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GOLD MEDAL — 2025 Global Book Awards (Teen & Young Adult Literature)🏆
FIRST PRIZE — 2025 CHATELAINE ROMANCE
A Sweet, Slow Burn, Found Family, Coming-of-Age Tennis Romance Set in London in this outrageously fun Filipino-flavored romance
When Jomar's tennis ambitions crash into Mitchelle's wounded heart during one charmingly disastrous karaoke night, they'll discover that the biggest matches aren't played on courts—but in learning to love despite the ghosts of the past.
READER PRAISE
"Wow, I absolutely loved this book! That's all I did all afternoon! I'm amazed by how perfectly you describe Filipino food, how you write tennis like a pro, and how you bring London's sights to life. This will completely click with readers everywhere!" — Monette Andal🎾"I went in expecting a fun, Filipino-flavored rom-com and it delivered that in spades, but what surprised me was the tenderness beneath the humor. Jomar is such a lovable mix of confidence and cluelessness... It's witty, heartfelt, and just the right amount of swoony." — Maika🎾"A fabulous romance that captures all the delicious tension of young love! From the heart-fluttering uncertainty of first texts to those vulnerable first touches, this story perfectly evokes the magic and mishaps of new relationships." — Bob Hilty🎾
About the Author
Melanie King-Smith is a Filipino-American author based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Raised in California with deep roots in the Philippines, her writing explores what it means to carry two cultures in one heart — the longing, the pride, and the joy of belonging to more than one place.Trained in the culinary arts, her love of Filipino food weaves through her stories. For Melanie, food is more than flavor — it is memory, family, and the taste of home, no matter how far from home you are.Gihigugma, Ace of Hearts won the Gold Medal at the 2025 Global Book Awards for Teen and Young Adult Literature, won First Prize at the 2025 Chatelaine Romance Book Award, and was featured in the Philippine Pavilion at the 2025 Frankfurt Book Fair, where the Philippines was the Guest of Honor.
Meet the Cast
JOMAR:
Jomar Montalbano thinks he's ready for anything. A rising tennis star from the Philippines, he lands in London with one suitcase, one college scholarship, and zero idea how to survive without rice. He's counting on a few wins on the court—but definitely not falling for Mitchelle Tanner.MITCHELLE:
She's the quiet girl with a vintage camera, a craving for halo-halo, and a smile that hides as much as it shows. Half-American, half-Filipina, and fully impossible to read. He's used to power and control—but around her, he's completely unstrung.NOEL:
Noel Villegas is a British Filipino (Fil-Brit) who saves Jomar from a disastrous arrival in London. Both are exceptional singles players, but the odd couple must learn to be even greater doubles partners when the UCL Coach pairs them together.Fall in love with Jomar, Mitch, and Noel in this London tennis romance woven with Filipino culture, found family, and the search for home.For fans of Jenny Han's heartfelt emotion and Lynn Painter's witty banter.
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