Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Review: Love, in Spanish (Love, in English #2) by Karina Halle

Love, in Spanish (Love, in English #2) by Karina Halle 
Published November 11th 2014
The companion to the highly emotional, scandalous and USA Today Bestselling love story - LOVE, IN ENGLISH - is finally here! Love, in Spanish is a Love, in English follow-up novel told from Mateo Casalles' POV. While Love, in Spanish touches on some events that happened in LIE (you know the ones!) it is a whole new story set a year later that continues with Vera and Mateo's "happily ever after." Note: It should be read after Love, in English and it is mostly new material (aka not just rehash of LIE).

***

“She sat beside me on the bus – and she changed my whole life.”

Successful, wealthy and absurdly handsome – Spanish ex-football player Mateo Casalles seemed like he had it all. A high-society wife, an adorable little girl, and flashy apartments in Madrid and Barcelona only sweetened the deal. But there was more to Mateo than met the eye – a life of uncertainty and regret that colored his black and white world.

That was until Vera Miles came into his life like a shooting star. Tattooed, wild and young, Vera seemed like Mateo’s polar opposite at first. But you can’t choose who you fall in love with and the two lost souls did everything they could to be together, all while suffering the grave consequences.

Now with Mateo divorced and living in Madrid with Vera, there is a whole new set of challenges and setbacks facing the couple and rocking the foundation of their star-crossed relationship.

Unfortunately for them, the brighter the star, the faster they burn.
My Thoughts
Loved it!

I’m a huge fan of Karina Halle’s writing. Ever since I came across her series The Artist Trilogy , she made me realize I have an ability to develop a deep fondness for the tender villains in her stories. In The Artist Trilogy , I fell for a con artist that didn’t think twice about cutting down her enemies and now in her newest series I have the privilege of falling for her crafty, flawed characters and journeying with them as they pull at my heartstrings over their unconventional love affair. Incredible!

In Love, In Spanish we get to continue on with Mateo and Vera’s romance as they struggle through the ups and downs of being in the spotlight and constantly scrutinized for their controversial love affair. These two passionate lovers met in a Spanish program during a time when twenty-four year old Vera was struggling to find herself and thirty-nine year old Mateo was battling with his waning feelings for his wife. They make the ultimate decision to toss caution to the wind and see where their love takes them. Through a messy divorce, constant child custody issues and most recently Vera’s impending deportation back to Canada, these two fight against the odds to stay together.

I’m not sure how Karina Halle does it! I’m a believer in the institution of marriage, faithfulness, loyalty and all that good stuff. However, somehow Halle gets me on her side and I bought into the ‘rightness’ of Vera and Mateo’s love affair. To see the story from their side, I have to admit I was bothered by those that were jeopardizing their chance at happiness. I have no clue how that happened because in a realistic situation, I would probably be one of those judging these characters for their selfishness and reckless abandonment for those they affected.

Having the story told through Mateo’s perspective was sheer genius! It was passionate and intense, as only this character knows how to be. I truly felt his desperation at trying to keep Vera and it didn’t take long for me to believe how deeply he loved her. Only through his eyes do I feel it was fully possibly to feel the intense emotions these characters felt.

Throughout the story, I felt on constant high-alert expecting the next punch from his scorned ex-wife and the frenzy of the media. However, witnessing everything they had to struggle with only proved that I wanted nothing less than a happy ending for these two.

Overall, Mateo and Vera’s journey was incredible, intense and emotional. Everything I’ve come to expect from a novel penned by the gifted Karina Halle. Loved every minute of it!
5 Suns

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