This was a big one and very emotional. I knew the length but I wasn't expecting feeling as much as I did.
Rafael is a dream man, a book boyfriend, that man is perfection. He's so perfect that there's no doubt he's fictional, unfortunely.
I loved him. He was so obsessed with Charlie. He did everything for her, no matter what it was, he was there. That man was in love and his actions and words more than showed it.
I just loved the way he loved her. Wholeheartedly and completely, without reservations. I want a Rafael Machado.
Charlie was used to her routines and her order but Rafael but her adjust a little. For him. He never demanded she'd be any other person than herself. It took sometime but she saw it. And it was her love for him that finally made her strong enough to go after what she wanted.
I loved them together and I'm obsessed with their love

I do not have the words to describe how much I loved every single word, sentence, paragraph, page of this book. Raf and Charlie have climbed into my heart and permanently claimed a piece of it. I was eagerly awaiting their story after Sparks Still Fly and now this is one of my favorite books ever.

Rafael wears his heart on his sleeve and isn’t afraid to show his tears. His willingness to accept when he’s wrong and learn. And he reads romance books, has a grumpy cat, and cooks delicious meals?! That first date? *swoon* Literally perfect book boyfriend material.

Charlie I loved you and how you fell for Rafael and his family so much. The spicy scenes were written with such care while being hot. I loved how the choice to have or not have children was shown nonjudgmentally. The heartwarming family meals and friend get togethers 🥹. If you loved The Kiss Quotient series by Helen Hoang, I think you’d love this.

Out of Focus was a very sweet and spicy slow burn romance, featuring an autistic heroine and a hero who was just swoony perfection. Rafael was definitely my favorite part of the book.

5 ⭐️ This is the first book I read from Cristina Santos, but it will definitely, *definitely* not be the last!

I feel like I need to clarify something before starting this review. My ultimate favourite books always have a few things in common:

- It's written by a woman ☑️
- It has sensitivity and respect at the core of its values ☑️
- It displays some beautiful examples of diversity, and endeavours to step away from biases like sexism, racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and/or any other attack on our lovely Alphabet Mafia (aka the LGBTQIAP+ community), etc. ☑️
- It is a romance (or has a leading romantic aspect) ☑️
- It's adult / explicit and has some spice to it ☑️


As you can see, this book checks every single one of my boxes, so really, I knew within the first hundred pages that this was probably going to be a 4+ star read. It reminded me so much of Chloe Liese's (one of my top 5 authors of all time!) books. What I didn't know was that I would finish this book having fallen head over heels for these characters, that their struggles and quiet moments would bring me sorrow and peace in equal measure, and that I would have this absolutely massive book hangover!! I might have to reread this book again within the span of a week (which I haven't done since I was a teen and discovered the Twilight books lol) because I miss these two so much already! Charlie and Rafael are incredible characters, beautiful inside and out and so perfect for each other... every detail about themselves makes this story so much sweeter.

I feel like this is a series -and an author- that I cannot let pass me by. I am so very glad I applied for this eARC because, even if I always give my honest and unbiased opinion on every book I read, sometimes it's hard to finish ARCs when I'm not really feeling them - and I often struggle to DNF them. This book, however, sucked me right in and I haven't been able to stop reading since. Seriously, this is one of those books that make me frustrated I have a life and responsibilities to attend to that require me to put down my Kindle for even 5 minutes lol.

I will find a way to read every single book in this series, and I cannot wait for Arthur's book and the Machado Brothers Series!!

🌶🌶🌶 - This book is the perfect balance of spicy and sweet. It is explicit/open door, but it's a semi slowburn, and does a wonderful job at that. Consent is my #1 k¡nk and this one de-li-vered! Rafa really is THE book boyfriend!

