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Brown Sisters Series, Book 2
From the publisher:
RITA® Award Winning author Alexis Daria brings readers an unforgettable, hilarious rom-com set in the drama-filled world of telenovelas—perfect for fans of Jane the Virgin and The Kiss Quotient.
Leading Ladies do not end up on tabloid covers.
After a messy public breakup, soap opera darling Jasmine Lin Rodriguez finds her face splashed across the tabloids. When she returns to her hometown of New York City to film the starring role in a bilingual romantic comedy for the number one streaming service in the country, Jasmine figures her new “Leading Lady Plan” should be easy enough to follow—until a casting shake-up pairs her with telenovela hunk Ashton Suárez.
Leading Ladies don’t need a man to be happy.
After his last telenovela character was killed off, Ashton is worried his career is dead as well. Joining this new cast as a last-minute addition will give him the chance to show off his acting chops to American audiences and ping the radar of Hollywood casting agents. To make it work, he’ll need to generate smoking-hot on-screen chemistry with Jasmine. Easier said than done, especially when a disastrous first impression smothers the embers of whatever sexual heat they might have had.
Leading Ladies do not rebound with their new costars.
With their careers on the line, Jasmine and Ashton agree to rehearse in private. But rehearsal leads to kissing, and kissing leads to a behind-the-scenes romance worthy of a soap opera. While their on-screen performance improves, the media spotlight on Jasmine soon threatens to destroy her new image and expose Ashton’s most closely guarded secret.
I have never watched a telenovela and I gave up on Jane the Virgin after the first season. So while I may not be the targeted audience, I loved this book. The characters were interesting and authentic and the romance had the usual ups and downs, as it should.
There was an occasional Spanish phrase thrown in, sometimes translated and sometimes not but that’s what Google’s for. It wasn’t enough to drag me out of the story, but rather made me want to look it up and hurry back.
Interestingly, the main character, Jasmine, while Puerto Rican, is not fluent in Spanish. Many of her family are, and some of her co-stars are happy to help her when she needs it. Her accent is spot on though, and that’s important. I loved the idea of a television show like this, drawing from another culture yet not appropriating it but celebrating it. Not sure why Jane the Virgin didn’t work for me but it didn’t. Netflix, are you listening?
Ashton is a man of mystery. He comes to the set, always prepared, but disappears afterward. Jasmine is the type to try and create a working family out of her coworkers, planning Friday night drinks and other outings. She invites Ashton as well, but he usually refuses.
When their first kissing scene is a bit of a disaster, Jasmine draws enough courage to go directly to Ashton and convinces him that they need to rehearse. In private. Which leads to a very passionate affair, except Jasmine is constantly in the media and Ashton tries to keep as far away as possible. He has a secret that he does not want in the papers. Their affair seems like it’s headed south until the last possible moment when they reach their happy ending.
This was a terrific read, fast-moving, funny, and sexy. I highly recommend it and will be looking for her two earlier novels!
YOU HAD ME AT HOLA by Alexis Daria. Avon (August 4, 2020). ISBN 978-0062959928. 384 pages.
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