
Along Came Amor by Alexis Daria
Contemporary Romance
May 27, 2025, by Avon
Review by Melanie
Along Came Amor is the latest title from Alexis Daria and the third and final book in her Primas of Power series. Given that it’s been a minute since the last book in this series came out (almost 4 years to be exact), it took some doing for me to reacquaint myself with the series and the large cast of characters.
This story features a sexy romance between recently divorced school teacher Ava and wealthy hotelier Roman, one that begins with a no strings attached fling and turns into a full-fledged love affair. But, as with the other two books in the series, the journey to their HEA is not without some twists and turns…and a whole lot of secrets.
Ava, reeling from her divorce, has a lot of baggage. And I’m glad that the book mentions that she’s in therapy because a lot of her issues stem from the trauma related to childhood abandonment and neglect by her own parents and the ongoing emotional abuse she suffers at the hands of her frankly toxic extended family. I can’t recall the first two books in this series with any great clarity to compare how toxic they were towards the first two FMCs in the series but the way they treat Ava in this book is so horrible that I disliked every last one of them, from her incredibly judgmental abuela to her neglectful father to her stepmother who treats her like a servant there to do her bidding.
Now, I’m going to be honest: Ava’s father’s side of the family is Puerto Rican and perhaps some of this toxic and misogynistic behavior is cultural. I really have no way of knowing but being South Asian, I can somewhat relate to the judgmental behavior exhibited by her interfering, nosy family and the way they treat Ava with such disdain and condescension. (Please note the heavy emphasis on the words somewhat).
They blame her for a divorce that wasn’t her idea, think she should just apologize to her ex-husband to get him back even if she didn’t do anything wrong, and basically think she’s a failure because her marriage didn’t last. There is a LOT of toxic, abusive behavior and Ava’s issues of abandonment have conditioned her to believe that she needs to be perfect to earn her family’s love and acceptance. She bends over backwards to help them out with anything they need, is essentially always at their beck and call, and never ever speaks up for herself. Basically, she’s made herself into their doormat/emotional punching bag and has big issues with drawing boundaries.
Enter Roman, the wealthy hotelier that Ava unexpectedly embarks on a secret fling with in an effort to have something that’s just her own. She’s insistent that her family can never know about him because their interference will only cause more problems and unnecessary drama. With Roman, she can be fully herself, open up about her heartbreak, her dreams and fears, and yet, she also has no problems drawing strict boundaries with him or speaking up for herself. Initially, she uses him as a coping mechanism to heal from her divorce and the ugliness of her family dynamics but to her everlasting surprise, her family life and her secret affair collide when he’s revealed to be the best man in her cousin’s wedding and she’s the maid of honor. (The bride and groom in question are the main couple in the first book in the series, a delightful soapy romance featuring two actors co-starring in a telenovela).
As much as Eva insists on ending things with Roman now that her worlds have collided, she finds herself unable to stay away, drawn to his caretaking nature and the way he’s always willing to drop everything to spend time with her. He listens to her, pays attention to her, values her opinions, never judges her, and most importantly, he knows how to apologize when he messes up. He also falls first and falls harder and declares his love for her well before she does. I should also mention that they have a lot of super hot sex – this book is packing some serious heat.
The main issue in this book is really about Ava, her inability to trust that she’s someone worth loving and her inabilithy to draw strict boundaries with her family being the real hindrances to their HEA.
Obviously, since this is a romance, there is a HEA but the way things resolve with Ava and her family seem a little too quick and halfhearted. Roman desperately wants to stop hiding their relationship and for Ava to stand up to her family and the way that all unfolds is more accidental than anything else, forcing Ava to confront her family over their mistreatment of her. While I loved Ava getting everything off her chest, I wish she had chosen to do it rather than having it be forced on her by circumstances beyond her control. And then the way a lot of her family just shrug off her feelings or wave them away feels really disrespectful. Also, I really disliked her stepmom, and I’m thrilled her half-sister called her out for her behavior towards Ava. I’m glad she did have some people in her corner who had her back and supported her.
There’s another scene featuring male strippers that is both hilarious and a bit awkward and involves Roman giving Ava’s mom a lap dance (yes, you read that right) and I’m not sure that scene was entirely necessary or furthered the plot in any significant way (or, at the very least, that lap dance with her mom felt super odd and really unnecessary).
I wouldn’t say this is my favorite book in the series, that award goes to the very first book but I did like it way more than the second book in the series and the epilogue giving us a down the line look at Ava and Roman’s relationship was a really lovely way to close out the series.
Grade: A-
Content Notes: toxic family dynamics, fat shaming, parental abandonment in the past
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