The author of The Key to Happily Ever After–“a true gem filled with heart, laughs, and a cast of delightful characters” (Nina Bocci, USA TODAY bestselling author)–returns with a heartwarming and charming novel about a woman who travels to the Philippines to reconnect with her long-lost family…and manages to find herself along the way. Diana Gallagher-Cary is at a tipping point. As a … at a tipping point. As a Washington, DC, OB/GYN at a prestigious hospital, she uses her career to distract herself from her grief over her granny’s death and her breakup from her long-term boyfriend after her free-spirited mother moves in with her. But when she makes a medical decision that disparages the hospital, she is forced to go on a short sabbatical.
Never one to wallow, Diana decides to use the break to put order in her life, when her mother, Margo, stumbles upon a box of letters from her grandfather, Antonio Cruz, to her grandmother from the 1940s. The two women always believed that Antonio died in World War II, but the letters reveal otherwise. When they learn that he lived through the war, and that they have surviving relatives in the Philippines, Diana becomes determined to connect with the family that she never knew existed, though Margo refuses to face her history. But Diana pushes on, and heads on a once-in-a-lifetime trip that challenges her identity, family history, and her idea of romantic love that could change her life forever.
Infused with Tif Marcelo’s signature “sexy, adorable, and heartfelt” (Kate Meader, USA TODAY bestselling author) voice, Once Upon a Sunset is a moving and lyrical celebration of love, family, and second chances.
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A lovely, vivid, insightful read that focuses on Filipino-American characters. I don’t think I’ve ever read any fiction that focuses on Filipino characters, only history.
Diana and her mother Margo are very different people, now living together after the death of Margo’s mother and Diana’s grandmother. Margo is an artist, and seems to drift through life always looking for art, which drives focused, disciplined Diana crazy.
So Margo is recovering from her mother’s death while Diana is dealing with divorce, and then a situation comes up at the clinic where she works as a doctor, delivering babies.
While the two are dealing with the emotional fallout, and their lack of communication, a total bomb drops in their lives: it turns out that Margo’s father apparently didn’t die in WW II: he returned to the islands . . . where he had another family.
Further, Margo’s mother knew it.
And so begins a quest for Diana to find out about the roots she never knew she had, and Margo also goes. Their adventures are interspersed with Antonio’s letters, and then Leora’s, adding poignancy to the present-day story.
Every twist was unexpected. Marcelo creates characters with insightful details, breathing life into them with kindness and compassion. Even the sharp moments are so beautifully realized.
I couldn’t put this book down.
Tif Marcelo does it again. Once Upon a Sunset balances a tragic family secret with a hopeful future, wrapped in an authentic mother-daughter relationship. Grab some sunscreen, dip your toes in the sand, and dive into this sublime beach read.
I was completely drawn into this poignant story of self-discovery, family secrets, forgiveness, and opening one’s heart up to the possibility of happily ever after. I fell in love with each of the characters, won over by their candor, their vulnerability, their courage, and their accepting hearts. The setting of the Philippines, with its unique culture, language, and history, added another layer to this enthralling story.
Diana is having a hard time with life. A breakup, her grandmother dying, and getting in trouble at work. While going through her grand mom things, Diana and her mother Margo find letters from her grandfather. Diana decides it is a good time to go to the Philippines and find out what happened to her grandfather. This was a heartwarming story of family. Diana and Margo have a troubled relationship like a lot of mother and daughters and I found it so very real.. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.
A very quick hard to put down book. I had read her previous book and liked it so I was excited to be offered the opportunity to read this one. I thought the story and characters were interesting. Definitely recommend! Thanks to the author and Netgalley for the early copy
This was a wonderful novel about family! So much has happened in Diana’s life. She’s lost her grandmother, her boyfriend, and possibly her job. She discovers that she has relatives she didn’t know about in the Philippines. She wants to go there to find out the truth. But her mother doesn’t want to go along. The story revolves around family, love, and forgiveness. There are touching moments and sad moments. But there are also fun and humorous moments as well.
