I appreciated the fun premise of a girl trying to figure out which of the possible love interests around her is the one her heart actually really connects to, and of course it was even more relatable since the main character herself is a writer. The story was not especially original, but it was a fun, fast read.

A cute take on Romeo and Juliet where there are lots of options boy wise and a girl truly trying to discover herself and who she wants to be. One that will have you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out who she will end up with.

This was an overall cute and fun read but the main character was not really relatable and I found the writing a bit lacking.

This was an EXCELLENT little coming-of-age contemporary set over the summer. Julieta is the daughter of Argentinian immigrants who have a struggling restaurant post-covid pandemic, is working on figuring out HER dreams (writing!) and potential love with three different boys. There's a hint of You've Got Mail with a mysterious online writer/suitor (this will always draw me in) and it's just a really sweet story. The writing itself was high quality to me, especially for the genre. (This is not a knock on YA contemp romance - I love it - but sometimes you want to roll your eyes at the phrases used, and this was not one of them!!!) I love that Julieta was driven, focused, realistically stressed and ultimately had realistic results to a lot of the plot points.

At its core, this is a story about love of all kinds, of family, of dreams pursued and dreams you have to grieve for letting go. And despite being about the Romeos, it is not just about the romance. I'd recommend this one for sure.

I can see very clearly why people like this book.

It's a quick, fun read that is really sweet. It isn't particularly memorable but it is enjoyable.

3.5 rounded up to 4.

Julieta dreams of writing. She’s excited that she got accepted to a summer writing workshop with one of her favorite authors. Her parents, Argentinian immigrants who run a restaurant, are happy to see her work toward her dream. But she can tell that even as she’s seeing some neat things happening for herself, the restaurant is not doing so great. And she can see the strain it’s putting on her parents’ marriage.

Over the summer, Julieta works on a love story online (as one project for her class), but her love life is all over the place. She is noticing how good-looking (and buff) her longtime family friend is. And another boy she meets at her abuela’s apartment is cute and seems interested in her. On top of that, her best friend’s brother is attending the same writing workshop. He’s always been annoying and obnoxious. But now he’s talking to her about writing, and he seems a lot less obnoxious.

While she’s getting to know each of these boys a little better (or differently than before), a person with the pseudonym Happily Ever Drafter is contributing to the story she’s writing online. He really gets her and is making fabulous additions to the story. Julieta is sure she knows him; he must be one of these three Romeos. But which one? She feels he’s her perfect match. If she can just figure out who Happily Ever Drafter is, she can settle on the right one of her “suitors.”

As the summer progresses, Julieta spends time with the three Romeos, tries to figure out how to save the family business, and works on her writing. It’s definitely an eventful summer. While she is hoping fate will deliver a happily ever after she can feel confident in, she has hopes for each of the boys. But Julieta won’t see the end coming, though readers might.

Julieta and the Romeos is a sweet story about family and romance and finding one’s way. I loved the characters and the family relationships. Descriptions of the food at the family’s Argentinian restaurant had me salivating, too.

I was so excited to read this and it just fell flat for me. Teen Julieta wants to be a writer almost as badly as she wants a boyfriend, and when she is accepted into a prestigious summer writing program, she's a bit disheartened it's alongside her best friend's brother and her sort-of nemesis. A fan fiction writer, there is a fan of her work that she develops a sort of relationship with, and he harbors a crush on an old friend. How will things come together? I felt like after about 10% in I knew where it was going and wasn't vested enough to continue, but sure this is going to be someone else's perfect summer crush read.

Julieta's writing teacher has her put her assignment online where she acquires a persistent critic.  Meanwhile three separate boys in her life have more attractive to her. Will one of them become her romeo...read and find out.

a cute book that i really enjoyed and connected with

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the review copy.

The problem with being a mood reader is that you can get an eARC for a book you're super excited about...and not read it until after its pub date. 

I don't know about you, but when summer rolls around I crave two things: ice cream an YA contemporary romances. Granted, I'll never say no to either of those things no matter the time of year, but there's something about the season of sunshine that makes me crave things that are light and sweet. I honestly didn't even know what Julieta and the Romeos was about. I just saw "You've Got Mail" and Maria E. Andreu and requested it IMMEDIATELY. For once being a procrasti-mood reader worked in my favor because Julieta and the Romeos was exactly what I needed after the world's hottest day. 

Julieta and the Romeos is just fun. No matter what your favorite trope is, Maria E. Andreu has got you covered. We've got a childhood best friend, a boy-next-door, and an academic rival/best friend's insufferable brother all in one story. While I'm generally not a huge fan of love triangles (or love squares, in this case?), I didn't mind the romantic geometry. Maybe it was because I knew who she was going to end up with from the very beginning, but I don't feel like the story is full of unnecessarily drama or the constant seesawing back-and-forth of "will they, won't they?" between the three love interests. If anything, we just end up with more romance and more tropes. (Though I will say, I don't necessarily think we need Bachelor #3 who doesn't get as much screentime as the two main love interests. More on that later.)

The book itself perfect for relaxing on a lazy summer day. It has enough tension to keep the story moving but is the kind of chill, quiet story that you want when you're in the mood for quick read. It's fluffy but grounded enough that it's not teeth-rottenly sweet. Most books that fit this description aren't particularly memorable or well-written, but Andreu writes with a precision that wrings every last drop out of her sentences. Her descriptions are painstakingly crafted and stunningly vivid without ever feeling pretentious. 

