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A review by jackiehorne
West Side Love Story by Priscilla Oliveras
Did not finish book.
DNF at 140 pages in.
I wasn't that engaged by the two previous Oliveras books I've read, finding their plotlines and characters a bit flat and conventional despite the (all-too-rare in contemporary romance) pleasures of Latinx families and culture. But I thought I'd give this latest one a try, as it is a longer format than the two category-length books I'd read. Maybe given more room for storytelling, Oliveras would push beyond category characters and formulas?
The latest is a re-envisioning of the Romeo and Juliet story, set in the Latinx community of San Antonio. I loved the idea of a battle of the sexes taking place in the context of a mariachi band competition. And I was curious to see how Oliveras would approach the conflicts around the issue of gentrification, which plays an underlying role in this re-envisioning of Capuleta/Montero family feud. I was ready and eager to be engaged.
Unfortunately, though, despite its longer format, I found West Side Love Story even flatter than the two previous Oliveras books I'd read. The telling to showing ratio is far too much on the telling side for my tastes, and there's a lot of repetition, characters informing each other of something, then telling them the same thing again and again later in the same scene. There's also not a lot of forward momentum, plot-wise, to the story. I got almost halfway in, and the mariachi contest hadn't even started yet! The characters, too, are rather passive; things happen to them, but at least during the part I read, they don't do much in the way of acting or deciding or choosing to move forward. Both Mariana and Angelo, our Juliet and Romeo stand-ins, are nice, good, idealized characters, without much nuance or personality. Flat. And while some non-Spanish-speaking readers may appreciate it, I found the constant explaining of Spanish language terms heavy-handed and annoying; it kept pulling me out of the narrative.
Oliveras's stories obviously give many readers pleasure, with their warm depictions of Latinx culture and family . But the downsides don't make up for those pleasures, at least for this reader. I think this may be the last Oliveras romance I try.
I wasn't that engaged by the two previous Oliveras books I've read, finding their plotlines and characters a bit flat and conventional despite the (all-too-rare in contemporary romance) pleasures of Latinx families and culture. But I thought I'd give this latest one a try, as it is a longer format than the two category-length books I'd read. Maybe given more room for storytelling, Oliveras would push beyond category characters and formulas?
The latest is a re-envisioning of the Romeo and Juliet story, set in the Latinx community of San Antonio. I loved the idea of a battle of the sexes taking place in the context of a mariachi band competition. And I was curious to see how Oliveras would approach the conflicts around the issue of gentrification, which plays an underlying role in this re-envisioning of Capuleta/Montero family feud. I was ready and eager to be engaged.
Unfortunately, though, despite its longer format, I found West Side Love Story even flatter than the two previous Oliveras books I'd read. The telling to showing ratio is far too much on the telling side for my tastes, and there's a lot of repetition, characters informing each other of something, then telling them the same thing again and again later in the same scene. There's also not a lot of forward momentum, plot-wise, to the story. I got almost halfway in, and the mariachi contest hadn't even started yet! The characters, too, are rather passive; things happen to them, but at least during the part I read, they don't do much in the way of acting or deciding or choosing to move forward. Both Mariana and Angelo, our Juliet and Romeo stand-ins, are nice, good, idealized characters, without much nuance or personality. Flat. And while some non-Spanish-speaking readers may appreciate it, I found the constant explaining of Spanish language terms heavy-handed and annoying; it kept pulling me out of the narrative.
Oliveras's stories obviously give many readers pleasure, with their warm depictions of Latinx culture and family . But the downsides don't make up for those pleasures, at least for this reader. I think this may be the last Oliveras romance I try.