“I’ve never tried it, but my dad has a bunch of times-” “What is it?” Max asked. That was one part of the scene, soon thereafter another Filipino dish is discussed. “That’s not the worst,” I started to say before I shut my mouth. I can’t eat pudding anymore because of that, no matter what color it is.” “I’m not going to be able to eat pudding anymore after that….” Mindy trailed off. My dad claimed it was dessert, like pudding. Its pig intestines, kidneys, lungs, heart, and the snout cooked in its blood-” At least four of them said a variation of “eww” that made me grin. “It’s a Filipino dish that my dad made me try.

I scrunched up my nose, remembering eating that way too clearly. I’ve had dinuguan-” “What’s that?” Max asked. They sell it all over the place in Houston.

That was good actually-” “Cow tongue?” that was Brittany. This spurred a discussion about food, in which Ruby started telling the friends about Filipino cuisine that her dad eats. They are ordering food and Aaron’s friend orders frog legs. At this point in the novel Ruby and Aaron have met up, are on vacation together and are out having dinner together with a couple of Aaron’s friends. The fact that Ruby is Filipino is only ever mentioned in one other scene, which is where things get really disrespectful. He says the humidity reminded him too much of the Philippines when he was a kid.” “The only reason my parents moved here (Texas) was because of my mom’s family. The main character, Ruby Santos, is Filipino which we find out about 9 % into the novel when Aaron and Ruby are emailing each other. It is a pen pals-to-friends-to-lovers story with a strong element of the legitimacy of online friendships. They get to know each other and become very close. To summarize the book is essentially about Ruby Santos and Aaron Hall who start emailing and texting while Aaron is deployed in Iraq. I really won’t recommend this book to anyone based on the comments made in this book, which will be discussed in more detail later. The couple did make me mushy and that is why I’m all the more disappointed that Dear Aaron is really disrespectful and problematic. Slowburn romance, online friendships, and just general cuteness. The plot and premise of the book check off a lot of boxes for me when it comes to things I want to find in romance novels. I really wanted to love Dear Aaron, I really did. Disclaimer: I’m not Filipino but I’ve consulted with a friend, who is a Filipino-American book blogger, about the issues I had with this book.

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