Review: This book is 519 pages and I loved each and every single one! 

 

“Love Redesigned” follows Julian Lopez and Dahlia Muñoz, childhood rivals who enter a temporary truce when they are tasked with renovating a historic house together. Falling in love wasn’t part of the plan, but years’ worth of denied attraction is impossible to ignore. 

 

I’m not exaggerating when I say that this is my favorite book of the year. I fell in love with Julian and Dahlia instantaneously!  Both are family oriented, proud of their Latine culture, and grapple with inner conflicts that make them feel real and more human. Their points-of-view were equally compelling to me, which is why it was extremely difficult for me to slow down and savor this one. I especially found myself heavily relating to Dahlia and resonating with her struggles. As someone with anxiety, I felt so seen and appreciated the way Asher represented mental health with such care in this book. I also really liked how she broached the subject of infertility and adoption to ultimately communicate that family is family, no matter how diverse the family structure. 

 

Julian and Dahlia’s rivals-to-lovers relationship was so well-developed and well-paced. The characters have a lot of history together and Asher does a great job slowly revealing bits and pieces of their past leading up to their unsuccessful first attempt at becoming a couple. I am all for the “right person, wrong time” trope and Asher masterfully builds off of Julian and Dahlia’s lingering attraction for each other in the present to invest the reader in their second chance at getting things right. The slow burn tension made their happily ever after all the more satisfying!