26-year-old Crissy Lopez’s life is in dire need of a makeover. Her wardrobe revolves around ratty shirts and beat-up sneaks; her grueling schedule as a TV Executive leaves no room for a social life; and worst of all, she’s still hung up on the Evil Ex who left her five years ago.
When her fashionable grand-aunt passes away and leaves behind a roomful of vintage stuff, the Shy Stylista inside Crissy gradually resurfaces. Soon, she feels like she’s making progress — with a budding lovelife to boot! But the grim ghost of her past catches up with her, threatening to push her back into depression. To finally move on, Crissy learns that walking away is not enough. This time, she needs to take a leap of faith.
I’ve been seeing a lot of good things said about Agay Llanera‘s writing. I’ve one-clicked all her books since then, but it wasn’t until I grabbed copies of her print books at the Manila International Book Fair that I finally got to read my first Llanera book, Vintage Love. And wow, weren’t they ALL right about her.
Llanera’s writing makes me feel as if I’m reading about a friend, about someone I care about and that I am sincerely cheering on. And those were the feelings that stuck with me from the first few pages of Vintage Love. Crissy was a very charming hero, relatable and fun with all of her hang ups, her insecurities, with her little triumphs. This was a girl I knew, maybe even someone I’ve been myself at one time before, and I liked seeing her trying, seeing her make her mistakes and learn from them. It’s a sweet story that was very real, and I can’t wait to get back my copy of Once Upon a Player (from my friend who is also now clearly a big Llanera fan) so I can continue binge-reading this awesome author.
Vintage Love and Once Upon a Player are both available in print in bookstores in the Philippines. You can get the ebook versions on Amazon 🙂
About the author:
Agay Llanera is a freelance writer for television and video, and a published writer of children’s books. She is a member of KUTING, a private, non-stock, non-profit organization, which aims to be the Philippines’ foremost writers’ organization for children. Email her at agay.llanera@gmail.com and visit her blog at agayisagirl.blogspot.com.
