Quick read. Characters were well drawn. Plot was a bit over the top. Background on both Luis and Sara’s past ‘skeletons’ was a tad confusing until about 2/3 through the book.

This was actually a really cute romance. It’s not your typical obsessive, steamy, lust filled rom com that we are used to. This one is lighthearted, but it also has some depth and dealings with person issues. It has a great classic “fake dating turned real” plot. It brings together the importance of self, family, love, confidence. Sara and Luis felt relatable. Felt real. Felt raw. This is the first book in a new series so I can’t wait to see where it goes from here. I did feel like the details were a little too forced and drawn out at parts, giving me a desire to skip instead of investing my energy into every word. It was very real to The Keys and at points you felt like you were on vacation with them. The ending seemed very abrupt and, which was okay. In a matter of like 6 pages you had the climax/drama, and then the resolution/ending. But it was cute and romantic and honestly a realistic love. The feelings were realistic and honest. I loved that.

First time reading this author but it won't be the last!

What a great story! I loved the setting, the Cuban flavor, the secondary characters, and especially Luis and Sara.

Luis meets Sara near the airport. Her boyfriend (very soon to be ex) had promised to come with her on her family vacation, but he doesn't show up. On a daring impulse, she asks Luis to come with her as her fake boyfriend.

Luis is a firefighter, from a family of firefighters, and his captain has forced him to take a week off. As he has the time off, he agrees to Sara's proposition.

Of course, the more they get to know each other, the more they begin to like the other, and they fall in love. But, of course, there's also plenty of problems.

I wouldn't mind to see more stories in this setting.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

This is a fun, sweet romance that made for an easy breezy read. It's a pretty straight forward take on the fake boyfriend trope. I found it entertaining from start to finish, thanks to the immediate obvious physical attraction between the two lead characters. They each had enough of a back story to give them a little depth but not bog down the current storyline. Besides the romance, this is also a story about family and forgiveness of the past. My only complaints are it ended too abruptly and there wasn't enough sex!

This book pulled me in from the first few pages. I couldnt and didn’t want to put it down!

Luis is a firefighter in Key West, and his boss just told him that he needs to take a week off and take a break after a rough call. Hardworking Luis is extremely unhappy about this decision, he feels that his work is a good distraction and doesn’t want to take the time.

He meets Sara who is in key west for the week on vacation with her family. Her parents are expecting to meet her and her boyfriend Ric, but wouldnt you know, they just broke up, hours before they are supposed to meet up with her family. After chatting with Luis for a few minutes, Sara comes up with a plan for Luis to be her fake boyfriend. We all know how this is going to go! Can they keep it a secret? What happens after the week is over?

I really liked Sara as a female lead. She’s spunky, caring, and overall a well written character. Her and Luis fit well together and from the moment they meet, their chemistry has you wanting them in a relationship immediately!

And Luis...mmm mmm MMM! He may be one of my favorite male leads, especially this year. He’s caring, funny, AND a great dancer. Uh YES PLEASE!

I found myself wanting to read it quickly, but also wanting to take my time, enjoy it and didn’t want it to end. Anyone who likes fake relationships/dating troupes needs to read this right away!!

Island Affair has two of my favorite romantic comedy story tropes. It's got a fake relationship turned real and an adorable meet cute plus some family DRAMA. Luis is a firefighter dealing with some issues in his personal and professional life. Sara Vance is a famous instagram influencer on the first family vacation in years when her boyfriend bails on her and she turns to local good guy, Luis, to help her out of a jam.

Oliveras did an amazing job of showcasing the beauty of the Florida Keys. I loved getting the feeling I was getting a tour of the town from a local. Sara and Luis relationship was wonderful and honest even in their difficult circumstances. Sara and Luis' personal issues made them feel real and relatable. I loved their families who sounded like people I actually knew and would love to hang out with.

Aww, so cute! This is very much in the vein of Helen Hoang or Tessa Bailey’s books! Smouldering heat without going into graphic detail; a nice burn that leaves it all up to your own imagination. Fun meet cute, both boy and girl have issues, both reasonable adults who work through their issues and help the other work through theirs; love!

