Book Review: Takes One to Know One by Lissette Decos
🎤 Lies, Lyrics & One Very Stubborn Eldest Daughter
A stressed eldest daughter, a reggaeton superstar with a chip on his tattooed shoulder, and a lie that lands her in Puerto Rico? A heartfelt story about grief, identity, and music with just the right amount of flirtation, emotional breakthroughs, and palm-tree therapy. Takes One to Know One is not your typical rom-com—it’s the coming-of-age arc you didn’t know you needed at thirty.
Read If You Like:
Enemies to lovers (but make it gentle, not toxic)
Forced proximity (a whole island of it)
Artist + buttoned-up publicist
Reclaiming culture and identity
Eldest daughter weight-of-the-world realness
Grumpy x guarded sunshine
He falls first, no question
Single POV (hers!)
Blush Meter: 🔥 / 5
Closed-door, kissing-only romance that still manages to bring the tension. Lots of flirty banter, stolen glances, emotionally charged beachside convos, and one particular song that may or may not double as a love letter (depending on how you interpret a man who never takes off his sunglasses).
Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/ 5
We stan a story that prioritizes self-discovery and still gives us a meaningful romantic arc. The end was so satisfying, I would bottle it and spritz it on every book I read.
This book isn’t just a love story—it’s a life story. Dani’s life, to be specific: blazer-loving, reggaeton-hating, people-pleasing marketing coordinator who’s slowly unraveling under the weight of being everything for everyone except herself. When the book begins, she’s deep in the throes of grief, convinced that her work is the only place she has control, and lying her way into a publicist job in Puerto Rico because desperation wears very cute heels.
Enter René. Tattooed. Brooding. Sunglasses indoors, kind of hot in a “please don’t text him back” way. The more you see of him, the more you realize he’s less of an emotionally constipated jerk and more of a guarded softie with a mixtape of emotional trauma. He’s a reggaeton star trying to reconnect with his Puerto Rican roots and prove his music has depth—even if his public image says otherwise.
Their dynamic? Absolutely delicious. It starts tense—René knows Dani lied about liking reggaeton and wastes no time calling her out. Dani can’t stand his cocky smirks or the way he sees right through her, but she also can’t deny that there’s something compelling about him. Especially when he starts taking her to all the places her father wrote about in his songs. Yes, that father. The recently deceased one. Cue the waterworks.
But here’s where this book really hit me: Dani’s arc isn’t about falling for a man. It’s about falling back into herself. It’s about reconnecting with her heritage, learning to listen to her needs, and realizing she deserves softness and to be held. She doesn’t just flirt with René—she reclaims her own joy.
And René? He falls first. (And hard. Swoon.) He’s the one who chases her. Tries to show her how to live again. Uses music to communicate what his words won’t. I wish we had his POV just so we could sit inside that yearning for a bit longer, but you feel it anyway—in the way he listens, lets Dani set the pace, and keeps showing up even when she’s emotionally MIA.
Now, I will say—there’s a slightly shaky subplot around a certain song René writes that Dani misinterprets (understandably), and the lack of actual discussion about it had me side-eying the page. Like girl, talk to the man! Let’s unpack the miscommunication instead of slow-burning in wounded silence! It’s a minor thing though, because the payoff was still solid.
But the real showstopper? Dani is stepping into her power, making choices for herself, not her mom or her sister, building friendships, letting go of perfection, and finally, finally, circling back to René on her own terms. The love story works because Dani works on herself first.
And shoutout to Decos for writing a heroine who feels like your favorite overachieving friend you secretly worry about because she never lets herself rest. If you’ve ever been the emotional backbone of your family, the one who fixes everything but forgets yourself—this book might just read like a mirror. It did for me.
Also, Puerto Rico as a setting? 10/10. Between the wild horses, the beach scenes, and the way music becomes the emotional undercurrent of the story, I felt like I was on that island with Dani and René. You can practically hear the drums, feel the humidity, and taste the tension.
💭 Final Thoughts:
Takes One to Know One reads more like a love story woven into a woman’s journey of rediscovery. It’s a tribute to eldest daughters, Latinx heritage, and healing after loss. It’s about reconnecting with your culture, your people, and, most importantly, yourself.
Would I like more clarity about how Dani gets compensated for her dad’s posthumously sampled song? Absolutely. But even with that nitpick, I’d reread this and force it into the hands of my fellow eldest-daughter friends while yelling,
“YOU NEED THIS BOOK MORE THAN THERAPY.” lol
Until the next swoon-worthy story… happy reading and happy romancing! 💕
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T.A.K. Girlie 💋
