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breathehopebooks's review
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness, Sexual content, and Eating disorder
Minor: Grief, Car accident, Death, Infidelity, and Medical content
charl3s's review against another edition
3.0
You need to put timelines aside, take that out of the equation, and this book was fun. It's a fade to black, but I still really enjoyed it.
mcgibbons93's review against another edition
2.0
So about a quarter of the way through I figured, “This is gonna be a solid three star read. I’ll enjoy it, finish it in a day, and move on.” Annnnnnd then it to me two more days to finish what I would normally wrap up in a few hours. I really struggled with the writing style here. It’s very heavy on the whole.... dialogue..... then inner monologue about something related..... dialogue..... inner monologue describing the way the island looks or the food tastes..... dialogue.....
I just kept getting lost. I would read half a page, look away because it was such a slog, start back over on the page without realizing it, rinse and repeat.
The premise was so good, even if you struggle to suspend your disbelief that Sara asks Luis to be her fake boyfriend within about three minutes of meeting him. But the execution just wasn’t there.
I just kept getting lost. I would read half a page, look away because it was such a slog, start back over on the page without realizing it, rinse and repeat.
The premise was so good, even if you struggle to suspend your disbelief that Sara asks Luis to be her fake boyfriend within about three minutes of meeting him. But the execution just wasn’t there.
sprouter's review against another edition
3.5
- I do like these tropes in theory but it just wasn’t that good :(
- I hated that everything in Spanish had to be awkwardly translated and worked in- like if ppl can’t understand, the context makes it obvious- and if they still don’t get it they can use google translate
- Just felt a little meh, seen better mental health rep
theshaggyshepherd's review
4.0
Island Affair // by Priscilla Oliveras
From the Netgalley description: "...family dinners, bike tours, private snorkeling trips . . . sharing secrets, and slow, melting kisses."
Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras is a fun beach romance novel with a Latin twist. Social Media Influencer Sara Vance is stood up last minute at the Key West airport by the boyfriend she is supposed to bring to her family vacation - a vacation that is supposed to be stress-free and relaxing for her mother who is recovering from a serious illness. Desperate to not disappoint the family she has been wanting to impress for so long, she propositions the hot firefighter she meets outside the airport. Luis Navarro, who was just put on a mandatory break by his boss and who usually never does anything like this, surprises both Sara and himself when he agrees to be her pretend boyfriend. Last-minute studying and a lot improvising in front of her and his family has them stumbling through the week and over some not-so-pretend feelings. Will one week be enough to work through their past issues and mistakes or is this just a flash-and-burn beach romance after all?
The premise sounded very unbelievable to me (obviously I don't read many romances) but after I read the First Look on BookishFirst, I knew I wanted to read this one anyway because I just cannot say no to a smoking hot Latino firefighter. Unbelievable or not, I enjoyed this novel a lot! The tensions between Sara and Luis, both sexual and related to their past troubles, keep you on your toes and the two completely different family dynamics are both so easy to relate to. I really like how Oliveras regularly used Spanish phrases throughout the book but kept the story flowing well with the translations. Was it a little predictable? Definitely. Did I care? Not at all. I thoroughly enjoyed this beach read and am excited for the next one!
From the Netgalley description: "...family dinners, bike tours, private snorkeling trips . . . sharing secrets, and slow, melting kisses."
Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras is a fun beach romance novel with a Latin twist. Social Media Influencer Sara Vance is stood up last minute at the Key West airport by the boyfriend she is supposed to bring to her family vacation - a vacation that is supposed to be stress-free and relaxing for her mother who is recovering from a serious illness. Desperate to not disappoint the family she has been wanting to impress for so long, she propositions the hot firefighter she meets outside the airport. Luis Navarro, who was just put on a mandatory break by his boss and who usually never does anything like this, surprises both Sara and himself when he agrees to be her pretend boyfriend. Last-minute studying and a lot improvising in front of her and his family has them stumbling through the week and over some not-so-pretend feelings. Will one week be enough to work through their past issues and mistakes or is this just a flash-and-burn beach romance after all?
The premise sounded very unbelievable to me (obviously I don't read many romances) but after I read the First Look on BookishFirst, I knew I wanted to read this one anyway because I just cannot say no to a smoking hot Latino firefighter. Unbelievable or not, I enjoyed this novel a lot! The tensions between Sara and Luis, both sexual and related to their past troubles, keep you on your toes and the two completely different family dynamics are both so easy to relate to. I really like how Oliveras regularly used Spanish phrases throughout the book but kept the story flowing well with the translations. Was it a little predictable? Definitely. Did I care? Not at all. I thoroughly enjoyed this beach read and am excited for the next one!
ashleypawlowski's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
emmaas_bookshelf's review
3.0
Very cheesy, but I ended up really liking it. If you like steamy hallmark-esque stories, this is for you! I picked this up at a dollar tree so my expectations were low