The Perfect Date by Evelyn Lozada is a not so perfect read. Ms. Lozada has produced a book that might appeal to very young adults, but it doesn't appeal to this mature adult at all.
Angel is an overworked single mom going to school to become a nurse and working two jobs to support her asthmatic son. Duke is a baseball pitcher that suffered an injury during a shooting at a bar. Duke is angsty and spineless. Their story is loaded with drama, ghetto slang, bad decisions and sex. The story itself I would have probably enjoyed but the writing of it ruined it for me. I'll be sure to skip any other books by this author. The Perfect Date is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

THE PERFECT DATE is a fast-paced contemporary drama that follows a young, single mother and an infamous baseball player, known as "The Duke." Angel is 23 and trying to take care of her seven-year-old son, Jose. Jose has asthma, and since it was considered a pre-existing condition, insurance won't cover any of the medications he needs (e.g. albuterol and advair). Angel is attending nursing school by day and getting in her practical hours at a clinic run by a shady and sexist doctor. By night, she tends bar at an upscale place where her uniform reveals more than she wishes it did.

At the clinic, she is surprised when Duke (actual name Caleb, but almost entirely called Duke) asks her to be his fake girlfriend- especially right after he got her fired from tending bar for grabbing her and her pouring a drink on him. He is at the clinic for his ankle which was injured in the previous season, and he wants to keep it quiet that it is still bothering him as he wants/needs to play this year. If he pretends to be at the clinic visiting her, maybe it will throw off the press. As the charade continues, they find each other insecurities and uncover worse plots in each of their own lives.

I was expecting a rom-com from the premise, but the book ended up being much darker and more dramatic with murder (past), blackmail, sexual harassment, sexual assault, medical fraud, drug use, and sexual exploitation. The pacing was great, and it ends up being a quick read, so I found myself turning pages quickly. The story goes back and forth between Angel and Duke, and sometimes the change was rather abrupt. I would have liked a simpler story with maybe only one dramatic/difficult situation, but the plot was fully laden. There's a lot to unpack. The romance, which seemed to be the focus from the description, took a backseat to most other things, and I did not feel that I got to know them enough as a couple. I would have liked more of that and simpler plot, but maybe that is because I was expecting a romance and not a drama.

Overall, it's an engaging book with a lot going on that would be great for drama lovers. Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

The main love interest was kind of mean and I didn't appreciate his character at all. I was hoping this would be a cute contemporary and it wasn't what I was expecting.. There was a lot of toxicity amongst the character and the drama was just too much for me.

I was barely able to finish this book. The writing, to me, was sub-par, and chaotic. The two main characters were frustrating, and not likable.

Book Review: The Perfect Date by Evelyn Lozada and Holly Lorincz

I will be honest this book was mixed bag. Based on the title and cover, I was expecting a fun rom com between a single mom and a famous baseball player. The reality was this was a romantic drama that lack romance.

We saw Angel’s struggle to finish her nursing degree. We witness Duke’s trying to get back in the game. We see blackmail, sexual harassment, murder drama. The romance was a little bit of an afterthought. I have to admit there was no perfect date.

Great book. Duke and Angel make fire together. Always believe in the truth and love and true friendship. A little bit difficult to read because there is no transition between chapter.

I had a lot of expectations and excitement going into this one. Ultimately, those were not met at all.

I wanted baseball - lots of baseball. There was very little.

I wanted a cute romance that had some rom-com feels. The cover honestly made me think that was what this was going to be. It was not. It was more drama than anything.

I also did not feel a connection to the characters. The lack of depth with which they were written caused me to get frustrated. I found myself just being annoyed.

Overall, this one wasn't what I was looking and hoping it was. What it ended up being wasn't also something (because I can be okay with a swerve) that I enjoyed or liked.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. I love the cover of this book and I was so excited to read this book because I love the Yankees, baseball and a good story but it didn't live up to what I thought it would be. This book was a quick read and had me entertained but I just wasn't crazy about the two main characters Angel and Caleb. I had a hard time connecting with them.

Just not for me.

Found the characters not very likeable and a bit all over the place.
I feel like the way this story was told was a step back in thinking compared to a lot of other books in this genre.

