4.5 Stars

One Year of Ugly was humorous, heartwarming novel. As a debut novel, this really hit the mark and I'll be buying this in physical form because it was just that GOOD. The Palacio family are living illegally in Trinidad and I didn't realize that there was such a large Venezuela community living in Trinidad! I love the perspective and insight into this community. I loved how we only see Yola's perspective, she acknowledges her faults and we see the whole family from her point of view. The Palacios, as dysfunctional as they were, loved each other; and I appreciated the dysfunction. The romance in One Year of Ugly was great and I loved how it added to the story (for me); Roman is a new fictional crush for me. As the narrative spreads over one year the reader can see the evolution of life under Ugly and the evolution of the family as they get over Aunt Celia's death, especially Yola. The ending was healing. Reading about the refugee situation was in Venezuela was eyeopening. It was a delightful, funny read and I can't wait for more from Caroline Mackenzie.

I picked up this book not really knowing what to expect.

It's a new fiction release in the US this week and at first, I really wasn't into it at all. But about a quarter of the way through, it really sucked me in. While it plays as a darkly comedic beach read-- even part romance-- (really not my genres), beneath all that was a unique illegal immigrant story about a Venezuelan family that flees 10 miles off the coast to Trinidad as part of the mass exodus and humanitarian crisis that has rocked Venezuela under President Nicolás Maduro over the last few years.

The socio-political theme of an exploited family in a foreign land is the deep undercurrent of the whole book, but it doesn't feel at all heavy or like anything approaching historical fiction. To say the Palacio family finds themselves in an unusual situation after settling as refugees in Trinidad is an huge understatement. While the writing felt a teeny bit clunky in a few spots to me, overall, it was really fun and easy to read, and I'll chalk that up to the fact that it's a debut novel. It's a crazy ride with unexpected turns that kept my attention and in the way that good books do, I it caused me to Google a lot about political and geographcial subjects that aren't super familiar to me. Fun to read AND learning about something new is a definite win/win for me!

I really liked Yola, the main character, and it comes to me as no surprise that Netflix deservedly snapped up the rights to this story before the book was even published. It has exactly the right vibe for a screen. But take a chance on it now in your lawn chair for something different in the meantime.

#OneYearofUgly #NetGalley #simonandschuster

One Year or Ugly was hilarious, punchy and real! Yola was so brutally honest and true to herself. I feel I’m love with her character instantly! This book was hard to put down. It’s one of my favorite’s I’ve read this year.

The Palacio familiy has had a rough go of things after immigrating from Venezuela to Trinidad. The family falls under the “care” of Ugly, who says the family owes him a debt. The Palacios begin to work off their debt by hosting immigrant families until proper housing can be found.
Yola finds herself stuck between family loyalty and and lust. This story has everything: drama, sex, guns, and family.

I had hope for this book. but I simply could not get into it. Restarting it, coming back to it from other reading didn't help. Apparently, my sense of humor and the author's are too far apart. There is nothing funny about duress. Not for a moment and certainly not for a year

When her aunt dies with a secret debt to a crime boss, Yola Palacio and her entire family are thrust into the middle of a crime ring in Trinidad, involving one adventure after another. Yola can’t help but be attracted to the local criminal’s gorgeous right-hand man. This comedic novel tackles serious topics like illegal refugees, exploitation and exile with a light touch and left me filled with hope. Well written and fast-paced. The Palacio’s close-knit, dysfunctional family was fun to read about as they roll with challenges doled out to them in good spirits. Take a trip to Trinidad with this delightful novel. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy for an honest review

Funny, entertaining, steamy, and ultimately heart-warming, One Year of Ugly is a wonderful debut novel. Yola and her family illegally immigrate to Trinidad to escape their oppressive home country of Venezuela. The hardship does not end there, however, as they soon find themselves forced into a crime ring run by a man named Ugly in order to pay off a deceased family member’s death. The relationship that develops between Yola and Ugly’s henchman, Roman, is super spicy but also deep and beautiful. The development of their relationship was the highlight of the book for me. I also enjoyed the hilarity that ensues when one outlandish event after another takes place. This family repeatedly finds itself in deeper and deeper trouble. At times, some of the humor was a little too dark for me but otherwise I enjoyed it and I frequently found myself in stitches.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I was intrigued by the concept of One Year of Ugly, following the drama of a family of illegal Venezuelan immigrants in Trinidad, and the way they are indebted to the criminal Ugly.

However, I feel like this book was a bit too ambitious, in trying to work with realistic issues, while also trying to present an overall light tone, with the editor (in her accompanying introductory letter) drawing comparisons to Crazy Rich Asians and Where’d You Go Bernadette. The family relationships do feel reminiscent of CRA, and that aspect was one of my favorite parts of the book.

However, I felt, juxtaposed against the more serious issues, it felt a bit tonally unbalanced. I didn’t expect a completely depressing read, but I did feel like the story was more absurd than I preferred.

This book was a bit of a mismatch for me, but that doesn’t mean it won’t work for someone else. If you are looking for a comedy that also touches on tough topics, then I think you should give this book a try.

A story is raw and straight to the point with no room for BS, just like our leading lady--Yola. One that grabs you from the get-go, and "intrigues" you by touching that secret soft spot we all have for a forbidden romance. This book is so delicious and such a clutch-my-pearls story, with entertaining anecdotes from Yola's hilarious and sailor-mouthed Aunt Celia--who happens to pass away and leave the entire family in debt with a local gangster (Ugly) until her debt is paid--firey moments between characters, and beautiful moments of family and camaraderie. Ugly's right-hand man, Roman, is a walking temptation for Yola, even though she is a strong and independent WO-MAN who don't need no man! I read half the book in one sitting, and cannot wait to finish it once I'm off work. Also, I cannot wait to see what comes next from Caroline Mackenzie!

**Thank you NetGalley for providing an eARC.

This book was a beautiful and wild ride about loss, family, choice, and love. Yola is the heart of the story, but there are so many amazing characters throughout this book, along with incredible world building and development. It is at times laugh out loud funny, and others makes you feel completely sad and desperate. It brings you into the world of illegal immigrants, Venezuelan and Trini cultures, a close-knit family, and also criminals. And the ending? Perfect. *chef's kiss*

Thank you to Borough press, NetGalley, and Caroline Mackenzie for the ARC of One Year of Ugly in return for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed this debut novel! The author tells a story of the plight of the Palacios family's illegal migration from Venezuela to Trinidad. This includes some sensitive issues including illegal immigration, dysfunctional family issues including alcoholism, and enduring a dangerous life under a local crime lord. The subject matter of this novel covers crucial issues--- the author does this with wit and plenty of dark humor that may not appeal to all readers.

Before reading this book I was unaware of the refugee crisis caused by the turmoil in Venezuela so this made for an intriguing read.

Caroline Mackenzie's debut novel features a family after they flee Venezuela to Trinidad. This book touches on serious topics such as alcoholism, illegal immigrants, and living under tyrant rule for a year. While the book makes you reflect on these topics, Mackenzie's well-written novel includes some funny moments and of course, romance. I absolutely loved Aunt Celia and she was by far one of my favorite characters because of her eccentric tendencies and she was just downright funny in a kind of crazy way. I highly recommend this book!

I almost didn't request Caroline Mackenzie's One Year of Ugly from BookExpo because I wasn't sure it sounded like my kind of book. But then I heard that Netflix had optioned it, and I figured I should read the book before watching it.

The book makes a reference to Mills and Boon, which I understand thanks to the Gothic and Romantic Literature class I took while studying abroad in England. And that's kind of what this book reminded me of - a romance novel. But a little bit crazier.

Yola's family are illegal Venezuelan immigrants in Trinidad, and all is going well until Yola's aunt Celia dies, and it turns out Celia owed a lot of money to Ugly, an evil criminal who scored Celia's daughter's fake paperwork so they could go to school. To pay back the debt, Yola's family has to house other illegals at their own expense.

