Guava Flavored Lies by J.J. Arias

Guava Flavored Lies Reviews

• 
  pipsqueakreviews

  Cuban pastries war.
  
  So glad I found this on Goodreads. What an adorable enemies to lovers romance and what's more adorable about it is that it's number one on the pastry baking section on Amazon. LOL!
  
  This is a low angst story and super fun to read even though the longstanding feud between the characters and their families over some Cuban recipes can get pretty ridiculous and childish. But Lauren and Sylvie have obvious chemistry and when the characters finally decide that they have had enough of mauling each other's face off, they are very sweet.
  
  J.J Arias has written a whole bunch of books, which are all on KU and I can't believe I've never read a single one of them before. It's time to check out their backlist!
• 
  Jacob Proffitt

  This was pretty much made of awesome. I liked both protagonists immensely, the enemies bit wasn't overplayed, they have lots of chemistry, and they work things out through communication and patience.
  
  Sylvie is the harder to connect to. She's very much in the paladin mode, which would generally draw me in. But since she's at odds with Lauren to start, I expected that to grate more than it did. Fortunately, Arias pulls the brilliant plot point of having her go after the rift between their families (a worthy target) and the eventual discovery puts her in a real quandary, even as it sets her up for a bit of reconsidering all the strife. Which is perfect for prompting her to open lines of communication with Lauren.
  
  Lauren was awesome from the start, though having a committed girlfriend in the beginning didn't sit well. I like that Arias didn't go with any broad strokes in that, though, and that it was easy to see the strain from Lauren's demanding schedule running an empire based on breakfast pastries. It doesn't hurt that you could see how dating Sylvie would solve that little lifestyle issue since they have parallel lives.
  
  But the thing that buries the needle was the heritage both women embrace. They're fourth generation Cuban immigrants, but unusually tied to their traditions and families as they are in charge of the legacy they've inherited. So you don't get the disconnect that often creeps in at about the third generation. I loved how that infuses their characters and their focus. And how that bled into their relationship in great ways.
  
  So this ends up with an easy five stars and I'm so glad I picked it up. I hope other books by the author are as outstanding. Or even fractionally as outstanding. I look forward to finding out.
  
  A note about Steamy: There are three or four explicit sex scenes and they go on a bit, putting this in the middle of my steam tolerance. They initially served the story very well, but became a bit gratuitous in later stages of the story. I do love that their playful banter extended into their more serious moments.
• 
  MZ

  3.5 stars. I know I’m a huge outlier here and the writing is very good and for that I wanted to round up my rating, but I didn’t really enjoy this book.
  
  I love a good enemies to lovers book, so I thought I would like this a lot. So why did I not enjoy this better? It was the type of rivalry I did not like. There are two families with a long standing feud (yes, like Romeo and Juliet), so the rivalry was often so silly. Something super random could happen and immediately the other family was blamed. Mothers, fathers, other family members, and the MCs themselves were constantly shouting, bickering and picking fights over nothing, it annoyed me. Another thing was that I didn’t like one of the MCs, Sylvie. She was so high strung, it seemed she was non-stop offended and picking fights. Even the love scenes were partly based on goading each other on. It’s not my cup of tea. I really liked Lauren though.
  
  This is my second book by Arias and I find that I very much enjoy the writing style and I will certainly read other books by this author. This one was just not for me, so please read some other reviews as well.
  
  P.S. I listened to the audiobook.
• 
  Simone11

  A hilarious enemies-to lovers romance and also very well written. I had to laugh out loud multiple times and had so much fun with this story. The chemistry between the two MCs was of the charts and I loved them both. I didn‘t know I was looking for this special book but I‘m glad it „found“ me. Thank you J. J. Arias for this wonderful story and the feel good vibes one gets from it. Highly recommend and more than 5 ⭐️ worth.
• 
  Kaitlyn

  When you're so uninvested in a book that you forget you've finished it (days ago) and neglect to write your review...and proceed to forget just about everything about it 🤭 oops.
  
  My enjoyment of this one was really somewhere below 2 ⭐ but I'm giving it a bit higher because the narrator was pretty bad. Definitely read this one, don't listen to the audiobook.
  
