Canto Contigo - I sing with you…
This book had me in tears. Ugly cry tears. A beautiful, angsty story about learning to appreciate and love those around you and forgiving yourself for being just you. I thoroughly enjoyed the celebration of mariachi music mixed with rivals and love. Not to mention a little magical realism and LGBTQIA rep. Whew, just a gem all around!

Thank you NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and author Jonny Garza Villa for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book took a while for me to get into but once I did I had a hard time putting it down. I love the way we get to know Rafie and Rey. It feels natural and well developed. Rafie wasn’t perfect and that made him endearing and relatable. The rivals to lovers was my favorite part and watching them discover the best parts of each other made this story so delicious. I loved how driven Rafie was and how Rey was always able to see the full picture. This was a book that will stay with me for a while. It was beautifully written and left me immersed in the culture and all the love. It doesn’t shy away from painful moments and shows how Rafie struggles with and learns to come to terms with his grief and other challenges. Overall it was an amazing read that I loved. 4.5 stars

CW: death, racism and homophobia

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

*Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to MacMillan Audio for the gifted ALC*

I've somehow never seen Mariachi live, and that needs to change. This book felt like such an experience and the audio only added to that. The singing, the Spanish, the interludes of music, my heart! It isn't as hard hitting as Ander and Santi Were Here (thankfully so, my heart couldn't take another one like that right now), but does touch on some issues the LGBTQIA+ community faces. More than that though, it's a story about trying to reach unrealistic expectations you've set on yourself and how your chosen family will love you in spite of that. I really enjoyed how supportive Rafi's family was of him and how he grows throughout the story. He goes from a cocky frontman to a sensitive team player and I loved that journey for him.

Thank you to Netgally for providing me with an ARC of this story.
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW

"You can have me if you want me."
WHAT A LINE UGH. THESE BOYS COMPLIMENTED EACH OTEHR SO WELL IT WAS UNFATHOMABLE. This is the first book I've read by Jonny Garza (though I think it's his 3rd book he's ever published) and what a great one to start with! I couldn't understand a lot of the Spanish being spoken in the book (for the very obvious reason that I don't speak the language) but I was still able to pick up the gist of what was said most of the time and there were occasional translations for particularly long sections of Spanish too which I appreciated. Raife and Rey were so much fun to read about. They were ACTUAL rivals to lovers (unlike some stories where they aren't really rivals at all they just have bad interactions). They were actively fighting for that spotlight before they decided to share it and that made the story so much sweeter when they finally came together!

My one gripe with the story is that I wish Rafie didn't actually agree to become lead vocalist (causing the catalyst of the third act breakup). Instead, I wish he'd ask to have some time to think it over. Rafie had changed so much (in my opinion) over the course of the school year and I knew he loved Rey so it hurt ME to see him pick himself over their partnership. I feel that if Rafie had asked for time instead of immediately agreeing it still could have worked. Someone could have overheard Rafie's conversation with his teacher and the principal (possibly that dick Arturo) and then Arturo could spread the rumor that Rafie was going to be lead vocalist. This could still lead to the third act breakup where Rey and Rafie have a fight and where they talk about trust and belief in one another. I think it would have been just as good but what do I know!

Regardless I love the representation that was in this book and although I know only Coco levels of things about mariachi, I really liked how this whole story centered around this really cool type of music/music competition. I'm looking forward to reading more from Jonny!

When Rafael's family moves right before his senior year of high school, he's determined to be lead vocalist of his new school's mariachi group in order to win Best Vocalist at the national competition for the fourth time in a row. The only problem is that Mariachi Todos Colores already has a lead vocalist. And it's the guy he hooked up with 8 months ago at the last Extravaganza.

I previously read and loved Ander and Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa, so I was excited to read this and wasn't disappointed. Garza Villa has a knack for bringing to life these fiercely tenacious, loud, and tender characters in a way that celebrates all aspects of their identity. Canto Contigo not only features a queer narrator, but also a trans love interest, and several other queer and trans characters, all who are well developed in their own rights. I know next to nothing about mariachi but this made me want to get up, dance, and sing along. Garza Villa deftly balances both the realities and fears of being a queer youth as well as the beauty and glory of it.

Rafie as a main character often drove me crazy - he's arrogant and cocky. But he's also so deeply insecure and hurting and grieving so you can't help but want to hug him even when you simultaneously want to cuss him out. Likeable? Not always. But lovable? Yes. He makes plenty of poor choices, but he's also a grieving 17 year old boy. I will say it got to the point where it was occasionally hard for me to continue, but take that with a grain of salt as an adult reading a YA novel.


Speaking of grief, I felt as though Garza Villa honored and depicted grief in a really beautiful way. Towards the beginning of the book, Rafie's abuelo dies, and his whole world falls apart. A key part of the narrative arc is Rafie's need to come to terms with this and the messiness that comes with healing.

I am so glad stories like this are being told. Jonny Garza Villa is a strong writer with a strong point of view that comes across in their writing, and I will continue to read whatever they write.

Once again, Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa gave my Spanish to English dictionary quite the workout. The swear words I learned from the author’s previous book, Ander & Santi Were Here, definitely helped me here as well as googling Mexican slang. Because of my own experience with grief, I understood Rafie’s feelings of trying to be the perfect mariachi singer/ the number one in honor of his Abuelo and feeling like he’s letting him down. “Because he’s gone. He can’t say shit. I can’t—I can’t hear him anymore. And more than anything, what would make me happiest is remembering what it sounds like when he says he’s proud of me.” Grief is at the heart of this book, along with self-doubt and love for family, friends, first loves and yourself. “Fix Me Now” by Garbage is the non-Spanish theme song I give to this book. ARC was provided by Wednesday Books via NetGalley. I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I loved Ander & Santi Were Here. So when I seen Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa I had to read his newest title…. And it didn’t disappoint!
This is such a hopeful, beautiful, funny, moving and inspiring story.
The characters felt so real, that I’m still convinced that they have to be real people.
The characters are well developed, the plot is tight and keeps the reader invested.
A phenomenal rivals-to-lovers romance that is no doubt worth the read!

Thank You NetGalley and Wednesday Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Canto Contigo follows high school Mariachi star Rafael as he transfers schools in his senior year and must grapple with grief over the loss of and a sense of duty to his abuelo.

Jonny Garza Villa always hits a sweet spot, and Canto Contigo is no exception. Though the conflict of this novel played out in many unexpected ways -- and ultimately didn't really feel that intense -- this was a spellbinding read that had so much to say about young love, family, identity, and of course Mariachi. I'd put this up there as one of the most overall comfy reads I've read this year so far, because so much of it was sweet and heartwarming. I think fans of Jonny Garza Villa will find everything they're looking for and more in this book, and I'm so so excited to see it get the love it deserves.

Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa—this queer romance releases tomorrow (4/9) and follows a Mexican-American HS senior and mariachi singer who has to transfer to a new school and start again with a new mariachi group. He expects to be lead singer but has a rival for the role. The book has the “enemies to lovers” romance trope. I liked that the conflict and emotions of high school students seemed realistic and there was diversity of representation of race, gender, and sexuality. I found the main character pretty unlikable for most of the story but can see why he behaves the way he does. I liked learning about mariachi too. It had a nice HEA (happily ever after) as well. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital copy.

I liked the authors last book a little more than this one. I liked the story overall but the main character was a little frustrating for me throughout the book. I am an adult though so not surprising that I didn’t relate with a teenager, I’m not the target audience. I definitely think that teens and young adults will love it.

The stuff with Rafi’s grief about his abuelo really got me, I’ve lost a few family members in the last year including my own grandfather so that really resonated with me.

Canto Contigo is the story of Rafie, a Mexican-American mariachi who's life is uprooted when his family moves to San Antonio right before his senior year of high school. The book follows his struggles to process the death of his abuelo and honor his abuelo's legacy through his music. My favorite part of this book was Rafie's relationship to music and his journey to learning how to love mariachi again. I also enjoyed the rivals-to-lovers arc between Rafie and Rey. Rafie exhibited a lot of character growth in this book, as he learned that he can make his abuelo proud by trying his best, and as he learned to let people in. I appreciate the trans representation very much. I love the author's portrayl of love, friendship, and the feeling of home.

I will not be providing feedback/a public review for this title until SMP meets the demands of the boycott.

CANTO CONTIGO is another heartfelt, Texas-set YA novel from Jonny Garza Villa. The main character in this one is not the easiest to like, due to his overabundance of confidence and somewhat cutthroat nature, which makes an interesting challenge. The author does a nice job of giving him a solid reason for acting this way and a believable character arc. The romance and some of the character antics and plot devices feel a bit forced, and the story is fairly predictable. Still, the world of mariachi is fun to read about, and the story has moments of comedy and emotion that really work.

I believe this was my first time reading Jonny Garza Villa, and he has his own style.

Rafael is the champion of the Mariachi Extravaganza with his school, and he has promise his grandfather in his death bed he'd also win his senior year. However, his parents need to move to another city and this another school. There he meets again Rey, the single boy who had managed to divert his thoughts from his grandfather's death during the last Extravaganza, but life continues to challenge him despite of that. He doesn't get to be the lead singer in the new school's group, instead, he loses his position and his mind to Rey. What he can't afford is to lose in the next Extravaganza and not fulfill his promise.

2.5 rounded up to 3, because not even someone as unbearable as Rafael could obfuscate the beauty of this story.

I'm glad I waited until I was into this type of read to start this book, because it was already hard to get through it. The first thing that got to me was how much Spanish there was. I know some Spanish, I've had to read whole books when getting my Master's, but street Spanish (or maybe Mexican slang?) was just too hard for me to follow. There are some conversations that half of it is in Spanish, but at least they're not the ones that are heavy on the slang. I can't speak for people who don't know any, but my guess is that you can still understand most of what is going on, and it definitely doesn't get in the way of the story like my other problems with this book did.

Yeah, the biggest problem was how hard it is to relate to Rafael. It wasn't instant hate. He's full of himself, but we know that's only so his fall will be from higher, so in the beginning I was only curious to see how that would go. However, he very inconstant. One time he's okay with how things are going, another he's very sad about how he's had to relinquish his position, then he's full of himself again. His progression was confusing to me. It didn't help that the big conflict in the end is caused by something that should have happened much earlier, and I couldn't buy the reason it didn't. Even worse, I couldn't buy Rafael's reaction.

However, there are points very worth it. I loved the family thing, all the culture transpiring from it. It was like being brought to a different world. All of the other characters were also great, especially Rey. There were countless moments I feel I learned something from, and even if I hadn't, it felt worth it living them. The depth this book has got is no joke, I loved it.


Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

CANTO CONTIGO by Jonny Garza Villa is a beautifully written romance that is a love song to mariachi. Rafael Alvarez is part of a big Mexican family in North Amistad, and is proud to be living up to his reputation and his family’s legacy as a mariachi musician and singer. He has a particularly tumultuous year following the loss of his beloved abuelo, and his immediate family’s subsequent move to San Antonio. Now at a new school, competing for lead singer with a guy who turned his head in last year’s competition, he’s angry and frustrated and hurt and sad…

Jonny Garza Villa writes Rafie unflinchingly and sympathetically. Readers will feel those big feelings and pressures along with him, and long for him to be able to find better footing. He creates an immersive read, using Spanish to excellent effect, and writing characters that walk, sing, play, right off the pages. Rafie’s pain and longings as well as his dreams and the courage he’s able to find flow off the pages and into our hearts.


This is the first I’ve read by Jonny Garza Villa, but I absolutely plan to read their backlist, and look forward to future books.

