One of my all-time favorite movies/shows is West Side Story, so when I saw a Romeo and Juliet retelling called West Side Love Story, I had to take a chance.

Two familias in Texas, both alike in dignity, rivalries, and passion . . .

Having grown up in the nurturing household of Casa Capuleta, Mariana will do anything for familia. To solve her foster parents’ financial problems amid their rapidly changing San Antonio comunidad, Mariana and her younger sisters are determined to win the Battle of the Mariachi Bands. That means competing against Casa Montero, their father’s arch nemesis, and escalating a decades-old feud. It also raises the stakes of Mariana’s forbidden attraction for a certain dark-eyed mariachi who sets her heart racing.

To Angelo Montero’s familia, Mariana is also strictly off limits. But that doesn’t stop him from pursuing her. As their secret affair intensifies and the competition grows fierce, they’re swept up in a brewing storm of betrayals, rivalries, and broken ties. Against the odds, they vow to bring peace. But what sacrifices must be made and what consequences must be weighed for two star-crossed lovers to make beautiful music together and win an impossible happy ever after?

This was a cute read where I enjoyed all of the plotlines running through it. You have the main storyline of two feuding families where a member of each fall in love. Meanwhile each family is competing in a Battle of the Mariachi Bands and they are the top two contenders (of course!) But you also have small dramas within each family – for the Capuleta’s they might lose their home and community center, while trying to assimilate the latest daughter they adopted. For the Montero’s, Angelo is coming to terms with the part his family plays in the feud.

I loved reading about the competition and learning more about the Latinx culture. I could feel the sparks between Angelo and Mariana and kept turning the pages to see how it would play out. My only concern with the story was just how descriptive the author would be about their thoughts. There would be a line of dialogue, and then multiple paragraphs describing the character’s thought process before we would get to the next line of dialogue. Most of the time it was repetitive. I began skipping over these paragraphs and didn’t lose the context of the story.

All in all, I would give this read 3-stars. A nice romance that’s easy to read.

Note: one of the Capuleta sister’s that features prominently in this story gets to be the star of her own show in a sequel to this book! Out in November 2022 is Kiss Me, Catalina!