An enjoyable read. A little bit cheesy. With a lovely island setting and a summary vibe.

*Thanks to NetGally for providing this copy in exchange for an honest review.*

Sultry fun in the sun
5 stars

With such a gorgeous cover comes the promise of a sultry, fun, fake romance that turns all too real under the sun soaked backdrop of the Florida Keys. And what I had hoped for is exactly what I got with this really enjoyable tale.

We start with our hunky hero - Luis Navarro - who has suddenly found himself facing a very unwelcome 7 days off firefighter duty due to complications with a rescue. Luis is my absolute jam when it comes to a hero. He’s the strong, silent, brooding type but he’s also got a serious Prince Charming complex where he feels he needs to save everyone around him. And that’s why the meet-cute and subsequent crazy plan of playing fake boyfriend to Sara and Sara’s family, makes perfect sense!

As much as I had my swoon on for Luis, I really, really loved Sara. She had issues - don’t we all - but she was doing her best to overcome them and I loved that she was a bad boss b!tch but also a very real, and at times vulnerable girl. She was just someone you could like and also relate to.

The best part was definitely the way that Sara and Luis played off each other. From the start, they balanced each other out and could bring each other back around when they got too bogged down in their issues. But don’t worry - this book isn’t angsty at all. There are serious topics covered but while the book has depth, it doesn’t drown you with the seriousness of things. There’s a fresh and fun vibe that sits perfectly with the setting of the book. Key West - and the Florida Keys - is almost a character all itself. I definitely want to visit for more than just the weather!

There was a build up of the relationship between Sara and Luis but while we get some foreplay, as soon as it gets to the real deal, the door closes. While I normally prefer something more explicit when it comes to sex scenes, it doesn’t take anything away from Sara and Luis’s relationship.

The Vance family were fun to get to know but it’s the Navarro family that really stole my heart. Well, maybe I’m reserving judgement on Enrique for the moment. They were exactly what I imagine when I think of a tight, loving Cuban-American family and it was great to see them interact with each other. I cannot wait to read Anamaría’s story (hopefully with Alejandro) and okay, fine, Enrique’s too.

I really loved Priscilla Oliveras’ writing style. It was interesting, fun and eminently readable. There are smatterings of Spanish dotted throughout the book, in keeping with the culture of the Keys and the Navarro clan. This helped me realise that my Kindle has a translation feature - who knew? - but you don’t really need it. Ms Oliveras cleverly words it so you know what’s happening even if you don’t understand or translate the Spanish. But I still looked everything up (because my Spanish is pretty poor and I need to know all the things!) and I was so smug by the end of the book that I was catching onto some phrases!

This is the first Priscilla Oliveras book that I’ve read and I loved her storytelling, her style and her characters. I will definitely be looking out for more of her books and especially the next books in this series. She packed romance, love, family and humour into this book - it’s exactly the pick me up I needed. 5 stars.

I received Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It was a lovely read and a nice vacation from sheltering in my house. There are a couple of heavier things about it that I'll get into later. Since both come up early in the book, there won't be spoilers.

Luis is a third generation Cuban American Key West native and like his father, brothers, and sister a member of the Key West Fire Department. His captain has just made him take some days off, which has left him grumpy and angry. Sara has flown into Key West for a week of vacation with her parents, siblings and their spouses. Her long distance boyfriend is supposed to join her, but he flakes. Rather than admit her now ex boyfriend stood her up, she asks Luis to pretend to be her boyfriend for the week. Let's all agree that in real life asking a man you've known for three minutes in a parking lot to pretend to be your boyfriend is a terrible idea and could get you murdered. But this isn't real life, this is a fantasy and in this fantasy we know Luis is a great guy and he and Sara will fall in love. But in real life, don't do that.

The fake dating a stranger trope can be a lot of fun, and Oliveras uses it well. Luis and Sara getting to know each other gives us an in to getting to know them and establishing the characters we will focus on later in the series. Oliveras' writing evoked the colors, smells and feel of Key West. Even though Spring is edging into Summer here in Texs, it's been a rather colorless Spring. Island Affair was a lovely read.

Content warnings: eating disorder, deaths as a result of car accidents in the past.

