Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy! All opinions are my own.

This was such a good book! Loved the back and forth between present day and the past. It really explained their current relationship and how we got there.

Definitely recommend!

Super cute, and I did like it, but it was far too easy to skim over some parts and not feel like I was missing out. The flashbacks didn’t work for me either, especially as the most important one was held to the very end of the book. The dialogue was snappy and funny, as were the group of friends. I was simply hoping for a little more from the author. Thanks to Putnam for the ARC.

I’m so glad the publisher reached out to recommend this story to me. It was not on my radar at all, but it was right up my alley. When Javi Dumped Mari is a story of two best friends that make a pact never to pursue a relationship with someone that the other friend does not approve of or deem worthy. The problem arises when the two best friends are ignoring their obvious romantic love for each other in favor of preserving their relationship. It comes to a head when Mari introduces her fiance to Javi, and it’s Javi’s first time meeting the man his best friend has chosen to marry - breaking their almost decade-long pact.

Sosa excels at the dual points of view and timelines in operation here. The story holds the charm, tension, and humor of the iconic rom-com When Harry Met Sally (from which the title gained inspiration). All of the characters have a life of their own and enrich the tone, particularly balancing the angst and humor. I felt most aligned with Mari and her sense of blunt humor. Watching her grow and change between the two timelines was fascinating. Though the characters made more informed decisions in the later timeline, they still hold the young and wild spirit of their younger selves. The heart of the story is the “found family” trope - Javi and Mari are best friends first, and the college friends that round out this family make every scene that much more enjoyable. To watch how their relationships remain despite distance/time, as it related to Javi and Mari’s relationship, was a great foil to observe.

When Javi Dumped Mari is not without some hair pulling moments mainly because of dear Javi. Love his character, but he seems pretty pathetic at times. I wanted to pull him aside and give him a talking-to, but knowing this genre, I knew context would follow to explain his behavior. Once I received that context, he lost his pathetic status, and I empathized with him. I do wish it was expressed earlier, so I wouldn’t root against him after a while. This is me telling you if you ever feel that STICK IT OUT. The context is coming and will make it all worthwhile.

All in all, love the funny quips, the expressive characters, and the high stakes that are not always present in these romance novels. Sosa has joined my list of writers to check out going forward - they’re definitely an engaging storyteller.

I received a free copy of, When Javi Dumped Mari, by Mia Sosa, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Marisol and Javi are best friends, strictly platonic, though Javi is in love with Mari, but Mari is engaged to someone else. I thought this book was ok, it was a bit to much of past, and present.

4/5

Welcome to Mia Sosa's twist on When Harry Met Sally, where the road to romance is long and tumultuous but hidden between moments of angst and true friendship. Almost ten years ago and some change, Javi met Mari during a late night protest which involved Mari stealing every copy of the college paper while Javi stared on dumbfounded. After some snippy back and forth they became friends and in their Sophomore year, made a promise to always vet the other person's dates, until now —when Mari shows up to a friendship lunch engaged to a colleague Javi has never even met. Integrating dual perspectives and timelines, Sosa harkens back to the beginnings of this friendship as it stands on the brink of change in the present, and what went wrong in the years leading up to this moment. With these two the chemistry is intense but no match for the denying-you're-in-love-with-your-best-friend mentality they both are holding fast to. Sosa really made me feel for Javi and Mari, their differences and their similarities, but also what they can be when they are on the same team. I have always said I love my love stories on the messy side and Mia Sosa understands that deeply. This was messy, sexy, and SO SO funny I think I hurt my chest a few times with all the laughing. Javi was a sweet theatre guy who yearns but feels like he isn't good enough whereas Mari was ambitious and determined to chase the successful lawyer lifestyle and prove herself to her father and I loved them both dearly. Mia Sosa shows how it's never too late in this reimagining of a classic, full of heat, misunderstanding, and the wedding mishaps we all adore.

This review will appear on my blog closer to publication

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I have never read this author before and I really enjoyed this one. About two best friends who are clearly in love with each other, but one of them is getting married, it reminded me a little of My Best Friend’s Wedding. It was really fun and funny with just the right amount of spice. I would definitely read another by this author.

Mia Sosa wrote this book very well. She created diverse and dynamic characters. The story flow is very even paced and gives clear direction of where the characters are in the timeline of their lives. The book follows two best friends and how they deal with the aftereffects of coming out of college and figuring out what is next. For main protagonist Mari Campos she has her life mapped out. She returns to LA and will go to law school and become a lawyer. The other main protagonist Javi Báez has a life less mapped out. He just has a dream and wishes to figure it out. There are a total of 48 chapters and an epilogue.

The story is loosely based off the idea of When Harry Met Sally… that old chestnut of a funny movie. This story is more diverse than the movie. It is told in the present day with well-known flashbacks being set up to explain the story. I’m a big believer that knowing how something happens usually relates back to something that has already happened. That is very much the case with Mari and Javi, they both love each other and want what is best for each other. Javi grows up as does Mari, but as usual, especially in real life women mature much faster than men… lol, but to be clear Javi is a good man. The reader will see how they become friends and even more. The book all together was well written. The pacing was great! The story felt natural and realistic. The characters were not perfect, but fit perfectly together. I loved this book.

This is an author to watch -- and order! The characters Javi and Mari are fully developed, engaging and funny, and with understandable problems. What makes this special is the characters are Americans from Spanish-speaking families. Sosa explores the discrimination they face, the determination they have to fight it, and the compassion each of them have for the struggles of others. And she does it with humor. The sex scenes do not overwhelm the story, while providing enough heat.

Javi has six weeks to convince Mari not to marry Alex! This is a second chance romcom with dual timelines. I wondered what had happened in the past that prevented them from being together and we find this out through the flashbacks to their past.

Mari is an entertainment lawyer at her father’s practice and Javi is writing a musical. He’s been working odd jobs to support himself, mainly as a bartender and actor. They first met when they were in college and were active with LASA (Latin American Student Association) where they became close but then Javi ghosted her and she never knew why. They ran into each other two years ago on the set of a show and ended up spending the night together but then decided to just be friends. They agreed on a pact where they would vet each other’s partners because they trusted they would give each other good advice.

In the present, Mari invites Javi to meet her for dinner and he is surprised when she introduces him to Alex, her fiancé. Mari spent years waiting for Javi to come around but now she decides it’s time to get on with her life. She works with Alex and they've been dating for six months. Her father, who can be very critical, approves of him. She asks Javi to be her man of honor at her wedding in six weeks. Javi starts looking for flaws in Alex, hoping they will break up so he can have another chance to be with Mari.

I enjoyed reading the present timeline the most. I was less interested in the time when they were in college but I appreciated getting Javi’s viewpoint to find out the reason why he ghosted her, especially considering how much he cares for her now.

This is a cute romcom about long time friends finally figuring out how much they mean to each other. Thank you to the author, Penguin and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A rom-com book inspired by Harry Met Sally with Afro-Latino and Latino representation? SIGN ME UP! When Javi Dumped Mari by Mia Sosa was everything I needed in a rom-com book!

In When Javi Dumped Mari, we follow two best friends who met in college and made a pact that they wouldn’t date anyone the other didn’t approve of. So, of course, Javi is shocked when Mari announces that she is engaged to a man he hasn’t even met, years later!

Javi and Mari have secretly pined for each other since college, but were never ready for each other. They were on two different paths, and the timing didn’t work for them! Although the temptation was certainly there and they definitely had some spicy moments together, they still weren’t ready for each other!

Oh, and life is cruel, because before Mari announced her engagement, Javi was about to profess his love for her and announce how he had finally gotten his personal and professional life together—like, OUCH!

I truly enjoyed the friends-to-lovers relationship in this book, which we get to see through the time jumps and dual points of view! Also, oh my goodness, the slow burn!! I was rooting for Javi the whole time! I admired how both Javi and Mari grew individually and together throughout the book! Was the book a bit cheesy at times? Probably, but I ate it up! This is why I love rom-coms!

The representation in this book was beautiful and definitely needed! I’m going to grab multiple copies to give to all my tias!

Thank you so much to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tropes:
💼 Friends to Lovers (He falls first)
🌸 Slow-Burn
💼 Mutual Pinning
🌸 Dual Timeline
💼 Afro-Latinx Representation

This was my first arc read ever! Thank you SO much @netgalley, @miasosaromance, and @penguinrandomhouse @putnambooks for allowing me to receive an early copy of #WhenJaviDumpedMari ! I have never tabbed a book this much! BRB, running to find my next #MiaSosa read ASAP!

This book is sassy, sexy, and everything in between. I absolutely loved it! The story follows Javi and Mari who are best friends. They make a pact to each other to approve each other’s dates. However, they have always secretly longed for each other.

Mari’s time in New York allows her to meet a man that she believes is perfect for her and they hit off. On the other hand, Javi an aspiring librettist, finally gets to a good spot in his passion project, only to find out that Mari is no longer waiting on him and other things have taken her focus.

If you love slow burn romantic comedies, family drama, cultural representation, and rooting for the underdog, consider “When Javi Dumped Mari” as your next read!

Solid 3.5 stars. This novel had the dual narration and flashback chapters I wished were in the last book I reviewed (Bad Publicity). I did feel we had too many flashbacks at times but I do feel the characters were well developed. This is the strongest of this author’s work and I hope she continues in this direction.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated ARCs, considering I love Mia Sosa's other books! This was not my favorite.

This is a great book if you are looking for a second-chance, right person - wrong time, "I wanted to be better for you" type of story.

I can be a bit picky with my second chance romances, so keep that in mind. So Javi doesn't "dump" Mari, more like ghosts her after college after being friends for the entire time after kissing once. Six years later, Javi and Mari run into each other again. Mari immediately forgives him for ghosting her with no explanation. Girlllll, STAND UP.

Skipping forward, they've decided to just be friends after hooking up, and then eventually Mari moves on and gets engaged to someone else. Instead of telling her how he feels immediately, he goes on this journey to find a flaw with her fiance and break up the engagement. Of course, the plot resolved last minute, and they get their happy ending, but I just didn't get a big gesture moment from him. He didn't grovel. Javi just didn't do nearly enough to win Mari over in my opinion.

This was very predictable. It's an easy read for anyone that's interested in reading it, I just wish there would have been more to it.

On the eve of their college graduation Javi and Mari made a pact to never date without the others approval. Ten years went by and Mari is officially done waiting around for Javi. She started dating a guy at the firm and when he proposed she said yes, without telling Javi. They’re getting married in two months which means Javi has only eight weeks to convince her this marriage won’t work.

This book is perfection! Packed to the brim with fun banter, tension and an epic love story. I love they way Sosa played with the timeline jumping from the present all the way back to when they met.

Including translations for the Portuguese phrases could add some value to some readers. But other than that I wouldn’t change a thing.

Mari and Javis story has that special something. It really touched me. Do yourself a favor and add this one to your summer tbr!

Read this if you like
🩵Friends to lovers
📖Dual pov & timeline
🔥Slow burn
🌸Hilarious banter

Thank you very much for this ARC! Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this read. There are parts of my criticism because I didn't personally enjoy the characters and I highly dislike when the entirety of drama is based on miscommunication, but I also think a lot of parts of the book did not make sense. There are several moments that made me raise an eyebrow in confusion, because it feels like the author is maybe writing about something they don't quite understand. For example, a scene where someone orders champagne only to be told by the waiter "uh, this is an Italian restaurant?" I am Italian, and I've been to probably hundreds of Italian restaurants in the US and in Italy, and they all have champagne or some sparkling wine variety. This just simply makes no sense. And there were a few moments like this throughout the book that just bothered me to the point of distraction. I also found the personality of the characters to be confusing and contradictory in terms of who we were told they were, and their actions. For instance, Javi is constantly described as someone who dislikes attention, is shy and introverted. Yet there are multiple moments he is is loud and attention-seeking in public, and seems to be just fine with it. It makes no sense. Overall, I just didn't vibe with the characters or story, and was constantly distracted by strange choices that didn't make sense.

I’m not sure if this title matches the book at all. Like I’m trying to see how it makes sense and it really doesn’t.

Javi and Mari meet in college and hit if off as friends then he gets insecure and ghosts her (is this the dumping? They weren’t dating) and then they run into each other 6 years later and sleep together. I wanted to love this but I didn’t really like the premise and I didn’t like javi or Mari and I didn’t care if they got together. I am so sad this was just ok for me.

WHEN JAVI DUMPED MARI by Mia Sosa is filled with rom, com, and so much yearning! A beautiful friends-to-lovers read.

Could not give feedback because I cannot read this book I was not aware there would be spice in this book I cannot read spice for personal and spiritual reasons I do however love the concept of the story based on the description and the cover is absolutely beautiful which is why I requested this book. If ever this another writes a clean or closed door romance I would love to read!

This story is a delightful read of second chances and mutual pining. Due to not having truthful conversations, Mari decides to accept getting married to a man who is not the one who she's loved for years. Javi for his part, has decided to finally declare his love only to find out that maybe it's a little too late. More than When Harry Met Sally, this book had My Best Friend’s Wedding vibes, or maybe both. The author takes on a journey from when they first meet to the present. This book made me giggle in some situations. It was a tad longer than it should've been where some passages didn't add anything new to the story. The resolution felt a bit rushed exactly because we spent time on things that were mentioned before. Nonetheless, I recommend this book to fans of friends to lovers, witty banter, and constant timeline shifts stories. I have read other books by Mia Sosa and it is just as good.

I've always enjoyed Mia Sosa books, but haven't read any for awhile. I really loved this one. The diverse representation was great and also the struggle of the characters - I always appreciate a little depth to my romance and this really delivered on that.