Mutual Discord

These past three years I have been loving Liana De la Rosa‘s historical romances, so I was intrigued that she was going to step into the contemporary romance category. Mutual Discord follows Sofia Mendoza, a 31-year-old who has been successful in her marketing career up until now. Recently laid off, she’s spending her newfound free time on a TikTok series highlighting women scientists, inventors, and innovators who didn’t get the credit they deserved. This is how she initially meets User16892, a man who fully respects women. But then Sofia meets him in person… and it turns out his name is Alex and he’s just started dating her best friend, Caitlin. He’s also new to Phoenix, and Caitlin (who travels a ton for her influencer career and mainly lives in New York now) has enlisted Sofia to show him around. Sofia is happy to befriend her best friend’s boyfriend, but she’s having a harder and harder time keeping her infatuated feelings at bay.

What I Liked:

• Spotlighting women who didn’t get the credit they deserved. Sofia’s Matildas series (named after the Matilda Effect—a real phenomenon worth looking up) is all about calling attention to the incredible women who have contributed to scientific advancements, life-changing inventions, and more. While I knew some of these women, I actually learned a lot in reading this book, and I loved that they’re all listed out at the end. Sofia expertly turns feminist rage into valuable educational content.
• Puerto Rican culture and Latine identity. Sofia and her friend Denise are both Puerto Rican, and their families are very in tune with their cultural heritage. Alex is also Puerto Rican, but he missed out a lot on the food and culture growing up, and he’s never been to the island. I liked seeing Alex get in touch with his Puerto Rican roots, largely thanks to Sofia and her parents. I also appreciated the discussions around what it means to be Latine or to “count” as Latine. From skin color and Spanish language abilities to knowledge of the food or familiarity with the culture, there are as many ways to be Latine as there are Latine people.
• Career struggles, content creation, and self-esteem. Sofia is frustratingly in her head and has an unhealthy dose of impostor syndrome. Despite the rapid rise of her Matildas series and prior career success, she has surprisingly little faith in what she’s doing, how those closes to her will see her, and what her career (in content creation or at a corporation) will look like in the future. I loved seeing her go out and make her own way forward, but I wish she would let people in on her journey and feel more confidence in herself.
• Diverse music. Mutual Discord isn’t really about music, but I just wanted to point out that many different singers and groups are mentioned throughout the book. In a world where nearly every contemporary romance mentions Taylor Swift and ONLY Taylor Swift, it was refreshing to read a book in which the characters know literally any other music exists. Here, Sofia listens to Bad Bunny, Shakira, Celia Cruz, Fleetwood Mac, the Four Tops, Karol G, Maluma, Backstreet Boys… it’s an extensive list that shows a range of music styles. This music lover is happy.

What Didn’t Work for Me:

• How the “best friend’s boyfriend” trope plays out. Early on (like, almost immediately) I clocked something, but it takes a very long time for that to be revealed on-page. But Sofia, girl, why’d you go about all this the way you did? Argh I was so frustrated with her by the end. And I wish there’d been more work on her end to make up for it. I just wish the reveal had come a lot earlier in the book and things could have played out more smoothly.
• Alex might be too perfect? This man is such an unproblematic, friendly, drama-less guy as to be almost flat in his character. We love a green flag, but Alex could have used a tad more nuance to his personality.

Final Thoughts

Mutual Discord is a smart but messy book full of feminism, timely education, and the rollercoaster of self-esteem when tied to career and identity. Some parts got a bit too chaotic for my taste, but I enjoyed the book as a whole. I can’t wait for more from Liana De la Rosa, including her next historical romance called Recklessly Yours, due early in 2027. Apparently there will be more from the Daltons series, too! And I’m not sure if there are plans, but I’d be happy to see love stories for some of the side characters from Mutual Discord someday.

Special thanks to Liana De la Rosa, Berkley, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy Mutual Discord here – it’s available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

Mutual Discord by Liana De la Rosa
Audience	Adult
Genre	Contemporary Romance
Setting	Arizona
Number of Pages	384
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley ARCs)
Original Publication Date	August 18, 2026
Publisher	Berkley

Official Summary

A girl’s girl influencer gets a serious reality check when she discovers she’s fallen for her best friend’s boyfriend in this forbidden friends-to-lovers romance.

Sofia Mendoza has had enough. She’s done watching male co-workers steal credit for her talent, and now she’s going to do something about it. No one knows she’s the brains behind a popular video series highlighting and celebrating women in history who’ve been erased from their own inventions and discoveries. Her family and friends still think she has a successful corporate job and if they discover she is supporting herself by creating social media content, they’d be stunned.

Keeping her online persona a secret is lonely, but when she sparks a virtual friendship with an anonymous follower—A—first in her comment section with his insightful perspective, then in their private video chats, where he proves to be witty and catfish level good looking, the chemistry between them ignites.

But when her old friend, Caitlin, arrives for a visit, Sofia’s lies threaten to unravel. A is Alex Castillo, her best friend’s boyfriend. Alex doesn’t reveal that he knows her, and Sofia realizes he may be keeping secrets, too. With their friendship now in real life, can they keep their attraction in check?