The debut adult novel by the bestselling and award-winning YA author Nina LaCour follows two women on a star-crossed journey toward each other.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for the support.
Summary (From the Publisher)
When Sara Foster runs away from home at sixteen, she leaves behind the losses that have shattered her world and the girl she once was, capable of trust and intimacy. Years later, in Los Angeles, she is a sought-after bartender, renowned as much for her brilliant cocktails as for the mystery that clings to her. Across the city, Emilie Dubois is in a holding pattern. In her seventh year and fifth major as an undergraduate, she yearns for the beauty and community her Creole grandparents cultivated but cannot commit to. On a whim, she takes a job arranging flowers at the glamorous restaurant Yerba Buena and embarks on an affair with the married owner.
When Sara catches sight of Emilie one morning at Yerba Buena, their connection is immediate. But the damage both women carry, and the choices they have made, pull them apart again and again. When Sara’s old life catches up to her, upending everything she thought she wanted, just as Emilie has finally gained her own sense of purpose, they must decide if their love is more potent than their pasts.
At once exquisite and expansive, astonishing in its humanity and heart, Yerba Buena is a love story for our time and a propulsive journey through the lives of two women finding their way in the world.
My Thoughts
Since her YA books days, I have loved Nina LaCour, so I was excited to read her debut new adult novel. And you guys, I was not disappointed! Yerba Buena was easily a five-star read for me and deserves all the hype surrounding it.
If you asked me what kind of book Yerba Buena is, I wouldn’t know what to tell you. According to GoodReads, the novel is labeled a romance, but it is much more than that. Yerba Buena reads like a best friend sharing the story of their lives and leaves nothing unsaid.
Overall, the character development of Sara and Emile is the focus of Yerba Buena. The women’s character flaws and traumas ultimately bring the two characters together. Nina LaCour writes these women who take center stage in the novel with such realism that the reader can connect with the characters personally—leaving their mark on the reader long after the book’s last pages.
The journey to the end of the novel is a beautiful ride through love, loss, and relationship. The pages also contain vivid descriptions of California and the atmosphere of everyday life.
I listened to Yerba Buena on audio, and Julia Whelan makes the story even better. The perfect novel for summer vacation reading.