Enrique is the playboy heir to the Taco King empire, but when he meets Carolina, a well-known and impressive sustainable farmer, he’s attracted to her immediately. Carolina comes from a very traditional family, and to get her family off her back she pretends they are dating. However, things get complicated as the fake feelings turn real and as Carolina and Enrique deal with her very traditional family.

The Love and Tacos series is a fun take on Shakesperian retellings but with a Mexican-American twist. I loved Ramon and Julieta and was excited to revisit the Montez family in Kiss Me, Mi Amor. This story is a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew and I loved how even the characters called out their similarities to the original story. My favorite things about this book were the culture and Carolina. I loved all of the references to Mexican culture, especially the traditions surrounding the Christmas holidays. Then there was Carolina, such a strong main character who wasn’t afraid to be herself and to go after the life she wanted. The romance itself seemed to develop a bit too fast for me, and didn’t feel realistic. However, I still enjoyed the story and will read more from this series if it continues!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy.

I really enjoyed this book.
I really enjoyed both Carolina and Enrique and getting to know them better. Both having different but also somewhat similar issues. I resonated with Enrique on the aspect that he is Mexican and doesn’t speak Spanish. Him feeling like he doesn’t belong in his culture for not being raised how traditional Mexicans are raised.
I myself am Puerto Rican and don’t speak Spanish myself. I often feel not good enough when I’m around other Puerto Ricans so a lot of what Enrique felt hit home for me. I enjoyed getting a better view i to traditional Mexican culture and traditions . I wasn’t aware how strict their culture is/can be. I’m not a fan of fake dating tropes, and i feel like their romance was a bit rushed. I didn’t live this book as much as the first book (Ramon and Julieta) but still was a great read. I flew through this book.
Looking forward to reading some more books by this author.

Me, Mi Amor by Alana Quintana Albertson is a captivating tale that delves into the intricate dynamics of a fabricated relationship between two sworn enemies.

Kiss Me, Mi Amor gets off to a somewhat slow start. There’s a lot of backstory squeezed into the first chapter, which felt mostly unnecessary. Much of the Ramón and Julieta recap could have been cut down, or at least integrated more gradually and naturally. While this book works as a standalone, it exists within the same world as the previous installment, and those characters are part of the story here. The Montez Group continues to play a vital role, with middle brother Enrique looking to make their farming partners more sustainable.

Carolina Flores and her family—all of them new characters to the series—are very traditional. They’re a Catholic Mexican family with conservative values and what can look like outdated ways of thinking, especially about women. Carolina, 23, is the eldest of 10 daughters, and her younger sister Blanca isn’t allowed to date until Carolina does. Both are expected to marry a traditional man and become housewives. The Flores family’s traditional values, and Carolina’s increasing discomfort with them, are the biggest driver and source of conflict in this novel.

I loved seeing the major differences between Enrique and Carolina. He’s progressive, a feminist, and a fan of yoga and meditation. Carolina’s family is devoutly religious and traditional, and though Carolina has been raised this way and shares many of these ways of thinking, she’s also just starting to break free to become her own individual. She doesn’t want to marry or have kids, and her actions throughout Kiss Me, Mi Amor put her at odds with her family. Is she willing to live with the rift in her family if it means living authentically to her own beliefs? Is she inadvertently using Enrique in the process?

There are thoughtful discussions in this book about the fine line between traditional values and abuse. Where does the Flores family fall on that spectrum? Carolina and Enrique also have honest conversations about feminism, patriarchal family structures, political ideology, self-work, therapy, and even yoga. Carolina, in particular, is on a major personal journey, one that’s tied up in her rapidly evolving relationship with Enrique.

As quickly as their feelings for one another grow, I appreciate how Carolina and Enrique ultimately choose to navigate their relationship. Things may come together too quickly and easily in some ways at the end, but I love the journey and where the characters end up.

Side note: Kiss Me, Mi Amor is a surprisingly Christmas-y book (I didn’t anticipate that going into it!), especially given that it comes out on the Fourth of July! That said, it would make a wonderful holiday read.

