Hello my bookish friends! I am back with a review of A LOT LIKE ADIÓS by Alexis Daria. This is the second book in the Primas of Power series, but it can be read as a standalone. It is a second chance, estranged childhood best friends-to-lovers, Latinx romance with 2 bisexual (MF) leads!
Blurb:
Hi Mich. It’s Gabe.
After burning out in her corporate marketing career, Michelle Amato has built a thriving freelance business as a graphic designer. So what if her love life is nonexistent? She’s perfectly fine being the black sheep of her marriage-obsessed Puerto Rican-Italian family. Besides, the only guy who ever made her want happily-ever-after disappeared thirteen years ago.
It’s been a long time.
Gabriel Aguilar left the Bronx at eighteen to escape his parents’ demanding expectations, but it also meant saying goodbye to Michelle, his best friend and longtime crush. Now, he’s the successful co-owner of LA’s hottest celebrity gym, with an investor who insists on opening a New York City location. It’s the last place Gabe wants to go, but when Michelle is unexpectedly brought on board to spearhead the new marketing campaign, everything Gabe’s been running from catches up with him.
I’ve missed you.
Michelle is torn between holding Gabe at arm’s length or picking up right where they left off—in her bed. As they work on the campaign, old feelings resurface, and their reunion takes a sexy turn. Facing mounting pressure from their families—who think they’re dating—and growing uncertainty about their futures, can they resolve their past mistakes, or is it only a matter of time before Gabe says adiós again?
I read the first book in this series, YOU HAD ME AT HOLA last year and loved it, so it really shouldn't have taken me so long to pick this one up. It was sweet, it was a perfect amount of angsty, and it was so hot. The steam comes fast (lol) and keeps up practically cover to cover. These characters are two hotties who are both very confident and comfortable in their own skin and are always attracted to one another, even when they wish they weren't.
And the family dynamics are perfect. This has the trope of 1st-gen Latinx child whose dreams are at odds with what their parents dream for them. What I really love about this one--and it did make me cry--is that, once Gabe can't avoid his father any longer, their interaction is not what he expects ... and not necessarily what the reader is expecting either. I don't want to give any spoilers, but the way Gabe reassesses the way he sees his family? The way he, now a thirty-year-old, can finally see his parents as flawed individuals in their own right, and not just as his parents? I read their entire reconciliation through blurry eyes.
If you like this one and want more books with similar tropes, I recommend ANCHORED HEARTS by Priscilla Oliveras and A PROPOSAL THEY CAN'T REFUSE by Natalie Caña.
Have you read A LOT LIKE ADIÓS yet? Let me know what you thought of it!
Stay spooky,
Cat