Thank you to Afterglow for providing me with this arc via NetGalley

so I’m not a big fan of the way the author decided to make 35 seem old . The fmc trinidad is written in a way where she’s like “he’s a man child”when the guys 25. - this is an age gap romance - with a AfroLatinx fmc & a Caribbean mmc main characters. She makes this huge deal out of the age gap - and it makes it feel like he’s younger than he is .

This man Orlando has a mother with bipolar disorder & had to step into the role of almost fatherhood at a young age to help raise his younger siblings - when he was 18 he was looking out for his younger siblings - he is also his mothers caretaker to some degree - so he is Kinda mature for his age ( at 25) because he obviously had to grow up quicker.

Orlando being so downbad for Trinidad is everything for me . He literally aaah he’s out here being so down bad and I’m here swooning over it .

The spice is so fucking hot🥵🥵🥵.

Their romance is everything to me . Their chemistry- their communication- the fact that I was just falling in love with this story & both TRINIDAD & Orlando!!

The ending was just so perfect too

Orlando & Trinidad meet when he becomes the mentor for her two 15 yr old twins BRIAN AND BRANDON . Through this they both kinda develop “crushes” on each other . Him more so than her . However , nothing happens until her two sons for some reason trick her into going on holiday & she has to room with Orlando for a weekend at a CARIBBEAN festival ( instead of going to that “couples thing - work trip “ with Milton . ) in a BLACK COMMUNITY town called OFELE

For some reason there is another guy called Milton in this book - who Trinidad kinda wanted to be with - who was more into polyamory & was kinda a player in this 40s - leading on multiple women & Trinidad being the divorcee that she is for some reason doesn’t wanna be in love again cus apparently it causes you to not see red flags - cus her ex husband just wanted to be with her to get A green card + some family . That is obviously sad but to want to settle for a guy who literally her family ( her sons ) & her best friend both don’t like & him being a guy who doesn’t really wanna meet her kids - kinda makes me go wtf. I don’t understand why he needed to be a plot in this story

The plot also revolves around Orlando wanting to find his 5 yr old daughter - whose mother hid from him .

I went into this book pretty blind and had a pretty hard time getting into it but once I did it was a deeply enjoyable spicy narrative with some real heart tugging moments.

I have to admit I wasn’t super into the age gap between them and Trini calling Orlando man child constantly didn’t help but I was happy to see them come together plus the spice was goood!

3.5⭐️

But her sons trick her into a Carnival trip, which ends with Trinidad staying with Orlando.
Orlando is the young man who she low-key fancies and is also her twin sons mentor.

While on the trip, feelings start to rise, and sparks start to fly.


Thoughts
This was a cute young adult romance book.  I enjoyed the theme of Carnival being a Caribbean girlie myself.

I enjoyed reading  Orlando's experience and vulnerability dealing with his mother's health. Within the world of 'You have to be strong,' it was nice seeing him shed those layers.
He and Trinidad had similar battles, hers being a single parent feeling she had to be strong and not lack in any areas for her children. It was nice to see them both learn that asking for support isn't a weakness.

the cover of this book is brilliant, i was hooked just from that as it truly gave me those carnival vibes.
i have a friend who has gone back to her family home for the carnival season and shes been sending me the videos every day like a video diary. and oh my gosh where have i been!? or more to the point where is the rest of the world when carnival season is just amazing. the colours. the dress up. the food. the people. its a group i want to be part of but even from watching over a distance i still felt the joy and colour of it all. maybe that why we couldnt pull it off lol. if only someone could give me the funds to go over there and do it all then that would be great.
watching my friend travel round. watching the sun rises and sun sets. watching the colours and souls at those festivals had me reaching for this book in an instant. i could also then picture the scenes and people so much better.
this book is a delight. the age gaps wasnt " a thing" partly because the ages were so much more appropriate than some icky books ive read previously with the same trope. and secondly because A.H handles it and writes it so well.
i was of course rooting for these characters so was a little eeek of how they might make it work. and throughout was wondering where it would go wrong or what decisions would have to be made. that added even more tension to the time they did have together. for both reader and characters themselves there is this how? what if? what next? and will this have to stop element?
both characters have their own things going on. and i love how they come together and support one another. but also how you as a reader are fully supporting them.
this is a brilliant book for me and cannot wait for more from this author.
i appreciate so much how well written this age gap theme was. it re instated my faith in it after having felt a little uncomfortable from the last few ive attempted to get into. but also makes you realise how when good things are working from behind the words then the book doesnt need to feel icky at all.

This was a quick, steamy, latinx, age-gap romance. This was something that I’ve never read before, but I found it a quick, fun summer read.
I appreciated Ms Vs struggle between being a responsible mother but also wanting to have fun herself. I loved the setting of the book. I really liked the carnival vibes and Caribbean history. This is the perfect quick book to read in spring/summer.
It has a lot of spice in it, but the characters to develop a good connection at the end. Sometimes it felt a lot like insta love, but it all came together towards the end of the book.
Would recommend for a short and fun summer read!
Thank you to Mills and Boon and Netgalley for this ARC, publication date is 24th April.