APRIL 2019 - AudioFile
Narrator Sean Crisden wraps listeners in the warmth of food truck owner Nesto Vasquez, whose Dominican heritage inspires his delicious Afro-Caribbean food. Nesto parks his truck opposite the Ithaca Library and strikes immediate sparks with librarian Jude Fuller. Both men have to balance work priorities and family baggage before they get their sweet and steamy happily-ever-after. Crisden contrasts Nesto’s rolling Spanish accent with Jude’s earnest personality for a charming opposites-attract story. Nesto’s mother and friends and Jude’s Dominican-American friend, Carmen, each have distinct personalities through Crisden’s voicings. Crisden highlights the couple’s extensive relationship-building as well as their intense intimate moments. Listeners will be caught up in the emotional sincerity of Herrera’s memorable romance. C.A. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2019 Best Audiobook © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
01/28/2019
Herrera’s entertaining first Dreamers romance is fueled by love, community, and plenty of Afro-Caribbean food. Ernesto Vasquez has one dream: to sell Afro-Caribbean cuisine out of his food truck. After struggling to turn a profit in his hometown of New York City, Nesto follows his mother’s advice to move his business upstate to Ithaca, where there’s less competition. There he finds instant success and an instant crush in the form of blond, Spanish-speaking librarian Jude Fuller. After a slow start, Nesto and Jude embark on an adorable, delicious foray into hapless romance. The story is full of memorable, outlandish characters who leap off the page, including Nesto’s “queer brown” best friends from the Bronx, who inspire and champion him along the way; his loving, no-nonsense Dominican mamí; and Jude’s meddling foodie of a best friend. The food descriptions are mouthwatering and the relationships ring with authenticity, but the flat, cartoonish antagonist robs the otherwise realistic romance of some of its hard-won satisfaction. Nonetheless, it’s sure to excite fans of contemporary foodie romances. Agent: Linda Camacho, Gallt & Zacker. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
[Adriana Herrera] is writing some of my favorite Afro-Latinx characters and giving us beautiful love stories along the way.” —New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo
"A delicious debut." —Suzanne Brockmann, New York Times bestselling author
"Herrera not only dishes up plenty of muy caliente same-sex love scenes in her impressive, not-to-be-missed debut, which beautifully celebrates the rich diversity of life in the U.S., but she also excels at creating the kind of emotional connections between her protagonists that romance readers will find irresistible." —Booklist, starred review
"Herrera's entertaining first Dreamers romance is fueled by love, community and plenty of Afro-Caribbean food... An adorable delicious foray into hapless romance." —Publishers Weekly
“A fresh and vital new voice in romance.”—Entertainment Weekly
"A really impressive debut with heart, brain, and vibrant characters. I'm looking forward to the next story." —KJ Charles, bestselling author of The Magpie Lord
"For a debut, Adriana Herrera has absolutely smashed it out of the park with American Dreamer. [...] What I was really impressed with though, was the depth of emotion from both characters. It's not always easy to engage with characters' issues or fears without it becoming a heavier read - even in romance - but Herrera manages this skilfully, making me laugh and cry by turns." —The Pink Heart Society
"...you WILL want to the first in your book group to know about this rising new talent." —Nicole Kimberling, Lambda Literary Award-winning author
