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3.06 AVERAGE
3.06 AVERAGE
lighthearted
medium-paced
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
I love the “soulmate trope,” it always feels magical in their own way. In this book, Madi believes in soulmates and yearns to find hers ever since her late grandmother alluded her soulmate to her in a dream. In her premonition, she sees the initials “JR” but also sees two people. Confused, but desperate enough to believe in what she saw, she went on life searching for her soulmate with the initials “JR.” But of course, life being life (unfair), she ended up with the wrong person. But thank goodness for a “business trip” in Puerto Rico, she breaks up with her boyfriend and tries to “heal” herself in a place she used to call home. And then she meets Peter. Mister Right, finally. Her real soulmate. Madi and Peter’s chemistry was lovely. I just wished there was more depth in their characters. I liked this book. It was simple and straightforward. But it did need more of everything.
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
2.5/5 stars
1/5 spice (fade to black)
Tropes:
Latinx rep
Insta-love
Soulmates
One room/bed
Single POV
I think I would have liked this book more if it wasn't written like the MCs were immature despite both being in their 30s. Madi was the only POV in the story and I was tired of her inner dialogue very early on in the book. I get why she clung to the soulmates idea but she blatantly ignored very clear red flags and was arrogant in thinking that she interpreted her dream accurately. Eventually she meets the love of her lives in Peter, but it was borderline forced insta-love...and then it wasn't... and then it was. Sigh...
I really wanted to like this book but I found myself skipping a lot of the info dumping and repetitive inner dialogue from Madi and this was a short book too. This wasn't the book for me. I don't mind insta-love if it's worked into a fated mates/soulmates kind of story but this didn't work well for me because I couldn't care enough about the FMC.
Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and offered voluntarily.
1/5 spice (fade to black)
Tropes:
Latinx rep
Insta-love
Soulmates
One room/bed
Single POV
I think I would have liked this book more if it wasn't written like the MCs were immature despite both being in their 30s. Madi was the only POV in the story and I was tired of her inner dialogue very early on in the book. I get why she clung to the soulmates idea but she blatantly ignored very clear red flags and was arrogant in thinking that she interpreted her dream accurately. Eventually she meets the love of her lives in Peter, but it was borderline forced insta-love...and then it wasn't... and then it was. Sigh...
I really wanted to like this book but I found myself skipping a lot of the info dumping and repetitive inner dialogue from Madi and this was a short book too. This wasn't the book for me. I don't mind insta-love if it's worked into a fated mates/soulmates kind of story but this didn't work well for me because I couldn't care enough about the FMC.
Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and offered voluntarily.
hopeful
lighthearted
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
This was a cute romance story. I loved that the book took place on Puerto Rico and felt like a love letter to it. I felt the ending was rushed but otherwise enjoyed the book.
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
I’ll start off this review by saying I am Puerto Rican. Born, raised, wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Obviously because of this I’m gonna be nit picky of some information. I love this Island. I love the people and I will protect at all cost.
To me this book needed maybe more than one person that lived in Puerto Rico to confirm research done by the author. A lot of the information feels like historical info dumping and some ideas of the story would've worked in different parts of the island. I will state that my living experience in Puerto Rico will not the same as other Puerto Rican in the island, but still these are all my thoughts and opinion about this book.
I’m only 25% in and I feel like it's becoming too much. I'll do the big things first and then smaller ones at the end.
First thing that made me feel extremely uncomfortable was when Mariela (the taxi driver or Uber) is telling them about old San Juan and says “don’t go there cause that is a caserio” then talks about la Perla and how you shouldn’t go in there unless you’re invited because it dangerous. The whole thing made me uncomfortable because it keeps adding negative connotations to these area. Caserios are apartment building subsidized by the government for people with love income. Like many of us know these kind of places have been given bad reputations through the years, but just because you live there doesn't mean you're a drug dealer or part of a gang. These are negative ideas of these places and the author by saying that adds to it. I’m not saying la Perla is safe for outsiders, just respect the people that live there, don’t film while being there and you’re good.
Secondly, in one chapter Madi talks about how there are no beaches in Old San Juan only el Paseo de la princesa which is a beach that mostly functions as wave breaker for the for all over the old city. I have seen people in this beach by way of where the old bridge used to be in boats or by jumping the rocks. The next chapter its night already and Madi talks about meeting up with friends to see the bonfire in the beaches and she's still in Old San Juan. Like one minute there are no beaches and the next there are magic beaches with bonfires on them? If the bonfires were so important to the story, Madi and her friend could've stayed in another part of San Juan that is close to Old San Juan and literary has beaches right next to it. You could'v used Condado, Isla Verde or even use the Caribe Hilton Hotel and it has a private beach and a beach right next to it.
The whole Noche de San Juan thing, cause they even dip into the beach that is not a beach in old San Juan, is just weird to me. I really feel she could've picked another night like las fiesta de San Sebastián or going to la placate to dance Salsa in the street. You can go can go and hang out a night in old San Juan everyday, but like Saturday night is the night that actual locals go to hang out there.
Thirdly, the whole cell reception thing not working in old San Juan drives me up a wall. Cell service on metro area is not bad. It gets bad when you're in the mountain or areas that were affected by Hurricane Maria. I kind of wanted to brush it off to something paranormal that it's destiny and that's why her phone doesn't work, but you had to have JR say "This happens on the island all the time, Nothing to be alarmed over". Maybe deeper in the island but not in Old San Juan.
Fourth, the book feels very much like an info dump of information about the island and the struggles Puerto Rican's face every day from people who have been on the island for less than 5 years (Not judging). If you're gonna have a character that talks about the damages after Hurricane Maria, maybe make it someone that was in the island during Maria not someone who came to the island to "help" out the economy. Plus have this same person, that's been on the island for 3 years talks bad about la Ley 22. The info dump is taking more of a focus than the actual relationship or romance.
Fifth, if you're gonna go to a Bioluminescent bay in Puerto Rico... VIEQUEZ! (they closed it during after Maria to protect it) but Viequez has the brightest Bioluminescent bay in the world. I'm done. I promise. (JK I have 13% left)
I finished. Finally. This book to me felt more like a romance story with the island than an actual romance. Very insta love and I just didn't see the connection between the characters. She is kind if naive and I don't know. I just didn't like it.
Felt like the story needed at least someone that lives in Puerto Rico to like add or remove some things cause you're experience in Puerto Rico is not the same one as me, someone who actually lives on the island. Maybe I expected to much for a story that is set in Puerto Rico.
Little things that bothered me, airport is in Carolina not San Juan. It’s “buen provecho” not “provecho”, I've never heard el hotel el Convento called Casa Grande Hotel.
To me this book needed maybe more than one person that lived in Puerto Rico to confirm research done by the author. A lot of the information feels like historical info dumping and some ideas of the story would've worked in different parts of the island. I will state that my living experience in Puerto Rico will not the same as other Puerto Rican in the island, but still these are all my thoughts and opinion about this book.
I’m only 25% in and I feel like it's becoming too much. I'll do the big things first and then smaller ones at the end.
First thing that made me feel extremely uncomfortable was when Mariela (the taxi driver or Uber) is telling them about old San Juan and says “don’t go there cause that is a caserio” then talks about la Perla and how you shouldn’t go in there unless you’re invited because it dangerous. The whole thing made me uncomfortable because it keeps adding negative connotations to these area. Caserios are apartment building subsidized by the government for people with love income. Like many of us know these kind of places have been given bad reputations through the years, but just because you live there doesn't mean you're a drug dealer or part of a gang. These are negative ideas of these places and the author by saying that adds to it. I’m not saying la Perla is safe for outsiders, just respect the people that live there, don’t film while being there and you’re good.
Secondly, in one chapter Madi talks about how there are no beaches in Old San Juan only el Paseo de la princesa which is a beach that mostly functions as wave breaker for the for all over the old city. I have seen people in this beach by way of where the old bridge used to be in boats or by jumping the rocks. The next chapter its night already and Madi talks about meeting up with friends to see the bonfire in the beaches and she's still in Old San Juan. Like one minute there are no beaches and the next there are magic beaches with bonfires on them? If the bonfires were so important to the story, Madi and her friend could've stayed in another part of San Juan that is close to Old San Juan and literary has beaches right next to it. You could'v used Condado, Isla Verde or even use the Caribe Hilton Hotel and it has a private beach and a beach right next to it.
