Angelina Lopez writes the most amazing women. None of her characters are cookie cutter or one dimensional in any way. In fact - Alex pushes the reader away with her very tough and not particularly nice exterior as she does everyone else in her life. But getting to know her and Jeremiah is so so so worth it.

Alex has left her job at a very fancy Chicago bar to return to her hometown and take over the family bar. She left her prior job in a blaze of glory and social media videos. Returning back to Freedom, Kansas was not something she ever planned for or even wanted to do. Coming back to her hometown opens up a lot of past hurts and forces her to confront her own role in what has happened in her life.

Jeremiah is living above Alex's family's bar in one of the rented rooms. He's living there in an effort to find his own community and found family. His own history is complicated and he is very much estranged from his family. Meeting Alex challenges him in ways he wasn't expecting.

Both Jeremiah and Alex judge each other harshly at the start of the book - and at times it was hard for me to see whether either of them would let the other in. The sexy times in this book are very fiery and fit perfectly. Overall - I loved the arc of the story and the mix of memorable characters and pretty much everything about it. This is a must read.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

You have to go into this knowing that Angelina Lopez is always brings the bonkers and the soapy with her writing--and this one definitely does, with a sprawling family, lots of familial rifts and wounds, a central setting (Loretta's, the family bar), ghosts, small-town history, and evil villains, plus high heat between the MCs. Knowing that makes it easier to accept the soapier moments and big emotional swings that happen.

As a character, Alex also swings from one side of the likability spectrum to the other. Sometimes you want to shake her for her immature lashing-out and then other times you want to hug her when she gets vulnerable and shows how her trauma has shaped who she is. These big swings make sense for her based on her past, but it also made it hard to root for her sometimes. With her big personality, her love interest Jeremiah often gets overshadowed, and their romance was less interesting to me than the mystery they were trying to solve together. For me, this was the strongest part of the story--the whole history of the town feels deep and rich and beautifully layered.

Lopez also delivers on the bleak moment, which perfectly shows how Alex's and Jeremiah's goals are at odds with each other and heightens the angst. The resolution at the end feels quick, though, especially since the town history plot line isn't totally wrapped up, but I'm assuming it continues into the next book in the series, which I definitely want to see.

Thanks to NetGalley and Carina Press for the ARC.

The book started off strong but it lost me along the way. The mystery of getting the deed and saving the bar was done really well and was my favorite part of the book. I did not understand why Jeremiah's secret was such a big deal and why the reveal was at the end, it really did not make one difference. It made me think it was way worse than what it actually was. Keeping Alex's secret until the end did make sense but I wish we knew a little bit more of why she wasn't going to stay throughout the book.

I received an arc through netgalley.

WoW! I can't thank Carina Trade enough for this eARC!
I was hoping to get approved for this title.
The cover instantly intrigued me and the description I just had to get my hands on it!
Let me say..... Lopez is an author to watch out for!

This forced proximity, opposites attract, Latinx novel is one of the most amazing contemporary romance novels I've read!

Jeremiah and Alex, are probably my most favorite book couple ever!
The two of them together are adorable, hilarious, exciting, passionate and wonderful. They were the very solid foundation of this book, but the cast of secondary characters were the decorative, beautiful, fanciful support system.
Their immediate chemistry burns up the pages.

There is just so much to love about AFTER HOURS ON MILAGRO STREET!
The author added so many levels into this book that it just pulls you forward page by page. The highs and the lows were a a great touch. Seeing these two come together was brilliant!
I loved how realistic and wonderful this book was.
This story was beyond captivating.
This was an amazing story and I can't wait for it to be out in the world!
Definitely worth a read. This is just so well written, with well-rounded, interesting and great characters who really made this story amazing.

Angelina M. Lopez outdid herself with this one. And I am already waiting impatiently for her next one!

Carina Trade,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review closer to pub date.