  In a nutshell:
  * Hated both characters from the get-go (one of them got better by about 50%)
  * The characters felt so flat and shallow that I couldn't even tell them apart for the first 30% or so (Wait, which one is she again???)
  * The family feud thing? I mean, sure that could be a valid premise, but this was just weak imo
  * How quickly it went from feud to f*ck (okay, date - I just wanted two Fs) with so little build up. You readers need some lube, ladies! Warm us up first, yeah?
  * Who the f*ck is actually that overtly and publicly rude? I mean, literally ALL of the people in both families are just out and proud about being *ssholes and (very much a personal preference) I'm never here for that.
  
  I think that covers most of the reasons I was underwhelmed by this one. As ever, I'm just a crotchety nitpick, so read other reviews 🤷
• 
  Cherie

  This was a hilarious book and I really enjoyed it. I’m sold on Arias as a good writer
• 
  Sam

  I’ve been to Cuba and it was one of my worst holidays ever. We actually refer back to those 2,5 weeks of time as the lowest standard; “it’s always better than Cuba”, “can’t be as bad as Cuba”. And I have to admit it taints everything for me that touches ok Cuba, I have no positive feelings towards any of it.
  This book might just have changed that, at the very least it has proven that I should go in with an open mind.
  
  This book is absolutely delightful. Enemies-to-lovers is one of my favourite tropes and mix in some delicious sounding food and it’s *chef’s kiss*. At least when executed well, and this one is. It’s super funny, I laughed out loud a couple times (to chagrin of my dozing cat), the story and the characters are just fun to hangout with. I actually couldn’t get enough. Especially towards the end of the book the humour was really ramped up and I kept craving more.
  
  This is a new to me author and I’m happy to have discovered it with the help from a GR friend :)
• 
  Amy Marsden

  3.5 stars.
  
  I found this to be pretty average. There's nothing WRONG with it, I just wasn't that into it.
  
  It plays out a little like Romeo and Juliet (without the death, obviously) and I should have liked it more than I did. Enemies/rivals to lovers is one of my favourite tropes. But idk. I feel like they went from rivals to not-rivals a little too quickly. I would have liked more build up in that aspect. There are also a lot of grammar mistakes.
  
  But yeah. I should have liked this more than I did, and I can't really say as to why I didn't *shrugs*
• 
  Linda

  4.5 ⭐️
  
  You can hardly go wrong with J.J. Arias and I’ve mostly enjoyed all that I’ve read so far. So no surprises that GFL is another one of hers that I enjoyed. It’s funny and even with all the animosity between the 2 camps; i.e. Campos v Machado, it wasn’t hostile with guns blazing but tends to err on the funny side. The banters between the 2 sides, mostly between Lauren and Sylvie, were hilarious and at times you just had to chuckle away. To bring the animosity between the two family to an end, something got to give and we saw that when Lauren and Sylvie finally ‘thaw’.
  
  Takeaway song: All the things you said by t.A.T.u. Pretty sure many others loved the song too right? 😁
• 
  Jen

  This was a really well done romance with a good dash of humor that sat on my kindle unread for far too long. I obviously didn’t know what I was missing out on. Lauren and Sylvie were two really enjoyable characters with excellent chemistry. Their families were really fun to get to know too. And the bonus epilogue had me laughing the entire time. Highly recommend.
• 
  Laura

  JJ Arias is one of my favorite authors and is so underrated. I read this book in one day and completely loved it! If you are a fan of JJ's this is a must read. If you aren't a fan, you should be. There are laugh out loud moments, two great lead characters in Sylvie and Lauren, who bring enemies to lovers to a whole new level. I couldn't possibly recommend this book more. It is a wonderful summer read.
• 
  Lyn Denison

  Always enjoy J J Arias’ books. This one is quite a romp with ‘laugh out loud’ situations and characters, a prime example of enemies-to-lovers. Some of the turns of phrase are delightful. Also would have loved to try the mouth-watering food. Delicious all round. Yum!
• 
  lauraღ

  Ahhhh, I really think I need to do this book the justice of rereading it at some point. It was so cute and so good and I saw a lot of glimmers of greatness, but I don't think my mind was fully engaged while I was reading? And through no fault of the book's. Laura, for your future reference, this was the week after the dead girl/horse girl kiss on CR and you were bouncing off the walls. Basically it's a Romeo and Juliet-esque situation between the daughters of two Cuban families who've been feuding for years about a stolen recipe. Lauren and Sylvie have hated each other on principle for years, and also because of their families, and we also find out pretty soon that there's a slight second-chance aspect to this enemies to lovers situation. And it played out really well. The rivalry was a little ridiculous, but thankfully it didn't last overly long. I really enjoyed how prickly and prissy Sylvie was, though I have to admit, I wish there'd been less bickering and less banter of the snarky variety? Their romance was really cute, but I didn't fall in love with it. I'm honestly having trouble thinking about things to say about the book, and idk if it's just because I was so distracted while reading it.
  
