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389 reviews for:
Amor Actually
Adriana Herrera, Sabrina Sol, Diana Muñoz Stewart, Alexis Daria, Zoey Castile, Mia Sosa, Priscilla Oliveras
4.07 AVERAGE
389 reviews for:
Amor Actually
Adriana Herrera, Sabrina Sol, Diana Muñoz Stewart, Alexis Daria, Zoey Castile, Mia Sosa, Priscilla Oliveras
4.07 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I like a romance that has really nice build up and character development and I felt with the short stories it was a little hard to get exactly what I wanted in such short chapters. Was living for the latino & lgbtq+ rep in this book though!! Would probably have been a better read too if I had actually have seen love actually before…since it was a retelling of it.
I overall liked this, there was representation of a lot of different types of couples from m/f to f/f and m/m/f. Also, the levels of steam varied from one story to the next.
Make the Yuletide Gay by Adriana Herrera - 5 stars
AMAZING! the main characters had so much chemistry and there was already a strong connection between them that made it feel very realistic.
Only Yours by Sabrina Sol - 2,5 stars
Nothing happens, like most of the story is the guy looking for the woman to tell her how he felt and that was about it.
Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Priscilla Oliveras - 3 stars
I actually liked the characters and they had good chemistry, but I didn't love the power dynamic in this book even if it wasn't terrible and I was annoyed that the guy was completely oblivious to what going out with him would mean to her in terms of her job.
All I Want for Nochebuena by Alexis Daria - 4.5 stars
SO GOOD! The premise of having to adult film stars be the main characters worked well and made the story more interesting, the characters had a lot of chemistry and it was so steamy.
Santa’s Eager Little Helper by Mia Sosa - 3.5 stars
I liked both main characters in this one, I liked seeing the main character stand up for herself and even the steamy scenes were good. The issue I had is that it felt like the dialogue was a bit too cheesy at some points, especially toward the end.
The Nochebuena Dating Dare by Diana Muñoz Stewart - 2 stars
This was so insta-lovey and rushed, who goes on a first date and says hello to the other person by kissing them especially since nothing had happened between them before that, I also didn't love that the guy was calling her cariño on the first date and I feel like he wasn't understanding with how complicated her situation was and starting to make "demands" when they had only gone on one date like most people wouldn't introduce someone to their kids after one date dude.
Love in Spanglish by Zoey Castile - 5 stars
The romance in this story was so sweet, don't get me wrong there were some steamy moments, but I loved seeing the connection develop between the two characters.
To Us, You Are Perfect by Adriana Herrera and Alexis Daria - 4 stars
I haven't read that many polyamory romances, but I really enjoyed this story. The characters already had a strong connection and that made this romance so much more believable. The was angst, steam and a sweet romantic gesture at the end.
The Great Holiday Escape by Zoey Castile - 3.5 stars
I really liked the tension and chemistry between the three characters in this story, but the romance was a bit too fast for me. I need to see a bit more than the attraction between them to feel like it developed organically.
Make the Yuletide Gay by Adriana Herrera - 5 stars
AMAZING! the main characters had so much chemistry and there was already a strong connection between them that made it feel very realistic.
Only Yours by Sabrina Sol - 2,5 stars
Nothing happens, like most of the story is the guy looking for the woman to tell her how he felt and that was about it.
Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Priscilla Oliveras - 3 stars
I actually liked the characters and they had good chemistry, but I didn't love the power dynamic in this book even if it wasn't terrible and I was annoyed that the guy was completely oblivious to what going out with him would mean to her in terms of her job.
All I Want for Nochebuena by Alexis Daria - 4.5 stars
SO GOOD! The premise of having to adult film stars be the main characters worked well and made the story more interesting, the characters had a lot of chemistry and it was so steamy.
Santa’s Eager Little Helper by Mia Sosa - 3.5 stars
I liked both main characters in this one, I liked seeing the main character stand up for herself and even the steamy scenes were good. The issue I had is that it felt like the dialogue was a bit too cheesy at some points, especially toward the end.
The Nochebuena Dating Dare by Diana Muñoz Stewart - 2 stars
This was so insta-lovey and rushed, who goes on a first date and says hello to the other person by kissing them especially since nothing had happened between them before that, I also didn't love that the guy was calling her cariño on the first date and I feel like he wasn't understanding with how complicated her situation was and starting to make "demands" when they had only gone on one date like most people wouldn't introduce someone to their kids after one date dude.
Love in Spanglish by Zoey Castile - 5 stars
The romance in this story was so sweet, don't get me wrong there were some steamy moments, but I loved seeing the connection develop between the two characters.
To Us, You Are Perfect by Adriana Herrera and Alexis Daria - 4 stars
I haven't read that many polyamory romances, but I really enjoyed this story. The characters already had a strong connection and that made this romance so much more believable. The was angst, steam and a sweet romantic gesture at the end.
The Great Holiday Escape by Zoey Castile - 3.5 stars
I really liked the tension and chemistry between the three characters in this story, but the romance was a bit too fast for me. I need to see a bit more than the attraction between them to feel like it developed organically.
