Book Review: You Had Me At Hola by Alexis Daria

Rating: 4.25/5

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Adult Fiction

Warnings: PTSD (stalking incident) and anxiety

Read if you liked: Jane the Virgin

Review: After a public breakup, soap opera star Jasmine Lin Rodriguez returns to her hometown of New York City to film a new bilingual romantic comedy for ~Netflix~. Jasmine creates a new “Leading Lady Plan” should be easy enough to follow until her co-star ends up being telenovela hunk Ashton Suárez. After his long term telenovela character was killed off, Ashton is worried his career won’t rebound. Joining this new cast will give him the chance to show off his acting skills on the big screen.

Jasmine and Ashton, both having a lot on the line, agree to rehearse in private. But rehearsal leads to kissing, and kissing leads to a behind-the-scenes romance worthy of a soap opera. While their on-screen performance improves, the media spotlight on Jasmine soon threatens to destroy her new image and expose Ashton’s most closely guarded secret.

I’ve seen so many people recently talking about books they read before they were on bookstagram…You Had Me At Hola was one of my favorites of last year. I freaking loved this book, it was a lovely romance with intentional diversity, language, sex-positivity and genuine characters. The story is based around telenovela so there were some cheesy moments but give me all the cheese. The story also weaved nicely with the shows’ dialogue, I kinda want to watch Carmen in Charge and see what happens.

Things I loved: The “leading lady plan”, we all need one! I also loved the use of an intimacy coordinator and consent, as someone who reads a lot of romance this is super important for me so see intentionally…this is a STEAMY one too 🔥. I loved the commentary about Latinx representation in the television and film industry, this was so well down and important to discuss. Side characters were also amazing!

Things I didn’t care for: Miscommunication + emotional immaturity was a big part of this conflict…it’s so frustrating, at times, to read on the page even if it’s need for the “conflict” angle.

I read so many good books in 2020, I’ll be bringing some of them back to highlight + review in the next few months. I can’t wait for the next one in this series following Jasmine’s cousin Michelle. A Lot Like Adios is coming out later this year. I’m still crossing my fingers for the ARC.

Love,

A