend.. who woke up one day and chose to just cut him off.
sophia and rafal are strangers, yet somehow.. they feel connected with what they are going through and their predicament, so they eventually find themselves back to each other.
first of all, i’d like to appreciate how the plot doesn’t go: sophia is actually rafal’s long-distance girlfriend, because this would’ve been the easy way out and i can’t see imagine myself getting entertained by this coincidence. so yes, read this book, sophia and rafal are not each other’s online partner.
the story began with one similarity between sophia & rafal—taking a leap of faith for the person that they love—and the story continued to revolve around this theme, which is beautiful imo how mica de leon re-connected the later plot to what has happened in the beginning.
what i love the most about Meant To Be In Manila is how the characters are given ample and necessary time to process what happens in their life—which i think is extremely important in books because this is where the character development usually happens. the author doesn’t brush away her characters’ emotions, she painted the gloomy and dull feelings into a burst of colours that made this book one whole beautiful painting.
the fake boyfriend plot in MTBIM is really interesting imo; a half-filipino growing up in canada, we can see how rafal’s brain may have been wired differently than Sophia, a filipino living and growing up in the asian culture. for instance, sophia’s tita(s) never knowing how to mind their own business to the point that it frustrated sophia, seems to rafal like a boundary issue—though yes it can get to this—but deep in sophia’s heart she knows it’s how the tita(s) have been raised and it symbolises their love and care towards her.
there will also be MANY characters in sophia’s family, so i’d recommend you to read when you have the time to relax and chill and read, that way you can get immersed into the whole story with all the tita(s) shoving their head into your business affairs hihi.
since rafal is a canadian-filipino who has never had the chance to step foot in the phillipines,
the author did a good job in including historical context of Philippines into the book. some parts might be a bit confusing for me but isn’t that what histories are for? to be told over the generations despite how “complex” it is. no worries though, mica de leon doesn’t do info-dumping.
although it took me some time to get invested into the story in the beginning, the story flows smoothly as it progressed. since i was busy while reading this book, it feels natural to get back into the story even after a while.
one thing that i wish could be more fleshed out in the book is the connection that rafal shares with and love that he has to the girl who ghosted him, because as much as i understand sophia’s standpoint seeing rafal having this last invisible wall that sophia can’t break through, i wish rafal’s adoration and feelings towards the ex could be more expressed over the whole story, so that i can understand why rafal has a really hard time letting go of the memory of and connection with the ex.
all in all, this was a great book from mica de leon. she writes romance with the necessary emotions to capture the readers heart and put readers in the shoes of her characters. i’d love to explore more works from her! thank you Penguin Books SEA for sending this to me 🪷
meant to be in manila is a story of two filipino, Sophia and Rafal meeting each other at the Vancouver Airport, meet-cute.. except it’s not a meet-cute at all because Rafal (a canadian-filipino stranger) found sophia WEEPING in the corner alone after being ghosted by her long-distance canadian boyfriend (who convinced her that he was going to marry her if she comes to canada), so rafal went to comfort sophia. fate brings them back together when they were seated next to each other in the plane back to Manila. rafal on the other hand finally is going to step foot on his homeland for the first time ever, in his journey of finding his online long-distance filipino girlfriend.. who woke up one day and chose to just cut him off.
sophia and rafal are strangers, yet somehow.. they feel connected with what they are going through and their predicament, so they eventually find themselves back to each other.
first of all, i’d like to appreciate how the plot doesn’t go: sophia is actually rafal’s long-distance girlfriend, because this would’ve been the easy way out and i can’t see imagine myself getting entertained by this coincidence. so yes, read this book, sophia and rafal are not each other’s online partner.
the story began with one similarity between sophia & rafal—taking a leap of faith for the person that they love—and the story continued to revolve around this theme, which is beautiful imo how mica de leon re-connected the later plot to what has happened in the beginning.
what i love the most about Meant To Be In Manila is how the characters are given ample and necessary time to process what happens in their life—which i think is extremely important in books because this is where the character development usually happens. the author doesn’t brush away her characters’ emotions, she painted the gloomy and dull feelings into a burst of colours that made this book one whole beautiful painting.
the fake boyfriend plot in MTBIM is really interesting imo; a half-filipino growing up in canada, we can see how rafal’s brain may have been wired differently than Sophia, a filipino living and growing up in the asian culture. for instance, sophia’s tita(s) never knowing how to mind their own business to the point that it frustrated sophia, seems to rafal like a boundary issue—though yes it can get to this—but deep in sophia’s heart she knows it’s how the tita(s) have been raised and it symbolises their love and care towards her.
there will also be MANY characters in sophia’s family, so i’d recommend you to read when you have the time to relax and chill and read, that way you can get immersed into the whole story with all the tita(s) shoving their head into your business affairs hihi.