  Listened to the audiobook as read by Carrie Coelho, and maybe that contributed to my lukewarm feelings. I didn't dislike her voice, but nothing about the rendition... idk, added to the experience? I didn't love her Sylvie voice, and the few moments where I read along while listening, I felt like I enjoyed it more. Maybe I'll take it as a sign to read this author's next book physically/by ebook. Because really, there was nothing wrong with this! It was, in fact, really cute! But I'm a little underwhelmed. 
• 
  currentlyreadingbynat

  J.J. Arias always manages to create excellent enemies-to-lovers stories, and I think it's because she doesn't shy away from showing the initial hatred between the two main characters. She then takes her time thawing the mains to each other, then developing the sizzling chemistry between them. All of this creates this synergy of energy that just bounces off the page between the mains and all you can do is wait for the climax. Guava Flavoured Lies was no exception to this, and Sylvie and Lauren were fire together. 🔥🔥
  
  Speaking of fire - Sylvie kept making me think of Lee Winter's term 'fire queen'. She was that to a tee. She is fiery in both life and in love - and Lauren absolutely lives for it. Lauren is so ridiculously sweet and romantic - she was a truly lovely character.
  
  I loved this book and highly recommend a read if you're intrigued.
  
  Many thanks to J.J. Arias for providing me a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Elle

  4.5
• 
  Erica

  4.5*
• 
  Yas

  Pretty good but I wasn’t fully invested & I didn’t love the single narration (dual would’ve been better)
  
  I don't really have anything to say besides that I loved the premise and the little glimpses of rivals to lovers we got.
  But the rest felt just okay, and I didn't get invested in these characters and their relationship.
  
  I did love that both MCs were out, and it wasn't a plot point in the story.
  
  But they both felt and acted way more childish than I’d think women I'm their 30s would act.
  
  Still worth reading if you crave some sapphic romcom with some rival family shenanigans.
  
  🗂Genre: RomCom
  📕Type: Standalone
  
  🏷Tropes:
  - Rivaling Families to Lovers
  - Sapphic
  - Low Angst
  - Bickering
  - Cuban pastries
  - Diversity Rep
  
  ⚠️Safety: no cheating (h1 is in a relationship at the beginning of book, though - but no cheating in any way), no owd
  
  📖Format: 3rd person, dual POV & single narration
  
• 
  Victoria

  A heartwarming, low-angst read(and a little dragged on). I thought the two MCs made up too quickly. It’s like nothing happened in the two decades and suddenly “I’m in love with you.” Overall, I enjoy reading this. It made me craving pastries…!!
• 
  Nicesuu

  I’m not into long romance novels, so after the 2nd chapter I skipped to chapter 30 (can’t remember). I got the details from the characters’ conversation. This is my first J.J Arias book and I like her writing style, this one is well written and not cheesy romantic. That’s enough for me to read another J.J Arias novel.
• 
  Michelle

  Segundo libro de la autora, mejoro mucho la historia, pero sigue siendo flojo, sí, es gracioso, pero en general es muy extenso y siento que tiro mucho de la confrontación de las protagonistas hasta el punto en que deje de creer en que de verdad se odiaban.
  Ahora, el final hubiera estado bien con el primer epilogo, el segundo aunque intento ser un momento gracioso, fue más forzado que otra cosa.
• 
  julia

  Had to stay till 2 am for these two to finally lock lips and that speaks for itself.
• 
  Ness (Vynexa)

  I am so glad that I finally got my Amazon recommended to show a ton of sapphic novels, because I was really needing this one.
  
  The second that I saw the title and read the description, I was hooked. As a 1st generation Cuban-American born in Hialeah who grew up with their culture and food along with not being straight, I knew I would love this novel.
  
  Seeing Lauren and Sylvie literally going from rivals-to-lovers was so fun, especially since we really got to see them as rivals. J.J. Arias did such an amazing job with this, because I sometimes feel like authors and readers use "enemies-to-lovers" on stories where the said "rivalry" takes place for two seconds.
  
