A review by readingwithhippos
American Sweethearts by Adriana Herrera
3.0
I jumped on American Sweethearts the day it was released. I was a big fan of the previous three books in Adriana Herrera’s Dreamers series, and I knew reading this one would be like reconnecting with old friends. Juan Pablo and Priscilla have dated on and off for years but can’t make it work long-term. When they’re forced together for mutual friend Milo’s idyllic island wedding, sparks fly once again, but they still don’t quite know how to relate to each other. Juan Pablo has been working on himself for a while and has made a lot of changes for the better, but Priscilla has some issues to work through before she can be ready to entertain the thought of a real relationship.
While I don’t think this book quite measured up to the others in the series, I liked Priscilla’s journey as a character. Her side hustle teaching sex-positive workshops and selling sex toys was a super interesting addition, and her fear of going for what she really wanted career-wise was personally relatable to me. I think the main reason I wasn’t as invested in the romance was there wasn’t one big, juicy reason why JuanPa and Priscilla hadn’t worked out before. For a second chance romance to really hook me, I need a big betrayal or seemingly insurmountable external obstacle. An amorphous “we just never seem to work out” vibe doesn’t quite do it for me. Still, I heartily recommend the entire Dreamers series, and I enjoyed checking in with all my favorite characters from previous books.
While I don’t think this book quite measured up to the others in the series, I liked Priscilla’s journey as a character. Her side hustle teaching sex-positive workshops and selling sex toys was a super interesting addition, and her fear of going for what she really wanted career-wise was personally relatable to me. I think the main reason I wasn’t as invested in the romance was there wasn’t one big, juicy reason why JuanPa and Priscilla hadn’t worked out before. For a second chance romance to really hook me, I need a big betrayal or seemingly insurmountable external obstacle. An amorphous “we just never seem to work out” vibe doesn’t quite do it for me. Still, I heartily recommend the entire Dreamers series, and I enjoyed checking in with all my favorite characters from previous books.