Gabriela Águila-Gutierrez has never met a man she didn’t hate. Every relationship she’s ever had has ended in disaster, and that’s fine by her. Her energy is better dedicated to her familia and their rancho. So, when an arrogant CEO arrives with an offer to buy Los Corazones, she’ll do everything in her power to prevent their empire from falling into his rich, rude, and incredibly hot, hands.
Francisco de los Santos has never taken on a challenge he couldn’t win. When he wants something, he’ll do whatever it takes to get it. That includes buying Los Corazones. It doesn’t matter that the rancho’s beautiful and volatile eldest daughter is trying to thwart him at every turn. He refuses to give up.
When the owner demands he prove himself worthy of the rancho, Francisco is willing to play cowboy. With Gabriela forced to show him the ropes, their rivalry takes on a life of its own. Hatred becomes attraction. Attraction becomes passion. And passion becomes a danger to both their futures… and the fate of Los Corazones forever.
Jade Hernández is a proud Mexican-American woman who strives to bring more Latinx stories to life within the contemporary romance genre. You may know her as Aleera Anaya Ceres, the USA Today Bestselling Author of diverse fantasy and paranormal works. Under this new penname, she aims to represent her culture by writing sweet, dark, gritty, and fun stories for all. As an introvert, Jade prefers to stay inside with a good book, collect tarot cards, and she's recently found a love for book boxes! She currently lives in Tlaxcala, Mexico with her husband and children.
Thank you so much to Jade Hernandez for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This was SO MUCH FUN!! I've been waiting for the next book in the Los Corazones series after loving Junior and Mayda's love story in Learn to Love You in 2023. I loved how Jade wrote about Junior's family in LTLY, and the same definitely carried into Hate to Love You. This book in particular follows Junior's sister and Mayda's best friend, Gabriela, who is stubborn, fierce, and knows exactly what she wants. She loves to be in control, like all eldest daughters, but also like all eldest daughters, she's hanging on by a thread trying to take care of everyone in her family. I loved watching Gabriela and Francisco butt heads on the rancho and see Francisco eventually win Gabriela's heart. Their bickering and "pranks" they'd play on each other back-and-forth were very entertaining.
More than anything though, I love how unapologetically Mexican this book is. It really warmed my heart to see Gabriela's family speak Spanish freely, carry on so many Mexican traditions, and have little quirks that lots of families of color can relate to without over-explaining to the reader. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a Latine romance not set in America with lots of heat and heart!
Thank you to Amor en Paginas PR and the author for the e-ARC.
Ten Things I Hate About You but give it Latine flair. I'm torn on the second book in the Rancho Los Corazones series. Overall, the story is enjoyable, with delightful tension and antics between Gabi and Francisco, and an honest depiction of the weight some of us eldest daughters carry on our shoulders. To their credit, Hernandez goes to great lengths to paint Saint Enterprises, and especially Francisco and Cesar - their C-suite, in a favorable light. These guys are GOOD private equity investors! They don't overleverage their acquisitions and extract all the capital before leaving them to rot! Missed opportunity to make it a social enterprise. Some of the "white business men bad" rhetoric was a bit heavy handed. Identity politics don't make your capitalist interests more noble (see my review for My Fair Senor if you need an example of that).
But, there are some plot inconsistencies and discrepancies that had me scratching my head: - Place setting: Having read Learn to Love You and listened to/read interviews with the author, the series is supposed to take place in Mexico but that is never made explicitly clear in the text. The response from the Aguila-Gutierrez family of "we thought you were gringos" is followed by an explanation that Francisco and Cesar grew up outside of Chicago, which adds to the confused place setting. The Rancho is an hour outside of "the city." This needs to be anchored more securely. - Thirst traps, why?!: How in the world do thirst traps serve to humanize a company CEO? How exactly does this promote an empathetic response from your followers? Thirst traps encourage objectification, and this seems at odds with the intention behind them. - Crossover: The epilogue included the incongruous insertion of a character from Hernandez's Raven Brothers dark romance series. I love an easter egg as much as the next romance reader, but this felt forced and slightly awkward. - Pacing: The story pacing was, at times, too slow for me.
Mhm... Mhm... Mhm... Francisco gets a pass because he's willing to crawl. In a world full of good girls be the good boy you want to see in the world or however the saying goes. 10 Things I Hate About You imprinted on me at a highly impressionable age, so I was legally obligated to eat this up. Hate to Love You is a solid follow up to one of my beloved favs. From the second these two walked onto the page and into each other, I was buckled in for the ride. It's hard to thread the needle in a hate to love romance in a way that makes the romance tension filled and believable at the same time, but I think Jade Hernandez just gets it. I'm a sucker for she hates him and he's just along for the ride books. Let me tall y'all Francisco WANTS her to be mean to him and I'm so there for it.
I love smut. I love specifically when it's a tool to make the characters see something they've been missing about each other. For Gabi, she's constantly been let down by the men she's been in relationships with. They don't want her to take charge or guide them in any way, and historically they don't care about her boundaries. Francisco is different; outside of being a VERY good boy who's more than willing to please ;) he's all in on the boundaries she sets with him. Even and especially when he wants more. God, their break up is going to live rent free in my mind for decades, because you know he doesn't want it the whole time. These two have more chemistry in their pinky fingers than my sophomore year Chemistry class had in a whole year.
I'm keen to see how Los Corazones adjusts to the changes Saint Enterprises will bring. Again, don't call yourself a lover of westerns, cowboy romances if you're not reading them from BIPOC authors. Quick where do cowboys originate from?
My only complaints: 1. Fuck ethical rich people. A thirst trap would never work on me. 2. The Águila-Gutierrez family during the third act break up and really any conflict because tell me why it's always Gabriela's fault (burnt out eldest daughters deserve the biggest break)
🌵Okay, I think I just found another author I need to keep reading because I absolutely loved book 1, but book 2? WOW. I loved the story, the plot, the characters, and the pacing!
From the very beginning, this book pulls you in, starting with the way Gabriela and Francisco meet. But what really made this story for me were the characters, especially Gabriela. She is such a badass! I absolutely love her personality, the way she reacts to things, and how she never holds back or stays quiet. She's definitely an explosive character, but underneath all that fire, she has such a beautiful heart and is always there for the people she loves.
And Francisco... what can I say? I honestly never expected him to be like this. That man was 🔥🔥!
But one of the things I loved most was seeing how hard both of them fought for what they wanted and how determined they were to make things happen, even when things got difficult. (Gabriela es otra cosa) They never gave up on their dreams or on the people they loved, and I really admired that about them. I also loved how naturally their romantic relationship develops. The chemistry, the progression, everything just felt right.
I really enjoyed Gabriela's character development, and seeing the camaraderie and support between the characters made this story even more special. La Familia Águila Gutierrez se a convertido en una de mis favoritas.
I'm already dying to get my hands on book 3! I need more of this series! ❤️
Thank you to the author and Amor En Paginas PR for the eARC
This book has become my latest obsession. Jade Hernández did something beautiful with this book. Hernández celebrates Mexican culture loudly and proudly. We get to see family dynamics, weight bearing for the eldest daughter, and how deeply rooted caretaking with the best intentions can lead to tension.
Hernández really speaks to the hearts of the eldest daughters with this story. My heart hurt for Gabi and the immense imposed and self-imposed weight that she carried. Francisco has also had to navigate business and the corporate world as a BIPOC man, which has come with its own set of struggles. The empowerment behind Francisco's journey was very encouraging. The story digs deep in many ways, and I enjoyed how Hernandez approached this while allowing for a very fun story to come to life. The relationship between Gabriella and Francisco was very playful, which was delightful.
I could rave about this story for much longer, but If you loved Learn To Love You, I'm sure you'll have a great time with Hate To Love You.
A couple who bickers then f*cks it out has got to be my top fav of all the tropes. And this Latine cowgirl x rich AF entrepreneur, 10 Things I Hate About You coded romance absolutely delivered! This was such a great time and I didn’t want to put this book down.
Right from their meet-disaster Gabriela is making Francisco work for it and he LOVES it. He is more than willing to take the energy she is giving, like down on his knees crawling for it. The spice was spicing!
There was also plenty of care taking and super sweet moments as Francisco tried to convince Gabriela that his intentions were good. And honestly, she’s not wrong for thinking he and his bank account are up to something when it comes to her family rancho. I was right there with her wondering if he really was as good as he claimed!
This is the second in a series but I read it as a standalone and that worked for me (big spoilers for book one MCs tho, so ymmv). My first by this author and I can’t wait to read more!
Thank you to the author for an eARC. All opinions are my own.
Oh baby this was so good!! I thought I loved Jade after reading Learn to Love You but Hate to Love You just intensified that and absolutely deserved the 5 stars I’m rating it!
The tension between Gabriella and Francisco was off the charts! The saying “there’s a thin line between love and hate” was never more appropriate and everyone could tell but them haha.
My heart hurt for Gabi though. She had so much on her shoulders and yet it was clear the only one to really see her was Francisco.
