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auroralovesbooks's reviews
413 reviews
Futbolista by Jonny Garza Villa
emotional
funny
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
A new favorite for me! ❤️
These two are such lover boys, and so lusty!
Ugh, where to even start with this one. This follows Gabi Piña, a Mexican football (soccer if you must) star in the making and Vale, a philosophy major who happens to end up tutoring him in Philosophy.
Gabi thinks he has his life all in order and planned out. He knows who he is and is comfortable in that. So he sometimes thinks about a guy or enjoys a kiss with one. He's straight.... right? Well, we get to follow Gabi's journey of awareness, acceptance, and coming out. Jonny managed to make this hilarious, heartfelt, emotional, and fun all in one book.
Vale was just such a sweetheart and painfully obvious 😅 He truly was the best! He was so supportive and kind and I wanted to give him the biggest hug.
The side characters in this book were all so well written and presented. Their personalities and their roles in the story just blended so seamlessly.
The writing in this book brought me so much comfort! We get some Spanish and Mexican way of speaking that just brought me joy to read in a book. 🇲🇽❤️
Obviously, 5 juicy stars from me! Please add this to your TBR immediately!
These two are such lover boys, and so lusty!
Ugh, where to even start with this one. This follows Gabi Piña, a Mexican football (soccer if you must) star in the making and Vale, a philosophy major who happens to end up tutoring him in Philosophy.
Gabi thinks he has his life all in order and planned out. He knows who he is and is comfortable in that. So he sometimes thinks about a guy or enjoys a kiss with one. He's straight.... right? Well, we get to follow Gabi's journey of awareness, acceptance, and coming out. Jonny managed to make this hilarious, heartfelt, emotional, and fun all in one book.
Vale was just such a sweetheart and painfully obvious 😅 He truly was the best! He was so supportive and kind and I wanted to give him the biggest hug.
The side characters in this book were all so well written and presented. Their personalities and their roles in the story just blended so seamlessly.
The writing in this book brought me so much comfort! We get some Spanish and Mexican way of speaking that just brought me joy to read in a book. 🇲🇽❤️
Obviously, 5 juicy stars from me! Please add this to your TBR immediately!
If We Were a Movie by Zakiya N. Jamal
4.0
A YA, rivals-to-lovers, forced proximity story that also centers around a historic black movie theatre!
This was such a cute book!! I loved Rochelle and Amira. They totally complimented each other and made such a cute couple. Without giving away Spoilers, I did feel like some of the conflict of this book was glazed over and resolved a bit too easily. That being said, this is great if you're looking for a low tension, fun, queer read!
This was such a cute book!! I loved Rochelle and Amira. They totally complimented each other and made such a cute couple. Without giving away Spoilers, I did feel like some of the conflict of this book was glazed over and resolved a bit too easily. That being said, this is great if you're looking for a low tension, fun, queer read!
Recitatif by Toni Morrison
5.0
Recitatif is a thought-provoking short story. You know that the story features one white girl and one black girl, but you are never told which is which. We face possible prejudices that may lead us to make our own assumptions, but we never know for sure.
I picked up the copy that includes the introduction by Zadie Smith and thought it was very insightful. I accidentally started with the intro instead of the short story, but I would have preferred reading the story and then the intro to help reflect on what you've read.
Either way, I think this story did what it intended to do, and thus, it is deserving of its 5 star rating.
I picked up the copy that includes the introduction by Zadie Smith and thought it was very insightful. I accidentally started with the intro instead of the short story, but I would have preferred reading the story and then the intro to help reflect on what you've read.
Either way, I think this story did what it intended to do, and thus, it is deserving of its 5 star rating.
Takes One to Know One by Lissette Decos
slow-paced
3.75
He takes her to places her dad wrote about in a song!! 🥹❤️
This was a cute slow burn romance between Rene, a Puerto Rican reggeaton artist, and his label's marketing coordinator, Dani. Dani is getting her first big shot at calling the shots for an upcoming project from Rene. Knowing nothing about him as an artist or the genre of music, there are some hiccups to start. I loved that Dani didn't automatically love Reggaeton because she's Latina (half Puerto Rican and half Cuban), but learned to love it once she listened to it.
Eventually, they end up going to Puerto Rico, where Rene is recording his album. Let me say, the descriptions of PR were beautiful and I really loved the imagery. I loved seeing Dani reconnect with her roots and find herself there. Dani's dad was Puerto Rican, and she got to explore the places he loved and missed. ❤️
Rene was a bit reserved (maybe going for mysterious), and it took me a minute to warm up to him. Still, I loved that his actions spoke for him, and I ended up enjoying him as an MMC.
As for the relationship, I will say this is a SLOW BURN. SLOW. I happen to like a slow burn, so I didn't mind it, but I know it's not always for everyone. I happened to like them together, but I wish we could have gotten more time with them as an actual couple. Because it's such a slow burn and there is a third act conflict, we don't actually get too much time of the full fledged romance. The spice is closed door, which isn't a bad thing, but between the closed door scenes and the lack of time together, we didn't get Dani and Rene very long.
This was a cute slow burn romance between Rene, a Puerto Rican reggeaton artist, and his label's marketing coordinator, Dani. Dani is getting her first big shot at calling the shots for an upcoming project from Rene. Knowing nothing about him as an artist or the genre of music, there are some hiccups to start. I loved that Dani didn't automatically love Reggaeton because she's Latina (half Puerto Rican and half Cuban), but learned to love it once she listened to it.
Eventually, they end up going to Puerto Rico, where Rene is recording his album. Let me say, the descriptions of PR were beautiful and I really loved the imagery. I loved seeing Dani reconnect with her roots and find herself there. Dani's dad was Puerto Rican, and she got to explore the places he loved and missed. ❤️
Rene was a bit reserved (maybe going for mysterious), and it took me a minute to warm up to him. Still, I loved that his actions spoke for him, and I ended up enjoying him as an MMC.
As for the relationship, I will say this is a SLOW BURN. SLOW. I happen to like a slow burn, so I didn't mind it, but I know it's not always for everyone. I happened to like them together, but I wish we could have gotten more time with them as an actual couple. Because it's such a slow burn and there is a third act conflict, we don't actually get too much time of the full fledged romance. The spice is closed door, which isn't a bad thing, but between the closed door scenes and the lack of time together, we didn't get Dani and Rene very long.