since rafal is a canadian-filipino who has never had the chance to step foot in the phillipines,
the author did a good job in including historical context of Philippines into the book. some parts might be a bit confusing for me but isn’t that what histories are for? to be told over the generations despite how “complex” it is. no worries though, mica de leon doesn’t do info-dumping.
although it took me some time to get invested into the story in the beginning, the story flows smoothly as it progressed. since i was busy while reading this book, it feels natural to get back into the story even after a while.
one thing that i wish could be more fleshed out in the book is the connection that rafal shares with and love that he has to the girl who ghosted him, because as much as i understand sophia’s standpoint seeing rafal having this last invisible wall that sophia can’t break through, i wish rafal’s adoration and feelings towards the ex could be more expressed over the whole story, so that i can understand why rafal has a really hard time letting go of the memory of and connection with the ex.
all in all, this was a great book from mica de leon. she writes romance with the necessary emotions to capture the readers heart and put readers in the shoes of her characters. i’d love to explore more works from her! thank you Penguin Books SEA for sending this to me 🪷
August 17, 2025
I ate this up, Meant To Be In Manila reminds me so much of the meddlesome family members from crazy rich asians, it's a really fast paced one, fun, filled with history and good food. I feel like i'm being transported to Manila with all the places & foods mentioned here.
There're a lot of things (or dramas perhaps) to digest in the 2nd half of the book, but I really like the happy ending and fake relationship trope of this read 😍
There're a lot of things (or dramas perhaps) to digest in the 2nd half of the book, but I really like the happy ending and fake relationship trope of this read 😍
October 14, 2025
Mica De Leon delivered so much on this one! The Filipino culture representation was spot on—from the historical places, tourist spots, and even the mention of Filipino food (ehem Jollibee ehem halo-halo ehem)! It made me feel that I really took a trip around Manila (plus points how she also did her book launch for this, you should see the social media posts!). It also tackled Filipino customs, traditions, and even stereotypes. As a Filipino, I really got most of the references.
I love how the characters of Sofia and Rafael felt like they were actually real people, like you would surely see someone in your life that you know in them. Beyond the main characters, Sofia's family would really take you on a crazy ride—especially her titas (aunts). Her Lola Consuela was such a wonderful character to explore. I was blown away how at some point in the story, it showed a connection between Rafael and Sofia's family's pasts. Sooo worth reading! Plus, there's another twist still related to the two mains you wouldn't expect. You really have to pay attention to every detail in the story.
I had fun reading this book, it was such a fun, fast-paced read. Once I started reading it, I didn't want to put it down. If I were to compare this with Love on The Second Read, this was more mature, and you can feel Mica really bared her everything in writing this one.
Sometimes meant to be is not meant to be, but rather love at the right time and the right place with the right person.
Favorite quotes, probably:
"Sometimes, you live without closure and let the ghosts linger in your memories. Other times, you have to close the book yourself, let the ghost stay long enough to see that they don't scare you anymore, long enough to know that you've learned to live with them constantly hanging about, long enough to know when it's time to let go."
"How is it that those who were closest to us were those who could hurt us the most? Love was a dagger that could be turned against you."
"Love is simple. You choose to love somebody, you keep choosing to love her for the rest of your life, you know?"
I love how the characters of Sofia and Rafael felt like they were actually real people, like you would surely see someone in your life that you know in them. Beyond the main characters, Sofia's family would really take you on a crazy ride—especially her titas (aunts). Her Lola Consuela was such a wonderful character to explore. I was blown away how at some point in the story, it showed a connection between Rafael and Sofia's family's pasts. Sooo worth reading! Plus, there's another twist still related to the two mains you wouldn't expect. You really have to pay attention to every detail in the story.
I had fun reading this book, it was such a fun, fast-paced read. Once I started reading it, I didn't want to put it down. If I were to compare this with Love on The Second Read, this was more mature, and you can feel Mica really bared her everything in writing this one.
Sometimes meant to be is not meant to be, but rather love at the right time and the right place with the right person.
Favorite quotes, probably:
"Sometimes, you live without closure and let the ghosts linger in your memories. Other times, you have to close the book yourself, let the ghost stay long enough to see that they don't scare you anymore, long enough to know that you've learned to live with them constantly hanging about, long enough to know when it's time to let go."
"How is it that those who were closest to us were those who could hurt us the most? Love was a dagger that could be turned against you."
"Love is simple. You choose to love somebody, you keep choosing to love her for the rest of your life, you know?"
August 30, 2025
✅ Airport meet cute
✅ Strangers to friends to lovers
✅ Fake relationship
✅ Supportive best friend
The story follows Sophia on her way back to Manila after being ghosted in Vancouver by a guy she had been dating online. Then comes Raphael, also on his way to Manila, but in search of the girl who disappeared on him. By fate, they end up seated next to each other on the plane and that’s where their story begins.
