A Match Made in Lipa — Carla De Guzman

Childhood friends reconnect as grown-up rivals -- and maybe something more -- in this witty Filipino romance from Carla de Guzman.

What's written in the stars isn't always the whole story…

Chocolate maker and shop owner Kira Luz isn't looking for love, but if fate leads her that way, so be it. When she randomly runs into her childhood crush, Santi, on vacation, it feels like the stars are trying to tell her something. Memories of their time growing up in Lipa -- not to mention the steamy kiss they share when they reconnect -- get her heart pounding. But she has to go back to Lipa while he's headed for Manila, and long distance is kind of an issue.

Until he moves back home…and distance becomes the least of their problems.

Estranged hotel heir Anton "Santi" Santillan is left adrift when his grandfather abruptly cuts him out of the family business. But he finds his footing again running a small niche hotel back in Lipa. The downside of living in his old hometown: it's no Manila, that's for sure. The upside: seeing Kira again. Kira, who loves food as much as he does. Kira, who loves kissing as much as he does.

Kira, whose family owns the property -- including her shop -- his grandfather wants him to buy out from underneath them.

Mixing love and chocolate and family just might get messy. And sometimes messy is exactly what fate had in mind.

The Laneways

Book 1: Sweet on You
Book 2: A Match Made in Lipa