Don't Date Rosa Santos

I went into this novel expecting a different done — something more akin to The Taming of the Shrew, such as Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler (2016). Instead, Don't Date Rosa Santos is a quiet book populated by a delightful cast of characters. Port Coral reminds me of Cicely, Alaska, from Northern Exposure. http://pussreboots.com/blog/2020/comm... 33CC66 - family/couple, uhoria, offroad

i really didnt mesh well with the last 75 pages but everything else was just a beautiful ball of cuban gilmore girls

Wow this book was amazing!! I would highly recommend!

главное слово, которым я могу описать эту книгу: недотянуто недотянуто ощущение диаспоры, недотянуто погружение в кубинскую культуру, недотянута романтика, недотянута семейная история, недотянут собственно сюжет и его увлекательность причем авторка-то, как я понимаю, сама из кубинской диаспоры, и это её родной материал, и потенциал у книги был огромный, но она не смогла из него выжать практически ничего интересного видит бог, меня хлебом не корми, дай только почитать про семью эмигрантов в трех поколениях и все их жизненные драмы (в который раз прошу у вселенной семейную сагу про беженцев от русской революции), но я даже не представляла, что с этой темой можно обойтись настолько плохо особенно ненатуральной деталью мне показалась манера бабушки героини разговаривать с ней на английском, вставляя испанские слова. я даже не к тому, что я таких случаев не видела (а я знаю много эмигрантских семей), в конце концов, мало ли чего я там не видела. я к тому, что это абсолютно нелогично - бабушка разговаривает с внучкой на иностранном для себя языке, вместо того, чтобы нормально научить её испанскому

I'm very confused, because I enjoyed this but I didn't think it was good as such. There was never a real feeling of conflict-resolution to it, and all that happened was incredibly predictable. Also, the whole novel felt very rushed, as if the author was dying to make everything happen all together. That being said, it was cute enough, and the characterisation was well done, but it was nothing outstanding. It pains me to say this because I want everything Latin America(n) related to be outstanding and, for the sake of both representation and education, we need more stories about (as Moreno herself puts it in the Acknowledgements) a generation living in the hyphen. And yet, just because a story has to be told, it doesn't always mean that it will be told the way we want it to.

I found myself pleasantly surprised by this book. The cover made me think that this book would fall more along the lines of chic lit, something I have little to no interest in. However, Moreno beautifully dives into the complicated relationships of a multigenerational family of Cuban women haunted by trauma. Moreno fills the book with lively characters with the minor characters just nuanced enough to provide differences and major characters full of depth and complexity. At the end, she even explores a bit of magical realism, so apt for this book. (Just talked myself into a 5 star rating...)

Don’t Date Rosa Santos was a vibrant book of Cuban culture that made me wished that Port Coral was a real place. The different descriptions of the foods and activities that the main character, Rose, ate or did during the Spring Festival made me so jealous! The reason I only gave this book 3 stars is because I went into this book thinking it was just a romance book when it was a lot more than just that. . . . I loved the different complex relationships Rosa had with her mother, grandmother, and the people who made up her small town, but I wish there was more romance and backstory when it came to her love interest, Alex. I know, the past few books I have read I have NOT liked the romances and now I want more of it. I was confused too after finishing this book, but I still enjoyed the family relationships that show that not all families are perfect and that even if you’re conflicted, you can consider more than one place home.

4.5* This was such a delight. Truly the perfect springtime rom-com. It truly had everything you could want from a cute contemporary with depth. It's got fantastic friendships, a gorgeous slow(ish) burn romance, the most adorably soft baker/sailor hufflepuff, complex but heart warming family dynamics, the most wonderfully descriptive oceanside town setting, nuanced discussions about diaspora and the YUMMIEST sounding food. I absolutely adored Nina's writing style. It was easy flowing, comfortable to read and so natural. Rosa's voice was distinctive in that she was her own person but she also felt real and familiar. I can't wait to read whatever Nina brings out in the future because if this is anything to go by, I have a feeling she's going to become an auto-buy author in no time.