My Fiancé's Brother & Exclusively Yours by Jade Anne Franco

Celine knows that it wasn't love that brought her and Miguel together, but she is still thankful. Hindi lahat ng marriage for convenience ay ganito kadali. Napakadaling pakisamahan ng binata, napakatalino at napakaguwapo.

Pero nang isinama siya ng fiancé sa hometown nito at nakilala niya ang kapatid nitong si Lander, parang nag-iba na ang lahat. Kada makikita niya ang binatang ranchero, tila ba may ginigising itong kung anong emosyon sa dibdib niya - something wild and primitive.

And it is immensely wrong to let herself get affected like this by her fiancé's brother.

---o---

Sa PHR, bihira akong makabasa ng nobelang may intimate scenes. Maybe I just buy the wrong authors kaya wala akong na-eencounter na love scenes. Plus I think isa ang love scenes sa mga eksenang mahirap paikutan ng storya, so I guess mas madalas na love scene-less ang karamihan ng romance novels. Minsan, dahil corrupted ang utak ko (hahaha), tipo kong magbasa ng tekstong may love scenes, I usually observe, if not study, how these writers execute the physical union of their hero and heroines. So para makasiguro (hehe) akong may love scenes talaga ang babasahin kong libro, binili ko itong My Fiancé's Brother under MSV's The Man I Desire imprint.

So I'm not really sure how to do a 'review' about these kinds of novel, but I'm gonna try. Maybe I'll try making sense of how the guy and the girl fell in love rooting from the sex or their lust or whatever. Hindi ko alam kung talaga bang nakadodoble ng attraction or infatuation sa isang tao ang pakikipag-fornicate (lol) dito. Because surely, Jade Anne Franco's  Lander and Celine fell in love too soon. And I don't (necessarily) mean that negatively. Maybe it's the sex. Haha.

Wala na akong kaso sa "infidelity" issues dito, because it was clearly established by the author that Celine and Miguel were just getting married for the sake of business expansion. So okay na yun. And even the encounters between Celine and Miguel weren't too sparkly, so I didn't even have a tinge of empathy towards them as a couple. Very well played, Miss Writer.

It's such a wonder (both question and astonishment) how two people (and this goes out to almost all protagonists on romance novels) share a look and then bam, at the back of their minds they know there exists an understanding between them, and it just validates the irrationality of their next actions. Gustung-gusto ko yan sa mga romance novels natin. Ayun ang nangyari kina Lander at Celine. I liked how Lander was so confident about that understanding kaya nagsalo sila sa isang intimate moment nang maaksidente si Celine sa may burol.

And my goodness, that touching-of-the-moistness (hahaha, author's words) scene at the hidden waterfalls was supreme (I was gonna say divine, but divine is such a clean word for a dirty act haha).

Siguro yung mga nobelang may love scenes ay kailangang mas maging mahaba. I mean, honestly, nabitin ako dito dahil maiksi lang. Medyo hindi nabuild-up nang husto (sa ganitong kaso na maiksi ang teksto) ang hero at heroine, but I don't know, sabi ko nga, baka naaattach talaga ang dalawang tao sa isa't-isa kapag may nangyari sa kanila. That's the only thing I could think of kung paano sila kabilis nangyari.

At bilang corrupted nga ang utak ko, dumako tayo sa love scenes (bilang The Man I Desire din ito, hehe). I don't know the exact words to explain how the love scenes were written, but they were not explicit. It's explicit but it's not. Let me put it this way, ikumpara ninyo ang love scenes ng isang regular na romance novel at ang love scenes ng isang erotic novel. You'd know the difference. Semi-explicit na term siguro, pwede pa. The love scenes were also not euphemized. Kumbaga may pagka-graphic pero hindi nakakabastos basahin. Medyo may pagka-wild at pagka-cheesy rin, pero ang purpose ng pagka-cheesy niya is to lessen awkwardness and to romanticize the act albeit being erotic as a goal. Ang hindi ko lang masyado nagustuhan ay medyo parehong mga salita ang ginamit ng writer sa paglalarawan ng love scenes dito at sa love scenes ng sequel. Pero minimal na lang yun.

Ayoko nang i-spoil yung tunay na sex scene dito, basahin niyo na lang para mas mag-enjoy kayo. Haha. Logical naman ang ending: Lander went away, Miguel called the wedding off, Lander and Celine reunited, and Miguel's biggest news(sorry for the lack of better term haha) happened.

Rating: 3.25/5

---o---

"Sinadya mo ba iyon? Were you there to seduce me?" matalim na tanong ni Miguel sa kanya.