In Island Affair, Sara is an Instagram influencer who feels out of place in her family - her parents and siblings are all doctors and she doesn't think she can ever live up to their expectations. Her mother has gone into remission from cancer, and so they plan a family trip to Key West. Sara figures it's the perfect time to introduce them to her boyfriend and to prove that she has it together. Unfortunately her boyfriend decides to stand her up at the last minute, so she convinces a local, Luis, to be her pretend boyfriend for the week. I love a good fake relationship trope, so I was really excited for this book. Overall it worked for me, but I think what I like best about the trope is the difficulty in pretending, as well as not knowing what feelings are real and which are pretense. In this book Sara and Luis hit it off so instantly and mesh so well that they are basically just immediately in a real relationship. I would've preferred a longer will they/won't they period, although since Sara's trip is only a week there was always going to be a rushed timeline. The characters in this book are lovely, though. Both Sara and Luis's families were wonderful, and I liked that they both had issues they needed to work through. (I should point out that Sara has an eating disorder, and I was a little uncomfortable how much emphasis there was in the book with how "slim" and "slender" she was, equating those words with her attractiveness. It just rubbed me the wrong way.) In general though this was an enjoyable read and I look forward to future books in the series. Luis's sister in particular was awesome and I hope the next one is about her.

Fun read just perfect for a rainy day, a beach vacation or a lazy weekend (me!) I've been to Key West islands, where this story is set. Hence I totally agree that this gorgeous location is the perfect backdrop for a sudden romance! The story was amazing too, presenting a family drama without making it too sordid or glum. The primary characters were believable, and even the secondary plots between the heroine and her siblings were interesting enough (something I don't often see in romance novels), that I read the book from cover to cover.

This was an excellent read. Plus, with all the fears and uncertainty from the corona virus pandemic, honestly, we need more books like this which allow readers to escape from our real-life chaos.

This was an excellent read. I loved the island setting and the amazing chemistry between the characters. It got a little steamy, but overall this is a perfect vacation read. I would love to have read this on a beach somewhere. If you are a fan of The Proposal, this book is for you.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review. I enjoyed Island Affair, and perhaps it is closer to a 3.5 stars. Unfortunately before I read the book, I had to cancel a trip to Florida. So even while I was looking for an escape, at times it felt like salt on my wounds, although not intentional. The beginning of the book, we meet Luis and his brother Carlos. The reason for Luis's mandated week off the fire department is explained, but not really focused on the immediate event that lead to this time off, that's not looked at as a gift by hard working Luis. He comes upon Sara at the airport who just found out her boyfriend isn't showing up for her family vacation. Sara needs someone to bridge the gap between herself and her family. As the youngest with much older siblings, Sara doesn't quite feel like a part of her family, raised mostly by her Cuban nanny while her parents were being doctors. Sara has a successful marketing and social influencer business in New York. Her past comes up, as having had an eating disorder in college. I thought this was a more unique "baggage" than other tropes but this whole "hired to play boyfriend " without actually money exchanging hands- to falling in love in less than a week was a little hard to believe. Sure, right time, right place and Luis and Sara are perfect together. They both come from big families with difficult sibling dynamics. I've never been to Key West so I enjoyed that popular tourist destinations were mentioned. But yet not enough details about the food, but I'm a foodie. Make yourself a key lime pie and enjoy this quick paced sweet romance.

I can stare at the cover all day long! This takes you to Key West, a perfect escape. It's a fun & entertaining fake fiancée trope about overcoming personal issues, the importance of family, and living in the moment. The author beautifully makes you feel part of the story as a member of the family - yelling, taking sides, feeling the sun and water, and eating lol! Thanks to Kensington Publishing Co. and NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for this book.
I received an ARC in exchange of my honest review.

It was a cute romance. I loved my time reading about Luis and Sara's fake romance turned real. It's not a uncommon trope. There are many similar books based on fake romance but this one was a little different. This doesn't only focus on the romance between the two protagonists but also on family. I simply adored it. It was a cute and lighthearted read and the vivid description of Key West makes me want to go there and never leave. It was my first time reading a Priscilla Oliveras book but certainly not my last one. I loved it and I looking forward to reading more of her books in the future. If you looking for reading a cute and lighthearted rom-com then it's just the book for you. Hope you all like it as much as I did! Happy reading!

