A review by featheredturtle
Guava Flavored Lies by J.J. Arias

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

 

The Good: 

• Sylvia and Lauren. Their character dynamic is PURE GOLD. Laidback x chill character romance can be really fun, and Arias executed it well. The fact that they’ve known each other for years plays a big role and the reader can FEEL the mountain of personal history between them.
• Romance. A good dynamic helps build a good romance! Lauren and Sylvia are fun together and Arias doesn’t resort to cheap stereotypes when the two are together.
• Background family dynamics. Both Sylvia and Lauren have their own relationships and dynamics within their individual families. While their mothers can feel a bit same-y when they collide (with Sylvia’s a bit screechier) they still feel different with their daughters. Peeking into Sylvia’s dynamic with her brother especially felt very real and reveals a lot about why she is how she is as a person.
• The secret. It’s a big OOF.
• Miami descriptions. Arias has a great feel for Miami. It felt like Arias was writing about a specific city, and not simply describing a place and hoping for the best. I had flashbacks to my CSI: Miami watching days.
• Bonus epilogue. Reading the title of the epilogue and then going on to read the epilogue was HILARIOUS.
• Solid writing style. Arias’s style is vibrant and readable. Her food descriptions are great and the dialogue between Sylvia and Lauren is fun.

The Bad:

• Lacking/poorly distributed B-plot. While the romantic plot develops at a brisk, focused pace, the lack of development in other areas–namely, the bakery business/family history drama–becomes obvious.
• Loses steam about halfway through. This is a big one. Around the midpoint, Sylvia and Lauren are firmly established as “together” and there isn’t a significant threat to their relationship, and neither does one come up. The family rivalry feels a bit like a joke at this point, and Sylvia and Lauren have known each other their whole lives, so nothing feels rushed. There’s still a lot of intimate scenes between them, but it’s lost any substance. The book just keeps going long after there’s anything new to write about.
• Some weak points in prose. The usual suspects, like some avoidable weak/filter words. But also the opposite problem: some over-the-top descriptions for mundane things that feel tacky, like Lauren “pirouetting” into the driver’s seat. Like, what???

Your Mileage May Vary:

• Silvia is difficult to root for at first. While watching both families squall is painful, she–and the rest of the Campos clan–are particularly screechy. I warmed up to her as soon as she mentioned how differently she was treated compared to her spoiled brother, but depending on how you feel about high strung characters, it’ll vary.
• Not for Coldplay fans. There are a couple of harsh opinions about Coldplay. Sorry, Coldplay fans?

Final Rating
Story: B-
Prose: B
Characters: A
World: B
Theme(s): C
Enjoyment: C- (First half A, second half D) 

(Final thoughts: The first half was super fun, and I started longing for pastries ABSOLUTELY unavailable in my city. The second half has a lot of words and very little happening. Honestly, GFL might’ve worked better as a novella. The bonus epilogue was fantastic, though.)