You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria
After a messy public breakup, soap opera star Jasmine finds her face splashed across the tabloids. When she returns to New York to star in a new bilingual romcom TV show, Jasmine figures her new “Leading Lady Plan” should be easy to follow - until she is paired with telenovela heartthrob Ashton Suarez.
After he was killed off his last show, Ashton is worried about his career and will do whatever it takes to find a way to the top. This new show will give him the chance he needs to show off his skills to an American audience and get him those silver screen dreams he’s been working so hard towards. The one problem? He’s made the worst first impression on his new co-star that may make acting together awkward.
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This book was a refreshing escape and a super fast-paced read. It kept me interested from page one and it entertained me throughout. I loved the “trials of fame” narrative the author went with here as well as a bit of insight into what a daily working life might be like for a cast trying to pull off what feels like an impossible feat. The characters were multi-dimensional and I loved the focus on relationships. It wasn’t just the main romantic relationship that was the star of the show here, every relationship in both of these characters’ lives was dug into and explored and it made these characters and their families so much more relatable. A really great read if you’re looking for a good contemporary romance to get lost in!
Jasmine and Ashton were such good leading characters. Jasmine was down-to-earth and I loved that she was so aware of her flaws. Lots of flawed MC’s don’t ever realize their toxic habits or we get stuck with the “she doesn’t know she’s beautiful” tropes, especially in romance, but Jasmine was a kick-ass female character that fought hard to overcome her flaws. Ashton wasn’t perfect, he wasn’t a player, and he actually had a heart right from the beginning. I loved that so much. He wasn’t some suave bad-boy who is later revealed in the end to have emotions, he was a fully dimensional man with faults and emotions and weaknesses. Most of all, I loved that he was so kind, he wasn’t manipulative or controlling. I feel like his type of character is very rare in romances (thankfully that’s been changing lately!). Their relationship wasn’t a toxic one made for us to admire, it was realistic and messy but also so, so good.
The emphasis on representation in this book was phenomenal. Not only did the author unapologetically use Spanish language throughout a novel widely marketed to an English speaking audience, she didn’t sully the story by having word for word translations and explanations right after. I think it made it much more authentic and beautiful and in the situations where any language besides English was used, it was pretty easy to get the gist out of what was being said. The characters were proud of their mixed heritages and their loud intrusive families even with all their faults and a large focus on their lives was the ability to be able to share the culture they love with each other and with the world through their new show. There was also a very large emphasis on more diverse casting in the Hollywood setting with trans and non-binary cast and crew. It painted for us a Hollywood that should have been the norm all along.
The other relationships in this book were probably my favourite part. Jasmine’s struggles to be heard in such a large family were so relatable. Yet no matter what troubles they’re having, they are still there to support her when she needs it most. Her relationship with her cousins I think was the most relatable. Friends who you know will always have your back, always keep your secrets, and always be able to commiserate with you about the rest of your crazy family. Those are the best kinds of friends and the portrayal of that relationship in the book was extremely accurate. Ashton's relationships were a little more stilted in comparison. He relied heavily on them but he also kept himself extremely closed off which I think was a great parallel to have different families can be even ones that are close.
I did have a hard time understanding some of the motivations of these two main characters. Both had a hesitance to start a relationship yet somehow they fell into it anyway, without much cause to it either, risking everything for something that was just casual. Neither character wanted a relationship of any sort to begin with yet their reasoning made very little sense. The scenes where they were shooting also felt awkward. I understood that these actors became the characters that they portrayed but I feel like the author made it much more confusing for the reader to know what exactly the actual character was thinking in those moments. I also, personally, didn't think the acting scenes added much to the story, I don't think we needed full chapters worth.
Overall I enjoyed it. I was a great contemporary romance to get lost in. It was a unique spin on a popular plot and I really enjoyed the direction it went in. Some of the writing seemed a bit unclear at times, motivations a bit blurred. But otherwise a great book to escape to during this very long winter.
4/5