Review by Booklist Review
Dass' engrossing debut is an exploration of second-chance romances, friendship, and living for yourself. Childhood friends and lovebirds Reyna and Aiden have their lives disrupted when Aiden makes the decision to move to California and pursue a career in music. Two years later, Reyna is attempting to keep her mother's memory alive by working at the family hotel, while Aiden is an international success as part of the trio DJ Bacchanal. When Reyna's brother-in-law's celebrity-status sisters decide to visit Tobago, Reyna doesn't expect Aiden to be a part of the entourage. But during the whirlwind trip, Reyna and Aiden are thrust into the same circles again and forced to confront their past and decide if their romance deserves a second chance. In this love letter to the music of the islands, Dass' focus on the people and the places of Tobago are vivid and authentic. Part romance and part self-discovery, this moving novel tackles loss, love, and the complicated nature of standing still in an ever-changing world.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In Dass's debut, 17-year-old Reyna is thrown for a loop when her now-famous ex-boyfriend, Aiden, 18, returns to Tobago with his music group and some socialite friends. After the group comes to stay at her family's hotel, the Plumeria, Reyna and Aiden decide it's best to avoid each other. Unfortunately, his friends insist on having Reyna help with planning his surprise birthday activities. As she becomes more involved with this new group and reminisces about how she and Aiden first fell in love, she's forced to face changes to her mother's hotel, her best friend moving away to art school, and having no direction for herself. As her spark with Aiden reignites, she is plagued with regret for giving up her love of painting as well as a festering resentment of the expectations her deceased mother placed upon her. Inspired by Jane Austen's Persuasion, Dass interweaves the allure of the source material with the warm tropical winds and scents of Tobago. Readers, even those unfamiliar with Austen's work, will appreciate this cast of characters with believable motivations and fleshed-out ideas as they realize what they want and embrace second chances for love and for new adventures. Ages 13--up. (May)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up--Seventeen-year-old Reyna has devoted her life to following her mother's wishes and working at the Plumeria, their family hotel in Tobago. This included giving up her first love, Aiden, two years ago when he moved to the United States. Now Aiden is a famous musician back visiting Tobago with his band and celebrity friends while Reyna is stuck managing her late mother's hotel. When Aiden's friends book Reyna as a tour guide for their visit, the two must confront past emotions and current struggles, and decide if it is worth rekindling what they once had. Dass gives Jane Austen's Persuasion a Caribbean twist. Dass, who is Tobagonian, uses her experiences to create a rich atmosphere that will make readers feel as if they are experiencing the islands. While romance is the main theme, other themes such as grief, artistry, and influencer culture are also included. VERDICT Part Jane Austen's Persuasion, part love letter to Tobago, readers will enjoy getting lost in the lush atmosphere of the Caribbean. Give this #OwnVoices novel to romance readers and fans of Jane Austen retellings.--Ashley Leffel, Griffin M.S., Frisco, TX
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Review by Horn Book Review
Reyna, an artistic Afro-Caribbean teen, comes to terms with the past and paints a new picture of the future in this Caribbean spin on Austen's Persuasion set in the author's native Tobago. After her mother's death, Reyna has all but accepted her narrow existence as the primary caretaker of her family's oceanfront resort. Everyone seems to be moving on except her -- her father has a new love interest, her best friend is heading off to college, and her first-and-only ex-boyfriend, Aiden, has become a global music star after leaving the island two years ago. When Aiden's glamorous, jet-setting friends book a villa at the resort as a birthday surprise for him, Reyna's dad inveigles her into acting as their tour guide. Romantic tension builds as the old flames are forced to revisit their bad breakup and unresolved feelings. Faced with big changes at the hotel, Reyna must decide if she's ready to heal from loss, reclaim her stifled artistic talents, and give love a second chance. The narrative seamlessly moves back and forth from the present to the early years of Reyna and Aiden's childhood friendship and eventual star-crossed love. Populated with a cast of believable characters and flush with authentic Trinidadian English dialogue, the story artfully draws from its captivating tropical backdrop. A layered, bittersweet tale of young love, self-discovery, and redemption that marks a promising debut for Dass. Summer Edward July/August 2021 p.109(c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Reyna still has feelings for the hometown boy who left to become a global pop phenom--but now he's back staying at her family's hotel and nothing will ever be the same. When Reyna's Mummy got sick more than two years ago and passed, the Plumeria Hotel became a lovely yet suffocating weight atop Reyna and her future. Now 17 and without much help from her relatively carefree father, Reyna essentially runs the hotel, leaving no time for her friends, her art, or boys. But Aiden isn't just any boy; he's the Grammy-winning songwriter for the soca EDM trio DJ Bacchanal, and he has only gotten cuter in the years since he left Reyna and Tobago for life in the States. When Aiden, his band mates, and their glamorous friends book the luxury villa at the Plumeria, Reyna's relentless focus on work won't be able to protect her from potentially being hurt again. Dass uses flashbacks to build dramatic tension in the story as readers see past relationships develop and present ones frayed by the sense that Reyna's future is both limited and lonely. Jane Austen fans will enjoy this reimagining of Persuasion while some readers may be frustrated by the will-they-won't-they element. Reyna communicates and narrates with an earnest and relatable amount of self-doubt and a propensity to deny obvious truths. Most main characters are Afro-Caribbean. A love story with classic beats and a unique rhythm. (playlist) (Fiction. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
