Award-winning author Rose Bondoc never expected her career would take her back to St. James Polytechnic—the LA Catholic private school where her writing dreams began and her heart was first broken. Trapped by a sudden thunderstorm during a career day, Rose finds herself face to face with Jadon Montez, her high school crush turned school librarian. As the rain falls and memories rise, long-buried feelings surface, forcing them to confront what tore them apart—and what still lingers between them. Over one charged evening, Rose and Jadon rediscover the connection that once defined their youth. But with a thousand miles and a decade’s worth of emotional baggage between them, a second chance at love will take more than a few shared stories and heartfelt apologies. Told in dual timeline against the backdrop of Southern California and grounded in the Filipino and Latinx communities that shaped its protagonists, When the Rain Stops explores how the stories we tell—and those we hide—can shape our hearts. Link to Pinterest Mood Board: https://www.pinterest.com/hannahjornacion/when-the-rain-stops-womens-fiction-2025/

Requirements & Requests

What would make the current ending feel more satisfying? What would make for a more satisfying ending if this ending isn't satisfying?

Comparable Stories:

Inspired by Normal People by Sally Rooney, the movie Love and Basketball, and Tia Williams' Seven Days in June, When the Rain Stops is a 70,000-word second-chance contemporary romance that blends the emotional intimacy and narrative structure of Forget Me Not by Julie Soto with the cultural depth and creative passion of How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang.

Trigger Warnings:

Cheating, Forbidden Love