Sara is a social media influencer who is recovering from an eating disorder on vacation in Key West with her perfect, overachieving, doctor family. When her boyfriend no-shows for the trip, she talks local firefighter Luis into being her fake fiance. His one condition? HIs Cuban family is not to find out. When their fake relationship becomes more real, they each have to confront some issues in order to make their fake vacation thing into a full-time thing.

Sara literally picks up Luis at the airport fire station and talks him into a faking a relationship, and this felt so unrealistic. I understand you have to suspend reality to an extent to enjoy a romance, but like you don’t get into trucks with strange men you’ve just met! I think the book lost me from the first chapter, but I kept hoping it would get better and I would love it. I just didn’t. Sorry! I did listen to the audiobook - I recommend it. I loved the use of Spanish words to highlight the culture of Luis’ Cuban family, and my high school Spanish skills are rusty.

When Sara Vance, a rising social media megastar, steps off the plane at Key West International, the last thing she expected was to be stood up in the airport parking lot. Her fiancé texted regrets that he could not join her for the vacation that was about to begin. Minutes before the rest of her judgmental, opinionated family arrives, Sara meets Luis Navarro. Her knight in shining armor turns out to be an off duty (and super hot!) firefighter, his white horse - a hunky pick up truck. Instant chemistry and not much time to debate the merits of this crazy idea, the two strike a deal. Luis has the week off and will pretend to be Sara’s companion. Luis, a native Conch from a large Cuban family completely understands the messy dynamics that Sara is experiencing. Going out on a limb for this pretty blonde seems a small price to pay to hide his own forced “time off" from his gossiping familia. As Sara and Luis get to know each other and navigate the ups and downs of their plan, the temperature continues to rise. This steamy island romance is filled with sunshine, delicious latin flavor and all the sizzle of a PERFECT beach read! Highly recommend this quick southern getaway - a must before Anchored Hearts, next in the Keys to Love series, releases at the end of April!

I was able to read this book thanks to NetGalley. I really enjoyed the story and the characters. It was a very cute and entertaining. It’s a must read for romance fans. I will be recommending it to family and friends snd will be looking for more from this author in the future. Thanks again for the opportunity to read this book.

Name of the book : Island Affair
Author : Priscilla Oliveras
Publisher : Zebra
Number of pages : 304
Trigger warnings : eating disorder, car accident, death

Luis, a Cuban fire fighter paramedic, is forced to take a leave from his work. After having a quarrel with his brother, he bumps into Sara, a social media influencer, who is having her own melt down, since her boyfriend stood her up in a planned family vacation. Sara's mother is recovering from Cancer and DEFINITELY doesn't need any additional drama in her life.

Sara cooks up a plan and urges Luis to pretend to be her boyfriend, whom her family has never seen before. After a string of no starter romances & holding down a job that doesn't qualify as a real job for her super successful & well established siblings ; Sara NEEDS this new plan to work out!

I enjoyed reading this beach romance with the fake dating trope. The tropical island setting gave major summer vibes. The light banter between the protagonists is well juxtaposed with the complex family dynamics.

Island Affair was. romantic getaway wrapped in an easy to read package. A sweet and fun to read love story set in paradise. The writing was not my style but I liked it nonetheless.

Given that I am currently in the middle of snow, snow, and more snow, I was looking forward to reading a book set in Key West, a tropical paradise.. Even the cover made things a little warmer. I found this to be a quick read and great for someone looking to cozy up on a weekend afternoon with a hot book!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Apologies for the delay!

A fun romance that touches on the seriousness of an eating disorder. A quick, entertaining read with a relatable love story!

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2021 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2021/02/2021-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

This is a wonderful and light summery romance. Luis' character was wonderful and sweet. It's centered around a fake dating premise which is always fun to explore.

I really enjoyed this summery romance book! I loved Luis and Sara’s love story and how the story was centered around their relationships with their families as well. I really enjoy fake dating romances because it’s always entertaining to see how the characters get to know each other and navigate different situations that come up with their family and friends. I’m definitely planning on reading future books in the series!

Entertaining and escapist, I think the setting was the biggest win for me. Unfortunately, I didn’t find the writing as engaging as I was hoping for, and that kept this one fairly middling for me. But if you’re looking for a quick, easy romp with great sense of place, give this one a shot!

