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.

This one fell a bit flat for me. It just felt like it took a while for this book to get started, and once it did there wasn't a ton to it. Also felt a tad too cheesy for my taste at times.

Finished up another fun summer read this past weekend with Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras. Thank you so much to the publisher for my free e-arc.

Sara Vance is having a rough start to her family vacation. She is stood up by her boyfriend, literally as she lands in sunny Key West. Afraid of disappointing her parents yet again, she enlists the help of firefighter Luis (whom she meets in the airport parking lot) to be her fake boyfriend for the week. Sara is a social media influencer in a family of doctors and she has always felt a little bit like she doesn’t fit. Luis is guarded; overworking himself to avoid dealing with family issues. The two instantly have a fun connection and chemistry that they weren’t expecting.

Fake relationships is one of my favorite troupes. Sara’s crazy idea ends up working so well for the both of them. They help each other to heal relationships with their respective families and fall in love along the way. I enjoyed watching them support one another, connect with unexpected similarities and the steam didn’t hurt either 🔥.

Give me a fake fiance trope and a sunny Key West beach, and I'm THERE FOR IT, BABY!
Island Affair is a whole lot of romance, sometimes-complicated family relationships, and tropical fun in one sunny and delightful book.

I loved reading this book. although to be honest I was kind of in slack and it took me ages to get interested in it. But I actually liked it a lot but only after a few chapters. It was a meet-cute read, with the fake dating stuff.

Island Affair was a good read by Priscilla Oliveras. Sara is a social media influencer who is recovering from an eating disorder. Although she is doing well in her career, her successful siblings make her feel as if she is nothing like them. Sara recruits a handsome firefighter paramedic, Luis, to play the part of her fiancé on a family vacation when her boyfriend doesn't show up. They grow close which makes it hard when Sara must return home. I really enjoyed reading Sara and Luis story and can't wait to read more by Priscilla Oliveras.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Both a sweet and steamy book, this is perfect for summer reading. Admittedly, this took me awhile to get into. I had a hard time "getting into the lives" of the two main characters and the way the story started (because, let's face it, who would actually agree to be a fake fiance and join her on vacation for one week? Dude could be an ax murderer. ) I digress: once I got into it about 25% through, I very much enjoyed it (even if they did lie for the entire book).

As I said, it's a fake fiance situation. Our main character, Sara, was basically ditched by her boyfriend who was supposed to go on a week long family vacation with her to Key West. She bumps into Luis on the street, a stranger (a fireman) who she convinces to take the place of her ex-boyfriend and join her on this family vacation. Under the ex-boyfriends name and living his life. Realistic? Probably not. But, still made for a cute story.

Along with the cuteness, there were definitely some heavy topics in this book. Cancer, eating disorders, family issues, etc.

It was a cute read. I enjoyed the ending!

Thanks NetGalley and author for allowing me to read a copy of this book!

The writing and the descriptions felt weirdly overstuffed to me at times but I liked book overall. Always welcome a quick, light read in a fun setting. Glad it’s a series though and looking forward to reading Enrique and Anamaria’s stories.

This is the perfect beach/summer read! It's a light rom-com with a great storyline. While not totally unique with the storyline, this isn't the first rom-com about a fake relationship that becomes real, but this one is well-done and cute. The vivid descriptions of Key West and the characters made this read that much more enjoyable.
I was a little thrown off by the timeline of this read, I felt like everything was in fast-forward. We get introduced to the fake relationship very early on and I didn't feel like the relationships had a full chance to bloom. Even the ending felt rushed and fast-paced. But overall, a good read!

Melt-your-Kindle hot and a great romantic story. Loved this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Kensington Books for the advanced reader's copy of Island Affair.

The book opens with Luis getting put on mandatory leave from his work as a firefighter for a week. As he's leaving the house, he comes across a young woman, Sara, arguing on the phone near his truck. Sara's boyfriend was supposed to be joining her family vacation in the Keys to help her prove herself to her über successful family of doctors.

With Luis out for the week and Sara in town for the week, she does the crazy and asks Luis if he'd be willing to pose as her boyfriend. With nothing else to do, he agrees.

The book was essentially what would happen if The Proposal and The Wedding Date had a baby. While predictable, I thought the book was super cute and I blew through it rather quickly. This is the first in a series, and while it wasn't my favorite, I may still pick up the next book if I walk past it on the library shelves.

Very, very cliché and unabashedly so. The entire setup of the fake dating occurred within the span of just a few moments between strangers. I wish I could say what I see within the main pairing as a duo, but it was kind of a mutual attraction with no real basis, even after they started to get to know each other.

I love the Key West family dynamic that the male main character had, as it was an interesting way of showing both how differently and similarly their relationships with their respective families were. The coincidences and compilations of running into random people Luis knew and couldn't ignore was amusing too.

I honestly hated how pushy the main characters could be with one another. Essentially, they were like "hey we're fake dating for a week and I'm attracted to you so you should feel obligated to tell me your deepest secrets and struggles" because vulnerability as it comes naturally is overrated or something?

Meanwhile, I didn't necessarily see any real reason why they were together other than their initial attraction that kickstarted it all.

Oliveras's approach to writing about the eating disorder and the difficulties surrounding Sara's relationship with the people in her life because of it was well-thought out, which I really appreciated. The myriad of familial complexities in general was probably the part of the book that I didn't mind reading the most.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for the ARC!

Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras
3.5/5
I was a cute and summery beach read. (Slight spoilers ahead)
I loved the descriptions about food, the scenery and some of the tougher topics this story touched on, including death, eating disorders, family demands, and honesty. While this was a romance novel, I liked the ways that there was a bit more depth to it than the classic meet-cute fall in love have one fight then the end. There were some family and personal dynamics that came into play with both characters. While I liked these aspects, I think they could have been explored a bit more to give the book some more depth – it merely seems as if it scratched the surface.
Overall, it was an entertaining novel which I would recommend to people if they are interested – it just wasn’t my favorite romance and it seemed to fall a bit flat for my personal taste.
A huge thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this e-book.

Nothing I love more than a fake relationship trope and add it to a great summer setting in the Florida Keys and I am set. I love the depth of the story as well as the fun and heartwarming story between the two lovable characters, Sara Vance, a social media influencer and Luis, a Cuban American firefighter/paramedic who stole my heart. The writing was superb with the witty banter and hot chemistry, I could not ask for more. This was a fun read that I enjoyed - nice escape! Thank you author Oliveras - I cannot wait for the sequel.

This was my first book by Priscilla Oliveras and I loved it. Set in Key West, it was the perfect book for someone who has been missing the beach and vacations. I got to feel like I was on vacation without leaving my house.

Luis runs into Sara when he finds her yelling on the beach. Having just gotten not so great news at work, Luis is looking to provide help wherever he can. Sara's boyfriend has just dumped her and she doesn't want to show up to family vacation as the only single person, especially given how successful everyone else in her family is and how they already perceive her. So Luis and Sara agree to a fake relationship. Of course like any fake relationship, it turns in to a real one.

What I really liked about Luis and Sara was how not fake their entire relationship felt from the get go. I looooved Sara's parents and even was okay with the conflict she had with her sister. I liked the way it was presented and I appreciated that Oliveras actually had the characters work their shit out by talking.

Take all that and throw in some yummy food and crazy Key West, Florida and this was a winner for me.

Now more than ever I’ve been enjoying travelling through the pages and Island Affair was definitely a wonderful escape to enticing and sunny Key West, Florida.

Priscilla Oliveras’ writing is so vivid and descriptive that you can feel the sun on your face, the sand between your toes and all the delicious food references will have your mouth watering. Honestly I was ready to pack my bags and jet off! Island Affair had me in the mood to dance and enjoy the rich Latinx culture of South Florida 💃🏻

I loved the Spanish which flowed throughout, it added a richness to the setting & authenticity to Luis’ character. The strong family focus, in addition to all the family drama and Luis and Sara’s personal issues, added depth to these characters and made them more relatable. There was sizzling chemistry with great banter between Luis and Sara and while there was a bit of steam it was mostly fade to black. I didn’t have an issue with them falling for each other quickly as I’m a huge believer in that initial & undeniable spark.... plus holiday romances are totally a thing right?!?

An epilogue would’ve been nice though as the ending felt slightly rushed and I think Luis needed to do a bit more grovelling but overall I enjoyed this fun, flirty & sweet romance and I look forward to reading the rest the series!

Huge thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Books for providing this eARC for review.

Island Affair was a wonderful Latinx-authored romance that I ate up within a few days and gave 4 stars online.

While I had some issues with the the pacing for the third act as well as the way the couple falls apart and has to come back together, I very much enjoyed how strong the first act was and how well the second act was written. The character work for Luis, Sara, Sara’s family and even Luis’ siblings was done rather well.

In addition to that, the prose of this novel had me underlining sentences or even paragraphs as I read.

Priscilla Oliveras’ Island Affair was a fun, romantic read and I’m excited to both continue this series, as well as read her other works.

My full in-depth thoughts can be seen in my YouTube video, and I made sure to make other promotional posts related to that or separate in my other bookish socials:

Are you looking to be swept away this summer? Island Affair with the perfect beachy, Key West romp. Priscilla Oliveras brought to life Cuban and Key West culture. I loved how the author was able to immerse me in the culture with sights and sounds, dancing, and great food references. This was a super cute fake relationship story. Check it out!

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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 island romance last or fade with the stunning sunset?

This one is hard for me to rate. I was sooo soooo excited for this book, especially when I saw it all over social media. The cover is absolutely beautiful and inviting. I did find that I was a tad bit disappointed with the story itself. While the writing is cute and easy to read, the middle of the story was definitely harder for me to get through. It did feel like it dragged a bit in the middle. Definitely an awesome summer read though to let everyone get away to a tropical place.