Twice a Quinceanera

 Tell me a story... about love lost and love gained 

Twice a Quinceanera by Yamile Saied Mendez

Publication date: July 26, 2022

Date read: July 27, 2022

After calling off her wedding, Nadia decides to use the opportunity - a venue already paid for, family coming in from abroad - to throw herself a double Quinceanera instead. As the first professional in her family, and someone who has put her own happiness aside her whole life, she decides that celebrating her achievements is the best possible solution. The only hiccup is that while the venue owner is out of town, her brother will be handling things - and he turns out to be Nadia’s college fling that she realizes she might still have feelings for. 

I haven’t read a lot of romcom-style books in the past, but I’m trying to read more, because I do enjoy them and sometimes I just need something light. But I am finding reviewing them a bit difficult, since enjoyment of them tends to fall less on depth and plot and more on character and just how the conclusion makes you feel.

There was a lot I enjoyed about this book. The characters were wonderful. Nadia was a bit prickly, but I loved how strong she was and how the author was able to make her both a strong woman and a likable character. (As opposed to just brash and standoffish. But what I especially loved about her, and the story as a whole, was that - despite being a romcom - romantic love was not Nadia’s first priority. The whole plot of this book was Nadia finding the strength to appreciate and love herself for who she is and to show others how much she has accomplished in her life, despite being unmarried at thirty. Romance, while important to the story, came second to all that.

There are things about this book that could have used a little fine-tuning. The sentence structure was sometimes a little too simple and repetitive. Some of the plot and dialogue was a little too cheesy. And, I have to mention it, because normally I would fault a book for being too shallow and predictable, but it’s a romcom. Predictable kind of comes with the genre. (And that’s not a knock on the genre, it just is what it is.)

Overall, I enjoyed this one. It was a light, fun read and I really liked the characters. Both Nadia and Marcos are pretty cute. It’s predictable and cheesy, but quite a lot of fun. I would recommend this to anyone who is just looking for a fun read with a little romance and a lot about appreciating yourself and not giving in to the pressures of family and society.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Content warning: eating disorder (mentioned), SIDS

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.