Don’t Date Rosa Santos

Nina Morenos debut, Dont Date Rosa Santos, perfectly blends romance and family in a coming of age story infused with heart and magic. In the small town of Port Coral, people have always whispered about the Santos women. How Milagro came from Cuba with a newborn babe and a face full of grief, having lost her husband at sea. The babe in turn grew up, fell in love with a sailor and he too was swept away, leaving a young Liliana heartbroken and pregnant. Rosa grew up hearing how the Santos women are cursed by the sea, how it takes from them the ones they love too much. As Rosa grapples with impending decisions about her future, her mother and grandmothers grief continues to press in on her. And if Rosa isnt careful, a new resident to Port Coral, a boy with a boat and a quiet smile, could once again spell tragedy for the Santos women.

Moreno does so many things well in her debut. Not only do her characters feel real, but the town of Port Coral feels like a living breathing world. Its easy to fall in love with this towns sights, sounds, and smells. From Mimis home, Rosas grandmother, to the towns marina, every place feels like it could and does exist in the real world. Moreno first and foremost most builds this small town around its people. As Rosa navigates her hometown, readers are introduces to a myriad of locals, each bringing something unique to the narrative and forming the personality of Port Coral. I loved every single minor character in this one from the viejitos who make it their mission to spread chisme around town to the Peas, Rosas best friends family, who own the local bodega, a place where people and food come together and which feels like the heart of Port Coral.

Much of the novel explores peoples ties to their homeland. For Mimi, Cuba is a part of her past. Having left during a time of political upheaval, so many of her memories of it are tied to traumatic events. For Rosa, Cuba is a safe she doesnt know the combination to, but which holds the answers to who she is. Rosa is a product of diaspora, stuck between two worlds and not knowing if she is enough for either. So much of Rosas plans are tied up in Cuba, as she longs for the home shes never known but one that feels etched onto her bones. To Rosa, Cuba is the key to healing her family, to mending the ties between daughter and mother. Its a link to her past as well as who she will be in the future, but its never felt quite within her grasp like it does when she is presented with an opportunity to study in Havana.

I really loved exploring the mother-daughter relationships in this novel. Liliana has been dealing with her grief by constantly moving, leaving Rosa to be raised by her mother. Every interaction between Liliana and Mimi is filled with tension. Grief, resentment, disappointed are present in every word they exchange. Rosa is caught in the middle, between a woman she is too afraid to ask to stay and one she is too afraid to disappoint. Navigating this family isnt easy when there are wounds in their pasts that each are too afraid to revisit. Family traumas have been swept under the rug, keeping the pain too raw and too fresh, even decades later.

Dont Date Rosa Santos is one of those rare novels that breaks your heart and begins to heal it all within the same chapter. Its emphasis on family, friendship, and community coupled with a touch of brujera, makes it one of the most touching and magical reads Ive ever had the pleasure of picking up.

Dont Date Rosa Santos is a story about a 3 generations of women as they deal with a family curse. Being cursed by the sea isnt easy, especially when your grandfather and father both suffered from the curse. Growing up with everyone in her town aware of it, Rosa avoided the sea, even if she lived in a coastal Florida town. When the marina is threatened, though, she comes together with her community to save it.

This story definitely hit close to home because I can see a lot of myself and my family in it. Rosa wants to learn about her Cuban heritage, but neither her mother or her grandmother want to ever discuss it. The only way she can think of finding out more is to do a study aboard in Cuba, but she knows her grandmother would never want her to do that. I loved the way it reflected the life of many Cuban Americans, hinting on the fact that sometimes we worry that we dont feel or know enough of what our parents/grandparents went through. Some of us cant even speak passable Spanish.

I also really adored the romantic interest, Alex. He isnt the typical alpha male bad boy. Hes quiet and has tattoos. Hes dropped out of college and lives on a boat, but he also bakes and has a close relationship with his family. He supports Rosa in achieving her dreams but also pushes her to do things outside of her comfort zone.

Overall, this was a cute, contemporary read from an #ownvoice author. If you enjoyed To All the Boys Ive Loved Before or Sarah Dessens books, youll probably like this one.

The tagline is “Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls” and I would say that is spot on! This is a generational story about family, the choices that form us, a little bit of magic and lots of love. The perfectly imperfect kind that connects all the mismatched pieces of our lives together.

While there is a really cute romance in this story, that isn’t what our main focus in on. Rosa is about to be a new high school grad, who is wrapping up her two year college degree at the same time. She thinks she knows what she wants to do next but things are turning out to be not so simple. Wiith family curses and small town drama galore, we get a complex and beautiful story filled with lots of ups and downs. So much of what our Cuban-American family is dealing with is so relevant to issues we are dealing with today. The characters are raw and full of life. The culture is rich enough to taste and the romance is sweet. This was an emotional and rewarding read that I think is going to make my top books of 2019 list.

DON’T DATE ROSA SANTOS is everything. Nina Moreno crafts a beautifully written love letter to Cuba through Rosa Santos. I was initially gripped by the premise and the cover, but once I started reading, the Rosa’s voice and the nuanced depiction of exile, family, and grief completely hooked me. Though I’m not Cuban, I am Latinx and daughter of immigrants, and I connected deeply with Rosa’s desire to know Cuba, her heritage. Moreno’s characters are well drawn out, Cape Coral is the charming beach town I want to live in, and the complicated relationship between the Santos women is everything. I loved this book SO MUCH. If you prefer audiobooks, the audio version of DON’T DATE ROSA SANTOS is great, too!

This book, upon hearing the synopsis, sounded like a typical YA. Instead, it turned out to be so much more. Although I am not Latinx, I still loved reading this story which focused on family, food, and fun. There was a love story, which I adored, but that was far from all that happened in this novel. At its core this story is about family and finding yourself when you are lost. It is just…. Wonderful! I am so glad I read it! Somehow I think there’s something in it for everyone, regardless of who you are.

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