This was not the perfect date. These people had way too much drama. I was not sure that I even liked the characters until later in the story. Duke was facing the loss of his career. He lost a good friend and he was shot in the foot. It hasn't been healing as it should and could end his career. Angel has been trying to keep her head above water, go to school and take care of her son. Angel and Duke have an attraction, but they are so different. He has money and she has none. She is barely making it. She just wants to finish nursing school and get a good job. There are some things that could keep her from that goal. When Duke enters her life, he just adds to the problems. Neither of them are sure it is worth the trouble.

If you look at the reviews for this book you will see it has a lot of potential.
The author has a fun concept, could shine a spotlight on a cause deserving attention, and would make a wonderful beach read.
That said, I blame the editor for not changing the book's opening. This author loses half her audience by the gross way the story begins.
(If the editor made the author change a more benign opening, I apologize to Evelyn Lozada.)
Even the title is too gentle or (pardon the expression) vanilla to suit this book.

Angel Gomez is a single mom, having had her son before the age she should even have been having sex! This book could be a strong advocate for people of color but instead it seems to focus on and reinforce stereotypes, and not just against POC. The rich are targeted, men in general are portrayed as the scum of the earth, with good choices, decisions and deeds being the exception rather than the rule. That does not mean the women are much better.

Back to the beginning. Angel is studying to be a nurse. Commendable, realistic, even noble.
She also works in a bar/restaurant that caters to the sleazy, wealthy.
What is the publisher thinking calling this a "fun, heartwarming multicultural romance?"
Angel could be studying the names of bones in the hand or positioning of organs, but she is memorizing names for parts of male sex anatomy. This sets the tone for where this book is headed.

I did accept this book from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. I understand that formatting may not be final. There were areas where one scene blended into another where there should have been a noticeable break. That is not the author's fault and hopefully would be adjusted in a final copy. For me, it just added to the overall dissatisfaction of the read. I did not hold it against my overall rating.

Angel meets the main male protagonist several times over the course of a week, in her capacity both as a nursing student and as a bartender. She has the opportunity to see him in good and bad light. She is also so anxious and exhausted trying to handle all her roles in life, especially as mother, that her abilities to make her best decisions begins to slip. She actually is beginning to believe she has no control over her choices any more and has only the lesser of bad actions to choose from until she finally gets her nursing degree.

So when the press and a baseball pitcher's support team force Angel into the spotlight and pretend she is his new, mystery romance, she gets swept up and is taken along for the ride. Her own girlfriends add to the push for Angel to let loose and enjoy life for once. She deserves it.

It turns out the life of the rich and famous is neither a break nor a party or even enjoyable.
They seem to have the same problems as the poor, except in larger portions with bigger price tags.
Once again the reader is exposed to sex and drugs and stereotypes, making this a not so fun, light read.

I appreciated the underlying story, the main characters wanting to grow and change for the better, the potential for bringing attention to a worthy cause. I just wish the taste of the book had been more palatable.

If you get past the first chapters and give the story a chance to play out, I think you will find a good book here. You just have to give it a second chance.

This is about a single mom and a baseball boyfriend I wanted to read more baseball romance and this did not disappoint I am so happy I received it I can’t wait to buy a physical copy I loved it!

I'm a known sucker for a fake dating romance, but there was a little less focus on the romantic storyline than I personally would've liked. I think if I went in more expecting it to be women's fic with romantic elements I would've enjoyed it a bit more. That said, I loved Angel and her part of the story. I was less enamored of walking charm offensive Caleb, but they do have good chemistry.

I was excited to read The Perfect Date. The blurb totally pumped this book up for me. Then I read the book and was let down.

I liked The Perfect Date’s plotline, despite not liking the book. With everything stripped away, I thought that the plotline was solid. If the author chose to focus on that main storyline instead of bringing in all of the outside drama, it would have made this book a little bit better.

I did not like Angel. She was a rage fueled, nasty, immature woman. Every scene she was in ended in some sort of confrontation. She left a bad taste in my mouth. Now, I did feel bad for her with her issues with Dr. Collins. But other than that, nope.

I didn’t like Duke either. The way he treated Angel throughout the book made me sick. He manhandled her (twice!!), he didn’t stick up for her when she needed it, and he objectified her sexually. There were parts of the book that I did feel bad for him. He was obviously in pain from his ankle injury. His survivor’s guilt over his teammates killing was palpable. His relationship with his father was tenuous at best. But I couldn’t like him.

