Prep and Prejudice by Miren B. Flores

I'm a sucker for enemies-to-lovers romances and if they have a dash of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE thrown in there, then girl, you know I just can't say know. Especially since I love. love. loved this author's other book, LOVELESS. CHILDLESS. CLUELESS., an excellent novella about heartbreak, existential crises, and grief.

PREP AND PREJUDICE is about a girl named Andrea, the formerly awkward and poor teenager who orbited like a small, sad planet outside the circle of her rich and popular friends. Ever since she was fourteen, she's had a crush on the golden boy, Manolo, but it was his cousin, Jaime, that she couldn't stand. It was Jaime who humiliated her sexually when she was young, Jaime who always made fun of her and put her into her place. She's never forgiven him for the way he embarrassed her at her first big party.

Now an adult in her mid-twenties, Andrea has shed some of her gawkiness but she is still a highly anxious and self-conscious individual who gets ulcers from stress and has trouble eating when other people are around. She works in television doing slice-of-life stories, but lately the focus has shifted from the people who can actually use the publicity to the kinds of attention-seeking people who rack up cheap views. Both her boss and her doctor tell her she needs a break, so when her friend Pilar offers to take her on an island vacation with their old crowd, she just can't say no. Unfortunately, Jaime is there...

Jaime is just as arrogant and lazy as she remembered, but now he has the looks of a fallen god. Immediately, all of her old defenses spring up like quills, but Jaime doesn't seem as interested in fighting with her anymore, and she finds herself responding to him in a completely unfamiliar and scandalizing way. HELLO BOOK, YOU'RE SINGING MY FAVORITE SONG.

I liked this a lot in the beginning. It reminded me of one of those J-dramas I used to be obsessed with in college - those were huge on enemies-to-lovers, rich-guy/poor-girl storylines, especially if they were reliant on misunderstandings to stir the angst and dramatic irony pots. Man, did Miren B. Flores stir those pots. She stirred them hard. The only problem is, this book felt much too short - especially towards the end, with the rushed ending. Andrea lost me when she started being cruel back and just couldn't stop. I guess, like Elizabeth, she just couldn't let go of her own prejudice - until it's almost too late, and like Elizabeth, she finds out the truth about the guy she's been hating this whole time.

I still recommend this, as it's fun, quick, and short. Miren B. Flores is an exceptionally talented writer and I'd love to see her write a full-length angsty novel. I know she'd do an amazing job. I've really liked the two books I've read by her before and she's just such a wonderful contributor to #romanceclass with her #OwnVoices Filipino romances. Please, write more! Write longer! Write!

3 to 3.5 out of 5 stars