You Had Me at Hola: A Novel: 1 (Primas of Power, 1)

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When I read this, I had just spilled a glass of water on my laptop, my child, the love of my life, and been informed it would have cost NINE HUNDRED DOLLARS to fix. I spent the day in a malaise of TikTok and reflecting on my own suffering. Eventually I read my library ebook copy of this on my phone, instead of on my then dead computer, as nature intended. So I probably wouldn't have liked this even if it made me laugh and cry and shake my head in disbelief at its sheer magnificence. But on the other hand I feel that we need more romances like You Had Me at Hola, because of its diverse cast AND different topic. I often feel I’ve read it all, and there is nothing new in the romance world for me to explore. Paired with this, there were instances when characters would sit down to have a conversation, and rather than follow a dialogue, the author would just tell us what was said, what the reactions and resolutions were, and continue with the narrative. This was not the rule, and there's plenty of growth between the characters on their own, but these moments almost felt rushed. It was as if we, as the reader, were being hurried along to the rest of the novel. Have you ever read a book that you know you didn't give a fair shot, because you were in a bad enough mood that you could have read the greatest story ever told and still not liked it, but also simultaneously known that even if you had read that book when life itself was nothing but sunshine and rainbows and every day was a new delight you still wouldn't have liked it?

This book is a hug to the Latinx community and its culture. The times I said "oh my god I do this," "my grandma totally tells me this when I visit" etc. is unreal. I identified so hard with the characters and the story in this novel and I think every Latinx reader will too. The food, the Spanish!!! So much Spanish and it's not italicized!!! Jasmine doesn't really know how to speak Spanish fluently while Ashton does and speaks it with his family. This book was a wonderful experience that completely filled me with joy and happiness.If you're looking for the kind of romance that features only the two main characters and little else then this one is not for you. There are a plethora of secondary characters in this one. Between the staff of Carmen in Charge, las Primas of Power, Ashton's family in Puerto Rico, and Jasmine's Nuyorican family; there are plenty of new faces to go around. They really are what moves the story. Jasmine and Ashton are both people who are very close to their families and it's such a big thing for Latinx families to maintain that closeness. It was refreshing and endearing to see family dynamics like my own family's. I have a hunch on who might be the next heroine of the story but I'm keeping my mouth shut so y'all can find out yourselves! beginning with the characters, Jasmine Lin Rodriguez is a wonderful protagonist. she is hot (let me tell you), funny and sweet. i love her sm <33. not an unlikable fmc at all. Since Ashton and Jasmine first meet, and work together, because they're both actors in the remake of a Venezuelan telenovela, it stands to reason that parts of this story would take place on set while they film. What I did not expect—but was delighted by—was to actually be able to follow along with the script. It was very immersive to feel like I was behind the camera while Victor and Carmen—the two characters that Ashton and Jasmine portray—flourish in their own stories. And through them, our own novel's protagonists start to grow closer to each other. It was a great addition to the book, and made it that much more unique.

This book reads like a labor of love. There is so much detail put into the setting and the characters and it's done so lovingly at times that it may seem a bit corny. Thing is, that's just how Boricua love is. It's loud, it's boisterous and it's warm to its core. Personally, I found the male MC, Ashton, to be too closed off. I had a much harder time connecting to him, and I found him to be not vulnerable enough, even within his own head. I thought the romance felt a bit... strained? It didn't quite feel natural to me. In fact, I found the romance of their character that they were playing to be more organic. I also thought that the Ashton withheld too much information from the female MC, Jasmine, even when they were in a tentative relationship, for me to have much sympathy for him. stars. I don't know if my expectations for this one were just too high, but a lot of things about this book just didn't work for me. So she needs a clean state, fresh start, concentrating on her career. But it seems like it is impossible task when you have so freaking charming co-star and sharing so many intimate, hot kissing scenes with him. Yes, she starts falling fast and she needs to stop but does she really want to stop?I enjoyed the plot of the story, even if it felt a bit slow with some pacing issues. I was genuinely interested in each of the MCs and their own journeys through their careers. I liked that they had wildly different paths and experiences in the entertainment industry, and even though I know next to nothing about that world, I was interested in what they were going through. Two talented chess players challenge each other on and off the board in bestselling author Hazelwood’s YA debut. The 'Carmen in Charge' chapters were just boring and used as filler without adding anything substantial to the story- even though characters seemed to interact more on their show than they did off set. 🙃 The secret that came out had me rolling my eyes and I felt the big drama was just boring. 🙈 This really did not work for me. I have given it 2 stars based on the rep and book cover alone but I'm leaning more towards 1 star.

We got to know the characters really well. I instantly fell for them. And the more we got to know them, the harder I fell. I really struggled through the first half. The writing was choppy and disjointed and the dialogue felt unnatural and awkward. I felt completely detached from the story and characters and just didn't really care about them. I didn't find their romance believable nor their chemistry, they went from barely interacting in the first half of the book to having sex every day??? In the entire story they probably had 3 meaningful conversations if that. It was entertaining, soft, sweet reading. I got some points because our hero earned so many slapping points from me. So I’m giving 3.5 stars and eventually I’m rounding them up to 4! The second half of the book was definitely better than the first but overall the book was a big disappointment for me unfortunately.

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But this story is the perfect example of how love is not made of big gestures and great gifts, but by simplicity and being there for the other person. Meaning, you should always feel free to freak out in front of your loved ones, no matter how scared you are to expose that part of yourself. With time it has become more and more difficult to find romance novels adequate to my expectations because my social life is non-existent, but there are a few things I haven't yet done in my imagination.