Now for some minor complaints (because I always manage to scrouge up one or two.) There are a few mentions of COVID that seem clunky and unnecessary. I'm not a huge fan of pandemic references to begin with, and every time I came across one in Julieta and the Romeos, I was jolted out of the story for a bit. Andreu does explain in her acknowledgements this was written during and influenced by COVID, so I guess I'm willing to overlook it. (Maybe if she'd opened with that in an author's note I would've been a little more forgiving?) I mentioned this earlier, but the third love interest (I won't say his name in case any of you are really serious about avoiding spoilers,), but he only seems to pop up when he's convenient. He either needs to be developed more or scrapped completely. While we're on the topic, I don't know what the purpose Julieta's siblings are supposed to serve. I actually forgot about them half the time I was reading. They appear so infrequently, they might as well not exist. Lastly, the plotlines could've been smoothed out a little more. The online mystery and love triangle turns into a coming-of-age story about identity, friendship and the American dream. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for immigrant stories and BIPOC rep, but it feels a little like the first half of the book is dedicated to one story and the second half of the book is a completely different one. 

If you're looking for a light, breezy read that has familiar tropes and still manages to be a little outside the formulaic box that makes up your typical YA contemporary romance, Julieta and the Romeos is the book for you. Maria E. Andreu's latest book is a love letter to romance writers that's full of charm and fluff.

Julieta has always wanted to be a writer. When she gets into a prestigious summer writing program where she will write for her favorite author, she is thrilled that she might finally achieve her dream. As the program begins, she realizes she will be competing against her best friend's twin brother, who also happens to be her nemesis. All this while she works through her feelings for an old friend and how she feels about a secret writing collaborator she met through her blog for the writing program. When things don't turn out how she planned, how will Julieta react, and what will she do? It is an interesting coming-of-age story about identity, friendship and love.

Julieta and the Romeos was a cute story to read. The characters were likeable enough and the setting was easy enough to visualize.  As cute as the story was I wasn't grabbed by it and found myself losing interest, I wasn't invested in the outcome of the story, but it was still fun to read.

I was given a copy of Julieta and the Romeos for an honest review from NetGalley. I loved this book! Julieta is a relatable young woman who is juggling multiple relationship while growing up. She works at her family’s restaurant, helps care for her siblings and grandmother, tries to maintain her friendships, while dreaming of being a writer, She is attending a writers workshop in NYC during the summer before her senior year with her favorite author as her mentor. Her summer looks bright and love appears to be on her horizon, but which of the Romeos will be the one?

Such a lovely summer read! I loved that the romantic relationships were true to life as is her family life. This book shows the reality of juggling so many responsibilities, but keeping true to yourself.

This was such a cute YA romance to read. I love the characters and their backgrounds. I would highly recommend this book to others. Mainly, I love the Argentinian representation in this book. this was the first book I have ever read with this background for the main characters in it. I love the You've Got Mail vibe to it as well. I think everyone should read this book.

This book was so fun and cute to read! The only downside is that the main character is very self-invested and overlooks her other life events to prioritize boys. Boys do not make the world spin around. But at the same time you can have romance and good relationships at the same time!

Julieta is taking a summer writing course and after publishing her story online, gets a message from an anonymous user who wants to collaborate. She thinks it could be one of the boys she knows, from her childhood friend Lucas, to her best friend's brother Ryan, to her abuela's new neighbor Calvin. While she tries to figure out who her mysterious collaborator is, she's also dealing with her parents struggling restaurant and her best friend Ivy who is having her own relationship issues. Overall, a cute story that shows you can't focus on trying to fix everything and getting everything right or you might miss what's been there all along.

I've been seeing this pitched as a new take on "You've Got Mail" and I'd say that's an accurate this to compare this book to. I found it really cute and fun, a great RomCom for the YA genre.

I really enjoyed the family dynamics more than anything, as well as Julieta's culture and heritage being represented. There was also the fact that she dreams of being an author, so we got to see snippets of her work which for me was a fun addition.

All in all I found this to be a fun read that is perfect for those looking for something in the classic RomCom genre - but still has substance and story points beyond the classic tropes in the genre.

This was a sweet and easy and fun coming of age beach read! 

I adored Julieta’s Argentinian family and their restaurant. My favorite parts of the whole book were any time it talked about food or her Abuela. 

Overall though, this book was kind of forgettable. I finished it yesterday and already can’t remember the name of one of the possible love interests. Aside from the parts about Julieta’s family, there really wasn’t anything new here. 

Here’s what I think most. There were just too many plot lines happening, and so none of them felt all the way fleshed out, and I always felt like I was being told rather than shown. I think if the author had removed just one of the pieces (the restaurant failing, the three love interests, the writing class, the quest of finding out who Happily Ever Drafter is) then the story would’ve really clicked. But alas, I’m no editor. 

This book was a 3 star read for me until the end, when Jules chose THE WRONG BOY of her three love interests. Based on her characterization and growth, she should’ve chosen Lucas, and then she just randomly chose Ryan??? I was so confused. Choosing Ryan felt hasty and unfinished, and almost like the easy way out. I was irritated enough by the lazy choice that it took me down to 2 stars unfortunately.

Thank you to Balzer + Bray and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. This felt very paint by numbers for a coming of age story but I did enjoy the way Julieta framed her choices of the three romantic interests and what they might mean for her life. She presents as a perfectionist and planner all the way through which is good to see that character trait was not entirely sacrificed by the end. The identity of Happily Ever Drafter was well hinted and I did guess correctly in the second half of hints. A cute entry for YA novels.

This was a really cute, fresh take. YA romance is either a hit or miss with me and I enjoyed this one a lot. Great characters and concept.