After Hours on Milagro Street - by Angelina M Lopez (Paperback)

About the Book

Opposites attract in this rivals-to-lovers romance from Lush Money author Angelina M. Lopez. Guapo pobrecito her grandmother calls him. The "poor handsome man." Professor Jeremiah Post, the poor handsome man, is in fact standing in the way of Alejandra "Alex" Torres turning Loretta's, her grandmother's bar, into a viable business. The hot brainiac who sleeps in one of the upstairs tenant rooms already has all of her Mexican American family's admiration; she won't let him have the bar and building she needs to resurrect her career, too. Alex blowing into town has rocked Jeremiah to his mild-mannered core, but the large, boisterous Torres clan is everything he never had. He doesn't believe Alex has the best interest of her family, their community, or the bar's legacy in mind. To protect all three, he'll stand up to the tough and tattooed bartender with whom he now shares a bedroom wall--and resist the insta-lust they both feel. But when an old enemy threatens Loretta's and the surrounding neighborhood, Alex and Jeremiah must combine forces. It will take her might and his mind to save the home they both desperately need.

Book Synopsis

A WASHINGTON POST BEST ROMANCE OF 2022
A FATED MATES BEST ROMANCE OF 2022
AN ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY BEST ROMANCE OF 2022

Guapo pobrecito, her grandmother calls him. The "poor handsome man."

Professor Jeremiah Post, the poor handsome man, is in fact standing in the way of Alejandra "Alex" Torres turning Loretta's, her grandmother's bar, into a viable business. The hot brainiac who sleeps in one of the upstairs tenant rooms already has all of her Mexican American family's admiration; she won't let him have the bar and building she needs to resurrect her career, too.

Alex blowing into town has rocked Jeremiah to his mild-mannered core, but the large, boisterous Torres clan is everything he never had. He doesn't believe Alex has the best interest of her family, their community, or the bar's legacy in mind. To protect all three, he'll stand up to the tough and tattooed bartender with whom he now shares a bedroom wall--and resist the insta-lust they both feel.

But when an old enemy threatens Loretta's and the surrounding neighborhood, Alex and Jeremiah must combine forces. It will take her might and his mind to save the home they both desperately need.

Review Quotes

"Sensual, scorching, and steeped in luminous, glimmering prose, After Hours on Milagro Street is proof that Angelina Lopez is the new queen of small town romance--and of our hearts!" --Sierra Simone, author of Priest and A Merry Little Meet Cute

"Lust, animosity and forced proximity make for a potent cocktail in this emotional enemies-to-lovers romance... Lopez excels at penning strong women who know exactly what they want, but what makes this romance shine is the way she reveals the vulnerabilities and pain hiding behind Alex's tough exterior and how, in her quest to make her mark on Freedom, she -- with Jeremiah's help -- finds love, reclaims her family's legacy and reveals the true history of her community." -The Washington Post

"We tend to associate small town romances with the very twee and white worlds of Hallmark movies, but Angelina M. Lopez is ready to turn that on its head this summer and remind readers that small towns are as diverse as any other corner of America...Lopez combines her signature steamy approach with a romance steeped in questions of gentrification, family, and what home really means." -Entertainment Weekly

"Sparks fly and tempers flare in the passionate, un-put-downable rivals-to-lovers romance that launches a sizzling new series...Lopez seamlessly blends high-heat romance with discussions of Alex's heritage and the fascinating history of 19th-century Mexican immigrants to the Kansas plains. This is a treasure." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Not since Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper mixed it up personally and professionally in Ball of Fire has there been such a marvelously mismatched yet inevitably perfect-for-each-other pair of protagonists as Lopez's (Hate Crush, 2020) sexy mixologist and sweet professor. They generate plenty of sizzling chemistry and muy caliente love scenes. Combine with an engaging plot that celebrates Mexican American history, and you have a romance with both heat and heart." --Booklist

"Highly recommend to anyone looking for a change-up from lighthearted romcoms but not willing to go full-blown angst, anyone who appreciates an alpha heroine, and anyone who loves a big family, ghosts, and page scorching sex." --Elizabeth Everett, author of A Perfect Equation

"Everything I want in a contemporary romance: instant chemistry between the leads, a boisterous and loyal family, angsty pasts, passion, social justice, and so much more!" -Danielle Jackson, author of The Accidental Pinup

"This story blew all my expectations out of the water! I'd expected a fun, sexy enemies-to-lover romance with a bar as backdrop. I got a secret family lineage, hidden treasure, emotional twists and turns, a haunted bar, love letters from the past, familia forgiveness, and a whole lot of fun. Throw in a devoted, sensitive and surprisingly sexy professor and you get why I absolutely loved this read! I highly, highly recommend After Hours on Milagro Street, It's an absolute delight. A definite keeper. Buy it. Read it. Enjoy again and again." -- Diana Muñoz Stewart, bestselling author of The Black Ops Confidential series

"The story moves quickly, with engaging writing and a complex, layered plot that pulls readers into Jeremiah and Alex's developing relationship...Lopez's likeable protagonists, with immediate chemistry and connection, shine in this steamy novel (the first in a planned series)." -Library Journal, starred review

"Romance is almost always an inherently political genre in the ways it asserts its messages about sexuality, pleasure, power dynamics, and more. But Lopez raises that to the next level, making a profound statement about being an American amid absolutely mind-blowing sex scenes. It's her ability to balance these lascivious passages with pointed, meaningful storytelling that sets her work apart and makes her a writer worth returning to again and again."- Entertainment Weekly

"Amidst some of the hottest love scenes put to paper this year, Angelina M. Lopez interrogates big subjects like gentrification, assimilation, and what calling yourself an "American" really means. Her vibrant story of the ways that love, acceptance, and kinship can weave together in a tapestry with the threads of work that undoes erasure is both powerful and swoon-worthy."--Entertainment Weekly, Best Romance Novels of 2022

I want to go live in Freedom and hang out at Loretta's and I want to go to Easter dinner with Alex's family. And Jeremiah. JEREMIAH. Gah. It takes an amazing hero to compliment a strong heroine, and Angelina nails it. I loved this book and can't recommend it highly enough.--Pippa Grant, USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author

These two enemies have a slow-burn that'll make you feral -- and that's with an opening one-night stand at that! Because their one-night-stand is nothing compared to what happens when they're really in love, and really trusting each other, and OH MY GOD I LOVED IT....Unique and powerful and sexy and emotional!--Kathryn Nolan, Amazon Top 25 bestselling author

This book is fantastic. Sexy and emotional, with complex characters, an immersive setting, and far-reaching family mysteries. Angelina M. Lopez has done something really special here and everyone should read it! (Loved it in audio!)--Alexis Daria, author of You Had Me At Hola

From page one this book is a steamy, swoony, fanning myself read that totally grabbed me. Alejandra "Alex" is a strong, opinionated, and determined woman with a heart of gold! And Jeremiah is a hunky hero you just wanna cuddle up with...such a good man fighting his own demons, like Alex.... This is a definite recommend from me.--Priscilla Oliveras, USA Today bestselling author