  Their love for each other oozed out of my kindle into my heart. I swooooooooooned big time!
  
  Also, this book made me so hungry! To the point where I am currently waiting for my delivery from a local Cuban restaurant. I regret nothing.
  
  While there were many things that I liked, there were some things I didn't. But that honestly stems from personal issues I have with the language Cubans in Miami tend to use and the way they see/think of things (again, coming from a Cuban born and raised in Miami). Also, it bothers me when non-English languages are italicized in English novels. Especially my own native language. It tends to throw me off. But I loved and appreciated that the Spanglish was incorporated the way it was as it is an accurate depiction of how we speak to each other.
  
  Rivalry is silly! Let's just all sit together and have a pastel de guayaba y queso con una Jupiña. It'll fix everything!
  
  I'm so glad I preordered this book and hope to get a physical copy to add to my collection. Will definitely read more from this author!
  
  ⭐️ 4 STARS ⭐️
• 
  Dani

  I wasn't a foodie before, but J.J. Arias I'm not so patiently waiting for the Campos/Machado receipe book now.
  This one's childhood enemies and rivals to lovers and 10-10-10 across the board.
  So warm, charming, effortlessly funny and oh yeah, HOT!
  Sylvie and Lauren come from two different sides of a long standing i.e. multi-generational family feud, who have known each other practically their entire lives. Not a single interaction of theirs goes down without incident, and their families are the same. Following yet another embittered encounter, Sylvie hires an investigator to get to the bottom of the feud and finally vindicate her family, but the truth revealed mayhaps opens the door to Sylvie and Lauren reevaluating their shared history? 👀
  
  I loved this so much, the characters, families and Cuban-American world were an absolute treat. Had intended to read it over 2 days, but was so enamoured by the story, I lost all sense of time and finished it in one sitting. 100% would make a fun streaming series. Someone call up Netflix's president of original content!
• 
  KarenC

  I am so thankful I found JJ Arias! After finding Destination You, I have decided to work my way through her entire catalog. Guava Flavored Lies is set in the same universe, in the Little Havana section of Miami. Two Cuban-American families have engaged in a multi-generational feud over the origins of their bakeries. This is a stellar enemies-to-lovers story, with the two mains having been enemies since they were children. The writing is smooth and readable, and often hilarious. These are the kind of stories we need right now - low angst and pure fun.
• 
  gwen

  THEY PULLED A SUTTONCHARLOTTE WEDDING ofc im gonna give it 5 stars
• 
  mili

  8/10
  
  tbh wasn't expecting it to be this enjoyable so i'm really happy i got the book
  
  i think that i would've found the behaviour mcs have around one another very frustrating and childish if i were reading the book by myself but since it was an audiobook it was amusing and cute. the chemistry was there from the beginning.
  
  loved the dynamic of the cuban families. i can only guess that the author herself is a cuban-american (or her parents are) and therefore there's a bunch of really good little (cultural) facts throughout the whole story (food, music, tradition) that so easily pull you into the world this book is building.
  
  definitely want to visit cuba since i hear all good things from people i know that've gone there*
  
  never been to usa but i actually learned here about some miami neighbourhoods (like little havana, hialeah and miami lakes) which has been an interesting thing to me (since it's very much related to my profession) and got me looking more into the whole urban plan and the process of urbanisation of miami. never knew there were so many man-made lakes there.
  
  first time reading a work from jj arias and hopefully will find some more similar ones to add to my tbr
  
  the bonus epilogue was actually quite a nice, funny touch. especially since it reminds me of my gf and myself.
  
  9/10 audio
  
  first time listening to the carrie coello and i loved it. she did a very good job but i guess it wasn't a 10/10 since the american pronunciation of spanish words just gets under my skin a bit. yes, i'm aware i'm nitpicking.
  
  * well, tbh the whole caribbean region but i guess cuba, hispaniola and puerto rico the most.
• 
  Clara Addicted to sapphic books

  I love how J.J Arias  takes you in that cuban atmosphere, I could almost taste the food and hear the music in my head.There is nothing i like more than reading a relationship shifting from cold to hot. This book doesn’t disappoint because you shift from cold war to smoking hot. The writer makes her characters cross the thin line between hate and love in a really natural and almost inevitable way. J.J Arias is a master for writing tension and chemistry.It's a Romeo and Juliet situation but it's not depressing, it's funny and incredibly romantic.Cherry on the cake,the MC have known each other all their life and there is an extra layer of second chance thingy here.I had a great time reading this book
• 
  Bookista

  so much fun!
  
