*I received the digital copy from the author. All reviews are my own.*
Hola babies! I’m back with another Priscilla Oliveras novel, the sequel to West Side Love Story from the Queens of Mariachi series. All I have to say is much better. Muuuuch better! I don’t know if Oliveras was brave enough to sift through the reviews of Book 1 to find constructive criticism, but whatever the motivation was to better the sequel, it was worth it. Kiss Me, Catalina focuses on the younger sister of Mariana Capuleta and her road to becoming the next big singer/songwriter superstar alongside her angsty, brooding frenemy Patricio, the Marc Anthony of megastars.
"Ambitious San Antonio singer Catalina “Cat” Capuleta gets the chance of a lifetime when she joins superstar heartthrob and fellow mariachi Patricio Galán on his seven-week concert tour. Demanding and arrogant, Patricio challenges Cat on every level, as an artist and as a woman. But headstrong Cat is determined to be his match. No matter how seductive Patricio’s baritone voice, Cat’s eyes are only on the prize: success and making her familia proud.
No woman gets under Patricio’s skin like Cat. Her talent mesmerizes. Her passion is thrilling. And her drive, stemming from an old unhealed family wound, exposes a vulnerability he secretly recognizes in himself.
When the duo hits the road, the sparks don’t just fly—they detonate. Stage by stage, as each reckons with the past—and with each other’s quick-fire personalities—they bring crowds to their feet, and Cat’s long-held dreams come true. Will their road romance go up in flames? Or could making music together kindle the most rapturous love song of their lives?"
If you haven’t read WSLS, I suggest picking up that book before hopping on KMC. Even though KMC could be considered a standalone, it would feel right in your soul if you started from the beginning. In KMC, the story picks up right where it left off in the Mariachi competition. From there, the story continues through Catalina’s perspective, bulldozing her way into the music scene as the next artist to watch through touring with the biggest Latinx superstar, Patricio. But of course, with that comes the frustration of being a woman in the music industry, attraction, a little bit of mansplaining and contradiction, and a special ‘Oh no, she didn’t!’ moment that flows well with the story.
KMC was shorter in pages and more to the point. Oliveras did away with the overly curated details that took a life of its own in favor of keeping it short and sweet. The story was predictable, but personally, I don’t care about that. As long as you can keep it entertaining and give your own spin on how you think the storyline should go, I’m all for the rendition. How else do all these retellings keep recycling their way onto shelves? There is still back-door romance, but at least I prepared for Oliveras M.O. You will not trick me into that again!
Overall, I rated this book 5-stars. That’s a huge step up from WSLS. I should mention that I did audio this time, which was muy excellente. Karala Serrato embodied Catalina and her story. If there is to be another segment in the Queens of Mariachi series, I want to see the original Queen, Mama Capuleta, and how this Hatfield and McCoy feud started. Oliveras mentioned it enough times, and it got my wheels spinning. Speaking of the original Romeo and Juliet, did you know a sequel to Ramon y Julieta is out now? Yeah, I’ll be getting my hands on that very soon. Anywho, West Side Love Story paled compared to Kiss Me, Catalina. This book is officially on my To Buy list, and Oliveras redeemed herself in my book. Happy reading.
Kiss Me, Catalina is available now!
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