shereadsbetweensips's review
4.0
There is not enough beautiful words in the world to describe Priscilla Olivera's work. She has a beautiful talent and I absolutely adore reading her books. The perfect balance between romance, family dynamics and well... fame. Two worlds collide when rising mariachi star gets a chance to prove herself by joining mega famous and hot mariachi singer on a tour. Charisma can be deceiving, and our heroine realizes this as soon as she met Patricio. Cat was expecting something else entirely and was not ready for the fireball that Patricio is. Can she match him step by step on every challenge he presents to her? And how do we find love along the way? That's for you to find out!
I have read multiple of Olivera's work and every single time I fall in love. With the characters, her writing style and obviously the story. I hope we get more Queens of Mariachi soon.
I have read multiple of Olivera's work and every single time I fall in love. With the characters, her writing style and obviously the story. I hope we get more Queens of Mariachi soon.
annalwaring21's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
anasbookcorner's review
3.0
I hate saying mean things bc I loved the first book and the premise was intriguing but this book put me in a reading rut like I finished other books before this one it was hard to get through bc the plot was sooooo slow
alishampat's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
kblincoln's review
4.0
Well I liked it enough to immediately go buy the first in the series (once I realized this must be part of a series LOL).
Catalina Capuleta and her merry band of sisters (literally band, they are Mariachi Los Nubes) have just won a band competition that means Cat is now slated to be the opening act and song writing collaborater of internationally famous heart-throb Mariachi star Patricio Galan.
I mean, with a description like that, how can you resist this? Mariachi! Handsome stars! Song writing!
I didn't get the Capuleta reference, even when it becomes clear Mariachi Los Nubes beat out rival Mariachi band of the Monteros for a while. Apparently my Romeo&Juliet retelling radar wasn't finely tuned. But also, I realized, that the retelling was actually the first book with older sister Mariana, who because Cat is on the road, barely is featured in this book.
And while the title seems to reference Taming of the Shrew, Cat is no shrew, and she's not having to deal with threatened weddings for younger sisters or being wooed solely because of her spitfire attitude.
Cat is fired up to write songs with Patricio, all the while with her dander up in case he should be like many other in the mariachi community-- insisting tradition demands male musicians.
Of course, sparks fly between them, and both have parental/daddy issues that will interfere with their careers and their relationship-- the biggest one being Cat vowed to never date a Mariachi because her father was one.
What I really enjoyed about this was the Mariachi instrumental/song background, the amazing huge Capuleta family of sisters, and the use of Spanish (don't worry, almost all is translated in the dialogue in a non-repetitive way) throughout.
Sometimes the physical descriptions of what Cat and Patricio were doing were heavy handed (do we really need to know one hand cups an elbow an the other his own chin? or could that be summarized better?) and it almost veered into sweet romance territory as there's alot of imagining of caresses but not so much actual steam (and a definite skip to next morning when things do start to heat up).
Catalina Capuleta and her merry band of sisters (literally band, they are Mariachi Los Nubes) have just won a band competition that means Cat is now slated to be the opening act and song writing collaborater of internationally famous heart-throb Mariachi star Patricio Galan.
I mean, with a description like that, how can you resist this? Mariachi! Handsome stars! Song writing!
I didn't get the Capuleta reference, even when it becomes clear Mariachi Los Nubes beat out rival Mariachi band of the Monteros for a while. Apparently my Romeo&Juliet retelling radar wasn't finely tuned. But also, I realized, that the retelling was actually the first book with older sister Mariana, who because Cat is on the road, barely is featured in this book.
And while the title seems to reference Taming of the Shrew, Cat is no shrew, and she's not having to deal with threatened weddings for younger sisters or being wooed solely because of her spitfire attitude.
Cat is fired up to write songs with Patricio, all the while with her dander up in case he should be like many other in the mariachi community-- insisting tradition demands male musicians.
Of course, sparks fly between them, and both have parental/daddy issues that will interfere with their careers and their relationship-- the biggest one being Cat vowed to never date a Mariachi because her father was one.
What I really enjoyed about this was the Mariachi instrumental/song background, the amazing huge Capuleta family of sisters, and the use of Spanish (don't worry, almost all is translated in the dialogue in a non-repetitive way) throughout.
Sometimes the physical descriptions of what Cat and Patricio were doing were heavy handed (do we really need to know one hand cups an elbow an the other his own chin? or could that be summarized better?) and it almost veered into sweet romance territory as there's alot of imagining of caresses but not so much actual steam (and a definite skip to next morning when things do start to heat up).
ncardenas147's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ajawritesthings's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
annrouhani's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
iggyebab's review
3.0
** Received review copy.**
I loved the first book in this series. I could not wait to see how Cat and Patricio would rub along together.
It is definitely a slow burn with two really prickly characters. One is living in the shadow of a father and the other was abandoned by a father. One tends to bury everything, and the other is loud and has a temper that tends toward volcanic.
Typically, I prefer books that are open door. I like to see all the aspects of the relationship. However, the burn between these two was delicious. I did not feel slighted by not getting the open door.
Cat is audacious and uses it to cover up her difficulty in trusting people. Men, specifically. Her familia is central to her life and she has no intention of getting involved with a man who's in the mariachi world. They cannot be trusted. She is not afraid to stand up for herself but sometimes she jumps to conclusions.
Patricio has been walking a fine line between being famous and not overshadowing his famous father. He pulls back and now he has writers' block. He wants Cat to shake things up and try to bring his muse back out into the light.
I loved how they slowly begin to warm to n=one another and how they have difficult conversations about their attraction and how it might impact their collaboration.
There were a couple of situations that were worked out fairly quickly. For me, they were glossed over a bit.
I am loving this series because I am learning about another piece of music that I know little about.
I loved the first book in this series. I could not wait to see how Cat and Patricio would rub along together.
It is definitely a slow burn with two really prickly characters. One is living in the shadow of a father and the other was abandoned by a father. One tends to bury everything, and the other is loud and has a temper that tends toward volcanic.
Typically, I prefer books that are open door. I like to see all the aspects of the relationship. However, the burn between these two was delicious. I did not feel slighted by not getting the open door.
Cat is audacious and uses it to cover up her difficulty in trusting people. Men, specifically. Her familia is central to her life and she has no intention of getting involved with a man who's in the mariachi world. They cannot be trusted. She is not afraid to stand up for herself but sometimes she jumps to conclusions.
Patricio has been walking a fine line between being famous and not overshadowing his famous father. He pulls back and now he has writers' block. He wants Cat to shake things up and try to bring his muse back out into the light.
I loved how they slowly begin to warm to n=one another and how they have difficult conversations about their attraction and how it might impact their collaboration.
There were a couple of situations that were worked out fairly quickly. For me, they were glossed over a bit.
I am loving this series because I am learning about another piece of music that I know little about.