What I didn’t like was that this book insinuated that sexual assault and sexual harassment was something that should be put up with. The scenes with Angel and Dr. Collins standout in my mind. As well as the scenes with Duke and Roland at the club. There were times in the book where I couldn’t believe what I was reading.

I got zero sense of romance from The Perfect Date. Angel and Duke had zero sparks between them. Plus, whenever they were out together, he treated her like crap. The sex scenes, thankfully, weren’t graphic. But if they had been, I have a feeling that they wouldn’t have done it for me. Because of how I felt about Angel and Duke. And because of the lack of anything between the two of them.

I also had an issue knowing when the book shifted to another character. I would be reading Angel’s part of the story and bam, it would be Duke. I had to reread chapters because of that. Again, something that drove me nuts about the book and just added to my displeasure with it.

The end of The Perfect Date was interesting. I liked how everything was combined at the end. I felt that justice was served in several instances. But at the same time, it didn’t ring true with me. And the epilogue, well, that definitely didn’t ring true with me.

I would give The Perfect Date an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would not reread The Perfect Date. I would not recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

I gave this book so many more chances than I often give books. This, after all, seemed right up my alley, latinx leads, sports – what else could I ask for?

The answer, is, sadly, a lot. Proper Spanish, for once, because with phrases like “Usted va a la escuela, muestran al mundo que las niñas puertoriqueñas no deben ser,” you’d be hard pressed to make me believe anyone who speaks Spanish wrote this book, much less read it at any point from the moment of writing to publication.

I can also ask, in general, for likeable characters. I mean, they don’t have to start perfectly, and they can go on journeys, but at some point during the book I should be able to enjoy reading about them, if not, why am I even reading?

And also, I can, and in 2019, I do ask for a romance book that doesn’t need to put down other women to make the point that the protagonist is somehow better. This isn’t – shouldn’t be – a competition.

That’s without going into the drama of it all, God, the DRAMA. And not like regular drama, either, but like SUPER OVER THE TOP drama of the kind that made me roll my eyes every two seconds and made me want to put down the book countless times.

Usually, just the Spanish mistakes would have been enough. Considering my expectations, I gave this book another chance after that. I’m sad to say that was the wrong choice. You don’t need to read this book. I don’t need to read this book. Life is too short.

The Perfect Date

I should have googled the book before I started reading it. I have made a commitment to stop reading reality tv/internet people books (without careful consideration) and I did not realize that following that rule could have saved me from this book. It’s not good. The cover is the cutest, but the book is almost unreadable.
The Perfect Date is about Angel, a single mother in nursing school trying to take care of her asthmatic son José. She meets the Duke, a pitcher for the Yankees with an ankle injury, past legal trouble, and some potential money problems and then romance apparently happens. I didn’t see it though.
The writing is so bad. If it was written by anyone without fame it would never never never have been published. I would be embarrassed to be associated with this book. The writing is hard to follow, point of view switches are terribly executed, it is hard to figure out who is doing what half the time. I thought Again, But Better was bad but I hadn’t read this book yet.
The plot is so drama laden it will most certainly make your eyes roll. The tragedy porn being dumped on the reader right at the beginning is so poorly done. People can most certainly have lives that are this terrible, but the way it’s just laid out for you right at the beginning is just bad plotting and character development. And as the book progresses the drama gets more and more outlandish. How many times does someone need to walk in on sex in one book? And how long do you need to stare at two people banging before you figure out what’s happening and turn your ass around?!?
I hated they way this book talked about most women that weren’t our heroin, Angel. Everyone she worked with was “anorexic” and too skinny for our hero, the Duke, to want to bang. No other woman is shown to be smart, out heroin is a special woman because she has layers. It is bullshit that this kind of attitude about women is still being published in 2019. And it’s not like it’s a nuanced look at gender or how women are expected to behave. It’s just Angel is amazing, her neighbor/friend is fine, basically all other women are terrible.
Our romantic lead is someone who apaproaches Angel and says “I hear you take you shirt off for money” and we are supposed to like him?!?? He has such terrible behavior throughout this book when interacting with Angel. I am so over aggression and bad behavior being presented as sexy.
Angel is all “I don’t need a man” but is also day dreaming about a man “taking care of her”. Which is super outdated also doesn’t match up with the author trying to convince us that Angel is smart and self sufficient. I just wish that the character development was better.
So I recommend this book to no one. And if anyone has any actually cute romance recommendations I would love to hear them.

I am going to be 100% honest and tell you that I didnt think I was going to like this book but had an open week for a blog tour and decided “What the hell? Why not?” I am so glad I did because this book was actually very good. I think the fact that it was written by a reality star is what initially threw me off but she did an excellent job and let’s be honest, Reality stars know drama and there was not a shortage of that in this book!!

I loved that Angel is a single mom putting herself through nursing school. I remember being a single mom and working while going to school for medical assisting and it was exhausting. That instantly helped me relate to Angel. She was an excellent mom and not once put herself or someone else above caring for her son. Getting mixed up with Duke initially starts out terribly. He invites her out to a party and it is DRAMA!!!! I was ready to get out the popcorn cause it was freaking great drama too!! I have no doubt in my mind that the author probably based some of this drama off some real life stuff that she’s seen happen with being an athlete’s wife and reality star.

Another thing I loved about this romance was that it wasn’t all daises and rainbows. There was a smidgen of romance but the majority of it was life and finding out who you could really trust in your circle. Finally have a romance story where the female wasn’t a doormat made this even more enjoyable and another way it made it more relateable. I’ve got a mouth on me so the sassier the characters the better.

🌟🌟🌟🌟💫 (4.5 out of 5) I loved reading this book and have already started recommending it to friends.

Very rarely am I on the up side of a YMMV review. Usually I am wondering how readers are loving a book I couldn't stand, that was poorly written, etc. Yet here I am, wondering how I enjoyed a book that readers found misogynistic (?!) with unlikable characters. I most definitely understand the term "misogynistic" even if I don't throw it around at the drop of a hat. So, let's wade through this and see what's what.

First off, The Perfect Date is not your typical romance. I don't believe that it's intended to be. You might be led to believe that it's a Cinderella story, but this Cinderella, Angel Gomez, is working two jobs, is a single mother caring for an asthmatic son she had at 15 when she was abandoned by the baby's father, and is now finishing up her nursing degree. She rocks. She doesn't take sh*t from anyone, but she has her good friends who she loves and who look after her like family, especially her neighbor Gabriela. I just have to mention how truly much I enjoyed that part of the story, how Gabriela and Latisha and the others in the beauty salon band together to help Angel. Even though they aren't family, they are family. They are the *best* family.

The Prince in this story is Duke, a once star pitcher for the Yankees who was inured in a shooting that killed his best friend. Duke hasn't healed, and it's that time of year again when players are getting on the field and strutting their stuff, but Duke doesn't have any stuff to strut. Duke is messed up, but he has a good heart shown by how he talks down Jose, Angel's son, in the waiting room when Jose is going through an asthma attack and generally tries to do the right thing. While he also is up and down in his initial treatment of Angel, I really can't say that this is extremely different from other books I've read where readers enjoy their alpha bad boys. Duke is depicted as a real person with failings; he is not overly bad nor overly good.

There is a lot of drama. But not angst. By now, you know that if there's angst, all of that: poor, poor me stuff and self-absorption and pouting that I'm out the door. No. There's drama, but it's the kind of drama that has you flipping pages. It's the kind of drama where I felt bad for the tough 23-year old Angel, who's trying to navigate situations she's never been in before with types of people she's never had to associate with before. She was great. She has guts and is kickass.

There are bad guys. Duke's father can be unpleasant. Dr. Collins who seemingly holds Angel's career in the palms of his lecherous hands is very unpleasant. There are cowards and greedy beyotches.

But, I liked this story. I liked the moments of humor. I liked how it made a statement about how Latino and black children react differently to asthma and its medications and how this needs to be investigated and treated.

This was a story about People of Color written by a Person of Color, so #ownvoices is very relevant.

Misogyny? No, the the author was not misogynistic. She did, however, portray several men being men who behave extremely badly and unless you live under a blanket or a rock or some other obscure place, this happens. If you're a woman, you know this happens and I believe the author only offered a reality that many women face. Perhaps it was heightened drama...or not. I can certainly never speak for all of the things that can happen to attractive young women in a man's world, especially in environs where I've never been. 

At the end of the day, I liked The Perfect Date more than I expected and found it to be the an engrossing read.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun sports romance for sure. It felt a little forced at times, but mostly drama and kind of full of stereotypes.

"The Perfect Date" is one of those books that draws the reader into the drama that is unfolding on the pages and with this book there is a lot. The two main characters, Angel and Duke, have a lot to deal with in their own lives personally, and professionally, and neither is really looking for love. Angel became a mom young while in her teens and then her support system, her mother, passed away when her son was two years old. She has been trying to keep afloat and do what is best for her son. Very quickly, she discovers that she needs to pretend with Duke, and carry on a charade as this is going to be beneficial for her. Duke is struggling from an injury and trying to work through some of his own issues and he needs a good thing happening for him in the tabloids right now. As these two lives intersect the reader is taken on quite the ride as several issues are addressed and dealt with. This is a quick read, not a light, "beach read," but a book that will draw you in have you thinking about struggles that other have to deal with.

I should start off by saying that I went into this with relatively low expectations because I have read Evelyn’s previous book the Inner Circle and wasn’t blown away by it, but it was addicting. So, I figured that The Perfect Date reflected a lot of what I’ve seen on Basketball Wives when it came to Evelyn’s relationship with a baseball player. There were a ton of similarities between her real life and The Perfect Date. However, I WAS DUPED!


Please, don’t let this adorable cover. The synopsis trick you. This IS NOT A ROMANCE. I REPEAT THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE. If you are expecting a cute contemporary fake dating novel, put the Perfect Date down and look else because this ain’t it.

What I liked:

The Heroine – Angel is a strong, independent, fighting woman, a bit short tempered and impulsive. However, she handles working, school and taking care of her son. So, I mean, the girl has a lot on her plate and handles it to the best of her ability. Also, I thought she was a tad too forgiving. Overall, I think she was a good heroine.
Jose – Jose is Angel’s son and he’s adorable. He is totally understanding and loves baseball. I really wish we had seen more of him in the novel.
The story was SHORT – I don’t think I could’ve finished it if it was any longer than it was. It was a quick read and that was its saving grace.

What I Disliked:

The Hero- Duke was trash. Absolute trash. He is straight up rude, stubborn and just plain TRASH. The only thing I liked about Duke was how he was with Jose and his teammates. Other than that, he was AWFUL to Angel. And I didn’t believe for one second, he even liked her. He was so condescending; I would’ve sent him to the curb and not looked back.

The Story – WAS THIS EVEN A ROMANCE? WHERE WAS THE ROMANCE? I didn’t feel any romance between Angel and Duke. NONE AT ALL. Not to mention there was tons and tons of drama. It was stressful and I felt like the drama took away from whatever spark could’ve happened between Angel and Duke because I honestly saw none. I didn’t even feel like they liked each other and quite frankly I don’t even think they liked themselves.
The Writing – The writing was very choppy, and I felt like scenes were missing. It switched points of view and it would leave me confused on whose point of view I was reading. It was a quick pace story (thankfully) however I felt like this could’ve been expanded in some areas. Because although it was classified as a romance, I felt like the drama overshadowed the story and we didn’t really get to fall in love with Angel and Duke.
There were some Spanish phrases thrown into the novel because Angel is Puerto Rican. However, the Spanish parts didn’t really make sense (at least to me) so hopefully they had a Spanish speaker review parts of the novel to fix that.

Overall
I cannot in good graces recommend this book. It was just not good. It definitely needs some polishing because the synopsis and the story inside are two different worlds. If the story had reflected the synopsis this would’ve been so good! However, if you’ve ever watched Basketball Wives or Living Lozada than you’ve basically seen parts of the Perfect Date and you won’t miss much by skipping this.

Review
I'm sad to say that I didn't fall in love with this book as I had hoped too. The cover was gorgeous and I'm always down for a story with diverse characters. I was over the moon when I was excepted to be part of the blog tour and that's why it saddens me that I didn't enjoy the book. I will write my honest opinions as always,

What I did like : I loved that Angel is hardworking single mother. She works at a club at night to support her and her son while also in nursing school. I can relate to the character in this aspect as I also went to nursing school while supporting my son. It's difficult and requires a lot of sacrifices in order to do well in school.

What I disliked: There was so much drama, I can get behind a story with some angst, but I found some of these scenarios way over the top. Duke was very rude and unlikable. He treated Angel poorly and yet she continued to peruse him.

Overall, I am incredibly disappointed. I just didn’t feel the romance. Between the fake-dating / real-dating / doctor drama / baseball drama, it was all too much thrown out to you at once. This book is a little rough around the edges, I think with more time spent on editing and developing the characters that the book would really benefit.

I am not the targeted audience for this book and could not relate to the characters especially Angel who seemed to be full of rage with a chip on her shoulder. I think this book is best suited for hip, young urban readers. I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my honest review.

I was expecting a nice romcom from the brief breakdown of the story. I felt like the romance took a backseat to all the other things that came up in the story. There was a lot to uncover but overall I enjoyed this story. The pace was nice and fast and I enjoyed the writing!

I thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s (MacMillan) for providing me an early ARC copy of this book that I freely chose to review.
Although I don’t normally look at the reviews of a book in detail before I read it (I do to decide if I’m interested in reading the book or not, but I don’t want to spoil my enjoyment), because I update my current reading on several book sites, I can’t help but see what the general ratings for the book I’m about to start reading look like. Let me tell you I was alarmed when I saw how many 1 star reviews this book had. I was even more concerned because, based on the description, I had agreed to participate in a Blog tour, and I was worried about having made a serious mistake and having to vow out of it. Luckily, I enjoyed the book (yes, it’s far from perfect, but I wasn’t expecting perfection), and I wonder if having read the reviews and getting a clear idea of what had upset other readers didn’t prepare me for what was to come and helped me not go into it with false expectations.
The cover, I think, can make people expect a “sweet” or “cute” romance. Well, that, it is not. The description hints at the personality of Angel (perhaps more accurately than that of Duke, whom many readers didn’t like at all), but readers might have expected a more standard romance, where the romantic side of things is the main story. I agree with the readers who said this novel has a lot of “drama”. Oh, yes, it does. It is like a melodrama on steroids, rough around the edges, and it feels like a fairly extreme soap opera. People wear their hearts (and rage) on their sleeves, they don’t do stiff-upper-lip or measured emotions, and they throw themselves headlong into life. It might be because I’m Spanish and we are supposed to be “red-blooded” (what other colour our blood would be, I have no idea), “passionate”, and “hot tempered” and those attributes (I don’t think they are always helpful, but I refuse to call them defects) are also expected of Latinos in general, and because I’ve watched and enjoyed Central and South-American soap operas, but I did like the oomph of Angel, the main character, even if she was not always consistent (but hey, I’ve never found characters in romantic novels or chick-lit entirely consistent). In some ways, her part of the story has strong elements of women’s fiction, even if the style of writing is different. A young Puerto-Rican woman, a single mother from a young age, she’s had to fight against the odds to try to make a living for herself and her little boy, Jose, who unfortunately suffers from asthma. Working two jobs at the same time, studying all hours to get her nursing qualification, and relying on her friend Gabriela, the hairdresser with a heart of gold (the interaction between the women sometimes made me think of Steel Magnolias and Fried Green Tomatoes, minus the Southern gentility), being subject to a #metoo kind of situation (well, more than one), she is pushed and pulled in all directions but tries to remain strong and keep her moral compass. Yes, she loses her cool every so often, but I cheered her on more than once.
Hers is a Cinderella story, indeed, one in a more soap operatic style than a gentle fairy tale (not that fairy tales are truly gentle), with over the top villains who seem to be villains just because they are (no justification or exploration of the baddies. In olden times, I’m sure one of them would have worn a big moustache he’d twirl, and the other one would have been a proper witch), and where Cinderella is far from the passive and pretty young girl just waiting for the prince to come rescue her (she actually kicks him out more than once). The love interest, Caleb, “The Duke”, has his own Cinderella story, as they share in their humble origins (although he is African-American rather than Puerto-Rican), but he’s now living the aftermath of the Cinderella story, and realising that the people who surround him are not true friends, and money cannot buy the really important things. Many readers say he is not likeable because he thinks only of himself (well, yes, mostly, although he shows concern for Angel’s boy, puts his own career at risk for him, and he is also outraged when he reads about the lack of appropriate asthma treatment for children from diverse ethnic background). We do learn about his circumstances, he is put through the wringer in the novel, and his character bears some resemblance to the rakes readers of Georgian and Victorian literature are so fond of. (Perhaps he lacks some of the charm, but that might be in part because we see him from his own point of view at times, rather than what tends to happens with the rogues, who tend to remain attractive, mysterious and dangerous men, whose motivations we know little about). He helps save the day in the end, and, although he will not rate among my favourite male protagonists, he isn’t the worst either.
The book includes many side-stories —I’ve mentioned the issue of the lack of treatments for Jose, and the novel makes a serious point about the lack of investment in research, by the pharmaceutical companies, of appropriate treatment for diverse populations. Yes, we are not all young white males and our bodies do not respond the same as theirs to the medication; and we also have difficult family relations, grief, sexual harassment, alcohol and drug abuse… — and it is set in the world of sports (baseball), and of celebrity culture. Considering Lozada’s credentials, I am not surprised she has a lot to say on the subject, and the baseball players’ wives (a bit like the footballers’ wives in other countries) interactions rang true. There are comedic moments, although they are far from subtle and some people might not find them funny, but if you let yourself go along for the ride and get into the spirit of it, this is a fun read, touching and inspiring as well.
The book is narrated in the third-person, alternating the points of view of Angel and The Duke. As I said, I read an early ARC copy of the novel, and I noticed readers complained about there not being a clear distinction between the one point of view and the other, but expect this will have been corrected in the final version of the novel, as will, I hope, some awkward Spanish phrasing at the beginning of the book.
Although this is not a standard romantic novel, the ending does live up to the genre (wish-fulfilment and all) and yes, I enjoyed it. If you’re easily offended or are looking for a genteel and/or gentle romance, this is not the book for you. I’d recommend reading through the sample and being prepared for a full-on whirlwind soap, that stretches the limits of credibility (and for some, perhaps, of good taste), and mixes a lot of other genres. If all that doesn’t scare you, give it a go! It will be a wild ride!

