Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - After Hours on Milagro Street

Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

After Hours on Milagro Street by Angelina M. Lopez

24 reviews

unsuccessfulbookclub's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious fast-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

Okay, so I am a pretty emotional person IRL but I rarely cry at books. This book had me WEEPING at the end, and I’m not sure why other than it just hit so hard in a soft place. It exposed so many vulnerabilities and built an incredible love story between two people but also redemptive familial and communal love. The love beyond the central relationship in this story and the redemption and acceptance for all of the MCs in this book hit me right in the feels. Maybe it was the glass of wine I had while I was finishing it, either way, tears were shed and I had to go get a hug from my husband after I put my Kindle down.

These MCs were just so damned relatable and lovable and imperfect and *sigh*

The story Angelina reels out with curses and great-great-great grandparents and vulnerability and *tension* was absolute perfection. Alex’s family was everything. The tiny town of Freedom, Kansas was suffocating and beautiful. Alex was prickly and mean and 100% relatable and believable. The forced proximity and HEAT between Alex and Jeremiah was tangible.

And I haven’t even gotten to Jeremiah.

JEREMIAH POST. Gang. This man. He’s big, he’s handsome, he’s got glasses, he’s SMART as hell, he’s “exuberant” about everything. He uses big words. He asks for consent in the sexxxxxxxxiest ways just…🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠 he’s a great big lovely ball of sunshine with a sad gooey middle and I am a sucker for that.

The spoiiiiice in this. Whew. It’s not like all spice but when it hits it HITS. Get ready.

👍🏻RECOMMENDED. This book is MAGICAL. Basically perfect. Read it. Thank me later.

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levesc17's review

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.0

I wanted an epilogue so bad!! It said in the authors note that this is the first in a series so I’m hoping to see these characters again in the next installment.

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maryashlyn's review

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emotional funny hopeful mysterious fast-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

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juffnstuff's review

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hopeful medium-paced

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

3.5

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nitya's review

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emotional informative medium-paced

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

3.0

If you like enemies to friends to lovers trope and a Midwest/South setting, this is definitely a great read!! Not as steamy as I hoped for, but that's okay.

And the last minute plot twists were a bit too convenient imo, but I'll allow it. Especially if it results in white tears 😀😀😀

(Also the cover 🔥🔥🔥❤️)

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givemaribooks's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

I struggled with this book. It took me about 3 weeks to finish it. I really enjoyed learning about Mexican colonias and the history with the train tracks, but I could not connect with the story. I did not like their first encounter because it felt like he did not want to hook up, and she pushed him into it. I kept thinking that if this had been the other way around, it would be considered problematic. I also do not buy these two together, although the fmc was a well-rounded character, I don't think the mmc was as well developed. He wears a fedora for god's sake! Who wears a fedora nowadays? Plus we never got his full story, and it did not make a lot of sense.

Something that bothered me about the book that took me a couple of weeks to pinpoint was that for every POC character we are told they are POC, but not for the white characters. I don't like the implication that white is the default. I mean I wasn't 100% sure the mmc was white until towards end and after confirming with another reader, same with the fmc's father. We get a physical description that I am guessing we are supposed to assume means he is white, but you can be white and Latinx. Considering how much weight the fmc put on her Latinx identity, it felt weird that it is never explicitly mentioned whether her father is white or not.

Lastly, one of my biggest pet peeves is when another language is added to a book and it is wrong. I don't care as much if dialogue is not grammatically correct or if it seems off, but the name of the Mexican society they find in a Mexican newspaper was wrong and that really threw me off. The book called it "Sociedad de Mexicanas Senoras y Senoritas" but it should be "Sociedad de Senoras y Senoritas Mexicanas."

CW: racism on page, alcoholic parent, child neglect

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sdupont's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

4.5

Please do not sleep on this book! It has everything- ghosts, mystery, hidden inheritance, family drama, and a spicy love story. I enjoyed this book so much, I will say the ending is a little rushed. This book would’ve benefitted from an epilogue to help tie things together. I really liked Alex, she was so full of passion for the people she cared about. Also, it needs to be repeated that this book is hot-

the scene where they masturbate with each other through a wall while in their own adjacent bedrooms is so steamy and will continue to live rent free in my mind

. Highly recommend this read!

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livelyghost's review

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

Wow wow wow! This was a book that made me want to get up in the morning just so I could find out what happened next. Alex Torres, a bartender famous for both her drinks and her attitude, leaves her high profile job and returns to her hometown hoping to take over her grandmother’s bar. To her chagrin, professor Jeremiah Post has moved into the renters quarters above and is slowly being adopted into her family. The story follows so many adventures - Alex and Jeremiah’s divergent quests to find a future for the bar, the history of Alex’s hometown and the Mexican communities of the midwest, the ghosts that haunt the bar, and the frantic romance brewing between the two leads.

I hated putting this down. I felt so immersed in the world Lopez created and loved getting to learn some real life history along the way. Everyone’s stories felt so real - like they could all be your neighbors. And honestly, the SPICE. I cannot stop thinking about the bedroom wall scene omg.

I would absolutely recommend picking this up!

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emmas_bookshelf's review

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.5

This book absolutely has it all!

+ Multigenerational Mexican-American family
+ Haunted building
+ Enemies to lovers
+ Badass strong female protagonist
+ Nerds
+ History & culture
+ LOTS OF STEAM

It's a story of coming home, finding your place, complicated families, and also... there's a lot of steam!

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katiemack's review

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emotional inspiring medium-paced

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

4.0

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

Angelina M. Lopez has crafted a diverse romance with a strong, smart, fiercely independent, brash female lead and a softer (but still huge and imposing-looking), shy, smart male lead. I'm not a fan of instant physical intimacy, and some of the passion doesn't feel quite as realistic given how quick things happen, but their chemistry is VERY strong--and the sex scenes are written with great detail (definitely a spicy book!)

But it's not just the romance that's noteworthy here. Lopez's characterization isn't one-dimensional and doesn't rely on stereotypes. The way she writes Alex, Jeremiah, and Alex's whole family is complex; I wanted to learn more about all of the characters and the town of Freedom, so I'm looking forward to her continuing this series.

I'd urge romance-lovers to pick this one up!

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