PUBLISHED UNDER MANILA POP Young Love Series #1: Mearah June Escalera Romantic love is different for every person. For Mearah June Escalera, she believes that only those who are unique and special can experience it. Love is certainly not for someone like her--an average girl who, if in a movie, can only be an "extra." Hinding-hindi s'ya magiging pasok sa criteria ng pagiging "main character." As June continued believing that no one can ever see her as someone special, she found herself being confessed to by the guy she least expects to have interest in her. Will Mearah June realize that she's capable of being loved? Or will she continue believing that she's not worthy of being the "main character"? Started: June 24, 2021 Ended: July 5, 2021 Cover illustration by: @Zirree

PUBLISHED UNDER MANILA POP Young Love Series #2: Neariah July Serrano Art is subjective. As an Arts and Design student, Neariah July Serrano has always thought that the most beautiful form of art is love---unpredictable, sometimes cunning, sometimes inspirational, and sometimes destructive. But most of the time, love feels like it completes a person. Love is unpredictable. This is what she believes in. Because when she fell for her friend, she hasn't thought about falling for someone else. . .yet she did. As July continues to encounter obstacles with her friend whom she's been crushing on since the school year started, she found herself suddenly falling in love with another guy. Will July finally be loved this time around? Or will it be like a cold day in July? Started: July 6, 2021 Ended: September 8, 2021 Cover illustration by: @Zirree

PUBLISHED UNDER MANILA POP Young Love Series #3: Journey Rae Sobral Journey Rae Sobral or Joey has always been a hopeless romantic. She thinks that love is always about a butterfly-filled stomach and a fluttering heart. Hindi pa man n'ya nararanasan ang magmahal nang totoo, marami na s'yang iniisip na pakiramdam ng tunay na pagmamahal. She has always believed her ideals on love. . .not until she fell for him. As Joey finds conflict with her feelings, she found herself falling deeper in love with the guy she has always had concealed feelings for. Will Joey finally discover the difference between her ideals and real love? Or not? Started: September 11, 2021 Ended: October 25, 2021 Cover illustration by: @Zirree

PUBLISHED UNDER MANILA POP Young Love Series #4: September Elizabeth Ferreira September Elizabeth Ferreira has always hated life. One moment, everything is falling apart. The next thing she knows, she's being confessed at by someone she cannot even recognize because everything she sees doubles because of alcohol. September drank that night and everything sure was blurry to her. Her memory is foggy and she definitely forgot about everything that happened---even the mysterious guy who wore a dark hoodie and a black leather watch. As September tries to recall everything that happened the night she got wasted, she found herself discovering the truth little by little. Will September remember everything that happened that night? If she does, will the truth make her life a lot better? Or not? Started: November 20, 2021 Ended: November 20, 2021 Cover illustration by: @Zirree

War Series #2: Hiel Sebastian Lara Cervantes Pretty, kind, and friendly, Rinnah Selene Jimenez is always loved by the people around her. In the process of meeting new people, she finds herself falling in love with her childhood friend, Hiel Sebastian Lara Cervantes. *** Rinnah met Hiel, her mom's best friend's only son when she was five. When she landed her gaze on his pair of innocent mysterious eyes, Rinnah swore to be the best older sister for Hiel. She already made up her mind: she is going to protect him and to always be there for him--like family. Even after her family migrated to Massachusetts, she did everything to maintain her friendship with Hiel. As Rinnah continues her efforts on being by Hiel's side, she slowly realizes that her heart is starting to beat irregularly for him. Will Rinnah prevent herself from falling in love with him? Or will she let her feelings grow for her long-time childhood friend?

Karaminah Viel Trajano has always been told that she's... peculiar. She just doesn't like the things that girls her age are expected to like. But she loves writing... that's probably the only normal thing about her. Problem is, her parents do not support her 'career' of choice. For them, it's nothing more than a hobby. It's either she follows their steps and become a lawyer or become a lawyer. She chose neither. Now, she's forced to work to make a living. But she's not really made for work. Given the choice, she'd spend the day daydreaming about her scripts and characters. Fortunately, someone offered her a job... Madali lang naman daw ito. Magiging 'manager' daw siya ng basketball team. She agreed... After all, how hard could it be to manage a bunch of boys who spend their days running back and forth on a wooden ground... right?

A dumb suggestion from my friend says that there's a foolproof method to know whether you like someone romantically or not. It's simple. All you have to do is close your eyes, think of that person, and imagine kissing them. Kapag nandiri ka, e di hindi mo gusto. But if the opposite happened, e di, delikado ka na. I'm a hundred percent sure that I only see Chio Cervantes as a friend. I just got confused because he's suddenly everywhere right after my ex-boyfriend got into a relationship with a girl he told me not to worry about. Besides, hindi ko rin siya type. He's noisy. He's shameless. He procrastinates a lot. He likes wiping the sweat off his forehead and wipe it on my arm. He drives with both his hands which somehow doesn't look appealing . . . and for some reason he doesn't refuse picking me up even when it's late at night. He always brings an extra handkerchief because I keep on forgetting mine along with a shirt I can borrow in case I need to change. He brings me good food to take my mind off deadlines. He doesn't hesitate to communicate his feelings and I honestly envy him for that. And he makes me laugh. Whatever. But just to be sure, at dahil madali lang namang gawin 'yong method, I closed my eyes and imagined his lips against mine. I realized one thing after opening my eyes. I'm in deep trouble and there's no way of getting out. BETWEEN YOUR LIPS AND MINE Cervantes Series Second Generation #1 2022, ynativity