Blog Tour & ARC Review: Viva Lola Espinoza by Ella Cerón
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Series: None
Author: Ella Cerón
Published April 11th 2023 by Kokila
Goodreads Synopsis
A debut young adult novel that's BOOKSMART with a dash of magic, about a Mexican American teen who spends the summer in Mexico City, meets two very cute boys, attempts to learn Spanish, and uncovers a family secret that changes her life forever.
Lola Espinoza is cursed in love. Well, maybe not actually cursed — magic isn't real, is it? When Lola goes to spend the summer with her grandmother in Mexico City and meets handsome, flirtatious Rio, she discovers the unbelievable truth: Magic is very real, and what she'd always written off as bad luck is actually, truly . . . a curse. If Lola ever wants to fall in love without suffering the consequences, she'll have to break the curse. She finds an unlikely curse-breaking companion in Javi, a seemingly stoic boy she meets while working in her cousin's restaurant. Javi is willing to help Lola look into this family curse of hers, and Lola needs all the help she can get. Over the course of one summer — filled with food, family, and two very different boys — Lola explores Mexico City while learning about herself, her heritage, and the magic around us all.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.
After scoring a C on her Spanish final, Lola Espinoza finds herself sent to Mexico City for the summer to learn Spanish, and discover more about her family. Initially thinking it a punishment, Lola soon realises that the Gomez family is more than it appears on the outside, and she has more in common with her aunts, uncles, and cousins that she ever thought. However, it’s not all good news. The family is cursed, and Lola isn’t immune just because she was raised in America.
Well this book just blew me away. I wasn’t overly sure what to expect, what with it being a contemporary with fantasy aspects, but I found myself not wanting to put the book down at all. Lola was a character I could relate to. She only really focused on her school work, and pleasing her parents, with the goal of getting into a good college. She had missed out on a lot of ‘normal’ high school experiences, but while in Mexico City, she found that there was more to life than just school, and has fun for the the first time in forever. The curse aspect was woven into the plot line seamlessly, and rather than being something that was conflicting to the story, it added to it. I didn’t really like the love triangle aspect, but I had an idea on which of the love interests was for Lola, and am glad to say I backed the right guy. My favourite part of the book, though, was how Spanish and English was written side by side. It really helped with the flow of the book, and made the reader appreciate Lola and her family that little bit more. A great book to read this Spring!
Dates Read:
April 9-10, 2023
Rating
4 Stars
Ella Cerón is a writer and editor from Los Angeles, California. She lives in New York City with two black cats. Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, GQ, InStyle, and other major publications. ¡Viva Lola Espinoza! is her first novel.
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