A delightful book full of adventure, action, and thrills. Fun to read, engrossing world building, and very descriptive imagery made it feel like it was cinematic. It's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. Would recommend.

I LOVED this book! I actually listened to the audio! I loved the tension and spice! it was HOT! I love the authors writing and I Cant wait for the next book!

Loved, loved, loved. I listened to Alexis's last book and I wound up choosing the audio format for this one too. I loved these characters and it was fun, sexy and clever.

This is like old home week. It was easy to connect with Mich and Gabe’s romance. Their Firsts were fantastic and it’s the little details that really made this come alive. I adored the Primas of Power, and the family scenes reminded me of my own family, the noise and bochinches, all wrapped up in love. My only quibble is my lack of love for emotional runners and Gabe got his Nikes tied and ready. But I understood his issues and I sympathized enough to still root for him to get things right. Much was a badass and I loved her confidence as much as her vulnerable bits. If you’re looking for a good second chance romance, I’d definitely recommend. Can’t wait for Ava’s story ❤️.

I adored this book! Fun, spicy read and a wonderful follow up to the first! Alexis Daria will be an auto buy author for me from now on!

Loved this book! Gabe was such a swoon-worthy protagonist and I loved the storyline of friends from the past reuniting. I cant wait for Primas of Power book 3!

Michelle and Gabriel, high school besties that could have been more, reunite after 13 years when she's hired by his partner to put together a marketing package for their gym expansion in New York City. Michelle wants to find out why he abandoned her so thoroughly after high school as they hide from their overwhelming families.

I adored this book! The first in the series, You Had Me at Hola, was good, but this one was better-plotted in my opinion. The characters are easy to root for and care about. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series!

Gabriel Aguilar co-owns a gym in California and his business partner emails Michelle Amato for marketing for a new NYC location. Partner Fabian is unaware that Michelle and Gabe were childhood neighbors and best friends that parted ways when he went to LA for college. They didn't part on good terms; Michelle and Gabe had an intimate moment where Mich was thinking they could be more than friends but their moment ended when she spotted his one-way ticket to LAX. She's reached out to him in previous years, but he never responded to her.

Michelle agrees to accept the job with conditions, one of which is that Gabe has to stay with her while visiting New York City. Gabe is distraught when he finds out they're staying in her childhood home in the Bronx (next door to his parents) instead of her apartment in Hell's Kitchen. It doesn't take long for them to realize their sexual chemistry once they're reunited.

They live in their happy secret romance bubble for a while, but eventually their families figure out that Gabe is in town and staying with Michelle. To avoid explaining their complicated relationship, they fake dating for their families' sake. That they're drawn to each other is undeniable, but what will happen to the couple when Gabe has to return to California?

The novel goes back and forth between the present and online chats between teenage Michelle and Gabe thirteen years prior; the chats are their planning sessions for writing fan fiction about their favorite sci-fi TV show featuring Latinx characters in space.

Both characters are complex. Michelle is a Puerto Rican-Italian bisexual and suffered from anxiety before finding a prescription medication that works to calm her. Gabe is also bisexual and has deep-seated family issues that caused him not to talk to his Mexican-Puerto Rican family for almost a decade. Gabe isn't just a typical gym bro either; he also is a physical therapist who helps his customers with healthy movement, not just a personal trainer.

While this book is the second in a series, reading the first book is not necessary. Jasmine from You Had Me at Hola is Michelle's cousin.

Recommended for fans of forced proximity and second chance romance tropes and those looking for more diverse romance novels.

What a fabulous book! I felt like Gabe and Michelle's characters were both complex and well-written, which was refreshing when some stories tend to focus more on one character rather than evenly between both main characters. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital eARC I had the opportunity to read!

Michelle and Gabriel grew up together, best friends until Michelle finds out that Gabriel has decided to move all the way to California, leaving her alone and confused in NYC. Years later, Gabriel, against his will, is forced back to NYC and reconnects with Michelle through planning the opening of his new gym. CA has everything Gabriel needs…but it doesn’t have Michelle.

This was a hot, fun, fast read. I loved the dynamic between Gabriel and Michelle. I laughed out loud at Gabriel trying to avoid his parents who live right next door, and Michelle dealing with her cousins when they find out exactly what Michelle and Gabriel have been doing in her parents house…a definite must read for romance fans, especially if you love rom-coms!

I'm self aware enough to recognize that the issues I had with this book are entirely personal. Its a "right book, wrong time" situation. None of that changes that I had to push myself to finish this one...which makes me sad as Daria is one of my favourite authors and I've devoured every one of her other titles.

But let's get into it!

