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A review by amym84
Anchored Hearts by Priscilla Oliveras
4.0
Anamaria Navarro hasn't seen or spoken to Alejandro Miranda for over ten years, since the day he left to pursue his dreams of being a professional photographer and Anamaria made the decision not to follow him. This subsequently ended their young relationship, breaking both of their hearts in the process.
After suffering an accident while out on a shoot, Ale has reluctantly returned home to Key West to recuperate. He didn't leave on the best of terms. Besides leaving Anamaria behind, a rift with his father caused Ale to scarcely visit in the ten plus years he's been away.
He's not looking forward to facing his father again, and to be honest, he's not looking forward to seeing Anamaria either.
Actually the feeling is mutual, but both of their mothers are bound and determined to bring Anamaria and Ale together at every possible opportunity. To get them off their backs they may just have to face the history that hangs between them, and the feelings that don't seem to have gone away.
All it took in the first book for me to get interested was the small mention we get from Anamaria about getting her heartbroken years ago by her boyfriend. That's it. I was hooked. I knew there would be a story and I'm so happy that we got it in Anchored Hearts.
I'm such a sucker for a second chance romance and Priscilla Oliveras really delivers. Not only on the romance itself, but I could feel the ache between Anamaria and Ale for what broken between them all those years ago. In every interaction they had while they were still tentatively trying to avoid one another, it was such a palpable feeling between them. But I loved that Priscilla Oliveras was really able to tap into that emotion because it made the resolution so much sweeter.
The idea of being young and in love is not a new subject in romance. I appreciated the fact that these two were coming together again after they had time to find themselves and figure out what they wanted out of their lives. It makes a relationship stronger when you don't have to sacrifice who you are and what you want to be for someone else which is what Anamaria would have had to do had she followed Ale in the first place. I love the idea of a relationship forming around who you are as individuals rather than changing you to be someone else in order to make the relationship.
But Anamaria and Ale's relationship isn't the only one that has been fractured, Ale's relationship with his father suffered the moment he decided to pick up a camera. His father saw this as Ale abandoning his family, his history by not taking his place in the family restaurant. It's similar to the first book with Sara's family not understanding / taking seriously her job as an influencer. But instead of not taking Ale's talent seriously, it's more that his father felt betrayed by his son turning his back on what he had painstakingly built over the years.
It all wraps around the history of Cubans coming to America, specifically children who were sent to America on their own by their parents in what was known as Operation Peter Pan. They had to carve out a new life from nothing at very young ages with little to no family support. Ale may have not been able to appreciate all that his father accomplished when he was younger, but his travels have taught him so much about his culture and the human spirit. It's just a point of being able to push past the hurt to show his father that he holds his family and their history in high regard. It's one of the most touching aspects of the story, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't tear up in a few spots.
Overall, I think I enjoyed Anchored Hearts more than the first book. And if we're going on trend that means I should love the next book the most! I'm assuming Navarro sibling Enrique will be featured next. His mysterious abandonment of the art he loved so much is mentioned quite a few times and I'm thinking it's time we get some answers.
This so far has been a really enjoyable series with such heart and depth and wonderful family connections. You can certainly read this second book without having read the first, but I'll guarantee you'll want to go back and start from the beginning if you do.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
After suffering an accident while out on a shoot, Ale has reluctantly returned home to Key West to recuperate. He didn't leave on the best of terms. Besides leaving Anamaria behind, a rift with his father caused Ale to scarcely visit in the ten plus years he's been away.
He's not looking forward to facing his father again, and to be honest, he's not looking forward to seeing Anamaria either.
Actually the feeling is mutual, but both of their mothers are bound and determined to bring Anamaria and Ale together at every possible opportunity. To get them off their backs they may just have to face the history that hangs between them, and the feelings that don't seem to have gone away.
All it took in the first book for me to get interested was the small mention we get from Anamaria about getting her heartbroken years ago by her boyfriend. That's it. I was hooked. I knew there would be a story and I'm so happy that we got it in Anchored Hearts.
I'm such a sucker for a second chance romance and Priscilla Oliveras really delivers. Not only on the romance itself, but I could feel the ache between Anamaria and Ale for what broken between them all those years ago. In every interaction they had while they were still tentatively trying to avoid one another, it was such a palpable feeling between them. But I loved that Priscilla Oliveras was really able to tap into that emotion because it made the resolution so much sweeter.
The idea of being young and in love is not a new subject in romance. I appreciated the fact that these two were coming together again after they had time to find themselves and figure out what they wanted out of their lives. It makes a relationship stronger when you don't have to sacrifice who you are and what you want to be for someone else which is what Anamaria would have had to do had she followed Ale in the first place. I love the idea of a relationship forming around who you are as individuals rather than changing you to be someone else in order to make the relationship.
But Anamaria and Ale's relationship isn't the only one that has been fractured, Ale's relationship with his father suffered the moment he decided to pick up a camera. His father saw this as Ale abandoning his family, his history by not taking his place in the family restaurant. It's similar to the first book with Sara's family not understanding / taking seriously her job as an influencer. But instead of not taking Ale's talent seriously, it's more that his father felt betrayed by his son turning his back on what he had painstakingly built over the years.
It all wraps around the history of Cubans coming to America, specifically children who were sent to America on their own by their parents in what was known as Operation Peter Pan. They had to carve out a new life from nothing at very young ages with little to no family support. Ale may have not been able to appreciate all that his father accomplished when he was younger, but his travels have taught him so much about his culture and the human spirit. It's just a point of being able to push past the hurt to show his father that he holds his family and their history in high regard. It's one of the most touching aspects of the story, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't tear up in a few spots.
Overall, I think I enjoyed Anchored Hearts more than the first book. And if we're going on trend that means I should love the next book the most! I'm assuming Navarro sibling Enrique will be featured next. His mysterious abandonment of the art he loved so much is mentioned quite a few times and I'm thinking it's time we get some answers.
This so far has been a really enjoyable series with such heart and depth and wonderful family connections. You can certainly read this second book without having read the first, but I'll guarantee you'll want to go back and start from the beginning if you do.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.