I have had a soft spot for Nina LaCour since adolescence. Yerba Buena took a few attempts to listen to because of sensitive topics, but when I was finally able to handle it, it was fantastic. She talks about loss, addiction, and the ways our worlds have to grow as we do. I have suggested this book to dozens of people, and will suggest it to high schoolers who have to approach difficult situations.

Yerba Buena is fine, if not entirely realistic (hey, it's fiction, but sometimes a small thing can take you right out of the story). Made we want a fancy cocktail though!

This is one of those books that sticks with you long after you close the last page (or for our audiobook lovers, listen to that last word). I find myself thinking about this book still, having it fresh in my mind, and impactful on my heart... over a year and a half later, writing this review.

SYNSOPS: Sara runs away from home as a teenager, and has been living a very hard life, full of struggles especially including distrust and intimacy issues. She now lives in LA, as a successful bartender, who has a mysterious aura about her. Emilie is stuck in a rut, with under grad school, and life... and takes a gig arranging flowers for the luxurious restaurant, Yerba Buena. When Sara and Emilie lock eyes, their connection is instantaneous and strong. Both dealing with demons of their past, they have to navigate building a future, if even possible... together.

This to me, is what energy people got from "Normal People". Aka a realistic, powerful, and relatable love connection. Characters you can root for. Characters you can cry with, and a story that grabs ahold of your heart.

AUDIO: The narrator crushed this story, and is a huge reason I feel even more emotionally attached.

All the stars (5/5).

[Gifted by Netgalley & Macmillan Audio - thank you! All opinions are my own.]

If you like character-driven stories, this one is for you. Nina LaCour! I love her. This one didn't grab me as much as We are Okay and Watch Over Me, but I still loved it. The characters are rich, and LaCour excels at character building. The prose is meaty--what does that even mean? But it perfectly explains her writing. Is she TRYING to make her readers cry? Because she always gets me. The audiobook narrator, Julia Whelan, did an absolutely fantastic job with all the different characters' voices. Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for a copy of the ebook and audiobook!

4/5 ⭐️
This was really good! The complexity of the world and characters made this book all the more real to me. Honestly there’s not a real moment when I didn’t enjoy reading this (and even got a bit emotional at parts).

LaCour's adult debut did not disappoint and Julia Wheelan was the right person to bring it to life. The author doesn't shy away from hard topics, but she knows how to handle them!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This is YA at its best. It's dark, doesn't shy away from hard topics, and stays with you far after the last page. I highly recommend this book! Nina LaCour writes queer characters in a relatable, inclusive way.

I feel like I am at the age where I can no longer really enjoy YA works, but sometimes I am proved wrong. This novel wasn’t necessarily YA, though Nina LaCour is a YA author. It definitely had some adult content, and I do believe it is being marketed as adult, but I wasn’t certain at the beginning.

The Story Starts with Young Love
We start off with Sara Foster, who runs away from home at 16 after some seriously tragic events. This starting point had me thinking the story would be geared towards a younger crowd, but once the story skipped in time, I realized I was mistaken. The story follows Sara and Emelie through their hard lives, and we watch them both grow into confident people. I thought it was a great coming of age story in that sense.

So Much Happened…
This story had A LOT going on. There were drugs, sexual assault, death, and so many other things going on throughout the book. It felt like a lot of heavy subject matter for one book. Not to mention the immigration of Emilie’s grandparents and the impact that had on her. I think this book covered a lot of really important things, like racial and LGBTQ+ issues that are great to see being talked about to casually in literature, but it felt like too much for one book. I felt like this book was trying to touch on so many things all at the same time.

It was dealing with young children watching their family get involved in drugs, and dealing with being closeted, and finding out they can’t always trust adults. It was a young girl losing everything, and a different young girl feeling like she never really knew who she was. Just, so much heavy, important things, that I felt overwhelmed. Not to say that people cannot have extraordinarily hard lives, but it seemed like so much to put these characters through.


Who Doesn’t Love Star-Crossed Lovers?
Don’t get me wrong, I loved the angst in this story. I loved watching each girl grow into herself. I think it was a great story about how no matter what you face, you can survive. And an LGBTQ+ star-crossed lover story is one of the best ways to do that! I really did enjoy it, despite is being a little rougher of a story than I had originally thought it would be.