Tif Marcelo, the author of ‘The Key to Happily Ever After’ returns with a heartwarming and charming novel about Diana, an OB/GYN physician whose life is disrupted – first by a decision she made professionally against the hospital administration, then a recent break up from a long term boyfriend, her mother Margo moving in, then finally a recent shocking discovery of love letters found after her grandmother’s death.
The letters were from Antonio Cruz, her grandfather written in the 1940’s whom they were told had died during WWII – however, the dates in those letters proved otherwise. Taking a short sabbatical from the hospital, she travels to the Philippines to discover and learn about her living relatives. In the journey to the islands, she discovers much more than a new found family…
In Tif Marcelo’s signature style incorporating the intricate relationships of family, relationships, food and love, I was transported not only in time of a long lost true love, but also to the bustling sights and sounds of Metro Manila and the beautiful sunsets I have longed for that brought me back to a simpler time.
Part historical fiction and part literary and women’s fiction, Marcelo delivered a highly personal story inspired by her own grandfather. Also mentioned in this story were the Filipino Farm workers in Central California as well as the Fist and Second Filipino Infantry Regiments of the US Army.
Once Upon a Sunset will sweep readers up in a heartfelt story of long-lost family secrets and bright new beginnings that spans from World War II to today. I always look forward to a new book from Tif Marcelo!
What a sweet, heartwarming escape. Tif adds depth to romance, introducing us to wonderful characters and a beautiful setting.
Two strong, independent, successful women have their lives turned upside down and travel to the Philippines with the hopes of finding relatives that they never knew they had. Diana and Margo have a wonderful and realistic daughter/mother relationship. While Diana works as an OBGYN, coming home to her dog and a house under renovations, Margo is retired and has many followers on Instagram. They live together, argue like mother/daughters do, but they also support and love each other without any questions.
As Diana follows her heart and tries to learn more about a grandfather she never knew she ends up learning more about herself. She opens herself up to new adventures, new family members, and new relationships. Diana doesn’t push the friends she has away, she instead embraces their support and looks to them for advice as she moves forward in her life. I am in awe of how strong she is, even when she is stumbling, and how much she is willing to push herself out of her comfort zone to find the answers that she really wants.
Margo is more cautious. While she lives a fun retired lifestyle, she is cautious about opening up a history that is not what she expected or was told. She is not sure that knowing about her father, who she was told died long before he did, is something that she is willing to open her heart to. Her amazing friends, who are working on their combined bucket-list, support her and push her to find out about her past and be there for her daughter.
Once Upon a Sunset is the second book by Tif Marcelo that I have read and I am excited to see what she writes next. With each of her books I have met amazing characters, been introduced to wonderful settings, and read a perfect story.
Diana has caused some trouble at the hospital where she is a physician. So, she is “sort of” on a vacation. After her mother, Margo, discovers some old letters from WWII, Diana decides to take a trip to the Philippines.
Give me a family mystery any day and I am sold. I have enjoyed all of Tif’s books. This one has some of the best characters. I loved Diana’s mother. She was a mess. She and Diana had some great exchanges and conversations. I laughed out loud at some of their antics.
This is a heartwarming tale about family and love. I did think part of this story was far fetched especially when the family money comes into play…you must read this to find out. But, it is a very good, quick read! Grab your copy today!
Diana’s life isn’t going exactly the way she planned. Her long-term relationship ended, her Mom, Margo, has moved in with her, and a judgment call has her on a leave of absence from the hospital where she is an OB-GYN. While going through her Mother’s things, Margo discovers letters that upend everything she thought she knew about her parents and the father she thought died in WWII. Not one to do nothing, Diana jumps into finding out what happened to her Grandfather, uncovering a family they never knew in the Philippines. Margo and Diana disagree on what to do next, but ultimately both travel to the Philippines to find their roots and try to understand why Antonio Cruz never came home to his daughter and the love of his life.