The whole Noche de San Juan thing, cause they even dip into the beach that is not a beach in old San Juan, is just weird to me. I really feel she could've picked another night like las fiesta de San Sebastián or going to la placate to dance Salsa in the street. You can go can go and hang out a night in old San Juan everyday, but like Saturday night is the night that actual locals go to hang out there.
Thirdly, the whole cell reception thing not working in old San Juan drives me up a wall. Cell service on metro area is not bad. It gets bad when you're in the mountain or areas that were affected by Hurricane Maria. I kind of wanted to brush it off to something paranormal that it's destiny and that's why her phone doesn't work, but you had to have JR say "This happens on the island all the time, Nothing to be alarmed over". Maybe deeper in the island but not in Old San Juan.
Fourth, the book feels very much like an info dump of information about the island and the struggles Puerto Rican's face every day from people who have been on the island for less than 5 years (Not judging). If you're gonna have a character that talks about the damages after Hurricane Maria, maybe make it someone that was in the island during Maria not someone who came to the island to "help" out the economy. Plus have this same person, that's been on the island for 3 years talks bad about la Ley 22. The info dump is taking more of a focus than the actual relationship or romance.
Fifth, if you're gonna go to a Bioluminescent bay in Puerto Rico... VIEQUEZ! (they closed it during after Maria to protect it) but Viequez has the brightest Bioluminescent bay in the world. I'm done. I promise. (JK I have 13% left)
I finished. Finally. This book to me felt more like a romance story with the island than an actual romance. Very insta love and I just didn't see the connection between the characters. She is kind if naive and I don't know. I just didn't like it.
Felt like the story needed at least someone that lives in Puerto Rico to like add or remove some things cause you're experience in Puerto Rico is not the same one as me, someone who actually lives on the island. Maybe I expected to much for a story that is set in Puerto Rico.
Little things that bothered me, airport is in Carolina not San Juan. It’s “buen provecho” not “provecho”, I've never heard el hotel el Convento called Casa Grande Hotel.
I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The main thing that I loved about this book was reading about Puerto Rico. The author wrote so much about the culture and all these different areas that it made me want to visit there someday.
As for the rest of the book, it was fine. I don't really have much else to say about it. I enjoyed it but it's definitely not going to be one of those books that lingers in my mind. I will most likely forget about it after a little while.
The main thing that I loved about this book was reading about Puerto Rico. The author wrote so much about the culture and all these different areas that it made me want to visit there someday.
As for the rest of the book, it was fine. I don't really have much else to say about it. I enjoyed it but it's definitely not going to be one of those books that lingers in my mind. I will most likely forget about it after a little while.
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
2/5. Releases 9/26/2023.
Vibes: vacation romance, magical realism, a very loving portrayal of Puerto Rico, and a chasteness but... not?
In a dream, Madi's abuela predicts that her one true love will be a man with the initials "JR'. Years later, Madi is engaged to a man with those initials, but doesn't feel right. Grabbing a business trip to Puerto Rico as an opportunity to scatter her abuela's ashes, Madi makes an instant connection that feels Fated... except for his initials.
Look, I know this premise is a stretch, but I love magical realism and I like it. Unfortunately, while I think Mendez can write a very good sentence, I did not connect with this book. It didn't really hit me as a romance, and it didn't hit me as an emotional "woman finding herself" book. I feel like a friend of mine would like this book--but I couldn't latch on.
Quick Takes:
--So here's my thing. I think that with the right spin, I could've bought that Madi believed in this prophetic dream well into adulthood--it would've been something I bought. But in a way, I didn't feel like Madi was a messy enough adult for me to buy that she'd put this much stock in the dream. This isn't a mildly important issue, this is her future partner. There are definitely women who would rely on that dream, but I don't know. I felt like Madi's personality just didn't gel with that level of spiritualism.
In the same sense, I can buy instalove, I'm not inherently against it. However, it's a hard sell. I don't feel like enough power was put into the connection between Madi and her love (holding back on who he is because like--spoilers). I just didn't believe this was anything other than good chemistry. Not even "bone me in a parked car half an hour after meeting me" chemistry. Just fine.
--That said, there is a lot of love put into Puerto Rico. You can feel the setting, you can sense the love Madi has for her experiences there (and her abuela). Not to be cliche, but it's arguable that the "love" of the book is Puerto Rico. And that's not a bad thing--but in order for this book to really embrace that, I think the plot would have to be re-tooled a bit.
Also, I have to say that the release date for this book... confuses me? It seems likes such a prime beach read; it's got a total summer vacation sensibility.
--I do think, as I said above, that Mendez has a lovely writing style. It's not flowery, but it's soothing and has a natural appeal. My issues are really with some choices made regarding story and character.
The Sex Stuff:
This book is closed door... but they do have sex. And a vibrator is mentioned, among other things. I was a little weirded out by that choice, to be honest. I get romances that are chaste. But when you make it clear that two people have sex and just don't show it... I don't understand. Not every sex scene needs to be super long (though I.... usually prefer those that are) but this felt like a bit of a bait and switch.
This wasn't a fit for me, but I did enjoy the descriptions of Puerto Rico.
Thanks to Kensington and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing Corp. for the eARC! All opinions are my own.
I really wanted to love this book, but it just fell flat for me, unfortunately. I think what enticed me the most was the premise of dreaming of a soulmate and searching for it. The book follows Madi, who goes to Puerto Rico—for business, of course. Puerto Rico is where she starts to find herself and maybe her soulmate?
I enjoyed learning about the history and the culture in Puerto Rico. I thought that it was nice to learn about while reading. I liked the idea of having a dream and seeing your soulmate in it. It gave just a hint of magical realism and I wish there was a little more to it.
This book has a good concept behind it, but it wasn't executed very well. While the characters had chemistry, I felt that it was too insta-lovey. I could see that they did, but I just couldn't get over the fact that she was in love with him after a night. I also found myself not into any of the characters. More or less, I couldn't care about any of them, maybe Audri and Mariela. I thought they had something going on and I was more interested in that than the main romance (lol).
Not a bad book if you're into insta-love and it was a fast read, but not my cup of tea.
----
post read: This was definitely interesting, I think. RTC
----
pre-review: i don’t remember requesting this lmao
I really wanted to love this book, but it just fell flat for me, unfortunately. I think what enticed me the most was the premise of dreaming of a soulmate and searching for it. The book follows Madi, who goes to Puerto Rico—for business, of course. Puerto Rico is where she starts to find herself and maybe her soulmate?
I enjoyed learning about the history and the culture in Puerto Rico. I thought that it was nice to learn about while reading. I liked the idea of having a dream and seeing your soulmate in it. It gave just a hint of magical realism and I wish there was a little more to it.
This book has a good concept behind it, but it wasn't executed very well. While the characters had chemistry, I felt that it was too insta-lovey. I could see that they did, but I just couldn't get over the fact that she was in love with him after a night. I also found myself not into any of the characters. More or less, I couldn't care about any of them, maybe Audri and Mariela. I thought they had something going on and I was more interested in that than the main romance (lol).
Not a bad book if you're into insta-love and it was a fast read, but not my cup of tea.
----
post read: This was definitely interesting, I think. RTC
----
pre-review: i don’t remember requesting this lmao
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
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<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing this title in exchange for an honest review!</i>
“Love of my lives” by Yamile Saied Méndez is a contemporary romance full of beautiful Latin American diversity. It had a premise I don’t particularly love, but the summary convinced me to give it a chance: <b>soulmates</b>. As it turned out, I should have just followed my intuition that it wasn’t going to be my thing.
The story opens with Madi Ramírez saying goodbye to her witchy grandma, whose visions have guided the love lives of everyone in the family. Madi regrets that her grandmother will never be able to help Madi find her soulmate now - but that night, she dreams about a man with the initials JR. Even though her dream grandma tells her to be chill and let things flow, Madi spends the following years nearly exclusively dating men with those initials. When her rich but awful boyfriend breaks up with her, Madi and her roommate/friend/coworker Audri go on a business trip to Puerto Rico, scouting for the perfect location for their yoga retreats. There, Madi meets someone she feels an instant connection with… could he be Madi’s fated soulmate?
I believe there’s a way to make a premise like this work for me. <b>Unfortunately, this wasn’t it, as it featured two of my least favourite tropes: instalove and miscommunication.</b>
To start with the good stuff, <b>the book is vibrant with Latin American culture</b> and, in particular, a love for Puerto Rico that you can really feel from the author. It also has good social commentary on the struggles and challenges of the country, but accompanied again by such a love of Puerto Rico and its people. I really appreciated the mindful way that this played out in Madi’s journey.
However, Madi is literally obsessed with finding the “love of her lives”, who has to match the JR initials and be a man because that’s what her dream showed her. I mean, I kind of get it: if your grandma is in the habit of sending prophetic dreams that have never failed, it’s a lot of pressure and expectations when you get one! <b>But this was still tiring to read</b>, and especially annoying when you consider that Madi is a yoga teacher who allegedly practices mindfulness. Wouldn’t she be more trained than most of us to trust fate and let things flow?
Well, she doesn’t. I mean, she tries. Very half-heartedly. Her current JR boyfriend is <b>a major asshole</b>, even though Madi insists he is “amazing on paper” and just wishes he were more passionate. But the first thing we learn about him is that he’s a cripto bro, which says it all. Later on we see that he constantly puts Madi down, is lowkey misogynist and racist, and doesn’t want to be “tied down” to Madi. And yet until halfway through the book, Madi still thinks wistfully about things working out between them, and at the end she still thinks of him as “a good man”. Uh, no, he’s not.
So, while she recovers from heartbreak, Madi hears that her tour guide’s initials are also JR and is already fantasizing about falling in love again. <b>Girl, I think you need some time to be on your own!</b> When she runs into a hot man, certain things lead her to think he’s JR her tour guide, which only reinforces her feelings.
But then she realizes she was wrong, and instead of being like “hey, maybe I should just stop putting so much stock into a dream I had when I was 13 years old and grieving my grandma”, <b>she spends the rest of the book lamenting that this guy clearly isn’t the love of her lives (a phrase I got violently sick of hearing)</b> but then why does she like him so much and should she even give this a chance. <b>Madi came off as if she hadn’t grown up that much since she was 13</b>, because her thoughts and dialogue were too juvenile.
The most frustrating thing about this book is that I think it actually did want to give a message of <b>self-growth and shaping your own destiny</b>… but that was what it *said*. What it showed was a very different thing. For example, by the end of the book, Madi thinks about how this journey helped her learn to love herself, that she hadn’t felt loved by anyone else until she’d felt beautiful, flaws and all. The problem, though, is that she didn’t. <b>She didn’t see herself as beautiful, flaws and all, until she met “JR” and *he* accepted her and made her feel beautiful.</b> Another example is that she thinks about how she isn’t afraid to travel alone anymore, which she allegedly learned during the trip. But she was never really alone during the trip either - she was with “JR” the whole time! <b>So we’re told all these lessons about self-love and self-acceptance and independence… but it’s like, where is this, really? This wasn’t what I read.</b>
And then the third act conflict was frustrating to me because it’s like, <b>you guys have *just* met as to have these type of demands and expectations from the other person!</b>
Another thing was that the whole vibe of the book was <b>a bit too woo-woo for me</b>. I love mindfulness, I enjoy witchy stuff, I like the idea of reincarnation… but it still felt like a lot.
As far as smut goes, the book features <b>closed-door sex with non-explicit references to sexy times</b>, including masturbation (which I love to see).
<b>tl;dr: If you’re looking for an instalove romance with lots of Latine rep and a curvy FMC, then you might enjoy this, but it just wasn’t for me.</b>
<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing this title in exchange for an honest review!</i>
“Love of my lives” by Yamile Saied Méndez is a contemporary romance full of beautiful Latin American diversity. It had a premise I don’t particularly love, but the summary convinced me to give it a chance: <b>soulmates</b>. As it turned out, I should have just followed my intuition that it wasn’t going to be my thing.