This book gave me such a nostalgic feeling, like being transported back to those afternoons when I’d watch Filipino romcoms on TV with my mum and grandma. I loved how Mica De Leon wove in pieces of history, culture, places, and food, it made me feel like I was exploring Manila alongside Sophia and Raphael.
One detail that stood out to me was the ‘mano po’, a traditional greeting of respect to elders. It is a familiar gesture in Malay culture as well, where we take an elder’s hand and place it on our forehead (or sometimes kiss it).
The second half of the book definitely has its fair share of drama, but I liked how everything unfolded for Sophia and Raphael in the end. And while I don’t usually gravitate towards the fake relationship trope, it surprisingly worked for me here.
Overall, this felt like a heartwarming tale of fate, about finding the right person at the right time and realising that sometimes, things are just meant to be.
Thank you @penguinbookssea for sending me this review copy!
✅ Strangers to friends to lovers
✅ Fake relationship
✅ Supportive best friend
The story follows Sophia on her way back to Manila after being ghosted in Vancouver by a guy she had been dating online. Then comes Raphael, also on his way to Manila, but in search of the girl who disappeared on him. By fate, they end up seated next to each other on the plane and that’s where their story begins.
This book gave me such a nostalgic feeling, like being transported back to those afternoons when I’d watch Filipino romcoms on TV with my mum and grandma. I loved how Mica De Leon wove in pieces of history, culture, places, and food, it made me feel like I was exploring Manila alongside Sophia and Raphael.
One detail that stood out to me was the ‘mano po’, a traditional greeting of respect to elders. It is a familiar gesture in Malay culture as well, where we take an elder’s hand and place it on our forehead (or sometimes kiss it).
The second half of the book definitely has its fair share of drama, but I liked how everything unfolded for Sophia and Raphael in the end. And while I don’t usually gravitate towards the fake relationship trope, it surprisingly worked for me here.
Overall, this felt like a heartwarming tale of fate, about finding the right person at the right time and realising that sometimes, things are just meant to be.
Thank you @penguinbookssea for sending me this review copy!
September 24, 2025
Meant to Be in Manila is a FANTASTIC read. It’s probably my favorite Mica De Leon book! And here’s why 👀✨
• The characters are raw & humanized. I know some romance books tend to sugarcoat their characters, but MTBIM is unapologetically raw. The characters have personal struggles that are deeply rooted and very relatable. You might even find yourself saying, “Hey, that sounds like someone I know.” 😉
• Mentions of Manila & Philippine history! The way the story wove history into the narrative wasn’t forced at all—it flowed naturally, especially since Sophia is a history teacher. I even learned some new historical details from reading MTBIM!
• Love & ROMANCE! Okaaaay!!! The book didn’t just showcase romantic love—it also highlighted familial love. Sophia’s mother, Hannah & William—love that doesn’t judge, only accepts. And Lola Consuela! The woman that you are! 💖 Of course, the romance was there too—the kilig moments that made me squirm, squeal, and yearn for a Raphael! 🤭
• The characters are raw & humanized. I know some romance books tend to sugarcoat their characters, but MTBIM is unapologetically raw. The characters have personal struggles that are deeply rooted and very relatable. You might even find yourself saying, “Hey, that sounds like someone I know.” 😉
• Mentions of Manila & Philippine history! The way the story wove history into the narrative wasn’t forced at all—it flowed naturally, especially since Sophia is a history teacher. I even learned some new historical details from reading MTBIM!
• Love & ROMANCE! Okaaaay!!! The book didn’t just showcase romantic love—it also highlighted familial love. Sophia’s mother, Hannah & William—love that doesn’t judge, only accepts. And Lola Consuela! The woman that you are! 💖 Of course, the romance was there too—the kilig moments that made me squirm, squeal, and yearn for a Raphael! 🤭
September 14, 2025
4.75 stars
October 31, 2025
love the filipino themes !! but i want more intense kilig pls hahahaha this had more drama than i expected if u want smthn like that
January 3, 2026
“Learn to live without closure.” 🫂
slow burn romance :) rooted on filipino culture, family traditions & history
slow burn romance :) rooted on filipino culture, family traditions & history
October 26, 2025
Really good Mika De Leon book! I learned of this AFTER the Manila International Book Fair. I wasn’t able to get the physical book but that’s what Kindle is for.
Very nice and will easily remind you of nosey Filipino meddling family issues. I love that it involves other plots and stories of the family and not 100% concentrated on the romance.
Very nice and will easily remind you of nosey Filipino meddling family issues. I love that it involves other plots and stories of the family and not 100% concentrated on the romance.
January 4, 2026
This one's for the fake dating and history gurlies.
Never forget. 🩷
Never forget. 🩷
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews