01/30/2026
Things arenāt always what they seem in this whimsical YA brought to us by the lovely
One of the things I think about on the regular as I work through my own generational trauma is how do I teach my children strength and resiliency when the things that taught me those qualities are the generational obstacles Iām removing for my own children. My answer to that is often books, and I cannot wait for my kids to get older because this book is definitely on that list.
Yes, youāll fall in love with Esmeralda and Ignacio, but what Angela Montoya does here is sheās created this whimsical love story in a world thatās been inspired by Renaissance festivals, the prohibition, and Aztec Mythology while introducing very dark themes of the impact of socioeconomic disparities and the lengths people go to survive an unjust world. Sheās got a fantastic balance set.
But my absolute favorite part of this story isnāt the romance. As a mental health professional, I enjoy when a book does mental health representation. Too often I I find that mental health representation is misunderstood as just a portrayal of depression, anxiety, and other disorders. But mental health representation also means portraying healthy mental health supports.
What Angela has in this book is a fantastic representation of making friends, keeping friends, and the work that it takes to have healthy communication. She embeds the best kind of mental health representation in the relationships between Camilla, Esmeralda, and Gabriel. I ABSOLUTELY loved it.
This is the type of role model we need for everyone right now. When society is so interested in walking away and avoiding, Camillaās got the best line. And youāll just have to read it to find out.
Mad props to this release coming February 3, 2026.
Many thanks to and for including me on this tour ā¤ļø
Iāve had an absolute blast. Yāall are the catās meow š±š
