{"product_id":"the-villa-once-beloved-hardcover","title":"The Villa, Once Beloved - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eVictor Manibo\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA dark history is unearthed amid crumbling façades in Lambda Literary fellow Victor Manibo's new gothic tale of family, homecoming, and postcolonial vengeance . . .\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eSOME LEGACIES ARE BEST LEFT BURIED . . .\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eVilla Sepulveda is a storied relic of the Philippines' past: a Spanish colonial manor, its moldering stonework filled with centuries-old heirlooms, nestled in a remote coconut plantation. When their patriarch dies mysteriously, his far-flung family returns to their ancestral home. Filipino-American student Adrian Sepulveda invites his college girlfriend, Sophie, a transracial adoptee who knows little about her own Filipino heritage, to the funeral of a man who was entwined with the history of the country itself. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSophie soon learns that there is more to the Sepulvedas than a grand tradition of political and entrepreneurial success. Adrian's relatives clash viciously amid grief, confusion, and questions about the family curse that their matriarch refuses to answer. When a landslide traps them all in the villa, secrets begin to emerge, revealing sins both intimately personal and unthinkably public. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSifting through fact, folklore, and fiction, Sophie finds herself at the center of a reckoning. Did a mythical demon really kill Adrian's grandfather? How complicit are the Sepulvedas in the country's oppressive history? As a series of ill omens befall the villa, Sophie must decide whom to trust--and whom to flee--before the family's true legacy comes to take its revenge . . .\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eVictor Manibo\u003c\/b\u003e is a Filipino speculative fiction writer living in New York. A 2022 Lambda Literary Emerging Voices Fellow, he is the author of the science fiction noir novel \u003ci\u003eThe Sleepless\u003c\/i\u003e. His next novel, \u003ci\u003eEscape Velocity\u003c\/i\u003e, is forthcoming from Erewhon Books in Spring 2024. Find him online at victormanibo.com or on Twitter @victormanibo.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 352\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.16 x 8.45 x 5.87 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e November 25, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51987963805997,"sku":"9781645661382","price":27.39,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/0IdXsKjp7V9781645661382.webp?v=1776188454","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/the-villa-once-beloved-hardcover","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}