I'm not normally one to pick up a contemporary romance, but this book was packed with heart, charm, and humor that wouldn't let you put it down. A brilliant debut from a wonderful person and new voice.

Thank you for the free book, Simon Teen—out January 14!

Amelia believes her family is cursed to never find love—so she embarks on a project to re-date her exes in order to become the perfect girlfriend.

Important disclaimer: I think I’m now at an age where I struggle a bit with contemporary YA romance, simply because I am well-past the age range and can no longer relate to the characters as well. For that reason, I’ve tried to keep this review objective and relevant to the actual target audience (i.e., older teens and early twenties).

I really liked the concept of this one, and particularly loved the emphasis on family—both how supportive family can be and how important it is to find boundaries/remain your own person. The FMC is also Latina and her culture (particularly as it relates to cultural food) is important to the novel, which I appreciated.

The MMC, Leon, was an adorably sweet character and made for some super swoony moments throughout—I think the entire pig scene was one of my favorites (IYKYK), and there were many others! I was definitely rooting for them the whole way through, even if I was a bit frustrated by their decision making. I think those closer in age to the characters, in particular, might really love this one!

CW: Abandonment; parental neglect; fire

This was such a cute read, and extremely relatable. I loved the growth that Amelia experienced and I think everyone who has ever realized where they've gone wrong in life will love how realistic, sweet, and perfect this was.

Amelia Hernandez is cursed—every relationship in her family ends in disaster or running for the hills. Determined to break the cycle, she embarks on an “Ex Retrospective,” revisiting old flames to uncover her flaws and become the perfect girlfriend. But when she crosses paths with Leon, the ex who shattered her heart, the possibility for revenge and romantic sparks collide. Amelia’s quest for closure turns into a complicated journey of self-discovery, where learning to love herself might end up being the real way to break the curse.

Don’t be fooled by the synopsis and the focus on romance because, at its core, this story is all about family.

While Amelia is a wonderfully fleshed out, charismatic, and self-deprecating protagonist that you are going to adore following, it’s the intricate familial relations that make this book what it is: riveting to the core.

It was so refreshing to read about a household filled with badass women who all have their own drive and motivation and how that influenced Amelia’s self-image, not to mention her relationships with the women who have brought her up.

It’s no easy feat to make every character stand out even if they don’t get all that much page-time but Luz handled it really well.

The curse was a fun added quirk that just made the story feel more rounded. How do you break a never-ending cycle of romantic love lost when you have so much familial love to give and share at home? How do you forge your own path in the world without diminishing the achievements of those that came before you? It takes a talented writer to make a “curse” like this work in a contemporary novel and Luz nailed it on the head.

Indeed, by far my favourite part of the novel and undoubtedly where Luz’s talent shines the most is the realistic portrayal of balancing the love you have for your family with the responsibility you feel towards them, especially when everyone’s else’s expectations and vision for the next decades doesn’t mesh with what you have envisioned for your future.

Especially the ever-present dread and guilt that comes with wanting to break away from your familial obligation was so hard to read but also incredibly well-done.

Luz really stole my heart here. I’ve seen a lot of depictions of familial guilt that is always paired with wanting to escape your parents or your legacy obligations because you don’t love your family and that is absolutely not the case here. Amelia loves, appreciates and looks up to her family members so fiercely but also wants to break the cycle of living the lives everyone else has lived and see who she can be on her own. It’s so clear that Amelia values every relationship, from the ones to her sisters to those to her aunts, but she also wonders what her life would be like if she didn’t have to make herself fit within everyone’s expectations in that household. What holds her back for most of it is the fear of disappointing the people she looks up to more than anything. This intrinsic need to be independent while also fearing the repercussions of not following the path carved for her had my heart pounding multiple times.

It takes a certain level of talent and dedication to make this plotline keep you emotionally invested and Luz brings that to the table and more.

Of course, there’s also a whole lot of emotional turmoil when it comes to the romance aspect of this novel. In order to break the curse, Amelia tries to turn herself into the perfect girlfriend by revisiting past relationships—and ends up falling for the one person again who broke her heart years ago. Leon and Amelia have undeniable chemistry from the get go. Despite getting teased a lot with little tidbits of information about their break-up, it does take quite a while for that whole story to unravel. While I personally think the “secret” of why Leon left all those years ago was drawn out for a bit too long, the reveal shocked me nevertheless. I love me some meddling families stories because they always deliver on the drama but these women take that to a whole new level, which makes for an excellent reading experience and gave me patented telenovela “gasp-at-the-reveal-of-a-secret-villainy-twin” vibes for sure.

Despite it all, Leon is one of those guys you want your best friend to end up with, as in, if someone told me only half of the things that Leon does for Amelia in this novel (both in the past but also the present), I would just tell my friend to marry him immediately. Fans of “he fell first and he fell harder” are going to devour Leon’s displays of affection and hold their breaths to see whether these two can go the distance.

Altogether, there were some minor gripes I had with the story. For one, some of the scenes of the novel do not line up chronologically. To keep this somewhat spoiler-free, I’ll just say here that for example someone would confess their feelings to the other person but then the very next time they see each other one of the characters doesn’t have any recalling of that and acts like it’s brand-new information when the other character repeats it which left me feeling a) confused and b) like some scenes were perhaps slotted in at the wrong time. For another, I think there could have been a bit more exploration of the “dating your exes to become the perfect girlfriend” plotline. While the synopsis makes it seem like this will be an important part of the novel, it’s eschewed almost immediately after Amelia reconnects with Leon and for the most part relegated to quick recaps of the dates that happen off-page at the beginning of chapters. It was only picked up when it was convenient to the plot which was a pity. However, those are very small gripes that were probably fixed before publication and even with those minor issues, this book was nothing short of amazing.

Lovers of the “once I fix me, he’s gonna miss me” trope are going to fall head-over heels for Build a Girlfriend, an impeccable debut following a girl deep-diving into her dating history to break her family’s curse of tragic love affairs only to learn that loving herself might just be the real curse breaker.

Build a Girlfriend by Elba Luz is a fresh, thought-provoking story that blends sci-fi ingenuity with emotional depth. Luz explores themes of love, identity, and what it truly means to connect in a world of artificial perfection. Quirky, heartfelt, and layered with unexpected twists, this book is perfect for readers who enjoy speculative romance with a touch of humor and heart.

i really liked the vibes of this story, the motifs were cool, and all around i would recommend it. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

My favorite thing about this book (besides the fact that it had me in tears from laughing so hard) was the realistic portrayal of a teenage Latina that is struggling to balance the love and responsibility she feels towards her family with the desire to find a future of her own. It was so healing and refreshing to read a YA story where family (one filled with beautiful, badass women) is at the center, but more importantly, that we got to explore all the emotions and relationships that stem from it. This is the book I needed to have when I was a teenager, especially when I was about to go to college away from my Latinx family. Can’t wait for everyone to read it!

4.5 stars
I recently read "Build a Girlfriend" and I absolutely flew through it! I didn't even realize I had finished it until I turned the last page. I can see why this is such a promising debut novel. It is filled with fun characters, a witty plot, and incredible execution. It is heartwarming and cute, with a new concept that I really liked. I think everyone who loves a sweet romcom with messy characters will absolutely devour this book.

Amelia is Puerto Rican and pansexual and absolutely tired of being broken up with. Especially true when the guy who broke up with her two years prior reappears in her life. Amelia's sister hatches a plan to build Amelia into a perfect girlfriend by re-dating her exes. Meanwhile, Amelia is keeping a secret from her family.

Set against an incredibly chaotic cast of characters, Luz creates a fun and messy story about personal growth and standing your ground. This is a sweet romance with a lot of character. I love the way Amelia comes into her own, and I adore her familia. There's some weird pacing issue right in the middle, but it picks up again around in the last quarter. I had fun reading and would definitely recommend for upper YA audiences.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

What a fun debut romcom! This was so cute and refreshing--I binged it in a day. I loved the stress on familial and self love in addition to a romantic plotline. I will definitely read more books by this author.

I really enjoyed the romantic comedy element that I was looking for and was glad it was so well written. The overall story worked with the genre and was invested in what was happening. I was hooked from the first page and enjoyed getting to know all the cast of characters in this world. Elba Luz has a great writing style and was invested in everything.

I really enjoy how the main character is strong and determined. This book offers a fun and uplifting perspective for anyone who's dealt with a rocky relationship. It's all about love, finding yourself, and escaping those destructive cycles, all served with a dose of humor. There is also some LGBTQIA+ representation.