Sleeping with the frenemy

Caña's sizzling third Vega Family Love Stories romance (after A Dish Best Served Hot) reunites readers with the big, welcoming Puerto Rican family that gives the series its name. Sofi Santana has had a secret on and off romance with her friend Kamilah's brother, Leo Vega, for years, but they've been decidedly off for the past 19 months after a falling-out between Sofi and Kamilah. During that time, firefighter Leo suffered a career-ending injury and hoped that Sofi would come running to his bedside. When she didn't, he reluctantly accepted that his feelings for her would always run deeper than hers for him and decided to finally move on. But now Sofi's back in town after a stint in Europe and eager to mend fences with Kamilah by helping her prepare for her wedding. She needs a place to stay, so their meddling mutual friends and relatives push Sofi and Leo into an uneasy roommate arrangement. In close quarters, sparks inevitably fly. Series fans will be delighted to check in with the extended cast, and new readers will be swept away by the central couple's chemistry. With plenty of charm and chuckles, this keeps the series going strong. (Oct.)

After having had an on-again, off-again secret relationship for years, one couple must decide whether they're ready to commit to each other in public. Former firefighter Leo Vega was in search of a new purpose long before he sustained an injury that changed everything for him, but the recovery process has caused him to rethink his priorities in both life and love. His secret recurring fling with Sofi Santana, his sister Kamilah's best friend, has cooled off in recent years, especially in the wake of a long trip she took to Europe. Now that Sofi is back in town for Kamilah's wedding, her heightened proximity is a strong reminder of all the reasons Leo first fell for her way back when, and it's clear that their mutual attraction is still going strong. For her part, Sofi is determined to make a fresh start, hardly looking to revisit the past, but when one thing leads to another and she and Leo unexpectedly end up as roommates, their close quarters reintroduce the buried feelings they've always had. If that weren't enough, Leo's grandfather Papo Vega is back to his old matchmaking tricks, and he and Sofi's grandmother team up to ensure that yet another of his descendants gets their happy ending. The biggest strength of Caña's Vega Family Love Stories trilogy has always been the element of community, and readers who have been eagerly waiting for Leo's turn to shine won't be disappointed by this conclusion. The couple comes preloaded with years of complicated history, but their story would have benefited from more moments set in the present to give the third-act conflict more emotional weight. With an ensemble this big, the emphasis falls more on the family dynamics rather than the romantic narrative, but the book offers everything longtime fans of the Vega clan could want. A heartwarming contemporary romance that delivers both humor and heat. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.