The story opens with Madi Ramírez saying goodbye to her witchy grandma, whose visions have guided the love lives of everyone in the family. Madi regrets that her grandmother will never be able to help Madi find her soulmate now - but that night, she dreams about a man with the initials JR. Even though her dream grandma tells her to be chill and let things flow, Madi spends the following years nearly exclusively dating men with those initials. When her rich but awful boyfriend breaks up with her, Madi and her roommate/friend/coworker Audri go on a business trip to Puerto Rico, scouting for the perfect location for their yoga retreats. There, Madi meets someone she feels an instant connection with… could he be Madi’s fated soulmate?
I believe there’s a way to make a premise like this work for me. <b>Unfortunately, this wasn’t it, as it featured two of my least favourite tropes: instalove and miscommunication.</b>
To start with the good stuff, <b>the book is vibrant with Latin American culture</b> and, in particular, a love for Puerto Rico that you can really feel from the author. It also has good social commentary on the struggles and challenges of the country, but accompanied again by such a love of Puerto Rico and its people. I really appreciated the mindful way that this played out in Madi’s journey.
However, Madi is literally obsessed with finding the “love of her lives”, who has to match the JR initials and be a man because that’s what her dream showed her. I mean, I kind of get it: if your grandma is in the habit of sending prophetic dreams that have never failed, it’s a lot of pressure and expectations when you get one! <b>But this was still tiring to read</b>, and especially annoying when you consider that Madi is a yoga teacher who allegedly practices mindfulness. Wouldn’t she be more trained than most of us to trust fate and let things flow?
Well, she doesn’t. I mean, she tries. Very half-heartedly. Her current JR boyfriend is <b>a major asshole</b>, even though Madi insists he is “amazing on paper” and just wishes he were more passionate. But the first thing we learn about him is that he’s a cripto bro, which says it all. Later on we see that he constantly puts Madi down, is lowkey misogynist and racist, and doesn’t want to be “tied down” to Madi. And yet until halfway through the book, Madi still thinks wistfully about things working out between them, and at the end she still thinks of him as “a good man”. Uh, no, he’s not.
So, while she recovers from heartbreak, Madi hears that her tour guide’s initials are also JR and is already fantasizing about falling in love again. <b>Girl, I think you need some time to be on your own!</b> When she runs into a hot man, certain things lead her to think he’s JR her tour guide, which only reinforces her feelings.
But then she realizes she was wrong, and instead of being like “hey, maybe I should just stop putting so much stock into a dream I had when I was 13 years old and grieving my grandma”, <b>she spends the rest of the book lamenting that this guy clearly isn’t the love of her lives (a phrase I got violently sick of hearing)</b> but then why does she like him so much and should she even give this a chance. <b>Madi came off as if she hadn’t grown up that much since she was 13</b>, because her thoughts and dialogue were too juvenile.
The most frustrating thing about this book is that I think it actually did want to give a message of <b>self-growth and shaping your own destiny</b>… but that was what it *said*. What it showed was a very different thing. For example, by the end of the book, Madi thinks about how this journey helped her learn to love herself, that she hadn’t felt loved by anyone else until she’d felt beautiful, flaws and all. The problem, though, is that she didn’t. <b>She didn’t see herself as beautiful, flaws and all, until she met “JR” and *he* accepted her and made her feel beautiful.</b> Another example is that she thinks about how she isn’t afraid to travel alone anymore, which she allegedly learned during the trip. But she was never really alone during the trip either - she was with “JR” the whole time! <b>So we’re told all these lessons about self-love and self-acceptance and independence… but it’s like, where is this, really? This wasn’t what I read.</b>
And then the third act conflict was frustrating to me because it’s like, <b>you guys have *just* met as to have these type of demands and expectations from the other person!</b>
Another thing was that the whole vibe of the book was <b>a bit too woo-woo for me</b>. I love mindfulness, I enjoy witchy stuff, I like the idea of reincarnation… but it still felt like a lot.
As far as smut goes, the book features <b>closed-door sex with non-explicit references to sexy times</b>, including masturbation (which I love to see).
<b>tl;dr: If you’re looking for an instalove romance with lots of Latine rep and a curvy FMC, then you might enjoy this, but it just wasn’t for me.</b>