Gwendolyn Zepeda

Crazy, quirky, and totally humorous…

Jessica Luna is a young Mexican girl with little confidence and no decision-making skills.
I can completely understand that because she’s the baby in the family and everything has been done for her up to this point in her life.

But now she wants to lead an adult life and like so many young people, she looks in the wrong direction for help, from a psychic to an irresponsible boyfriend, for starters.

She’s also struggling with her ethnic, cultural, social, and professional identity as she navigates through each day.

This girl is a MESS! But you can’t help but care about her. She tugged at my heart and at the same time drove me nuts with her cluelessness. She’s flawed but redeemable. She’s a self-centered drama queen that can’t see past her own situation to the struggle her family and friends are having as well.
This story seemed to me to be a study of how the characters responded to life situations, either good or bad. Very true to life in that respect.

It’s a light-hearted story with interesting family and friend connections as well as a coming-of-age account for Jessica.

@GrandCentralPub provided this book to me in exchange for an honest review… (más)

Making decisions is one of the harder parts of adulthood. Jessica, like many of us, has a hard time making decisions. Her life is just in a lull and I think she's missing the spark she thought it might always have, as many of us do. She consults her psychic and a figure hanging from her rearview mirror for signs of what to do and is "told" to seek change. I could have told her that, but what do I know?

Like all good romances, she ditches the old boyfriend who isn't "The One" and a handsome replacement appears! The downside, because all men have them, is that he wants her to make lots of life changes to become more successful. Sometimes though, you have to listen to your own heart rather than blindly follow the directions of others.

This sweet story left me thinking. It's very relatable for any twentysomething and I liked that about it. I think it's more geared for a younger crowd than myself, but I enjoyed it.… (más)

I've been reading Gwendolyn Zepeda for years. But it's all been online--I've followed her various blog incarnations for over a decade now. To be honest, I was afraid to read one of her books. What if I didn't like it? Would it change the way I felt about her online persona?
But I screwed up my courage and pre-ordered Better With You Here, and I'm so glad I did! I enjoyed it immensely! I read it in two days flat...I couldn't put it down!
The main characters and their experiences felt very real and relatable and I rooted for all of them. I think that's why I couldn't put the book down. I had to know if they were going to get their happy endings!
I particularly appreciated the parts of the novel written from Natasha's son's point of view. We adults aren't the only ones with worries and complicated inner lives. I think some adults forget that.
I can't wait to see what Gwen writes next. And now I can go back and read her earlier works with confidence!… (más)