I think this title might struggle a tad, as it's clearly marketed to the Rom-Com audience, but it's written more for the soap-opera subgenre of reality tv. That's not a bad thing, but that completely adorable cover clashes with the almost entirely unlikable cast. The reviewers on GoodReads aren't wrong on this one (no, I can't believe I just said that, either). Not a bad book, not a bad cover, but a mismatch. There's an audience out there, but it's not Jasmine Guillory's, nor Alexa Martin's. I'm thrilled to have something to share with reality tv fans!

I was a little dubious going into this book. The cover is adorable and the synopsis makes the book sound so good. But I read a few reviews before starting and to say they were mixed would be generous. Still, I received this book in exchange for a fair review, so I was prepared to be open minded. Then I saw that the author quoted herself in the acknowledgments... I've read thousands of books, and that's the first time I've ever seen that, so I braced myself from there.

THE PERFECT DATE follows Angel, a hard-working single mom attempting to keep her head above water and finish nursing school and Caleb “The Duke” Lewis, a professional baseball player. They meet in a community clinic where Angel is bringing her son for an emergency breathing treatment; Duke is there getting his ankle looked at. Yes, the professional baseball player, worth millions of dollars, decides to bribe a community clinic doctor with $1500 to wrap his ankle instead of going to a private athletic trainer or therapist. Umm. What?

The whole book pretty much unravels from there. Besides the ridiculous and poorly researched baseball facts, the writing was clunky, the scene switches were abrupt, and both main characters were unlikable in the extreme. To make matters worse, I've never read a more inconsistently characterize heroine than Angel. One minute she's so angry and full of fire, then we switch to Duke's POV and she's all fresh-faced innocence and "not like other girls." Spare me.

I gave up on this book at 42% when we meet the other baseball girlfriends and wives whose vapid and shallow conversations made it impossible to continue torturing myself. I could feel the drama ramping up (baseball drama, fake dating drama, money drama, doctor drama) and I just wasn't invested enough to put myself through all of that extra drama in a very, very short book. Plus Duke has basically been a self-serving jerk the whole story and set Angel up for humiliation (ignorance does not excuse him) at the party.

Overall, I am incredibly disappointed. I was really hoping to make it to at least 50%, and maybe if the writing had been better, I would have been able to overcome my distaste, but it wasn't. Moving on with my life! Hopefully, this book connects with someone else, it just didn't with me.

**I received an ARC of this book in order to provide an honest review**

2.5 stars - I don't really have much to say about this one. I wasn't a big fan of any of the characters. I didn't like that the men were all awful towards women (even if they tried to not be ... they still fell right back into it). I just wasn't a fan of this book & the relationships in it.

The Perfect Date is a charming book about a single mother who is asked to be a fake date for a popular baseball player with too many issues. I love Angel. She is a strong, unwed, Puerto Rican woman who is support herself and her asthmatic son by working as a bartender by night and nursing school during the day. Her struggles are relatable to any woman trying to get ahead and make ends meet. Caleb is a baseball player recovering from an injury. He has a problematic ex and money issues. When these two are together the spark is undeniable. A great quick summer read. Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press to extending the invitation for me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.