I love that Jade doesn’t translate the Spanish used in her stories. It’s easy enough to use the Kindle app or Google translate to work out what’s being said and it feels more natural imo. Plus I get to learn dirty talk in Spanish hahaha.
Hate to Love You was absolutely worth the wait and I’m excited for everyone to read it!! I also need book 3 pronto even though this one isn’t even out yet. Jade just has such a way with words and I’m so invested in the Águila-Gutierrez family.
Thank you to the author for the eARC! We are back at El Rancho Los Corazones for Gabi and Francisco’s story. This is the second book of an interconnected series; it can be read as a standalone but best enjoyed if you read the first one.
The Queen of Spanish dirty talk has done it once again! And I’m not talking about just the dirty talk, the character development, the banter, and the tension. This book gave “10 Things I Hate About You” vibes and I loved everything about it. From the first encounter disaster to the CEO turn cowboy, and the pranks they played on one another. The banter between Gabi and Francisco was hilarious. What I did enjoy the most is seeing how Francisco always put Gabi before him. She built up walls, not only from experience, but from family expectations as the first born as well. And Francisco didn’t waver; he kept showing up for her and determined to make it known he was all in. Absolutely recommend and can’t wait for the next book in this series!
IF YOU HAVE READ LEARN TO LOVE YOU AND YOU LOVED IT YOUR ARE GOING TO LOVE HATE TO LOVE YOU! YOU GET TO FOLLOW ALONG AND SEE GABRIELA’S STORY NEXT!
SINCE I STARTED READING HATE TO LOVE YOU I KNEW I WAS GOING TO LOVE IT! GABRIELA WAS MY FAVORITE I FELT SO MUCH CONNECTION TO HER AND I FELT SEEN! GABRIELA IS SUCH A CHARACTER YOU CAN EASILY FALL INLOVE WITH ALL THE ENERGY SHE GIVES OFF. SHE’S FULL OF LOVE UNDERNEATH HER ELDEST SISTER SHIELD. FRANCISCO MY MAN I LOVED HOW HIM AND GABRIELA HAD SUCH AMAZING CHEMISTRY. EVEN WITH THE FORCED PROXIMITY BETWEEN GABRIELA & FRANCISCO IT HAD ME SO INVESTED. I FELT LIKE I BACK TO MY YOUNGER SELF WHEN I WOULD WATCH NOVELAS WITH MY ABUELITA. YOU GET BANTER, YOU GET CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, FORCED PROXIMITY & ENEMIES TO LOVERS
💖 Hate to Love You by Jade Hernandez 💖 Book 2 in the El Rancho Los Corazones series
I absolutely LOVED everything about this one!
We have a grumpy x sunshine romance, except SHE'S the grumpy one, and he absolutely LOVES when she's mean to him. 🤭😂
Francisco is a millionaire who Gabriela considers a pretentious snob. He's determined to merge with or purchase Rancho Los Corazones, and Gabriela will do EVERYTHING in her power to stop him.
The banter between these two? HILARIOUS! Their back-and-forth had me entertained the entire time. And can we talk about the Spanish dialogue?! 🥵🥵 Because WOW!
Francisco and Gabriela had me hooked from beginning to end.
⭐ 5 STARS! ⭐
Absolutely recommend! If you love grumpy heroines, a man who enjoys pushing her buttons, and plenty of entertaining banter, add this one to your TBR! 💖
Thank you so much Jade for my advance readers copy!!!!! I can't wait for you all to read this one if you were a fan of book 1 . With out spoiling this for anyone let's just say it's funny, sexy, makes you wana slaps someone lol and also it is heartwarming (: A lot of this writing in the story is actually how a lot of Hispanic families are or think. From having a lot of pride, to not asking for help, to be able to do anything without wanting to bother anyone. There is a lot of families just like the Aguilas out here and especially like Gabriela with the having her guard way tf up lol
First of all the dirty talk in not only English but Spanish as well was chef's kiss. I totally get why the author said she cried while writing this one because you get sucked into the characters and you feel what they feel. I was invested in seeing their story develop and loved the side characters. Happy to see them again from book 1. The banter between Gabi and Francisco had me on the floor laughing. These two are a menace in a good way!
I have been waiting to come back to El Rancho Los Corazones and as usual, Jade did not disappoint! I’m impatient and already can’t wait to keep coming back to Los Corazones over and over again with every sibling’s book. Until then though, I’m going to continue reading-reading Gabriela and Francisco’s story while playing Lotería!
This was like “10 things I hated about you”, in the sense that Gabi is like Kat. And I loved it! It’s classic enemies to lovers, he falls first type of love story. It was a fun read.