There were a lot of elements to this book that made it a great concept and a feat of diverse romance. The outcome left me feeling rather disappointed and angry. The two main characters we ‘rent really the best people, and I couldn’t relate to their viewpoints. I thought Angel was too much of a try-hard, and there was too much focus on her not being like ‘other girls’. I felt as if the drama didn’t propel the plot forward and instead it became just messy. Although I appreciated the contrast of humour with serious topics, this just seemed like way too much for a ‘simple’ rom-com. This was a miss for me.

DNF

I was excited for this book as I'm always looking for a great contemporary romance and I love romances with athletes in it. Add in diverse characters and it seemed like a sure thing. However, this was such a drama fest with problematic issues that I just could not finish.

The premise of this book in itself is fairly good, but it lacks depth. With some editing and revising, it shows good promises.

Caleb aka Duke is a professional sportsman, a superstar. Having achieved his childhood dreams, his present and future prospects are dim!

Angel is a young single mother who juggles studying whilst holding a job to make ends meet. She is at the end of her training, but there is one person who holds her to ransom. To finish her training, she has to succumb to his harassment and blackmail.

Caleb turns to Angel for assistance when his career is on a downward spiral. She doesn't know who the 'Duke is, but soon finds out. They have a few moments and I can't say that there is any chemistry between them.

Duke is not portrayed in a positive light. He is full of himself and is not shy to "use" someone else for his own gain. He redeems himself on the last third of the book by coming to his senses and his heroic act. There is no doubt about Angel's good intentions, but she comes across as being short tempered and disrespectful to certain aspects of her life. Her priority is her son and her love for him outshines any of her shortfalls. It's not the type of book that I would normally read, but it has its pros and cons.

I was kindly issued with an eARC from Netgalley and the views expressed are my personal opinion.

1.5/5 stars

The title and synopsis set the reader up for a cute lighthearted romance but I found this novel to be almost the opposite. I feel like the synopsis for this book was potentially written for a different draft than the one I read.
.
There’s so little description of the growth in the relationship besides mentions of how attractive both individuals are. Duke likes Angel because she sees the real him and she’s -not like any other girl- and doesn’t fall for him because he plays for the Yankees or for his usual humour or ‘charm’. I found Duke’s humour and language sexist and objectifying. I started off liking Angel’s determination and the fact that she was calling Duke out on his behaviour. As the novel went on Angel and Duke ( and the majority of other characters in the novel) were really rude or angry most of the time. I’m not sure if it was suppose to come off as endearing banter but it really turned me off. I get that there were difficulties in their past and things they were working on but I was hoping to see some character growth around these points. There was also too much drama in this novel. This paired with unlikeable main characters and a potentially toxic relationship just didn’t work for me.
.
What did I like about the novel? I liked the characters of Jose and Gabriela. The best written part of the book was the epilogue and I wish more of the novel had been like this.
.
.
The Perfect Date comes out on June 11, 2019
.
.
Content warning: discussions/ mentions of rape, sexual harassment. There were multiple times where characters made light of potential eating disorders due to a model being skinny. Asthmatic attacks/ hospitalization of a child

I didn't know how I would feel about this story going in, but it was just ok. The writing was surprisingly good, and the story flowed nicely. My beef is with the characters, I didn't really get along with them in my mind. There was tons of drama which I normally like, but the unnecesary drama isn't really my thing, and this book had a lot of it. The book was a bit rough, but overall, I enjoyed it!

I got this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) from the publisher with the understanding that I would read it and provide an unbiased review.

It's not often that I'm reading a book and think to myself "wow, this must be what watching a reality TV show feels like." I'm not a big TV person, but this book reminded me of a mashup between a reality TV show and a soap opera would look like. There were twists, and sexual tension, and wildly implausible and borderline comical situations. It wasn't my cup of tea, but if you're looking for a silly, quirky read, this may fit the bill.

The story itself is cute. However, it is not very memorable. I liked the idea of a single mother hooking up with this big time athlete. You want to root for Angel and her son to get the best out of life. Duke on the other hand is not as charming as I had hoped. There are incidents where I wanted to shake him. The characters needed more depth and development.

I also don't like the fact that I couldn't tell the switch from scene to scene. I didn't know which character was talking at first. There are no breaks between POV. It was a bit jarring.

A single mother, determined to finish her nursing degree and finally improve the lives of herself and her son, is thrown into the path of craziness when she meets a baseball pitcher with all types of problems going on in his life. Angel is on the last stretch for her degree. It is just within in reach when she meets Duke, a problematic ball player. Her kindness backfires and she almost loses sight of her goal.
It is a cute story with great characters.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love a fake relationship storyline and this one did not disappoint. Loved the family feeling our main female had in her neighborhood and also enjoyed the woman from the normal neighborhood having to stand up for herself.

Drama, excitement and twists abound in this story. A strong single mom is no match for any shenanigans men can throw at her.

The Perfect Date
By Evelyn Lozada St Martin's Press
Pub Birthday 6/11/2019
3 stars/ out of 5 ****#summerBeachread!

Synopsis
When a single mom ends up playing an unwilling fake girlfriend to a charming playboy baseball player, love suddenly turns everything upside down in this fun, heartwarming multicultural romance.

Angel Gomez has never lived by the book. A Bronx-based unwed mother by the time she was sixteen, Angel’s personal mission has always been to show the world that a Puerto Rican girl is not to be messed with—especially by a man. The only thing that matters to Angel, now, is providing for her son and earning enough tips at the club to complete her nursing degree along the way. Love is nowhere on her agenda.

Caleb “The Duke” Lewis is a star pitcher for the Bronx Bolts whose romantic escapades make delicious fodder for gossip columns. But lately he’s been trying to keep a lower profile—so much so that when he meets Angel, first while she’s in her nurse uniform and the next time behind the bar, she has no idea who Duke is, fails to fall for his obvious charm, and ends up throwing a drink in his face!

Thank you St Martins Books and Netgalley for my advanced reader copy of this fast read!
Angel Gomez is every single mom.. the struggle is real!! She gets a moment to feel like Cinderella and Pretty woman all rolled up in one with the dress and the shoes delivered to make it a perfect night. I think I would have liked less fairy tale romance and more of Angel's down to earth life. Mom's with children with asthma will appreciate the real life problem of being able to afford the needed medication to keep their babies alive, and the balance that is needed to work and give her child the love that he needs is more important any day than a "perfect date".. I liked the friendship that is better than family message,It is important that everyone is represented in books it was nice that Angel is representing more than one culture. , This definitely will make my 2019 beach read blog!

The Perfect Date by Evelyn Lozada and Holly Lorincz was a good, semi-trashy read. I enjoyed it while sitting in the early spring sunshine, pretending it was summer and I was on vacation. Great vacation read!

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.

There is so much drama in this book. I couldn’t stand it! Both the main characters are women haters and that just shouldn’t fly! It was so frustrating to read. I thought it was gonna be a rom com and it was just a drama. Gross

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.