Review by Booklist Review
The second book in the Vega family saga follows Lola León, a Krav Maga teacher and community center organizer, as she takes a job as a substitute teacher just before learning her beloved center will be demolished to build condos. Determined to stop this injustice, she confronts the construction company, only to discover that the contractor is none other than her high-school boyfriend, Saint Vega. Saint, a single parent and former Green Beret, hasn't seen Lola since she disappeared after her father and brother were arrested. Lola and Saint are drawn together by their need to help the community, their mutual unresolved feelings, and their feuding grandfathers, and she finds it hard to resist him and his desire to pick up where they left off. Readers may have a hard time following the characters and story if they haven't read Caña's first book in the series (A Proposal They Can't Refuse, 2022), but nevertheless will be completely charmed by the lovable, pranking grandfathers and Lola's loyalty to the people her community center serves.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
High school sweethearts reunite in Caña's charming and emotionally mature second Vega Family Love Stories romance (after A Proposal They Can't Refuse). Santiago "Saint" Vega left everything behind--including his then-girlfriend, Lola León--when he joined the military at 18. Twelve years later, Saint, now a single dad struggling with PTSD, divides his time between raising his daughter, working at his uncle's Chicago construction company, and keeping an eye on his mischievous abuelo, Papo. Meanwhile, activist and teacher Lola returns to Chicago to care for her own abuelo, Benny, while volunteering at a shelter for LGBTQ youth. The two cross paths when their grandfathers' prank war at the senior center gets out of hand, and again when Saint learns that Lola is his daughter's new preschool teacher. Their chemistry reignites, but tensions rise when the shelter's building is sold as part of ongoing gentrification in the neighborhood and Lola learns that Saint's family was involved in the deal. Caña puts a great deal of care into her characters' personal growth, and it's a pleasure to watch them develop over the course of the novel. Themes of mental health and inequity add weight to the romantic story line, while the meddling abuelos offer welcome levity. This is a treat.Agent: Patrice Caldwell, New Leaf Literary. (Oct.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Rebellious Lola León and conventional Santiago "Saint" Vega were unlikely high school sweethearts. After graduating from high school, they lost contact when Lola mysteriously disappeared without a word. Decades later, Lola, now a dedicated activist, is back in Chicago, working for the local community center. Saint, who lost his wife in a fatal accident, is now a single father working for his family construction business, helping to turn a building that used to be a shelter for LGBTQIA+ kids into expensive condos. He knows he's on the wrong side of the gentrification issue and quickly realizes he is on the opposite side of the struggle from Lola, but his sense of family duty overrides all else. Reunited under the worst of circumstances, their love still burns bright, but they'll need to forgive past mistakes and work through their seemingly insurmountable disagreements to find a happily ever after. VERDICT Highly recommended for fans of contemporary romances with strong social justice and family themes. This second "Vega Family Love Stories" book (following A Proposal They Can't Refuse) works well as a stand-alone.--Migdalia Jimenez
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Years after their high school relationship ended, a war veteran and an aspiring community leader navigate a complicated reunion. Santiago "Saint" Vega and Lola León were high school sweethearts--in secret, that is--but their different backgrounds, with the Vega family a pillar of Humboldt Park and Lola's father engaged in less-than-legal activities, made it tough for them to envision a future together. They both left town after high school, Saint enlisting in the military and Lola cutting ties with her family for her own safety, and the former sweethearts haven't crossed paths for decades, until now. Lola decides she's done running and is back home teaching self-defense classes, while Saint has been concentrating on his responsibilities as a single father. Neither suspects that their meddling grandfathers, longtime rivals in a mean-spirited nursing home prank war, will bring them together again. For Saint, it's an opportunity for a fresh start with the girl who got away, but Lola isn't convinced that he's interested in more than a fling, especially given her lingering connection to her family's criminal past. Besides, her attention is focused on helping out her neighborhood, including finding a new building for the local LGBTQIA+ youth shelter. She doesn't realize that Saint's uncle made a business deal with the company responsible for closing the old shelter, but how long can the truth stay hidden? The latest in Caña's Vega Family Love Stories series is full of all of the dynamics that made A Proposal They Can't Refuse (2022) so irresistible, from a comedic cast of supporting characters to an emphasis on the importance of community. Saint and Lola's relationship is explored through both past and present timelines, emphasizing just how deep their history runs and providing an illuminating comparison between the people they were before and the ones who are much better equipped to pick up where they left off. A vibrant second-chance love story about repairing community and romantic connection. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
