As someone who has lost a parent, this book tapped into some deep emotions for me that were honestly a little overwhelming. I was young when I lost my dad and I haven't read a lot of Young Adult books that deal with parental loss. Overall a cute coming of age story, but man I was emotional during my read of this!

Wednesday Books eARC
I think this is a perfect book for those that are in their later high school years and might be struggling with perfectionism, loss, and/or grief. It was so easy to fall into Cas's story. I could relate to her need for control and perfectionism - even as an adult. I loved the sister relationship here. There is also a complex father daughter relationship that added lots of depth to the story. This book also focused on the love of Disney, party planning, and figuring out what comes next. It was touching and heartwarming. There is something here for a wide range of readers and I was so excited for a glimpse of Rubi from last year's books in this one, too.

The Quince Project by Jessica Parra was a fun and engaging story!
You know when you read a book and it pulls you in from the first page, the kind of book that even when you aren’t reading you still think about? That’s The Quince Project.
I absolutely loved this book, everything about it.
I enjoyed Rubi Ramos's Recipe for Success and her newest title was no different!

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

This author gave us a teen event planner, Cas helps plan Quinceañera’s, she’s Latina, a Disney lover, has the most amazing funny sister. She’s going through it trying to live up to her moms legacy, trying to also make her family proud, she has a lot going on, but I love how supportive they all are, this author did it before in her last book and she did it AGAIN here. This book was everything!

thank you wednesday books and dreamscape media for advanced copies of the quince project by jessica parra 🌸 out tomorrow!

now this book was SO much fun, literally exploding with disney and star wars references from galaxies far far away. if you’re a star wars fan, this is the book for you. although lighthearted, this book also tackled heavier topics of grief and mental health. it’s truly a narrative of learning how to celebrate all aspects of your life after loss.

go into this expecting a very young adult book, not saying that’s a bad thing, but it’s very heavy on teenagers navigating teenager things… if that makes sense. if you're not going to be a fan of a predictable third act, young adult breakdown, maybe don’t pick this one up. the quince project is VERY good at capturing today's teens' pressures and how social media fuels their confusion and uncertainty of life and each other. hearing my kids that I coach talk to me about school/ their everyday life, I can’t imagine being in high school right now, it has to be so tough.

cheers to RSVPing YES to your life’s fiesta 🥂 4 stars!

I loved the synopsis of this book and really love Disney but this book feels flat for me.

The MC is going through the 5 stages of grief with her family after losing her mother. She's so stuck in her dinsey cliches and fairytales that she forgets reality for a long time. There's wayyyyy too many disney cliches in this book that make it seem like fanfiction.

I also absolutely hated the influencer/Disney vlogger storyline. It felt like a story in a story in a fake story. I love disney vlogs but this just threw me off the MC's story.

Javi the Male MC didn't even seem interested in anyone but Cass. He felt like he had a minor character who just talked about his grief to make her feel better.

I lost interest in this 75% through and just totally forgot the plot because there's so much going on.

I understand the teen grieving and the wanting to hold onto mom. But these lies and the whole plot and conflict are just so badly written that it feels like cliche fanfiction anyone could write

I enjoyed this so much. Please give me more quince themes stories with fun bubbly wild main characters.

Every now and then, I like to pick up a YA book. I decided on this one since it is coming out in a few days. The book started off a little slow for me, but it really picked up as I became engrossed in the characters' lives and situations.

Cas and her sister Po are still reeling from their mother's passing. Even their father is not handling his wife's death very well. They are all in denial, and their reactions to situations vary from character to character. Cas wants to be a party planner and give everyone their own HEA. She even has her eyes set on an internship with a well known party planner once she completes another few events. Po has given up on going to college and has recently become obsessed with an influencer, Paulina, who shares all things Disney on her channel. Dad sits in his recliner when not at work and plays video games all night. 

Despite the slow start, I really came to like these characters. It takes time to get to the root of the problem and for the family to come together and form a stronger bond. There are also lies and deception regarding Cas' party planning side gig. This causes heartache and issues for multiple characters. But despite it all, the family does come together and their bond is stronger for all they endure. It just took conversations over delicious food to work itself out. I did drool over the food!

There is some comedic relief throughout the book, and I have to say that the idea of a Star Wars themed quinceañera is genius! It fits Paulina's character perfectly. There are also several love connections for Cas and Po. 

This is a heartwarming story and one I didn't fully expect. We give it four paws up.

Pretty cute coming of age story! The event-planning aspects, particularly around quinceañeras was fun.

I will say though that while it started off pretty strong for me, my interest sort of waned in the middle, and I can't really point my finger on why. I think it's nothing really about this book specifically, but just that I wasn't the target audience. I kind of wish there was less romance in this, as it felt like it detracted from the more emotional and heartfelt parts centered around the main character's relationship with her sister and her dad and their grief.

A girl who dreams about getting the internship at favorite party planner's company she seizes it... the only problem is that she has to get more experience before she can even apply and that means faking her experience for a publicity stunt for a popular influencer and things get out of hand, especially as she falls for the chambelán of said influencer's friend group. Castillo Torres loves everything being planned out. She's the event chair for the student body association as well as someone who dreams about making it as a party planner. Yet when her mother passes away suddenly, all her plans are thrown sideways. When a local lifestyle-guru-slash-party-planner opens up applications for the internship of her dreams, Cas is determined to do everything she can to get it... even if it mans doing a lot of lying. In order to apply for the internship she must have party planning experience... something she actually doesn't have. Yet when she runs into a popular influencer at Disney who takes a liking to her and asks her to plan a Star Wars themed quinceanera, Cas says yes. To her shock she also meets a cute guy... who just happens to be the chambelán of the quinceanera. Everything is going great...but her lies will begin to catch up to her and when the truth comes out she might lose it all. This was just a sweet read that dealt with grief, friends, and romance. Cas is going through a lot and trying to stay on her plan, but grief doesn't have a plan and she has to figure out how to face her own grief head on while growing. I definitely think if you are a big fan of Disney then this book is perfect for you, there are so so many references in it. It also would be a great read for younger YA ages I think and overall it was just a fun read that dealt with grief and growing.

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Release Date: May 28,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

I truly love YA novels as I feel like they truly speak to all of us.  This was a soft and clean romance.  A coming of age novel about a girl determined to give everyone their HEA while dealing with her own grief.
It was a quick fast-paced read that featured so many fun elements - Disneyland, party planning, family and social media.  
Having two daughters of my own I always swoon over sister relationships - Cas and Po were so sweet and supportive of each other.  
This was such a heartwarming story filled with gentle reminders that we are always healing and growing, it's never too late to change our plans and dreams, and that even in life's most challenging and heartbreaking moments, joy and hope can still be found.

Rating: 4/5
I received an ARC for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed this book about a young woman who is trying to make everything right in life with a list and making sure to follow them, but is it really making her life better? In this book you will get to watch Castillo branch out more in her life and get to see her start making decisions based on what makes her who she really is. You will shed a tear or two in this but that is only because you will love this book with its heartwarming scene, forgiveness at its finest, and see how dreams really do come true.

I enjoyed the author’s way with her words, the pace of the book is fast, but you won’t miss anything while reading it. I liked how as a reader you can see the growth that Castillo and her family take to move from grief and start learning how to live again. I really liked how Parra handled the parental loss and how life looks afterwards, the struggles that some go through, while others might be going through it differently. The romance in the book just made it a really sweet romcom, but you will see a lot of love throughout this book: love for family, friendships, your dreams of a child and more. It’s a book about healing and growth and learning that it’s never too late to change your plans or dreams. It’s about no matter the darkness you think you’re in, you can find joy and hope in life. The characters were likable and easy to connect with. I loved seeing Cas and Po (the sisters) throughout the book’s growth and the love that they had for each other, but it was the growth from their father that I loved the most in this book.

I loved the fairy godmother and Disneyland love throughout the book. It brought me joy and sprinkled me with some fairy godmother pixie dust. Overall, this is a great YA novel that has romance, love, healing, and growth. Oh yeah, and Disneyland love.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin Press for the opportunity to review this book.

One sentence summary: Planner extraordinaire, Cas, is determined to plan the perfect quinceañera and land an internship with her party planning ideal, but things go astray along the way.

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. It is filled with Disney/Star Wars references galore! Cas’s sister, Po was my favorite character. I loved the sister relationship between these two. Javi was an adorable love interest. I also loved the appearance of Rubi (the MC from Parra’s previous book).

This book deals a lot with grief and while that can be a heavy topic that is difficult to read, I thought Parra handled it in a beautiful way.

I think I enjoyed Rubi Ramo’s Recipe for Success just a smidge more than this one, but it was a solid sophomore novel and I would recommend if you are a YA fan.

I jumped on the chance to read this after falling in love with Jessica Parra’s writing in her other book. I wanted to love this but that same magic wasn’t in this one. While I understand we all process grief differently, the characters in this one were not my favorite; both Cas and Po were relatable but annoying. The incessant Disney references were just as annoying and really took me out of the story. The book got better as they started to process their grief but even their serious fight and subsequent forgiveness scenes were sprinkled with so many Disney references that it was impossible to take it seriously. Recommended for Disney fans.

Castillo Torres (Cas) wants to be an events planner. She likes to plan and control everything. She is still in high school and plans events for her school. But now she wants a side hustle to plan events with the ultimate prize being an internship with an event planner to A-listers. When a Disneyland vlogger thinks she already works for the big events planner she books her Star Wars themed quinceanera with Cas. The vlogger also is a love interest for her sister Po who is a year older. But things of course don’t go smoothly. And it doesn’t help that the web of lies is catching up with her.

This is a very, sweet, wholesome (a few kisses) YA novel. It is also a story of Cas and her family still reeling from the death of her mother two years before. Grief is felt by each of them and it affects them individually. It is one of the reasons Cas seeks control in her life. There are a ton of Disney references, everything from movies, characters and Disneyland rides and foods. I love Disneyland and Disney but it was a little over the top for me. The Grief is handled well. As is the pressure on teens from social media. Recommend for middle schoolers and up. (3.5 Stars)

This is Cas’s story as a teenage event planner. She is a determined 16 years old who wants an internship with a renowned event planner. To do so, she has to plan more events and what’s better than to organize a quince for a Disneyland vlogger.

I found that the main character was a Disney stereotype at the same as a teenage overachiever stereotype. Missing parent, obsession with a particular goal, seriousness, finding love when you don’t expect it…

Even though I did not like this aspect of the book, it was a fun and easy read. You can binge read it in a day as it is a simple yet interesting story.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This book was so enjoyable to read!!! YA books have a special place in my heart because I feel they really speak to all of us. The past, the present, and the future.

Cas might not be the perfect princess but it's not for lack of trying. Poor thing puts everything into everything and ends up leaving nothing for herself. Hmmmm, sounds familiar.

I would definitely recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Jessica Parra knows how to tug at my heart strings with her Latina FMCs. I love the Spanglish here and there and I love the way she captures the essence of a Hispanic household, especially the Hispanic father. This follow up to her debut was just as good as her first. This one felt personal, though.

This was an easy, fast paced, nostalgic read, in my opinion. So many of my favorite things were in this book. Disneyland, family, party planning, social media, and STAR WARS. I think you’ll find someone in this book to connect with. Oh, and let’s not forget, a cute boy added to the mix. The way Jessica creates her characters feel very real, like you know one of every character in the book in real life. Castillo’s inner, and outer, conflicts didn’t feel unrealistic. As someone who was raised in a Hispanic home, her feelings were very relatable and valid. That’s why it felt personal.

Overall, a fantastic follow up to Rubi Ramos’ Recipe for success.

Thanks so much NetGalley and Wednesday books for the eARC!

This is a cute & heartfelt YA!

*Comical meet cute
*For Disney (especially Star Wars) fans
*Cas is trying to find her HEA in the hopes that she can heal her grieving family
*Loved the cameo by Rubi (from Jessica Parra's first book

3.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley Wednesday books and dreamscape media for the e-Arc and ALC. My opinion is being left voluntarily. I really enjoyed this book and reminded be of being in a friend's quincera it was such an honor. These characters were well developed and interesting.

3.5/5☆