Ohhhh, I LOVED this. Nine intertwined short romances, all leading up to a collective Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) dinner with all the characters. Every romance is loosely inspired by one of the subplots of the movie, Love Actually, but you don't have to have seen it to enjoy this.
Some of the stories were super steamy (like whoa! steamy), and all of them were so, so sweet and emotional. Another excellent book to read with your cocoa/tea/comforting beverage of your choice. Cozy, but not too saccharine. My ideal holiday read.
Some of the stories were super steamy (like whoa! steamy), and all of them were so, so sweet and emotional. Another excellent book to read with your cocoa/tea/comforting beverage of your choice. Cozy, but not too saccharine. My ideal holiday read.
Overall I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. They were well written and funny and I loved how they all tied together throughout and in the end especially. There was definitely some stories that shone brighter than others and some that were spicier than others too! The audiobook narrators did an excellent job of bringing the characters and stories to life. I feel like it really added something to listen to the audiobook in this case.
Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Priscilla Oliveras was one of my favourites. I found their romance swoon worthy and believable and I think the storyline Hector's son wooing a girl at school with his guitar skills was so endearing too which made this story stand out for me.
The Nochebuena Dating Dare by Diana Muñoz Stewart was another favourite of mine. I so felt for Eneida after being through an infidelity and trying to get back out there and Tony seemed just the right man to sweep her off her feet and make her feel ready. The part of the story with her daughter at the hospital also brought depth to Eneida and made me more invested in her happily ever after.
To me Love in Spanglish by Zoey Castile was my favourite of the stories in the book. It felt like they had more time to build something steamy when they were snowed in and it also felt like we got to know Callie more with her revealing her background to get to know her new love interest. I also enjoyed that Callie was struggling with writing her second book, that fear that she wouldn't live up to her first success and how she ultimately resolved it.
The whole retelling of Love Actually was totally lost on me until later in the book but it was more to do with it being a long time since I had seen the movie. Once I realized I looked back through the storylines from the movie and compared and saw how they had taken some of the movie, switched some things up and improved it by giving everyone a HEA and taking out the distasteful jokes and uncomfortable power dynamics.
I really enjoyed that it showed love in all it's forms; romantic, familial, and platonic and also didn't shy away from same sex relationships or polyamorous partners which isn't always the case in romance but is so welcome in my opinion. I also really enjoyed learning more about Nochebuena (which I am ashamed to say I didn't know much about) and hearing stories from Latina authors about their culture and experiences. I will definitely be looking up the authors from this anthology to read more in the future.
I received a copy of the audio book version of this book through NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for my honest opinion.
Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Priscilla Oliveras was one of my favourites. I found their romance swoon worthy and believable and I think the storyline Hector's son wooing a girl at school with his guitar skills was so endearing too which made this story stand out for me.
The Nochebuena Dating Dare by Diana Muñoz Stewart was another favourite of mine. I so felt for Eneida after being through an infidelity and trying to get back out there and Tony seemed just the right man to sweep her off her feet and make her feel ready. The part of the story with her daughter at the hospital also brought depth to Eneida and made me more invested in her happily ever after.
To me Love in Spanglish by Zoey Castile was my favourite of the stories in the book. It felt like they had more time to build something steamy when they were snowed in and it also felt like we got to know Callie more with her revealing her background to get to know her new love interest. I also enjoyed that Callie was struggling with writing her second book, that fear that she wouldn't live up to her first success and how she ultimately resolved it.
The whole retelling of Love Actually was totally lost on me until later in the book but it was more to do with it being a long time since I had seen the movie. Once I realized I looked back through the storylines from the movie and compared and saw how they had taken some of the movie, switched some things up and improved it by giving everyone a HEA and taking out the distasteful jokes and uncomfortable power dynamics.
I really enjoyed that it showed love in all it's forms; romantic, familial, and platonic and also didn't shy away from same sex relationships or polyamorous partners which isn't always the case in romance but is so welcome in my opinion. I also really enjoyed learning more about Nochebuena (which I am ashamed to say I didn't know much about) and hearing stories from Latina authors about their culture and experiences. I will definitely be looking up the authors from this anthology to read more in the future.
I received a copy of the audio book version of this book through NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for my honest opinion.
funny
lighthearted
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
started this as a way to get a last minute book closer to my goal for 2024, knowing that most romance anthologies or short stories i read this year didn't hit the way i wanted them to. i didn't make the connection to love actually until getting about halfway through the book, embarrassingly enough. this one actually strong for me, with a sapphic boss/employee love story i found cute enough. sadly, that didn't continue on for the rest of the stories. i think, total, i only liked about 3 of them, so i figured a 3 star rating for each story i enjoyed felt fair.
maybe later i'll detail review each story but don't hold me to it
maybe later i'll detail review each story but don't hold me to it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Great collection of stories! Loved learning about how another culture celebrates the holiday season!
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes