Review: Our Way Back To Always, Nina Moreno

I read Don’t Date Rosa Santos, Nina Moreno’s debut, a little while ago and it ended up being one of my favorite YA contemporary reads. Obviously, I was eager to read more from the author and Our Way Back To Always didn’t disappoint Check out my full review below, friends.

Our Way Back to Always by Nina Moreno
on October 19, 2021
Genres: contemporary, romance, young adult
Format: ARC
Buy on Amazon, Book Depository, Bookshop, Blackwell's
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Luisa (Lou) Patterson grew up across the street from Sam Alvarez in the small, quirky town of Port Coral. They used to be inseparable--spending every holiday together, shooting silly YouTube videos, and rescuing stray cats. But then middle school happened, including the most disastrous (and embarrassing) serenade ever, and Lou and Sam haven't talked in the four years since. Sam is now the golden boy with plenty of friends, while Lou is an introverted romantic who's happy playing video games and writing fan fiction. But it's also the summer before their senior year, and life is knocking on Lou's door.
With her older sister having given up a scholarship to Princeton to have a baby and work at the local botanica, all of their mother's expectations are now riding on Lou's shoulders. She's retaking her SAT's, signed up for way too many AP classes, and her sights set on colleges with fancy names like Duke and Vanderbilt. But when she finds the bucket list she and Sam wrote together as kids, before Sam's father was diagnosed with cancer, she's shocked to see that she hasn't accomplished any of the goals she'd set for herself. Go to a party? Nope. Pull the greatest prank of all time? Still no. Learn how to be a really good kisser? Definitely not.
Torn between the future that her mother, sister, and younger self planned for her, Lou sets out to finish the list, and in a stroke of destiny or fate, Sam decides to tag along. Still trying to stay afloat amid the grief of losing his father, Sam himself is staring down a future that feels all too close, and is coming far too fast. But with the bucket list to guide them, Sam and Lou might just be able to find a way through the future, and also a way back to each other.

☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS:

death of a parent (in the past), grief, panic attacks, cancer, car accident, ADHD, teen pregnancy.

☂️ DIVERSITY:biracial (Colombian, white) protagonist with ADHD, biracial (Cuban, white) protagonist, bisexual Chinese-American side character, Afro-Cuban-American side character, Cuban-American side characters; (Cuban-Colombian-American author)

There are no spoilers in this review.

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I ENJOYED…

☂️

• Told from two different POV, we get to meet Sam, golden boy at his high school still struggling with the recent loss of his father and Lou, introverted romantic struggling with her family’s expectations for her college path. I found both characters immediately endearing, both as individuals and, not going to lie, as a couple as well.
• Before getting into them together, I want to point out that I really appreciated each of their individual journey. Sam slowly tries to find his path, while still dealing with his grief. Lou’s determination, fierceness and passion, faced with her family’s expectations and her own expectations and dreams for her own future. I really enjoyed both characters and their growth and definitely rooted for them.
• The relationship between Lou and Sam is obviously a big part of Our Way Back To Always and I really enjoyed it. It’s such a swoony, adorable romance with one of my favorite trope of all times: childhood friends growing apart and finding themselves reunited once again, years later. While it had its share of misunderstandings and little will-they-not-they moments, I had so much fun following their blooming romance. They made me smile like an idiot, a lot, okay.
• The story perfectly balances soft, cute and fun moments with tougher times. From kissing lessons to parties to chocking with pain and your own grief, it’s a book that manages to fit a lot of emotions all at once, without it feeling too much one way, or another.

• The family dynamics in this story were adorable, I’ll admit it. I really liked the small interactions we got between Lou and her family, and I loved seeing Sam and his sister, mother and grandmother together.

I HAD A HARD TIME WITH…

☂️

• I’m a little sad we didn’t get more background story on Lou and Sam’s friendship before. I would have liked to explore what had happened before a bit more and to have it been resolved a little more, just as well.

OVERALL

☂️

If you’re looking for a sweet, adorable YA contemporary, I definitely recommend Our Way Back To Always. I know I’ll be reading more from Nina Moreno!

FINAL RATING : 4 stars!

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📚 Books similar to Our Way Back To Always that I’d recommend:

• Check out this list of YA books with a friends to lovers romances!
• For more books by Nina Moreno, try reading Don’t Date Rosa Santos.

Did you read Our Way Back To Always, or do you want to? Are you a fan of friends to lovers romances? I’d love your recommendations, so let me know in comments!

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