Unfortunately, I really did not care for Evelyn Lozada's "The Perfect Date." Another reviewer described this book as a "hot mess" and, based on my observations after reading it, that seems like an accurate description to me. First of all, the back cover description is completely misleading and doesn't match what happens in the story at all. Second, the book is marketed as a rom-com, which it definitely is not. It is a rather dark and dramatic story (often overly so), and I can't remember a single funny scene in the entire book.

Beyond that, the writing in this book was not very good IMO. I'm not sure if the many grammatical mistakes in the text were a stylistic choice used to imitate a certain style of speech, or if they were merely typos because I read an ARC, but either way, it was bad enough that I couldn't follow what was happening in a number of places. Overall, the writing was very choppy with a lot of verbs missing and many random, confusing POV changes.

Further, I didn't find any of the characters in the book to be likeable. They were all so angry all the time, and in a lot of cases they were downright mean and nasty for no apparent reason. The world the author has created in this book is not a world of which I would ever want to be a part, and these characters are not people with whom I would ever want to be friends.

Finally, the central romantic relationship between Angel and Duke did not seem believable to me. The physical attraction on Duke's side was evident (he certainly thought about Angel's "bangin' body" enough), but Angel seemed like she actively disliked Duke a lot of the time. At most, she seemed to pity him because of his injury and the fact that his family and friends weren't very supportive of him. Angel didn't seem to like herself very much either. In any event, given both of their issues with anger management and self-esteem, the two of them being in a relationship seemed like a recipe for disaster to me, not long-term love and happiness.

Bottom line: It's safe to trust the negative reviews for this book and skip it. There's no reason to waste your time when there are so many more enjoyable books out there.

*ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

That you to netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Here it is: I thought this book would hook me right away like others in its genre. It didn’t. I didn’t find Angel likeable and I didn’t really warm up to her. The story is very cute but she didn’t have to be so..... hard.

I did like Duke. He seemed like a sweet guy and I’m glad we got to know him. I don’t understand the appeal of Angel to duke, though.

Overall, it was a story that’s been told before and a story I love and enjoy reading.

Narrated from the POV's of both main characters, I found it to be a better than average as far as romances go. There are some memorable aspects of it and even a small mystery (Duke was in the scene of a murder but they never found the culprit), as well as real life drama (Angel's son has asthma and she has no money for his medication, plus other things).

In all, I'm sure the authors spent a long time trying to fill this story, make it credible and they managed to do it without overdoing it. The two are in a super difficult situation in their lives but they don't spend a thousand pages commiserating. It's not sugar you'll find in this book.

On the other side, the romance itself wasn't exciting enough. It's not lack of chemistry, it's just that there wasn't a single moment I felt my heart racing. I understand Duke is a big catch and I don't doubt it but I didn't feel it. I think that's a big thing when we're talking about romance, which is obviously the main genre in this book.

Additionally, I'm not so sure of the motivations for the ex-girlfriend to be that much of a b*. It was like she was randomly evil? I did get it that she likes money but it didn't seem to be all, unless she's literally crazy?

In sum, this is just a little bit above average, but not enough to earn 4 stars. I think lovers of romances that are cute but not too sugary should enjoy this nonetheless.

Angel is a hard-working, full-time single mother of a young son, who tends bar to make ends meet, and who is going to nursing school at night. Romance is the farthest thing from her mind. Caleb “The Duke” Lewis is a professional baseball player, whose love life is fodder for gossip columns. The pair meet at a clinic where Angel takes her son for emergency breathing treatment, and Caleb is having a doctor look at his ankle. Then when Caleb meets unassuming Angel at a bar, he finds her a perfect ploy to keep the gossip columns happy with the idea that he may have finally found the woman of his dreams, so he begins a romance with her. Angel seems the perfect woman to fool gossipers, easily working the charade until both fall head over heels for each other, with plenty of drama ensuing.

