Content warning: fat shaming.

I enjoyed this quick story about Letty and Max. Sweet but spicy. I loved watching Letty fall in love with herself and really enjoyed Max being so protective of her. I think the book was the perfect length at 168 pages and it was a fun read for a Sunday afternoon.

Omg, Max and Letty. I loved these two together. This was a really good installment in the series, and YOU GUYS, there’s only one book left after this one! How?! I feel like I’ve spent so much time in South Beach that I’m going to be really sad to say goodbye. But I’m getting ahead of myself! We still have Max and Letty to discuss.

In Night and Day, Letty Gonzalez is hired to be the temporary assistant to artist Max Delgado – she’s supposed to help him get his workshop/studio in order. But the way Max looks at her sets her skin on fire – he looks at her like he wants to devour her, like he wants to has never seen someone so beautiful. Which makes no sense to Letty, whose mother made her go to diet camps all throughout her childhood, who is constantly told that she’s too fat to be beautiful or to be taken seriously. In fact, her previous boyfriend recently dumped AND fired her because he was only in the relationship for her family’s money. So Letty is naturally skeptical of Max’s intentions. So skeptical that she has a hard time believing that he could ever truly be into someone like her.

Max Delgado doesn’t have a type, but as soon as Letty walks into his studio, he knows that she’s it. SHE is his type. He wants her immediately, and her image inspires the rest of his art for the upcoming showcase he’s part of. But Max didn’t have an easy upbringing. He’s got a lot of baggage, and he’s always pushed people away from him. He doesn’t want to be like his father, and he KNOWS how similar they are. Could Letty be the one to get through to him, to make him believe that he’s just as worthy of love as anyone else?

night and day

3 Things I Loved
Letty. Letty is a different type of heroine than we usually see in romance in some ways, but also very typical in other ways. I think what I loved most about her was her growth throughout the book. It’s difficult to heal from being insulted for what you look like your entire life, but in this book, she really does. And that’s fun to read.
Max. Max is tortured, but that’s what makes him sweet. I wouldn’t call him grumpy, per se… just tortured. It’s Max’s awareness that he has some of his father’s tendencies that make him not like his father at all, and that’s what Letty helps him realize.
Their internal conflicts. So everyone has demons and obstacles to get through in romances, but I LOVED how REAL these ones were. They were like real life. I know a lot of people read to escape, but I appreciated that these were actual problems that a couple might have to work through, even if they weren’t wealthy Cubans in South Beach.
Dislikes/Problematic Content
Content warning for this one – fat shaming. A fuck-ton of fat shaming. Not from Max! Never from Max. But from Letty’s mother, for one, and then in Letty’s internalized thoughts and monologues. If that’s a trigger for you, be careful with this one.

There’s also some talk of drug abuse, which is a carry-over from the previous book in the series, Before Daylight, where Max’s mother goes to rehab for her drug addiction. (Max is the brother of Laura in Before Daylight.)

I think that was the only thing that really bothered me – as someone who has had bouts of disordered eating in the past, it’s hard for me to read (or listen to) people who are obsessed with their weight and size. Letty was subjected to that her entire life, and that really sucks. She’s got a shitty mom.

Well, and it goes without saying that Max has a shitty dad. I don’t want to spend much time talking about what a manipulative shithead he is in this one, because I’m going to be diving into this damaging parenting in the final book of the series. But yeah, Max’s dad basically blackmails him into breaking up with Letty, and it almost ends things for real, but then they finally tell him how much of a shithead he is and he up and leaves. FINALLY. Uh, spoiler, I guess? Oops. But anyway, Max’s dad is also terrible.

Rating
A reminder of the rating scale:

Red = DNF, I hated everything
Orange = Ugh, no thank you
Yellow = I mean, I’ve read worse, but there were problems
Green = This was good!
Blue = Oh my gosh, I loved this book!
Purple = This is the unicorn of books and I will be rereading it until the binding falls apart and EVERYONE should be reading it!
I honestly felt similarly in this book as I did when I read Dusk Until Dawn – it was like the story wrapped up too quickly. I loved it, but I felt like the issues that Letty and Max had maybe weren’t able to be solved as quickly and as neatly as was done in the book. So I wish there had been a little bit more. So I’m giving Night and Day a GREEN rating. Really good, but a little too neat at the end.

Happy reading!

I found the overall experience of reading this book to be enjoyable, with both plot and character elements that unfolded nicely and with forward momentum. While not the best book I have ever read, I would pass this title along to other readers and librarians.

Max and Lettie had good chemistry, crazy families, and a little bit of one-note personalities. Overall, I enjoyed the book, and the crazy matchmaking. This was a fun and breezy read.

This is one of those books that started out really really strong but fizzled out in the second half. I liked it but I had so many issues with the drama and the conflict.

Max is a gorgeous up & coming sculptor. Letty has been hired by his grandmother to organize his workspace. Together, they work through their own insecurities. His, believing he is too much like his abusive father, which keeps him out of relationships. Her, believing she is not pretty enough, not thin enough, to be truly loved. Especially by someone as handsome as Max.

This is a great story about overcoming personal insecurities. It's written so believably that you can't do anything but pull for this couple to work out.

I love the One Night in South Beach Series by Andie J. Christopher! Every book is a great addition to the series!

Review:
Andie J. Christopher’s Night and Day was so refreshing I thought I was bathing in the beach after a heatwave. Set in Miami, the story follows our brooding artist hero, Max Delgado, and the optimistic, capable heroine, Letty Gonzalez.

Letty Gonzalez has been hired to organize Max Delgado’s workspace, only to find out that Max didn’t really contact her, but rather his meddling matchmaker Abuela. The confusion sets forth a series of misunderstandings which help break the ice between the characters and spark the flame of impending romance.

Both characters are reticent to act on their feelings (of lust) at first: Letty due to the fact that she’s technically Max’s employee and isn’t comfortable with the power dynamics, and especially after getting fired for denying her boss a relationship and money from her parents; and Max because he has grown into shielding his heart and maintaining people at arm’s length due to his trauma with parental abuse. All of these feelings come to a head, and their first encounter is hot (like, H O T), though Letty thinks it’s embarrassing. The lust is reciprocated and consensual on both parts, though they have problems communicating their sentiments: again, Max because he’s become emotionally stunted due to years of abuse, and Letty due to not just her past relationship, but due to her sense of low self-confidence.

Letty’s abysmal self-worth is most inherent in her relationship with her body image. Her parents have ingrained the image that she’s fat and therefore unworthy, even though she’s described as being a size 14, besides the fact that she’s actually below the average clothing size of an American woman. She struggles with coming to terms with her weight and size, often comparing herself with her sister, Elena, who’s a famous swimsuit supermodel. Over the course of the story, she comes to terms with the inadequacy towards her body, sometimes tying it to the fact that she was being “worshiped” by Max, but other times tying it to her own growth. The following, a bit from Chapter 4:

“[…] for the first time since before the time Simon had dumped her, Letty recaptured the bone-deep feeling that her mother’s neuroses–about Letty’s body and her own relationship status– were not her own.”

Though this was one of my favorite story arcs in Night and Day, I still would like to see what fat Latinx bloggers think about the book, so if you’ve read the book and are a fat Latinx book blogger, please let me know your thoughts!

Another story arc that is prevalent is Max’s relationship with his family. Due to the unsafe environment in which he was brought up in, he has a hard time having healthy relationships, be it with his siblings, his grandparents, or significant others. He’s distant and at times uncommunicative. He believes he has the anger his father had, even when he has constructive and creative ways to cope with it by way of his art. His greatest fear is becoming like his father, who physically assaulted his mother, older brother Javi (btw, when am I getting a Javi romance???), and him. Max resents his mother for being an addict and only getting help for it after all the kids were grown, but is trying to mend that relationship. In summary: Max has a lot of emotional baggage.