"You're the one who seduced me, how dare you!" asik niya.

"Does it really matter who did what?" mabilis nitong pakli. "Hindi sa nagmamalinis ako, Aleia, pero ano'ng inaasahan mo sa isang taong lasing at may naabutang halos hubad na babae sa kuwarto niya?"

Ginusto ni Aleia ng isang gabing kapiling si miguel, hindi mahalaga kung makilala man siya nito o hindi. Now that she got what she wished for, bakit hindi rin siya masaya?

Tawag lamang ng laman para sa binata ang ginawa niyang pagpapadama ng pagmamahal na kay tagal niyang kinimkim. Dapat inasahan na niya iyon...

---o---

Now, this is the fun part. Sobrang laki lang ng "screen time" ni Aya sa My Fiancé's Brother, so I had a hunch na this is gonna be something. I liked Aya on the first book. Nagustuhan ko rin yung scene na sinisigawan siya ni Lander dahil sa kiss marks niya. I knew something was going on, for sure may separate story itong si Aya. And I was right. Hindi ko alam na may sequel ang My Fiancé's Brother. Bihira lang din akong magbasa ng MSV novels. Ang galing magtago ng writer ng understanding between Aleia and Miguel. I didn't have an idea until the last few chapters. Akala ko iiwan na lang basta ng author si Miguel eh, buti na lang may sequel. Hehe. Nung nalaman kong may sequel si Lander, kinabukasan, sumugod agad ako sa bookstore dahil na-excite ako kina Aya at Miguel.

I like this novel better. Way better. Sa first book pa lang, may simpatya na ako kina Aya at Miguel as individuals. And super yay for the age gap dahil mas exciting ang love scenes. Haha! Kaya ko rin mas nagustuhan ito dahil mas solid ang relasyon ng dalawang bida. May past affiliation sina Miguel at Aleia, and then na-magnify (or better yet, nag-mutate) iyon sa present. Kumbaga hindi ka na magtataka kung bakit may admiration na si Miguel kay Aleia. May element of surprise (which ignited the desire) bilang dati, parang kapatid lang niya si Aleia, pero sa present, for the first time, Miguel sees the woman in Aleia.

Amusing din kung paano magdescribe ng isang babae ang isang lalaki. Sobrang natuwa ako kung paano inilarawan ni Miguel si Aleia nang makita niya ito after seven years. Maingat pero may pagka-manyak. And everything was a factor. Their age gap, their affiliation. Lahat. Kaya may thrill eh. Kaya mas nagustuhan ko rin ito. As for Aleia's feelings for Miguel... no question. Mahirap kalimutan ang first love.

Sobra ko ring nagustuhan ang first love scene nila. Tulad nga ng nasabi ko, maingat mag-describe ang author (siguro dahil na rin kailangang tumatak sa readers na Aleia is 10 years his junior), naingatan niya ang pagiging sagrado ng first time ni Aya, and more importantly, losing it to the man she had loved forever. Nagustuhan ko rin ang pagiging dominante ni Miguel. His character, compared to Lander, wasn't said to be very "ranchero", but surprisingly, he was more virile. I find the lovemaking between an innocent girl and an experienced man very romantic. Hindi ko rin alam kung bakit.

The love scenes were also written like the first book's. Semi-explicit. Siguro kapag nakuha talaga ng characters ang simpatya mo, itotolerate mo na lang talaga ang actions nila. They got married, and I found it rather appropriate. Ang baliw ko ba? Haha.

Their second love scene was bolder. Confident na si Aleia, they can clearly see each other's faces which made me more kilig (haha) at mas may puso na. Ang sweet (lol, haha) na marriage proposal, during fornication pa.

I loved how it ended: Lander throwing a fist at Miguel's face, Miguel running after Aleia, and Lander interrupting their moment by saying "Son of a bitch, Aya, since when did you learn to kiss like that?" SUPER WIN. Haha. Nagustuhan ko rin yung naka-ukang message sa bato from Miguel, Lander, and Aya. P.S. Sira-ulo si Lander. Hahaha! Hindi ako maka-get over diyan. I love their dynamic. Feeling ko tuloy, saling pusa lang si Celine dito. Hahaha!

I would also like to commend how fantastic the continuity was. Ang galing ng writer. Two different stories in one big mess of a situation. At salamat sa kanya dahil feeling ko mas precious sina Aya at Miguel kaysa sa bida ng Book 1. May hints kasi ang Mig-Aya (chos, nag-imbento ng portmanteau lol) sa Book 1, and I ship them. Haha.

Dagdag ko lang, Aleia is such a pretty name. :)

Rating: 4/5