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.

Carolina Flores and Enrique Montez, the couple that you are.
Before I began to read, I was excited to see how the Latin culture would be portrayed, and as someone with Mexican roots (1000%), I found quite a few moments hilarious.
Carolina handled the family pressure like a boss. And she handled Enrique like a boss too. She was so authentic and passionate. Yeah she was a little rude but our man Enrique is no ordinary man, he fought to have her and he did earn her.
Both showed different struggles within the family, but I’m so glad it all worked out at the end. Fake dating trope is such a classic, it never fails me.

Kiss Me Mi Amor is heartwarming and engaging second book in Love and Tacos series that follows the love story of Enrique Montez, the middle brother of the Montez trio, and Carolina Flores, an accomplished farmer who owns her farm in Santa Maria.

Enrique wants to learn about ethical operations in the farm industry and reassess their company’s agricultural relationship by contracting with Flores Family Farm. He is calm, composed, charming, and confident he would have this contract but when he arrives at Flores Family farm for their scheduled meeting he fails to convince grumpy, cold, and rigid Carolina for the contract. Instead, he is roped into playing her Joseph for Las Posadas and fake dating!

It was interesting to see how fake feelings will turn real and how they are going to convince Carolina’s controlling, patriarchal, misogynist father to let go of his old-fashioned view and let them date with freedom.

What I Liked -

- gripping, engaging, and entertaining writing
- plot is filled with Mexican culture, food, and romance
- theme of ethical agriculture and healthcare in the farming industry, finding purpose in life, modern vs stereotypical views and beliefs, and traditional values.
- Latinx representation & cultural aspect
- realistic and well-written romance with fake dating and the opposite attracts trope
- Enrique is my favorite

Why 4 stars -

- Carolina’s parents' reaction was overboard for Carolina spending night with Enrique and their apology in the end didn’t feel satisfying.
- Enrique forgave Carolina too quickly.

Overall, this is heartwarming, realistic, and well-balanced own voice Latinx romance.

I loved the previous book in this series and was super excited to read this one. Kiss Me. Mi Amor is about the brother Enrique who wants to explore better framing options. This is how he comes into contact with Carolina.

Although Carolina owns her farm - her whole family still lives in the home, and her father runs things old school.

Although the concept of this book is right up my alley, I wasn't into the unnecessary slut shaming ad old-school and backward thoughts.

So although well written, it wasn't my cup of tea.

I was not a big fan of this book. It started off very preachy about workers' rights, which I agree with, but was too much of the narrative. Similar to that, the book was pretty repetitive and if Enrique had one more "I need to figure out how I feel" moment I might have DNFed the book. Towards the end of the book, Enrique felt a little controlling. Those issues as well as the horrible father were just glossed over and everything was better, but no real reason for things to be fixed. I hated the parents and felt like Carolina's forgiveness--and giving the farm!-was too much. I will not read any more books by this author.

Book number 2 in the Love and Tacos series had me once again craving tacos! Fake dating, enemies to lovers, a gorgeous setting and so much delicious food in this one. This is a really fun one!
.

Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

I have mixed feelings about this second book in Albertson's Love & Tacos series. There are several things I enjoyed. The Mexican-American representation is strong in this book as it was in the first. Albertson paints a vivid picture of cultural expectations and traditions amongst the Mexican-American communities throughout California, adding a rich palette of textures to the story. Traditional foods are a strong thread and, yes, there was plenty of drooling on my part. While the author highlights colorful festivals and warm, welcoming families, she doesn't shy away from the darker side of life among these families, especially in the agricultural areas, and I appreciated that. Low wages and inaccessible healthcare are a concern and a thread of reality these characters work to combat.

Where the story fell a bit short for me was in the main characters, in particular, Enrique. I had a difficult time connecting with him and because of that, I didn't feel as invested in his relationship with Carolina as I had with the lead couple in the first book. I wanted to see more growth in his character. Others may not have the same difficulty with him as I had.

I did not have the same reaction to Carolina. Her situation tugged at my heart as she struggled with her loyalty to her family, including her ultra-conservative, controlling father, and her desire to be an independent businesswoman. She's caught between two cultures with no easy way forward. I found her evolution, and her layers, to be much more complex and meaningful than Enrique's. In the end, I was happy with the romantic conclusion to the story though I did feel the resolution to Carolina's falling-out with her family was wrapped up a bit too quickly to be believable.

