A captivating debut novel that explores the complexities of family, identity, and secrets. I loved the rich cultural tapestry and the beautiful countries the author described. The story exceeded in delving into the emotional landscapes of the characters. There were twists and turns in the plot that kept me fully engaged, and I enjoyed discovering new revelations. I would liked to have seen more development of the secondary characters.
Many thanks to Simon Element and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

An homage to Miami, complicated family secrets, and living out one’s truth, no matter how messy it might be. A wonderfully fun book that brought me back to my own childhood in Miami.

See full review in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

“Tell It to Me Singing” is North Carolina author Tita Ramírez’s riveting debut novel about a family whose foundation is rocked when their matriarch reveals an explosive secret moments before she is rushed into surgery. The daughter searches for the truth in present-day Florida and is blindsided by her conservative mother’s salacious past as a Cuban counterrevolutionary. As the story unfurls, “Tell It to Me Singing” develops into a deeply heartfelt, frequently humorous and historically germane exploration of how one family uses the combination of truth and love to heal from generational pain..."

https://www.ajc.com/things-to-do/telenovela-sets-tone-for-mother-daughter-strife-in-debut-novel/5HEURKF7WRBZTP4Z2BRRSD72HY/

This book was not for me. I tried to get into it, but it had too many tropes I didn't like. The characters frustrated me, as well. I expected it to be fun and light hearted, but it was on the heavy side. The writing was good and I will give this author a try in the future. Thank you Netgalley for the review copy.

What happens when your real life resembles your favorite telenovella? Monica and her mother love to watch telenovellas together . When Monica's mother has a sudden health emergency and blurts out that Monica’s father is not who she thinks he is. As her mother heals she reveals more and more of a long held family secret. This books takes us from Cuba to America to Costa Rica following Cuban history. It’s fascinating and fun and a page turner. Scenes from the favorite telanovella mirror real life events. It’s told in alternating perspectives one being Monica’s present day as she struggles to come to terms with her identity and who she loves while in the end of her pregnancy and her mothers past life growing up in Cuba, helping to fight Castro, falling in love, immigrating to America and being parted from her first love. A debut I really enjoyed.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Set Up: Monica is six months pregnant with her fiancée’s baby, when her mother is wheeled into emergency heart surgery. Monica’s mother Mirta, while under anesthesia, confesses that her father is not the man who raised her. Monica isn’t sure what to make of her mother’s admission, especially since it closely mirrors the storyline of the telenovela they routinely watch together every Friday night. Even without this latest complication, Monica’s life is already a bit of a soap opera. Engaged to Robert, after only knowing each other less than a year, she finds she can’t stop thinking about Manny. He is the ex-boyfriend who she broke up with after he re-enlisted for yet another deployment to Afghanistan. Monica needs a break to figure out her own life, on her own terms. Love is complicated, families are messy, sacrifices are made, and sometimes well intended decisions will reverberate in unexpected ways.

The novel is told in alternating chapters from Monica’s contemporary point of view, and Mirta's historical perspective. Monica’s and Mirta’s stories move from contemporary Miami, to Cuba in the ‘70s and 80’s during the Mariel boatlift and anti-Castro resistance, to the jungles of Costa Rica. Ramirez gives us a genre mash-up that presents a realistic representation of Cuban-American culture with all its quirks and warmth. The title, Tell It To Me Singing, refers to a Cuban greeting (“dímelo cantando”) that translates into - tell me everything! And as the title suggests, by the end, we will have untangled every twist and turn until we know the whole story.

Tell It To Me Singing is a fun entertaining summer read, with just enough serious heft to keep you turning the page.


Many thanks to the author @TitaRamirezWriter, @_SimonElement and @NetGalley for the pleasure of reading this digital book in exchange for an honest review.

A novel about relationships and lies and the choices we make. I found the characters believable and three dimensional. The plot moved faster at the end after a slower beginning. The ending felt that everything was as it should be.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster/Simon Element/Mary Sue Rucci Books for gifting me a digital ARC of this wonderful debut book by Tita Ramirez. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars rounded up!

Monica is pregnant with her first child when her mom, moments before having emergency heart surgery, confesses that Monica's father is not the man who raised her. When her mom wakes up, her mother begins having delusions and Monica isn't sure if the confession is real or not. It sounds more like the plot of the telenovela they watch together. But Monica's life is sort of like a soap opera as well. The first person she wanted to talk to about her mom's confession was her ex-boyfriend, Manny, and not her fiancé and father of her child.

This is a wonderful generational saga, with alternating chapters of her mother's life as a younger Cuban American. The story is very atmospheric, taking place in Miami, Cuba, and Costa Rico, and full of that cultural experience. The writing is rich and beautiful and while the subject matter felt like a telenovela, it explored such topics as what constitutes family, those hard decisions we must face, and family secrets. But it's joyful too, and the characters feel completely fleshed out. What I loved is that I didn't hate any of the characters; they all had good and bad parts, just like we all do. This did not feel like a debut book and I'm anxiously awaiting more from this author!

When I started reading this book about a Cuban-American mother and daughter it felt like literary fiction. It got off to a slow start but had potential. But then the book took a wild twist with some implausible things happening that felt like it was straight out of a telenovela plot that the duo liked to watch together. I think I would have liked the book either as literary fiction or as a far-fetched adventure. It was the mixing of the two that left me a bit confused as to if I actually liked this book or not.

Tita Ramírez's debut novel, "Tell It to Me Singing," is a captivating exploration of family secrets, identity, and the power of heritage set against the vibrant backdrop of Cuban-American culture. The story begins with a dramatic revelation when Monica Campo, pregnant with her first child, learns from her ailing mother that the man she believed to be her father is not. This confession, made moments before her mother undergoes emergency heart surgery, throws Monica's life into turmoil.

Monica's journey to uncover the truth about her parentage takes readers from Miami to Cuba and the jungles of Costa Rica. As she delves into her family's past, she unearths stories from the early 1980s during the Mariel boatlift and the 1970s, when her parents were involved in the secret fight against Castro's regime. The narrative beautifully weaves together the past and present, offering a rich tapestry of cultural and historical context.

Ramírez's writing shines in its depiction of Cuban-American life, with vivid descriptions of food, celebrations, and the emotional ties that bind families together. The novel's structure, alternating between Monica's present-day struggles and flashbacks to her mother's past, effectively builds suspense and deepens the reader's understanding of the characters.

Monica's emotional turmoil is palpable, especially as she grapples with her relationship with her fiancé and her lingering feelings for her ex-boyfriend, Manny. The romantic subplot, while at times frustrating, adds depth to Monica's character and highlights the complexity of human relationships.

The novel's pacing is generally strong, though some readers may find the resolution of Monica's parentage a bit rushed. Nonetheless, the story remains engaging throughout, with enough twists and emotional highs to keep readers hooked.

Ramírez's debut is notable for its authentic representation of Cuban-American culture and its ability to tackle heavy themes with grace and sensitivity. The use of telenovelas as a narrative device to reflect the twists and emotions of the characters is particularly clever and adds a layer of meta-commentary to the story.

Overall, "Tell It to Me Singing" is a compelling and heartwarming novel that will resonate with anyone who has ever questioned their place in the world or the secrets hidden within their family history. Tita Ramírez has crafted a memorable and moving story that marks her as a writer to watch.

5 stars for making me cry.

Families are complicated. Love is complicated. Doing the right thing and chasing your love are not always the same thing, and different people will make different choices.

Monica is pregnant and the father is her boyfriend who she loves but might not be in love with, her mother makes a confession just before going into heart surgery that sends Monica spinning through chaos and full of questions, and she reaches out to her ex Manny for support.

As an avid Veronica Mars watcher, I'm always looking for a story that meets the iconic line from the show: "I always thought we were epic, you know. Spanning years and continents. Lives ruined, bloodshed, epic." If that's also the vibe you want in a story, this is it. Years, countries, revolution, violence, hard choices, but also the different kinds of love in our life and how they impact our navigation.

I stayed up until 1am to finish this.

This book was a perfect summer read for me. I really enjoyed the soapy telenovela feel to parts of it, while at the same time giving real importance to the storyline featuring belonging, family, and past love. Without dipping too much into spoiler territory, I also really loved the bits of the chapters from Mirta's point of view contrasted with Monica's chapters.
Overall, I would recommend this book. Many thanks to Net Galley and Simon Element for the opportunity to read.

4 Stars!

Tell It to Me Singing by Tita Ramírez (publication date 7/9/2024) takes its title from a Cuban and Dominican greeting "dímelo cantando" which translates directly as "tell it to me singing" but means "tell me everything!" It is a fitting title for this book that reads like a telenovela with unexpected twists and turns.

As the book opens, Mònica's mother is being wheeled into heart surgery, and she tells her that her father is not Rolando Campo, as she'd believed her entire life, but Juan, Mònica gets no additional information from her, and after surgery, her mother is in a coma for several weeks, during which time Mònica doesn't know what to think, whether it was the drugs her mother was on or something real. Their Friday nights had always been spent watching her mother's favorite telenovela together, and the stories do seem to overlap.

Mònica is 6 months pregnant, engaged but not married to the father of her child, Robert, as they hadn't been together for even a year before she got pregnant. In the background is her several-year relationship with Manny, who had re-enlisted in the army several times so that Mònica didn't feel like he would ever be there for her. Mònica's parents had emigrated to Miami from Cuba during the Mariel boat lift and created a good life for their children, along with the Cuban-American community there.

Alternating chapters are told from Mirta's historical perspective, where we find out what really happened before Mònica does.

It's a page-turner, if a little overdramatic. The family dynamics seemed realistic but some of the twists and turns were not. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it, and thought Mònica's need to be alone to figure things out for herself showed how emotionally healthy she was and how she would put her child's needs first.

The author used anti-fat bias at one point where Mònica thought of an old, fat woman she saw naked at the gym, and imagined herself old and fat and thought of which love interest she'd rather be with if she ended up looking like that--which I thought was unnecessary, gratuitous, and disrespectful. The point could have been made without resorting to Mònica's fear of becoming fat and perceived lack of desirability that would be associated with such a state.

Overall, I would recommend with reservations. The descriptions of Cuban food and culture were well-done, as were the relationships between Mònica and her family. But that instance of anti-fat bias was disappointing.

Thanks to NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Monica Campo is pregnant, unmarried, and living with her baby’s father. But her mother, before being wheeled in for heart surgery, tells Monica that the man she always thought was her father—is not. Suddenly Monica is questioning everything, including whether she loves her baby¡s father enough to make a life with him.
I found the book's plot becoming more and more far-fetched as the book progressed, and also felt the need to sit Monica down and give her a reality check.

Tell it to me Singing is a family story, but also a story about finding your way, discovering truths and choosing love. So many highs and lows and plenty of surprises through out this tale, which only added to the satisfying read. I loved the Cuban American culture as well as the backstory and history weaved throughout the tale. So much heart and emotion at the core of this story earns Tell it to Me Singing 5 enthusiastic stars.
Thanks to #NetGalley and #Simon Element | S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books for the arc.

Monica's life is complicated enough by her unplanned pregnancy when her mother has a medical emergency during which she decides to spill all her secrets. The biggest secret is that the man who raised Monica is not her biological father.

Monica begins to work through who she really is and what that means with her large Cuban American family. Tell It To Me SInging is a journey of what it means to be family and how understanding where you came from can help you decide which way you are going.

This was a fun read, especially if you come from a family of recent immigrants. But everyone can enjoy Monica's exploration of the secrets her mom lets loose before her surgery. The description makes the book seem a little deeper than it is, but it is still a fund read.

A telenovela within a telenovela, Tell It to Me Singing by Tita Ramirez is a roller coaster of family drama, the Cuban revolution, and motherhood that is an absolute page turner. Full of secrets and confessions, Monica Campo is pregnant with her first child when, moments before being wheeled into emergency heart surgery, her mother confesses a long-held Monica’s father is not the man who raised her. Written with loveable characters, this book was easy to read with a quick pace and plenty of plot twists to keep me guessing how Monica’s story would end. Despite some of the heavier ideas within this book, comedy was a perfect way to lighten the mood and Ramirez does an excellent job of adding humor in the most unexpected ways and with perfect timing. If you’re looking for fun family drama about motherhood, secrets and lovers Tell It to Me Singing by Tita Ramirez is a must read.

This was an enjoyable read. The storyline was engaging. The relationships were interesting and believable. I enjoyed learning more about the Cuban-American experience.

Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading Guide 2024
This was adorable and absolutely delightful! I’m so glad I picked this book. When Anne Bogel describes a novel as a telenovela in book form, I know it's meant for me. Tell It to Me Singing is indeed a telenovela in book form, but it's also so much more. This book can be classified as historical fiction and a family drama. I knew next to nothing about the Cuban Revolution, the counter-revolution, or the Bay of Pigs, and I found myself Googling and learning as I read Mirta's tale.

Monica's mother, Mirta, is about to undergo open-heart surgery, and right before they wheel her back, she reveals a shocking secret to Monica: her dad is not her biological father. This revelation propels Monica into a quest to uncover family secrets and her mother's connections to the Cuban Counter-Revolution.

Tell It to Me Singing has it all: romance, historical fiction, and an intricate exploration of a complex family. I loved this one! Fans of Jane the Virgin will enjoy it too.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of Tell It to Me Singing.

Pero Like: I LOVED it.

Bias: I’m a Cuban American veteran who grew up in Hialeah (IYKYK).

This book was everything Miami (shout out to La Vaquita). If you liked Jane the Virgin, you will love this book.

A mother daughter story set in Miami 2012 with secrets, affairs, Cuban counterrevolutionaries - which upend everything in Monica's life when her mother makes a confession before open heart surgery. Do we really know our parent's lives before us?? As the saying goes, “Lo que se hace en la oscuridad siempre sale a la luz!” (What’s done in the dark always comes to light)

Maybe it’s the heat that makes people in the 305 unhinged, but I can tell you that every insane thing that happened in this book is completely plausible to me.

For example, my mom ran away from home to get her grandfather from Cuba during El Mariel. My dad went to find her and did some trickery to get to the Red Cross to find her. I think we (Cubans) ALL have stories like these. It's the combination of obstinate stubbornness under patriarchal rule which leads to rebellion. I myself didn't tell my family I joined the Navy until after I signed all the papers.

Drama, telenovela, chisme it’s the sazón in our picadillo. It’s funny, turmoil, and action packed. I lost sleep to finish this book, which is the highest honor I can bestow.


Cover Art: STUNNING. I’m buying the hardcover just to look at it (and so my mom can read it).

Lastly, as a physician, I was IMPRESSED that all the medical aspects were accurate. Wepa!

🦎Mother daughter dynamics
🦎Family Secrets
🦎Love triangle
🦎Second chance love
🦎Veteran mental health
🦎Survivor guilt
🦎One Bed
🦎Spanglish
🦎Iguanas

Thank you @netgalley, @_simonelement and @marysueruccibooks for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. #bookmom #cubansbelike #latinasreadtoo #miami #bookstagrammer #305 #arcreader #netgalley