I did not finish this title. I was really wanting to love this book but it fell short for me. I got about 50% and found myself not caring or wanting to continue. I just couldn't connect with the characters. The authors writing is amazing, I just have to chalk this one up to me not enjoying it.

This book was way too much. I enjoyed it for the first 30%, finding the writing well done and engaging, but after that, the book took a turn for the worst. There was so much excessive drama in this book I found myself constantly rolling my eyes. Angel isn't a believable character. She is portrayed as an angry, fierce, no-nonsense mother but then proceeds to do everything that would leave her feeling annoyed, angry, and wanting to fight... yet again. Her only depth was anger and it made it hard to connect with her outside of that emotion.

Duke had zero depth. The characterization felt so minimal and surface-level, there really didn't seem to be any reason to like him. He also just used Angel the entire time and for him, she had a soft spot? Every other man in the book she wanted to beat up or lose it on but this guy also treats her like trash and she suddenly doesn't care because he gave her an orgasm?

There were too many layers of crazysauce in this book for me and the drama became so convoluted it became difficult to care.

When you're a playboy baseball star, is the perfect date a pretend date? That's what Bronx Bolt's baseball player Caleb Lewis thinks when he meets Angel Gomez and she doesn't know who he is or fall for his charms. And what begins as a perfect rouse turns into something neither one of them expect. 

This book is a fun, fluffy, romantic read. It's perfectly predictable, and a good book when you need a break from deep, dark, psychological thrillers. I loved the ease of the plot and the characters are easy to fall in love with.

It's pretty much what you would expect from a romance. Popular guy, hard headed girl focused on her work and her child, classic love story. Angel was a bit too much at times with how mean she was. But it still wasn't a bad story. what I found confusing was when the point of view would change in the middle of the chapter without any indication. This caused me to re-read a few paragraphs wondering what I just read, until I realized that the point of view had changed. I thought it was a great book if you're looking for a cute love story.

Angel is a single mom who is focusing on taking care of her son and finishing her nursing degree. Duke is a Yankee pitcher with a secret......his ankle is not healing well. They meet and sparks fly. Angel steps into his cut throat social world and teaches Duke the true meaning of friendship. And then love.

What a delightful book. It was an easy read with a good plot ... and some twists ... and a happy ending. The two main characters, Angel and Caleb, are both dealing with personal challenges. After a chance meeting, their lives become more intertwined. With each others help and help from respective friends, they are able to conquer the challenges. I enjoyed that it takes place in New York City and that Caleb is a New York Yankee. I look forward to reading more from the authors.

This book was a surpring treat. I really enjoyed reading it and it hooked me quickly. As a previous watcher of Basketball Wives, and a fan of Evelyn Lozada, I could hear her in my head as I read the story. I think it was well put together and didn't leave any loose ends. The romance between Angel and Duke built nicely and I also appreciated the maternal friendship between Angel and Gabriella. I would definitely read another book by Evelyn. Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read this in advance in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I buddy read this with the lovely Azrah and we're both frustrated. Definitely check out her review! :)

Well...that was disappointing. Don't let the cover deceive you it's gonna be a fluffy and cute romance novel. IT'S NOT and I am so frustrated because it's loaded with drama, the relationship between the characters is toxic and the hero is HORRIBLE. Having diverse characters aren't enough for me to like the book, the heroine and her son saved this book.

LIKES
* The heroine. Angel Gomez is a fighter. She's a student nurse and I admire her perseverance. Sometimes she's quick-tempered but it's understandable because it's tough balancing her job, studies and raising an asthmatic kid. Everyday she has to deal w/ her pervert and sexist bosses just to provide their daily expenses and her son's medicine. It's pretty stressful but she handles it like a champ.

*The heroine's son. Jose is an adorable kid. He's a huge fan of Duke and it's impossible to hate this child. He's lovely, gentle and cute. Angel raised him well and I love how passionate he is on baseball in spite his condition.

DISLIKES :

* The hero. Caleb "Duke" Lewis is an arrogant, stubborn and condescending guy. He's a trash and I don't like how he treats Angel. He's very rude and there are couple of times he left her hanging. I'm more irritated when he said that her boring life needs to be boosted. THE. AUDACITY. OF. THIS. GUY. Good thing the heroine is merciful but if I were her, I'll dump him without second thoughts.