There was a lot of lost opportunity and potential here.

I’m going to be honest here: I was disappointed. This book let me down.

I’ll start with what I like, and then move onto what I don’t like.

I like that there’s a diverse cast of characters. I like baseball (okay, that’s more of a general thing than about the book, but whatever). I like Gabriela, Angel’s best friend. I like how the plot has some twists and turns. I like that Angel is hardworking and determined, and headstrong. She loves her son, Jose, a lot, and he’s a cute kid. I liked how the ending tied up everything.

The list of what I don’t like is…much longer.

The book, while diverse, fed into a lot of stereotypes, in my opinion. The characters also had some trouble with….being well-rounded. It seemed like minor research went into the creation of the characters, and all of them seemed very unreliable–they would do actions consistently that contradicted how they had been characterized. This wasn’t a plot device–every character was just poorly written. It made it hard to relate to them–I felt like I ought to feel for Angel and Duke and everyone because of some rough times they’d had, but I just…couldn’t. They didn’t seem real to me.

This also meant that the issues the book tried to tackle–teen pregnancy, shootings, sexual assault, etc–fell flat. Even though these are very important issues, the characterization made the handling of them very poor. I wasn’t impressed.

The plot also seemed contrived–it was like the writers just decided that “this is what NYC is like, this is what rich people are like, this is what poor people are like, and nothing else” and it made a lot of the events seem super unrealistic. I also didn’t feel any real romance bloom between Angel and Duke. There were no sparks, and they were total foils to each other.

Finally, the whole book was from third person limited POV, but the POV would switch several times throughout the chapter between Angel and Duke. This was confusing because there was no distinction in the narrative voice of the two characters–they thought and spoke exactly the same.

Overall, I wish more thought had gone into this book. It wasn’t completely horrendous, but I found myself slogging through it and not wanting to read it. It was a bit of a drag.

had a hard time enjoying this one. so sorry. I liked the cover and I purposely didn't read other reviews because I wanted to have an opened mind.

Angel Gomez only wants to get through nursing school and earn enough to support her mother and her son, Jose. Her bartending job helps bring in some extra cash, and the last thing she’s interested in is flirting or men in general.Caleb “The Duke” Lewis is an up and coming star for the Yankees, known for getting around. However, his last breakup left him distracted and made him turn to drink. When he’s caught by the Yankees manager at a party instead of training, he’s suspended and sent back to the Bronx to get his head straight.Angel and Duke’s worlds collide one night at the club and sparks fly. Though Angel wants nothing to do with Duke, he has no intention of letting her slip through his fingers. She isn’t star-struck by his fame, and this might be just what he needs to get things in order. He’ll do anything to convince her…even make her an offer she can’t refuse.- GoodreadsI requested this book purely because of the author. I was first introduced to Evelyn Lozada because of the VH1 show Basketball Wives. Not something I am or was really into but she gets your attention and not necessarily in a good way. Fast forward and she is engaged to a big time baseball player and has his child. This is the second reason why I picked up the book because I thought is it about her relationship? Hmmm I can't say if it is or if it isn't but I can talk about this book.It feels like a draft. Not even feels like it the book from beginning to end this book reads like a unedited draft. The transitions between Angel's voice and The Duke's is horrible. And I don't mean that lightly. You will be reading in the The Duke's voice and about what he has going on and then the very next sentence it will be Angel. This is confusing because these transitions happen in the middle of a thought or a conversation in the middle of the chapter. Confusing and frustrating as you go through the book.Another thing about this was when Angel spoke Spanish it felt forced. Angel is Puerto Rican and this is known from the beginning. However, she doesn't speak Spanish in the book expect two times when something happens. I think this was Lozada's way to remind the reader that Angel wasn't white, however I felt since that is a big deal then there should have been more insistence of her speaking her language.I finished the book, in one day and I did because I liked the story. I liked Angel but felt that she could have been less stuck up and more realistic as a single mother. She let her emotions cloud her judgement and what was right and wrong. I liked The Duke and his troubled self. However, with both of these characters there wasn't development, we are to assume that it happens because of the ending. Lozada did not take the time for the two to build their romance and get to know each other. They were thrown together in the worst times of their lives and expected to be adults, although The Duke (who I wished was called Caleb more in the book) has not acted like an adult since he got money.I strongly believe that with more work, this could be a great story. It was thrown together and as I stated before it reads like an unedited draft. There were several topics in the book that could have lifted the overall story, could have provided character development and as a reader, I could have gotten to know more about Angel and Caleb as a couple and not two individual people forcing something.Overall,2 Pickles

I felt like this book tried hard to be a rom-com but came off as an angsty teenage drama, that did nothing for my romantic heart.

I loved the cultural representation in this book. I adored Angel and Duke and their funny ups and downs. Their relationship was funny and quirky and had me swooning for this couples love. It was an adorable rom com of a book that drew me in from its cover! I’ve never read anything by this author but I will be from now on!
I loved how strong Angel was and knew she’d take no nonsense from anyone. I knew that Duke would have to really work for her love and it works so well for this story!

This was a fast paced contemporary romance. I appreciated that the subject matter was a mixture of both light and humorous and more serious.

I found the formatting to be a little difficult to follow as there were no scene breaks between the two POVs. Hopefully, that was only because this was an ARC. Also, I felt that too much of the internal dialogue was in italics and it was distracting.

In general, I enjoyed this book and all the drama it contained!

After reading quite a few psychological thrillers and action books I chose to read this book because I wanted a feel-good story that would make me smile. Something lighthearted and romantic. Sadly The Perfect Date is none of those things.

Angel is a woman who will do anything and everything to protect and take care of her son. She is strong willed and determined to be the best mom while still going for her nursing degree.

Duke is a baseball player with very few qualities that would make a woman swoon.

I kept hoping that I would find a redeemable quality in Duke the further I got into the book, but sadly he was very unlikable.

The writing of this book was pretty good for a literary fiction book claiming to be a rom-com. I enjoyed the beginning of the story when Angel gets a paper cut on her hand from her medical text book page describing the parts of the male penis. That, however, was the first and last humorous part of the story.

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Thank you NetGalley for providing me an ARC in return for my honest and unbiased review.

I was provided an ARC of "The Perfect Date" by Evelyn Lozada, Holly Lorincz, and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

Based on the blurb, I went into this expecting a more fluffy, romantic read. I was WRONG. Don't get me wrong. I like my share of drama in books, maybe even more than the next reader, but this was too much for my taste. It distracted from the love story for me. I know life isn't all rainbows and sunshine and individuals have faults and characteristics that aren't flattering, but I didn't feel that the main characters were particularly likeable.

well then. i gotta admit, i judged this book by the cover and it bit me in the bum, as that tends to do. i thought i was getting a cute contemporary romance. i was wrong. i requested this before a lot of the reviews started popping up, but when i started reading it and realised i was struggling, i looked at reviews and saw i was not alone. i didn't particularly like either main character and the drama was just a bit much for me. also, i cannot stand the whole 'not like other women' shit, whether it's a guy or a girl thinking it. i'm really bummed because based on the cover and synopsis, i really expected to like this, but the inside didn't match the outside for me.

A quick fun read written about a POC. A single mom finds herself trying to help out Duke a famous baseball player for the yankees. Duke can't have anyone know that he is hurt and when he meets Angel at the doctors office he asks her to pretend to be his girlfriend. Yet is more trouble than he might be worth. He acts like a jerk at times but will he realize the errors of his way and try to change his life for the better. Will Angel be able to get her nursing degree to provide a better life for her and her son.

If you like romance and drama give this book a try.

I TRIED, y'all! But this book was just not for me. I got about 20% through and I just wasn't entertained. I didn't like the characters and I wasn't interested in the plot at all. This was just really disappointing because I just didn't like it. I've never DNF'd a book that I've accessed through NetGalley, but I guess there's a first time for everything. If you like sportsy romances with a focus on family, this might be for you, but I just wasn't a fan of the plot or the characters.

No rating for me, but I have to put a star rating on NetGalley. I'm putting one, but that is up to the discretion of people who complete this book.