  I think JJ Arias’ super power must be writing enemies to lovers romance. In “Guava Flavored Lies” an old family feud serves as the backdrop for the animosity angle and the end result is soooo goood!!!
  
  Sylvia and Lauren have hated each other since kindergarten when there was an alleged pudding theft & consumption situation. But their dislike for each other is like it’s in their blood, since both their families have been at each other’s throats for as long as anyone can remember - accusing the other of stealing their family’s infamous pastelito recipe.
  
  I am quite partial to the whole enemies to lovers trope and this one hits all the checkboxes, with the two MCs duking it out to the point of ridiculousness. The animosity has a wonderful comedic quality about it and I found myself snickering as the situations get increasingly public and the entire family gets into it.
  The wonderful thing about enemies to lovers trope, is that eventual slide to lovers and it is such a lovely slow burn with some hot salsa dancing, make out sessions and a truly hilarious reveal of their relationship.
  Typically at the 80% portion of the book there is a chockfull of additional angst thrown in, however I liked that the story actually continued with a glimpse into their lives and how the charachters and families repair the rift between them. This was sort of an extended epilogue and I loved every minute of it.
  
  This was such a fun book to read and I found myself reading it slower than usual because I was enjoying myself so much. Highly recommend Guava Flavored Lies!❤️ But reader beware… a sudden craving for pastelitos and cafe con leche maybe in your future 🥰.
• 
  Arley

  *sigh*
  
  This book has been on my TBR and downloaded to my kindle from KU for MONTHS, just to be this disappointed when I actually pick it up.
  
  We get a loose Romeo and Juliet inspired sapphic contemporary romance. Both Lauren Machado (Montegue) and Sylvia Campos (Capulet) families have been feuding for generations. Both of their great grandfathers owned a bakery and fled Cuba. Once they had arrived to Miami,Florida each started their own bakery, both with the same recipes, each claiming that the other stole trade secrets/recipes. Each generation kept fueling the feud and we are at the most recent generation. Lauren and Sylvie, were classmates from elementary school to high school and they played on the same softball team.
  
  Now if this book took place as is just with them being freshly out of high school, maybe I would have enjoyed it better. But you are telling me these grown ass women, literally 32 years old are still acting like teenagers? Its fucking ridiculous. As a fellow Latina, I understand the flair for the dramatic but this is so much worse. Sylvie is not really likable, like hating and bullying Lauren is literally the only part of her personality. Lauren on the other hand, usually doesn’t instigate shit, but she does match Sylvie’s energy, I am shocked at how much and often she is willing to keep giving Sylvie chances even when she’s the root of their own dispute outside of the families feuding.
  
  I understand this is a fictional story, but with the extreme dramatics it reads like a telenovela (Latine Soap Opera) from my childhood and I don’t mean that in a good way…
  
  For Lauren, it looks like shes always had an underlying crush on Sylvie that never went away. For Sylvie it looks like she was ashamed of her crush and wanted to bury it behind walls upon walls upon walls of hate, insults, stubbornness, and overall determination to “crush the thieves that are the whole Machado family.” Sylvie’s switch from “I HATE HER” to “OMG I”M FALLING IN LOVE WITH HER” was so jarring it gave me mental whiplash.
  
  On to the things I liked:
  - the sapphic latina rep: we don’t get a lot of that
  - the unfortunate unconscious sexist bias that Sylvie sees between her and her brother at the hands of her parents was so spot on.
  
  Overall this was a flop for me and if this book had been more than 300 pages I would have DNF-ed but, only pushed through because it was less. 1.5 stars rounded up to 2 for the sapphic and Latina rep.
  
  I seem to be in the minority here as to not loving this book but the author’s writing was pretty good, I would read something else by them.
• 
  Heather Lewis

  A very well written enemies to lovers. Had me hooked from beginning to end, and maybe even a little hungry especially for Cuban delicacies 😂. It’s so satisfying when enemies can really banter back and forth and it not be annoying! You can feel the tension coming off the page before we even get little peeks of how much they actually enjoy those scalding moments. The MCs are very relatable and so fun!