{"title":"Mica De Leon","description":"\u003cp\u003eDiscover the heartfelt worlds crafted by \u003cstrong\u003eMica De Leon\u003c\/strong\u003e, where romance intertwines with the challenges of youth and self-discovery. Her stories, from tender love tales to gripping dramas set against vivid backdrops, explore the complexities of relationships and personal growth with genuine emotion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhether navigating the twists of first love or the echoes of history, readers can expect compelling characters and engaging narratives that balance passion and resilience. Ideal for fans of \u003cem\u003eGeneral Fiction\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eRomance\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eYoung Adult\u003c\/em\u003e, Mica De Leon’s works invite you to experience love and life with sincerity and depth.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"veins-of-power-by-mica-de-leon-9789815144291","title":"Veins of Power","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe returned gods of Kayumalon are the new currencies of power.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn Kayumalon, seed mages are a coin a dozen, but the god vessels are infinite.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eKalem\u003c\/em\u003e, once a simple, awkward germachemical scholar, has lived in the shadow of his father, the Obsidian Datu, all his life. Now, with the power of the earth god flowing in his veins, time is all he has, and he intends to use it to help his father change his country for the better.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut politics is a far different battlefield, and despite the problems the country faces now—invaders in the north, slave rebellion in the south, political instability in the east, blight in the west—it seems that all these bureaucrats care about is jostling for more power and impressing the king, whose pride and ambition could very well be their own downfall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt would take more than a legend, more than a good king, more than a mage, to navigate the treacherous twists and turns of Kayumalon court. Unfortunately, Kalem's enemies also have the power of the gods on their side.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46335665602796,"sku":"9789815144291","price":24.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/18784133485682.jpg?v=1743656814"},{"product_id":"love-on-the-second-read-by-mica-de-leon-9789815144031","title":"Love on the Second Read","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA workplace romance between a romance editor and an SFF editor set against the backdrop of the vibrant Philippine book publishing scene.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEmma Morales, tenacious romance book editor and proud cat lady, knows that love stories never come out perfect on the first draft—or the second or the third or the fourth. It's why, when she finds the most challenging romance manuscript of her career by the publishing house's biggest bestselling author in her inbox, she does not back down. Not even if the manuscript is also hardcore science fiction, a genre that her co-editor, SFF nerd Kip Alegre, knows all too well.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEmma and Kip have been in a friendly (ahem, flirty) protracted literary smackdown since her first day. When Emma throws down Jane Austen references, Kip gives her JRR Tolkien. When Kip invokes Emily Henry, Emma floors him with Brandon Sanderson. It's all fun and games until they are forced to work together on the genre-bending manuscript, and suddenly their literary smackdowns become petty shouting matches in the office and in front of the author who threatens to take back her story.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut with the company on the verge of bankruptcy, they will need this bestseller to convince their corporate overlords not to fold the publishing house forever.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEmma is not the kind to forgive and forget so easily, and Kip does not believe in second chances, but maybe, just maybe for this story, they'll give love a second read.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46740645282028,"sku":"9789815144031","price":28.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/18781533485682.jpg?v=1755550187"},{"product_id":"seeds-of-conquest-by-mica-de-leon-9789815144307","title":"Seeds of Conquest","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Vengeance of Gods,\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Price of War\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAnd a Country, Fighting Enemies\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nFrom Within and Without\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKalem—the Earth God's godvessel, bound by a promise made to his dead father—is the prospective ruler of Kayumalon. With the King indisposed and invaders breaching his country's northern borders, he leads a weakened country against an army of gods, determined to uphold his destined duty.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eYin—the Wind Goddess' godvessel, loyal only to her heart—must choose between her love for Lutyo, the Death God's godvessel, and her bloodlust for the King, to whom Lutyo is dutybound.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJinWun—the Fire God's godvessel, hungry for vengeance—betrays her queen, the Spider Empress, and defects to the enemy. After a lifetime of subjugation, she fights neither for love nor for duty but only out of fiery fury.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eSeeds of Conquest\u003c\/em\u003e, the epic finale of the first era of the Seedmage Cycle, amid the chaos of war, the people of Kayumalon are forced to prove their loyalties and to ultimately answer the question—what is duty if it's not born from love?