One of my favorite things about the book is how much the characters take each other’s issues seriously. When they actually communicate, it’s evident they care for each other and would go to war for the other, but only in front of other people. Of course, the main conflict revolves around Max’s stunted emotions, especially in front of his abuser.

I know that the main conflict in romance books is usually done to separate the hero and heroine from each other in order for them to resolve individual problems and then come back together. However, sometimes miscommunication… can be resolved… so easily… Something that didn’t come out either super good or super bad, was the discussion between Max and Letty over sexual overtures in the workplace. It was good that they had some good, open communication between them about it, but I would’ve preferred if Lety didn’t brush off his overtures. It still made her feel uncomfortable and that’s how I read it too.

Christopher’s new book was a refreshing look at how trauma can look in different people, especially when it comes from people who are supposed to love you unconditionally. Though the characters don’t fix each other, they do aid their paths towards bettering their lives. I think those are the best moments in the book, the ones where they’re trying to better each other’s lives by praising one another. The mutual admiration made me feel soft, especially after reading a romance book in which the characters didn’t really respect one another and it was made to look Very Romantic (hint: it wasn’t; it was very manipulative and abusive). The characters talk openly about therapy and how perhaps they might need it, especially Max, even though he’s a tad in denial about needing it (I recommend that everyone try therapy, especially if you can afford it).

I absolutely adored the book, I think it was charming and sexy and thoughtful. I might go into the rest of the author’s books because this one was excellent. If you liked Alexis Daria’s Take the Lead, I believe you’ll enjoy this one.

TW/CWs (the ones I can remember): abuse (verbal, emotional, and physical), discussion of sexual harassment, manipulation, fatphobia, withholding of food, parental neglect, addiction (pills), body image issues

An eARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Letty Gonzalez is hurt, angry, and desperate for a job: her art-festival-running ex dumped her *and* fired her when it turned out he couldn’t use her to access the family fortune. He also told her she was too fat for him to love, which tied in horribly with her childhood with a fat-shaming emotionally abusive mom and a sister-turned-supermodel.
Max Delgado is a grumpy sculptor with a simmering temper always on the verge of boiling over. He’s closed himself off for fear of becoming too much like his emotionally and physically abusive father, and he’s only really able to express himself by heating and bending metal into abstract shapes. He also has a meddlesome, delightfully frank matchmaking grandma who I loved to pieces: Grandma Lola has decided Letty and Max would suit perfectly, so she fakes an email from Max hiring Letty as an assistant.
Letty shows up on the day Max is expecting a model for a sitting, so first thing right off the bat he demands she remove her clothes. And we’re off!
So many things in this book are messy: anger, pain, lust, fear, dysfunctional families. Letty’s wary of getting involved with another one of her bosses. Max is wary of losing control and hurting a woman he cares about. But the chemistry is stupid hot—and very palpable in the text, so it feels like a real problem and not a plot excuse—so even when both characters are just balls of electric insecurities, you’re rooting for them to figure it out and get back into bed already. Letty deserves orgasms! Max is ready to provide! She desperately needs to take care of someone, and he very much needs caring for! And the sexy bits are some of the most glorious filth I’ve read in a while: juicy, raunchy, fantastical fun. At the same time, the book puts the consent-and-power-dynamics questions of workplace harassment front and center: how do you trust this motherfucker not to turn into a motherfucker like the last one? Consent is negotiated, offered, and withdrawn; boundaries are crossed, rethought, and reestablished. At the end of the book, after so many huge feelings and fuck-ups, I felt cleansed, wrung out, and excited about where our couple ended up. This was my first Andie J. Christopher, but I promise you it’s not going to be my last.

Review by Amanda for Love Romance Books

I was asked by the author for an honest review.

This is the first book I've read by Andie Christopher as well as the first book I've read in the One Night in South Beach series. There were characters and reference to events from easier books, but I didn't have any problem following the story line even though I started 5 books into the series.

I liked the characters and the writing style. I appreciate that the reader is able to see the insecurities from both sides of the relationship (one set physical, one not).


