Along Came Amor by Alexis Daria is Ava Rodriguez’s story, which if you’ve read You Had Me At Hola and A Lot Like Adios, you are familiar with this character. This story is part of an interconnected series that can be read as a standalone. Anyway, Ava is a school teacher who is on her way to finalize her divorce, after her now ex-husband declared that he wanted to follow his dreams which apparently didn’t include her. With this break in the seemingly perfect image that is Ava, she’s left questioning herself and her choices, especially with the criticism and judgement that comes from her boisterous Puerto Rican family. Wanting to step out of the familiarity of “old Ava,” she decides to trust the universe for a moment and ventures out for a drink at a hotel bar while at a conference. Once there, she meets Roman Vasquez, the hotel owner, who ends up whisking her away for a night she won’t ever forget.
While that night was everything to both Ava and Roman, it is decidedly out of character for her but one night of fun and passion becomes a periodic fling that Ava is intent on hiding from everyone – especially her family. That is, until Roman catches feelings and wants more than the occasional hookup. Things get even more complicated for Ava when she realizes that Roman is in her cousin Jasmine’s wedding! Will Ava embrace her relationship with Roman and come clean to her family, or will she revert to her old ways and miss out on something great?
As a member of an equally judgmental and critical Latine family, I related to Ava and her insistence on wanting to keep things secret to shield myself from commentary. However, it isn’t to maintain a “good girl” image. Ava is bogged down with this need to perform for her family, to the point where everyone is taking advantage of her. Throughout the book, we see Ava grappling with the mental gymnastics of wanting to help family because its family but also with the idea of setting boundaries and what could happen if you do. It’s exhausting and by the end of the story, it becomes clear how heavy of a burden it is to Ava and her future. I feel like she dealt with it as best she could but she took a while to finally reach her wits end and come clean – something else I can relate to. Healthy communication between adults isn’t easy, especially if you are scared of the outcome.
Overall, I loved the story. Despite the long wait time between this book and the second in the interconnected series, it felt worth the wait (though I did forget a little bit about the first two books but that’s on me). While I got annoyed with how overbearing her family is, I love seeing the kind of family dynamic that is similar to mine, making the story infinitely more relatable. Throughout the story, we get to see just how much of a pillar Ava is to her entire family, not just her primas. Roman was a saint of a man who was patient and kind with Ava, as his default and not something she had to beg him for. I also loved that he had his little reading glasses; I thought that was a cute detail. I definitely recommend checking out the other two books in the Primas of Power series, You Had Me At Hola and A Lot Like Adios, before jumping into this one.
