Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - Full Moon Over Freedom

I find Angelica Lopez's integration of contemporary themes with Mexican spiritual/magical beliefs to be wonderfully compelling, and something that no one is really doing in the romance space. It's utilized so well in Nicky and Gillians story, and yet there's also room made for excellent character development and some HOT scenes as well.

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sailormar's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Beautifully written, a cast of characters to love, shake your head at, then love again, the hard fought personal growth, and the sexy steamy hot chemistry between the main characters - WOW. bonus points if you like healing family wounds, witchcraft/brujeria, and ghosts.

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katiemack's review

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't like this one as much as the previous installment--probably because Alex is a more appealing character than Gillian and because the story here is more fractured and difficult to follow. The chemistry is certainly palpable, though, and the second-chance romance trope works smoothly. There's also some magical realism mixed in with the romance that continues the theme of ghostly mischief from book 1--the appearance of La Llorona and other spiritual elements is intriguing, though Gillian and Nick getting physical during the appearance of said elements feels...icky?

This is a solid second installment in the series, so grab this if you enjoyed the first one. Can't wait to read Sissy's book!

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yourbookishbff's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

What I loved: beautiful exploration of the complex feelings of growing up in a small town and whether or not you have to leave to find yourself, nuanced examination of Mexican-American history in the Midwest and the challenges in building generational wealth for marginalized folks, excellent reflection on the trauma of children who "parent" younger siblings due to familial circumstances and the resulting life-long impacts of these experiences.

What I strongly disliked: the intimacy and how it seemed to distract from emotional development rather than contribute to it, the mystery twists at the end that felt overdone, and the use of hygienic language during a discussion of STI status (MMC says he's "clean" for her).

I will also note the storyline involving the FMC's autistic son occasionally used language that needed a sensitivity check with an autistic reader (description of him as high functioning vs having low support needs, etc).

Overall, this just felt uneven, and while I loved Lopez's return to Freedom, I struggled with the romance between our MCs.

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tostita's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This steamy, heartfelt, magical story of a woman reclaiming her power is even better than the first book in the series (and I loved After Hours on Milagro Street). The story features a second chance romance between childhood friends turned young lovers; a single mother and a smoking hot artist; a toxic ex; a fake engagement, but not between the two main characters; magic, history and a challenge to contemporary power structures. I thoroughly recommend it.

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