3.5
American Dreamer
ByPublisher Description
“A fresh and vital new voice in romance.”—Entertainment Weekly
From award-winning author Adriana Herrera comes a novel hailed as one of Entertainment Weekly’s 10 Best Romance Novels of 2019 and a TODAY Show Hot Summer Read.
No one ever said big dreams come easy
For Nesto Vasquez, moving his Afro-Caribbean food truck from New York City to the wilds of Upstate New York is a huge gamble. If it works? He’ll be a big fish in a little pond. If it doesn’t? He’ll have to give up the hustle and return to the day job he hates. He’s got six months to make it happen—the last thing he needs is a distraction.
Jude Fuller is proud of the life he’s built on the banks of Cayuga Lake. He has a job he loves and good friends. It’s safe. It’s quiet. And it’s damn lonely. Until he tries Ithaca’s most-talked-about new lunch spot and works up the courage to flirt with the handsome owner. Soon he can’t get enough—of Nesto’s food or of Nesto. For the first time in his life, Jude can finally taste the kind of happiness that’s always been just out of reach.
An opportunity too good to pass up could mean a way to stay together and an incredible future for them both...if Nesto can remember happiness isn’t always measured by business success. And if Jude can overcome his past and trust his man will never let him down.
Dreamers
Book 1: American Dreamer
Book 2: American Fairytale
Book 3: American Love Story
Book 4: American Sweethearts
Book 5: American Christmas
Dating in Dallas
Book 1: Here to Stay
Book 2: On the Hustle
Sambrano Studios
Book 1: One Week to Claim It All
Book 2: Just for the Holidays
Las Leonas
Book 1: A Caribbean Heiress in Paris
From award-winning author Adriana Herrera comes a novel hailed as one of Entertainment Weekly’s 10 Best Romance Novels of 2019 and a TODAY Show Hot Summer Read.
No one ever said big dreams come easy
For Nesto Vasquez, moving his Afro-Caribbean food truck from New York City to the wilds of Upstate New York is a huge gamble. If it works? He’ll be a big fish in a little pond. If it doesn’t? He’ll have to give up the hustle and return to the day job he hates. He’s got six months to make it happen—the last thing he needs is a distraction.
Jude Fuller is proud of the life he’s built on the banks of Cayuga Lake. He has a job he loves and good friends. It’s safe. It’s quiet. And it’s damn lonely. Until he tries Ithaca’s most-talked-about new lunch spot and works up the courage to flirt with the handsome owner. Soon he can’t get enough—of Nesto’s food or of Nesto. For the first time in his life, Jude can finally taste the kind of happiness that’s always been just out of reach.
An opportunity too good to pass up could mean a way to stay together and an incredible future for them both...if Nesto can remember happiness isn’t always measured by business success. And if Jude can overcome his past and trust his man will never let him down.
Dreamers
Book 1: American Dreamer
Book 2: American Fairytale
Book 3: American Love Story
Book 4: American Sweethearts
Book 5: American Christmas
Dating in Dallas
Book 1: Here to Stay
Book 2: On the Hustle
Sambrano Studios
Book 1: One Week to Claim It All
Book 2: Just for the Holidays
Las Leonas
Book 1: A Caribbean Heiress in Paris
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3.5
Kenny_booknerd
Created 3 months agoShare
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Adrienne Hall-Phillips
Created 5 months agoShare
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glassesgirl79
Created 6 months agoShare
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““American Dreamer” is the first novel in a four book “Dreamers” series by Adriana Herrera and focuses on food truck owner Nesto Vasquez and his unexpected relationship with youth services director Jude Fuller.
The novel consists an epigraph, twenty-nine chapters, an epilogue, acknowledgments, an excerpt from “American Fairytale,” the second book in the “Dreamers” series, information about the author, and additional books by Adriana Herrera.
The novel begins by introducing main character Ernesto “Nesto” Vasquez as he is talking to Camilo aka Milo, one of his three best friends while preparing to leave New York City to get OuNYe, his Afro-Caribbean Food truck business set up in Ithaca, New York which is located in upstate New York. It is revealed to the reader that Nesto is planning to go to Ithaca for six months and if his food truck is not a success, he’ll return to New York and a traditional job.
Upon arriving in Ithaca, Nesto has a happy family reunion with his mother Nurys, teenage sister Minerva, his aunt Maritza and uncle Tonin. Although Nesto sees an attractive man soon after arriving in Ithaca, he maintains his focus on making his business a success, not getting laid. Chapter one ends with Nesto, family, and friends helping him prep for his first food truck meal service in Ithaca the next day.
Chapter two introduces Jude Fuller, youth services director at the Tompkins County Public Library as he is reluctantly participating in an unspoken battle involving his lunch being tampered with by workplace bully Misty. Although Jude’s coworker Carmen feels he should call her out, he replied that he needs to keep Misty in a good mood since she’s the library grant writer and can influence any library projects he needs to have funded. After Jude’s lunch has been visibly tampered with, Carmen expresses excitement in going to the new food truck that’s arrived in town since she sees the menu is Dominican and she’s Dominican but Jude is apprehensive of the food truck and assumes that the food truck owner is probably straight.
Upon Jude and Carmen arriving at the food truck, Nesto and Jude engage in awkward flirting. While Carmen is elated that Nesto speaks fluent Spanish, Nesto is surprised when he hears Jude speaking Spanish. After their first visit to Nesto’s food truck, Carmen is able to gather information about Nesto by talking to Nurys and Shares what she’s learned with Jude. Although Nesto feels alone in Ithaca, he finds solace by going to a bar with his cousin Priscilla aka Pri who is a police detective, Pri’s friend Easton who is an assistant district attorney in Ithaca, and bartender Marty.
Over drinks with Pri and Easton, Nesto shares that one his day of business, an unknown woman from the city council stopped by the food truck and questioned whether “all of Nesto’s documents were in order.” After hearing Nesto’s irritation over this unknown woman, Easton and Pri determine that the woman is Misty Fields, a woman who works part-time at the library and likes to cause trouble. Easton shares a rumor that’s wants her son Tab to run a grilled cheese food truck and is intimidating anyone who may be competition for his future truck.
Following the serious conversation, Easton shares with Nesto that there’s not much known about Jude other than he’s nice and doesn’t date. Just as Nesto writes off any chance to pursue anything with Jude and focusing on the food truck, Jude, Carmen, and Carmen’s husband Ted enter the same bar where they are. After a moment of awkward silence between Nesto and Jude, Nesto realizes that Jude is attracted to him.
As the novel progresses, Nesto and Jude eventually experience begin to explore a "friends with benefits" relationship before evnetually realizing that the relationship is morphing into a deeper relationship than both are prepared to enter. In addition to Nesto and Jude's blossoming romantic relationship, they later encounter threats from their shared enemy Misty.
Despite Nesto experiencing issues regarding his food truck and having to learn how to balance his personal and professional life and Jude having to learn to trust others, in the end, they are able to overcome their own internal issues in order to open up themselves to a romantic relationship and love.
As I finished this novel, I liked the realistic dialogue between Nesto and Jude both internally and externally. To me, Herrera does a wonderful job of capturing the immigrant experience in New York as well as the experience of moving from a big city to a small town. I like Nesto honors his immigrant roots by hiring employees who were former refugees and immigrants as a way to provide opportunities they may not have gotten otherwise as openly gay men. The sex scenes are spicy and well placed throughout the novel.
Overall, although the reader may feel like an observer at the beginning of the novel, by the end, Herrera creates a world in which the reader finishes the novel feeling like they have been adopted into Nesto’s warm, loyal, and boisterous Afro-Latinex family. Having said this, I can’t wait to read the other novels in the Dreamers series featuring Milo, Patrice, Juan Pablo, and novella featuring Nesto’s OuNYe employees Yin and Ari.
Merged review:
“American Dreamer” is the first novel in a four book “Dreamers” series by Adriana Herrera and focuses on food truck owner Nesto Vasquez and his unexpected relationship with youth services director Jude Fuller.
The novel consists an epigraph, twenty-nine chapters, an epilogue, acknowledgments, an excerpt from “American Fairytale,” the second book in the “Dreamers” series, information about the author, and additional books by Adriana Herrera.
The novel begins by introducing main character Ernesto “Nesto” Vasquez as he is talking to Camilo aka Milo, one of his three best friends while preparing to leave New York City to get OuNYe, his Afro-Caribbean Food truck business set up in Ithaca, New York which is located in upstate New York. It is revealed to the reader that Nesto is planning to go to Ithaca for six months and if his food truck is not a success, he’ll return to New York and a traditional job.
Upon arriving in Ithaca, Nesto has a happy family reunion with his mother Nurys, teenage sister Minerva, his aunt Maritza and uncle Tonin. Although Nesto sees an attractive man soon after arriving in Ithaca, he maintains his focus on making his business a success, not getting laid. Chapter one ends with Nesto, family, and friends helping him prep for his first food truck meal service in Ithaca the next day.
Chapter two introduces Jude Fuller, youth services director at the Tompkins County Public Library as he is reluctantly participating in an unspoken battle involving his lunch being tampered with by workplace bully Misty. Although Jude’s coworker Carmen feels he should call her out, he replied that he needs to keep Misty in a good mood since she’s the library grant writer and can influence any library projects he needs to have funded. After Jude’s lunch has been visibly tampered with, Carmen expresses excitement in going to the new food truck that’s arrived in town since she sees the menu is Dominican and she’s Dominican but Jude is apprehensive of the food truck and assumes that the food truck owner is probably straight.
Upon Jude and Carmen arriving at the food truck, Nesto and Jude engage in awkward flirting. While Carmen is elated that Nesto speaks fluent Spanish, Nesto is surprised when he hears Jude speaking Spanish. After their first visit to Nesto’s food truck, Carmen is able to gather information about Nesto by talking to Nurys and Shares what she’s learned with Jude. Although Nesto feels alone in Ithaca, he finds solace by going to a bar with his cousin Priscilla aka Pri who is a police detective, Pri’s friend Easton who is an assistant district attorney in Ithaca, and bartender Marty.
Over drinks with Pri and Easton, Nesto shares that one his day of business, an unknown woman from the city council stopped by the food truck and questioned whether “all of Nesto’s documents were in order.” After hearing Nesto’s irritation over this unknown woman, Easton and Pri determine that the woman is Misty Fields, a woman who works part-time at the library and likes to cause trouble. Easton shares a rumor that’s wants her son Tab to run a grilled cheese food truck and is intimidating anyone who may be competition for his future truck.
Following the serious conversation, Easton shares with Nesto that there’s not much known about Jude other than he’s nice and doesn’t date. Just as Nesto writes off any chance to pursue anything with Jude and focusing on the food truck, Jude, Carmen, and Carmen’s husband Ted enter the same bar where they are. After a moment of awkward silence between Nesto and Jude, Nesto realizes that Jude is attracted to him.
As the novel progresses, Nesto and Jude eventually experience begin to explore a "friends with benefits" relationship before evnetually realizing that the relationship is morphing into a deeper relationship than both are prepared to enter. In addition to Nesto and Jude's blossoming romantic relationship, they later encounter threats from their shared enemy Misty.
Despite Nesto experiencing issues regarding his food truck and having to learn how to balance his personal and professional life and Jude having to learn to trust others, in the end, they are able to overcome their own internal issues in order to open up themselves to a romantic relationship and love.
As I finished this novel, I liked the realistic dialogue between Nesto and Jude both internally and externally. To me, Herrera does a wonderful job of capturing the immigrant experience in New York as well as the experience of moving from a big city to a small town. I like Nesto honors his immigrant roots by hiring employees who were former refugees and immigrants as a way to provide opportunities they may not have gotten otherwise as openly gay men. The sex scenes are spicy and well placed throughout the novel.
Overall, although the reader may feel like an observer at the beginning of the novel, by the end, Herrera creates a world in which the reader finishes the novel feeling like they have been adopted into Nesto’s warm, loyal, and boisterous Afro-Latinex family. Having said this, I can’t wait to read the other novels in the Dreamers series featuring Milo, Patrice, Juan Pablo, and novella featuring Nesto’s OuNYe employees Yin and Ari.”
Emily Wood
Created 7 months agoShare
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Ana Domingos
Created 7 months agoShare
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About Adriana Herrera
Adriana Herrera was born and raised in the Caribbean, but for the last 15 years has let her job (and her spouse) take her all over the world. She loves writing stories about people who look and sound like her people, getting unapologetic happy endings.
Other books by Adriana Herrera
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