Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Sereno Hidalgo, newly divorced from his husband, flies to San Juan, Puerto Rico to reconnect with Esteban, an estranged cousin who owns a coffee plantation. But with Hurricane María only days away, the reunited Hidalgo cousins—together with Esteban’s wife—are forced to prepare for the worst storm to strike the island in a century. As with any natural disaster, there is invariably something to grab you by surprise, something to take you by storm. For Esteban, it’s the shock of a family scandal long kept secret, but revealed by an unusual acquaintance. For Sereno, that surprise is Augusto Toro, the splendid personification of African, Native American, and Spanish cultures that produce the great majority of Puerto Ricans.

As María churns in the Atlantic, ever closer, Sereno finds himself inexplicably attracted to the handsome man everyone calls Chocolate, pronounced Cho-koh-lah-teh. Sereno was never noted for detecting red flags in his affairs. The only thing he was ever good at was running away once trouble become clear. Now he can’t. He’s too far gone, in too deep, and the hurricane is way too close to run. Sereno must find a way to cope with both the fear of loving a bisexual man and handling the mind-numbing, horrifying impact of the ravaged land called La Isla del Encanto.

Book Review

Set in Puerto Rico around the time of hurricane Maria, Café y Chocolate is a fascinating love story that includes everything from personal to family drama, the very real chaos and devastation that followed this destructive hurricane, and more than one twist and turn in a love story that faces many challenges. Based on the author’s foreword and the blurb, Café y Chocolate is a very personal story, and that emotional involvement shines through from beginning to end. As a result, I was fully engaged from the start, followed what happened with bated breath, and since the author kept the suspense high until almost the final page, it turned out to be an emotional roller coaster of the first degree.

Sereno is a city boy who has lived in New York ever since leaving Puerto Rico when he was a teenager and left with the cheater whom he has now divorced. He needs to get out of the city for a while, and visiting his cousin, Esteban, who feels more like a brother than a cousin, is exactly what he needs. Watching Sereno reconnect with his roots is very interesting, and between all the people he remembers, the food he loves and hasn’t had in years, and the lush natural setting with its special sights and sounds and scents, he has a lot of experiences to dive into with enthusiasm. When he meets Chocolate (Choh-koh-lah-te), Esteban’s best friend, it is lust at first sight, and a whole new dimension is added to Sereno’s adventure.

While the love story between Sereno and Chocolate is definitely one of the key elements of this story, there are many others that make this novel come alive. The family history that Sereno and his cousin Esteban share as well as much family drama that slowly emerges is full of surprises. Since Esteban and his wife run a coffee plantation, I found out a lot about growing, selling, and marketing coffee beans. Watching everyone deal with the approaching hurricane, experiencing its chaos through the eyes of the islanders, and seeing the devastation it left behind from their perspective was scary. The author made it feel very real, and it brought the pictures I have seen on TV to life in a whole new way. And I have to admit that the suspense as to what Sereno will do once he needs to decide whether he is going to return to New York as planned or if he wants to stay with his newfound lover (under less than favorable circumstances) almost killed me!

If you like stories with realistic, complicated characters, if you are curious about Puerto Rico and want to experience what it is like through the eyes of someone who has been there, and if you’re looking for a read that engages all your senses as well as your heart in  a way that might just have you spellbound, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. Sereno and Chocolate are two men I will not forget anytime soon – and the situation of Puerto Rico has gained a new dimension for me. Thank you, Johnny Miles, for giving me this adventure and for making it an unforgettable story!

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by the author for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 259 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	27-August-2018
Price	$5.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Café-y-Chocolate-Johnny-Miles-ebook/dp/B07GWJ737T