Where I feel cautious about this book is in the places where I lack familiarity about sensitive things. One of the main characters is in recovery from an eating disorder and has to deal with her family's concern. I am unqualified to judge whether Oliveras handles this well. I didn't read anything that concerned me, but I wouldn't recognize a problem because I don't have experience with eating disorders. What I do have familiarity with are the ways friends and family react to a stigmatized illness. The way Sara's family occasionally overwhelmed her with their concern felt very similar to my experience with friends and family after I had a particularly bad bout of depression.

Luis has a couple of areas where I, again, do not have the experience or perspective to make judgements  - He is Cuban American and a firefighter/EMT. The author has a Puerto Rican/Mexican American heritage. I have enough friends from enough areas of North, Central, and South America to know that the Spanish speakers of the Western hemisphere are not a cultural monolith. I read Island Affair as being loving and respectful towards Cuban American culture, but I wouldn't be the one to know if there were harmful stereotypes. If you are concerned about her portrayal of Cuban American characters check out some other reviewers.

The way Luis handles the tragedy in his past and how it affects his present is again an area where I can have empathy, but lack experience. Luis is forced to take time off after he was called to a car accident where someone died. There isn't a lot of discussion about the specifics of Luis' behavior, only that his captain wants him to take some time. Maybe the lack of detail is for the best. Oliveras makes it clear that Luis latches on to Sara partly to avoid dealing with his own issues, but part of the tension between them is Sara's refusal to need rescuing (except for the fake boyfriend part).

I enjoyed this book, and I think I enjoyed it even more after thinking about it. It has a nice mix of escapism and heft. I'm looking forward to seeing where she takes the rest of the series focusing on Luis' brother and sister.

One of the things I love about receiving ARCs from NetGalley is finding new authors, especially authors of color, to read -Priscilla Oliveras will definitely be one of the new authors that I start following.

Island Affair is the story of Sara Vance, social-media influencer and youngest child with a host of family issues, and Luis Navarro, Cuban Key West firefighter with a protector streak a mile wide. Sara and Luis meet when Sara travels down to Key West for a family vacation with her parents, siblings and their partners. After a lifetime of feeling like the family letdown, Sara wants to impress upon her family that she is successful and able to take care of herself by bringing her boyfriend Ric on the trip. But Ric (butthead) bails on her and Sara decides to proposition Luis to be her pretend boyfriend for a week. Recently free Luis, due to forced vacation from his boss because of an accident that brings up bad memories from the past, jumps all in with Sara - partially because of his protective streak and partially because he finds the diminutive but strong Sara intriguing. What follows is my favorite trope: pretend boyfriend turns into real friend turns into sexy lovers.

I really enjoyed this book and a lot of it had to do with the writing. Oliveras writes an authentic Cuban experience - Luis and his familia are absolutely endearing and I can't wait to learn more about Annamaria and Enrique's past loves! The descriptions of Key West, the food, the dancing - all of it felt so real and true. I also really liked Sara, surprisingly more than I thought I would. When I first read the blurb, I assumed Sara was going to be a white girl who "knew" some Spanish but she was so much more than that and Oliveras made her connections to the Latinx culture not feel fake.

I am so happy that I got to read this story from a new to me #LatinxRom author. I can't wait for more!

Island Affair is a romance novel, but it felt like much more than that. This isn’t your typical let’s pretend we are boyfriend/girlfriend for a week to fool our families story. Sara is a social media influencer who has always felt like an outsider with her family. When her boyfriend stands her up for a family vacation in the Keys, she turns to Luis to help her out as her partner for the week. Luis loves his family. He comes from a big close family, although there are some things in his past he can’t let go. Always being the one helping and rescuing everyone, he agrees to help Sara.
I loved both Sara and Luis, especially because they were not perfect, but perfect for each other. The book deals a lot with family, which I really loved. This was more of a closed door romance, but still had plenty of charm. It’s also the first one in a series, and I can’t wait to read the next one!

This is an enjoyable summer read! Perfect for the beach or any vacation because Oliveras does a wonderful job of transporting the reader to Key West and all things tropical. Readers get a real feel for not only the Key West landscape and laid back personality of the vacationers, but also Luis' Cuban heritage and love of his family.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book! I got a quarter of the way through before deciding this book was not for me. I loved the cover and the description sounded like something I would really enjoy. The setting made for a unique story focused on minorities that are not prevalent throughout the genre. However the attraction between the Luis and Sara felt too instantaneous to be believable - even in a romance novel. I couldn't get passed how quickly the story was moving, given the situation. I can appreciate raised stakes, but this one just felt a little too unbelievable. Maybe I'll pick it up again some other time!

Island Affair is an easy breezy story centred around a fake fiance trope, but in it I also found a story of love and hope and so many more elements that offer comfort and reassurance. And I really needed that in these crazy times! That the story is set in lush, tropical Key West is the cherry on top of a tasty summertime confection.

Sara Vance is a social media influencer who's in recovery from personal health issues when she's blindsided by a deadbeat boyfriend who jams out on a Florida vacation with her family. The "fiance," Luis Navarro, is a firefighter paramedic who's the silent and hot type but battling his own problems, who for reasons of his own agrees to play the part of Sara's fiance. Both the Vance and the Navarro families have complicated dynamics they're struggling with as well. There are definitely lots of issues here that need working through.

We all know how the love story will be resolved, but the fun is in reading how the real relationship gains traction while the deception is carried out. Sara and Luis's back-and-forth rang true for me, and I was moved reading about Luis's Cuban familia and the universe that's been created for this series. There's sweetness and steam and so much love on numerous levels, and I can't wait to read the next book.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy of this book for review.

Solid three star read. I enjoyed it, and it was an easy read, but I probably won’t remember it, and I was never itching to keep going or struggling to put the book down.

Also, 100% this books could have used an epilogue because it literally just ends. It could have been a much more fleshed out ending instead of the rushed result we got that left me with a lot of questions and kind of unsettled.

It was fine, it was cute, I’ll probably read the next one, but it isn’t one I’m going to rave about.


Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I’m a pretty big fan of Priscilla Oliveras. Her books are like a warm hug to me, full of fundamentally good-but-flawed characters with loving families who may clash but always come back together stronger. So while I was sad that we had to say goodbye to the Fernandez sisters from her last series, I was looking forward to meeting the Navarro familia, and I was not disappointed!

“Familia was familia. Good, bad, or indifferent.”


I loved Sara. I loved how driven she was to succeed at her job, even if the roots of that drive were to prove herself to her family. She was an oops baby, and her siblings were much older than her, something that I can empathize strongly with. Since her parents worked long hours at their medical jobs, Sara was basically raised by her nanny, Mamá Alicia, and she speaks Spanish because of her. Sara grew up being envious of Mamá Alicia’s boisterous, loving Mexican family, so she’s not completely out of her depth with Luis’ similar Cuban family. She feels like she’s not fully a part of her own family, separated by age and profession (they’re doctors, she’s a social media influencer). And while on the surface the Navarros are a complete 180 from the Vances, there’s unresolved issues between Luis and his youngest brother that put a strain on their family as well. Luis’s solution to dealing with his problem is throwing himself into his work as a firefighter, or barring that, helping someone else out. So jumping in to help Sara by pretending to be her boyfriend is right in character for him. The instant chemistry between the two of them definitely helps, as well!

“Maybe she couldn’t allow herself to fall for him, but she could damn well do her best to make sure her firefighter in shining armor found a little bit of peace in his part of this beautiful paradise he called home.”


But despite their growing friendship, Sara and Luis are reluctant to share their secrets with each other. Sara doesn’t want to tell Luis about her eating disorder, even after he’s put in an uncomfortable position when it’s clear everyone else in the family is expecting him to know about it. Perhaps some of it is because she’s the baby of the family, but they treat her as someone who’s unable to take care of herself, and she’s afraid to tell Luis for fear that he’d treat her differently, constantly second guess whether she’s eating enough, try to shove food at her, question all her decisions. Luis, for his part, doesn’t want to talk about what caused the rift between him and his younger brother, and while he urges Sara to embrace the chance to repair her relationships with her family, he doesn’t want to take his own advice.

“It all seemed so cozy. A little surreal. An average family snapshot she’d always dreamed of. Her entire family together with her not feeling like an outsider, either too young or too different or too emotionally weak to be an equal.
Time had eroded the age gap once she’d reached adulthood. Regular therapy had helped with the other two.
But somehow, having Luis here with her, partnered with someone she respected and cared for like her parents and siblings were, gave her a sense of belonging she had always craved.”