Kiss Me, Mi Amor is a great follow-up to Ramón and Julieta. It continues with dissecting the ethics of the Montez family and business, but also adds in new themes surrounding traditional values and a woman’s right to choose her own path. I already look forward to next Love and Tacos book, starring youngest brother Jaime Montez.

Kiss Me, Mi Amor by Alana Albertson is book #2 in the Love & Tacos series. This is the first book in the series & it could be read as a standalone.

I appreciated learning more about one of the main character’s Mexican-American holiday celebrations as well as their traditions. However, this was not the book for me.

I was very frustrated with some of the outdated misogynistic viewpoints as well as the self-confidence issues that seem to stem from them. The archaic gender roles placed upon the main character created an environment that I just couldn’t get lost in. I will keep this simple & say this didn’t work for me personally.

Thanks to NetGalley & Berkley Publishing for the gifted arc, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

Because of my low rating, I will not be posting this to my social media or Amazon.

Kiss Me, Mi Amor is a delicious and spicey romance read.

This book was a lot of fun to read and is excellent for those who just want to escape the world for the day. This is the second book in the Love and Taco series, but it can be read as a stand-alone. Kiss Me, Mi Amor follows the middle Montez brother Enrique, who is looking to show his brothers that he can contribute to their business but also looking for a purpose for his life. He feels lost and doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life. All he knows is that he wants to meet Carolina, who he admires (and might also find incredibly attractive).

This book has a lot of great things going for it. It has delicious food talk throughout the whole entire story. I might have ordered Mexican food this weekend because of this book. I loved learning about Latina/Mexican culture. It felt like I was immersed in this rich and wonderful culture, and I loved that I felt like I was learning things. I also admired that Alana didn’t just show her readers the beautiful side of Mexican culture. Readers also get to see how some traditions and ways of thinking are old-fashioned and outdated and how restrictive these traditions can be towards women. Carolina and her sisters are really restricted in what they can do in their lives because their father dictates who they can see and how they should act. Alana also brings to attention the often-deplorable working conditions many migrant workers have to work in. I thought she worked this issue into the storyline in such a smart and thoughtful way.

Religion also plays a big part in this story. Now that does not stay; this book is preachy in any way, quite the opposite, in fact. There is a lot of criticism and anger towards the Catholic Church in this book, and as a Catholic, I understand that there is frustration with the Church. But I did feel like she was beating the topic to death. It just kept on coming up time and time again and not in a way that helped to advance the storyline.

Family plays a big role in this book. You have Carolina’s family, which is a traditional Catholic Mexican family. Carolina’s father makes all the decisions in the household. He is like those traditional father/husband figures who hold all the power in the family, and everyone listens and obeys what he says. Just like Enrique did, I am sure many readers will be baffled and frustrated with Carolina’s family situation. In a way, it is a toxic family situation. The way Carolina’s father dictates who she (and her sisters) can see, when she can see them, and hell, even what she can wear is hard to wrap your mind around. It is something that Carolina really struggles within this book. This is because her parents aren’t monsters; they are kind and caring. They have another way of viewing the world and how people should act. It was heartbreaking watching Carolina try and figure out how to break free from some of these cultural restrictions while trying not to ruin her relationship with her parents.

There is plenty of romance in this book. If you are a fan of fake dating and one-bed tropes, you will adore the love story between Carolina and Enrique. I like these two together. I loved how Carolina just shook Enrique’s world when they first met. He just didn’t know what to himself; it was delightful to watch. I love the witty banter between these two and watching them go from enemies to fake dating to uneventfully real dating. It was just an incredible and swoony journey to be a part of. Their first kiss just gave me all those extraordinary butterfly feelings. There are lots of challenges these two have to overcome before they can really be together. Carolina’s father disapproves of Enrique; they live in different cities and come from different worlds.

Kiss Me, Mi Amor is the second book in the Love and Tacos series by author Alana Quintana Albertson. Not having read the first book, Ramon and Julieta, I was definitely at a disadvantage due to the many repeat characters as well as their history. It took a while for me to sort everyone out and get into the flow of the story.

I learned a lot about Mexican culture and holidays since the main characters and their large and extended families are Mexican-American. It was interesting to put things into perspective that I’ve heard or read about and see how their traditions were embraced by the families.

The family dynamics, especially the respect for Carolina’s father and his beliefs, play a major role in the story. While Enrique and Carolina are the main characters, he was often overshadowed and less front and center than I thought he should be.

Enrique comes from a dysfunctional family and works in the family business. Carolina is a farmer and a landowner and has no plans to fall in love or marry. It was fun to watch them take two steps forward and one back as they were getting “help” from various family members, especially since it is a fake relationship, or is it?

The story was sometimes repetitive and had many stories told. All of the characters have a depth to them. What you see, however, is not what you get.

There were a few unexpected twists and turns and some characters’ actions and reactions. There was some closure with a chance at a happily-ever-after in the offing, but I wish the ending was handled differently. It wasn’t the romance I was expecting at all.

Kiss Me, Mi Amor is a pleasant summer romance read, though I recommend reading the first book in the series for a better reading experience.

I rated the book 3.5 stars but rounded to 4 stars here and on other sites.

I really enjoyed this second book in Alana Quintana Albertson’s Love & Tacos series. This book focuses on Carolina and Enrique. I do think it’s better if you’ve read the first book in the series, but you can read it as a standalone. I’ve read that this is a retelling of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, but I unfortunately can’t say I know that piece of Shakespeare’s work enough to tell if that is accurate.

This story is enjoyable although tough in places as Carolina’s father is very overbearing and she worries she may be going from one hard situation to another. The author handles these tough topics well, and gives insight into both Enrique and Carolina’s backgrounds, as well as how they do respect one another. Overall, I very much enjoyed the story and look forward to the next book in the series.

I was tempted to DNF this at about 25% but stuck it out to see if it would get better. It didn’t. There were so many problems with this story: the misogynistic, patriarchal Mexican Catholic family structure that is unsustainable and unrealistic in the 21st century, the ridiculously fast-paced romance between two people that feels like love-bombing on Enrique’s part and the fact that they have some serious compatibility issues (and potential dealbreakers like wanting kids), disbelief that Enrique doesn’t know the story of the nativity despite being a lapsed Catholic, the idea that he’d invest in his future cousin-in-law’s clothing business when he hasn’t even seen his designs, and so much more.

This would have been better as a novella and, with proper editing, it would have been. The author repeatedly mentioned Carolina’s virginity and the fact that she didn’t think she wanted to ever get married if it meant going from one controlling man to the next. I also found it skeevy that her father was in his early 30s when he married an 18 year old and then proceeded to force 10 kids on her. Total miss for me!

Read if you like:
🌮 Tacos
💋 Opposites Attract
✝️ Religion in Books
😶 FMC who’s never been kissed

I feel like I should have definitely read the first book in the series first as it was way more connected than j realized it would be. That said you can still read this as a standalone but you will miss context from references from the prior book.

I really enjoyed the banter initially between Carolina and Enrique and their opposites where she was very religious and he wasn’t, she was raised to speak Spanish, but he was not, and how she was raised in her cultural beliefs and he was raised by a family that wanted him to be ‘American’.

Their fake dating was so fun and it happened in such a fluid way that I really enjoyed that but wish it had lasted longer before going to real dating.

Overall, the religious aspects for someone who isn’t religious were hard to connect with with the FMC and her choices and her family dynamic but this was a fun romance regardless of my inability to connect with the characters.

Thank you so much Berkley for my ARC of this one!

Taco King heir and experimental farmer Enrique wants to learn sustainable techniques from family farmer Carolina. She has no interest in partnering with him—until her old-fashioned father's sudden illness leads her to pretend Enrique is her boyfriend. Will the fake couple's feelings turn real before their vacation fling ends?

Carolina is devoted to her traditional family, but she doesn't share their values. While she and Enrique come from different backgrounds, they're a perfect match. I love the respect Enrique shows for her and her choices. This is a steamy and emotional story.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I enjoyed Ramon & Julieta, but Kiss Me, Mi Amor was not the book for me. The highly religious overtones not to mention the way male/female roles were portrayed in this "traditional" Mexican American household were not something I enjoyed. I also had issues with the herone's age and her accomplishments, a paragraph about how she "raised" the money to buy the farm her family had worked on would have been appreciated because I think most people know that buying property anywhere but especially in California isn't easy to do. I never felt the spark between Enrique and Carolina, it all seemed so forced and not enjoyable. I was truly looking forward to this book, but it was a miss for me.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy and to PRH Audio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

Kiss Me, Mi Amor is the second in the Love & Tacos series from Alan Quintana Albertson. You don't need to have read Ramon and Julieta first, but of course, given my love of series, I preferred reading them in order.

This sequel is a Taming of the Shrew retelling. The adaptation is a bit loose but in a good way that allows it to modernize and update. I really enjoyed the knowing nods ands winks to Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. It made it hilarious that the characters knew which play they were enacting, even as they did.

Enrique Montez brings his family up to Santa Maria, so he can meet Carolina Flores, a young woman famous for owning a farm and treating her workers well. His goal is to partner with her to supply his family's fast food chain. But she's uninterested in working together, dating, or anything else. To help her younger sister be allowed to date, Enrique and Carolina start fake dating.

I really enjoyed learning about Carolina's family's celebrations. And I found all of the discussion of farming, human rights, and supply chains fascinating. But the romance and people's growth was a bit too fast for me to find it fully believable.

This was a quick, fun read. And I especially enjoyed listening, as Vanessa Vasquez was a skilled narrator. I wasn't as impressed by Christophe Landa's female voices, but I didn't find them too distracting.

Kiss Me, Mi Amor is a romance featuring a traditional Mexican American farming family in California. Alana Quintana Albertson creates a contemporary take on The Taming of the Shrew in a beautiful and interesting environment with mixed results.

Enrique Montez is one of the Taco King heirs, and he wants to source the restaurant chain’s ingredients more sustainably. His research leads him to Carolina Flores, who owns her own organic strawberry farm at 23 years old, and is known for taking care of her workers. After all, her parents were Mexican immigrants and she grew up working in the fields with them. When she seemingly accepts his request for a meeting, he heads north from San Diego right before Christmas. He doesn’t know that Carolina’s sister is the one who actually arranged for the meeting, and then Carolina refuses to speak to him. She has enough on her plate with her family harassing her about turning into an old maid; her 21 year old sister isn’t even allowed to date unless she does first. After various mishaps, though, Carolina ends up asking Enrique to help out with the annual Las Posadas festivities, and later to pose as her boyfriend. After all, she’s never dated and seeing her with a man in her life will ease her sick father’s mind. But her family’s patriarchal views make no sense to Enrique, even as he tries to help in order to get Carolina’s assistance for his company. Can they get through the holiday season together as they attempt to understand each other?

This book was not for me. I know that adaptations of The Taming of the Shrew can be difficult because of the source material, but I’m always curious to see if an author can pull it off in a modern setting, i.e. 10 Things I Hate About You. In this case, it’s annoying and some details don’t make sense in a contemporary story. There also isn’t much chemistry between Enrique and Carolina, even as they suddenly talk themselves into being in love in just a few days.

There is also lots of religious and cultural Catholic representation when Carolina’s family is concerned. The religious aspect felt preachy to me to me at times. I also didn’t like the way Enrique’s upbringing and choice to not be religious was simply dismissed as not traditional and therefore not ok.

Instead of being entertaining or inspiring, Kiss Me, Mi Amor was just frustrating for me. There are important messages about the human cost of farming, but they get lost in the black and white framing of Carolina’s family life vs the evil of Enrique’s wealth and experiences. A bit of nuance would have made both the romance and other messages stronger.

