You Had Me at Hola

June 15, 2020
Daria (Dance All Night) delivers a sexy showbiz love affair in this steamy rom-com. Soap opera actor Jasmine Lin Rodriguez has just won the title role in a hotly anticipated telenovela when she’s dumped by her rock star boyfriend and her life is splashed across the tabloids. To get her life back on track in time for the first day of shooting, Jasmine and her cousins—aka the Primas of Power—devise the Leading Lady Plan, a list of dos and don’ts including “leading ladies only end up on magazine covers with good reason” and “leading ladies don’t need a man to be happy.” But Jasmine’s plan to stay single is upended when her TV love interest is recast with enigmatic heartthrob Ashton Suarez. Jasmine and Ashton’s chemistry is explosive both on- and off-camera, but the quirky choice to also include segments from the perspectives of Jasmine and Ashton’s on-screen alter egos is a puzzling one. Still, Daria breathes effortless life into a cast of messy, loving, talented, and downright hilarious characters readers will adore. A sense of Latinx culture and pride exudes from every page, elevating an already entertaining story. Romance fans won’t want to miss this. Agent: Sarah Younger, Nancy Yost Literary.

July 1, 2020
Soap-opera star Jasmine is reeling from a very public breakup that has made tabloid headlines as she returns home to New York to take the lead in a new Latinx comedy series for a top streaming service. She is happy to be close to her cousins, who remind her of her "Leading Lady Plan" for her career, a path that certainly does not involve getting involved with costars. Ashton, a former telenovela star, is very private after a stalker broke into his young son's bedroom years before. And he is exhausted from flying to Puerto Rico to see his father and son on weekends. But he can't resist his warm, vivacious costar. Soon they are involved, but when information and a photo of his son during a visit to New York is leaked, Ashton feels it was a mistake to be with Jasmine. RITA Award-winning Daria has created extremely smart and appealing characters, and the scenes of their shooting the show are delicious fun. Fans of Susan Elizabeth Philips will enjoy the humor and chemistry Daria whips up.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

August 1, 2020
An actress on an upward career trajectory falls in love with her leading man. Jasmine Lin Rodriguez moves home to New York for an unbelievable chance: After years as a soap opera actress, she is offered the lead role in Carmen in Charge, which will air on a popular streaming service. The timing couldn't be better--after she was painfully and publicly dumped by her musician boyfriend, the tabloids have painted her as a loser in love. Jasmine promises herself that she'll avoid romantic entanglements and focus on her career, but that proves difficult since she's wildly attracted to her new co-star, telenovela heartthrob Ashton Suarez. Ashton has two goals: achieving mainstream Hollywood stardom and keeping the paparazzi from discovering his 8-year-old son, Yadiel, who lives with Ashton's family in Puerto Rico. When Yadi was just a baby, a stalker broke into their home; Ashton was so terrified for his son's safety that he moved the boy to live with his parents and cut himself off from the press. He studiously avoids his attraction to Jasmine--she's a paparazzi magnet, and he will do anything to avoid the spotlight. However, as work on the show continues, they give in to their undeniable attraction. Ashton and Jasmine are imperfect but fully realized characters, and their differences aren't easily solved. Daria makes the unusual narrative choice of writing some chapters from the point of view of the Carmen in Charge characters, but it pays off by cleverly illuminating the emotional journey of Jasmine and Ashton's own romance. Sexy, compelling, and complex--a terrific romance from a rising star of the genre.

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August 28, 2020

Actress Jasmine Lin Rodriguez is publicly dumped days before the start of filming Carmen in Charge, a new bilingual comedy series on a popular streaming service. Playing the role of Carmen, staying out of the tabloids, and recovering from her breakup is all part of Jasmine's "Leading Lady Plan." For Ashton Suarez, Jasmine's colead, Carmen in Charge is also a step toward becoming a bonafide Hollywood star, but his top priority is keeping his personal life out of the headlines. Getting romantically involved with a costar who can't get the paparazzi to leave her alone is at odds with Ashton's goals, but their chemistry on and off the set leads to their throwing plans to the wind. When their affair becomes public, both Jasmine and Ashton have to make serious decisions about what they're willing to sacrifice for their careers and their relationship. VERDICT Daria follows up her RITA-winning debut, Take the Lead, with a sparkling celebrity romance full of telenovela drama and sizzling passion between the two leads. Glimpses into the high-stakes world of television production and snippets of scenes from Carmen in Charge add depth to the story, as does a diverse cast of supporting characters. Highly recommended.--Jessica Moore, Milwaukee P.L.

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