First published 2013
Lita del Cielo arrives in Paris with exactly twelve months of freedom before she must return to work in her Colombian immigrant parents' Latin food empire. She settles into the House of Stars, a decaying Left Bank mansion where Countess Séraphine rents rooms to young women pursuing studies, work, and unofficial romantic adventures. Lita maintains careful distance from her housemates, finding them simultaneously sophisticated and reckless. Everything changes when she meets Cato, the ailing son of a controversial right-wing politician. As their relationship deepens, Lita and Cato create an insular world together, but outside pressures threaten their bubble. Lita faces an impossible choice between staying in France with Cato or honoring her family's expectations by returning to America. Her decision will determine whether she claims her own path or fulfills the dreams her parents built from nothing.
Genres: romance, literary-fiction, contemporary, contemporary-romance, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Colombia, France, Paris, Left Bank
Period: 21st-century
272 pages · Kindle Edition · Grove Press