Narration
Julia Whelan did a great job of capturing the moment through her narration. I do wish she had done slightly different voices for each character though. It can be really hard to keep characters straight in audiobooks to begin with and having them all sound similar makes it hard.

This is not a romance. It’s literary fiction. But damn is it good. I cared so much about these girls and wanted the best for them.

This cover doesn’t relay how dark some of the content is. There are a few trigger warnings I feel are necessary to provide: suicide, drug abuse, rape, sex for money, death of a loved one, alcoholism, and I’m sure there are a few I’m missing. It was intense. I loved it but I would warn anyone before stepping into blindly

Nina LaCour is a master of writing complicated, queer characters and Yerba Buena is no different. LaCour's prose is lyrical and weaves a story of two women bound together by chance.

I didn’t have time for this book when I was approved. I plan to read it in the future though. Looks fun!

Yerba Buena was on my most anticipated list for 2022, and I couldn't wait to listen to my gifted audiobook copy, narrated by Julia Whelan, a beloved narrator of mine.

This was such a beautiful story of ways that we grieve, which I really appreciated. I loved the dual POVs, and felt that it was a heavier, emotional read, but those are the stories that stay with you for a long time after reading.

*many thanks to Flatiron and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy for review

Having been a long-time fan of Nina LaCour's YA books, I was excited to receive LaCour's adult fiction debut - Yerba Buena. I love a dual POV stories and enjoyed the ways the individual stories of Emilie and Sara unfolded and how they intersected.

The audiobook narration adds to the experience.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

I was not able to get into it. I didn’t care about the characters. The trauma was also a lot for me and unexpected.

This was such a beautiful read about the different ways in which people grieve. Grief doesn't just come when someone passes away but we all grieve parts of our lives as we grow older. This was gorgeously written, which is not surprising for Nina LaCour, and I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for something emotional. Or if you just need something that will make you feel.

The duel POV was done perfectly. It enjoyed the journey these two women that this book takes you on. It's got some darker moments that may make you feel uncomfortable but once you get through the beginning you start to see each of them grow.

The audiobook was fantastic and done by one of my favorite narrators. I definitely suggest the audio format.

Stunning. Beautiful. Bittersweet yet hopeful.

Rich, evocative prose. Well developed, intricately layered characters. Vivid sense of place. All spun together with a resonate message: life isn’t tidy.

Emilie and Sara both come from tumultuous childhoods. The narrative shifts between perspectives as both age from youth to adulthood, with both characters maturing to find a way to use what they’ve been given while accepting where life leads.

This isn’t your quintessential romance. Rather, this is realistic and whole and adult. It’s what you get when a deep connection is mixed with growth and healing. It’s full of life’s complexities and the beauty of how patience and work can create…. It’s a love that allows both to shine while celebrating connection.

A gorgeous bouquet. A perfectly mixed drink. No matter which… the ingredients must be both unique and properly balanced. Complement and enhance not overpower or upstage.

Much like the yerba buena herb, LaCour has perfectly balanced the bitter and sweet in this story, giving readers a love story (for self and other) that resonates.

Narrated by Julia Wheelan, the audiobook is exceptionally narrated. It’s important to note that the beginning of the book was easier to follow in physical form, until I got used to the transitions between characters and storyline. But once I settled into the story, I greatly enjoyed the voice Wheelan gave to this book.

Many thanks to my partner @macmillan.audio and @librofm for the #gifted l-arc!!!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to this audiobook!
no rating - due to the triggers found in the book which I've seen from other reviews that I wasn't aware of before requesting, I will be leaving this one unrated and unread for personal reasons.

A very sweet and queer love story- honestly I highly highly highly recommend it. It was a breath of fresh air for all the queer kids who just want something happy

As much as I love and adore Nina LaCour's writing this one did not hit home as much as her other books I have read. It was very much a character study of these two women and their life journeys and where they intersected into each others lives. Although, this is soemthing that can make me feel extremely for the characters at other times it just feels meloncholy. This one just didn't quite hit me the way it could've. Writing was gorgeous though as always from this author.