You Had Me At Hola - Alexis Daria Page 0,110

of my agent, Sarah E. Younger. At every step, she goes above and beyond, and I’m so grateful to have her on my team.

I also owe tremendous gratitude to my editor, Elle Keck, for her guidance and encouragement. She built me up during low moments in the creative process and cheered me on during the highs.

Sarah and Elle, I can’t thank you both enough!

I also give my thanks to the publicity team at Avon, including Rhina, Pam, and Kayleigh; to the art department, especially Elsie; to my copyeditor, Cecilia; and to the production team, Rachel W., Rachel M., Pamela, Lizz, and Diahann. It takes a village! Thanks for all you do.

Special thanks go to Bo Feng Lin for creating a cover illustration beyond my wildest dreams. It’s perfect and I love it more than I can say.

I have a lot more people to thank, so please bear with me. Books may be written by the writer, but the support system is huge.

To my fellow #LatinxRom authors—Adriana Herrera, Priscilla Oliveras, Mia Sosa, Sabrina Sol, Zoraida Córdova, Lydia San Andres, Angelina M. Lopez, Diana Muñoz Stewart, Natalie Caña, Liana De la Rosa, and more—you remind me why I’m doing this, and I’m so honored to be part of this vibrant and growing community with all of you.

To my Golden Heart Rebelles, you are an endless source of encouragement and love. Special thanks to Evi Kline, Scarlett Peckham, Laurel Kerr, and Sarah Morgenthaler for providing early feedback.

To my friend Susan Lee, who, at times, served as my writing babysitter, and who also made sure I took breaks to see Broadway musicals.

To my Team RWchat mastermind group, thank you for being with me every step of the way—Kimberly Bell, C. L. Polk, and especially Robin Lovett, who read each scene as I wrote it and assured me it was fine and to just keep going.

To my cousins Kathryn, Lisa, and CarlyAnn, who championed this book when it was just a glimmer of an idea scribbled in a notebook.

To my fellow New York City romance writers, who always remind me to celebrate. Cheers!

To my beta readers, who provided invaluable insights: Ana Coqui, Audrey Flegel, Elizabeth Mahon, Marianne Robles, and Amber Friendly. This book is better because of your help. And to Laura Clifton, who gave me details and encouragement early on.

To Kate Brauning, my excellent writing coach, who asks the best (and toughest) questions, and to her Breakthrough Writers community for the accountability.

I also have to thank my parents, who encouraged my artistic pursuits, and my boyfriend’s parents, for their unfailing support.

And as always, I give thanks for my boyfriend, who refills my mug with tea and refills my confidence with impromptu pep talks. Thank you for believing in me when I don’t always believe in myself.

And last but most certainly not least, I am grateful for my readers. Thank you for giving this book the gift of your time, your attention, your feelings. It means the world to me.

About the Author

ALEXIS DARIA is a native New Yorker and an award-winning author writing stories about successful Latinx characters and their (occasionally messy) familias. Her debut, Take the Lead, was a 2018 RITA® Award winner for Best First Book and was named one of the Best Romance Novels of 2017 by the Washington Post and Entertainment Weekly. Her superpowers include spotting celebrities in NYC, winning Broadway ticket lotteries, and live-tweeting her favorite TV shows at @alexisdaria.

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Also by Alexis Daria

Take the Lead

Dance with Me

Dance All Night (novella)

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

YOU HAD ME AT HOLA. Copyright © 2020 by Alexis Daria. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Cover design by Elsie Lyons

Cover illustration by Bo Feng Lin

Title page art © Daiquiri / Shutterstock, Inc.

FIRST EDITION

Digital Edition AUGUST 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-295993-5

Version 06032020

Print ISBN: 978-0-06-295992-8

About the Publisher

Australia

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