Ugly is a mean bastard, but his sidekick Roman is very easy on the eyes, and a forbidden mutual attraction develops between Yola and Roman. Yola, who has been living at home and is too scared to pursue her dream of writing a novel, must learn to go for what she wants and suck all the sugar up, just like her Aunt Celia would have wanted her to.

I think this novel gives a unique immigrant perspective. Yola says multiple times in the book that her family fled the oppression of their home only to not really be free somewhere else.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Shuster for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book struggles a lot due to its marketing. I did not find it to be a romance, more of a women's fiction that centered on the main character and her family's grief after the unexpected death of her aunt. And the unexpected consequences that come, blackmail by Ugly.

The main character nit picks or is just plain negative about all of the women in her life, judging them all. I did not find this one humorous or the story of immigrants but of the main character constantly being negative about her family in an almost stream of consciousness thought process.

I DNF at 50%. The story was dragging and was getting repetitive. The romance elements were just not there nor the humor. Maybe with different expectations coming in I would have liked this book more.

I'm so so excited to recommend this book to everybody! It has everything - fun, sadness, grief, forbidden romance, drama, secrets, even suspense and a big twist... You simply cannot not fall in love with the Palacios - they are so human and every one of them is so well developed, they feel like your own family and... especially Aunt Celia!!! I loved her so much! Finally, One Year Of Ugly did what American Dirt tried to but failed - put light on the real life of illegal immigrants and the difficulties they meet along every step of their way. I'm glad to say this was one of my favorite books of all time and I'm sure I will be rereading it in a few years.
This book was provided to me for a review by the publisher.

After Yola Palacio and her family flee Venezuela for Trinidad, she thinks the worst is over. Sure, she and her family are now unauthorized immigrants, but they have a new life and can make it work. That is until Aunt Celia dies and Ugly, the crime boss Aunt Celia secretly owes, comes to collect. Now the Palacio family is active, if unwilling, participants in a crime ring and Yola, well, she can’t stay away from Román, Ugly’s right-hand man.

If you like romantic comedies, you will like this book.

If you loathe discussions of controversial politics, you will like this book.

If you love Netflix, you will love this book because they already acquired the rights. And here, oddly, is what redeemed the book for me. A Netflix production might be what we need to make this romantic comedy truly dark beyond the superficial gloss-over of a complicated subject and a few bad words.

The writing, while not extraordinary, was good. The humor, so heavily promoted, was not as sharp as I would have expected.

My primary complaint is how this book is being positioned/marketed. It's setting up the wrong expectations and doing the author a disservice. One Year of Ugly is promoted as a dark romantic comedy. Lemony Snicket is darker than One Year of Ugly. The only reason this book is dark is that we root for unauthorized immigrants and an illicit romance. The book is funny throughout, with Mackenzie using the sardonic voices of Yola and her beloved deceased aunt to make safe commentary on Venezuelan politics. The discussion of immigration is not dark and neither is the Palacio family's step into organized crime.

Publishers describe Mackenzie as a mix of Junot Díaz and Maria Semple and, again, this is a huge error. I was an enormous fan of Junot Díaz before the allegations, and the comparison doesn’t hold up to review. Like Semple, Mackenzie is a beach read. Anyone who reads One Year of Ugly expecting more than Where Did You Go, Bernadette will be disappointed. I would not have been able to finish this book if I held to the expectation that I would read a woman’s answer to The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

While #readcaribbean is “over” (as a month-long challenge), I’m excited about all of the amazing Caribbean-authored books on my TBR and will be continuing to read Caribbean all year long.

But let’s get to the good stuff. ONE YEAR OF UGLY by @carolinemackenziewrites, out July 7 in the U.S. (Thank you @netgalley, @37inkbooks, @simonbooks for the digital ARC.) This book is hilarious. Here’s my one-sentence synopsis: an undocumented Venezuelan family living in Trinidad ends up indebted to a local crime lord; shenanigans ensue. This is contemporary fiction that explores tough issues in a really fun way. It’s so hard to explain how funny and astute this book is without a couple of quotes.

