After Hours on Milagro Street: A Novel

by Angelina M. Lopez

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781335639929
Publisher:	Carina Press
Publication date:	07/26/2022
Series:	Milagro Street , #1
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	284,831
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.70(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Angelina M. Lopez writes sexy, contemporary stories about strong women and the confident men lucky to fall in love with them. She has been writing professionally her whole life: first as a journalist for an acclaimed city newspaper, then as a freelance magazine writer and a content marketer for small businesses, and now as a romance author. She lives with her family outside of Washington, D.C. You can find more about her at her website, AngelinaMLopez.com.

Editorial Reviews

★ 04/18/2022

Sparks fly and tempers flare in the passionate, un-put-downable rivals-to-lovers romance that launches a sizzling new series from Lopez (the Filthy Rich series). Alejandra “Alex” Torres, “the Best Bitch in Bartending,” moves back home to Freedom, Kans., to revive her grandmother’s failing bar, Loretta’s, a staple of her Mexican American neighborhood; prove herself to her family; and revamp her career. Unfortunately, the building’s upstairs tenant, sexy and charmingly nerdy professor Jeremiah Post, has plans to turn Loretta’s into a museum and quickly proves a thorn in Alex’s side, despite their immediate electric chemistry. But when a local development company starts buying up abandoned properties and sets its sights on Loretta’s, the pair are forced to work together. There are rumors of a family treasure hidden somewhere in the building—just what they need to save the bar—but Alex and Jeremiah will have to put aside their differences to find it. Reserved Jeremiah and ballsy Alex shine as Lopez expertly peels back their layers, and together they make an endearing power couple. 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. Agent: Sara Megibow, KT Literary. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"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

From the Publisher

★ 06/01/2022

Alex Torres-Armstead and Jeremiah Post want the same thing: the building that currently houses Alex's grandmother's bar, Loretta's. Bartender Alex thinks she can whip the bar into shape, then leave for the next rung on her career ladder. Jeremiah, who lives in one of the tenant rooms upstairs, has his own secret plans for the space. Alex doesn't trust rich, white Jeremiah to have her Mexican American community's best interests in his plans. Jeremiah isn't sure why Alex has such a large, angry chip on her shoulder, but he can't seem to budge it long enough for her to listen to his ideas. When they find out that other, more nefarious parties want the building and don't have any qualms about how they get it, Alex and Jeremiah call a truce. Working together to save Loretta's uncovers past secrets; can it also break down the barriers they've built around their hearts? The story moves quickly, with engaging writing and a complex, layered plot that pulls readers into Jeremiah and Alex's developing relationship. VERDICT Lopez's ("Filthy Rich" series) likeable protagonists, with immediate chemistry and connection, shine in this steamy novel (the first in a planned series). Recommended for general purchase.—Heather Miller Cover

Library Journal