Fans of the high drama of telenovelas will find plenty to enjoy in this Romeo and Juliet retelling. Julieta is the head chef at her family’s fish taco restaurant in a heavily Latinx area near La Jolla. But when their landlord sells their entire block to the Taco King owners, everyone is infuriated, bit none more than Julieta and her mom. See, when Julieta’s mom was young and living in Mexico, she had her own fish taco stand, and she fell in love with a young Mexican American man. But he stole her recipe and took it back to the US to create his fast food empire, and she never saw him again. But, not knowing who he is, Julieta meets the man’s son during the Day of the Dead celebration and falls for him immediately. But are they doomed to fail?
Ramón and Julieta by Alana Quintana Albertson, (List Price: $16, Berkley, 9780593336229, February 2022)
Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia