A social media influencer meets her match in a hunky firefighter in this smexy and sweet vacation romance.
I adored Sara and Luis as they meet in the cutest way possible, then romp their way across the Key West, pretending to be engaged, meeting each other's large and well-meaning familias, and helping each other overcome their past issues. A lovely setting, wonderful characters and the fake fiance trope, Island Affair is a must read, people.

A sweet and steamy romp, this book was an absolute delight to read. Oliveras renders the keys so vividly that you're transported there and I could almost taste the salt and feel the ocean breeze. While Luis and Sara are wonderfully rendered characters whose relationship sweetly grows, the highlight for me was how the other relationships in the book played such a prominent role. The two families and their dynamics were exquisitely drawn and their warmth and complexity jumped off the page.
TW: eating disorders/recovery

Island Affair just broke me out of a major reading slump -- fake relationship, firefighters, Florida Keys, yes, please.
This ownvoices, Latinx romance is an absolutely delightful celebration of family and community...plus it's got a sexy cinnamon roll hero with a bit of a savior complex.

Sara is just landing in the Keys for a week-long vacation with her parents and siblings, when her boyfriend backs out on the trip. Just when she needed to prove to her parents she's on the right track. She meets Luis Navarro, just as he's leaving the fire station at the airport. They've definitely got chemistry, can they convincingly come off as a couple?

I really enjoyed that both Sara and Luis have family issues they're working through, but it never overshadows the budding romance. Sara's past disordered eating issues are handled forthrightly, though others would have to comment on the accuracy.

CW: Past disordered eating issues, parent with cancer

Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras is a hug of a book — it fills the heart to the brim with its tenderness, warm-heartedness and kindness. With some books, you know from the very beginning how wonderful the characters and their story are going to be and that feeling only grows with every page you turn.

Sara and Luis are so good to each other and to themselves — that is their appeal to each other and to the reader. You want to spend time uncovering their story. You want them to succeed in finding their HEA.

I really enjoyed Sara’s mantra, “I deserve better,” and they both do. They deserve to not have people treat them badly and they deserve to have the best life has to offer them. With the latter, they are both willing to put in the work to make it happen for themselves, and that takes courage, especially when you operate from a stance of lower power, like Sara, or from a stance of higher power, like Luis. Laying yourself bare to more pain in situations that have caused you pain before is an act of bravery that comes from the soul.

My review: http://frolic.media/book-of-the-week-island-affair-by-priscilla-oliveras/

So happy I tried this new author. Such a great story between Sara and Luis. They meet unexpectedly at an airport in Key West. I live in Florida so a lot mentioned and places I know. Families are important to both of them so an arraignment to act like they are a couple suits them both. They never expected the heat between them to really het HOT just like the firefighter Luis is in this fab well written story. Can’t wait for more.

This book was a page turner for me from start to finish! I found myself routing for Sara and Luis and laughing along with the story. It is the perfect Romcom that everyone needs this summer as they are relaxing on the beach. I have never read a book from this author before but now she is definitely on my radar. I thoroughly enjoyed this plot line and found myself devouring this book in a day. I highly recommend to everyone who needs a good feel good story. I would give this book 5 out of 5 stars. Thank you to Net galley and publishers for the advanced copy of this book! I will definitely be recommending this book to friends.

Sara is working to turn her life around and make something of herself. She is devastated when her boyfriend backs out of her family trip leaving her to face her "perfect" siblings and their spouses alone. They make her feel worthless, and without any future.

Luis is always willing to help anyone in distress and although he has sworn off relationships he is still willing to help out. Can Luis and Sara really deny what has bloomed between them?

A beautiful book of finding love in the most unlikely places and making changes for the best.

I did not enjoy this book. I’m not a huge fan of chick lit or rom-coms, but I’ve enjoyed some good ones in the past. This was too unrealistic and a bit cheesy.

I was not sure what to expect with this book, but what an excellent story that allowed me to armchair travel to a delightful Key West setting during the quarantine of the cornovirus. I am not often a reader of chick-lit, I love when they are well done and not too cliched. This one was a fun page-turner. The sensual tension between social media influencer Sara Vance and hunky firefighter Luis Navarro added a bit of steamy spice, but there is much more to this story than that. Both characters have faced adversity in their lives, so they both come with their baggage. The Vance family and the Navarro family are the perfect backdrop to this couple's tale. I am so glad this is the first in a series. I want to see what happens next. As I was reading, I could really imagine this translating well to the screen. Thank you to Kensington Publishing for the ARC.

This book could not have fallen in my lap at a better time. It's the perfect escape for those who want to take a trip without leaving the house. With its charming setting in the Keys and its lovable characters, I got hooked and couldn't put it down until I got to the last page.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I'm giving Island Affair 4/5 stars - it was exactly what I wanted to read whilst bemoaning the cancellation of my own vacation to a beach resort. Sara is stood up at the airport by her sleazy boyfriend on her way to family vacation - tired of feeling like she's always letting her down, when local Key West firefighter Luis stops to see if she's okay, she hatches a plan - he can pretend to be the boyfriend she was supposed to bring. This works out well for Luis, since he was just mandated a week off of work after responding to a call out that brought up personal issues he hasn't been able to put behind him.

Both Sara & Luis are multifaceted characters, with complex relationships, fully formed interests, and realistic, humorous conversations. This book was funny, real, at times raw and really delved into the family dynamics. I liked that we learned about Luis' Cuban culture through his interactions with his familia. Of course, the effect of dramatic irony is never lost on me, I ALWAYS think it's hilarious, so with a couple of those moments in this book as well, it really wrapped everything up into a page turning package.

My only complaint is the lack of epilogue - I wish that we got to see how Sara's future panned out beyond the family vacation.

I normally like books like this. Lots of escapism, beautiful people in beautiful places, etc. But there was no chemistry or tension between the two main characters. They like each other right away and hijinks ensue. But there's a lot of telling the reader that they like each other rather than showing the reader they do. Also, the characters themselves didn't seem very interesting or fun. The influencer character just seemed spoiled, and the firefighter seemed to have the personality trait of "hot".

Really enjoyed this. I haven't been able to enjoy reading lately due to everything going on. This book was out of my usual mystery genre, but I decided to take a chance on it based on the cover and the blurb. Fun story! Couldn't put it down, read it in one evening. Hot romance! Great story with flawed, believable characters. Just what I needed to read right now!

I could see this being the perfect beach read this summer. It's a fun new version of the fake fiance trope, because it recognizes what a ridiculous set up that is nowadays. It took a cheeky, light tone right from the start.

I really enjoyed the two, very different, families in this story. They were both big and kind of messy, but in a great way. And the MCs had awesome chemistry. And there was a wonderful mix of sweet and spicy scenes between them.

I think the author did a great job handling the topic of eating disorders. It was discusseded with seriousness, but not shock or judgement. I also appreciated that it was never treated with disgust.

I really loved the use of Spanglish/ Spanish in the writing as well. It didn't feel forced or over the top. However, since I studied Spanish from Spain, I was initially a bit shocked to see how often everyone used the word "coño" until I realized it wasn't used quite as literally in Cuban dialects. So, also a learning experience here!

Overall, a really quick and enjoyable read. I think this would be a great summer reading book.

**Disclaimer: I was given a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.**

Title Island Affair

Author Priscilla Oliveras

Description from Amazon

Sought-after social media influencer Sara Vance, in recovery from an eating disorder, is coming into her own, with a potential career expansion on the horizon. Despite the good news, her successful siblings (and their perfect spouses) have a way of making her feel like the odd one out. So, when her unreliable boyfriend is a no-show for a Florida family vacation, Sara recruits Luis Navarro—a firefighter paramedic and dive captain willing to play the part of her smitten fiancé . . .

Luis’s big Cuban familia has been in Key West for generations, and his quiet strength feeds off the island’s laidback style. Though guarded after a deep betrayal, he’ll always help someone in need—especially a spunky beauty with a surprising knowledge of Spanish curse words. Soon, he and Sara have memorized their “how we met” story and are immersed in family dinners, bike tours, private snorkeling trips . . . sharing secrets, and slow, melting kisses. But when it’s time for Sara to return home, will their fake relationship fade like the stunning sunset . . . or blossom into something beautiful?

Release Date April 28, 2020

Initial Thoughts

I was excited to read this one on NetGalley. The fake dating trope is always fun and I liked the beachy setting. Social distancing is making me really miss the beach and really just being outside in general.

Some Things I Liked

Banter. I loved the banter between Sara and Luis. I thought their characters were fun and I enjoyed their dialogue.
Luis’s family. I thought they had a ton of sequel potential. I loved his extended family and I hope to see more of them.

One Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About

The timeline. Everything felt a little rushed. This wasn’t exactly insta-love, but it was pretty close and I just thought it felt like everything happened too fast. I think I would have liked it better if the vacation was longer or maybe they had some time apart. I’m not totally sure what I would have done differently, but, this version felt like it went by too quickly for the outcome we ended up with.

Series Value

I could easily see this developing into more stories with Luis’s family. His brother and sister both seem like they would be interesting characters and I can see Sara and Luis being involved as side characters. I would keep reading if this becomes a series.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed this book. It was a fast, fun, beachy read and I would continue to read if it developed into a series. I had some small issues with the pace of the timeline but in general, this was a cute romance story with a nice ending.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommendations for Further Reading

Fake It Till You Make It by Anne Harper – if you like the fake dating trope, try this April release out.
Not That Kind of Guy by Andie J. Christopher – again, if you like fake dating mixed with family vacactions and family drama, try this April release.
Ghosting by Tash Skilton – this one isn’t quite fake dating, but it’s definitely got a lot of the same feelings.

Fake dating. Island romance. Body issues triggers. Family drama. This book packs a lot into it, but does it well. I loved this book, once I picked it up I barely put it down and read it all in a day. I cannot wait for the next book in the series as I will definitely be picking it up. Highly recommend!

I was given an arc of this book from netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

Sara and her family have planned a trip to Key West to celebrate her mother's successful battle with breast cancer. Sara has always been the odd one out of the family, choosing to pursue a self made business in social media influencing rather than becoming a doctor like the rest of her family. Sara simply wants to impress her family, but when her boyfriend that everyone is expecting to meet, bails on the family trip the second Sara lands in Key West, she panics.

Luis Navarro happened to be at the right pace at the right time to meet Sara. Luis, a firefighter that has been mandated to take a week off of work, struggles with his own insecurities. In a spur if the moment decision, Sara asks Luis to be her stand in boyfriend for the week, and Luis naturally agrees. As the story continues, Sara and Luis inevitably develop real feelings for each other.

I really enjoyed this book. While it was rather predictable (although it did have a slight twist at the end), the growing love story between Luis and Sara is too sweet not to love. I enjoyed discovering the backstory of each character and seeing why the characters interacted with each other the way they did.

I also enjoyed the slight mix of family drama thrown in there and how they became cohesive.

When his captain orders him to take a week off, Key West firefighter Luis Navarro's plans for spending that time include complaining to his family about the mandatory time off, binge-eating his Mami's Cuban cooking, and sulking on his boat. Fate has other plans...

Social media influencer Sara Vance arrives in Key West in a panic and angry when her lousy long-distance boyfriend stands her up. In Key West to celebrate her mother's remission from cancer, Sara doesn't want to cause any stress for her family--especially when they already hover over her because of her eating disorder, and she has spent years being the black sheep.

When Luis happens to come across a distressed Sara in the parking lot of the airport, his desire to help her leads to them putting together a plan: Luis will stand in for Sara's no-good ex, they'll spend the week together in a fake relationship, and Luis will show the Vance's around his island home. What could possibly go wrong?

This amazing first book in the 'Keys to Love' series is rich, atmospheric, and full of everything you love in a fake dating trope. Sara and Luis are both fantastic characters, with tantalizing chemistry. Both have room for growth, and take those long over-due steps in that direction--as do members of the supporting cast. Speaking of supporting cast, Luis' family is the best. You want them to be your familia.

Very eager to see what will come next in this series (and fingers crossed that the next book will prominently feature Luis' sister, Annamaria).

This light romantic comedy was a fun escape and quick and easy read. The characters were fun and enjoyable. The book called out the similarities to romantic comedy movies with similar plots. As an added bonus the book had a great setting, Key West, and it was fun to revisit locales I'd been to before. Sara comes to Key West to take a vacation and help her mother who recently was declared cancer free relax and enjoy herself. Sara's boyfriend had promised to come and canceled after she had already arrived. Luis is a fireman who has been struggling with letting go with some past trauma and it's impacting his job as a fireman at a local Key West firehouse. Together they agree to spend the week together and Luis will pretend to be Sara's boyfriend so Sara's family will not know he ditched her. Hilarity ensures.

This was a great book that explored both a new romance and fitting the romance into two loud and crazy families. It was also a great vacation read (where my vacation was reading this to try and forget what's currently happening in the world). The characters were fresh and fun - I loved how the author added in Florida/Cuban culture - and the chemistry between Sara and Luis was 100% believable!

My only qualms with it were, obviously, it was kind of insta-lovey (though it wasn't so apparent since the pacing was on point) and that some of the smaller side plots (i.e. her past eating disorder, his job as a firefighter, her mother's remission, etc.) weren't as fleshed out as I expected. Though these didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the story.