〰️ “So I boarded the denial canoe alongside the twins and picked up my oar.”
〰️ “I’d have asked her about it, but she and my mother were doing this classic woman thing where they didn’t say a word but were doing everything with passive-aggressive force, slicing into baked potatoes like they were disemboweling torture victims, launching balled-up foil into the garbage with the undue force of an Olympian hurling a discus.” (Obviously this one purports a stereotype around women’s anger, which may or may not resonate with you, but nonetheless this paints a word picture.)

This book is perfect for a hot summer day or a long weekend, and I’m really glad I read it. Not only was it a fun romp, I also learned a lot about Venezuelan perception in Trinidad. While I studied Venezuelan politics in college, I’m not as up-to-date on current state; embarrassingly, I didn’t even realize quite how close Venezuela and Trinidad are in geographic proximity. I’m looking forward to learning more!

💡 Did you participate in #readcaribbean? If so, what did you read?

CWs: brief animal harm/death

I love the informal first-person format of this book. It allows you to get to know Yola and all of the characters in the text through her eyes. At the start of the novel I immediately felt like an honorary member of the Palacios family. This book was an easy read with enough suspense and shocking revelations to keep the reader interested. I am a sucker for a romance and this did not disappoint. I think the author tried to maintain a level of realistic expectations with the romance and it was appreciated. If I had a critique it would be that the Trinidadian dialect was not represented well. It seems like the author was trying to make it understandable to those who may not fully understand the dialect but in doing so it took away from the conversational tone of the book. As a Carribbean American, this irritated me a bit while reading but may not be an issue for anyone else. Although I seriously questioned the plausibility of the book at the beginning, by the end it all came together and I love the message of empowerment for women everywhere.

Thank you to the publishers for providing this book to me for free on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

This story is about the Palacios who have fled Venezuela for Trinidad. However, their passage to Trinidad was obtained via suspicious means. And because of those suspicious means when one Aunt Celia dies, they have to clear her debt to the broker, Ugly. With Ugly, comes his right hand man, Román who our main protagonist, Yola, takes a liking to. So thus the adventure begins!

It was very interesting to learn about the plight of what is going on in Venezuela and how Venezuelans have to flee their country to live. I liked the family dynamic that the Palacios had in how loyal they were to each other and really supported one another. I really liked the relationship between Yola and Celia, although Celia is dead at the start of the story, we get to gradually learn about what she meant to Yola throughout.

The start of the story was kind of slow and it took me about 30% in to really get into the story. It kind of dragged in some places where it could’ve been shortened.

I thought the romance between Román and Yola was done well. I loved the constant angst and yearning, although it was only seen through Yola’s side. However, it could be seen from Román words and actions that he felt the same for Yola. Their chemistry was sizzling and gave me the tingles. However, that was really the only parts that got me excited. Although, the parts with Aunt Milagros were pretty exciting.

Overall, I thought the story was cool and okay. It was an interesting insight on how people who flee their home countries, essentially become illegal immigrants and have to live their lives with that.

One Year of Ugly tries to use lewd comedy to tell a story but I'm not exactly sure what type of story it's trying to tell. It's not a story of illegal immigrants that humanizes then and shows you there struggle or causes you to have empathy for them. At times I found myself wondering if this was a an argument to send them back. Because all the Venezuelans we encounter seem to partake in illegal activity and they all seem to have the same solid jobs people accuse them of stealing. At times I felt more like I was reading a story about white Trinis who live a good life as the minority on the island because the author made sure to showcase their world; a world she is quite familiar with versus showing us how this family interactions with the majority Black and Indian people on the island.

See longer full review on my blog
http://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot.com/2020/06/one-year-of-ugly-by-carolyn-mackenzie.html

The title and cover drew me in from the start, but it is known that catchy cover art can often be misleading. However, I love Mackenzie’s strong female lead and enjoyed Yola’s coming of age story. The Palacios’ family struggle of finding a new way of life after fleeing their home country is a powerful message to elicit readers’ empathy for refugees seeking asylum in foreign countries. The overall theme is heavy, but Mackenzie’s use of humor allows readers to face a stark reality in a way that’s not off-putting or too heartbreaking to read. This was a page turner for me that I couldn’t put down and still find myself reflecting on the characters and their lives !