Gabe is a HOT (shot) physical therapist who co-owns a gym in LA with his bestie where, these days, he spends most of his time on admin rather than dong the work he LOVES. He left home in NYC after high school to get away from his family who he felt were always too hard on him and pushed him to be someone he wasn't. Also left behind? His best friend Michelle who he harbored feelings for when they were kids. She gets hired by his biz partner to lead the NYC expansion of their gym...and decides its her time to get some answers for Gabe's abandonment years earlier. Reuniting brings back all the feelings - desire, heartbreak, love, fear - and the book follows them as they learn start to get honest with themselves and open up to each other and the other people in their lives.

Throughout the story, we meet a cast of characters—friends, immediate family, extended family—all of whom are perfectly positioned. Every character contributed to the story and it created such a warm fuzzy family feeling without denying how challenging it can be at times!

Writing this, I feel torn because this was a beautiful journey, objectively. And the sex scenes were delicious, too.

But...

I'm jealous.

Yes, you read that right. I'm jealous of this book and these characters.

Of how quickly Gabe began to understand his parents and see them as adults. (That shit is hard work)
Of the free physical therapy everyone gets.
Of the ways their businesses *just flourish*
Of having a major support system close enough to actually help you out with stuff.
Of how conventionally beautiful these characters are (it was...a central plot point).

It feels like this book was perfectly written to hit all my current tender points and, like a massage that goes too hard, I spent my time gritting my teeth and pushing through. And now I'm sore and mad at myself for not speaking up (errr DNFing).

And there's SO much more to this book than that, both in terms of beauty (bi rep! parents apologizing for how they hurt their kids! the fanfic! the love of NYC! The way in which it accurately represents our diverse world!) and things that legit didn't work for me (the body and food stuff, the rushed healing! the need for everyone to be in therapy, some of my least favorite tropes), but I couldn't move past hard this it dragged me.

Will I still recommend this book? Yes, though with a heads up about the food and body stuff in it.
Will I still read Ava's book whenever it comes out? OMGosh yes. I honestly cannot wait to read hers.

So there you have it: quite possibly the weirdest review I've ever written! I hope it helps someone make a decision about whether this is right for them.

Content warnings: discussion of food restrictions and dieting
Sex tags: the most delicious dirty talk, stripping, oral sex, vaginal sex, hand jobs, role playing

This was an amazing second chance romance. It hit some many of my buttons. The writing was steamy hot and I really felt like they cared for one another but I also got why they were nervous about if it could really work.

If you love steam early in on your books, pick this one up! It will not disappoint. Personally, I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the first in the series, but I think it was a case of my preferences in romance rather than the book itself.

I really liked this book and the relationship between Gabe and Michelle! I thought the interweaving fanfic conversations from the past helped show more to the main plot line without being too in your face. Also liked how the relationships of all the characters evolved throughout the book and seemed realistic.

Full disclosure I was so excited for this book because I love childhood love/friends and I adored this cover from the moment it was revealed. This book did not quite deliver. The focus on Gabe working through his childhood issues was nice, but I was bored. It took me much longer than normal to read this book.

Just like the first book in this series, I love A Lot Like Adios. Both the hero and heroine are depicted as people who are real, flawed, and eventually willing to work not only on their romantic relationships but their other relationships as well. With family strife, missed opportunities, and an emphasis on communication, this was a fun read that still kept it real.

I loved this read! Bisexual main characters, Latinx characters, emotional damage, friends to lovers, and so much growth is my kind of book! I really enjoyed You Had Me At Hola and I’m really happy with how much I enjoyed A Lot Like Adiós !! Mich and Gabe had so much chemistry!! I loved the Spanish sprinkled throughout the book! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for a review!

I absolutely loved You Had Me at Hola, and so I went into A Lot Like Adios with high hopes. But I struggled with this one so much.

Alexis Daria is a terrific writer, don't get me wrong. Her characters are amazing and she creates scenes that make you feel like you're right there in it.

I think, for me, I just couldn't connect with the characters.

LOVE GABE AND MICH! Alexis Daria is just so good at this.

Petition for Alexis to publish CELESTIAL DESTINY.

There was so much about this book that I absolutely love. I love that the characters tackle difficult situations, that they learn and grow, and that they do it together and apart. I so understand Gabe, when you decide that zero communication is the only solution out of a toxic relationship, it's hard to see any other way, any way for it to be different, even years later. It takes so much strength and trust to put yourself in that vulnerable position again, to let those people who hurt you, or watched as you were being hurt, or remind you of that pain back in. I love that Gabe was able to do it and it made me so happy and hopeful.