The cast of secondary characters add another layer of richness - and conflict - to the story and has me intrigued enough about the Montez brothers to want to know where their journeys will lead them next. I'll be sticking around for youngest brother, Jaime's story in book three.

ARC received from publisher. Fair and unbiased review.

Honestly, the misogyny and religious overtones were a bit much for me. It became harder to pick up each time so I eventually decided to DNF. I was hopeful initially - I love reading books about different cultures but the bad stuff outshined the good in this case.

Sadly, this didn't work for, though it sounded engaging and I liked the premise. The opening chapters info-dump and litany of characters introduced made for a tedious read.

Kiss Me, Mi Amor immediately grabbed my attention with the gorgeous cover! Then I saw it was a Taming of the Shrew retelling inspired by the author’s mother’s family. It also has fake dating, enemies to lovers vibes, culture clashes, grumpy sunshine vibes, and a swoony hero!

Enrique is the smooth-talking heir to the fast food empire, Taco King. He wants to switch up the business by meeting with suppliers, which leads him to the heroine’s family farm. Carolina is first generation Mexican-American, one of California’s top female farmers, and the current owner of the farm. While Enrique is ready to sweet talk his way into her good graces, Carolina is not about to easily fall for Enrique’s charms. But when Carolina's father grows ill and he and her sisters mistake Enrique for her (nonexistent) boyfriend, she reluctantly agrees to a series of fake dates to their town's traditional Mexican-American holiday celebrations. Soon the fake feelings turn real and Carolina and Enrique have to acknowledge their real feelings, as well as deal with her complicated family ties.

I thought this one was okay, but I had a lot of issues with it. Carolina’s family is very “old school, traditional”, especially her father: courting, asking the father’s permission, not going out at night/staying out, marriage first, etc, are just many of his strong, Catholic “family beliefs” for Carolina and her sister. That just wasn’t my fav to read and it heavily influences Carolina’s life and relationship possibility with Enrique. There is a lot of telling instead of showing as well and repetitiveness within the story. I just wasn’t invested in the characters or the romance. I did like seeing Enrique learn more about farmers and putting in some actual work of his own to learn.

Thanks to the publisher (Berkley) for a copy, all thoughts in this review are my own.

This was a fun romp into Mexican culture. I loved the use of Spanish phrases and the rich culture weaved throughout. It did feel a bit like black and white. No in between. The parents are either SO STRICT and there is no wiggle room, ultra Catholic…OR it was live as you want, but you can’t do so under any kind of organized religion. Which I didn’t super appreciate. But that is my personal feelings interfering.

As for the love story, it was sweet. Enrique was so sweet and such a cinnamon roll with Carolina. I really liked it and how they just let their lives intertwine instead of fighting it because they thought family would disapprove.

Content: there are swears throughout and some open door scenes. It isn’t a ton, and most of it is heavy kissing/petting. But it is still there. Just a heads up.

I so wanted to love Book 2 in the Love & Tacos series, with its luscious cover and nod to Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, but it fell flat for me. Writing that shows rather than tells, the ultra-strict rules of MC Carolina Flores' father, a too quick slide from fake relationship into love with the too arrogant Enrique Montez. Readers who adored Book 1 (Ramón and Julieta) will likely adore Book 2; alas, it was just not for me.

The second entry in the Love & Tacos series is inspired by The Taming of the Shrew, which is my favorite Shakespeare play!

Enrique is the heir to the family’s restaurant empire, and, when he begins to think about changing up the business’ food suppliers, he sets up a meeting with Carolina to discuss the ethical manner in which she runs her farm.

Carolina is the daughter of a strict Mexican family and has worked tirelessly to provide for her family, including purchasing the farm where they all currently live. Her father has a rule that her sister cannot date until she does, and all her family desires is for her to settle down and get married.

When Carolina says that Enrique is her boyfriend, they decide to keep up the ruse through the holidays. Sparks fly between them and Carolina must decide between pursuing the possibility of love or her dream of freedom from the rules and control of others.

I really enjoyed this book! I thought it was really well balanced and it covered a lot of territory - romance, subplots with both families, Mexican culture and holiday traditions, and farming.

I will definitely think about the farming industry differently going forward, and I’m thankful to live in an area full of small family farms where I have access to fresh food directly from the source!

Thank you to @berkleyromance for an eARC. All thoughts are my own.

Thanks to Berkley for an advanced copy of Kiss Me, Mi Amor by Alana Quintana Albertson. This is book two in the Love & Tacos series.

