SIS (Social Issue Series) #4: Bullying They say that beauty is a luxury. That good looks is the only privilege that matters. That the world is only in favor of those who were born pretty. Sa panahon nga raw ngayon, parang kasalanan na ang pagiging less attractive. You're unappealing? Emotionally weak? Naive? How pathetic. Now you gotta deal with the consequences, loser. Sounds like bullshit? Yup. The truth may be harsh but it is what it is. Once you failed to reach the very high standards set by the society, you're doomed. Yara Isabelle got the deadliest combination of being unattractive, soft-hearted and innocent. But she used to get by and survive the bullying just fine. Because she got her knight-in-shining armor. Her childhood sweetheart. Not until he stopped saving her. Not until he stopped caring. Not until he got fed up of everything. Sky Edison used to be full of compassion. But that was before something terrible happened within their family. His perception had changed. He now finds it ridiculous that people let themselves get treated badly. However, the downside is that for some significant circumstances, these two have to share a condo as they enter senior high school. What could possibly happen given their situation? How would it feel like living under the same roof not with your bully but your former superhero who's now just a witness of your despair? How would it feel like going home to a place with a person who gets to see you getting bullied everyday at school? Wattys 2020 Winner under Young Adult Category

Lauchico 4: Brittian Teo Lauchico Brittian Lauchico proved that you can really never have it all. Despite his name and money, he could not make the mother of his child stay. Anong kulang? Saan siya nagkamali? He supported her showbiz career from the beginning but it wasn't enough to make Shivonne Pardo de Tavera stay in their life. On the other hand, Oliviana Lola Alerica, was struggling to survive by herself. Imagine, may siyan kang kapatid tapos lahat ay palamunin at walang pagkukusa? Luckily, opportunity strucked her, she became the nanny of Celine Lau ch ico, the only daughter of Brittian Lauchico. It was unexpected. It was all fun until Shivonne came into the picture again. Saan niya ilulugar ang sarili niya?

Iñigo Soledad de Merced is the most loved and admired among all the Soledad de Merced with his kindest smile and gentle soul, he could easily charm his way into anyone's heart if he wanted to. Confessions, gifts, and letters of declaration of love from his admirers were something he was used to having from the moment he was old enough to understand. He could have hundreds of admirers and receive thousands of love letters... Yet none of those would matter-not because he's arrogant and proud, but because Iñigo's heart already belongs to someone else. An anonymous girl named Ellie. One chain of emails. Thousands of exchanged messages. Four years of searching. And he finally found her... Elleriene Velasco-the only girl who made his heart skip a beat, and the only woman he ever loved. But there was only one problem. Iñigo was fooled. The Ellie of his dreams wasn't Elleriene Velasco... rather, it was Jordan Reverie, his brother's best friend and the woman who stole his first kiss. But time had already passed, and wounds had already healed, without even knowing, he had already lost his dream... his reverie. Iñigo lost her. He lost Jordan Reverie.

Elara Soledad de Merced thrives in attention and affection-being the youngest and only daughter, never once did she experience being set aside and treated as someone deemed unworthy. All her life, she was treated with utmost care and love. The princess with a perfect life who had never gone through hardship. Boys dream of her. Girls look up to her. Some hate her. Whatever she does, everyone follows. Second to none, rejection was something she was never familiar with, until him-her first love and the only man who ever rejected her. But not even her first rejection could stop her, so she pulls out her highest heels and her sparkly little dress, because what Elara wants, Elara gets. Luis Silvino Prodigalidad is what she wants, and she will get him, even if it means painting his hurricane into pink skies.

(Hearts in Harmony #1) Casey Keena Valeria doesn't believe in lasting love after being abandoned by her mother without any explanation. Growing up, she learned to depend only on herself-strong on the outside, fiery and competitive on the volleyball court, but so guarded when it comes to anything that could make her feel vulnerable. For Casey, love has always been temporary. Something that leaves. Something that hurts. Then comes Augustine Riel Chan. UST's golden boy. A rising basketball star. Confident, calm, and frustratingly persistent in a way that slowly gets under her skin. The question is, is she willing to risk everything... just to possibly get hurt again?

"𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐲." ~ Marriage was never for love-it was for legacy. A strategy. A performance. And for the Lombardis and the Morettis, it was the most calculated, showstopping alliance of the century. Roman Moretti, Don of the La Cosa Nostra, and Angeline Lombardi, only daughter of the French-Italian Mafia Capo, had been betrothed since her birth --matched to unite two empires under one crown. Hidden from the world, Angeline was raised to be the perfect wife. Groomed. Silenced. Controlled. She learned early that one misstep would strip her of everything-including her name. Everyone's first mistake? They underestimated her. Though no one had ever seen her, the world assumed the Lombardi Princess was a polished doll. Quiet. Disposable. Roman saw the marriage as a formality-another calculated step toward total dominance. He had no plans to love her. No plans to live with her. Just a wife on paper, tucked away from him elsewhere, summoned when needed for appearances. But everything changed the moment he saw her walking down the aisle. She was perfection. Untouchable. She would be his ruin, his weakness, his obsession, his motivation. His everything. But what if that had been her plan all along? Not everything buried stays dead. Not every identity is what it seems. In a world where saints become monsters and monsters are worshipped like gods, Angeline must decide what's worth saving: her bloodline, her love, or herself. ~ -HEA -18+ -Romance/mystery/thriller -No Cheating/OWD -DARK ROMANCE "OMYGOSH. This book was immaculate. I could NOT put it down at all. Every chapter was AMAZING, the writing is shakespears work and each chapter made me laugh, smile, cry so much and this whole thing was a rollercoaster of emotions." -@Sunfloweraate8

Coming out of an abusive marriage where she was assaulted for dowry, years later, Dhriti Diwan is a self made Billionaire. Saad Hafiz, a surgeon who hides an ugly past of his own agrees to marry the sister of his best friend. Two different people bounded in a marriage of convenience with a thread of pain. Will Dhriti ever be able to love again? What's going to happen when Saad gets to know about the body of his wife which is covered in burnt marks and bruises? Will he get repulsed by her? Dhriti considers herself unwanted, will Saad ever be able to love her?

Nothing prepares you for heartbreak that lands only hours before your wedding. One moment you are celebrating the last hours of single life, smiling at a future you trust. The next, you are staring at proof that the man you love has betrayed you. He says he is sorry. He pleads. Yet the picture of love you held so tightly fractures in an instant. Sports agent Fiorella Barella has more than one truth to uncover, and with her closest friends beside her, she is ready to pull at every thread until the whole story unravels.

Yvonne Maica Lim is an aspiring UAAP court side reporter for UST, she was so close to getting her football player crush after plotting on him for almost a year...but everything fell apart when she had to fake date the infamous star basketball player of the UST Growling Tigers instead. Book cover by cottonbro studio in pexels