Title: Crashing Into Her Series: Love on Cue #3
Author: Mia Sosa
Published: February 19, 2019
Genre(s): Romance: Contemporary
Page Count: 384
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:Relationships are a thing of the past for Eva Montgomery. Her current motto? You can’t spell “manipulative” without man. But Eva has needs, and a one-night-stand at her best friend’s wedding is the perfect way to kick off her new approach to singledom. Then a job opportunity puts her in the same city with the guy she can’t forget . . .
Anthony Castillo is a perpetual bachelor—no strings, just flings—a status he maintains by being honest about his intentions and never looking back. So why is he still thinking about the firecracker of a woman who rocked his world at his cousin’s wedding? It’s a question he refuses to answer, until she comes crashing back into his life, taking his emotional walls down with her.
When her father doubts her ability to make it in LA, Eva vows to go big and prove him wrong. With her athletic background, she’s an ideal candidate for stunt work. But first she’ll need training, and the instructor is none other than her former hookup, Anthony Castillo. Except he’s not as cocky as she remembers and he’s definitely still sexy as sin. The only problem is . . . Anthony doesn’t want her anywhere near his stunt school—or his heart.
While I’ve had some difficulties with Mia Sosa’s romances in the past, I’m happy to report that Crashing Into Her was an excellent romance that achieves a near-perfect combination of humor, steaminess, and honesty. Add in a dash of some super authentic Puerto Rican representation, and we’re in business.
What I love about this book is that it takes some tropes that I usually associate with a bananapants level of drama and instead gives readers a more low-key version—all without compromising the emotional intensity of a good romance. We meet the main characters as they’re embarking upon a “secret” one night stand; a few months later they’re thrown together and try to make the best of it “as friends” (even though they know and we know that things are not platonic).
Firstly, nobody was outraged that Eva and Anthony slept together. Sure, their mutual friends provide some raised eyebrows and jokes, but there’s no drama associated with the fact that they have family/friends in common. I like that because, generally, the people in your life want you to be happy, and they’re not usually immediately opposed to a new relationship without good evidence.
Secondly, while Anthony is a fairly standard emotionally closed off guy who has a vendetta against commitment because of Mommy Issues and a bad breakup, Sosa isn’t too over the top with it. There is zero angst in this book, and that made the commitment-phobe attitude from Anthony (and to a lesser extent Eva) much more tolerable. Along with that, I thought that the scene where Anthony owns up to his own issues re: relationships and long-term commitment was lovely. Not only was he self-aware, he was willing to try something new when his current way of life wasn’t turning out to be all that.
I also loved that the Dark Moment was the result of a realistic, everyday miscommunication/mistake. Yes, Anthony fucked up. And then Eva made it worse by her reaction, and then Anthony made it even worse. That’s real life. A semi easy to fix problem snowballs until it’s something worth breaking up over. And while the problem itself was not small (Eva felt that Anthony was making decisions about her life for her, without consulting her), neither was it truly momentous. I felt like Crashing Into Her, at every point, portrayed a believable image of two closed-off people attempting to come together but stumbling a bit as they figured out their relationship.
Toss in some well-placed shoutouts to “Suavemente” and empanadillas, and I’m a happy lady.
