From the Bookshelf of Q&A with Josh Lanyon…

American Dreamer (Dreamers #1)

Adriana Herrera

Start date: August 1, 2020

Finish date: August 31, 2020

Discussion: Book of the Month Club

Why we're reading this: This will be our August 2020 read!
[close] This will be our August 2020 read!

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Book of the Month Club

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What Members Thought

Feb 07, 2019 Ami rated it really liked it

Shelves: mm-romance-or-erotica, mm-contemporary, arc-books

WARNING: This book will make you feel hungry for a taste of Carribean/Dominican foods!! And if you live ten thousand miles away, like me, you're basically screwed

Ernesto "Nesto" Vasquez's dream is to introduce and to sell Afro-Carribean cuisine to people outside of Big Apple. Nesto packs his food truck, OuNYe, and heads to Ithaca, New York, to get his dream off the ground. Librarian Jude Fuller also has a dream to launch mobile library project, to bring books to rural kids who may not have acces ...more

28 likes · Like · see review

Mar 20, 2019 Chris, the Dalek King rated it liked it

Shelves: love-bytes, mc-pairing-mm, restaurants-and-drinks, owned-ebook-or-audio, contemporary, bookshops-libraries-museums

It’s not quite starting over, but moving out of NY to open his food-truck business in Ithaca sure is a new chapter in Ernesto’s life. But he has the support of his family, and a certainty that his Dominican food will be different enough to make his dreams, if not come true, at least have a better shot at growing past the already crowded confines that is New York City. And, despite a few rough patches, it actually is working. For his business, as well as his dating life. At least the none-to-subt ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Aug 17, 2021 Jax added it · review of another edition

Shelves: lgbtq, series, not-rated

I was finding this dull and then the first bit of intimacy was a turn off. (Not a fan of “dirty talk” or using ‘baby’ so fast.) DNF @32%

3 likes · Like · see review

Mar 02, 2019 Didi rated it liked it

Shelves: romance, m-m, series, contemporary, arc-netgalley-edelweiss, new-to-me-author, interracial-multicultural, lqbtqia

3.5 Stars

Get ready to salivate over some really yummy-sounding dish in Adriana Herrera’s upcoming release, “American Dreamer” - the first installment to her brand new series which centered around four best-friends.

This book introduced us to Nesto Vasquez who left NYC to start his Afro-Carribean food truck at Ithaca, a college town in Upstate New York (I wouldn’t even try to list down the dish his food truck served, they sound so delish!!). His biggest distraction came in the form of Jude Fuller 3.5 Stars

Get ready to salivate over some really yummy-sounding dish in Adriana Herrera’s upcoming release, “American Dreamer” - the first installment to her brand new series which centered around four best-friends.

This book introduced us to Nesto Vasquez who left NYC to start his Afro-Carribean food truck at Ithaca, a college town in Upstate New York (I wouldn’t even try to list down the dish his food truck served, they sound so delish!!). His biggest distraction came in the form of Jude Fuller, one of the directors at the county public library. But they mashed beautifully despite of (or more aptly because of) the differences between them; and despite obstacles, it didn’t take long for the men to give everything to make things go right for each other.

Yummy food aside, “American Dreamer” is an interesting read, whisking together playful and profound moments, steamy and emotional, with a pair of arresting MCs at the center of it. The plot not only revolved on romance between Jude and Nesto, but also touched on quite a number of issues such as bigotry, family, privilege, and abuse of power, which are so relevant to present-day situation. This made the book enjoyable as well as serving as food for thought.

That said, I felt Jude and Nesto’s romance to be a bit disconnected. Perhaps it’s the many issues hurdling at both men made the relationship development taking a step back to make room for other problems. Even their alternate POVs which include either Jude or Nesto’s thought and feeling toward one another left me feeling there’s a lack of oomph there. But hey, perhaps that’s the point the author wanted to make: how the (professional) priority could get in the way of things! On another note, I especially loved the intimate relationship between Nesto and his extended family (that included the best friends); even if I struggled over the Spanish lines thrown so cassually here and there in this book. :) Personally I’d prefer there’d be some sort of glossaries or - idk - translation(?) of the Spanish lines for non-speaker like me.

For a newbie to Herrera’s writings, “American Dreamer” really sold me to look up more of her works. That includes the next books in the series that would tell each of Nesto’s best friends’s stories. I’m not gonna miss it for the world!

Advanced copy of this book is kindly given by the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 04, 2019 Nicole rated it it was amazing

A wonderfully relatable love story, with great characters and food and family placed front and center. American Dreamer is the most fun I've had reading a debut novel in quite some time. I can only hope that Herrera continues sharing her world with us. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 26, 2019 Grace rated it really liked it

Shelves: mm-romance, mm-smut, mm-poc-mc

Really solid and enjoyable read!

I super appreciated the inclusivity here and I thought the author did a really brilliant and thoughtful job with the POC characters. Nesto and Jude were lovely, with a really sweet connection, and the side-characters were also brilliant and really well fleshed out. I thought the plot was interesting and engaging, and though I felt like the evolution of feelings was perhaps a little fast, overall it worked out well. The issues between them were really believable an ...more

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Mar 23, 2019 Susinok rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, contemporary, glbt

Excellent!

This was an excellent multicultural romance. I lived Nesto and his friends. Jude's family was heartbreaking. I look forward to more books like this. ...more

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May 10, 2019 Betsy rated it really liked it

Shelves: culinary

Really, what's not to like? A hot chef and a hot librarian. I loved the found family, as well as one of the families of origin. I thought the handling of the non-accepting family was thoughtful and realistic. I want all the food. Just as I learned terms by context in Regency novels (reticule, anyone?) I now find myself picking up Spanish, and I learned a little about Dominican experience in the US. ...more

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