You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
They say not to judge a book by its cover, but You Had Me at Hola’s absolutely amazing cover conveys everything you need to know about Jasmine and Ashton’s story: it’s beautifully vibrant, heart-meltingly sweet, and panty-meltingly sensual.
Soap opera and telenovela stars Jasmine Lin (Rodriguez) and Ashton Suarez both reeeaally need their new streaming show, Carmen in Charge, to succeed big time. Jasmine, hot on the heels of a very public breakup (public as in – literally everyone found out when she did, reading the tabloids), wants to put the breakup behind her and get started on her Leading Lady Plan. Which involved definitely not falling in love with her new, astonishingly hot and adorably awkward costar.
As for Ashton, he’s ready to move on from Miami-based telenovelas to big Hollywood, and Carmen in Charge is just the kind of show, if it’s a hit, to catapult him to stardom. Ashton has good reasons for keeping away from Jasmine too, especially after an embarrassing first impression and an attraction he doesn’t want to feel. But after having to take *17* takes for their first kissing scene, both decide that spending a bit more time together may be called for. They can ignore the pull between them. They definitely don’t want to kiss each other for real. Nope…not even a little bit.
I loved the chemistry between Jasmine and Ashton, both onscreen and off. You’re practically getting two romances in one, with scenes from Carmen in Charge peppered throughout the story and Jasmine and Ashton’s real relationship blooming behind the scenes. This is an amazing own voices romance with a diverse cast of latinx characters, from Jasmine’s large, sprawling family including her abuela and abuelo, tíos, tías and many cousins; Ashton’s close-knit family; and the entire cast of Carmen in Charge.
You Had Me at Hola is a definite must-read, and I can’t wait to see what Alexis Daria does next!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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