Author
Heat Factor: They keep holding themselves back…until they don’t.
Character Chemistry: Sebastian is too darn noble for his own good, which means there’s a lot of pining.
Plot: Paulina’s Evil Older Brother puts her in a compromising position with Sebastian, and then catches them there, and then throws Sebastian in jail until he agrees to marry Paulina…but what’s his long game???
Overall: A perfectly delicious category romance.
Arroyo Blanco, Book 1
Heat Factor: There’s a little bit of spice.
Character Chemistry: Well, she dunks him in a lagoon at their first meeting, so I think we’re off to a great start!
Plot: Emilia writes dirty stories under a pen name; Ruben writes scathing critiques of these stories under a pen name – and wants to write an exposé of the author. Banter and shenanigans ensue.
Overall: The set up is so strong, but the ending felt rushed.
In honor of Latinx Heritage Month, we’re highlighting awesome romances by Latinx authors that also feature Latinx characters. For the record, some of these books are our all-time favorites, and should be read any time you can get your hands on them.
Book titles link to Amazon.
Julia’s family is warm and loving and supportive…but they are far away in NYC when she is dumped in Texas after moving there with her then-boyfriend. At least she has her job–until the foundation’s future is put at risk by corporate cuts. Rocco is the consultant responsible for evaluating the foundation, and can easily see the enormous benefit to the community. However! If he votes to save the foundation, he loses his job as a consultant. This book features just a ton of healthy and truly sexy dynamics and the writing just leaps off the page.
Rep: Afro-Dominican author, Dominican-Puerto Rican heroine
Roxanne Medina needs to be in control. After all, that’s how she pulled herself from her humble beginnings and became a billionaire. But she also wants a baby, and she doesn’t want that baby to be saddled with all the baggage with which her childhood saddled her. What’s a billionaire to do? Buy a prince to use as a stud, of course! Lopez plays with gender roles and creates really interesting dynamics as these protagonists fall for each other and also rescue the hero’s bankrupted country.
Rep: Latinx author, heroine with Latinx heritage, hero from Spanish-speaking European monarchy
In the mood for a sexy work romance? Look no further! Marty and Jay have explosive chemistry, which they valiantly try to fight…until they don’t. There is a definite power differential between the protagonists (in terms of race, gender, class, and age, so we’ve got pretty much the whole shebang), and Polanco handles their negotiation of this dynamic particularly well.
Rep: Afro-Dominican author, Afro-Dominican heroine
Lina is doing just fine after being left at the altar, but she’s still a small business owner with small business owner concerns. So when the opportunity arises, she sets aside her antipathy toward her proposal partner – the almost-brother-in-law who she thinks convinced her fiance to bolt – in hopes of getting something better for herself when she wins the job at the end of the proposal. Little does she know that she’s also in the running for a totally awesome HEA. Also, there are a gazillion awesome Brazilian cultural references in this book.
Rep: Afro-Brazilian author, Afro-Brazilian heroine
PS: We seriously love us some Mia Sosa – here’s a quick and dirty primer we wrote about her books.
As many of Zapata’s heroine’s are, Sal Casillas is a hardworking woman from humble beginnings, the child of blue collar immigrant parents, but she’s also the best women’s soccer striker in the United States. When her childhood crush becomes her coach one season, she goes from unable to talk to him, to enraged by everything about him (talk about being let down by a personal hero!) to his best friend. Sal is fierce, and following her romance is kind of awesome.
Rep: Mexican-American author, Latinx heroine
PS: Mariana Zapata is the queen of slow burns. If slow burns are your jam, here’s more info on Zapata’s other books.
To round out our list, here’s a historical romance! Emilia Cruz, suffragette, helps to support her family by writing sensational stories under a pen name. Ruben Torres, rising literary star, pays the bills by running a gossip paper and writing mean literary reviews under a pen name. Of course, he is dying to expose the true author of these very naughty stories that have taken the island by storm…that is, until he actually gets to know Emilia (and gets over the fact that she has a tendency to push him into nearby bodies of water). Of course there are some shenanigans as everyone’s secret identity is revealed, but the characters and setting really shine.
Rep: Set on an imaginary island in the Spanish Caribbean. Latinx hero and heroine.
Looking for more Latinx romance? We kept this list to six, because of alliteration, but we made a longer list at Bookshop.org.
Do you have a favorite Latinx romance novel? Let us know what it is – especially if it’s not on our list! We’re always looking for recs!
The Smut Report 