Their relationship, though it starts out as fake, is very sweet and exactly what I expected from Ms. Oliveras. One of my favorite examples is how much Sara melts when she hears Luis earnestly telling his mom he loves her over the phone. His Vin Diesel exterior hides a soft gooey center, and nothing shows that more than his commitment to showing her family around his hometown, taking them dancing, or teaching them to play dominoes. They bring out the best in each other, and each gradually encourages the other to resolve the rifts in their families.

While I ended the book with the warm fuzzies, I wasn’t completely satisfied with the HEA. While the main driver behind the dark moment is addressed, [and while there was some talk about Sara moving to Miami to work on her clothing line, I was left puzzled by how they were going to work it out. Would they trade commutes every weekend? Would Sara move to Key West and then commute to Miami? I would’ve appreciated an epilogue a few months down the line showing how things worked out. I was also a little wary of the way the eating disorder was portrayed. I may just be overly sensitive, but there were a few times where I didn’t feel like Sara was making healthy eating choices (eating an appetizer instead of an entree for dinner, skipping breakfast).

Overall, though, this book was like a mini-vacation that filled up my heart. I will very much be looking forward to the next book in the series!

I received this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A cute holiday romance story set in the subtropical paradise of Florida's Key West. I am so glad that I read this book as it helped me escape for a few hours from this strange moment in time that we live in (written in April 2020). I found really interesting the book's backstory and the author described it with the sensitivity it deserves. The two families give you "all the cozy feelings" and I really enjoyed reading them.

***I want to thank Kensington Books and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review***

Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras was an okay read for me. I could not really get into it, because of the writing style. While Sara was very open about herself, Luis was not. He was very closed off and i could not really understand him, which made the story a little dragging. But i did get the concept of having complicated families, which was fun to read about.

I give this book 2.5 stars, because i did not really enjoy it. It was okay for me. But if you love complicated families and the fake relationship trope, you should give this book a try.

⭐️⭐️1/2

-C

This was a fun and heartwarming read, a perfect book for the summer. I'd enjoy this book even more if I read it on a beach with a cocktail in my hand. But it was still a cute read.
I really connected with the characters and I loved the family dynamics. The writing was beautiful and the story was welll balanced. It had enough romance, lots of humor that made me laugh often and all that with a touch of family drama which I always welcome.
This would be a great read for all romcom lovers and I'd definitely read the other books in the series.

I received this Advance Review Copy by Netgalley and Kensington Books in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books!!

Review

Island Affair is the first book in Key to love series, it is the perfect escapade one needs take from the insane reality. The storyline was unbelievably adorable. Something straight outta Rom-Coms. The character description and development was fantastic. How both the lead characters Sara Vance and Luis Navarro evolves emotionally over the 7 days of their vacation is something worth the read. The backstories of these two characters was strong, believable, relatable and deep. The family background of both Sara and Luis was similar and different in its own way. The career choice Sara Vance was something anew which matches the contemporary lifestyle perfectly, no author has dared to give their leads a career option as Social media influencer so far and that was bold and really amazing. And it was actually nice to read about Social media influencers and look into their mode working and life in detail. On the other hand Luis and his fire fighter family made sure the readers get to experience the Key west life at the best. The parts where both Vance family and Navarro family was involved was extremely wonderful and enjoyable. The Navarro sibling though they played only small roles in this book, they left their footprints in the hearts of the readers. Since this book is a series, we can all hope to see more of Navarro siblings in spot light. The supporting characters were highly supportive and help constructing the plot efficiently. They were all one hell of a supporting characters.

The writing style was long and elaborate, which could have been avoided because at times it felt really long and unendurable. If this book had been small and crispy it would’ve been even more good to read. There were lot of Spanish dialogues here and there, and there wasn’t any translation available in the book so it kind of felt alien to Non-Spanish speakers. And the narration of the story was done from the perspective of both Luis and Sara, so there was practically no suspense in this book because both Sara and Luis’s feelings and thoughts were out there in the open for the readers. If the author had blindfolded one side of the story, it would’ve been intriguing. These are few shortcomings of the book other than that, it was really a nice read.

On the whole it was simple, happy and funny read, filled with lots of honeymoon phase romances. The bonds shared between the members of the family was beautifully portrayed. The emotional turmoil one faces when they yearn for being loved and accepted by their loved ones was the core point the author has intended to bring about in the story and had succeeded in doing so.

Island Affair is one cherish-able vacation everyone longs for.

My views

I really like the places where the family bonding was involved. There were lot funny instances which brought a smile to my smug face. The author had simply took me on a vacation to Key West with this one book, and I completely loved the experience. I loved all the supporting characters, I think this is the first book which made me like all the characters in it. I particularly liked all the siblings and among them my favorites are Enrique and Anamaria, I really hope to read about them in the upcoming books in the Key to Love series.

I would recommend this book to humor and Rom-Com lovers. And also to people who loves to travel because this book clearly takes you around Key West like a tour guide along with sprinkles of family drama, romance, humor and emotions. Which is of course an added advantage. Do read this book and tell me how you feel about it.
My rating for this book would be 3 / 5 stars 🌟🌟🌟
Happy Reading Folks!!

~Meenu

4 - 4.5 Stars

When Luis agrees to step into the pretend role of Sara's long distance boyfriend it seems like a fun way to shake things up during his week long forced vacation from the fire department. The last thing either Sara or Luis expect is for their fake relationship to have more sparks than the 4th of July and New Years Eve rolled into one. While navigating the land mines of Sara's family dynamic and the ever present potential of running into Luis' family or friends at every turn, the two develop a very real, very deep connection.

Now her family thinks he's someone else - with a different job and zip code, and his family's ignorant to the deception surrounding their affair. But what both families can see is the deep connection the two share.

The premise of Island Affair is full of whimsy - travel to a beautiful island and meet the man of your dreams, but the reality is so much deeper in this tender story about two damaged souls that connect in a way that helps both of them heal old wounds. I absolutely adored Sara, Luis, and their families full of colorful characters that give the story so much depth. Oliveras has been added to my one click list!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Island Affair is an absolute treat of a romance! It takes a classic romance trope- fake relationship!- infuses it with depth, heart and humor, and nests it in the lush, steamy setting of Key West, Florida.

The Good

-The main characters! Both leads felt three dimensional, with nuanced backstories that deepened the story without distracting from the romance and fun.

Sarah is a social media influencer, who is trying to connect with her historically distant family, during their first family vacation after her mother's remission from cancer. Sarah is also in recovery from an eating disorder, and the author does a fantastic job of showing the ways that complicated family dynamics can be entwined with mental health struggles. Luis is a Cuban-American firefighter, with a big loving family, whose has unresolved trauma and betrayal in his past. Watching the two navigate the ways that old wounds and habits show up in the present was a breathe of fresh air in a genre that doesn't always have room for nuance. And the romance itself was *chefs kiss* delicious! Luis and Sarah's chemistry is palpable from the from the beginning, and watching them dance around their growing attraction was a delight!

- The supporting characters. I am in love with Luis' entire family (and have serious hope that the next book in the series will be about one family member in particular). His close knit relationships with most of his family, and in particular his highly involved mother, were some of the highlights of the story for me. And Sarah's family had some of the best moments of character growth in the whole book; one scene actually had me happy crying!

- The setting. The author writes descriptions so beautifully that I felt like Key West was a third main character! From sunsets, to lush beaches, to churchyards filled with frolicking children, Oliveras's visions of Key West stole my heart.

The Less Good

-Mostly, how long I'm going to have to wait to read the sequel! Sigh.

-I thought Sarah's job was going to end up in this section of the list. I am Judgey McJudgerson, and "social media influencer" made me raise an eyebrow- it seemed like the most rom-com-y job of all. But the author seemed to anticipate my response (by having Sarah's family agree with me) and as they learned to suspend their judgement and celebrate Sarah's successes, I mostly did too!

While this book might be fine for some, I wasn’t a big fan of it so I chose to put it down at 17%. The main characters meet very quickly & instantly decide to have a fake relationship, but it just didn’t seem probable with the timeline the story was working with. I wasn’t drawn to either of the characters either, even though it seemed like they both had secrets (which was alluded to).

