Through My Window (The Hidalgo Brothers, 1)

Originally written in Spanish, this is the translated version of the best-selling novel A Través de mi Ventana. Yes, the author translated it herself, and that is amazing enough, writing a book in two languages. Not only that, but a book that got so famous and became an icon within the Spanish community, that is only not making a movie of it, but more books deals for the author have been landed.

A book like that connects to the readers, especially those of when the book was first posted online nearly a decade ago. As I am way older than the characters, I have lenience when it comes to the characters and nostalgia from those times. Plus, the character development? Nicely done!

Raquel is adorable and headstrong, and Ares is your favorite bad boy type. Raquel is also funny, and really sweet. Their relationship is a push-pull type, and that seems to be a favorite trope amongst readers. Ares is hateable and then loveable. (But the most loveable character is still Apollo, Ares' little brother hehe). This books is the daydream of having your long-time crush like you back.

The best thing about this book is it is addictive. No matter which way the plot pulls you, you keep reading to find out more.

Oh, and did I mention there is no girl hate here? Always a plus. The female relationships in this book are portrayed in a healthy way-- even when two girls like the same dude! Awesome!

Very excited to see the movie!!!

I was interested and definitely curious when I found out this book was going to be adapted into a film for Netflix. Unfortunately, I was not a fan. It romanticized stalking, manipulation and abuse. I think the "toxic relationship" cliché is not my thing, but it definitely could be someone else’s.

This story was really entertaining, and I'm glad I decided to read it after seeing the film on Netflix. This feels like an almost entirely different story than the film, so apparently Netflix just decided to take the basic premise and character names and then make up their own thing. Both are good, just different.
Ares and Raquel are all sorts of drama and heartache, so if that's your thing, then this book will be perfect. This is in no way a depiction of a healthy relationship, even by high school standards. It's super toxic, but I couldn't help but continuously root for them to be together. The joys of fictional worlds versus real worlds. If you prefer your fictional relationships on the healthy side, then this probably isn't for you.
I really wanted more information on what was going on with Artemis, Apollo, and Claudia, and was kind of frustrated this plot line wasn't really given any more light by the end.

This book requires a huge amount of suspension of disbelief, it apparently takes place in North Carolina, but the entire 16-18 year old cast runs around drinking and going to clubs, as if it takes place in a country where the drinking age is 18. It's even mentioned that their ids aren't even checked, so it's not like they're sneaking into clubs and buying drinks with fake ids, they just get in. It kind of bugged me how easy it was for them to do this, and how often they did it with literally no repercussions and seemingly with the knowledge of adults like Artemis. Sometimes the characters felt like they were written as college students, but then aged down so that parental drama and sneaking around could be involved.

Overall this was a very entertaining read, lots of spice, lots of drama, and a little bit chaotic.

🔥🔥🔥 3.5/5 Steam Rating
📝 Check Trigger Warnings; Alternating POV; Neighbor Romance, Girl Next Door & Rich Popular Boy Trope

It all started over Wi-Fi. This high school themed romance follows the girl next door and the rich popular boy. This book seriously brought me back to high school with the insta-love and drama. Area definitely plays up that idea of boys being mean as a way of showing a girl she likes him. It’s the cold hearted womanizer that opens up after meeting the girl. This is told in an alternating POV, the author even gave each character their own font.

I actually fairly enjoyed the book until the last 150pgs or so. By that point, I felt like Ares & Raquel’s relationship was in a fairly good spot and that the last 150pgs were almost just filler. There wasn’t much tension or excitement that happened. I think the story could have been 100pgs shorter and still been a decent story. I think that instead, the author tried to build up a storyline to continue in the next book in the series, but at the detriment to this one.

Trigger Warning: Low level stalking; Assult; Suicide Attempt; Underage Drinking