As always, Angelina M. Lopez brings the heat in her latest. She takes you on a transformation with Gillian, who is so closed off and broken down at the beginning that it's almost hard to get on her side, but once she's willing to open herself up, she finds freedom and her magic again. I loved that Gillian is a bruja, and that her magic, once found, helped her tap into her powerful feminine side and contradict the toxic masculinity that had torpedoed her life, and that she finds connection with other women in countering it.

This was very much Gillian's book, and I felt that Nicky's arc got sidelined somewhat and tacked on at the end. For that reason, why he throws up the initial obstacle of a fake engagement was unclear to me. Nicky is a wonderful hero, but I just wanted more balance between the two character arcs.

Full Moon Over Freedom by Angelina M. Lopez

This is the second book in the Milagro Street series. You can read it as a standalone, but the series is so wonderful!

The Milagro Street series is full of culture, emotions, feelings, magic, and wonderful complexity.

Gillian and Nicky's connection is so intense. You can feel the thread connecting them through the whole story. They sizzle!

I loved watching Gillian find herself, find the Virgin de Guadalupe, and come back into her power.

This review is based on an ARC, so I can't quote it, but look for the crossroads and not controlling all traffic.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I loved this — so tender and heartfelt and sexy. Angelina Lopez is definitely a must-read author for me. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I enjoyed Moon Over Freedom. It was emotional at times as the characters worked through their trauma, and how Gillian and Nicky had to work together to get rid of Gillian’s curse. The character development was incredible and the story just laced with some paranormal activity and Mexican-American cultural things like brujeria and the cadejos (ghost dogs).

What I loved?

♥️ Gillian Armenstead-Bancroft - initially this FMC was not likeable, at least not to me. As the story progresses my opinion of her starts to shift until I felt like I understood her. She was not afraid to ask for what she wanted and I loved that about her.
♥️ Nicky Mendoza - This artsy bad boy painter, was so not a bad boy LOL but he was great in all the best ways, he was such a good friend to her and “teacher” 😉 😉 if you know what I mean. I am glad that he realized that Gillian didn’t really need someone to take care of her, she needed someone to support her.
♥️ The cameos - Seeing Alex and Jeremiah again warms my heart because Jeremiah is just such a simp and Alex is such a baddie.
♥️ The family dynamics - Latin American families are a riot, this one is no different.
♥️ The historical elements found in the story - I loved how part of this series is sort of reconstructing the history of this town and what the influences of Mexican immigrants and their families had on the area.
♥️ The paranormal elements - Gillian with her magic and curse as well as being haunted by La Llorona (Gillian would hear her cries) and Nicky and his cadejo (ghost dog)

Once again, Angelina M. Lopez never fails to write a steamy romance filled with so much history and vibrant Mexican culture! In Full Moon Over Freedom, we return back to Freedom, Kansas to follow Gillian and Nicky, who were teen lovers and have reunited for one summer 13 years later. There was so much fun tension and angst between the two of them. I loved their slowburn and how they kept trying to fight their feelings for each other in order to prevent getting hurt again. I also adored how Nicky bonded with Ben and Naomi and so easily stepped in to take care of them when Gillian would get swamped with juggling work and her legal proceedings for her divorce.

Just as After Hours on Milagro Street contained so much history about the Mexican community in Freedom, Full Moon Over Freedom also continues this, with an added touch of the supernatural. I loved the added subplot of Gillian's curse and the legend of La Llorona, a spirit that I grew up learning about in school. The spiritual aspect of the story was a welcome surprise and it definitely added a layer to the story that I didn't realize was needed. I also loved the shoutout to Roxanne and Mateo in Lush Money, which was a delightful easter egg to catch!

I'm not sure if Angelina M. Lopez has more stories planned in Freedom, but I would love to see a story following Sissy! Definitely pick up Full Moon Over Freedom if you loved After Hours on Milagro Street.

This was a refreshing, spicy story. I really enjoyed reading about the romance between Gillian and Nicky. It was nice to see a FMC who is imperfect and trying to get it together. It felt more realistic that she wasn't perfect and was able to find love anyway. This was a highly anticipated read for me and Im so glad I was able to dive in!

Angelina’s writing is magical. I think this book centered history and Gillian’s story/ magic a lot more than romance. While it’s a great book, I think readers will be coming for a lot more romance a similar to book 1 and that’s not what they’re going to get. While Nicky and Gillian’s sexual tension was off the charts and the sex scenes were hot there’s a lot more happening in this book. Overall a good read.