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47016460878060,"sku":"9789815144307","price":28.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/18784293485682.jpg?v=1763596319"},{"product_id":"winds-of-war-by-mica-de-leon-9789815144284","title":"Winds of War","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSet in a sprawling world inspired by Philippine mythology and packed with myth, magic, and romance, \u003cem\u003eWinds of War\u003c\/em\u003e, the first book in the Seed Mage Cycle, follows the wind mage Mayin, who begins the epic fantasy saga of the seed mages of Kayumalon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe lost gods of Kayumalon are returning.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBefore the exodus of kings to Kayumalon, seed mages were revered by both strangelords and mortal men, their magic reserved only for the bloodlines the gods deem worthy. It was a time of peace and prosperity, but it was an age that had passed on into history and then myth and then superstitious whispers around the bonfire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNow, seed magic is cheap, the power of the gods reduced to a bottle of oil and borrowed magic mass-produced on magic plantations and coveted by enemies within and without.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLittle do they know that Kayumalon's fate will fall in the hands of a simple Dayo slave girl.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eYin knows that Masalanta Island Plantation is not home—though she longs to become a part of it, if only to be noticed by the island's most beautiful red-haired boy. All she knows is that she and her father have been on the run all her life, and no matter how many times she asks her father why, he would only warn her that the world means her harm.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen the boy does notice her, she follows him into the night against her better judgement and realizes too late that her father is right. She wakes up the next day, feeling like she had the world in the palm of her hands and power that any girl in her position could only dream about.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47016613052652,"sku":"9789815144284","price":35.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/18784063485682.jpg?v=1763604770"},{"product_id":"meant-to-be-in-manila-by-mica-de-leon-9789815266122","title":"Meant to be in Manila","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBefore Sunrise\u003c\/em\u003e meets \u003cem\u003eLove Hard\u003c\/em\u003e in this romantic comedy about a Filipino history teacher and a Canadian-Filipino urban architect exploring Manila in search of lost love—and falling in love along the way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBefore Sunrise\u003c\/em\u003e meets \u003cem\u003eLove Hard\u003c\/em\u003e in this RomCom set on a walking tour of Manila, Philippines.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSophia Eunice \"Piayaya\" Hermosa, a former Philippine history teacher and a believer in meant-to-be, is on a plane back home to Manila after being ghosted by her Canadian boyfriend—whom she uprooted her life for—just as she arrived in Vancouver, Canada.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRaphael Alfonso \"Rafal\" Herbert, an urban housing architect and artist, is going home to his father's homeland, the Philippines, to chase after the girl who ghosted him and convince her of his love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBy some miracle of the romantic comedy gods, Sophia and Raphael meet on the plane bound for Manila and strike a bargain to help each other with their respective ghost-ers. Raphael will pretend to be her fiancé at her brother's wedding, and Sophia will drive him around the city to look for the girl he loves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs they search for closure from their failed relationships and tour Manila along the way, it won't be long until they find out that they're exactly where they're meant to be—with each other.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47455623479532,"sku":"9789815266122","price":28.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/81LDFItlhHL._SL1500.jpg?v=1774789200"},{"product_id":"love-between-the-lines-by-mica-de-leon-9789815266146","title":"Love Between the Lines","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eEat, Pray, Love\u003c\/em\u003e meets \u003cem\u003eNo Reservations\u003c\/em\u003e in this romcom about a younger man and an older woman on a mission to find themselves again, set in several of the major landmarks of the Philippines.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKatharina Bautista—or Katha, which is also the Filipino word for fiction or art—is 37 years old. She has no money, no job prospects, and she's a burden to her brother. And she's frightened. But this was a problem of her own making. She did, after all, break up with her ER surgeon fiancé who was willing to support her.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMeanwhile, Nick Malvar, lead vocalist of the up-and-coming indie band Word Warlords, has been in love with his best friend's older sister since high school and had believed all this time that she's way out of his league. Until recently, when he found out about her broken engagement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKatha has every reason not to give Nick a chance. He's her younger brother's best friend, for one—she was practically his older sister! He's younger than her by seven years. He's the quintessential bad boy with the tattoos, the budding drinking problem, and the non-traditional job. Not to mention that he's got a long list of ex-lovers. 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