Review - - Along Came Amor

Along Came Amor

by Alexis Daria

Primas of Power - Book 3

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: May 27, 2025

Reviewed by PJ

 

No strings

After Ava Rodriguez’s now-ex-husband declares he wants to “follow his dreams”—which no longer include her—she’s left questioning everything she thought she wanted. So when a handsome hotelier flirts with her, Ava vows to stop overthinking and embrace the opportunity for an epic one-night-stand.

No feelings 

Roman Vázquez’s sole focus is the empire he built from the ground up. He lives and dies by his schedule, but the gorgeous stranger grimacing into her cocktail inspires him to change his plans for the evening. At first, it’s easy for Roman to agree to Ava’s rules: no strings, no feelings. But one night isn’t enough, and the more they meet, the more he wants.

No falling in love

Roman is the perfect fling, until Ava sees him at her cousin’s engagement party—as the groom’s best man, no less! Maintaining her boundaries becomes a lot more complicated as she tries to hide their relationship from her family, but Roman isn’t content being her dirty little secret. With her future uncertain and her family pressuring her from all sides, Ava will have to decide if love is worth the risk—again.

PJ's Thoughts:

This one was worth the wait. Not only is Along Came Amor my favorite book of Alexis Daria's exceptional Primas of Power trilogy, it's also one of my favorite books I've read this year and Roman and Ava, one of my favorite couples.

Once again, Daria's big, loving, but wholly dysfunctional, Latinx family took me on an emotional rollercoaster ride. My heart broke for Ava. I just want to wrap her up in a big hug and tell her she is absolutely worthy of love just as she is without having to be the perfect "good girl" to earn it. I loved watching her slow evolution even if, at times, I wanted to move it along. Daria knew what she was doing though. The indoctrination of Ava to always put everyone else before herself had taken years to accomplish. To feel authentic, changing that mindset would have to take time as well.

And that's where Roman comes in. I love this character! Is he perfect? No, he isn't. He's a workaholic, tends to be a fixer, and has some emotional baggage to work through himself. But, he is perfect for Ava. His respect, his understanding of her and her needs, his willingness to give her the time and space she needs, all while falling hard (and first) and wanting more proved to me just how right he is for a woman who has never, in her entire life, been put first by anyone. I also love how he opens himself, how he also grows, and the changes in his life he's willing to make to prove the commitment he's promised. He's such a swoon-worthy hero. 

One of my favorite facets of this book, as well as the two preceding, is the cultural representation. I love the food, history, and traditions that are intertwined throughout this story, the little insights into life in a large, meddling, Puerto Rican family. I especially enjoyed the parts of the story set in Puerto Rico - some funny, some steamy, some poignant, and some deeply emotional. 

I've read Along Came Amor twice. Pretty sure I'll be reading it again. It checks all my happy reader boxes and then some. Each of the books in this trilogy can be enjoyed on its own, however, it's my opinion that reading them in order will deepen your understanding of this family and your enjoyment of each couple's journey. I highly recommend them all. 

Review - - A Lot Like Adios and Birthday Giveaway #14

A Lot Like Adios

by Alexis Daria

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: September 14, 2021

Reviewed by PJ

Hi Mich. It’s Gabe.

After burning out in her corporate marketing career, Michelle Amato has built a thriving freelance business as a graphic designer. So what if her love life is nonexistent? She’s perfectly fine being the black sheep of her marriage-obsessed Puerto Rican-Italian family. Besides, the only guy who ever made her want happily-ever-after disappeared thirteen years ago.

It’s been a long time.

Gabriel Aguilar left the Bronx at eighteen to escape his parents’ demanding expectations, but it also meant saying goodbye to Michelle, his best friend and longtime crush. Now, he’s the successful co-owner of LA’s hottest celebrity gym, with an investor who insists on opening a New York City location. It’s the last place Gabe wants to go, but when Michelle is unexpectedly brought on board to spearhead the new marketing campaign, everything Gabe’s been running from catches up with him.

I’ve missed you.

Michelle is torn between holding Gabe at arm’s length or picking up right where they left off—in her bed. As they work on the campaign, old feelings resurface, and their reunion takes a sexy turn. Facing mounting pressure from their families—who think they’re dating—and growing uncertainty about their futures, can they resolve their past mistakes, or is it only a matter of time before Gabe says adiós again?

PJ's Thoughts:

Alexis Daria's You Had Me at Hola was one of my top books of 2020. I enjoyed A Lot Like Adios even more. Daria effortlessly pulled me into this book with a fast-paced, immersive story that kept me eagerly turning pages from beginning to end with no idea how this journey would finally reach its conclusion. 

I really liked the friends-to-lovers romance for Gabe and Michelle. It was fun to watch them reconnect after so many years apart - not an easy process. Daria skillfully and realistically guided them through the (still fresh even after 13 years) emotional fallout from their less-than-amicable teenage breakup, forcing them to communicate and work through their issues in present day. I appreciated the work these two had to put in. The author gave them no easy answers. While they had to put in the effort to address their emotional issues, they obviously needed no assistance with their physical connection. These two were hot for each other and I loved it! 

While this book is definitely the story of Michelle and Gabe's journey to love, and Michelle does experience growth both professionally and personally, in many ways this was about Gabe, his journey being more complex, and his growth more profound. There were so many issues for him to work through apart from his feelings for Michelle. There's his career, his fractured family, his self worth, and his ability to be his true, authentic self. It's a rewarding and emotional journey that had me crying, laughing, and cheering. 

Daria has also assembled a richly diverse secondary cast that enriches the main story. The family interactions are, by turns, hilarious, poignant, messy, and loving. This author really knows how to write big, meddling, affectionate, occasionally overbearing, Latinx families and bring them to vivid life on the page. She has also included sexual diversity in this book - trans and bisexual characters, for example - without making it a big deal but, rather, casually stated as simply a natural part of a character's make up. I find that so refreshing. I also have to say that I really enjoyed the interstitials between chapters, flashing back to the texts between a young Michelle and Gabe as they wrote fan fiction together. Not only did it give me greater insight into their characters and their younger relationship but I found myself being pulled into their fan fic and wanting to read the full story! 

If you enjoy Latinx stories with a friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance, meddling families, emotional growth, plenty of steam, and a hard-earned happily ever after, give A Lot Like Adios by Alexis Daria a try. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Birthday Giveaway #14:

Have you read Alexis Daria yet?

Are there other authors you would recommend who are writing Latinx romance?

One person who posts a comment before 11:00 PM, September 15 will receive a book from my home collection. 

*U.S. only

*Must be 18

*Void where prohibited