3.5⭐️ This was a fun second chance, single dad romance and I would definitely recommend that others pick up the Vega family series. Community is a really big aspect of this series which I enjoy. However, I found the cast of characters to be a little too big. Sometimes people would get brought up and I would have no idea who they were.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for this Advanced Readers Copy of A Dish Best Served Hot by Natalie Cana!

This book is EPIC!

I wasn't sure what to expect especially since I loved book 1 so much. But this story is so different in such a wonderful way. This sibling is completely different so his voice and his story is as well.
The depth of feelings, family, and being so completely human is still a common thing in Cañas writing.

This is a high school friends, turned to slight crush, turned to strangers, turned to enemies, turned to lovers. Also single DADDDDDDDY. Also great plus size rep.

And swooony moments to fill my dreams for life.

I loved this book and will be a pick for our Fall Steam Box! The characters, the found family, the grandparents it was all so so good!

oh my goodness! this was adorable and fun and sweet and cool and hilarious! i loved this book so very much and i hope that you'll pick it up! thank you so much to netgalley!!!!

The Vegas family is back, and Natalie Cana’s writing was perfect as the first book! This book focuses on Saint, Kamilah’s brother and the oldest of the Vega family. The book also focuses on Lola, whom Saint knew from high school and secretly dated and who just returned to town after suddenly disappearing. This book is the second installment of the Vega Family Love Stories series but can be read as a standalone. There is not much background information that can confuse you, but I highly recommend reading both books if you’re looking for a good feel series.

The writing of this book was so perfect. The dual perspectives were done well, and Cana gave Saint and Lola some depth and a good backstory that many people will resonate with. They are very loyal to family, and both are passionate people. I loved how both communicated well with each other and with respect. Saint’s daughter Rosie gave the book some lighthearted moments. I also loved that this book had mischievous grandparents who helped Saint and Lola see how perfect they were for each other. I am a sucker for a second-chance romance, and this book delivered!

Thank you to NetGallery and to Harlequin Trade Publishing for giving me a copy of the book.

This was such an enjoyable read! While I didn’t love it as much as the first, it still kept me captivated and interested the whole time I was reading.

This was a second chance romance for Saint and Lola and it was fun watching it all unfold. Especially when you have the mildly meddling benefit of Papo and Benny and their ridiculous pranks. My heart broke that we lost Killian in book 1 so I’m glad he found someone even if that person is a frenemy haha.

Lola and Saint were flawed and far from perfect but they worked well together as a couple imo. Lola helped Saint work through ways to help his and Rosie’s anxiety and Saint was there to support her as family. Im thankful the third act breakup didn’t last long and they got the HEA they deserved.

Special shout-out has to go to Rosie. That kid is an absolute trip and I love her audacity 😂

Overall this was a fun and exciting read despite featuring heavier topics around racism, homophobia, gentrification, etc. Natalia Caña has a powerful way with words that transports you into the story and culture and this book was no exception.

This review is already posted to my goodreads page and will be on Amazon come release day.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AHUMQGVPEPDOPCMZTD5D27H5R2DQ?preview=true

Social justice advocate Lola Leon has returned to her hometown of Chicago to be near her grandfather, Benny and give back to her community by working for the local community center. An incident at her grandfather’s retirement home brings Lola’s high school sweetheart, Saint Vega back into her life. 17 years ago, Saint left for basic training and Lola disappeared to hide from her father’s enemies. After not seeing or speaking to each other for almost two decades, Lola and Saint find their lives colliding and intertwining in multiple ways. Their grandfathers are frenemies, Lola becomes Saint’s daughter Rosie’s preschool teacher, and then Saint takes over the renovation of the community center’s teen shelter into condos. The renovation has displaced the unhoused teens and drawn the ire of Lola and her coworkers. Saint’s uncle needs the money from the project to pay for expensive RA treatments and Saint hates the position he’s been placed in, but family is everything. Saint offers his expertise to help Lola find and renovate a new shelter building. Spending so much time together revives old feelings between Saint and Lola, but time and experiences have changed them from the young kids they used to be. Can these two hard headed people learn to compromise and find their happily ever after?

Natalie Cana’s A Dish Best Served Hot is full of richly detailed settings, characters, culture, and community. The Hispanic community, especially the Puerto Rican community, is a fully realized character in this book. It gives the reader a glimpse into the trials and triumphs of the cultures represented. Lola is a fiery, balls to the wall advocate for those needing help. A body positive megaphone for LGBTQ+ youth, the unhoused, and the underserved members of her community. Saint is a strong, stoic, and responsible man whose family is the foundation of his life and character. The main characters and the supporting characters are solidly developed, realistic, and fluid. The second chance romance highlighted the beauty of a human’s ability to change, grow and compromise to become stronger and happier. A beautiful and emotionally resonant book.

I read the first Vega Family Love Story earlier this year and felt like it was a hidden gem of bookstagram. The audio is phenomenal!

This one I read as an e-ARC, so I can’t comment on the audio, but the story is just as compelling and the characters as loveable. I can’t help but adore the story of a strong as hell woman finding strength in the vulnerability of falling in love and trusting someone. And I’m a sucker for a well-written kid - Rosie is a perfectly written four year old! The chaotic full Vega family returns for hijinks and drama and I love them all.

I don’t usually love second chance romances, but this one I loved! I definitely recommend A Dish Best Served Hot!

A Dish Best Served Hot returns to Humboldt Park and the Vega family for the second in a series of interconnected standalones. This time, our MMC is the eldest brother, Saint Vega, a widower former Green Beret who has returned home to raise his daughter and work for the extended family's construction company. After a disagreement gets his daughter's preschool teacher fired, recently returned Lola León is hired as a long-term substitute. It turns out she and Saint have a history, they were high school sweethearts who broke up when Saint went to basic training and Lola had to flee with her mother to avoid becoming a pawn in her father's gang wars.

The two get a second chance at love, but there's a lot of individual and collective baggage they have to work through before they can be good partners with each other. Caña does an excellent job grappling with serious issues without the topics weighing the story down too heavily, though I think working through both Saint and Lola's backstories slows the front half of the book down a bit.

Despite that, the book doesn't suffer from a sophomore slump. There's a badass, plus-size FMC, a doting single-dad MMC, and two hilarious elders who continue the string of comic relief paired with wise advice. The extended Vega family is also well-represented and we gain a picture of where the series will go moving forward.

* Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! *

I was very excited to revisit the Vega family once again, glimpse former characters, as well as see the unfolding of a whole new love story.

In this case, the central characters were Saint and Lola. Saint is the oldest of the Vega siblings, a single father to a four year old, and a veteran. Lola is a fierce, passionate, social justice warrior and the one who got away. The two haven’t crossed paths since a not so fond parting at the end of high school.

They’re thrown back together when the two have to deal with an ongoing feud between their respective grandfathers who live in the same senior center and are engaged in an ongoing prank war. Now both are back in their hometown and seemingly crossing paths at every turn - feuding grandpas, preschool classrooms, etc…

Overall I really enjoyed this second chance romance featuring another Vega sibling (and a scheming Abuelo Papp of course). This book had a nice balance of serious topics / issues touched upon and levity. I enjoyed both our MCs and of course once again the grandpa antics had me laughing and stole a bit of the show.

I thought both Lola and Saint had interesting journeys forward and I liked them as a pairing. No spoilers, but in a typical romance read fashion there is a third act breakup - not my favorite but but it was resolved fairly quickly.

In the end, I really enjoyed it and I loved the note it left off on - Papp cracks me up and I can’t wait to see what will come next 😊

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early read! All thoughts and opinions are my own and freely offered.

I enjoyed the hell out of myself reading this book. I giggled, I cried both happy & sad tears, and i found myself several times chewing over some of the words and narratives in between reading sessions, which I cant say happens often when Im reading romance. I didnt anticipate some of the tenser moments towards the end, but in hindsight, I probably should have.
I fell instantly in love with Saint and Rosie. The Vega Family has my whole heart.

I didnt give it 5 stars because there were several spelling & grammatical errors that probably shouldn't have made it through editing. There were a couple times the story moved forward in a way that felt abrupt, almost like a whole chapter was missing and I had to go back & make sure I didnt miss something. And there was at least one storyline i was anticipating seeing through, and that was left unresolved. (though, this is a series so maybe the next book will show that resolution).


Despite all that, I loved this book and will without a doubt read every other book the author gives us about this family of characters.

I was waiting for this book and really enjoyed this book. Again Papo, Saint's grandpa, was the best. And in this book, Lola's grandpa is now in the mix too. They were hilarious together and I loved it. Lola is a kick-butt character and I really liked her. Rosie is the cutest! Overall, it was a very swoon worthy book and had a cute ending. I can't wait for the next story because I know it'll be a good one.

The Vega family will always have my heart.

I could not stop reading this book. Once I started, I kept wanting to go back and see Saint and Lola on the page being their stubborn selves as they fell deeper into their love. And of course to read more about Little Rosie (she was such a cutie). The entire family was incredible, as per usual. I adored reading A Proposal They Can't Refuse, so you can imagine how excited I was that I got an ARC for the second book! And the characters definitely did not disappoint. I loved watching them all interact, and meet new additions like Lola come and make me adore them in one fell swoop.

Of course, I can't write this review without mentioning Abuelo Papo because that old man truly is the heart of these books, and he's the most hilarious character in my opinion. His expressions are hysterical. Whenever he was on the scene, I knew I was gonna be laughing. (I also appreciated when he spread wisdom to his grandkids, and loving them all so abundantly).

My only critique of this book is how disconnected these scenes felt. Jumping from one chapter to the other, the times skips were quite big sometimes, and they weren't seamless either. A lot of chapters built up an event—whether an actual event like that protest, or perhaps a character needed to have a serious talk with someone. And then the next chapter would jump right after the event had happened! Instead of putting us on the scene, the next chapter would open with a summary of the events. Because of that, I felt like there was constant build up without a pay-off. The story was there, but it could've had more shaping.

I also understand that I read an incomplete book as this is an ARC, so I'm sure the completed version will be much better. Despite the disconnect I felt, the story came to life because of these incredible characters, so I have faith in these books and their universe.

3.25 stars!

This was a sweet, romance!
I loved the plus size representation in with Lola, I love the way she owned the shape of her body and was comfortable flaunting it. As a plus size women myself that was meaningful to me.

Saint was a great MMC.

But I have to say. Man those grandpas are hilarious.

Loved their shenanigans in A proposal they can’t refuse and loved them in this book too!

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC

This series has me hooked. I love the big family dynamic the Vegas bring, and I adore how each sibling and cousin has their own personality to showcase. Plus, the feisty grandpas will always make me laugh.

Saint and Lola’s story is a very cute second chance romance. I loved their high school romance back story and how each of them grew from their time apart. I also enjoyed the development of their romance as adults, as well as their individual character growth.

Also, this has an amazing single dad trope. Rosie is the cutest little girl, and I loved seeing Lola’s mama bear come out.

I’m so excited for Leo and Sofi’s book, I cannot wait!

<i>I was granted an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.</i>

There's a lot going on in this book and they're all generally things I find interesting!
-- meddlesome grandpas getting into a petty feud
-- social justice activism with conversations about colonialism/war/etc sprinkled throughout
-- a kind-hearted approach to helping people suffering trauma

<b>More Contemporary Than Romance:</b>
Buuuuut none of those are the romance. They're all different ways that the leads intersect in their lives and get further tangled together and pushed toward their second-chance romance, but they're all Contemporary trappings-- and fairly show-stealing from any possible romance!

<b>The Writing:</b>
Oh! I also love all the Spanish sprinkled throughout, but be aware that very little of it is translated to English.

<b>What I Didn't Like:</b>
In addition to the above mentioned elements, there's a lot of background drama being built up so the MCs can work through their incompatibility (but still have a third act break-up). Ganglords and death threats and PTSD anxiety attacks from serving in Afghanistan. All of the drama felt a bit silly and OTT to me, but also much more serious than the kind of romance I'm interested in personally.

I also wish there was more resolution or updates to the storyline with Rosie. I hope it's mentioned in the background of future novels.

<b>Spice:</b>
There is only one spicy scene. Didn't do anything for me, but I think it just wasn't my vibe and was executed well for someone who's into that.

<b>Overall:</b>
Overall I think it was really well done, but for my personal enjoyment (and what I'm looking for in a book) it was just okay. I much preferred the first novel.

A Dish Best Served Hot, the connected standalone for A Proposal They Can't Refuse, was a really fun read and not entirely what I expected it to be. I assumed after the first book that this one would also be a little more light-hearted and witty, which it absolutely had it's moments but this story had a bit of a more serious tone, and for good reason given the topics dealt with in this story. It's not just a rom com "dramedy" spanning across families and cultures- which is definitely a HUGE part of its charm- but it also landed a bit on the side of romantic suspense.

For all of these reasons, this book is definitely a five star read for me. The book has a slow start, building on the characters and their pasts and especially fleshing out the side characters from the previous story as well; giving them even more of a backstory AND setting up the perfect scenarios for future books. :)

There's fantastic representation of diverse characters including Latinx families from different backgrounds, a bi-sexual female main character who is also plus-size, and a variety of different family dynamics (single dad, grandparents raising grandkids, etc.)

Book Tropes: slow burn, childhood friends, friends to lovers, second chance romance, forced proximity (related to business)

Possible TW/CW: fat shaming, negative self talk, PTSD, anxiety, death of a parent, death of a spouse, gun violence, gang violence, homelessness, neglect, absent parents, war

I am such a fan of this series! Being Latine myself it brings me so much joy to see my culture so beautifully celebrated and shared.

You can totally read this as a standalone but I highly, highly recommend reading A Proposal They Can’t Refuse first because it gives a really good intro to some of the other Vega family members!

I loved reading about Saint and Lola. I love the communication and connection they had as well as all of the chemistry they had since they were high school sweethearts. And of course, the meddling grandpa aspect is my favorite part of this entire series!

The only thing that fell through for me was the third act breakup. The way the conflict came about and how it affected the characters felt a little out of pace with the rest of the story.

Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book if you are a fan of second chance romances, curvy main characters or just want a dose of Puerto Rican culture with your next read!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun follow up to A Proposal They Can’t Refuse! It’s a second chance romance with a single dad hero, Saint, who’s surprised when his daughter’s new teacher is his old flame who ghosted him years ago.

I loved Saint and Lola’s clear chemistry, and Saint’s daughter Rose provided a natural reason for him to be cautious about reuniting. Both of them had grown and matured a lot as people since they were teenagers, and I liked seeing them discover the new ways they fit together now. There was a subplot focused on further neighborhood gentrification that I enjoyed as well, although it got a little murky in the middle.

The book lost a star for me due to the dramatic plot twist at the end. I understand what the author was going for, but I felt like the events were too much danger for my taste and also resolved themselves very quickly.

Excellent follow up to the first book, I’m looking forward to the third (which was set up so well!)