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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It's confirmed: Romeo and Juliet retellings are just not for me. I'm not into insta-love, and this West Side Story inspired contemporary romance had me rolling my eyes in disbelief. Mariana and Angelo shared an anonymous kiss on New Year's Eve, only to discover each other's identity while scoping out competition for the upcoming mariachi Battle of the Bands. Not only are they in competing bands, but their families have also maintained a decades-long rivalry.
This plot felt really forced to me. In addition to the insta-love situation, I also just didn't buy the rivalry, nor did I feel that it was ever sufficiently explained. Indeed, several plot lines, including the foster care and gentrification dynamics and all the details about the protagonists' families. I kept reading because it was quick, but I was pretty bored the whole time (and it didn't even have the steam factor to keep me going).
This plot felt really forced to me. In addition to the insta-love situation, I also just didn't buy the rivalry, nor did I feel that it was ever sufficiently explained. Indeed, several plot lines, including the foster care and gentrification dynamics and all the details about the protagonists' families. I kept reading because it was quick, but I was pretty bored the whole time (and it didn't even have the steam factor to keep me going).
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this West Side Story retelling taking place in Texas with two dueling family mariachi bands. Another fun one by @prisoliveras and looking forward to more Capuleta girl love stories!
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I couldn’t get into it because there were too many names and Spanish words to keep track of.
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
West Side Love Story is a book with an interesting concept that doesn't hit the mark.
I went into this book knowing from the title that it's based on West Side Story (which itself is based on Romeo and Juliet). And while insta-love isn't my favorite, I knew it was par for the course. However, the insta-love is not by biggest qualm with this book. A lot of what kept me from loving this book was the writing style and the multitude of subplots.
The writing style of West Side Love Story is very repetitive. Part of this is because the characters speak in a mix of Spanish and English, and the English translation is often repeated immediately after the Spanish phrases. I understand that that's often needed, and I'm not the best person to say whether they were all necessary or not because I do speak some Spanish, but instead of building context clues around the Spanish or finding a more discrete way of translating for the reader, the phrases were often repetido inmediatamente, repeated immediately.
This repetition wasn't only with the language, but also with some phrases in general. I the phrase "private lender" was used 14 times and "balloon payment" was used 12 times. That's about once every 23 pages per phrase. These were the two that stuck out to me the most, but there are others as well.
Another issue I had with the writing style was the use of unnecessary quotation marks. Eg: her eyes look as if they were saying "I'm sorry," It happened a lot, and I found it quite distracting and annoying.
This book is fine, I enjoyed the nods to West Side Story song lyrics, and it was cute. If you're looking for some Mexican representation and foster care representation, this may be the book for you. Unfortunately, it wasn't the book for me. 2.5 stars.
I went into this book knowing from the title that it's based on West Side Story (which itself is based on Romeo and Juliet). And while insta-love isn't my favorite, I knew it was par for the course. However, the insta-love is not by biggest qualm with this book. A lot of what kept me from loving this book was the writing style and the multitude of subplots.
The writing style of West Side Love Story is very repetitive. Part of this is because the characters speak in a mix of Spanish and English, and the English translation is often repeated immediately after the Spanish phrases. I understand that that's often needed, and I'm not the best person to say whether they were all necessary or not because I do speak some Spanish, but instead of building context clues around the Spanish or finding a more discrete way of translating for the reader, the phrases were often repetido inmediatamente, repeated immediately.
This repetition wasn't only with the language, but also with some phrases in general. I the phrase "private lender" was used 14 times and "balloon payment" was used 12 times. That's about once every 23 pages per phrase. These were the two that stuck out to me the most, but there are others as well.
Another issue I had with the writing style was the use of unnecessary quotation marks. Eg: her eyes look as if they were saying "I'm sorry," It happened a lot, and I found it quite distracting and annoying.
This book is fine, I enjoyed the nods to West Side Story song lyrics, and it was cute. If you're looking for some Mexican representation and foster care representation, this may be the book for you. Unfortunately, it wasn't the book for me. 2.5 stars.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a cute and quick romance read, perfect for summer! As a Latina, I so appreciated the callbacks to our culture: the food, the music, the family dynamics. While I am not Mexican, there's so much overlap between Latinx cultures that I felt incredibly seen in the book. I also really loved the discussion around found family and the foster care system. When Priscilla came to speak to Bad Bitch Book Club, she told us how much research she did for this book and it definitely shows. There's also an interesting thread in the book about gentrification and how much is too much.
There are a couple things that I didn't love about the book, however. I'm not a fan of insta-love because I feel it's so unrealistic, but it was even more unbelievable in this book. Mariana and Angelo barely had a full conversation the night they first met and shared a kiss - I don't think this is enough to hold two people over for MONTHS. I could understand being a little hung up on the attractive person you made out with last week, but months ago? I don't buy it. Additionally, on the same train as insta-love, the whole story with Nina and her acclimation into the family was a little hard to digest. Per the story, Nina just joined the family six months prior and Mariana is already calling her a sister, expecting her to mesh with the rest of the family and acknowledge that she's a part of it too. I feel like that would be difficult for anyone to do in the best of circumstances; Nina has had a life of trauma and it felt disingenuous and unsympathetic to expect her to be grateful to be a part of the family and play the role.
If you're not a fan of steam or maybe are just dipping your toes in the romance pool, this is a great book to pick up! It is considered closed-door, which doesn't take away from the relationship at the center of this book at all. I think it's a great summer read with big heart!
There are a couple things that I didn't love about the book, however. I'm not a fan of insta-love because I feel it's so unrealistic, but it was even more unbelievable in this book. Mariana and Angelo barely had a full conversation the night they first met and shared a kiss - I don't think this is enough to hold two people over for MONTHS. I could understand being a little hung up on the attractive person you made out with last week, but months ago? I don't buy it. Additionally, on the same train as insta-love, the whole story with Nina and her acclimation into the family was a little hard to digest. Per the story, Nina just joined the family six months prior and Mariana is already calling her a sister, expecting her to mesh with the rest of the family and acknowledge that she's a part of it too. I feel like that would be difficult for anyone to do in the best of circumstances; Nina has had a life of trauma and it felt disingenuous and unsympathetic to expect her to be grateful to be a part of the family and play the role.
If you're not a fan of steam or maybe are just dipping your toes in the romance pool, this is a great book to pick up! It is considered closed-door, which doesn't take away from the relationship at the center of this book at all. I think it's a great summer read with big heart!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, Grief
Minor: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury