"Kiss Me, Mi Amor" by Alana Quintana is a spicy and heartwarming romance set in the vibrant backdrop of Santa Barbara, California.

Enrique Montez, heir to the Taco King empire, finds himself unexpectedly captivated by Carolina Flores, a determined and independent agricultural entrepreneur. Despite his initial intention to charm her into a business partnership, Enrique soon realizes that Carolina is not easily swayed. Instead, she has him wrapped around her finger, and he finds himself falling for her against all odds.

Carolina, a daughter of farmworkers turned successful farm owner, is fiercely dedicated to her family and her business. She has no time for romance, especially not with someone like Enrique Montez, whose family represents everything she has worked against. However, as circumstances bring them together and they embark on a series of pretend dates to appease Carolina's family, the lines between fake and real begin to blur.

As Enrique and Carolina navigate their growing attraction, they must confront their own prejudices and insecurities. With each passing day, their connection deepens, and they must decide whether to follow their hearts or succumb to the expectations of their families and society.

"Kiss Me, Mi Amor" is a delightful tale of enemies-to-lovers, filled with sizzling chemistry, humorous misunderstandings, and heartfelt moments. With its charming characters and romantic setting, this novel is sure to leave readers craving more.

this was adorable and how I loved this. Their romantic attachment springs slowly from a genuine feeling of respect and friendship between them, and the more we witness it, the more we believe they love each other dearly.

So much fun!! I loved the setting and the characters. It’s such a delight to see books set in diverse communities.

I enjoyed getting to see Enrique's story, I loved him in the first book and this just cemented it. Him and Carolina were fun characters, the story isn't terribly deep but getting to see the traditional family values and mexican culture was very interesting and really added to the story.

This was such a wild ride! Enrique, heir to the Taco King empire, and Carolina, badass farm owner, tangled up in a fake relationship that's hotter than Santa Barbara's spiciest salsa. You def won't be able to put this book down once you dive into their steamy love story. With its mix of passion, humor, and heart, it's a must-read for anyone who loves a good enemies-to-lovers romance.

Overall I loved learning more about Mexican-American culture, which is always so fascinating to me. These characters come from very traditional families. This point was drilled into the book so many times, I was like I get it. I felt like it overtook the romance a bit since there wasn't anything super controversial about a heterosexual relationship. I also felt like the writing did more showing than telling.

Overall a 2.75, rounded to a 3.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝙄𝙩 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙛𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙯𝙯𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖 𝘽𝙖𝙧𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙖’𝙨 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙖—𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙚𝙨.…

📍 Read if you like:
• Fake Dating
• Sunshine/Grumpy
• Enemies To Lovers
• Opposites Attract
• Latinx Rep

I absolutely adore this book series and this author. Ramón and Julieta was one of my favorite romances back in 2022 so I was looking forward to returning to the Love & Tacos series.

This is the second book in the series, they can technically be read as standalones, but I’ll still recommend reading them in order.

This story follows Carolina and Enrique. I related so much to the story and these characters. Carolina’s family is strict, although she’s a hard worker. I thought the family dynamics in this were interesting.

The story is set in California. The cover completely threw me off as it’s mostly set around Christmas. The posadas in this were so relatable as a Mexican American myself, it was so fun reading and experiencing my culture through the story.

The fake dating in this was phenomenal, I loved seeing Carolina and Enrique’s chemistry evolve over time. I also loved that we had Ramón and Julieta appear in this book, I missed them!

Both characters work through their own trauma, but they still both come together to help out their community - and it was heartwarming. I also loved how the story gives off a message about migrant farm workers and how they deserve fair living and working conditions.

Kiss Me, Mi Amor was such an adorable and touching story. I felt so engaged and compelled by these characters and I loved how relatable the Latinx rep was in this. I would highly recommend checking out this series!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Berkley for the review copy and PRH Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!

•𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪: Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic Relationship, Sexual Content, Abandonment

I loved the portions about the Mexican/Catholic culture, but found the conversation and characters rather flat. I really wanted to love this book, but just liked it.

Likes:

culture aspects (food etc)
use of spanish words/phrases

Dislikes:
the romance
writing voice/technical writing skill

I enjoyed this book, though I did not realize it was second in a series. I will have to go back and read the first one!

You should already know that I will always read this book. Why? It's a Latinx romance book, so it's a representation of my culture, so I am going to read it.

I had high expectations of Kiss Me, Mi Amor. From the premise of the book, it's a fake dating romance trope with a bit of opposite attraction and forced proximity tropes. But there wasn't much of an opposite attraction to romance in this book. They literally fall for each other a bit too fast, in my opinion.

The only problem that I had with this book was the constant presence of the previous couple from the previous book in the series. I understand that they are trying to become closer with families, but there was no need for their constant presence in this book. It's not their book or their business to get involved. I just want the main characters. Not getting annoyed with the previous couple.

The most moving and sweetest romance I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. I can’t imagine a more perfect reading escape beginning to end!

Similar to the first book, I enjoyed the plot of the book, but the romantic aspects of this fell flat. I probably won't actively seek out the next one unless the pairing sparks interest in me.

I was so excited to be back in the world of Love and Tacos even though it's been a while since I read Ramón and Julieta. This sequel features a different main character, but it's very related to the world, and some characters, you may have fallen in love with. While the first is definitely my favorite of the two, Kiss Me, Mi Amor is sure to captivate fans of the second. I think being dual POV saved this book for me so I could see the thoughts behind Enrique and Carolina.

Kiss Me, Mi Amor is a companion sequel in the Romona & Julieta world (something I did not know before reading this book). However, despite reading it I still want to pick up the first book!

In this book we are following Enrique, the heir to a fast food dynasty who is determined to meet Carolina, a young woman who owns her own family farm and has gone viral for her care to her workers. He is eager to learn from her and turn best practices around for the farms that he allocates food from for his restaurants.

I think Enrique's heart is in the right place, but overall he was somewhat off-putting to me. I did enjoy the conversations between the two of them about worker's rights and how changing things on one farm can impact others. I think those were definitely important conversations not only for their characters to have, but for us as the readers to understand.

I also enjoyed the plot line of the traditional family and defying their laws. Although, I think some of the time it was pushed heavier than the romance and it seemed more a romance of convenience rather than a genuine one.

Overall, this taming of the shrew retelling was fun - but not my favorite book ever. I feel like the ending was wrapped too nicely, but what else can you expect out of a romance novel! Still worth a read if you enjoy fake dating, traditional family values being challenged, and a bit more political conversation/heavier topics within your romance.

I liked this story and may check out the first one in the series, Good love story and also insight into diffdrent genreations and backgrounds.

This was a really sweet romance and I liked both the main characters! They had such different upbringings and it was cool to see them both paving their own way. The romance seemed a bit rushed but due to the timeline in the story, the author had to make that work for the story. I did struggle with the strict Catholic beliefs and old school traditional customs with courting. It was a good chunk of the book and turned me off from the story a bit because I struggle to identify with religious pieces like that (this is certainly personal to me, other readers may enjoy and relate to these aspects). I liked how the main characters supported healing in each other due to their dysfunctional families dynamics, it was nice to see. The storyline tied up nicely and I thought this was a pretty good romance read. I read this as a stand-alone and liked how the author referenced some aspects from the first book and how not reading the first didn’t impact my enjoyment of this second book!

Thank you Berkley Publishing and Berkley Romance for this gifted copy #berkley #berkleypartner

This was the first book I read from the author, and it is the 2nd in the series. Although I had an idea of what the book was about, I think it is better to read this book after the 1st book in the series since old characters made appearances. I do think the book touches on traditional views and how to break from them.

I thought that this was a cute Latinx romance. I loved returning to the family and seeing characters from the previous book. It was an enjoyable read and I can't wait for more.

Carolina has no intention of letting Enrique (heir to the Taco King fortune) near her farm. She will, however, let her family believe he’s her boyfriend.

This was fine, but a little too insta-love for me. I did enjoy learning more about how the town celebrated Mexican-America holidays.