Welcome Back, Booklovers! Summer is almost here and which means there's plenty of time to find that perfect beach read. When I heard Sarah Dass had a new book out I was excited. While her debut Where the Rhythm Takes You is set in Tobago, When the Vibe is Right is set in sister island Trinidad during the months prepping for Greatest Show on Earth.
Tess is a young designer with dreams of eventually taking over the family business, Grandeur. Built by her grandfather and currently run by her uncle she's not ready to give up despite the business failing for the past few years. In order to help Grandeur succeed she decides to team up with classmate Brandon who is a social media influencer after he gets fired by a rival band.
This story is inspired by Much Ado About Nothing and their are little nods to the story throughout from Tess's first name being Beatrice to her family name being Messina and so much more. The Shakespeare fans will enjoy enjoy those little references, many of which went over my head but didn't take away from my enjoyment.
This book is advertised as an enemies to lovers romance and they were actually enemies not just two people who have a misunderstanding upon meeting which I appreciated. They're enemies in that girl and boy nitpick at each other while secretly liking each other type of way. There build to them going from enemies to friend's to lovers was well paced and never lagged and they have an easy chemistry between them.
We also get a little bit of drama on the side with Tess's cousin Hazel, an aspiring romance author who's main character's are inspired by the budding romance between Tess and Brandon. I liked how real Tess's family felt. Her aunty and uncle have a strong on page presence and we show the family dealing with very relatable issues.
For the readers who don't know much about Trinidad or Carnival I think Sarah Dass does a great job of painting a vivid picture of the country and explaining certain aspects without it becoming info dumpy. For those of us who've never experienced mas camp this feels like a real behind the scenes look at the work that goes into creating, designing, and promoting these costumes. With so many discussions about "Is Carnival becoming too commercialized?" I like that this story discusses blending the traditional aspects with the new to find a happy medium.
Tess and Brandon did feel a few years older than 17 to me and I would love to see Sarah dip her toe into adult romance in the future, but this is still a sweet summer read that will appeal to the older YA reader.
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