This book was okay. The plot was a fairly good one. I like the idea of opposites meeting unexpectedly and falling for each other, though neither really expects this. Though a bit inconsistent, Angel brings out the true meaning of hard work, motherhood and dedication to what she believes. Caleb is another story. He came across as very full of himself, though he also has had to work for what he has. This Cinderella story provides a good picture of modern-day romance, in these particular circumstances. It is not a long read, so can make for a nice summer beach read. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

I unfortunately wasn't able to finish this book and therefore couldn't post a positive review. I found both characters to be unlikable in both their personalities and their actions. The "chemistry" between them felt extremely forced to the point where I didn't understand how they could possibly like each other after their few brief interactions. They seemed to have entirely different personalities half the time and I didn't really feel like I knew either character. My main issue was with the writing, which felt awkward and clunky and didn't flow very well. Duke being referred to as "the ballplayer" and "the Yankee pitcher" is an example. I could understand describing him as such when he's first introduced but I didn't understand why it was necessary beyond the first chapter. It further showed how disconnected I felt to the characters. I wanted to love this book but it was too depressing to enjoy and, from the other reviews I read, it didn't seem like it would get better, which is why I decided to stop reading.

This is definitely an example of "don't judge a book by its cover". Because the cover is cute but this book was NOT.

Where to start? I guess with the characters. I didn't like any of them, except for Jose and Gabriela (and the ladies at the salon). They were innocent bystanders in this sh*t storm.

Look, I have no idea how single parents do it, much less single parents who had a kid when they were kids themselves. I had so much sympathy for Angel at the beginning, but damn, she was a b*tch so much that I just lost patience with her. As for 'the Duke', this guy was completely worthless as a 'romance hero'. I never grew to like him and didn't understand the draw. The rest of the secondary characters were terrible people (except for the ladies at the salon, Jose and Gabriela).

Don't read this. Not when there are so many other good books out there.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title. Unfortunately, I was unable to get into it and did not finish it. For that reason I won't be rating or reviewing.

I abandoned this book at 45%. I just wasn't connecting with it. It's just not for me. I didn't connect with the characters. I didn't find the story to be compelling. I didn't enjoy this one although I thought I might as I love the tropes explored in this one. As a result, I am not going to rate or review this one.

Well, this was a quick read. That's kind of the only thing it had going for it. Both main characters were really misogynistic (yes, including the female one), Angel was SO ANGRY ALL THE TIME, and Duke was an a*hole with no redeeming qualities, except that the one dimensional side characters just kept telling Angel he was a good person. The side characters were also boring and not believable, including the kid. The concept could have been a cute romcom set up, but it just didn't work in this author's hands. There were so many things that were included but never explored (African Americans and gun violence/their relationship or perception of the police; drug abuse; the loss of parental figures; etc etc etc). None of the relationships felt fleshed out, and the Spanish portions felt really forced (other reviews have mentioned that the translations were inaccurate). The smashcuts between characters was disconcerting and annoying. Also that epilogue felt so forced and cliche and ugh.

Angel Gomez wants to make life better for her son. She's working hard to become a nurse. Her son needs medicines that she can't afford. The Doctor where she works is harassing her. She thinks her life can't get any crazier. Then she meets The Duke, a professional baseball player at the clinic where she works. He wants her to pretend they are romantically involved. She agrees because he was nice to her boy. I couldn't believe what happened next. I like these characters. Angel is a loving mother. Her love of her son is sweet. Her chemistry with Duke is powerful. Things get heated when they're together. Duke is struggling to hold onto his sanity and his career. I liked that Angel helps him forget. The story is interesting. The author combines romance with emotional drama. I found the rich and the famous don't have everything.
I received a copy of this book which I voluntarily read and reviewed. My comments are my honest opinion.

Charmingly predictable, this novel is a modern day cinderella story, featuring a female who is more than a damsel in distress. Lozada's novel pins a new twist with modern family dynamics and feminist nature.

