There is something about Mejia's writing that gets me everytime. I was lucky enough to read Sammy Espinoza's Last Review through NetGalley last year and was immediately hooked. The same can be 100% be said about this book. I think Cash's emotiosn and thoughts about this questioning time in her life is acurratley portrayed. Her relationship with her daughter, Parker, is well balanced and not ignored throughout the plot and she is a key to who Cash is. I love friends-to-lovers stories and this one was well developed and written. You get to see the strength and loyalty of Inez and Cash's friendship and how it feeds into their romantic relationship. This book is such a smooth read, everytime I picked it up I didn't want to put it down. I am so excited to see what Mejia does next and what they have planned for future meaningful books.

Cash Delgado lives in the small town of Ridley Falls managing Joyce’s Bar. She’s a single parent to her six year old daughter, Parker, and just trying to make ends meet. When she finds out a competing bar with big city backing is looking to open a location in Ridley Falls she is prepared to take it on. She can’t let the competition come to town because if it does she may just be out of a job. While Cash is dealing with this she is also struggling with her feelings for her best friend, Inez. Faced with a midlife journey of self discovery and a fight to save Joyce’s, Cash has her hands full but is determined to come out on top.

When I started this book I had no idea what to expect. I hadn’t read the description, but liked the cover. I was expecting a romance, but I didn’t know what kind and I didn’t know what else was in store for Cash. I was pleasantly surprised by this book and journey it took Cash on. I liked following along with her self discovery and enjoyed the way the relationship between Cash and Inez evolved. The characters were inviting and easy to get to know, but at times Cash’s obliviousness to how she was feeling got to me a bit. I do like what this book explored and really enjoyed the path Cash was on to save Joyce’s Bar. Overall this was a good romance read that was full of self discovery. I haven’t read a romance similar to this with the midlife self discovery angle, so it was a nice change of pace. If you are looking for a sweet romance centered around self discovery and a later in life coming out, sprinkled with some steamy scenes, this book is a good choice.

This book was fantastic. I love the sense of community in the small town of Ridley Falls, I loved every single character (except Chase), but I especially loved Parker. I love how Inez did Cash's laundry and cleaned her house just because she knew that her best friend needed the help but wouldn't ask anyone for it. I love the shenanigans that the friends got into and I love how everyone came together to help make sure their town had a fighting chance against money hungry corporations.

This was such a fun read. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I really enjoyed going through the ride with Cash as she discovered who she was. This is very much a slow burn; they don’t get together until around the 68% percent mark, but damn does Cash think about Inez (a lot). Cash is such a fun character to follow, I haven’t read a lot of characters like her. Her kid, Parker, is very much the movie version of wise beyond her years, but she was so cute. I do wish we got to see more of their relationship once they got together, but from what I could tell it was exactly the same, just probably more kissing and Cash finally figuring herself out. I 100% recommend this book, it was one the cutest books I’ve read so far. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for giving me this book in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars!

"Cash Delgado is Living the Dream" by Tehlor Kay Mejia is a wonderful "gay awakening" romance featuring great characters and quick pacing! It is obvious to the readers that the main character, Cash Delgado, is queer despite having been in straight relationships her entire life (even one that gave her her adorable child), but she's not quite sure anymore. So, when she begins having steamy dreams about her best friend, Inez, and noticing things about her she's previously never seen, she starts questioning her s3xuality and wonders if she has more of an intimate future with Inez. Cash is obviously obsessed with Inez, so it's fun to watch her flail and flop around trying to come to terms with her feelings and who she really is. She's a little bit of a mess, but who isn't?! Both Cash and Inez feel like lived-in, authentic, realistic characters. They have terrific chemistry with one another. It was a pleasure to read their story. This book is a quick, fast read you will find yourself falling head over heels for. It's endearing and lovely, and I hope we get more of this world in the future. We also got to catch up with Sammy Espinoza and Max Ryan, which I *loved!* Pick this one up ASAP!

Thank you to NetGalley, Tehlor Kay Mejia, and Random House Publishing Group for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

A perfect friends-to-lovers, LGBTQ+ novel about finding yourself and falling in love.

Cash and her bestfriend Inez help run a bar, Joyce's, in Ridley Falls. When Chase Stanton, former bar manager and Cash's last hookup, comes to town to bring a new corporate-bar in, Cash has to find a way to save the small-town bar scene. Her and Inez create a plan to get the town on board, and in the midst of it, Cash finds herself falling in love in the most unexpected way.

A cute novel, I thoroughly enjoyed.

To be honest I did not like this book as much as I thought I would. The author's previous novel "Sammy Espinoza's Last Review" is one of my favorites. Because of this my expectations were through the roof but this fell extremely flat. The main problem I had with this novel was that I was unable to sense any chemistry between Cash and Inez. It felt like a fragmented tale and there was nothing that gave me the impression that they were connected in any way. I also did not think that there would be a "lets save this establishment" plot line and it was very annoying and too formulaic for my liking. All in all this was disappointing.

This book felt like a warm hug. It reminded me why I love queer stories and how reassuring it can be to read about someone who finds themselves again and learns to love in a new way.

Cash is such an idiot and I love her. Watching her google, "is it normal to have sex dreams about your best friend was so funny". She was so clearly in love with Inez and had no idea. They were really cute and I need a bonus chapter of them finally being together.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I enjoyed this slow burn book. This was a cute, easy read. This was a very sweet later-in-life coming out story. I enjoyed this book so much.

"Cash Delgado Is Living the Dream" really resonated with me on a personal level. I enjoyed how the novel dives deep into Cash's life in Ridley Falls, capturing the warmth of her relationships and the vibrant community she’s a part of. The depiction of her bar and the lively Karaoke Thursdays felt authentic and brought a lot of charm to the story.

Cash’s journey of self-discovery, especially with the return of Chase and her unexpected dreams about Inez, adds an intriguing layer of complexity to her character. I liked how the book explores the challenge of stepping out of one's comfort zone and the courage it takes to embrace change and love in unexpected forms. Overall, it's a heartfelt and engaging read that beautifully captures the messiness of life and relationships.

Tehlor Kay Mejia is becoming one of my favorite queer authors. They write characters that have depth to them and that I, as a reader, can't help but connect to. Cash Delgado is Living the Dream fits into that category. I loved watching Cash slowly start to realize that she was queer and that she had feelings for her best friend, Inez. She also had the most adorable daughter and an amazing community that closed ranks when a new bar came into town and threatened to close down the bar she worked at. I am eagerly awaiting her next book.

Right off the bar, the willful obliviousness of the main character turned me off. I'm usually a big fan of late queer bloomer stories, but this one, honestly, felt entirely too contrived about a cast of rather uninteresting people.

loved this romance and her mom wants her to date this guy she has these amazing friends who are all dealing with different relationship issues . loved that she found her way in the job and found love

Lovely, lovely , lovely. Tehlor Kay Mejia really knows how to write about community and identity that always feels fresh.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Random House | Dell and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

I really adored the first book in this "series" so I eagerly picked up the second book. I liked the premise, I think the idea of the romance was sweet, but sadly this book just didn't hit for me! The romance had a nice premise but while I could see that their friendship was really sweet and believable, the transition to the romance was just a bit bland.

Also, a lot of the things in the story felt quite ...on the nose? Like the way the villain was set up made it almost comical. Like he was /so/ evil and the plan to set up the franchise didn't seem to be fully thought through?

I know I'm not explaining it well but while the story seem to be cute, it really felt to be generic. I did like the premise of Cash discovering that she was attracted to Inez to be really well done, I liked the family dynamic... I just wished there was a little more. But overall a quick sweet book about a small community working together.

Thanks so much to Dell and Netgalley for a chance to read and review!

This was a MOVIE! It had all the makings of a Hallmark classic (if they were brave enough to do queer stories or get a little sexy) and I loved it! While I really enjoy the friends-to-lovers plot, the relationship between Cash and her daughter was a standout for me as well. The daughter was so adorable and I really appreciated Cash's wrestling with her role as mother and her identity as an adult woman. It's a fun, quick read, highly enjoyable!

This was like a hallmark movie goes sideways - hotshot comes back to the small town but instead saving the business and falling in love, we read from the pov of the love interest who sees them trying to ruin the small business and the small town vibes, says "fuck that", rallies the town and has a queer awakening in the meantime. I enjoyed this, but I feel like the books with the "first name last name is blah blah blah" just might not be my type of book, I've not really *loved* any - they do tend towards a bit of a sitcom-like vibe, tropey characters and plots, and I found this book did fit that vibe. Enjoyable for being that, though!

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC ^_^

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️

“Cash Delgado is Living the Dream” by Tehlor Kay Mejia is a wonderful sapphic romance that explores the intricacies of friendship, love, and self-discovery in a small northwestern town where two best friends work as bartenders. Cash, a single mom, grapples with intense and spicy dreams about her best friend out and proud lesbian Inez.

I absolutely ADORED this book and as a bisexual woman who discovered her sexuality after being in long term denial I deeply related to Cash and the emotional rollercoaster she goes on in this book.

If you love friends to lovers with PALPABLE tension and amazing found family vibes this is a must read!

Thank you so much to Tehlor, NetGalley, and Dell for the ARC of this book. It was so cute and heartfelt and I really enjoyed the journey!
 
Cash Delgado follows single parent, Cash. In addition to raising her daughter, Parker, Cash works at the town bar, Joyce’s. Joyce’s is a staple for Ridley Falls, and with the help of her best friend, Inez, Cash basically runs the place. However, when an old fling of Cash’s comes back to town with plans to build a new fancy bar that would absolutely destroy Joyce’s, Cash is determined to not let that happen. In the midst of dealing with all of this, trying to find money for the upgrades needed for the bar, and raising her daughter, Cash starts to have some not-just-friends dreams about her not-so-straight best friend. This book almost read as a coming of age book but as a new phase of life and maturity while already an established adult, not as a teenager like they usually are. The journey Cash takes as she begins to rediscover herself while trying to not lose the bar or ruin her friendship with Inez was very compelling. Rediscovery even when you thought you had yourself all figured out is something that is a lot more normal in real life than people think and I enjoyed reading about Cash’s experience and rooting for her and Inez!