Review by Amber for Love Romance Books

Letty is desperate for a job after being fired from her last one. And the fact that she had been sleeping with her boss means there is no way she will get a recommendation and she has to make her way through the Miami art scene on her own. When she gets an email with a job offer to work for rising artist Max, she is skeptical, but she needs the work so she takes it. But she isn’t prepared for the sizzling chemistry between them. She almost refuses the job on the spot when she finds out it was Max’s grandmother who hired her, but decides to stick it out. She really needs the money, and, well, he isn’t hard on the eyes either.



Max had no idea his grandmother was going to try to play matchmaker by hiring him an assistant. He needs to focus on his upcoming gallery exhibition, and needs inspiration. His muse comes in the unsuspecting form of Letty.


The more time that they spend together, the more they enjoy it. Their chemistry doesn’t go away, though. If anything, it grows. They both have family baggage, but do they have what it takes to trust each other?


It took about a third of the book before I realized that I read another book in the series, and that is a good thing. This book worked well as a stand alone book. I would give this book 3.5 stars.


I was asked by the author for an honest review.

Grumpy hero? Plus-size heroine? Tropetastic! This is the fifth book in the series, but I think it could be read as a standalone, as I’d only read the previous book (about Max’s sister) and I didn’t feel lost, though what I suspect are several other previous couples make appearances.

After Letty’s breakup with her ex-boyfriend left her blacklisted from the art world, landing a job as an assistant to a talented sculptor preparing for a major exhibition seems like a godsend. What Letty isn’t prepared for is her attraction to her hot new boss or the fact that he tries to fire her before she even starts working. It turns out that his scheming grandma hired her, but Max is won over by her tenacity and, frankly, the fact that she is excellent at her job – and their chemistry together. Letty and Max eventually agree to give in to their attraction – *after* her contracted period as his assistant is over. Now, I’m sure you can guess whether they managed to make it a week and change without ending up in bed… Max and Letty are both struggling with their own demons, however, so can they find their happily-ever-after without sabotaging it themselves?

While this is definitely a steamy romance – Max and Letty have some serious chemistry – there’s also a lot of angst. Max is practically a hermit – a very hot, bearded “ruggedly masculine” hermit. He avoids other people, especially women, because he thinks that because he struggles with his temper he’s destined to turn into his abusive father. Letty is plus-size (well, a size 14) and struggles with her body image due to constant childhood comparisons by her mother to her model sister. One of the nice things, though, about the book is that Letty and her sister Elena have a good relationship, despite their differences and their mother’s machinations. Regardless of that, between her mother’s constant harping on her weight (she seems to think the only way to make Letty happy is to make her thin) and her ex-boyfriend’s nasty comments that he only stayed with her to get at her parent’s money, Letty feels ugly and unloveable. With Max, however, she finally feels cherished, but the specter that he’s only using her for her connections looms over their relationship. While there are other “bad guys” in the book, in terms of conflict, they’re basically their own enemies.

At times, it felt like this book was going to give me whiplash. One second it was a sweet body positive romance, the next we were back in the angsty headspace of one of the characters. It felt like the angst almost overwhelmed the book, and it seemed to take the majority of the book before either character made any progress in addressing their negative thought patterns. In the end, I wasn’t entirely convinced by how Letty’s issues were wrapped up. Max, I think, I was more convinced by, mostly due to the “intervention” staged by his family. One of the things I loved about this book – and the previous one – was the warm, supportive family that Max, his siblings, and grandparents have cobbled together. I loved that the first person he goes to for advice is his brother. The whole “matchmaking abuela” bit, though, didn’t work as well for me in this book as it did in the last one.

