Love, in Spanish (Love, in English)

This story is simply beautiful, and by beautiful, I mean it shows the stark-naked-ugly- hairy-a$$- truth about two people who fall in when they weren't supposed to fall in love. If you are looking for a sweet love-conquers-all fairytale, please allow me to show you the exit door, because $hit just got real in this book.Before I plunge into my review, let me just say that I want to take a hard copy of LiS, grind it into powder, pour it into a spice jar, and slap a "Mateo" label on it. Eggs tasting a little bland, sprinkle a little Mateo on them, having a bad hair day, sprinkle a little Mateo on your head; not feeling so fresh down there, sprinkle some of that Mateo powder on the cooch. MATEO MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER! I think that the author should contact me so that we can get a plan in action. If you see a 3 a.m. As-Seen-On-TV infomercial for Mateo powder, you can thank me for improving your life. Okay, okay, let's talk about the story.***Warning: Possible Spoilers Below***Love, in Spanish (LiS) picks up where Love, in English (LiE) ended, but this time the story is told from Mateo's POV. The story is NOT a rehash of the first book; it's a continuation of Mateo's and Vera's life after their scandalous affair. This book is as important IF not more important than LiE, because it tells the story of the aftermath left once news of Mateo and Vera's affair goes public, and Mateo leaves his wife and home to be with Vera . This story is so remarkable and powerful because it shows that love, sometimes it's downright ugly, and just because two people love with all their heart and soul, even that isn't always enough to sustain the relationship. Love, in Spanish gives a big dose of reality; it brings to light what often occurs when a person leaves one commitment/marriage to be with the one who brings him to life, who breathes air into his soul. Before Vera, Mateo was the man who had everything and nothing at the same time; and now Mateo is the man who has nearly nothing and everything at the same time. Vera made Mateo realize that he was living the wrong life. However, just because Mateo makes the huge decision to choose Vera over his lifeless marriage in LiE, that doesn't mean that the worst is over and that they get to live happily ever after.Mateo choosing to be Vera is like an earthquake, and just like a real earthquake, sometimes the most damage is not brought on the quake itself, but by the aftershocks or a tsunami. Have you ever wondered about a real-life affair that was so powerful that it caused the demise of another committed relationship, yet the couple fell apart afterwards? LiS shows us that the hardest part of a forbidden affair isn't the decision to leave significant others so that the two people can be together; it's living that life afterwards that's the toughest.Mateo soon learns that his affair wronged not only his wife, but every wife in in their social circle, school, and city, and none of them are going to allow neither him nor Vera to forget that pain and humiliation. Mateo also discovers that when he divorced his wife, he ended up divorcing his friends and supporters. He planned on losing his house and wife, but he didn't plan on losing a majority of parental rights and decisions, friendships, loyalty, respect from others, his image, admiration from his countrymen, and social status; his wife got custody of all that and more from the divorce. This is why so many affairs end; people don't foresee all the other losses. Mateo does gain a few things, but nothing like he anticipated; he inherits ruthless media, negative publicity that plays out his private life in the tabloids, scorn from the other parents, disrespect from former friends, a big pile of guilt, insecurities and doubts. In addition to all the losses, Mateo recognizes not only the age gap, but the language barrier and cultural difference between him and Vera. Mateo prefers swilling scotch in his apartment, whereas Vera enjoys getting drunk and dancing all night. Mateo is a man of traditions, Vera is very much a free spirit; Mateo is rooted, while Vera is the star in the sky. But like Mateo said, "You don't keep your eyes on the ground once you've seen the beauty of the stars." At times I found myself irritated with Vera, some of her behavior brought embarrassment to Mateo, as well as hardship. Then I remember that Vera is only 23 y.o., and also a free-thinking, inked-up, non-conformist, who is living in a foreign country where she is vilified, and not only does she not have any family connections, but she doesn't even speak the language and could be deported any day from the man that she loves. How the hell do I expect her to behave?My heart ached for this couple, how long should they have to carry around that big bag of guilt and shame, and how long should two people be punished for falling in love? They deserve family and friends who love them, instead of choosing to judge them. Never has that old adage, "Nothing worth having comes easy", been truer than with Mateo and Vera.

