Hey, lovely people. Hope you're all doing okay. I know, I know, I don't come here often but when I do, you know it's special. I'm showing my face (or internet persona) today because I have something very very special to show.
It's the release day of the last book Flashed of my favorite romance series, Happy Endings. This series is written by Zoey Castile aka Zoraida Córdova, published by Kensington. Since the very beginning I have been in love with this story and its characters. I remember when the announcement was made and I just couldn't hold my excitement and my happiness inside of me. It still happens— anything that has to do with this universe, I just can't express how much I love it. So this is why I decided to do something very special to show the love.
I decided to invite some great Latinx bloggers to my blog, to this particular post, so they can share with us and with Zoey how much they love this series, what it means to them to have read it, the little things they loved about the story and how did it feel to them when they first read it. This is very special series to us and aside from that IT'S SO FREAKING FUN. The Happy Endings series is hilarious and romantic. It features characters that you will relate to and that you will definitely want to kiss. It's such a fun romance series that you cannot just skip it or miss it.
So it's time, right? Let's check on our favorite bloggers.
- Olivia from Stories For Coffee
"I've been so lucky to read Zoey Castile's books. They came at times when I knew I wouldn't like anything else but the books that she writes. Sometimes you just need stories about strippers with hearts of gold, complex heroines and adorable romances. The thing that meant the most to me were the beautiful and multilayered latinx characters, you can tell that they were created from an authentic place, without stereotyping, respecting their background. They are all different between them and incredibly interesting to read about. The way that she writes is so unique, constructing situations that from afar sound inconceivable but once you're reading them you totally believe them and you root for the couple and their happiness. I adore that you can find laugh out loud moments, angst, complicated family relationships, lots of chemistry and so much more!!"
- Mel from Books With Wings
"I can't make words when I think about Zoey Castile's words. Like no English, blank brain. I was so delighted with Stripped, not only the good romance and the characters, but how Latinx the story is. And Hired? Hired brought the whole house down. When I think of the representation that I want to see for Latinx folks in romance this is it; lighthearted and fun and delicious and sexy and so us that makes you cry. These stories are so beautiful and full of hope, so much hope. Just what the world needs."
- Cande from Latinx Magic
"Reading Zoey Castile's Happy Endings series has been evidence of how good writing in romance can be. Castile doesn't just write Latinx protagonists falling in love, she puts them in the context of this contemporary world, all while managing to avoid portraying them as caricatures. Her characters deal with oversexualization, family issues, mental health, sex work, and the politics of living in a Brown body. And yet, they're given rein to have fun-- whether that is depicted in a strip club, at a gator tour, or a Halloween costume party, they're allowed to simply exist. The Happy Endings aren't just for the protagonists, they're proof that Latinx readers whose lives are in constant peril and are perpetually Othered can have hope. For once, we can see a future and it's full of love and possibilities (and maybe even some sex)."
- Adriana from Boricua Reads
"I didn’t think I was in the target audience for Zoey Castile’s Happy Endings series when I picked up Stripped after Norma (from Kensington) sent it to me. I had never watched the Magic Mike movies, not even the much lauded Magic Mike XL and I am pretty far removed from my quarter-life crisis days as I barrell forward toward my mid forties 40’s. Yet Castile won me over, having me care deeply for Zac Fallon and Robyn Flores. For all the glitz and joyful camaraderie Castile infuses her novel with, I fell for her characters in the little quiet moments they share with each other and their friends. In those moments we see Zac wrestle with not loving a life he has loved so enthusiastically before, and Robyn detach more and more from her career, question all the choices that have brought her to a point where she can’t even talk about it to her best-friend. I love a story where a character’s ideas of themselves are derailed and they need to wrestle with who they want to be and Castile delivers that messy emotional struggle. As Castile wraps up her Happy Endings series, I celebrate messy heroines, blowing up their ordered lives and picking up the pieces and setting out to build a happier one. And I am incredibly thankful for Castile’s richly textured Latinx MCs, who don’t fit a mold but are instantly recognizable as one of our own."
- Ana Coqui from Love in Panels
This series has meant the world to us and we thank Zoey/Zoraida for it. I cannot wait for what's to come for Z! Thank you Z and Norma for what you have done. As you can see, this series meant the world for us.
Flashed releases today August 27th, 2019. Go get your copy at Amazon, Book Depository, iBooks.
