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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
This book was so precious! I loved all the Spanish that was used and the tid bits about Dominican culture sprinkled throughout. I'm Mexican and I could still really resonate with a lot of the mannerisms and love for family, culture, food and music. I honestly don't remember ever reading a romance book with a Latinx/Caribbean main character so I really appreciate that. She also wove in good conversations about immigration, homophobia, family issues and self-acceptance that didn't feel heavy handed. Nesto's bromance with his friends was also really sweet. Can't wait to read more from Herrera!
fast-paced
4.5 stars!!! This was such a great romance, I loved the descriptions of the AfroCaribbean food and relationship between Nesto and his mom was so pure and loving, along with the many other relationships in the book. Super excited to read the rest of the series!
I finally got to Nesto and Jude's book! I have been reading this series out of order so I have seen them in the background of the other books, but eek! Their story was so great! I loved both of them and they were so wonderful together!! I'm so glad I found these books/this author as I love reading these stories. I love learning everyone's story and seeing it all work out in the end. Plus this book made me want Caribean food! The food Nesto was serving up sounded so good! I am going to have to see if I can track down where to get some of the supplies to see if I can make some myself.
Anyways when I started reading this story Jude made me think of a favorite character from another author who has the same name, and even though they are very different characters they make me so happy in the same way. I wanted all the best for both of these guys and oh, they were so sweet together! I loved them!
Anyways when I started reading this story Jude made me think of a favorite character from another author who has the same name, and even though they are very different characters they make me so happy in the same way. I wanted all the best for both of these guys and oh, they were so sweet together! I loved them!
Totally adorable romance! I've been struggling to read a book in quarantine, and this book fixed that!
Don’t read this book on an empty stomach
I had to give that warning because the food descriptions are so vivid and tempting.
The food is at the center of the story because Nesto’s food truck is what brings him to Ithaca…and to Jude. As I watched these two fall in love, make their dreams come true, and support each other through hard times, I had trouble putting the book down. This was a wonderful beginning to a series, and I see nothing but good things ahead.
I had to give that warning because the food descriptions are so vivid and tempting.
The food is at the center of the story because Nesto’s food truck is what brings him to Ithaca…and to Jude. As I watched these two fall in love, make their dreams come true, and support each other through hard times, I had trouble putting the book down. This was a wonderful beginning to a series, and I see nothing but good things ahead.
3.5 stars
Sweet, happy M/M romance. Great diverse set of characters (main characters each have friends and family who are real people) and lots of food porn. The POV switched between the two male leads and despite that fact that they are very different, their character voices were really similar. Villain was over-the-top, but I was fine with that.
Sweet, happy M/M romance. Great diverse set of characters (main characters each have friends and family who are real people) and lots of food porn. The POV switched between the two male leads and despite that fact that they are very different, their character voices were really similar. Villain was over-the-top, but I was fine with that.
I am a cheapskate when it comes to buying books. I worked for the public library for 30+ years and I want to borrow my books from them. So I was slow to get to this series. None of the libraries I use had it until now.
I should have just bought this book. I loved every second I spent with these characters. One protagonist is a chef, the other a librarian. They are both of interest to me.
I hope the second volume is as good. I have already checked it out.
Merged review:
I am a cheapskate when it comes to buying books. I worked for the public library for 30+ years and I want to borrow my books from them. So I was slow to get to this series. None of the libraries I use had it until now.
I should have just bought this book. I loved every second I spent with these characters. One protagonist is a chef, the other a librarian. They are both of interest to me.
I hope the second volume is as good. I have already checked it out.
I should have just bought this book. I loved every second I spent with these characters. One protagonist is a chef, the other a librarian. They are both of interest to me.
I hope the second volume is as good. I have already checked it out.
Merged review:
I am a cheapskate when it comes to buying books. I worked for the public library for 30+ years and I want to borrow my books from them. So I was slow to get to this series. None of the libraries I use had it until now.
I should have just bought this book. I loved every second I spent with these characters. One protagonist is a chef, the other a librarian. They are both of interest to me.
I hope the second volume is as good. I have already checked it out.
This review first appeared at The Cool Table. https://atthecooltable.com/american-dreamer-by-adriana-herrera-is-the-immigrant-experience-book-to-read/
It’s the rules of threes. Just this week, there was the recent news that Barnes and Noble was releasing diverse book covers for classic (and very white) young adult novels that not only don’t have diverse authors, but were chosen by an AI that scanned classics for main characters that weren’t EXPLICITLY described as white. YEEEAH.
That of course came on the heels of a huge publishing scandal involving a non-Latina author writing an immigration story from the perspective of a Mexican family to the tune of a seven-figure advance. The only thing uglier than the immigrant erasure was the publisher’s response to the backlash.
But the New Year began with the ugly implosion of Romance Writers of America due to its racist, exclusionary practices that has led to canceling the RITAs and much more. The book reading community is in need of some #OwnVoices wins.
If publishers and advertising giants and booksellers and multi-media conglomerate-owning singularities and trade organizations can’t get this diverse books thing right, then readers and writers know it is up to us to get the good stuff in as many hands and on as many shelves as possible.
Enter romance author, Adriana Herrera. Born in the Caribbean and living now in New York City, Herrera writes romance novels “full of people who look and sound like [her] people.” Her Dreamers series debuted last year and stars a diverse cast of characters that reflect the immigrant experience in America. If you are looking for a fantastic romance that’s truly intersectional, wildly fun, and a quick-grab, one-click series, Dreamers is it.
American Dreamer follows Nesto, an Afro-Caribbean immigrant looking to take his food truck business from the busy streets of the Bronx to the quieter community of Ithaca. He’s betting all he has that his unique blend of flavors and food will hit a sweet spot in an area that needs diversity of options. So, he says goodbye to his close friends, sets up his food truck near his mom’s place upstate, and naturally, runs into a very cute librarian on his first day out.
Jude walks by Nesto’s truck every day on his way to his job as the youth educator at the local library. The flirtatious way that Nesto engages him straight out of the gate flusters and tempts him. Despite being out, he’s not as open to casual relationships (or serious ones) as Nesto and Jude’s own friends want him to be. But the pull between them is strong, and their relationship moves at a normal and still exciting pace.
I loved the dynamic between a very confident Nesto and an unsure Jude. Where they click, they click. And where they clash, they refine one another. It’s not a story about one party healing the other, but an honest portrayal of two people learning from mistakes and growing into something new and real.
The immigrant experience is celebrated in the novel in everything from the descriptions of the truly delicious-seeming food (have I never had Caribbean food??) to Nesto’s chosen family to his real one. White supremacy and racism rear their ugly heads in villainous ways that reek of current cultural climes. But the prejudice is not tropey, but instead is an important part of the plot, of how both main characters relate to one another AND each other. Their experiences with different types of prejudice are woven into the strands of their relationship.
So, if you are looking for a way to celebrate diverse authors, especially in light of all the ways that they are so systemically overlooked, check out Herrera’s series. The first book in the series is FREE on Kindle Unlimited, and really … what is better than reading a great romance series in the KU? Supporting great WOC romance authors at the same time.
It’s the rules of threes. Just this week, there was the recent news that Barnes and Noble was releasing diverse book covers for classic (and very white) young adult novels that not only don’t have diverse authors, but were chosen by an AI that scanned classics for main characters that weren’t EXPLICITLY described as white. YEEEAH.
That of course came on the heels of a huge publishing scandal involving a non-Latina author writing an immigration story from the perspective of a Mexican family to the tune of a seven-figure advance. The only thing uglier than the immigrant erasure was the publisher’s response to the backlash.
But the New Year began with the ugly implosion of Romance Writers of America due to its racist, exclusionary practices that has led to canceling the RITAs and much more. The book reading community is in need of some #OwnVoices wins.
If publishers and advertising giants and booksellers and multi-media conglomerate-owning singularities and trade organizations can’t get this diverse books thing right, then readers and writers know it is up to us to get the good stuff in as many hands and on as many shelves as possible.
Enter romance author, Adriana Herrera. Born in the Caribbean and living now in New York City, Herrera writes romance novels “full of people who look and sound like [her] people.” Her Dreamers series debuted last year and stars a diverse cast of characters that reflect the immigrant experience in America. If you are looking for a fantastic romance that’s truly intersectional, wildly fun, and a quick-grab, one-click series, Dreamers is it.
American Dreamer follows Nesto, an Afro-Caribbean immigrant looking to take his food truck business from the busy streets of the Bronx to the quieter community of Ithaca. He’s betting all he has that his unique blend of flavors and food will hit a sweet spot in an area that needs diversity of options. So, he says goodbye to his close friends, sets up his food truck near his mom’s place upstate, and naturally, runs into a very cute librarian on his first day out.
Jude walks by Nesto’s truck every day on his way to his job as the youth educator at the local library. The flirtatious way that Nesto engages him straight out of the gate flusters and tempts him. Despite being out, he’s not as open to casual relationships (or serious ones) as Nesto and Jude’s own friends want him to be. But the pull between them is strong, and their relationship moves at a normal and still exciting pace.
I loved the dynamic between a very confident Nesto and an unsure Jude. Where they click, they click. And where they clash, they refine one another. It’s not a story about one party healing the other, but an honest portrayal of two people learning from mistakes and growing into something new and real.
The immigrant experience is celebrated in the novel in everything from the descriptions of the truly delicious-seeming food (have I never had Caribbean food??) to Nesto’s chosen family to his real one. White supremacy and racism rear their ugly heads in villainous ways that reek of current cultural climes. But the prejudice is not tropey, but instead is an important part of the plot, of how both main characters relate to one another AND each other. Their experiences with different types of prejudice are woven into the strands of their relationship.
So, if you are looking for a way to celebrate diverse authors, especially in light of all the ways that they are so systemically overlooked, check out Herrera’s series. The first book in the series is FREE on Kindle Unlimited, and really … what is better than reading a great romance series in the KU? Supporting great WOC romance authors at the same time.
Adriana Herrera writes a steamy sex scene! So for those of you underprepared for that, get a fan and a cold towel, because this one has some scorchers.
Nesto and Jude are complex thoughtful three-dimensional characters that made me want to immediately eat some Afro-Caribbean food (must find this food truck NOW!) and reach for the second book in this series.
I liked these people, the way they react to the world, how they give each other chances to apologize and correct behaviors. I like books with a reasonable confrontation and resolution, considering that the book is about adults.
It even made me say "Ithaca sounds nice". (I've been to Ithaca and it did not feel as special as what I read).
Thank you Adriana Herrera for these people and a glimpse into their lives.
Nesto and Jude are complex thoughtful three-dimensional characters that made me want to immediately eat some Afro-Caribbean food (must find this food truck NOW!) and reach for the second book in this series.
I liked these people, the way they react to the world, how they give each other chances to apologize and correct behaviors. I like books with a reasonable confrontation and resolution, considering that the book is about adults.
It even made me say "Ithaca sounds nice". (I've been to Ithaca and it did not feel as special as what I read).
Thank you Adriana Herrera for these people and a glimpse into their lives.