It’s Okay: 
(3 / 5)
It is not every day I like a second book more than a first book in ANY series and yet, here we are.
“A Lot Like Adios” by Alexis Daria is the second in her Primas of Power series and Michelle is my kind of protagonist and Gabriel isn’t bad himself. My biggest hang-up with the first book was that the premise and context was so far out of my reality that I didn’t connect to the characters. In this second book that was not a problem at all.
Michelle and Gabriel’s relationship begins in childhood. They part due to an emotionally charged moment and the complexity of feelings and family expectations swirling around them at 17 and 18 years old. Not the best years of mature decision making. When they are thrown back together for a business project the unresolved emotions and the complex consequences all come crashing down and the book chronicles the tough and often tumultuous work to relational stability.
I was able to see myself and relate in a grounded way to both protagonists, but especially Michelle and her guardedness around intimacy, which of course led to me enjoying this book more than the first. Both are delightful escapes and modern, representative and complex romances. Daria continues to pepper her characters and those around them with real life complications which propel the story’s arch. I will also say, I personally appreciated the “no marriage and no children” choice by this couple. There is still so few modern romance novels which represent this version of love and we need that for normalization and as a valid choice for anyone.
I am looking forward to book #3 and I would happily pick up other works by Daria. It is a solid modern romance.
Happy Reading
Hannah
