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moodyromancereader's Reviews (135)
I’ve had this book on my tbr since it was released and why didn’t anyone tell me about the full Salvadoran representation we get in this book!!??!! Cipotes, this book is for us 🥹🇸🇻
This book is truly brilliant. I don’t know how else to describe it. It is a collection of stories ranging from colonialism, migration, queerness, climate change, family, and the exploitation of the working class, all rooted in the Central American experience.
The way this book opens up? Seeing Pipils mentioned and imagining how a different world could have existed, I will think about that first story forever and how Cuscatlan would exist today.
The fifth story, Quiero Perrear and Other Catastrophes, reminds me of some of the topics Kendrick Lamar dives into in To Pimp A Butterfly. We have a reggaeton artist who is Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Salvadoran. We see the exploitation in the music industry and how everything isn’t what it seems.
The last two stories made me tear up. The second to last story had alternate endings and let the readers decide how the stories unfold. I kept flipping back and forth to see how each story would end. My favorite ending was with his mom y con la vaquita. And also made me realize that some people will make the same decision no matter what (yes I'm sideying the dad). These alternate endings show how sometimes choices are made because there are no options left.
The last story, short but incredibly impactful. It made me tear up. It’s a beautiful tribute to all those who have crossed the Rio Grande.
Also, being a Salvadoreña raised in LA, I loved seeing different cities and places mentioned around LA. I could vividly imagine where the story was taking place.
Thank you to forever for this arc! This is one of my most anticipated reads for the year. I was SO excited when I heard that this book was a Sapphic Latinx Romance (two Latinx leads) and saw the cover! So, it hurts when I say this book did not meet my expectations. I will sum up my thoughts without any spoilers.
First, I am going to mention where the book fell short. This book is targeted as a Mexican Sapphic Romance with two Mexican FMCs, Angela Gutierrez and Krystal Ramirez. In my opinion, this book lacked Latinx representation. There is no discussion about Angela or Krystal’s Mexican heritage. In the beginning, when we meet Angela, we learn that her parents are Mexican, which is the only time her culture is mentioned. As for Krystal, it is never mentioned that she is Mexican. But this book is being marketed as a Latinx Romance?
Only four Spanish words are in the book, and they are after the 50% mark. Yes, I am aware that Latinxs are not a monolith and that not all Latinxs speak Spanish. Multiple languages are spoken in Latin America, and there are Latinxs who do not speak Spanish. But this could have been a topic or discussion explored with Angela and Krystal. Do they have a shared experience when it comes to speaking Spanish? The book did not explore nor mention this.
The cover is beautiful, but the San Antonio festival is such a small part of the book. Based on the cover, I thought it would be a key moment.
The scavenger hunt wasn’t the book's main focus, as I was expecting. There was so much discussion about it; in the end, it didn't even matter.
I also feel some moments/discussions were rushed. Also, this is book two in the “Librarians in Love,” and there were no librarian vibes.
What I did enjoy about the book was the ace and queer representation. There were many discussions in the book, and multiple characters explored this. I do feel that these conversations were informative, but it also felt repetitive in some parts. Most of the first half of the book focuses on this.
