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carmellow 's review for:
The Waves Take You Home
by María Alejandra Barrios Vélez
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
At first, I was completely excited to read this book because the cover is so beautiful... However, as soon as I read the fiasco of the proposal of the first chapter, I knew where the story was going to lead and I still wanted to give it a chance to prove me wrong.
Unfortunately, the book never proved me wrong because the underdeveloped romance between Rafa, a man child who cannot take accountability of his actions, and Vi, the main character who is still stuck in her idealization of a man that clearly doesn't exist, undermine the richness of her journey to save "Caminito", the restaurant she inherited from her abuela and that is about to close down for good.
It was hard to get immersed into how important Caminito truly was for Vi when her inner dialogue couldn't shut up about Rafa even in the most unnecessary moments, looking more like a teenager than a woman in her late 20s. It doesn't help that the author also tries to constantly retcon Vi, Rafa, and Anton's ages, making them confusing.
Another thing that I heavily disliked was the consideration for English readers because the translations of Spanish phrases broke the flow of the narration and dialogues.
The idea was good, but the execution was lacking. A lot.
Unfortunately, the book never proved me wrong because the underdeveloped romance between Rafa, a man child who cannot take accountability of his actions, and Vi, the main character who is still stuck in her idealization of a man that clearly doesn't exist, undermine the richness of her journey to save "Caminito", the restaurant she inherited from her abuela and that is about to close down for good.
It was hard to get immersed into how important Caminito truly was for Vi when her inner dialogue couldn't shut up about Rafa even in the most unnecessary moments, looking more like a teenager than a woman in her late 20s. It doesn't help that the author also tries to constantly retcon Vi, Rafa, and Anton's ages, making them confusing.
Another thing that I heavily disliked was the consideration for English readers because the translations of Spanish phrases broke the flow of the narration and dialogues.
The idea was good, but the execution was lacking. A lot.