Return to Love

Laguna Island #0.5

by Leonor Soliz

Traveling across the country in close quarters with my sexy, sweet best friend is proving too tempting to resist. But I can’t risk losing the one person who’s my true home.

When tragedy wrecked my life and I left town to drive across North America and find myself, texting with my childhood friend became my anchor.

Two years later, I’m finally ready to go back to my small town… and Joel drops everything to keep me company on the last stretch of my journey. Two big people, cozy in my tiny home, driving through half the continent.

If only seeing him in person again didn’t stir my feelings in the scariest ways. If his dark hair and intense eyes didn’t make me want to climb him like a tree. If it weren’t so clear he wants me, too. Then maybe we wouldn’t be tempted to become a couple and risk what we have.

But his friendship is too important. I can’t let these feelings break us. Nothing can come between us, not even romance.

Return To Love is a short friends to lovers, road trip romance. Both characters are Latine and fat, and the story includes open door spice and the Only One Bed trope.

Content Warnings:
Sexually explicit content
Use of swears and coarse words
Mention of parents dying in a car accident (no great detail, grief mostly resolved)

Genres: Romance, Plus Size, Novella

Kindle Edition

First published August 10, 2023

About the author

Leonor wrote her first Meet Cute at eight years old and never really stopped. Her stories are cozy and fun: low conflict, slow burn books that will make you swoon... and will reward you with great spice. With a healthy dose of humor, these stories guarantee a happily ever after to her plus size and multicultural characters.

Leonor is a Latina living in Canada, working as a therapist during the day and fitting as much writing to her life as she can. She’s also a multicrafter, trying her hand at watercolor, jewelry, sewing, and anything else that strikes her fancy. She makes her own covers!

Learn more about Leonor at leonorsoliz.com/links.

Reviews

[LaTosha Webber · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Really sweet and emotional friends to lovers novella. Mild humor. And wonderful plush size main characters. All the cozy romance vibes Soliz usually puts into her stories condensed down to a quick and easy read.

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet. Love to see it.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this coziness of these two. Love the steamy-ness in the camper of these two.

[Andreia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a perfect short-story of friends to lovers, with a lot of pining, great fat and latine representation, and the Only One Bed trope, which always gets me, I'm not gonna lie.
Ami and Joel where great characters, and eventhough this is so short, there was enough development of each other and their dynamic, for us to connect with the characters and root for them.
Each story I read by Leonor Soliz has me wanting more, so I will definitely keep following her work!

[Kit · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be my favorite novella so far this year. It was exactly the right length for the story that the author had to tell. While I loved it so much that I would love to stay in the tale for another 100 pages, I also think that the length fit the narrative perfect. It was sweet. It was warm. The pacing was perfect. I loved all the tropes and it didn't have any of the tropes I hate. I don't want to say too much and spoil things, so I will just say that this is the first Leonor Soliz book I've read and if this is representative of her larger body of work, I'll be reading a lot more of it. I loved the positive, sexy representation of larger bodies. It was matter of fact and hot and beautiful.

[Marisol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This heartfelt short story follows Ami and Joel, childhood best friends with a bond deeper than they ever admitted. After the tragic death of her parents, Ami left her hometown two years ago, leaving behind her family and Joel—the boy who’s always been there for her.
When a broken-down RV threatens her journey back to Laguna Island, Joel doesn’t hesitate—he flies out to drive with her. What starts as a road trip quickly turns into something more, as old wounds heal, hidden feelings rise to the surface, and friendship begins to blur into love.
It’s a tender, emotional short read full of nostalgia, second chances, and the courage it takes to finally come home.

[Weekend Reader_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joel said I'm not letting my woman be stuck in the wilderness without me. Ami might not have known she would be his woman but he did. The man dropped everything when she was temporarily stranded. I love a friends to lovers and I love it even more when the stars align and we move from texting buddies to handle me roughly. I wanted a few more days but this short was just enough to want me to go back to Laguana Island.

I received this short from the author via the newsletter.

CN: car accident, grief, starting over

[H-A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Return to Love by Leonor Soliz

I blooming love a novella. Sometimes you just want something short and sweet to get you excited about reading again and this did not disappoint. I am unendingly impressed with the emotional depth, yearning and tension this book achieved in so few pages.

Ami and Joel were wonderful as a duo and the relationship between them was so natural, it was a pleasure to read.

(Spicy too of course 😉)

Well worth a read and the author is generous enough to give it out for free when you sign up to her newsletter!

Thank you 💕
4.5 ⭐️
🌶️🌶️

[Sandra Blasco · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story is utterly perfect. It's cozy and sweet. In these few pages I was craving for Ami and Joel, they are sooo cute and I love them sooo much. I was giggling and kicking my feet the whole time at the tension between them🤭

Seriously, I feel like I had the time to get to know them for 300 pages instead of in a short story. The pacing of the book is also perfect🤌🏻

I would have liked to have seen something of their first year of relationship but this is my wish it was longer. This doesn't stop the book from being a 5⭐ 😌

🌶️1/5

[Cassie cover2covertx · Rating 5 out of 5]

A road trip romance AND childhood friends to lovers? This had some of my most favorite tropes in it and of course because it was a Leonor Soliz book, I zipped through it so fast (even for a novella 😝). I always love her amazing fat representation and this time we got it in both main characters!! I can’t wait to read more from the characters of Laguna Island. :)

[Sofia (Bookish Wanderess) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love friends to lovers and this one delivered. The characters had so much chemistry and the steamy scenes were really good. I had some small issues with the writing but nothing that prevented me from enjoying this. It was my first story by Leonor Soliz but it won’t be the last.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s a cute little novella. I’m not the biggest fan of friends to lovers, but it was still cute.

[Slenchabela · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

[Shannon (That's So Poe) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet friends to lovers romance with great connection, chemistry, and communication!

[Karla · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 stars
2/5 spice

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a sweet friends to lovers novella, perfect quick palette cleanser. I absolutely loved the Latine representation for both Ami and Joel and the curvy representation for both the FMC and MMC. So often, one person is shown to be curvy and the other is all fit and cut and although swoonworthy I loved that this big burly bear Joel was shown some love as well. He volunteered to join on a road trip with Ami to get her back home safely from her dying vintage van. And the whole journey was just so adorable, sweet, and loved how their friendship was described to have blossomed leading up to this trip during their quick adventure, and the ending was just perfect.