Overall, though, I enjoyed this book, and I’d give it 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series, as well!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The first words Letta heard was “ you can leave your clothes on the chair”. It was the last thing she expected to hear on the first day of a new job. When Letty had been forcefully thrust into starting her own business she had no idea nudity would be involved. This was more her sister Elena= the swimsuit model- area of expertise. She double checked everything on her first client had sent her via email She was told to take her clothes off and get on the platform. She had spent a lot of time around artists and knew they weren’t her type. Latty was a happy go lucky type of girl. Letty is attracted to her first client as he was insanely good looking but she couldn’t let anything happen. Getting involved with her old boss-Simon had complete destroyed her life she’d built independent of her parents. The worst part was Simon had been more interested in her parents connections then he’d ever been of her or at least their money , It would have been much easier if he had acted like he wanted to be her boyfriend and just asked for access to her parents checkbook. This client was an up and coming skulptor. Max thought how his grandmother did not play around and sent him a nice girl and Max was very attracted to her but because his grandmother had sent Once his grandmother Lola moved from Cuba to the U S she set about getting her grandchildren settled down. Max felt like he couldn’t settle down until he could make his own way. Letty he had to think of her as the enemy. Letty tried to convince Max he needed her services. Then he at least he agreed to let her work for the day as his grandmother would pay Letty. Letty said she would make him a website. Letty was everything Max liked in a woman : lush and gorgeous.The way Max wanted to learn more about Letty made her attractive and dangerous. Max and Letty both had issues from their past. Letty’s mother had harped and nagged about her weight even said she was fat several times so Letty was very conscious of her body and not in a very good way especially with her sister being a swimsuit model. Max is afraid he is like his dad because of his temper. But they both help each other.
I liked this book. It was a quick easy read. I liked the plot and pace of this book. I really liked the fact the author used a plus size woman in this book and I liked how Max is attracted to Letty right from the start liking her being lush as she said. I liked there wasn’t and instalust/love in this book even though there was attraction between Max and Letty from the beginning. I didn’t like how Letty put herself down but I understood it was from how her mother treated her. Making her self esteem low and self image very low then Simon didn’t help but add to that.I liked Max and Letty together and how they interacted with each other. I liked the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I recommend.

This is the 5th book in this series, and each one has been enjoyable in it's own way. Here we have a broody artist hero, and a smart, bubbly, curvy heroine. I enjoyed it, and I wanted to love it, but something just didn't quite click for me. 3.5 Stars.

Letty Gonzalez is a romantic, but she grew up as the "fat sister" in her family, so she never really held out much hope of a great romance happening to her. But, I have to assume everyone would feel like the fat sister if their only sister turned out to be a well-known swimsuit model. Her mother was constantly harping on her weight from the time she was a kid, and her father was so consumed with his business and making money that he never paid much attention either way. So, she's always carried around some damage, and insecurities. Probably more than most. But, that was made worse when she found out her last boyfriend, also her ex-boss, was only with her for her parents' money and connections, and wasn't really attracted to her. She not only lost the relationship she thought she had, she lost her job too. So, she's hustling to start her own personal assistant business from scratch, in the hopes of not having to go to her parents for money. Or anything else.

Max Delgado is a sculptor, and a great one. He's more well known in NYC, but he's just starting to make his mark in Miami. He's a brooding, angry mess, and has been most of his life. His family life was a disaster, with his angry, abusive dad, and downtrodden, pill-head mother. He loves his brother and sister dearly, but he's pretty much over everyone else. When his grandmother, Lola, hires Letty to get his studio organized, and make a website for him, he hates the idea. But, he loves looking at Letty, so he figures out a way to deal with it. He knows he'll never be good for any woman, but especially not for Letty. He's too much like his father, with the same temper, and he refuses to inflict that on a wife and family the way his father did. But, there's something about Letty he just can't ignore.

I really liked both Max, and Letty, but they both had some seriously real and damaging issues to overcome before they had any hope of a successful relationship. They had both been so beaten down in their lives by their messed up parents, and they had no realistic self-image. Each of them had a totally distorted picture of themselves, and didn't even realize it. They really helped each other think differently about their own histories, and their inner and outer selves. I really enjoyed watching them help each other, while figuring out their own issues.

I enjoyed seeing all of Max's extended family from the prior books, especially when all the ladies got together! Lola is an absolute riot, and I loved her and all her wily, matchmaking antics. Letty's sister was also great, and I wouldn't mind knowing more about her as well. Each of the characters helped out Max, or Letty in some way, and I loved how they stuck together.

