(1.5/5)
This was frustrating to read.
The first book in the series was fun. It wasn’t groundbreaking, but it was pure unadulterated fun. This book, though?
I’m not going to concentrate too much on plot/characters because I feel like other reviews touch those topics pretty well. (I will add that I feel like the story dragged too much and only gets interesting in the last 15-20%)
What I want to point out here is the harmful stereotypes used in this story. I’m not sure if the author used sensitivity readers for the Mexican American/Latinx representation, but it needed one REALLY BADLY. This story attempts to present the protagonist as this fierce, spicy killing machine that comes from a rough background. She’s supposed to be brilliant, lethal and great at her job, but we rarely see that. Yes, we see it in the beginning. But only far enough that we’ve established she’s feisty and can show the big, strong man that she’s capable of doing shit. (You can use Google to see people explain why the feisty/fierce/spicy stereotype is so harmful; there are many people writing about that better than I could). Once we’ve established this, the rest of the story will rely simply on stereotypes to keep her character pushing on. There are too many instances in which the phrase “I’m a Latina from the wrong side” is used and, after a while, it starts feeling a little xenophobic (I’m Mexican, I’m from the wrong side of the border; I’m Latina, I’m from the wrong side). What could’ve been a great opportunity to explore how these things are uphold in certain spaces and discuss how it would impact her life turns into almost a caricature of real racism & xenophobia Latinx & Brown folks suffer in America.
Another thing that bothered me while reading was the constant use of “because I’m a Latina” (or similar phrases) and the way the protagonist calls men “hombres” all the time. My main issue with the former is that the “I’m Latina” instances were usually used to reinforce the idea of her being feisty or poor. In the case of the latter, it just feels like the author picked a specific word, translated it in Google Translate and then said “ok, this is it! Using this word constantly will be the way I remind people that we’re dealing with a spicy Latina instead of a mayonnaise white woman”.
Other things I had issues with (in terms of rep):
1. Of course, OF COURSE, we’re going to give her drug-dealing brothers.
2. They lean so hard on the “fierce Latina” stereotype that they create this unbelievably rude and unlikeable character.
3. They attempt to make her “rebel” against the stereotypes and ideas people have about Latinas, but in the process they make her into those exact harmful stereotypes.
I don’t know. Maybe I’ll edit this review later so it makes a little more sense, but it’s uncomfortable to me how almost no other review mentions the blatant stereotyping and exotification of Latina women