This is a little more of a traditional Mexican romance which is different than the first book in the series and I didn't love this one as much - this is meant to be a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew. I liked learning more about the Mexican culture in the book and farm workers but I didn't feel the chemistry between Carolina and Enrique.

This one was a bit of a let down. I was excited to go back into this world of Mexican-American food and the Latine experience in the US. I think maybe this was just too traditional for my taste. I totally understand that gender norms are a huge part of Latine tradition and culture (as I’m Latina, myself) but we have got to start pushing back on that. This could’ve worked as an amazing moment to push back on that tradition but geez. I mostly likely won’t be reading more from this series but it is what it is.

Thank you for letting me read this arc!


This was a super cute—quick read for me. I will say I love this story and the development from the first book.

As the middle child of a family that runs a hugely successful restaurant chain, Enrique wants to make his own mark on the business. After reading about self-made farmer Carolina Flores, Enrique wants to shadow her and learn about her ethical farming practices.

Carolina has worked hard to buy her family farm and give the employees safe working conditions and fair compensation; there is no way she’s going to partner with one of the fast-talking Montez brothers. However, when Enrique offers to help her out with some family issues, the pair realize they make a good team.

Overall, I enjoyed Kiss Me, Mi Amor, a modern day retelling of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. Growing up in a strict, traditional Mexican household as the eldest of ten daughters, Carolina is expected to marry a strong Mexican Catholic man who will take over the family farm while she stays home cooking, cleaning, and raising a family. While Carolina wants none of that life for herself, her younger sister Blanca does, but she cannot date until Carolina has a boyfriend. When Enrique goes along with Carolina’s plan to play her boyfriend, her repressed frustration over her parents’ restrictive ways and traditions boils over into a huge family feud.

I loved the big family and learning more about traditional Mexican customs and farming. While the story is a romance, it’s also Carolina’s journey of self-discovery. We see her grow and change over the course of the story as she learns to break from the ingrained tradition that borders on abuse to standing on her own. On the other hand, I don’t feel I really got to know Enrique. We do see him learn more about farming and change his attitude about getting his own hands dirty with the hard work, but we are told about his emotional growth, which takes place prior to the story (possibly in the first book?). That said, I felt his character development is lacking. He plays it all zen and mentally balanced, but when Carolina needs space to be on her own, he makes it all about him, acting like a complete ass. He gives her space but never apologizes for his rush to push her into more.

In the end, Kiss Me, Mi Amor is an enjoyable read. It also has a stunning cover - probably my favorite of the year.

My Rating: B

I was hoping that the romance in the previous book in this series fell short because of the male lead (so wealthy, loved his cars, etc. etc.) but the wealth of the Montez family persists in this book. It also was off-putting that Enrique shows up to start business negotiations with Carolina and her family but shows up with flowers, flirting, and kind of pervy behavior (himself and his brother + cousin). I was super excited for the taming of the shrew remake + Latinx representation, but I struggled to get on board with the initial ick factor of the Montez fam. DNF at 20%

I liked the idea of this book more than I liked the execution, I'm afraid. I loved getting a look inside a traditional Mexican family, and I found the Catholicism refreshing and human. (Though Enrique not knowing the nativity story seemed a far reach.) Unfortunately, I had real trouble with the main characters and the romance's arc. Both hero and heroine seemed flat--as if they were composed of traits and tropes awkwardly put together, and we are told that they found their way to love rather than shown it.

I did not review this book on Goodreads as I prefer to only write positive reviews, and I couldn't bring myself to it with this one. I blame the editor--this needed a hard character pass, and trimming as there is maybe enough material for a novella.

I so enjoyed this #ownvoices, dual POV, opposites attract, loose Taming of the Shrew retelling that sees two Mexican American California farmers from completely different worlds fake dating and falling in love over the holidays.

Carolina is from a very traditional and conservative Catholic Mexican family that expects their daughters to stay virgins until their wedding night. Meanwhile playboy Enrique is from a wealthy family and doesn't understand her upbringing at all.

When they find themselves spending the holidays together they realize they share a lot of core values but Carolina wants to embrace her independence and not jump from living her life under her father's rule to being a wife and mother right away.

I loved what a strong, independent woman Carolina was and the way family and culture played such a big part of this story. While this was technically the second book in a series I think it works as a standalone and really enjoyed the audio narration by Christophe Landa and Vanessa Vasquez. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. I can't wait to read the next book in this series!