My only real issues here were with Max and Letty's extensive internal monologues, and just how down they were on themselves, meanwhile thinking the other person was perfect in every way, and too good for them. They allowed their distorted self-images to keep them from everything they wanted, and allowed it to dictate their reactions to situations, and how much it affected their lives. Pretty much until it was too late to fix it. I get that this is a very realistic scenario for some people, as sad as that is. I also get that emotional injuries, especially those delivered in childhood, are the hardest to overcome. But I just felt like it dragged on a little long, and I felt if either of them truly opened up, with real honesty to the other person, things could have been solved much more satisfyingly, for me. Even when they finally figured their stuff out, I really wanted more in the realm of groveling, to be honest, from both of them. Problems stemming almost solely from lack of communication just frustrate me, and that's my own issue.

I really enjoy this author's writing style, and her voice, and the way she evokes images with her words. I also love that her characters are diverse, and that there's someone for everyone to identify with in some way. But, sometimes the characters themselves just don't quite do it for me, and I'm not really sure what it is. Again, I think it's just my issue. I have really enjoyed this series as a whole (Book 3 was by far my favorite), and I'm hoping there will be more books yet in the series.

Engaging romance

The very first line in
Andie J. Christopher's Night and Day's immediately got my attention. I thought it was a great opening to the initial first
meet between Letty and Max.
Both characters carried around significant baggage from their past and it was interesting to see how they helped each other see themselves and a future more clearly. Sexy, funny and smart I also thought there were heartwarming moments especially with the interactions of some of their family members. I look forward to the next book in the series.
I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley.

The Good, The Bad, and Everything In Between

The Good
Latinx hero and heroine. It was the first thing I noticed when reading the blurb, and I was completely sold, because while I’ve been compiling my Latinx Romance Database, it’s not as common to see Latinx heroes AND heroines, usually one or the other. The representation is believable and culturally positive, and definitely my favorite part of the story. Their families are dysfunctional, but the best scenes are when Letty or Max are interacting with their families.

Good chemistry. I enjoyed the chemistry between Letty and Max, and when they both managed to stay out of their own heads, their attraction was strong and I enjoyed it, even when it was a tad insta-love.

The Bad
Negative inner thoughts by both hero and heroine were unrelenting. I’m going to say this up front. There are many women who struggle with self-esteem issues and feelings of inadequacy because of their size. No one is perfect, everyone can get down about their appearance, even the most beautiful people. I understand and have dealt with that my entire life and I get that it’s a part of almost everyone’s journey to self-acceptance.

Their angst though? Their combined negativity self-images were just too much for me. This story is told in third person, but alot of time is spent with the inner thoughts of Letty and Max, and they hit the same beat, over and over. It was depressing.

Letty, almost to the very, very end, was so fixated on how big she was that she doubted every interaction with Max. Every. Single. One. For the record, size 14 is average in my world, so as a genuine BBW, I was so irritated that Letty couldn’t stop repeating that big is horrendous and how can anyone love her. Oy vey. Letty was one step away from thinking she was a troll under a bridge. I want to read a romance where you get to enjoy a character’s emotional growth, not them constantly bemoaning their size. I find no joy in this.

Max was just as depressing, but his problem was the fear that he would become a horrible person like his father. He struggled to express himself, and usually stuck his foot in it with Letty, even when it had nothing to do with her and everything to do with his own negative thoughts.

The pacing is off, so there are several scenes that didn’t flow with what happened right before and they left me shaking my head. It was exhausting and when they both FINALLY kind of hit that moment of self-awareness and acceptance, it was around the 90% mark and by then, I just couldn’t believe or connect with either one of them.

Everything in Between
Does work as a standalone. Though this is the fifth book in the series, it works just fine as a standalone. Characters from earlier books make an appearance, but it wasn’t confusing or dependent on knowing their story to enjoy this one and I appreciated that.


The Bottom Line
I would say that I enjoyed several parts of this story, including the Latinx representation and the family relationships. Unfortunately, I struggled greatly with the constant angsty thoughts of both Letty and Max, and general unevenness in the storytelling.

If you’re a fan of the series, you may enjoy this more than I did.

**ARC provided by publisher via netgalley for review**

Full disclosure. It was the cover that caught my eye ;)
And I lurve me some matchmaking olds...I see you Lola!!
Plus? I totally dig love-at-first-sight. If it can happen to me and hubs, insta-love is really people!!
Now let's talk (lovely) Letty and (the beard is strong) Max...

Since this was the first time I have ever read anything from this new-to-me author, I have to say it took me a bit to get into the flow of her characters and how she tells a story.

It's quirky and charming, for sure.
But a lot of inner dialog. Letty and Max are pretty much overthinkers in their own headspace. Did I mention a lot of inner dialog? Yup.
A lot of that inner dialog had the MCs hammering out their own self images, family relationships, money, you know, life in general. I could live with that, except paragraphs of inner dialog slowed things down quite a bit for me. If only they talked to each other!

And the quirky words the author gave them in their headspace?
Philanderer, hokey, to woo (her), nobles oblique...really? in 2018??...let's not forget a fav of mine...skivvies.
Okay, I'm 60 and my dad was in the Navy so I know what skivvies are LOL, but seriously, maybe in Florida its a still a "thing."

Additionally, there were a few quirky phrases in all that inner dialog that seemed a bit of odd thoughts for my vision of these two MCs, like..."a roll in the hay," "this might just be another stitch in a lifelong pattern." "Amusement murdered in its crib." Wait, what?
But my favorite quirk was, "Maybe he needed some serif in his font."
Oh now, dear author, you must already know: Chuck Norris shot the serif ;)

Luckily there were some real charming, poignant parts.
When Letty and Max actually talked to each other.
When they showed caring and compassion, and true tender intimacy over OTT body worship (Letty does like to oogle Max and Max found Letty a perfect muse).
When they felt safe together.
That was awesome.

Despite all the words that Max and Letty did NOT share directly with each other, I still liked them.

A solid 3*

One final note. That cover. Awesome.
The models look like a bit more mature Max and Letty, but still pretty close.
But where the hell was that cool glass boat house on the pier in the book? Nowhere. There was only one scene at oceanside in the entire book, and that was at a bed and breakfast in another town (road trip!)
Anywho, this might not necessarily have been a true "beach" read, but it was a sweet romance.

*ARC received through NetGalley, Kensington Books Lyrical Press for an honest review*

Although this is #5 in a series, it’s the third book of Andie J. Christopher’s that I’ve read. While I loved Break of Day, I was kind of ambivalent about Before Daylight. Unfortunately, I was also kind of indifferent about Night and Day.

It’s not a bad book, that’s for sure. Max and Letty seem to complement each other very well. While they have an instant attraction, it’s not instalove, which I appreciated. And even aside from that, they were able to build each other up and help each other overcome some unfortunate past experiences.

But why didn’t I love it? I think that there were two main reasons.

First, I was a little put off by how frequently Letty referred to herself as fat and undesirable. I get it, she feels out of place among the models and ballerinas in her life, but it was constant. I was rooting for her to find some self-esteem, but I was also frustrated by the fact that it seemed to come from the fact that Max wanted her and not from anything bigger than that.

Second, it felt kind of flat to me. There was no real conflict in the book, nothing that made me wonder whether everything would work out in the end. Max and Letty were attracted to each other from their first meeting, so there wasn’t really any build-up either. I mean, things happen, but nothing that had me on the edge of my seat and nothing that made it hard to put the book down.

I ended up reading this book in one night, although I frequently put it down to do other things. I don’t know that I would necessarily recommend it, but it was a quick read and a perfectly fine way to spend a couple hours.

I enjoyed this book and the two main characters so much! Letty is just a wonderful soul, and even though she's been hurt by her previous boyfriend, she learns to trust herself and open up to Max. I did think this was a bit of a slow start, with too much monologuing from each character and not enough interaction between them. There's a lot of information that's just conveyed through them thinking and I would have preferred not to have Max think for the tenth time about how much he's afraid to be like his father. However, once they connected, I found the pace picked up and I really enjoyed it.

Max and Letty compliment each other really well. Is size 14 really considered plus size? What a strange world we live in...

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Press for the ARC!

Letty Gonzalez is trying to rebuild her career after her ex-boss/ex-boyfriend fires her after he realizes that he won’t be getting into her parents deep pockets through her. Max Delgado is a sculptor on the verge of breaking out, trying to get ready for a major exhibition of his work. When Letty shows up at his door he is expecting a model not a temporary assistant.

Letty can’t afford to let this grumpy and much too sexy artist send her away. She needs this job. Although she won’t pose for him, her presence in his studio as she goes about her work organizing his life is irresistible and all-consuming, tempting him to want things he shouldn’t but since his meddling matchmaking Abuela Lola hired her, he can’t even fire her.

While this book was solidly likable and enjoyable it felt like it was trying to be three different books at the same time. The first an erotic romance about a grumpy sculptor trying to convince his shy plus-sized artist’s assistant that she is beautiful and desirable. The second an angsty romance about a couple struggling to communicate, scarred by unhealthy and abusive family dynamics. And finally a forced proximity rom-com about a kooky but irrepressible grandma trying to set up her grandson with a pretty girl. A book can try to do all these but in this case, the mash-up wasn’t fully successful and the story moved forward in fits and starts while the mood would swing wildly.

Once thing the book did very successfully is portraying complex and dysfunctional Cuban-American families that were utterly relatable. Letty’s and Max’s family’s value social status and apparences but it manifest in different ways. For Letty this means, constant negative comments about her looks and passive aggressive policing of her diet by her mother. She seeks financial independence from her parents because she has long ago learned the kind of emotionally manipulative strings that come attached to any financial help. Letty is smart, determined but has been emotionally battered by first her parents and then her ex. She over-thinks and misconstrues comments, as she is so used to expecting every comment to include a hidden barb. I wasn’t completely satisfied with the way this storyline was resolved as I wanted her journey of self-acceptance and self-confidence to be more internally motivated rather than having the unexpected validation of becoming a plus-size bathing suit model confirm for her what Max and her sister have been telling her. I did love the truly supportive relationship Letty has with her swimsuit model, size-2 sister. They are not pitted one against the other to the reader because of their body shape. They are both beautiful. They are both interesting, funny women and they love each other very much.

In Max’s family the importance of status and image lead to a long-term denial of his mother’s addiction and his father’s use of money to manipulate and control. Max’s conflicted and fraught relationship with his newly-sober mother felt realistically drawn and as was his hyper-awareness of his short-temper. I really appreciated that Christopher had Max verbalize his fears and open up about the reasons he was scared to death to get involved with someone seriously. Too often these kinds of feelings are only expressed in internal monologue and the other MC has no opportunity to challenge those notions. And it felt true to life that even knowing the issues involved two people might still misunderstand and misconstrue things because they are working through their own emotional baggage. The one issue that Max struggled with that I was surprised the book did not challenge more directly was his preoccupation with being able to provide Letty the kind of life he imagines she is used to. He holds on to the mistaken idea that Letty would care that he is not yet as financially self-reliant as he wants to be.

Ending had too many of the conflicts and villains vanquished off-page by the power of Lola Fairy Godmother-like witchiness and the actual reconciliation felt somewhat rushed but I am still interested in reading more books in this series because of the genuineness of the family relationships and the frankness of the characters about their messy feelings. This is a solid romance that could have used some more focus, but delivers in sexiness and emotion.


Content Warnings: Past trauma (child abuse), fatphobia
This review will appear at Loveinpanels.com before release day.

I really enjoyed this book! It's nice to read about a main character that's not conventionally beautiful. I cannot wait to read others in the series.