* The drama. Like I mentioned, it's filled with it and I'm stressed! It's way over the top. Duke's ex, Regina and his father loves stirring trouble. Don't get me started with Dr. Collins, Angel's boss. That dude deserves to be on jail for sexual harassment.

* The writing style. It's engaging and quick-paced but it's choppy. The scenes abruptly shifts from one point to another and it's confusing. I thought I was reading Angel's part and I didn't realize I was on Duke's.

This book needs polishing and unfortunately I don't recommend it. It'll only stress you out and too bad it has a lot of potential.

I received a digital advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to read this novel based on the description, the cover art and the fact that it included a protagonist who was a person of colour. I thought it would be a new spin on a cute romance story, but unfortunately this book was a bit of a letdown for me.

The Perfect Date introduces us to young single mother and nursing student, Angel Gomez, her son and best friend. Angel quickly meets a star pitcher for the Yankees and is thrown into an unknown world of fame as she is asked to play the role of date/girlfriend to cover up the real reason (injury) the athlete is visiting a clinic. What ensues through the rest of the novel is utterly confusing, happens way too fast and is rushed to conclusion at the end.

As this is an advanced copy, as other reviewers have noted, the abrupt switching of narration is quite confusing with no clear transitions. I found myself re-reading sections to see if I missed something when it seemed like there were pieces of information in the story that were totally missing in regards to character and plot development. I really didn't feel the vibe between the two love interests, we didn't really get to see what drew them to each other besides one night of sex. It was almost disappointing that this strong, independent woman fell for this guy who acted like a jerk until he came to the rescue of her son at the very end.

For me, this book had too many missing pieces for me to enjoy. I did not know anything about the author prior to receiving this advanced copy, but I will likely take a pass on her next literary ventures.

This book was just ok for me. I did not like the characters of Duke and Angel very much. Angel had problems with anger management and there was just too much drama. Just not for me. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved that this book had Hispanic characters, I don't see it to often and it's a little sad. There was a bit of Spanish phrases that were included in the dialogue and I appreciate that. It felt very authentic. Being bilingual myself, we'll switch between Spanish and English every other word. I will say the story was a quick read. I was a bit confused at times, when we switched characters stories, there wasn't a great transition, hopefully that's fixed. The book was relatable to me and I enjoyed reading the story.

*thank you so much to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this free copy in exchange for an honest review*

Angel is a young mother who is trying to finish college to make a better life for herself and her son. She goes to school and works as a bartender at a club to try and make ends meet. Cue Duke: pitcher for the NY Yankees with a serious axe to grind against the world. The two meet and eventually have to decide if they want to start “a thing” or let the chance pass by.

I have been loving cutesy romances lately and this one stepped up to the plate and delivered!

From the publisher: “When a single mom ends up playing an unwilling fake girlfriend to a charming playboy baseball player, love suddenly turns everything upside down in this fun, heartwarming multicultural romance.”

This was a cute multicultural romance that has vivid characters and settings. I rooted for Angel, our hardworking single mom, and for Duke, our baseball pitcher hero struggling with an injury after a traumatic event. I had more difficulty rooting for them as a couple, as they didn’t seem to have much chemistry and their relationship didn’t seem as well-drawn.

I had never heard of Evelyn Lozado prior to this and didn’t know that she was a celebrity realty TV star, nor that she was only the coauthor. Clearly I’m not part of her fan base and I do think her loyal fans will have fun with this one.

Big thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Griffin for the free digital copy in exchange for an honest review. Releases June 11, 2019.

I really really liked this book. It was less quick fun romcom and more adult romance drama. And it’s about POC written by a Poc woman!

I love the premise of baseball player needing a fake girlfriend to hide his injury. Angel is a badass Latina mom who will do anything for her child. Which I understand greatly. She works two jobs with some shitty bosses but handles her situations as best as she can. It shows how men in powers of position do deplorable things to women.
Everything about this book just seems so real. Even Angels friends are just so loving and wonderful.