A good lightweight read about an overheard conversation, forced time off, and an opportunity for two fallible people to help each other with familial issues. Along the way, love ensues and changes them both forever.

This was a wonderful romantic novel with characters that draw you right in and don’t let go. The storyline flowed seamlessly and kept me glued to the pages.

Priscilla Oliveras' Island Affair is a cute and breezy romance. Her descriptions of Key West were excellent, and I liked the world that was starting to take shape around Luis and Sara.

I think what bumped it down from three to two stars for me is that I really struggled to get through the first half of the book, particularly the first quarter, due to how repetitive it got, and a lot of the conflicts were resolved far too quickly. I also didn't love the dialogue; I found it a little too pat at times, and some of the characters started to sound the same.

Just wish there was a little more in this novel!

REVIEW: 4🌟

Island Affair is a cute and delightful fake relationship romance about Sara, a social media influencer, and Luis, a local Key West firefighter.

Sara has a need to please and not disappoint the members of her family while Luis is that modern day hero that always wants to save others (literally and figuratively). So when Sara’s real boyfriend stands her up on the family vacation, Luis swoops in and agrees to play the part in order to help Sara meet her family’s expectations and not disappoint them any further than she already feels they are. The relationship grows into something real and they both end up saving each other from the family troubles that have been plaguing them for so long.

It’s a very sweet story and one that I makes the perfect vacation/beach read. Oliveras does a great job developing the primary and secondary characters in the book and the family dynamics are such that most can relate to.

I enjoyed this book so much! Island Affair is the story of Sara, a social media influencer, and Luis, a Key West firefighter. When Sara flies down to Key West for a week with her family celebrating her mom's recovery from cancer she is beyond pissed off when she gets a call from her boyfriend saying he's bailing on the trip. Luis, just coming into a mandated week off of work at the fire station, overhears the conversation Sara has and, ever the helper, offers a listening ear only to be surprised when Sara asks him to stand in for the week as her fake boyfriend.

This story is fun. Luis and Sara have an attraction and banter that is both sweet and sexy. I found myself laughing out loud at various parts in the story. I liked that Sara's family relationships felt real. Not everything is so easy between them. I really loved Luis's Cuban family and cannot wait to read more about them in (hopefully) future books. I think maybe my favorite part was the setting of Key West, which is almost a character in itself. The Cuban culture, the food, the gorgeous scenes that Oliveras writes pull you in and make you feel as if you are there. And while this is definitely on the lighter end, with a rom-com feel, there are deeper parts to the story that have you feeling invested in the characters. Island Affair is a solid 4-star read. I would recommend this to anyone who wants that tropical, rom-com escape.

Luis and Sara have quite the meet cute.
Luis is a firefighter and he’s giving a bit of time off work, his brother Carlos encourages him to do something different during his time off. Luis is a good guy, a really good guy, but he hasn’t taken a risk in years.
Sara gets a call from her boyfriend while she’s at the airport. She’s flown to Florida to meet up with her long distance boyfriend. Her family is flying in and they’re all spending a week together to celebrate Sara’s mom’s recovery from cancer. But her boyfriend blows her off. She breaks up with him. Then she has to deal with the fact that she has no boyfriend to introduce to her family.
Sara can’t stand the thought of disappointing her mom. She also doesn’t want to be embarrassed in front of her perfect siblings. And she’s afraid that all the pressure could mess up her progress with her eating disorder.

Luis has a tendency to save people. When he sees Sara crying in the airport, he comforts her. After she tells him what happened, she asks him to come along on the family holiday and pretend to be her boyfriend.

One snag is that this all takes place in Luis’ hometown, so he Knows he’ll run into people he knows. He tells Sara that he will not lie to his family.
Another snag is that Sara and Luis are actually falling for each other.

I liked the beach setting. I needed that today. I liked the characters. I enjoyed the talk of food. I liked how Sara and Luis both had complicated backstories.
It was a quick, enjoyable read.

I got to read an early ebook edition from NetGalley. Thanks!

I knew I had to read Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras from the first time I heard about the book and then when I saw the cover I KNEW this book had to be mine!
ISLAND AFFAIR is a sexy, light romance where I was tugged in with the trope alone and stayed in because the romance was TO DIE FOR. I loved this book, these characters, and who they are. Thank you for letting me read!