*Thank you so much Net Galley for the eARC! This review has already been uploaded to Goodreads :)

Wow. This book was both heartwarming and healing. As someone with Autism and a partner with ADHD, I have found it hard to find a book that showcased our strengths and struggles in an accurate but positive way. This book really did that for me. There was even parts when I was like "huh. I had a moment like that and I couldn't put words to it- these are the words".
I'm terms of book boyfriends - Rafael takes the cake. He was kind, funny, considerate and an amazing partner/friend/family member. I understood him, his motivations and in a way, his heart. He displayed what it takes be a friend first and foremost. I love when a couple is friends first, partners kinda second. The author really made a beautiful character with him.

Charlie was a complex character with complex thoughts and feelings. Her reservations and insecurities were thought through and reflected well with the authors research. There were parts of her that I truly understood and hope that other people reading this would too. Her struggle to open up, yet at the same time seeming blunt and forward was refreshing. Her inner struggle with comparing herself with those around her (who are neurotypical) and feeling the devil that is her mother and ex on her shoulder.
The dates were dream/book worthy and those little moments of thought and compassion were really what made the book for me. The little things they did for eachother made the whole book that little bit more swoonworthy - one kind act at a time.

I loved this book, I would recommend it to others and will definitely getting both physical and ebook copies because I love it that much.

Out of Focus is my first book by Cristina Santos. This was a very chill, quick, and fluffy read.

Charlotte is a romance author and is struggling with writing. She needs help writing more intimate scenes. She turns to Rafael, her sisters friend. He's the last person she wants to turn to for help. The more they hand out and get to know each other, the more they begin to like each other.

What I liked about this book was that it has neurodivergent MC. The FMC has ADHD and Autism. The MMC has ADHD and anxiety. I think it was a great representation of different aspects of ADHD. ADHD is way more complex than people think. Although I liked that, I thought it was a bit much. It was hyper focused on. I often felt like the MCs were coddling each other in every situation. To the point it didn't feel like an intimate relationship. It felt more like a friendship.

I would still recommend it if you want a nice little pallet cleanser. It was still a nice story.

Thank you, @netgalley for the ARC.

This was a sweet and spicy love story between two people who grossly misunderstood each other - and grew into tolerance, friendship, and ultimately love. The tenderness Charlie and Raf had for each other, the true understanding, unconditional acceptance and love was beautiful to see come alive on the pages.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing Co-op for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op and Cristina Santos for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 rounded up.

Out of Focus is book #3 in a series but can be read as a standalone (which I did).

This book is centered around Charlie (Charolette) and Rafael. A few years ago, they met in an awkward way and have butted heads since.

Charlie needs to get away from her life in England to figure out what she really wants for herself and heads to LA to be closer to her twin sister and best friend. Naturally, she runs right into Rafael (literally).

Charlie needs help learning more about relationships and romance for a book she’s writing and asks Rafael for help. Cue the best “fake” date ever and all the swooning over that book store move.

This book was really great. The start of it was a little slow with the history of their early interactions feeling a little redundant but that information ended up coming back up later so it was worth it.

The book had a large neurodivergent representation- autistic, ADHD and dyslexic - which I think was handled really well. Both Rafael and Charlie were so thoughtful on how they handled learning about it and adapting moving forward.

The friend group was really special and I know if I read the first 2 books I would have loved them even more. Rafael’s family was really fun.

Some of favorite things in this book are the nicknames and Charlie having no filter (Rafael’s reaction to it).

When I was reading the other books in the series, I was dying for Rafael and Charlie's story. I could feel the chemistry and I needed it like I need air.

I was NOT disappointed.

Cristina has a way of sucking you into the story and telling them in such beautiful, poetic ways. I loved the autism and adhd representation. I loved Rafaels tenderness. I adored Charlie.

Thank you again for the chance to ARC read. I cannot wait to read more by Cristina.

I am so so thankful to have received an ARC of this book for the opportunity to review and now promote the heck out of this beautiful story upon its release! This is by far my favorite book of the series!! This story had such beautiful Autism and ADHD representation that made their love even more beautiful for the trust and understanding they gave to each other! I have been looking forward to this book since I was first introduced to Rafael and Charlie in Lost Love Found. Their back-and-forth banter built up so much tension within those first two books that I was nearly bursting at the seams to finally read about them getting together! I thought I knew what this book was going to be, but I was wrong, and I was completely blown away by their story! This was phenomenal, I already loved them both so much but learning more about them and their worlds made me love them even more. Once they sat down and put their "differences" aside to have a real conversation, their relationship immediately transformed into one of the most supportive, understanding, and beautiful loves I have ever read!! What I perhaps loved the most about them growing their friendship and then ultimately falling in love was that it was free from the outside influence of their friends, they got to know and built trust with each other first before bringing any outside forces in. I am also OBSESSED with Raf's family, and I am so excited for his brothers to get their own series. This is so good, and I can't wait for it to be out in the world!

This one wasn't for me. I didn't love the characters, the writing style, or the dialogue. This wasn't an easy one to get through, but I think it'll appeal to newer romance readers for sure.

Thank you, Netgally for this Arc!

I need to start off by saying when I requested this book on Netgally I didn’t realize it was part of a series; with that being said, I was still SO excited to read Out of Focus. The cover and description really pulled me in!

This book did not disappoint. I was so happy to read a book that highlighted and brought awareness to neurodivergence. This was my first book by Cristina Santos and will definitely not be my last, so happy to have a new Author to add to my tbr.

What a great read! Now I will be going back and reading the first two books in this series (my bad lol)!

Tropes/Highlights:
- Enemies to lovers
- Fake dating
- SPICE!
- Dyslexia/ADHD/Autism representation

If you're looking for a book with neurodivergent characters, this is it! The characters are so soft, sweet, and loving. They really help each other and the journey to become lovers was well written.

Out of focus by Christina Santos is a perfect book for

I would like to describe this book as a beautiful story. Rafael and Charlie has different personalities but are able to form the most beautiful relationship. Even though the differences between them make them become frenemies, the effort from each other make their feeling grow stronger.

The author most definitely did a lot of research to build Rafael and Charlie characters. The depth of each character make the whole story interesting. Beside, the other supporting characters make the whole book feels complete. We can feel the love in Machado family and Charlie's family through the story.

✅ Frenemies
✅ Lots of bickering
✅ Friend with benefits
✅ ADHD/ AUTISM
✅ Dyslexic
✅ High sexual tension
✅ Plenty of Spicy scenes (intense and explicit)
✅ Angst
✅ Suspense
✅ Tear jerker
✅ HEA

I'll definitely be looking forward to read the next book by Christina Santos.

My exact words, sent to Cristina went I finished this book were: Ugh, it's over. Why does it have to be over?! These two are so special.

And it's true. Charlie and Rafael are just amazing, both desperately and together. She's learning to let another person into her life and trust him with her real self, which she usually masks and hides because she has been told to both before and after she recieved her Autism diagnosis. He has been drawn to her for years now, has watched her and learned about her, and his deep seated need to be chosen causes insecurity since the start of their relationship was so tense and now they're just pretending. She asked him to help her learn how to date so that she'll be ready for the life and the man she ran away from in London.

The chemistry, vulnerability, intimacy, and pure friendship that develops between them inevitably leads to more. The way he accepts her and cares for her, and she does the same with his dyslexia and allergy, is heartwarming and just exactly what someone would and should want from their partner. Also, they're both super hot. I loved simultaneous glasses discovery, among other delicious testing of romance book activities.

This book was so easy to read, and it filled me with joy. I will absolutely read the series again, and will probably read this one again soon. I'm also pumped for the new interconnected series coming up! We got some new hints/glimpses of Arthur's story and I can't wait to dive into it next year.

Well done, Cristina Santos. That's officially a hat trick of amazing books (we're Canadian, and even though I don't really care for sports/hockey outside of romance books, I had to say it). Thank you so so much for the ARC, it was an honor to read your words early.
The book is out really soon, September 2/24 and you can read books one, Lost Love Found, and two, Sparks Still Fly, now on KU.

I absolutely loved this book I'm beyond words how much I truly loved it.. What bugs me is the fact that such an amazing author doesn't have the proper hype.. I love Charlie and Rafael and this book is definitly one of my favorites this year

Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing for the free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was VERY excited to receive this ARC as I’ve read the other two books in the Love in LA series by Cristina Santos and really enjoyed them.

Out of Focus follows two main characters: Charlie and Rafael. Charlie - she’s recently moved to LA to work in finance and be closer to her sister, but also to run away from some problems in London that she’s not ready to face yet. Such as settling down with her boyfriend and becoming CFO for a job she doesn’t enjoy. As a side-hustle, Charlie writes romance novels. When she feels stuck for her next novel, she knows she needs overcome some issue and gain more intimate experiences in order to overcome her block. Raphael - he is a Brazilian CEO who runs into the same circles as Charlie’s sister, yet Charlie does not like him. He left a sour impression the first time they met that she hasn’t been able to get over. Desperate to find love and finish a sentimental family project, Rafael reaches out to Charlie for help. In return? He helps Charlie with her intimacy issues. What better way to write a romance novel than entering into a fake relationship with your much, more experienced frenemy? What could ever go wrong!

One thing that I absolutely loved about this book was that it’s a romance between two neurodivergent characters. Rafael has ADHD and Dyslexia. Charlie has ADHD and Autism. The representation in this book was incredibly well done. It’s very clear the author did their research before writing these characters and made sure they were doing them justice. It does a great job at showing how neurodivergent people think differently and how relationships may differ for them.

Rafael is incredibly sweet and patient with Charlie. They make it incredibly hard not to cheer them on. Their friendship turned more is incredibly realistic and beautiful. Their relationship doesn’t feel rushed or out of the norm. It doesn’t feel like anyone is changing who they are to better fit the other. Instead, they’re growing with each other, learning from one another, opening up to each other and adapting to the other’s needs. The love that they have for each other is so easily visible.

This was a cozy read. You just want to wrap yourself up in a blanket and finish it all in one go. It’s simply just two people falling in love. There’s very little drama (besides the tiniest amount of miscommunication when it comes to defining what they are and where their relationship goes) and no third-act break-up. Just two people meeting their soulmate. It’s incredibly sweet, funny and Rafael’s mouth will have you blushing. It’s just overall a very beautiful story.

I really enjoyed this read and it easily became a 2024 favourite for me.

We've got cozy mysteries, and cozy fantasies. This is what I would call a cozy romance. There is very little external drama, no third act breakup, and the plot is character driven. Both characters are kind and empathetic, and all of the side characters are a cast of found family. This book is toothache sweet, with a dash of humor and spice (the third chili pepper is for Rafael's mouth alone 🥵).

One of my favorite romance micro-tropes is nicknames and Rafael really knocked it out of the park. Twelve. He has twelve nicknames for her, which started as a joke but became more meaningful, not to mention his CAT.

This is the third in a series of interconnected standalones, of which this is the only one I've read. You don't need to read the other two to enjoy this one, although there were some details (e.g. a side character's nickname for another side character) that were likely explained in a previous book and just thrown out there in this one, no context.

I received a copy of this for my honest review

This melted my heart ❤️

Our FMC moves.from London to California, yes to be closer to her twin, but really to get away from her life. Her "boyfriend" told her he is finally ready for marriage - because his dad wants him settled down to take over as CEO, and she would become CFO. She is really good at her job, but she hates it. So she escapes. While walking she runs into our MMC. He is friends with her sister and her friends, and they have met a few times, but he gave a bad first impression and it stuck. Her sister and friends try to convince them to get along. She decides to ask him for help. On the side, she writes romance novels, but doesn't feel that she has experienced the intimacy needed for her next book. So she asks our MMC to help her understand these emotions. But practice becomes more like reality as they continue to spend time together learning about each other and actually experiencing the kind of intimacy she is craving.

This was fine. Nothing stand out or offensive but very forgettable.

I found the characters with their jobs in finance, their ages and education plus how they conducted themselves to be really incongruous.