e-ARC, 304 pages
Release Date: February 1, 2022
Published by: Berkley Books
Read from: January 13-26, 2022
Stand-alone
Source: Netgalley (I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Gentrification, Mention of a dead parent
For Readers Interested In: Contemporary Romance, Realistic Fiction, Adult, Spice of II, Racial/Ethnic Diversity, RetellingsWhen fate and tacos bring Ramón and Julieta together on the Day of the Dead, the star-crossed pair must make a choice: accept the bitter food rivalry that drives them apart or surrender to a love that consumes them.
Ramón Montez always achieves his goals. Whether that means collecting Ivy League degrees or growing his father’s fast-food empire, nothing sets Ramón off course. So when the sexy señorita who kissed him on the Day of the Dead runs off into the night with his heart, he determines to do whatever it takes to find her again.
Celebrity chef Julieta Campos has sacrificed everything to save her sea-to-table taqueria from closing. To her horror, she discovers that her new landlord is none other than the magnetic mariachi she hooked up with on Dia de los Muertos. Even worse, it was his father who stole her mother’s taco recipe decades ago. Julieta has no choice but to work with Ramón, the man who destroyed her life’s work–and the one man who tempts and inspires her.
As San Diego’s outraged community protests against the Taco King take-over and the divide between their families grows, Ramón and Julieta struggle to balance the rising tensions. But Ramón knows that true love is priceless and despite all of his successes, this is the one battle he refuses to lose.
*MY THOUGHTS*
Whenever I see a book that has a lot of Nikki buzz words, I don’t think twice. I add it to my TBR without checking reviews, without really reading the synopsis, without really doing anything. And that’s exactly what happened to this book. I wish now I had read some of the reviews before I got SO EXCITED about this one….
“What would it be like to have a love like the one her parents shared? […] The only songs men sang these days were on TikTok and even those were lip synched. Romance was dead.”6%
Ramón and Julieta meet on the Day of the Dead, not knowing who the other is. As it turns out, their parents were once lovers, turned enemies at the hands of a food rivalry. They fall for each other and as things start to be revealed, they realize the feud was so much more than they thought it was.
“Mama dabbed her face with a paper towel as the crowd walked by. ‘It’s the onions.’ Ah the onions. Always there to blame for your sorrow. Another benefit of being a chef.”12%
Ok, let’s start with the things I did like about this. I LOVED that this was a celebration of LatinX culture. Seeing all the Mexican customs and traditions was wonderful. And learning about the Mexican history in San Diego was even better. This is why I LOVE Diverse Reads. I learned about the Brown Berets movement and then went and did some more research on my own. Being from Texas, this isn’t something I would have ever learned about. (In US or World History because my Tx government likes to erase certain parts of history.) I was glad to look more into the historical aspects of this book. And of course, there’s the cover. My God, I remember when it dropped, I literally was sitting at my computer with my mouth open. The colors, the couple, just everything about it was wonderful!
“He may be a good student, but he has no street smarts. And he must not care about bad publicity.”32%
I also liked the re-telling aspect of it. The quotes included from the Shakespeare tragedy was a nice touch. But I loved to see all the little touches from the book that showed the original, like her cousin’s name and their families’ feud. (Of course I was glad that no one dies in this one tho lol) But I thought it was cool to see a contemporary book re-telling a classic. So much so I even let the insta-love pass in this one. Because I mean it IS R&J.
“I’m sorry Ramón. The building was for sale, but I’m not. You can let yourself out. […] In this day and age, you couldn’t just take over a block in a historically ethnic area and expect acceptance. And you shouldn’t even want to.”19%
Unfortunately, that was about the extent of what I liked. Maybe it was because I built this up in my head to be the best re-telling ever done since it was done with some color, but it just didn’t work for me. The writing style was very telly, not showy and that annoyed me. Especially since there was food involved. She gave this whole meaningful passage about “experiencing the restaurant,” to Ramón, but we didn’t get to do any of that with the book. Like mostly when she talked about food, she stated what it was and then went on to the next. I just feel like that was a missed opportunity to tell how the food sizzled, how it smelled, the colors involved, SOMETHING. It made the writing very jerky and stiff to me. And Lawd, the author used “incredible” SO. MUCH. When I was writing down my notes for my review, I went to the thesaurus for her to find some. It was that annoying after a while.
“You can’t judge a restaurant by numbers and data alone. You have to experience it with all 5 senses. […] Without hesitating, she picked up his fork, shoved some food on it, and lifted it to his mouth. ‘Taste the food.’ He readily opened his lips, and fed him. This moment felt intimate, yet scary. She lifted a small bowl of salsa to his nostrils. ‘Smell the spices. Listen to the laughter of the patrons and the music over the speakers. Touch the embroidered place mats and chairs. See the art on the wall. This may be a business to you, but this place is my life. Mi vida. “46%
And then there was the characters. I adored Julieta, but I wasn’t a fan of Ramón. And the two of them together was worse. I didn’t feel like their interactions were real. He was always throwing his money around (despite her saying it made her feel uncomfortable) and it took some of the romantic feeling away from it. The “steamy parts” were also cringey because of this. I didn’t feel like it was any love or romance involved if that makes sense. Now the side characters, I LOVED the other people in the Barrio and I loved Julieta’s mom and family. (The Lotería scene? LOVEEEEE) I would have loved to experience more at the different shops on the Barrio and see more of the culture instead of being just told about it. Now Ramón’s family? I have never wanted to throat punch someone so much in my life. And I’ll just leave it at that. If you read it, you will know EXACTLY who I’m talking about.
“Ramón opened the minibar and found a bottle of champagne. He poured two glasses. ‘Shall we toast?’ ‘To what?’ He pursed his lips- his eyes shifting. ‘Love and tacos.”62%
As soon as I got an open spot in my January TBR this rushed to the top of my To Read list. I wish this had been like the re-telling I had built up in my head. Unfortunately it didn’t work for me, but I know it will be perfect for someone out there. If you have this on your TBR pile, give it a shot and let me know what you think about it instead!
Overall, I give this
