The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa

Carolina “Lina” Santos experienced one of the worst experiences one could live through. Stood up at the altar. And it’s all the best man’s fault, Max Hartley. Now years later, Santos has pulled herself together to making a succesful wedding planning company and is up for a big presentation that will grant them a stable revenue of weddings at a luxe hotel. The one blip, she has to present with Max Hartley who is determined to step out of his older brother’s, Lina’s ex, shadow and impress the hotlier with his marketing campaign.

With the sudden shock of seeing each other again, Max and Lina pretend they don’t know each other, which forces them to act even more professional than usual as they work closely together to achieve their goals. Yet despite the warning flags, despite all the reasons, they can’t help but screw professionalism in private and with each other.

Drawing on her own heritage, Sosa brings issues of being an Afro-Latina into the forefront when it comes to professional opportunities. Lina keeps a tight lid on her emotions when it comes to wedding planning in order to counteract the stereotypes of being too emotional, hysterical or angry. Which Max points out, as part of his job as a marketer, comes across as cold and uncaring. It’s a tricky line and Sosa uses it to have important yet earnest discussions between MAx and Lina regarding his white male privilege.

But that’s not all this romance is about, just what I found most interesting. Max also has his own arc detailing his insecurities regarding being the little brother which is part of why their romance seems to have an end sign. She wants a little payback, he wants to one-up his brother. But Sosa also highlights what they bring each other, why they work better than anyone else. Intense focus, dedication, and most important, communication. Plus humor which helps in making me want to read more more more. That and the sexiness radiating between them. The night when it all comes to a climax, literally, was the best.

A great book and I’m excited to get my hands on the sequel.

Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez

Jimenez tackles the effects of long-term terminal illness in this romance. 29 year old, Vanessa Price is fearful of the numb sensation in her hand. A possible symptom of ASL (the reason of the ice bucket challenge) that had taken the lives of her mother and her older sister before they were thirty. Seeing the detoriation and slow death of beloved family members have left her family fractured and her younger sister, unable to cope with the grief turns to drugs. And leaves Vanessa with her baby daughter. This is what stalls Vanessa’s career as a adventure vlogger and leads her to meet her next door neighbor. Adrian Copeland, whom Vanessa dubs the Secret Baby Tamer, is a lawyer by day and equally intrigued by the vivacious Vanessa who helps him rediscover his inner child and zest for life.

But nothing is so easy when ASL comes to play. Jimenez does an excellent job showing the fear and the pain that long term illness can wreck, especially one that has no cure. That’s where the title comes to play as Vanessa chooses to enjoy life despite mortality because she has seen the effects of experimental ASL treatment that prolong life but leave you so tired and in pain-is that really living? Jimenez also tackles the decision-making between the pair regarding to the treatment. The balance of feelings, helplessness and guilt. Who should have more say in treatment, the patient or should she consider those who will still be living after they’re gone. There are no easy answers.

It’s a tearjerker especially as the two struggle whether the pain will be worth it to love each other in the last few months. But there’s happiness shining through too because that’s part of life too. Hope as well.

So poignant and moving, with humorous clickbait titles, this is the book for those who want a Love Story-esque novel.

A Proposal They Can’t Refuse by Natalie Caña

Now it seems like a rivals to lovers story. Kamilah and Liam’s grandparents are blackmailing them into marriage or else they’ll sell the beloved stores that the protagonists want to fix up. But it’s a lot more than that.

They were childhood friends, fitting since they’re grandparents are best friends. They even dated a bit but there issues tore them apart. They haven’t talked in years and now that each have a stake in this resturaunt biz they accept the agreement. Kamilah wants to update her family’s homey Puerto Rican resturaunt enough so they could avoid falling victim to the city’s gentrification. Her first stop is to put them on the Fall Foodie Tour. Liam Killian wants is family distillary to win the national winemaking competition and to sell it at first chance. They figured the best option is to play along with a fake engagement but as with any rom-com, their heat and their history makes it all too real.

Caña’s romance was sizzling and I’m not just saying that because of the resturaunt premise. Liam and Kamilah have a natural banter since they know each other well but also intrigue because of how they’d been apart so together it makes an explosive combination as they negotiate and discuss ways to improve their respective businesses. It helps and impresses me that Caña doesn’t shy away from plumbing their flaws. I won’t go too into it since it’s best to read it and see it unfold for yourself but the basic point is that we all have to keep working on ourselves. Our intentions or causes for why we act the way we do does not negate the consequences and how it affects others.

Caña also does an excellent job exploring grief and family dynamics, intertwined and independently. I want to say more but this is spoiler-free. But I want to emphasize that Caña is amazing in the microdynamics of the community and the family, seamessly weaving it into the romance making it all equally important. Everyone has layers and flaws even Kamilah’s ex boyfriend isn’t the jerk Kamilah always thought he was. Okay, he’s still kinda a jerk but also not the sole fault of their relationship issues.

Plus I love the con sabor Caña adds when depicting the Vega family, its recipes and its ties to the island they love while also getting at the immigrant experience and the trinkle down effect it has on later generations.

Plus I just love this line when they begin to give into their feelings- “Liam experienced something unlike anything he’d ever felt before. It wasn’t a sexual desire. It wasn’t solely sexual desire. It was the need to be just close to her,” (146).

Just excellent and I can’t wait for the next two in the trio!