Rivals to lovers + sass & banter + YA!

Eight months after winning the Mariachi Extravaganza de Nacional and making out with the cutest guy, Rafie is forced to move to San Antonio and join their mariachi group.

The problem: their lead vocalist is the guy Rafie made out with.

Their rivalry quite literally takes center stage as they have to figure out how to work together to win this year’s Extravaganza while also fighting their feelings for each other.

Read if you love…
✨rivals to lovers
🎤mariachi & Latinx music references galore
✨YA, high school seniors
💬texts on page
✨Spanish on page
🏳️‍🌈a cast of queer characters
✨second chance ishhhhh
🤣so much sass & banter
✨forced proximity

3/3 for crying reading a JGV book. ✔️

To zero people’s surprise, I loved this one!

The whole premise of the book was wonderful, and as per usual with a JGV book, I loved how much I learned about the Latinx culture, language, and food!

Rafie was prickly af at first, and a little hard to like, because his ego is so big. He knows he’s the best, but he also can be a jerk about it. But I loved seeing his story, past, insecurities, etc unfold throughout the book. His grief about losing his grandfather is so big & it deeply affects everything in his life.

I adored everything about Rey, and won’t say much because spoilers. But Rey is just perfection.

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martins Press, and Wednesday books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

📍Texas
✨Rep: Latinx & gay MC; Black Latinx & trans & gay MC; queer side characters
‼️Content: anti-queer/trans; racism; loss of a grandparent, Parkinson’s; grief

I will not be reviewing nor promoting any St Martin's Press titles until they address the racism, Islamophobia and all over reprehensible behavior of one of their employees.

I adored Ander and Santi Were Here so I was so excited to have the opportunity to read Canto Contigo before its release! I will admit, I had a harder time getting into this one than Ander and Santi, simply because Rafie was very difficult to like for almost half of the book. He is very full of himself and is very focused on winning Extravaganza which causes him to mistreat the people around him. Rey deserves to be anointed into sainthood for how patient and forgiving he is towards Rafie. I was beginning to wonder if the book would ever turn around, but I never should have doubted Garza Villa. We begin to see cracks in Rafie's facade and understand why he behaves the way he does. There is so much growth to his character and it was a joy witness. I loved him and Rey's relationship as well and the side characters were really enjoyable too.

Canto Contigo is a coming of age, queer, YA romance following Rafie as he deals with loss and grief, expectations of himself, and who he is and what he truly wants out of life. An incredibly enjoyable read, I highly recommend and cannot wait for what Garza Villa writes next!

I’d like to say I read a lot of diverse books, but this was the first one I’ve seen about gay mariachis. There is just something about the Spanish in this book not being italics that I love. The story is amazing, and how it’s written. It definitely feels like it was written for me and other tejanos

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own

Last year, I had the chance to read "Ander and Santi Were Here" by Jonny Garza Villa, and I was excited to read another one of their YA novels. The story revolves around a romance where the main characters were almost lovers, but now they are rivals, and then they become lovers again.

When a Mariachi star transfers schools, he expects to be handed his new group's lead vocalist spot—what he gets instead is a tenacious current lead with a very familiar, very kissable face.

I think not everyone will love the main protagonist, Rafael Alvarez, but I admit that I have a soft spot for him. Rafie is not perfect he's a bit of an asshole and it's astounding that more characters didn't want to knock him over the head. There were some touching moments as Rafael grieved for his grandfather who was an influential figure in his life. I loved the scenes between Rafael and his father, as well as a particular scene with his grandmother later in the novel. I loved that the novel was steeped in Mexican culture and that the characters speak Spanish throughout, although I cannot speak a word of it myself.

Although there were some slow parts, I liked the antics of the characters, the positive discussions on sexuality between teens and parents, and following a high school Mariachi band during their competitions.


Expected Publication Date 09/04/24
Goodreads Review 06/04/24