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jeanettesreadingcorner's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? No
5.0
“I can’t believe it ended up being such a great year. “There’ll be more,” I assure her with another quick kiss.
“I know,” she says. “Plus, we’ve still got a whole perfect summer ahead of us.”
“You and me?” I press my hopeful smile against her knuckles in a kiss before taking her hand and tapping it twice against my collarbone in a promise. “We have an always.” She laughs. “Who knew you were the romantic all along?”
- Nina Moreno, Our Way Back to Always
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Content Warnings: death of a parent, cancer diagnosis and treatment, hit and run car accident (non-life threatening injuries), grief, and panic attacks.
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Our Way Back to Always by Nina Moreno is my top favorite book that I read this year. It’s everything that I hoped it would be and more.
- The friends to lovers trope in this book is *chefs kiss* too good!! The main characters Sam and Luisa aka Lou know each other so well. Everyone else saw their feelings for each other except for Sam and Lou themselves. The bucket list adventures was fun. It brought Sam and Lou together as friends again. Watching them fall in love was so cute!! I just loved them together so much.
- One of my favorite things about Nina Moreno’s books is that they are funny and romantic, but also have so much heart and emotion. Family is big too and I liked getting to know Luisa, Sam, and side character’s families. Sam learning to heal and survive with grief was really inspiring. Besides Luisa and Sam becoming friends again and falling in love, this was my favorite aspect of the story.
- Luisa having a lot of expectations for herself and a specific idea of what success means was relatable. Nina Moreno included an important conversation that Luisa had with her older sister Elena and her mom.
- The timeline of the story fit really well. It spans over a few months and I liked that because it made the book feel more realistic. Nina Moreno made it clear when there was a fast forward to a new month. The storyline never felt confusing or random.
- It was wonderful to be back in Port Coral!! Some details and characters return from Don’t Date Rosa Santos!! Our Way Back to Always has the perfect ending. I would love to read more books set in Port Coral and for it to become a series, if possible.
“I know,” she says. “Plus, we’ve still got a whole perfect summer ahead of us.”
“You and me?” I press my hopeful smile against her knuckles in a kiss before taking her hand and tapping it twice against my collarbone in a promise. “We have an always.” She laughs. “Who knew you were the romantic all along?”
- Nina Moreno, Our Way Back to Always
————————
Content Warnings: death of a parent, cancer diagnosis and treatment, hit and run car accident (non-life threatening injuries), grief, and panic attacks.
————————
Our Way Back to Always by Nina Moreno is my top favorite book that I read this year. It’s everything that I hoped it would be and more.
- The friends to lovers trope in this book is *chefs kiss* too good!! The main characters Sam and Luisa aka Lou know each other so well. Everyone else saw their feelings for each other except for Sam and Lou themselves. The bucket list adventures was fun. It brought Sam and Lou together as friends again. Watching them fall in love was so cute!! I just loved them together so much.
- One of my favorite things about Nina Moreno’s books is that they are funny and romantic, but also have so much heart and emotion. Family is big too and I liked getting to know Luisa, Sam, and side character’s families. Sam learning to heal and survive with grief was really inspiring. Besides Luisa and Sam becoming friends again and falling in love, this was my favorite aspect of the story.
- Luisa having a lot of expectations for herself and a specific idea of what success means was relatable. Nina Moreno included an important conversation that Luisa had with her older sister Elena and her mom.
- The timeline of the story fit really well. It spans over a few months and I liked that because it made the book feel more realistic. Nina Moreno made it clear when there was a fast forward to a new month. The storyline never felt confusing or random.
- It was wonderful to be back in Port Coral!! Some details and characters return from Don’t Date Rosa Santos!! Our Way Back to Always has the perfect ending. I would love to read more books set in Port Coral and for it to become a series, if possible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Cancer, Death of parent, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Car accident, Blood, and Medical content
this_momma_is_booked's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-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
4.0
When I first read Nina Moreno's debut novel, Don't Date Rosa Santos, I felt so incredibly seen and heard in a way I hadn't many times before. I had high expectations for this book and, for the most part, it met them all.
I love second-chance romance books, but I was hesitant about how it would play out in a YA book where the characters were 17-18 years old. I mean, they're so young...how do we get to second chances already? However, Nina did a great job establishing that the second chances were because of childish insecurities and lack of communication skills when the characters were 12-13, so it really did seem believable.
Nina has spoken at length about how she initially started this book with the intention of making it funny and light-hearted and a fun summer romance - and she did in a lot of ways. The cast of characters were funny, reading about Lou and Sam struggling through their interactions and communicating like typical teenagers made me chuckle, and being back in Port Coral, a town that is so deeply rooted in family (both the birth and chosen kind) made my heart happy. But, as many of us know, grief has a funny way of sneaking up when we least expect it, and that's how it was for Nina - which means that's how it was for Sam and, to some extent, Lou.
I loved the depth of this book - the discussions of anxiety, expectations, grief, love, neurodiversity and friendship. I clearly remember being the age of these characters and being told the world is so vast, the opportunities are endless, and yet feeling like I am stuck in my city, in my family, in my mind. Teenagers have an unbelievable amount of pressure thrust onto them but are not often given the tools to handle that pressure. I appreciate that this book revolved around that, around figuring out not who they are (because they're 18, there's a lifetime to live first) but who they want to be right now.
And to have all of these themes tied up with the Latinx bow? All the mentions of UF (Go Gators!) and Miami and, as Nina likes to say, living in the hyphen (in my case, Cuban-American)? It really did make this Cuban woman so happy.
I love second-chance romance books, but I was hesitant about how it would play out in a YA book where the characters were 17-18 years old. I mean, they're so young...how do we get to second chances already? However, Nina did a great job establishing that the second chances were because of childish insecurities and lack of communication skills when the characters were 12-13, so it really did seem believable.
Nina has spoken at length about how she initially started this book with the intention of making it funny and light-hearted and a fun summer romance - and she did in a lot of ways. The cast of characters were funny, reading about Lou and Sam struggling through their interactions and communicating like typical teenagers made me chuckle, and being back in Port Coral, a town that is so deeply rooted in family (both the birth and chosen kind) made my heart happy. But, as many of us know, grief has a funny way of sneaking up when we least expect it, and that's how it was for Nina - which means that's how it was for Sam and, to some extent, Lou.
I loved the depth of this book - the discussions of anxiety, expectations, grief, love, neurodiversity and friendship. I clearly remember being the age of these characters and being told the world is so vast, the opportunities are endless, and yet feeling like I am stuck in my city, in my family, in my mind. Teenagers have an unbelievable amount of pressure thrust onto them but are not often given the tools to handle that pressure. I appreciate that this book revolved around that, around figuring out not who they are (because they're 18, there's a lifetime to live first) but who they want to be right now.
And to have all of these themes tied up with the Latinx bow? All the mentions of UF (Go Gators!) and Miami and, as Nina likes to say, living in the hyphen (in my case, Cuban-American)? It really did make this Cuban woman so happy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Cancer, and Pregnancy
Minor: Car accident and Injury/Injury detail
bookiecharm's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Grief
Minor: Cancer
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