BEN AND BEATRIZ – Katalina Gamarra
Graydon House
ISBN: 978-1525899959
August 2, 2022
New Adult Romance 

Massachusetts – Present Day 

Beatriz Herrera, along with her cousin and best friend, Hero, attends Harvard University. A lot of people mistakenly believe Beatriz, a queer biracial woman, got into Harvard as a sort of “quota.”  But she deserves everything she has gotten as she is intelligent and forthright. Hero is dating Claudio, a student visitor from Italy, whose roommate is Ben Montgomery, the quintessential white male from a privileged and wealthy family. A long time ago, Beatriz and Ben hooked up for a drunken one-night stand, but they can’t stand one another. 

Ben invites Claudio, Hero, and Beatriz to spend Spring break with him at his family’s home on Cape Cod. Beatriz figures she will have fun even if Ben is there. However, the more she’s around the man, the greater she becomes intrigued—and attracted—by him. They’re soon exchanging hot kisses and spending a night together. But was it a mistake because they don’t like one another? Or is there a spark of something more between them? Meanwhile, Beatriz is learning to deal with the continued racism that happens around her. She should be used to it, but it can be off-putting when Ben’s brother, John, makes all kinds of insinuating remarks that she is only in Harvard to fulfill a race quota at Harvard. Then there are her mixed feelings for Ben. They go hot and cold. Once they’ve returned to the college campus, will they return to their love-hate relationship? 

It's a complicated romance between young lovers in BEN AND BEATRIZ. They are so different from each other that one wonders how they can even make it work. Beatriz comes from a broken family and has spent her entire life being looked down upon because of her dark skin. Her cousin Hero has the better looks and whiter skin, so no one questions her credentials to get into a prestigious university like Harvard. But Beatriz? Everywhere she goes, she is dealing with snide comments from white folks. Ben is the epitome of what Beatriz is dealing with. Rich white family. Parents voted for the Republican in 2016 and Beatriz is feeling the outpouring of hatred from his supporters. Yet, despite the animosity, there is still a hum of attraction between Beatriz and Ben. 

In addition to Beatriz and Ben, there is a side romance between Claudio and Hero. He will be required to leave the country once he graduates from college in a couple of months. They are wondering what they can do to avoid that. Hero is holding out on lovemaking because she is a shy, sweet girl. Ben’s best friend is Meg, a girl who has a lot of problems, including drug addiction and a feeling of low self-esteem because she is only working at a McDonald’s. Ben’s brother John is manipulating Meg. John is not a nice person and thinks Beatriz is inferior to everyone in the Cape Cod house. All of these characters provide for an intriguing circle of characters in BEN AND BEATRIZ. 

It’s a bumpy week of shenanigans and romance in BEN AND BEATRIZ. This tale is based loosely on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and provides for an intriguing read. 

Patti Fischer