Kiss Me, Mi Amor is an interesting take on both The Taming of the Shrew and traditional Mexican American families. The setting was vividly portrayed, and I wish the romantic connection between the main characters was a bit stronger. Sadly this wasn’t a book that resonated with me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Carolina- daughter of a family steeped in tradition- has worked hard to build her farm business. Enrique works in the food industry as well (tacos!). These two meet, dislike one another, and then, in order to make Carolina's father happy when he's ill, begin to fake date. Fans of the genre know what happens next! That said,. trope-y as it is (opposites attract, fake dating, and so on), it's also a tale of family and ambition that kept me turning the pages. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

3.5. I haven't read the first book in this series, but this one is cute! It was refreshing to read some of the themes Alana Quintana Albertson covers in this book--traditional vs. more progressive Mexican American families; the different concepts of independence in relationships; gender roles and dynamics; etc. I also enjoyed Carolina as a protagonist, someone who owns her own business and doesn't need to be in a relationship to define herself. I liked Enrique overall but felt like he's depicted as more controlling toward the end. Overall, I wanted more from the writing too--there's a lot of telling rather than depicting, which might be a symptom of wanting to convey as many ideas and opinions as possible in the story.

Thank you so much for an advanced copy of this book! I really enjoyed it.

First off, I feel like I learned SO MUCH about Mexican culture and family dynamics in this story. The two main characters suffer GREATLY from their families' antics, and while some of it is designed to make you LOL, some of it also really showcases how family interference dynamics work in other cultures and backgrounds. The families were ultimately endearing, though, so I give them a pass for their antics! haha.

Second, I really think this story has a lot of heart. I enjoyed the slide into love by the main characters, and I also enjoyed the relationships with their family. Overall, this book has so many elements to love!

I thought the main characters were so fun, and I really enjoyed their story. I also finished this really wanting a taco! (f you've read this or the first book in the series, you will understand.) :)

Rating: 4⭐️

I'm loving this series of Shakespearean retellings, especially with this version of Taming of the Shrew. It was so cool learning about Las Posadas and Nochebuena traditions and discussing ethical farming. There were so many elements to the industry that I'd never considered before. Watching Carolina learn to stand up for herself and explore her own definitions of womanhood felt so good too. I enjoyed watching Enrique become a little less cocky, but honestly I can't wait for the next brother's book and its associated retelling. Maybe As You Like it?

*Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

This book was described as fake dating and enemies to lovers, but I honestly found it to be neither of those things. It is, however, a story of finding independence and freedom while balancing cultural, religious, and familial expectations. And yes, a bit of fake dating.

Enrique Montez - of the Taco King Montez brothers - needs redemption and purpose. He spends his days surfing and doing yoga, but his role in the Taco King empire has never been entirely clear. He is passionate about improving the conditions of the farms that supply their restaurants, so when he learns what Carolina Flores is doing on her family farm, he knows he has to learn from her. He makes arrangements via email but upon arriving at the farm, realizes that Carolina's sister was on the other end of the email and Carolina isn't too happy about Enrique's presence given the reputation of his company. Enrique agrees to participate in a religious parade with Carolina, and then when Carolina's father lands in the hospital, the only thing that cheers him up is thinking Carolina has finally found a nice man to settle down with. Hence the references to fake dating in the synopsis.

I really loved the first book in this series and this was a very enjoyable and quick read. I wanted to see more of Carolina's independent growth and development in the book, but she's so young (23) that maybe my expectations were out of whack. There is a bit of insta love, especially for playboy Enrique but I did enjoy their chemistry on page.

Content warnings: Carolina's father is extremely traditional and conservative, so there are a lot of references to very strict religious practices, purity culture, etc. that could be pretty triggering for some readers.

I voluntarily reviewed an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

DNF at 45%

I loved the first book in this series, and was so excited to see the series continue. However this book took a serious turn for the worse. I couldn't stand the excessive push on religion and the old school ideology. A lot of this book seemed unrealistic. I mean Carolina is supposed to be 23 and somehow has all the money and experience to own a farm and business, yet stays in a room with her little sister and family. Also she is so young and inexperienced but is referred to as a spinster and no one thought she'd ever have a boyfriend! Not to mention they base this off the fact that she can't cook or "take care" of a man. I would have been fine if this was mentioned once or twice here or there, but it was pushed pretty excessively throughout each chapter, in case we somehow forgot. We got barely an info on Enrique the romantic hero. I felt like we knew more about his friend Tiburon than we did about him. Also this is set over Christmas time why is this not out in time for the holidays. It's June. I don't want to think about Christmas. Especially because the cover gives me summer vibes.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 7/4