Review: Don't Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno

For fans of GILMORE GIRLS and TO ALL THE BOYS I'VE LOVED BEFORE, this effervescent love story from debut author Nina Moreno will sweep you away.

Rosa is cursed by the sea--at least that's what they say. 

Dating her is bad news, especially if you're a boy with a boat.

But Rosa feels more caught than cursed. Caught between cultures and choices. Between her abuela, a beloved healer and pillar of their community, and her mother, an artist who crashes in and out of her life like a hurricane. Between Port Coral, the quirky South Florida town they call home, and Cuba, the island her abuela refuses to talk about.

As her college decision looms, Rosa collides—literally—with Alex Aquino, the mysterious boy with tattoos of the ocean whose family owns the marina. With her heart, her family, and her future on the line, can Rosa break a curse and find her place beyond the horizon?

2.5/3 stars

I received a digital copy of Don't Date Rosa Santos from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I think the best way I can describe my experience with this book was it was solidly okay. I didn't dislike the book, but with tight library budgets I don't think I'm going to rush to order this. I liked the concept of Don't Date Rosa Santos. Similar to the movie Practical Magic the Santos family is cursed and any man that they love (who is some way shape or form connected to the sea??) will die. While we have that story line, we also have Rosa who is desperate to go to Cuba, the one place her grandmother refuses to talk about. One top of that the community pier is in danger of being bought out by a huge company which would probably kill some of the culture that I really loved reading about by the way. Then, on top of all of that, we have the romance angle.

My biggest issue with the book was that I was easily lost and distracted. There were a lot of side characters who confused me. I wanted more from the "curse" angle, the mom seemed to be pretty tortured by the curse, but the grandmother, who was apparently the beginning of it all, seemed to struggle more with her memories of Cuba than her lost husband. That action "diluted" the curse a bit which made it seems a bit ridiculous when Rosa panicked about it. 

What I did like was how fleshed out Rosa was as a character. She was meticulous, she was organized, she was driven, she loved her family, she loved her culture. she was a peace maker. and she was a do-er. I could picture exactly who Rosa was and I think that pushed me to read through this book.

I wouldn't say that I didn't like Don't Date Rosa Santos, I'm just not necessarily in my top 10 books to recommend. As I said, it is 100% okay.