Queen B’s Decree: Ramón and Julieta is (surprise!) a play on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, with a Chicano twist. Ramón’s father is this fast-food restaurant conglomerate that grew after bringing the Mexican fish taco to the masses, and Ramón has spent his life making deals and working for Taco King. He lets loose one night and serenades the beautiful Julieta at the Day of the Dead celebration, but he doesn’t expect to see her again after she leaves him in a rush.
Well, Julieta left because she found out who Ramón is: the son of the man who stole her mother’s family fish taco recipe. Side note: can we all not agree that tacos are sacred? But I digress.
After Ramón and his family’s corporation buys the building Julieta’s restaurant is renting, they are thrown back together. The good part here is that their connection is so strong, that despite the original animosity between them, Ramón and Julieta can’t resist the spark. Ramón was a great character. I can understand the pressure he was under in trying to make his parents’ proud (despite their issues) and I think Julieta didn’t give him enough credit.
But what I loved most in this story was the story of the community. How it came together to support each other and how integral family and culture is.
Overall, I enjoyed Ramón and Julieta, but I felt like their romance was lacking a bit. The side characters and plot seemed to overtake their story at times. And sometimes the outer wrappings or appearances were more prominent than needed. Did I really need to know all those details about Ramón’s multiple cars? It just felt like a blatant and overreaching way to show their class disparity. I also was left with some questions: what really happened between Ramón’s father and Julieta’s mother?
Despite my slight off topic rant there, I thoroughly enjoyed Ramón and Julieta and would happily read more from Alana Albertson.
Book: Ramón and Julieta by Alana Albertson
Series: Love & Tacos #1
Genre: Contemporary
Hotness: medium salsa
Plot Devices/Tropes: Romeo & Juliet, instalove