Title: You Had Me at Hola
Author: Alexis Daria
Series: Primas of Power #1
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Adult Fiction
Pages: 384
Published on: August 4, 2022
Language: English (with a bit of Spanish)
This is such a cute and sweet read!
You Had Me at Hola follows Jasmine Lin Rodriguez, a Puerto Rican-Filipino actress, after being publicly dumped by her musician ex-boyfriend and having her face in tabloid covers, she made A Leading Lady Plan.
That includes not ending up in tabloid covers unless for a good reason. Do not need a man to be happy and make her co-stars a rebound. After being casted as the main lead in Netflix-like streaming service in Carmen in Charge and being partnered with Ashton Suarez, her Leading Lady Plan might be lead to a failure.
After his character being killed on his last telenovela, Aston Suarez are terrified that it might not be only her character be killed, maybe his whole career too. Joining in the cast of Carmen in Charge at the last minute might lead him to his Hollywood dream. To make this work, he needs to generate a great and smoking hot acting together with Jasmine. But it's easier said than done when a disastrous first impression happens.
Personally, I grew fond of Jasmine. Her love for her family was evident throughout the book, especially with her cousins! I like their relationship and closeness. The thing that made Jasmine stand out to me is that she's comfortable being uncomfortable. She knows her needs, she knows what she lacks. Aside from her ambition and career, she likes to improve and seek growth as a person and an actress. I'm loving every weakness she shows in this novel.
From now on, she would never again allow anyone to make her feel like her worth came from the man she was attached to. Not her parents, not her media, not goddamn Kitty Sanchez, and not herself either.
It's a struggle to like and keep up with Ashton. Ashton is used to being extremely private and reclusive, which was understandable due to the traumatic experience he had. But it's hard to relate or get to know Ashton. I had a hard time to figure him out and get the whole picture of who he really is because of his private-nature.
But as the book progressed, little by little he opened himself up to Jasmine. He felt more better being real and true to himself and Jasmine. I love how he embraces his fragility as he was used to being tough and private-nature for his family.
The whole novel was a fast roller coaster ride. Like really fast. I felt like the whole phase was dragged. It was hard to get into it because I felt little to no chemistry between the characters until half of the book where the whole situation got messy.
The theme or trope (?) Of celebrity/actors are not new to me but I felt like it was a new window I peeked at. Maybe because the characters and setting were in Latin and I loved it!
It was cool that the first meeting of Jasmine and Ashton—beside the spilling of coffee—that really starts off with "Hola".
I like how this book also showed different themes besides romance. I'm in love with Latin characters and the Queer representation. The book also used Spanish language and was translated in a smooth way without the use of italicized and old-school brackets for translation. Actually, without the translation I would still understand it because while reading I was shocked THAT I ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE OF IT. And I didn't even attend a Spanish class and only taught myself basic Spanish thanks to Duolingo.
Though, as a Filipino myself, it was an underwhelming representation for Jasmine as a half-Filipino. I know the book doesn't focus on Jasmine as a Filipino but it was a great addition if the Filipino representation expanded more. I also learned a few things from this book. My ass wasn't aware that "basura" and "basta '' were Spanish. All along I thought it was Tagalog!
You Had Me at Hola is a sweet, sexy, and fast-paced book with single dad, age gap romance as its tropes. I like how it emphasized family, tradition, culture, and identity.
RATE
★★★★☆
I rated You Had Me at Hola with four stars!
LET'S TALK!
Have you read You Had Me at Hola? What's your favorite telenovela? Shared some latinx books recommendations below.
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