Really enjoyed this one! Such a great tropical escape and I can't wait to read more books from Prisciall Oliveras!

It took me a while to get into this book, after I got into it I enjoyed the Key West setting along with the cute, and cheesy writing. I loved the island setting!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

This super cute and steamy at times story set in Key West. The author does an incredible job describing the surroundings.

Luis a hunky firefighter. When he is forced to have a week off to clear his head he meets Sara, a social media influencer and blogger. When her boyfriend Ric doesn’t show up for her family vacation she hires Luis to play the part of her fiancée.

Overall I found it to a really wholesome, sweet and easy to read book. Although it was a light read it did also deal with some heavier topics such as mental health and eating disorders which gave it more depth.

I want to thank Kensington Books and Netgalley for generously providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was taken by the other's skill at weaving an intricate story. Powerful themes of family ties and the ability to forgive all involved. I was engrossed from the first page.

I initially declined to give feedback on this book. I deeply disliked it, I'm still not totally sold on it. It's a beach read for sure, one of those books you toss in your bag for a day at the beach because it requires little brain power and can to some extent be skim read, but it's just such a stretch from reality. never mind that this story has been told time and time again, how many books do we really need about a woman who bumps into a man and they have a fake relationship to placate her parents. Anyway those are my thoughts.

This book took place in a dreamy, tropical setting that is a reachable destination here in the US! It was a great setting for a story. The setting of the book was great and reminded me of some of my favorite Hallmark movies. I liked the characters okay, but I found the writing to be a bit lackluster. The pacing of everything seemed off to me. It just kind of fell flat halfway through for me.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Cute and fluffy with an island setting--what more could you want? :)

Island Affair is the first in Priscilla Oliveras's Keys to Love series, following the Navarro family of Key West. Luis Nevarro and Sara Vance's story is a fake relationship/close proximity/holiday romance story, and it was a lot of fun to read. Though the time period from initial meeting to agreeing to fake dating/spending the week with Sara's family is waaaaay too short, it's worth it to throw caution to the warm tropical winds and just go with it. Sara and Luis were really cute together, and even if things moved a little on the fast side it was still what I needed to get my mind off of current events. And the rest of Luis's family? They were pure gold on the page. I can't wait to see more of these guys!

The Key West setting was drawn so vividly, I could swear I was right there with the characters tasting the salt water tang to the air and feeling the sun on my skin. I don't even like all the components of Cuban sandwiches, but somehow she had me craving them--Ms Oliveras did a great job of drawing readers into the world she created here, and I didn't want to leave.

I was a bit bummed that the story ended so abruptly--there's not a lot of turnaround time between the grand gesture and "the end". I was honestly surprised when I turned the page and realized that there wasn't any more story there. Here's hoping she makes it up to us by giving us plenty of glimpses into Sara and Luis's future in the next books--this was my first book from this author, but definitely not my last!

Rating: 4 stars / A-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Sara is a rising Instagram influencer who has always compared herself to her surgeon parents and much-older siblings. Luis is secret teddy bear firefighter who is close with his family-- minus the six-year-old feud with his youngest brother. When Luis is put on mandatory leave from the fire station, he bemoans the week of forced vacation. But his week unexpectedly fills up when he volunteers to be the boyfriend of a tourist he runs into in the Key West parking lot. Sara and Luis make a plan, but their deal to just be friend is quickly jettisoned when they realize their chemistry. But will Luis's grudge against his brother and Sara's paltry history with her family prevent these two from taking what's right in front of them: a loving and supportive partner?

Island Affair has promise. However, the overabundance of fragments severely detracts from the story. Since I read an ARC, I'm hoping they were fixed by the time final publication happened. However, because of their prevalence, I'm thinking not. Additionally, I dislike romances told in 3rd person limited omniscient. It is just not a natural storytelling method for romances; I much prefer 1st person POV. Lastly, the audiobook (since I "read" part of this via audio) doesn't switch between voice actors depending on if it's the male or female lead, which greatly lessens the impact of the story.

Diverse reads:
- Sara is white, but fully bilingual.
- Luis is a Key West native, but has Cuban heritage.