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A review by valeriabee
You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria
funny
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.0
In all honesty, based on my biased opinion I would be rating this book something closer to a 3. However, I know that objectively it is better than that.
Jasmine has been acting in soap operas for a while now and she has finally been given the opportunity to star in a Latinx centered story for a big streaming platform. Unfortunately, just before filming starts, Jasmine goes through a bad and public breakup. As a result, she decides to put more focus on being a Leading Lady and set her man-troubles aside.
Enter Ashton Suarez, Puerto Rican telenovela star. Well-known amongst most Latinx families for being the leading man. He has a reputation for being aloof and a bit diva-ish, but easy to work with. Of course, this is because he has many secrets he is holding close to his heart and he cannot risk letting anyone close enough to reveal those secrets.
Playing ex-husband and wife in the show, Ashton and Jasmine have to fight off the sexual tension building up between them. It becomes increasingly difficult when their characters start to get intimate.
So, I expected to swoon. I didnt. I think it's my Latina bias against Latin men. We know theyre a particular breed of men that tend towards a special form of toxic masculinity and machismo. I was surprised that this wasn't addressed in the novel, especially for a man of Ashton's age.
I should have known I wouldnt like the book by the title: You Had Me At Hola. Pushes the Spanish a little hard there and I'm always uncomfy with the equating of Spanish language to Latinidad. Fortunately, Jasmine isnt perfectly fluent and she isnt expected to be! It is treated as a perfectly normal thing to not be great at Spanish, and it doesnt make her any less worthy of her role as the Lead of a Spanglish Latinx show.
Speaking of the show, there was great diversity in nationalities and gender representation among the cast and crew. However, and perhaps this is a bias that I carry with me subconsciously, the descriptions of all Latinx characters were reminiscent of what we have already seen: brown, tan, bronze. Not Black. And the anti-blackness of the Latinx community is never broached. Actually, there are a couple of Afro-Latinx characters but they are "and Black." Completely valid, but it still presents Blackness as decidedly separate from Latinidad when the characters have to be mixed to be Afro-Latinx.
Then there's the issue of the Spanish language. I know that the audience reaches beyond Latine people and Spanish speakers, it nonetheless felt like the language was too prim or proper. Perhaps I would need a Boricua to read it out so I can hear it. But like, the way I see it, can you hear Bad Bunny saying it? Boricuas sound like Bad Bunny -- not Nuyoricans, theyre a different kind of Puerto Rican. Maybe I needed more effort in my head to sound like Bad Bunny rather than my Costa Rican Spanish.
In stating all of this, I know I am asking too much of a singular book. Daria can only do so much. The entirety of the Latine diaspora in romance novels cannot be placed on her shoulders. I know I am asking too much/expecting too much, but that is why I bumped up my rating. I know that these issues I have are not completely fair.
However, it is fair to not be fond of the pacing. At first it felt too slow and then it felt like they were going too fast. It was a weird insta-love situation that I didnt quite like. Moreover, I didnt like how clueless Jasmine was in her own life. She didnt do much of the realization or reflection on her own. She could only realize something after someone (usually her cousin Michelle) told her abruptly what was what. Jasmine could never put the pieces together for herself and that was frustrating. I wanted her to really go on a journey instead of being handed the answer.
This being said, the novel dives into important conversations. First is that of representation of media, of being an actor with the burden of representing a whole spectrum of people with every project they take on. It's a big burden to carry.
Then there's the issue of the news media. The way they feed off of scandals and violate privacy for profit. Through Jasmine and Ashton, Daria explores the insidiousness of the tabloids and papparazzi. It is so easy as a spectator to forget that the celebrities we gossip about are real people, and that the gossip can hurt them.
I think my favorite part of the book was the focus on vulnerability. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable with another person is a big part of falling in love, but it's also a big part of taking care of yourself. Through the characters they played on screen, Jasmine and Ashton learned a lot about being emotionally vulnerable and how healing that can be, especially Ashton.
The topic of anxiety and PTSD was subtle but very real. Especially because the PTSD isnt really named until the very end and you realize, oh yeah that is what he was going through. And that is a lot like PTSD for some people, sometimes you are so in your head that you dont realize youre processing a trauma through anxiety, isolation, paranoia, etc. I appreciated that Ashton was never made to seem weak or inferior for being afraid --- but that would have been a good space to open the conversation around machismo and the response that would be expected of him.
Finally, there is the ever present topic of consent. On screen, Ashton and Jasmine share some intimate moments. To help them through it, their showrunner brings in an intimacy coordinator who helps them process consent and comfort in their roles. It is emphasized that they should have clear boundaries and that they should not be made uncomfortable by the kisses shared on screen. They purposely choreograph the kisses to be as comfortable as possible for both actors. Moreover, that communication and consent is carried into their private intimate moments. At one point, Ashton expresses a clear boundary he has and Jasmine doesnt try to overstep it at any point. It was important to see that the man can have boundaries too, that consent applies to him too. Overall, mutual consent is emphasized in their work setting and their private settings. This is something I appreciate from Daria, as it is easy to overlook consent in the context of heat-of-the-moment romances.
This novel has a lot of fun and is genuinely humorous. It also elegantly brings up important topics that are not frequently found in the romantic genre. I, however, wasn't pulled into this whirlwind romance. I didnt feel captured by their chemistry. I had a hard time really falling into the book and allowing myself to be in the moment with the characters. This review is evidence of the highly analytical approach I took when reading this novel. I think maybe it was too close to what I know/am familiar with to allow myself an escape through these characters. That's on me, not the author.
