The Ex-Perimento

De: Maria J. Morillo

Narrado por: Sofía Palmero

A woman enlists the help of her favorite musician to win her ex-boyfriend back in this sparkling romantic comedy set in Venezuela by debut author Maria J. Morillo.

Maria “Marianto” Camacho is a planner. At twenty-seven, she has her life perfectly mapped out. Her long-term boyfriend, Alejandro, is perfect on paper, and she's expecting a proposal any day now. She has a stable job as a lifestyle columnist at Ellas, one of Latin America's biggest digital magazines. Her future is set; she's sure of it.

Until everything falls apart overnight: Marianto loses her boyfriend and her job. But she's determined to get them both back with an idea that is either delusional or ingenious—a juicy new article for Ellas that documents a series of romantic experiments to get her ex back. Thus begins The Ex-Perimento. With her bank account dwindling, however, Marianto lands a temporary gig on Venezuela's hottest new singing competition show. Her job? Personal assistant to Simón Arreaza, the lead singer of her favorite indie band.

It's only her second day on the job when Simón discovers Marianto's list of romantic experiments, striking her ideas and replacing them with his own better ones. Out of desperation, she offers a proposition: Help her win back Alejandro, and she'll give Simón's band a profile in the magazine once she returns to Ellas. But between the close quarters on set and the blurred lines of a budding friendship, Marianto and Simón find themselves irresistibly drawn to each other, caught in a whirlwind of unexpected romance.

Fun and Swoony

This story is so cute and heart warming. This is a closed door romance not only about finding the right partner, but about finding yourself before that. It's about letting go and learning how to trust and I loved every second of it!

The narration was incredible and I love the fact that we can hear an authentic Venezuelan accent. The narrator did an outstanding job making us feel everything Marianto was feeling and it was simply perfect!

Me sentí abrazada

Una historia de amor romántico y amor propio de descubrimiento personal para pasar todo el tiempo que lo lees con una sonrisa. No soy fan del spanglish constante pero creo que puede ayudar al lector que no vive o es cercano a Latinoamérica a entrar en el mundo.
Espero con ansias un nuevo libro de la autora ❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Strong FMC Lovers will struggle with this one…

I really wanted to like this one because I absolutely loved the premise. Girl loses the guy she thought was end game and, in an attempt, to win him back (and save her job) she reluctantly enlists the help of her famous musician boss and discovers her ex was never really the one. But unfortunately, this one didn't hit the mark for me.

Let's talk about what I loved first. I really enjoyed the setting of the story in Venezuela! It's always enriching to learn about other cultures and cities and seeing it through our fmc eyes made me have some serious travel fomo. I also adored the mmc. He was the definition of a green flag. He saw her for who she is and was endlessly supportive even when she tried to push him away. Also, that karaoke scene was RIP to my heart because the swoon was next level good. I also enjoyed how the story wrapped up. I think she absolutely nailed the ending. It felt really authentic to the characters while also addressing their issues in a way that made sense. I also love that Marianto got the friend group I felt like she needed from the start.

What I struggled with was Marianto's continued inability to see her own self-worth. She is such an amazing woman who is a talented writer and a dedicated partner, but she just couldn't see that she deserved more. It was very apparent that her ex was not the guy for her. He wanted her to change herself to mold her into what he wanted her to be. She was obsessed with winning him back. Everything she did was with the goal of their future (that he didn't want) and what would make him happy (at the expense of her own happiness). She even gave herself an anaphylactic allergic reaction because she was trying his favorite food in an attempt to impress him. She continuously gaslit herself into believing this was what was best for her even when the better option was staring her right in the face. Not to mention the way I legit tossed my kindle when we were so far into the book and she left the mmc to run after her ex. I was so incredibly disappointed in her. And don't even get me started on how she let her boss treat her. She deserved so much more.

But again, I will say it all worked out in the end and Marianto figured out her own worth and got her happy ending. The narrator did a fantastic job bringing Marianto to life. But due to the untethered rage I felt many times, the ending still didn't save the book enough for me to rate it higher. I do still think that many other readers will adore this book and Marianto especially my angsty lovers who enjoy going through it.