Genre: Romance
Published: July 26, 2022
Pages: 387
Guapo pobrecito, her grandmother calls him. The “poor handsome man.”
Professor Jeremiah Post, the poor handsome man, is in fact standing in the way of Alejandra “Alex” Torres turning Loretta’s, her grandmother’s bar, into a viable business. The hot brainiac who sleeps in one of the upstairs tenant rooms already has all of her Mexican American family’s admiration; she won’t let him have the bar and building she needs to resurrect her career, too.
Alex blowing into town has rocked Jeremiah to his mild-mannered core, but the large, boisterous Torres clan is everything he never had. He doesn’t believe Alex has the best interest of her family, their community, or the bar’s legacy in mind. To protect all three, he’ll stand up to the tough and tattooed bartender with whom he now shares a bedroom wall—and resist the insta-lust they both feel.
But when an old enemy threatens Loretta’s and the surrounding neighborhood, Alex and Jeremiah must combine forces. It will take her might and his mind to save the home they both desperately need.
Professor Jeremiah Post, the poor handsome man, is in fact standing in the way of Alejandra “Alex” Torres turning Loretta’s, her grandmother’s bar, into a viable business. The hot brainiac who sleeps in one of the upstairs tenant rooms already has all of her Mexican American family’s admiration; she won’t let him have the bar and building she needs to resurrect her career, too.
Alex blowing into town has rocked Jeremiah to his mild-mannered core, but the large, boisterous Torres clan is everything he never had. He doesn’t believe Alex has the best interest of her family, their community, or the bar’s legacy in mind. To protect all three, he’ll stand up to the tough and tattooed bartender with whom he now shares a bedroom wall—and resist the insta-lust they both feel.
But when an old enemy threatens Loretta’s and the surrounding neighborhood, Alex and Jeremiah must combine forces. It will take her might and his mind to save the home they both desperately need.
I received a copy of this sneak peek through Netgalley. This is my honest review.
While I was reading this sneak peek, I found myself wondering how much time the author had spent in small midwestern towns. And it might not have bothered me as much if she'd made up a town instead of using one that actually exists. That would have made it a little easier for this Kansas girl to suspend belief for the purpose of this story. See, the small towns of Kansas aren't known for niche communities or diversity, with the exception of Nicodemus (and according to the internet its current population is 14). Had this book been set in Dodge City or Garden City, I could have accepted it, as both of those places do have significant Mexican-American populations, and they're big enough to actually support a restaurant and bar, and I'm pretty sure they both have community colleges. Instead it's set in a town that is literally dying, with streets named in classic Kansas small town fashion using numbers and tree species, nothing "exotic" there. And I realize this seems like a very minor complaint, but the setting is pretty huge in terms of what little I got from the story, and it just wouldn't exist in the Kansas that I know. It also affected my entire experience with this sneak peek.
Things this sneak peek got right. The crumbling building that houses the restaurant and bar would very likely be a good candidate for becoming a local museum and historical site. The students and teachers from the nearby college (that doesn't exist) would absolutely avoid this town at all costs, preferring to drive a little further to a place with actual amenities, and like, a Walmart. A history professor would definitely be the exception to the previous statement.
I was intrigued by the friction between Jeremiah and Alex, but not intrigued enough to be able to look past the setting problems. This is a book I will not be picking up any time soon, unfortunately.
Angelina M. Lopez writes sexy, contemporary stories about strong women and worthy men lucky to love them. She wanted to be a romance writer her whole life, but first earned her chops as a journalist for an acclaimed city newspaper, a freelance magazine writer, and a content marketer before she claimed her dream job. She lives in Houston, Texas, with her family but inspiration from her parents' California vineyard often crops up in her books. Find out more at AngelinaMLopez.com.
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