Jasmine has been acting in soap operas for a while now and she has finally been given the opportunity to star in a Latinx centered story for a big streaming platform. Unfortunately, just before filming starts, Jasmine goes through a bad and public breakup. As a result, she decides to put more focus on being a Leading Lady and set her man-troubles aside.
Enter Ashton Suarez, Puerto Rican telenovela star. Well-known amongst most Latinx families for being the leading man. He has a reputation for being aloof and a bit diva-ish, but easy to work with. Of course, this is because he has many secrets he is holding close to his heart and he cannot risk letting anyone close enough to reveal those secrets.
Playing ex-husband and wife in the show, Ashton and Jasmine have to fight off the sexual tension building up between them. It becomes increasingly difficult when their characters start to get intimate.
So, I expected to swoon. I didnt. I think it's my Latina bias against Latin men. We know theyre a particular breed of men that tend towards a special form of toxic masculinity and machismo. I was surprised that this wasn't addressed in the novel, especially for a man of Ashton's age.
I should have known I wouldnt like the book by the title: You Had Me At Hola. Pushes the Spanish a little hard there and I'm always uncomfy with the equating of Spanish language to Latinidad. Fortunately, Jasmine isnt perfectly fluent and she isnt expected to be! It is treated as a perfectly normal thing to not be great at Spanish, and it doesnt make her any less worthy of her role as the Lead of a Spanglish Latinx show.
Speaking of the show, there was great diversity in nationalities and gender representation among the cast and crew. However, and perhaps this is a bias that I carry with me subconsciously, the descriptions of all Latinx characters were reminiscent of what we have already seen: brown, tan, bronze. Not Black. And the anti-blackness of the Latinx community is never broached. Actually, there are a couple of Afro-Latinx characters but they are "and Black." Completely valid, but it still presents Blackness as decidedly separate from Latinidad when the characters have to be mixed to be Afro-Latinx.
Then there's the issue of the Spanish language. I know that the audience reaches beyond Latine people and Spanish speakers, it nonetheless felt like the language was too prim or proper. Perhaps I would need a Boricua to read it out so I can hear it. But like, the way I see it, can you hear Bad Bunny saying it? Boricuas sound like Bad Bunny -- not Nuyoricans, theyre a different kind of Puerto Rican. Maybe I needed more effort in my head to sound like Bad Bunny rather than my Costa Rican Spanish.
In stating all of this, I know I am asking too much of a singular book. Daria can only do so much. The entirety of the Latine diaspora in romance novels cannot be placed on her shoulders. I know I am asking too much/expecting too much, but that is why I bumped up my rating. I know that these issues I have are not completely fair.
However, it is fair to not be fond of the pacing. At first it felt too slow and then it felt like they were going too fast. It was a weird insta-love situation that I didnt quite like. Moreover, I didnt like how clueless Jasmine was in her own life. She didnt do much of the realization or reflection on her own. She could only realize something after someone (usually her cousin Michelle) told her abruptly what was what. Jasmine could never put the pieces together for herself and that was frustrating. I wanted her to really go on a journey instead of being handed the answer.
This being said, the novel dives into important conversations. First is that of representation of media, of being an actor with the burden of representing a whole spectrum of people with every project they take on. It's a big burden to carry.
Then there's the issue of the news media. The way they feed off of scandals and violate privacy for profit. Through Jasmine and Ashton, Daria explores the insidiousness of the tabloids and papparazzi. It is so easy as a spectator to forget that the celebrities we gossip about are real people, and that the gossip can hurt them.
I think my favorite part of the book was the focus on vulnerability. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable with another person is a big part of falling in love, but it's also a big part of taking care of yourself. Through the characters they played on screen, Jasmine and Ashton learned a lot about being emotionally vulnerable and how healing that can be, especially Ashton.
The topic of anxiety and PTSD was subtle but very real. Especially because the PTSD isnt really named until the very end and you realize, oh yeah that is what he was going through. And that is a lot like PTSD for some people, sometimes you are so in your head that you dont realize youre processing a trauma through anxiety, isolation, paranoia, etc. I appreciated that Ashton was never made to seem weak or inferior for being afraid --- but that would have been a good space to open the conversation around machismo and the response that would be expected of him.
Finally, there is the ever present topic of consent. On screen, Ashton and Jasmine share some intimate moments. To help them through it, their showrunner brings in an intimacy coordinator who helps them process consent and comfort in their roles. It is emphasized that they should have clear boundaries and that they should not be made uncomfortable by the kisses shared on screen. They purposely choreograph the kisses to be as comfortable as possible for both actors. Moreover, that communication and consent is carried into their private intimate moments. At one point, Ashton expresses a clear boundary he has and Jasmine doesnt try to overstep it at any point. It was important to see that the man can have boundaries too, that consent applies to him too. Overall, mutual consent is emphasized in their work setting and their private settings. This is something I appreciate from Daria, as it is easy to overlook consent in the context of heat-of-the-moment romances.
This novel has a lot of fun and is genuinely humorous. It also elegantly brings up important topics that are not frequently found in the romantic genre. I, however, wasn't pulled into this whirlwind romance. I didnt feel captured by their chemistry. I had a hard time really falling into the book and allowing myself to be in the moment with the characters. This review is evidence of the highly analytical approach I took when reading this novel. I think maybe it was too close to what I know/am familiar with to allow myself an escape through these characters. That's on me, not the author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Stalking