Love, in Spanish is the new companion novel to the contemporary romance Love, in English. It’s a brand new story from author Karina Halle that offers a glimpse of characters Mateo Casalles and Vera Miles approximately one year after the events of Love, in English.Karina Halle has created some impressive male characters, and she is exceptionally talented when writing from a man’s point of view. Dex Foray. Javier Bernal. Sage Knightley. Camden McQueen. And now, Mateo Casalles. Mateo is mature, responsible, a father who dearly loves his daughter. He wants to provide for those that he loves. Mateo is proud. Loving. Sexy. Territorial. Mateo claims Vera as his own. He sees Vera in his future. If you have read Love, in English you know this.But circumstances have not been perfect for Mateo and Vera. They face problems which seem to be compounded by Mateo being a high-profile public figure. They are citizens of two different countries, struggling to overcome language and cultural barriers. Their fifteen-year age difference seems to be insurmountable. Mateo has a bitter ex-wife, the paparazzi is unrelenting, and they both have work-related issues.If anything can go wrong, it simply does. For this reason, the tone of Love, in Spanish felt somewhat discouraging to me. But I also found it believable that a couple with this many differences is going to struggle with problems. It was how Mateo and Vera responded to these problems that felt real, emotional and true. This author’s words have a tendency to pull at reader emotions. I clearly felt the desperation and sadness of these characters through the writing. Karina Halle is a gifted writer. She has the capability of bringing a scene to life by combining random details with sensory descriptive words. The overall effect is extraordinary. Love, in Spanish is full of the same top-notch writing that her fans have come to expect. The writing just flows beautifully. For Love, in Spanish, Halle has earned a solid 4-star rating!

I love that the story continued for Vera and Mateo. But it was not an easy one. Because it never is, is it? Especially the circumstances following book 1. So many eyes and opinions and feelings of guilt… Vera again struggled so much with everything that transpired. She didn’t want to be the villain of the story, but she is to the world. To Mateo, though, she’s his star. And he fights for her. Hard. The emotions this evoked… I can’t describe. It’s tragically beautiful because while you’re glad they found one another, a family was broken… Despite all that I loved seeing the story unfold the way it did.

While Love, in English was from Vera's POV, this baby is from Mateo's.And my God, but it has just as many feels as the previous book! It's not the same story, rehashed. It's the sequel, it's what comes after the HEA we see from Vera's POV. I love those type of books, to be honest. Once the main characters kiss and make up, that's it. Story ends and everybody moves on. But I love knowing what happens with a couple, so a sequel is always welcome.We get the good, the bad and the ugly. Of course that things work out, in the end. I loved that the characters faced real life problems, not made up bogus things.5 stars.

Not as good as"Love in English" but this was a further insight into Vera and Mateo' s bumpy journey to being together in Spain and the prejudice of other people. The story continues where English stopped and shows how their next journey to a happy ending goes. It was good this time having Mateo' s POV, but the story seemed short and sweet and got lost somewhere in the middle. Will only make sense if you read Love in English first, but I did enjoy it and look forward to Josh's story next year.

Love, in English is a great story, well written, original and just beautiful. However I was disappointed with this sequel/novella. The alternative POV (Mateo's) was not totally convincing or even necessary, as it occasionally made me cringe and was a bit cliche. It is still worth a read to find out what happens next. I'm looking forward to Josh's story.

A very enjoyable conclusion to Vera and Mateo's story. The book picks up almost straight after the end of LiE. Vera and Mateo are still feeling the constant ripples of their relationship's effect on others. The wrath of Isabel is still palpable. It is a difficult path they have chosen to navigate. Satisfying read.

I couldn't decide whether to award 4 or 5 stars and in the end gave LIS 5 stars because I really warmed to both characters and really enjoyed both the books. LIS, written from the POV of Mateo was an interesting extension of LIE. Certainly worth reading.