This was okay. It didn’t really keep my attention. I tried both the ebook and the audio and I just wasn’t engaged. This may just be a me thing.

Unfortunately, this one did not keep my attention. I found myself not interested in continuing so I will not be leaving a review. I am sorry for any inconvenience. Please disregard my star rating below as I do not rate books I haven't completed.

3.5

I read this has an audiobook/ebook and really enjoyed hearing parts in Spanish. Nadia is a successful Latina that gets hit with a twist right before she turns 30 and decides she wants to have a double quinceañera. The idea of having a double quinceañera is amazing and honestly made me think of having one since I never had a quinceañera. I loved being on Nadia’s journey of self love but wish that the book went more in depth with the characters. I enjoyed them all but I feel like the characters weren’t fully developed. But all and all it’s was an enjoyable story that was relatable as a Latina.

This was a fun story with a unique premise and lots of quirky characters! I enjoyed the family and all of the chaos that came with them in the second half of the book. I think the cover is cute and bubbly and that's how I felt after reading this. We didn't get to know the love interests as well as I would have hoped, but the dynamics all around them were still interesting!

This was fine but not as engaging as her YA stories. I wanted more with this romance for an adult book. I’ll still give her next one a try

This book fell a little flat for me. I tried to like it but I never connected with the characters. It was a bummer because I really enjoyed Furia.

I really Enjoyed this one, only down side is it was a slow burn, which arn't really my thing, but besides that I loved it

I liked the set up and the idea, and the family and friends and what it means to figure things out in the middle of life when things go wrong

Twice a Quinceañera by Yamile Saied Mendez
“I’m trying to take a picture with my eyes, so I’ll remember this moment forever.”
Nadia Palicia was fierce, driven, ambitious, she has always chased her dreams. Now that her wedding is called off, with an inspiration from a magazine she decides to have a double Quinceañera to celebrate herself. Needing to change the details of the ceremony to a celebration she meets with none other than her ex fling Marcos Hawkins or better known as rocket. Rocket has some issues that he needs to work through especially now that his left him in charge of Enchanted Orchids the wedding venue his parents built together. Marcus however has trouble looking past the fact that he can't imagine a life without Nadia, but will Nadia be able to forgive him.

I liked this book for so many reasons diversity firstly different race, religion, sexual orientation, body positivity, I loved that she was at a time in her life where she accepted her body, this book showed that it is OK to be over achiever, to fail but also celebrate yourself. However it was slow, predictable I still wanted to know what happened between Marcos and Nadia.

Rating
3⭐

Thank you Netgalley for this arc. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Nadia cancels her wedding and instead decides to throw herself a double quinceañera. Along the way, she ends up reconnecting with an old fling and starts living life for herself and not others. This book is about self-love and celebrating your own accomplishments.

This is not a romance book like it was marketed. It is definitely more women’s fiction. Nothing wrong just not what I was expecting.

There were waaaaay too many characters to keep straight. Most characters were mentioned once and they never helped move the story forward or things were left unfinished. Marcos sister and dad were mentioned but were underdeveloped.

Also, why did Marcos not believe in love? That was never answered.

The book built a strong foundation in the beginning but it slowed down in the middle. I wish there were more scenes about Nadia and Marcos during college (more romance). Those scenes were very rushed and short.

Overall, my biggest gripe is just the marketing was wrong. Went in expecting a romance but it was definitely more women’s fiction. Nothing wrong with the book just was not expecting that. I would read another book by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the ARC copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book deserves significantly more hype, a great recommendation for Millennial Women fed up with reality

This was a sweet, fun read that had me feeling all sorts of emotions. Loved the growth and love of family. I really enjoyed this book!
Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

DNF at 42%.

Nadia is a month away from her wedding when everything falls apart. She breaks off her engagement, but is left with a venue that is paid for with no chance for refund. Plus, she has family flying in from around the world for the special day that will now not happen. So instead she decides to throw herself a party, a quinceanera (the sweet 15 she never got to celebrate) turned treintanera (double quinces). The venue owner happens to be a fling she had years ago, so now her life has been completely upended and her past has come calling as well.

Overall the premise was fine. I just did not like Nadia at all. Her character was awful. I didn't appreciate the view of the surrounding community, the language or just the overall feel of the book. Decided to drop this one. I'm sad this one was a flop for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The book’s description is accurate, both a love story and a book about a woman finding herself. Nadia winds up juggling her family’s expectations and dynamics as she makes life altering decisions that change her future in large ways. Being true to herself is key, and once Nadia acknowledges that, other aspects fall into place.

Most of the side characters have back stories too, which add to the overall plot. I did find big sister Isabella’s confusing at times, so I hope she gets her own book too! Learning about Nadia’s culture and traditions was fun as well. If you are looking for a contemporary romance with some substance, check it out.

I received this book from Net Galley and have written an objective review.

One month short of her wedding day and her thirtieth birthday Nadia Palacio finds herself standing up to her infuriating, cheating fiancé for the first time ever. She breaks up with him but doesn't know how to break the news to her Argentinian family. She sees a magazine piece about a Latina woman celebrating herself with a second quinceañera, aka Sweet 15!

With a wedding venue already paid for, and family from all over the world with plane tickets, Nadia is determined to create her own happily-ever-after. Since the math adds up perfectly, she’ll celebrate her treintañera, her double quinces. As the first professional in her family, raising a glass to her achievements is the best plan she’s had in years. Until she discovers that the man in charge of the venue is none other than her college fling that became far more than a fling.

This was cute. I enjoyed Nadia and Marco. I just wish we had seen them more. There were a lot of inner thoughts being shared. It was very much a slow burn with no action, really, just kissing. I just wanted more though I did like it. I loved Nadia's family and learning about the different cultures. I recommend it!

I genuinely enjoyed this book at first. The difficulties I experience with my own Latino family are strikingly comparable to those Nadia faces in the story. It initially appeared to be a romance novel as well, but as I read on, it became evident that it was more women's fiction. There is nothing wrong with this, other than the fact that it was marketed as a romance book and that Nadia and Marco rarely spend any time together in the book, making it difficult to believe that they fall in love at the end. Although the reader isn't given much, they are supposed to support them and be satisfied with this result. The book instead centers on Nadia's quest to reclaim her former, more self-assured attitude as well as introduce new things that will make her happy. It's hard to enjoy Nadia's journey when she frequently goes back and forth on several issues. As a result, I found myself getting frustrated with her and wishing she would just grow a backbone. Around the 40% mark is when I completely checked out and basically had to force myself to finish this. The amount of time spent explaining how Nadia had to change the party from a wedding theme to a quinceanera theme dragged out the story. Even worse was the number of characters who had little relevance but were given multiple paragraphs.

Despite everything, there were still some positive aspects to the plot that I enjoyed. As I've already said, Nadia's experiences, especially those involving her family, made me think about my own. Nadia's immigrant parents put a lot of pressure on her in school to do well, get a good job, and always be there for her family, and that's a really relatable experience for children of immigrants. I found the story's premise to be really original, and that's what first caught my attention. The narrative had a lot of potential with such an intriguing premise, but unfortunately, it failed to deliver.

Rating: 2.5

I loved this book. Great story of a Latina that does not fit the mold but finds a way to find her voice even when everyone wants her to just stay in her lane.

This is one of those books that you HOPE with your whole heart that it is great, and it falls very short.

Somehow this manages to make a 30 year old FMC sound like she’s 16, and I say that in not a good way. I do believe that the dual POV actually hurt this book more than helped it.

Very happy on the latine representation.

I wanted to read this book solely because of the complex and unique feature in her previous book. Although that was long, there were unique aspects to that, something I hoped to find here. I could not get myself to read the ebook completely. Multiple false starts later, I decided to give it up.
I really enjoyed the start and the introduction of the lead pair individually. Once their stories overlap, there was a forced feeling to the entire thing. If this had been a book about a lady finding her footing in life without a male counterpart, I might have enjoyed this book more!
Since I did not finish the book, I will not be able to provide a more in-depth review for this.

Twice a Quinceanera by Yamile Saied Mendez
Publication date: July 26, 2022

Date read: July 27, 2022



After calling off her wedding, Nadia decides to use the opportunity - a venue already paid for, family coming in from abroad - to throw herself a double Quinceanera instead. As the first professional in her family, and someone who has put her own happiness aside her whole life, she decides that celebrating her achievements is the best possible solution. The only hiccup is that while the venue owner is out of town, her brother will be handling things - and he turns out to be Nadia’s college fling that she realizes she might still have feelings for.

I haven’t read a lot of romcom-style books in the past, but I’m trying to read more, because I do enjoy them and sometimes I just need something light. But I am finding reviewing them a bit difficult, since enjoyment of them tends to fall less on depth and plot and more on character and just how the conclusion makes you feel.

There was a lot I enjoyed about this book. The characters were wonderful. Nadia was a bit prickly, but I loved how strong she was and how the author was able to make her both a strong woman and a likable character. (As opposed to just brash and standoffish. But what I especially loved about her, and the story as a whole, was that - despite being a romcom - romantic love was not Nadia’s first priority. The whole plot of this book was Nadia finding the strength to appreciate and love herself for who she is and to show others how much she has accomplished in her life, despite being unmarried at thirty. Romance, while important to the story, came second to all that.

There are things about this book that could have used a little fine-tuning. The sentence structure was sometimes a little too simple and repetitive. Some of the plot and dialogue was a little too cheesy. And, I have to mention it, because normally I would fault a book for being too shallow and predictable, but it’s a romcom. Predictable kind of comes with the genre. (And that’s not a knock on the genre, it just is what it is.)

Overall, I enjoyed this one. It was a light, fun read and I really liked the characters. Both Nadia and Marcos are pretty cute. It’s predictable and cheesy, but quite a lot of fun. I would recommend this to anyone who is just looking for a fun read with a little romance and a lot about appreciating yourself and not giving in to the pressures of family and society.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Content warning: eating disorder (mentioned), SIDS

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.