You Had Me at Hola

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Actress Jasmine Lin Rodriguez gets a surprise casting announcement that her leading man is telenovela legend Ashton Suarez.

The story follows Jasmine and Ashton from their disastrous first meeting through their work on the set together. Alternating chapters have scripted scenes from the show they are working on, so the reader gets to see the relationship between Ashton and Jasmine's fictional characters develop at the same time as their real one.

Ashton is hiding his son at home in Puerto Rico after an incident with a crazy telenovela fan. Jasmine's secret is that she doesn't speak Spanish despite her heritage. She is trying to carry a new bilingual show on her shoulders and keeps botching her lines. The actors agree to rehearse their lines together to perfect their chemistry and Jasmine's Spanish.

Ashton and Jasmine's relationship follows a typical romance arc, so their story doesn't offer any surprises. The story is interesting, but the writing can be a bit mundane. To draw a picture for the reader, the script scenes have more narrative than an actual script would, but it comes off as phony as real scripts are mostly dialogue. The sex scenes are very descriptive, so if you're looking for a proper romance keep looking!

Seraphine Valentine nails the accents when she is reading Spanish and also the non-regional American dialect for the rest of the narration. Her performance has levels of emotion that make the book an enjoyable listen.

Recommended for all romance fans, especially those who enjoy stories about celebrities and Latinx families.

Alexis Daria is a romance author who hails from New York. Her novels focus on Latinx characters and families.

Series: Primas of Power, #1

Publisher: Avon (paperback), Harper Audio (audio)

Narrator: Seraphine Valentine

Running Time: 10 hours, 27 minutes

Release Date: August 4, 2020

I received a digital audio recording of this title from the publisher through Libro.fm as a librarian review copy. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.