This book is fine if you like books that are not substantive and you don't care about character development or even likable characters much. Each character is quite unlikeable in that they are not nice to each other at all. Plot is predictable and doesn't really go anywhere imho. It's a quick and easy read. Just not sure it's worth the time. But if lightweight books that are quick and easy are exactly what you need this summer, this might be your read!

This wasn’t my favorite book I ever read but not the worst. I think it just wasn’t for me. I didn’t feel the chemistry between the main characters and the book dragged for me. I have a friend that loved it so I know that some will love it too.

Duke is the starting pitcher for the New York Yankees and Angel is a medical student and a single mother trying to make the best for her son, Jose.

This book was a bit underwhelming and pretty exhausting to read. This was 200+ pages of nonstop drama from start to finish. So many shady characters and more drama than romance between the two main characters.

I could appreciate the small amount of humor, but it didn’t last too long. Nothing major happened that had me on the edge of my seat until the final chapters. Angel and Duke were both likeable, but they had their moments where they were too extreme, especially Duke.

There were random bouts of drama that seemed to have come out of nowhere with these two. Angel was very up and down. I went from liking her for being so awesome and then she does something very judgmental and it makes me question the way she’s acting and why she refused to just walk away from the situation. I understood her need to protect her son, but she was on the verge of being rude for no reason way too many times to be acceptable. She didn’t take time to process her emotions before she just let them explode. Duke was arrogant and rude at times as well as selfish.

Overall this was a story that had potential but failed to reach it fully.

I'm really sad about this one because I had high expectations and it was bad.I couldn't connect with the characters and I was frustrated so much and sometimes I skipped some parts!I hope the others will like it much more!

I ran across this book while browsing Netgalley a few months ago and since I'm a huge fan of baseball and diverse romances, I wanted in on this action. I got about halfway through this book before I stepped away for good. I couldn't stand the heroine, the hero was a dick and I couldn't connect with a damn thing in this romance. I thought that I would for sure connect with the heroine since she's a struggling single Mom, trying to take care of her young son at any cost. She's doing what she needs to do and she's killing it as best as she could but holy cow did her attitude piss me off more than once. On top of that, the hero is a baseball player who acts likes a little bitch and I just couldn't for the life of me believe that he was the actual hero. I mean, sure, he was good with Angel's son Jose and he was a great teammate but for the most part, I wanted to bitch slap him into next week with every single page I turned. When I started feeling my blood pressure rise, I knew it was time for me to step away and move on to something else because hoo boy, this book was not for me. I do not recommend this one.

Let me start by saying how much I appreciate reading authors and stories of people of color. I was really excited when I was given the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately, I feel this story was not well developed. There were too many details crammed on not a lot of pages. The secondary characters are not well developed either. Regina is a b***? Okay, she sounds like a generic villain. Duke best friend's a douche? Again, not a lot of detail there. Is Duke having mommy issues? Not a lot of details there either. I really wanted to love this book, but all these details described and the fact the ending felt rushed made me not recommend this book. It is a shame because I was really looking forward to it.

soooooooooooooooooo .. I have less than zero positive things to say about the story-line and its characters. I read/skimmed this book a while ago and it was brutal! I marked it on Goodreads as read but I'm not reviewing on any retailers because I have nothing.

I received a copy of THE PERFECT DATE on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher and author.

FOUR stars and here’s why:

I found the story hard to put down. Each person experiences life in their own unique way. The author portrayed two emotionally raw characters who are dealing with anxiety in different ways, and I loved that the heroine was not a sappy female, but empowered to solve her own problems without a guy swooping in and doing it for her. I found the book to be a real page-turner, and rooted for both Angel and Duke. I realize it’s one of these stories that does not necessarily have to have a happily ever after tied up in a big red bow, and that’s more women’s fiction than romance. I really wanted more romance between the two characters rather than a whole lot of external drama that pulled me away from the two main characters, which is why I gave it four instead of five stars. Having said that, however, it’s one of these stories that stays with you long after you finish reading it. Highly recommend.

Easy read. Couldn't understand some of the decisions the main character made. Not sure why she kept giving him second chances.