Margo and Diana are opposites in the way they approach life, but both are looking to understand who they are and where they fit in their lives, the Filipino culture, and their new-found family. I enjoyed the way Tif Marcelo wove the different strands of the story together and created a cast of interesting and complex characters. The story was told in the alternating viewpoints of Diana and Margo, and it was illuminating to see the way each approached life and their relationships. I also liked seeing how each character grows and changes as they move through the novel as they realize it’s okay to try new things and open up to new people and relationships. Marcelo’s descriptions of the Philippines made me feel as if I was there with the characters.
ONCE UPON A SUNSET is a heart-warming and delightful novel that kept me turning pages as I raced to the end.
#GalleryBooks #NetGalley #OnceUponASunset #TallPoppyWriters #BloomReads #TallPoppyReviewer #TallPoppyBlogger
good read indeed.
Layered and touching.
My full review is at maidamalby.com
Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “Once Upon A Sunset” by Tif Marcelo, Gallery Books, March 2, 2020
Tif Marcelo, author of “Once Upon a Sunset” has written an entertaining, enthralling, riveting and romantic novel. The Genres for this novel are Fiction and Romance. The time-line of the story takes place in the present and goes to the past when it pertains to the characters and events. The story takes place in Washington and the Philippines. The author describes the characters as complex and complicated. There are dark secrets, twists, and turns, and surprises, that will cause major changes.
Diana Gallagher-Cary loves her job as an OB/GYN and makes a choice one busy night, that can affect her career. Diana is still mourning the loss of her grandmother and adjusting to her creative Mom moving in with her. She is also experiencing the loss of a boyfriend that she had lived with for many years. Margo, Diana’s Mom finds a box of letters and discovers that her grandfather Antonio Cruz, believed to have died during World War Two, actually survived and wound up living in the Philippines. Margo’s Mom had brought her up as a single Mom.
With this new information, Diana and Margo leave to the Philippines, to try and understand the family dynamics. There is a new family for them to meet, and they would like answers to questions that were never answered.
I love the way Tif Marcelo vividly writes and describes the beauty of the countryside, and the character’s personalities. This is a book about second chances, forgiveness, finding oneself, the importance of family, love, and hope. Just sometimes you have to take a step out of your comfort zone, to find what you are truly seeking. I would highly recommend this thought-provoking novel for those readers who enjoy an entertaining and delightful read.
Once Upon a Sunset by Tif Marcelo is a wonderfully heartwarming novel about family, love, acceptance, forgiveness, and finding yourself. This book also is about how your past (or finding out your true past) doesn’t define you.
Diana finds herself at a crossroads in her life when she is placed on leave from her job at a hospital in D.C. after a situation occurs while she is at work. With her job in question, her relationship ending, she and her mother, Margo, find letters from her grandfather, Antonio, to her grandmother during WWII. What they thought was the fate of Antonio, actually is found to be false. They find out he actually did not perish and that there are surviving family members in the Philippines.
Diana decides that there is no better time to explore this part of her life and travels there to find the answers that she needs: who is she, where did she come from, what really happened, who are these long-lost relatives?
The descriptions of the beauty of the landscapes were breathtaking. I could feel the beauty radiating from the pages. I would love to travel there.
I enjoyed the subplots of the new relationship that Diana experiences, the mystery and intrigue of what really happened and why, as well as the transformation of not only Diana but also of her relationship with her mother. It was at times raw and emotional. I felt for both women (Margo and Diana) and could see how both viewpoints were reasonable yet so different. I am happy that they were able to work through these issues to come out at the end stronger with themselves and each other.
This was a fast read (only because I could not put it down) and I was able to finish this in two days (with a few less hours of sleep that were happily sacrificed).
I enjoyed the characters, the destination, the flow and pacing of the book as well as the plot. I enjoyed the ending as well.
A great read not just for a little romance, but also for anyone that enjoys a little historical fiction, and mother-daughter relationships.
I am now going to look for additional books written by Ms. Marcelo.
Great book! 5/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.