Book Review: Love Your Frenemies by Mina V. Esguerra

One of my reading resolutions this 2014 is to include as many novels written by a Filipino author in my target of reading at least 20 books this year. I wasn’t able to go on a break last Christmas so I decided to just stay at home on the first couple of days of January. Because of this, I was able to read Love Your Frenemies in one sitting! I can’t remember when was the last time I did that.

Kimmy Domingo was the kind of girl everyone hated and envied -- until her fiancé dumped her a week before their wedding. Soon after, she quit her job, hopped on a plane, and just hid from everyone who knew her. A year later and she's back in Manila to be maid of honor at a wedding she can't miss.

Kimmy's home because she's ready to start over, but she also knows that some people at that wedding were responsible for the mess her life turned out to be. The first step to recovery? Cutting off the ones who caused her troubles to begin with: her best friend and her first love. 


Love Your Frenemies is definitely not your usual romance novel. For one, Kimmy is not a character molded from a typical protagonist. She's edgy, flawed and very troubled. She’s the hero and also the villain at the same time. I am sure that a lot of girls can relate to her, whether you’re the kind of girl everybody loves to hate or the heartbroken damsel in distress who just wants to disappear.

And Manolo!!! I first heard of him when Mina launched an online contest last year wherein she asked her readers who their favorite guy character is. Once in a girl’s life, she will stumble upon a “bad boy” who will turn her world around. Manolo is the epitome of this kind of guy!

The author managed to make her readers kilig even with the absence of those hormones-inducing scenes. I also loved the way she built and transitioned each character throughout the book. More importantly, I loved that this book also speaks about family and friends. Mina translated into words what a girl BFF is willing to do for her friends. More than the love angle, I appreciate the self-discovery of Kimmy. More often than not, we tend to push away people without knowing that they are the ones who care the most about us. ;-)


P.S.
Aubrey, if you get to read this post, please grab a copy of this book!!! It’s only PHP175 at National Bookstore!!! :p