Stevie‘s review of American Dreamer (Dreamers, Book 1) by Adriana Herrera
Contemporary Multicultural Gay Romance published by Carina Press 04 Mar 19
Food and romance are generally a good combination for book themes, in my opinion, particularly when I get to read about recipes and cuisines that are new to me. Stories where one or more of the protagonists is working hard to bring the thing they love, be that food or another shared experience, to the notice of more people are also a good thing, so this story of a new food business and a new library project and the interaction between their initiators was just my sort of thing.
Nesto Vasquez takes a chance on moving his mobile food business from New York City to rural Upstate New York where his mother and younger sister have already settled, as did his aunt and uncle some years previously. Nesto’s food van has been earning fans since he started up the business, but in the city he’s just one vendor amongst many, whereas where he’s headed Afro-Caribbean food outlets are practically non-existent. Nesto’s mother has been researching places he can park and his long-time best buddies are on hand to help him move, but he’s still apprehensive as to the welcome he’s likely to get. The first local he meets doesn’t get the best first impression of Nesto, but he seems to have salvaged the situation by the time he heads onward to meet up with his family.
Jude Fuller is slightly taken aback by the man at the gas station who seems to find him amusing, but when they bump into each other again over lunchtime burritos – Nesto serving, Jude buying – they get along a lot better. Jude is impressed by Nesto’s looks, his food, and his ambitions for the business, while Nesto is pleased that his error of the night before seems to have been forgotten and is impressed by Jude’s attempts to flirt with him in Spanish. The two are soon getting along very well and start seeing each other as much as they can in between Nesto’s efforts to build up his business and Jude’s plans to set up a library van to serve kids who live too far out to easily come into the library he works at in town.
Of course, not everyone is happy with our heroes. The pair gain a common nemesis in the form of a library volunteer who is opposed to both Jude’s mobile library, because it is competing for the funding she wants for her project, and to Nesto’s food truck, because it’s proving far more popular than her son’s vastly inferior mobile eatery. Jude also faces issues from his estranged family. His older sister is terminally ill, but attempts at reconciliation prove difficult when the whole family remain more attached to their ultra-conservative church than to Jude.
Because of his family’s refusal to accept him, and his previous boyfriend’s inability to be there for him when he was rejected by them, Jude finds it tough to believe that Nesto will always be there for him. Meanwhile, Nesto’s determination to make a success out of his business before the end of the summer means that he isn’t always as attentive to what Jude needs and his insecurities as he might be. Fortunately the pair of them have supportive friends – and in Nesto’s case family as well – to force some sense into them when it’s most needed.
This was an utterly delightful book that left me craving samples of the food Nesto serves up, and hoping that we get to see more of him and his friends very soon.
Grade: A
Summary:
No one ever said big dreams come easy
For Nesto Vasquez, moving his Afro-Caribbean food truck from New York City to the wilds of Upstate New York is a huge gamble. If it works? He’ll be a big fish in a little pond. If it doesn’t? He’ll have to give up the hustle and return to the day job he hates. He’s got six months to make it happen—the last thing he needs is a distraction.
Jude Fuller is proud of the life he’s built on the banks of Cayuga Lake. He has a job he loves and good friends. It’s safe. It’s quiet. And it’s damn lonely. Until he tries Ithaca’s most-talked-about new lunch spot and works up the courage to flirt with the handsome owner. Soon he can’t get enough—of Nesto’s food or of Nesto. For the first time in his life, Jude can finally taste the kind of happiness that’s always been just out of reach.
An opportunity too good to pass up could mean a way to stay together and an incredible future for them both…if Nesto can remember happiness isn’t always measured by business success. And if Jude can overcome his past and trust his man will never let him down.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
