I'll definitely be reading more of Emily Henry. This was amazing, couldn't stop reading it. And they were so cute? The humor as well? So well written? I confess, I might have been avoiding contemporary romance ever since getting traumatized by Twisted Love and just mildly impressed by Ali Hazelwood, but I now know there's some contemporary romance that's actually good. A legit banger, this book.

I'm writing a different review here than I did on goodreads, for the following reason: I have no idea if this will ever be translated into English, since it's a book pertaining to a very niche kind of literature - Azorian literature. Long story short, this book is about Rosário, a teenager that embarks illegally on a journey to Brazil to escape the poor conditions of 19th century Azores. There, she deals with unspeakable obstacles, such as prostitution and being enslaved against her will. As such, she never forgets what she left behind (what I had to leave behind to study 😅): the green mountanous peaks of extinguished volcanos and the kite's chirp. The story goes on to explain how her life unfolded and the epilog is the description of a painting any cultured Azorian knows... which hangs in one of my grandmother's house walls. So, yes, as soon I realized what the epilog was, my t-shirt got soaked with my tears. This book is a testament to every Azorian emigrant and really embodies the sadness, the anguish and work Azorians had to go through back in the day to thrive in lands that were not their own.

While the worldbuilding did get a bit more consolidated, I became convinced the plot is the love triangle and nothing else. It's the only thing I'm invested in and it's the only thing that makes the story move forward. If these two man weren't beefing over Isla, there would be no book. 🤷‍♀️ Ah, wait, I meant no triology.