Very mixed. At times has great energy. Concept is wonderful but not every character is equally strong. Great job getting across the idea of multiplicity of Latina identities. A fair amount of chichés. A few narrative dead-ends. Also quite a bit of offensive ideas and language. Much was "okay" when written but still seems awfully tone-deaf. ( )

An entertaining and enjoyable read about a group of friends navigating romantic struggles and professional problems while also dealing with varying Latina roots.

I do hope in the republication of the book, Ms. Valdes asked for the pejorative r-word to be excised. It felt jarring in an otherwise timeless-feeling novel. ( )

A little underwhelmed

I wanted to love this book. Being Hispanic myself (I’m basically Rebecca without the uptight ness and the claim to Spanish royalty. I’m native, I haven’t got any qualms about it) I was excited.

But I wasn’t. Most of the time I wanted to strangle whomever was talking fo being just a blatant asshole. I mean, some of these women are terrible people at some point in the book. I wanted to shake the shit out of Usnavys when she was in Rome for being an ungrateful witch.

I think this was meant to be like a Latin version of Sex in The City, but failed miserably.

With that said, I blew through it fast. It kept me engaged. I doubt I’ll pick up the sequel. But we shall see. ( )

My second attempt at reading this book failed again. It was part a lack of time and part I just didn't connect with any character to keep me fueled to read more. I really wanted to like this book as it's often cited as the start of ChicaLit (Chick Lit for Latinas). Then again, I don't really like Chick Lit either.

I enjoyed this book but when it finished I realized that I wanted more but it wasn't because I was so enchanted by these women and their lives, it was because Valdes-Rodriguez tried to do too much and just didn't have the room for it.

Each chapter is told from the pov of a different sucia. That device should have given the reader more insight into the world these women inhabit but it actually served to further separate them as it frequently talked about the lives they lead away from each other. Now, I liked all six women to varying degrees but I didn't get enough of them in the way I wanted. Less women would have worked better, maybe, because then the story would have been able to be more balanced.

Don't get me wrong, I liked this book a lot. I like the characters, I like their lives and their choices, I like their friendships. I also really liked the social issues that were a natural part of this book. Nothing was presented as if I was being lectured, but nothing was glossed over and made to be okay, either. There are things all these women have to deal with that come from being Latina and that's just the way it is. It was nice to read something that approached these issues honestly.

The book takes place in Boston which, to be honest, was why I bought it. I've read criticisms of the book that say it presents Boston as less liberal than it is, and I think those criticisms are wrong. Yeah, sure, we're liberal, but that doesn't mean there aren't problems, because there are, and what these women run into seemed very appropriate to me. ( )