Carla is turning 30, still single and unattached. One afternoon during their company's strategic teambuilding, she meets a son of her boss's boss: the 24-y/o Dante. They fall in love with each other. However, Carla thinks that, because of their age difference, the relationship will not go anywhere so they set some rules that can be summarized into: no strings attached.

The novel is definitely chick lit: easy read, shallow characters, thin plot. However, I guess that this is how chick lit should b More...

I highly recommend No Strings Attached.

*****

Nearly everyday and twice on Saturdays.

Finally. A Mina V. Esguerra read that fitted me like a glove. *happiness*

I enjoyed No Strings Attached mainly because of relatability. Carla and I were almost the same age, and we have the same birthday! But that was just a plus :D I got The Marriage Club and the pressure she experienced from her married friends to settle down. I can relate but I am on the other side of the fence: I belonged to that Marriage Club. More...

Nothing like a quick, sweet, light-read tale to give me the sense of relaxation on a rainy day!

I will be honest that I personally could not relate with the characters in this book, but it wasn’t an issue with regards to understanding Carla’s life. I was skeptical about her reaction towards turning thirty and yet not on the verge of settling down. It seemed a bit too fictitious to me. Although it was defined that she may’ve been just a late bloomer, yet again I find it kind of hard to picture. O More...

Had I read this first before Mina Esguerra's "That kind of Guy" could I have judged the character of Anton/Tonio easier? Or maybe tried not to undermine his psyche a bit longer. But he was all that I thought about when I read this book, he was a supporting character to the lead but his story in this book cleared a lot of cobwebs for me. I think I saw a pattern on how Mina writes her characters and her story. But before my emotions gets the better of me, I should clear it that this is about Carla More...

Carla is the perfect executive assistant. Although she hasn’t had the ambition to move up the corporate latter, she knows how to do her job well and is happy with her consistent performance. She is single though and turning thirty in a few months, as her barkada (group of friends) like to remind her. According to them, she should want more out of life. Of course, all of said friends except one are married, and Tonio is happy playing the field. Mary, Girl Best Friend, is hoping Carla will fall fo More...

This is the best Mina Esguerra book, hands down!

I liked how it started so unassuming, then surprised me from the events leading to the conflict all the way to the end. Out of all the female protagonists in her novel, I can relate with Carla the most. Well, I didn't lead a vicarious life the way she did, but it was more of the feeling of being myself---away from what family and loved ones expect or want me to be. The story felt like a coming-of-age for most of us Pinays where family, relatives a More...

{ Disclaimer: I'm rather biased, especially after meeting Dorothea (Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life), Becky Sharp (Vanity Fair) and Jane Eyre. Hah, apparently I don't know the "modern woman". Yes, I suppose I don't read much chick lit, so I can't properly judge this. }

This book is interesting, as it's not as gushy or romantic as opposed to other chick reads out there. It revolves more on the story, as opposed to the sparkling personalities and the sex (although the sex mentioned here is More...

Original post at One More Page

I attended my godsister's wedding yesterday, the second wedding I attended this year. I came out of my brother's wedding last October relatively unscathed with questions about my own wedding, but this time around, I wasn't so safe. For one thing, I was called for the bouquet toss even if I was trying to make myself scarce at that point (my godsister called me out). Then as we were saying goodbye to the newly weds and my godsister's parents, they were all saying to m More...

Originally posted here.

It's funny because the main character in this one reminded me somewhat of the main character in Amazing Grace. I think it's because they're both in their late twenties and they're both being pestered by friends to settle down and get married. That's a pretty accurate portrayal, actually. I'm in my mid-twenties and three of my friends got married this year. I'd like to think that the Philippines is more liberal nowadays but most people still believe that a girl should be m More...

No Strings Attached is one of my Required Reading for this month, and it is such a short and quick read, I should have added one more book to my list. Anyway, this book, despite its shortness and quickness, is a little mature for my expectations. I mean, I am no prude when it comes to books like this but I was expecting a more conservative heroine, perhaps? Maybe because the other Mina V. Esguerra books were a little less daring than Carla.

There are a lot of issues in Carla's life that I don't r More...

I do enjoy a well-characterized romance novel once in a while, and Mina V. Esguerra's No Strings Attached is a quick, one-day diversion that offers a lot in terms of intelligent characterization within the short novella form. However, the main quibble I had with the story itself lies in the fact that it is too short.

The story is about Carla, a smart, professional woman who meets an attractive man named Dante during an office party. Sparks fly immediately despite their age difference (isn't it st More...

My head was still reeling from the effects of 1984 so by way of "cleansing the palate", I decided to pick up an easy, fun and light read. A quick glance at the books lined up in my office cubicle yielded positive results: my gaze fell upon my signed copy of No Strings Attached by Filipina author (and fellow mommy!) Mina V. Esguerra, which copy was given by a fellow Goodreads member, Tina, in July last year. So, remembering that I made a (new year's reading) resolution to read more local books More...

As said on the synopsis, Carla's turning big three oh soon... but does it mean she can't find love? Or shall I say, true happiness? Nowadays, Age doesn't really matter. Some couple have 10 years age gap. Weird Right? But it doesn't really matter. Her two best friends Tonio and Mary were there, to support her. Mary to find her a potential husband and Tonio to give her fling advices. But one extraordinary day has turned her world in a different view. She met Dante del Rosario. A guy five years you More...

I think I am so used to cliched stories that this did not go at all the way I expected it to go. I couldn't read the characters well and just from reading the blurb, I thought this relationship would go down quite differently. Although I think the main character took her bunso complex a little too far. Got kinda annoying. I guess it is sort of how I imagined real life relationships to go. Easy read, quite short.

It was fun reading "That kind of guy" before this one. I was more interested in what Anton would say than Carla and now, I have fairly good view of what Anton was really like and um... Julie.

It was okay. I'd call it another one of my "snack" books.

i can relate to that....i have something in the past that my bestfriend and i were together we had something but in the end were had nothing but jealous and jealousy is the beginniing of the end of every relationship......

This book reads a lot like me, most of the time. I liked it a lot for that reason alone. ;-)

"I was in my late twenties, stuck in a cycle of complacency about everything." BOOM.

"It was one thing to be single and not eager to marry; another thing to be unsure, even at my age, if that was what I wanted."

Not really one of my favorites, but it was okay. I couldn't relate on what Carla was going through--a phrase on the age of almost turning 30 yet still single--and I don't want to experience something like that. I didn't find anything catchy in the story, my own opinion really. But even though I haven't experience something what Carla undergo through, I could still imagine myself being her. Her--the single woman trying to settle down, etc, etc. The author conveyed the book's essence: love didn't More...

Every girl would want to be in Carla's shoes. Not the cheesy romance but definitely something amusing that will keep you believing in LOVE and that Age doesn't matter.really.

I hope it was longer but yeah, for a tiny book like that, it was a good one. Nice writing there, Mina Esguerra :)

Actually. This is my third Mina Esguerra's book and I actually found it awesome.
Review to follow. :)

I wish I could just met someone just like Dante who was very understanding. Less-drama, more love! ♥

It's a fun book, but I only wish it didn't end up that way...

I love how Mina writes this one. Better than My Imaginary Ex so it is a must-read. Those who are in late twenties can relate.

As always, Mina Esguerra didn't fail to make me feel good while reading her book. I fell in love with Dante. :)

Ha! I really love this book. It's so fun to read and I love Dante :)

Challenges:
Book #145 for 2011

2.5 stars