Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Ander and Santi Were Here

Ander and Santi Were Here is a beautifully devastating story about family, heartbreak, joy and love. I adored Ander and Santi and I enjoyed every second of watching their relationship develop. At first, it seems like the book is going to be a light-hearted (and a lil raunchy) queer rom-com but it’s so much more than that. The topics of immigration and deportation are explored in such a profound and impactful way. Those moments in the book were heart-wrenching, I won’t lie I cried a lot, but the hope and love that Ander and Santi had despite everything was so beautiful. I also loved how normalized queerness was in this story. It was so refreshing to see all of Ander’s friends and family not only accept them but also celebrate their identity, and to have a character that is not afraid to be bold and take up space. Coming out stories are definitely important, but it made me happy to have queer joy centered so much in this book. The writing in this story was beautiful, I felt so connected to Ander’s art, their family and their relationship with Santi. This is a powerful read and one you won’t want to miss.

Content Warnings

imstephtacular's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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michelle_my_belle's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

the_readingraven's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing a free audiobook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Congratulations to you Jonny, for creating a beautiful piece of art that many of us from our community can relate to! A big thank you to the narrator Avi Roque, for creating another wonderful listening experience.

Ander & Santi Were Here is an absolute gift! As a Latina, from a huge loving funny Mexican family, it was a comforting feeling to read a book that reminds me so much of my family. This book is proudly Chicané & it made me feel so proud reading it. This book captures Latiné culture so well, down to our humor, food, and support that we provide to our community.

Ander & Santi Were Here carries so much representation! Not only is this an LGBTQ+ romance, our main character, Ander, is proudly non-binary! & the best part is that their family & friends are so supportive. I love books where a character is trans/non-binary & it is not even an issue! It’s so damn refreshing & it made me enjoy this book so much more. Majority of our cast are BIPOC individuals as well!

In regard to the actual story, we see our two MC’s have an instant attraction to one another but their relationship grows into a friendship with a “will they won’t they” vibe. A relationship finally grows but is constantly afraid of being ripped away since one of our MC’s, Santiago aka Santi, is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. Reading about this blossoming love story was very hard at times. I would get super cheesy and happy for the two but the dawning thought of them being forcibly separated by ICE would leave a pit in my stomach.

The end of this story is the only “negative” part for me, if I can even say that. It ends in a HEA way but it was a bit too predictable for me. I wish there would have been some time or pause between the characters to build the need for one another but then again I would be pissed if the story didn’t end in HEA either. 😅 I also think if the book were a dual POV, we would get to know the character Santi at a deeper level, he has the most risk throughout the book so it would have been nice to see things through his lens.

Overall, this book was amazing & I will definitely be picking up a physics copy for myself!

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caseythereader's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Thanks to Wednesday Books for the free advance copy of this book.

- Oh, my heart, this book. ANDER AND SANTI WERE HERE is truly something special. I loved everything about it. The openly welcomed queerness, the love for San Antonio, the grappling with unfair and scary situations.
- Ander and Santi are incredible characters, both still finding the softness and joy in life amid brutality.
- This book also toes the line between YA and NA with some borderline spicy scenes, and I appreciate a book for young people that doesn't shy away from that aspect of life, like teenagers don't experience it.
- I feel like I can't put the beauty of this book into words. It's really a must read if you like YA, queer lit, Latine lit, or any combination of those.

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