Duke. Ah man. He has so many issues that he has to work on and I loved that Angel didn’t take any shit from him. Duke has a problem he has to fix and people in his life that do bad things. It’s the life of a celebrity shown very well.

It shows problems about race and women dealing with sexist men and more. They’re just so many real issues in this book. I couldn’t wait to finish it.

My only tiny problem is that she calls him by his baseball name instead of his real name which I guess might just be a sports thing I don’t get lol but overall i really liked this book!

A quick read, some heart, some angst, and some laughs! The author avoided a huge deal breaker for me, which is a poorly written kid, But Jose was darling, his relationship with Angel and Caleb (Duke) was genuine and believable.

I enjoyed The Perfect Date. It follows a young student nurse, Angel, her son Jose, and a famous baseball player named Duke. This would be a great story if you're a fan of Bravo and the real housewives series because both major characters have a lot of drama in their lives. I admired Angel's hardworking nature and her desire to do what was right and instill it in others. It was a little slow for me, but overall I enjoyed it. i liked the ending, but it felt like it was wrapped up a little quickly. You can view my review on my blog at https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7593588899510502084#editor/target=post;postID=100988577085539661;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=0;src=postname

I received a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A full in depth review of my rating will be written. I need to get my thoughts in order and draft the review. Essentially, The Perfect Date is everything I didn’t want in a book, with a love interest who was troublingly sexist and never improved. We should not condone this behavior, let alone dismiss it and then present the person as a love interest.

Angel is trying her best to make a good life for her son, through school, nursing, and bar-tending. There isn't a lot of time left over for herself. Caleb is worried about the past and his future in baseball. These two collide with a drink to the face. Their relationship is interesting, but it lacks some depth. Angel was more likable to me than Caleb was, based on her choices through the book and her interactions with others. The secondary characters added a lot to this book and it was fun to see how everyone interacted.

I was super excited to read The Perfect Date by Evelyn Lozada. I mean look at that cover! Super cute :).

Unfortunately, this wasn't the best romantic read. I feel like this book was more of a drama than a rom-com?

I also wasn't a fan of Duke or Angel. Angel has a serious temper and blows up over everything. Duke was also annoying to me. He is recovering from a shooting and is a baseball player... he ignores everything the doctor's tell him and plays on his ankle. I just was more annoyed with the characters then rooting for his love story? Ugh...

Additionally, I think it may have been due to the advanced arc but the transitions into the different characters POV was confusing. There wasn't any chapter breaks/etc to break up the changes.

In my opinion, this wasn't a very memorable story and was super disappointed.

It was lacking emotion, depth, and overall characters that you can connect with!

Not sure if I was the right audience for this book but just fell extremely flat for me :(.

2.5 stars for The Perfect Date

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date: 6/11/19
Published to Goodreads: 2/24/19

The Perfect Date by Evelyn Lozada is the story of a hard-working single mother who is used to challenges. As a pregnant teen who was abandoned by her son’s father and losing her mother soon after, Angel has learned to deal with everything with a small support system. Angel Gomez’s goal in life was to finish nursing school and provide for her 7-year-old son. Love is not in her plans. Caleb “The Duke” Lewis is a star pitcher for the Bronx Bolts whose escapades made him a common topic in gossip columns. As he is trying to get back into the game and keep a low profile socially that Angel doesn’t recognize him when they met twice in the same day. When Angel fails to fall for his usual charm, he decides she’s perfect. She is the perfect woman for his plot to fool the tabloids into thinking he has changed his ways. But as the charade begins, it soon becomes apparent that something else could be there. Will they be able to play their part? Or will love find a way in?
The Perfect Date started strong for me. I loved Angel’s Puerto Rican sassiness and her commitment to her son and her school. Unfortunately, the book fell with each chapter. I found myself not caring about Duke and his issues. I found some of the language to be very harsh and abrasive at times. I kept telling myself that it was how some people talked but it irritated me. I don’t allow people to talk like that around me in real life so why am I reading it. I really wanted to love The Perfect Date as I love romance novels, but I didn’t even like it. I do not recommend The Perfect Date.

The Perfect Date
will be available in paperback and eBook
on June 11, 2019