I've seen this author around on Twitter and when I saw the cover, it looked appealing, so I requested it on NetGalley. That cover is just so cheerful; how could I resist?

Mostly, I'm glad I didn't resist, and I'll probably request the next book. One downside to this book - I didn't realize there's a character recovering from cancer. Cancer in my books is a no-no. The blurb mentions Sara has a serious health condition; she is not the one with cancer. That is someone else. I was able to deal with Sara's health issues; the person with the breast cancer was harder since breast cancer is rampant in my family. I almost put the book down on several occasions but pushed through. It wasn't a major part of the story and I was enjoying the book, so I kept going.

Sara's (non-cancerous) health issues are a part of the story. Her family worries about her, her health, her career (they deem it unimportant and not real work), her single state, and is always hovering. Combine that with being an oops child, significantly older siblings, and career-focused parents, and it was easy to understand why she felt like an outsider in her family. This family trip is important for several reasons, one being it's the first ever trip they have taken with the whole family. Everyone except Sara is a doctor and they have taken medical work trips together. This is the first 'family' trip to include Sara. Sara, who knows her family considers her intellectually inferior, is desperate to please them on this trip and to not rock the boat. She doesn't want to cause stress or unhappiness.

"Her ability to form words failed her as her old nemesis self-doubt poked its head out of the dark hole where she doggedly tried to keep it buried. Its beady eyes bore into her psyche like a mangy prairie dog refusing to stay underground."


"She was so tired of chasing her mother's approval. Angry at the unhealthy decisions that chase hd led her to make. And yet, the longing for that approval remained. Needing that validation was what had first driven her to start-

No!

Shaking her head, Sara halted thoughts of her disorder.."


Then there's Luis. He's a firefighter who's been told to take a week's vacation. This part was never made clear. He's in some sort of trouble at work, it apparently has to do with a reaction he had to an accident he responded to, but Oliveras leaves the details vague which was incredibly frustrating. That made it harder for me to care what happened with his firefighting career. All of this is connected to the car accident death years ago of his fiance, and his ongoing problems with his younger brother. Thanks to his 'vacation' he's available when Sara needs a temporary boyfriend for her family's vacation, after her fiance bails on her at the last minute. She's afraid that if she shows up solo, her family will worry and stress about her, more than they already do, and she doesn't want to be responsible for ruining the trip. Yeah, she takes a lot onto her shoulders.

Luis, unlike Sara, has a very loving and engaged family. Whereas Sara wants more involvement and engagement with her family, Luis wants a little breather. I gotta say, his family was so involved and so demanding, I'd probably take a long breather and move out of state. His mother actually expects her unmarried sons to visit at least once a day, better if they do it twice. When Luis's mother realizes he and Sara are dating, she demands that Luis bring her to family dinner then has them practically married off before dessert. Yeah, no. I need more space than that. Luis is mostly happy with it, though there is the trouble with his younger brother. That trouble stresses the family. Frankly, younger brother came off as a jerk most of the time. If he gets his own book, he will need some rehabilitation to be a decent love interest. To be fair, he wasn't completely responsible for the issues between them. There's more than one guilty party.

So, Luis and Sara hook up and pretend to be lovers. Things move quickly as the vacation is only a week long. This is a fast moving romance, going from fake to genuine in a hurry; it was a little too fast for me, but they do get each other to open up emotionally. They are good for each other. Luis sees all of Sara's strengths and positives and pushes her to see them also. Sara sees the pain in Luis and helps him to deal with it and reach out to his brother. Of course, along the way they have a misunderstanding and then Luis pulls a public gesture; I'm not a fan of either of those conventions. Luis's gesture actually worked in the context of the story and it wasn't some big, grand look-at-me gesture, which helped. I do wish he'd groveled more. Actually, they both screwed up, they both could have groveled more.

Luis and Sara were hot and sweet together. They had fun together and got past each others barriers. There were a few minor unlikely coincidences, and I didn't completely buy how quickly their romance happened. I loved seeing Sara handle her insecurities and that she sought out professional help. I ached for her and he family's treatment of her. It was wonderful to see her open up and accept their efforts to change and to allow her thinking to change. Luis went through a similar change re his relationship issues and his fraternal issues. There was definitely more angst in the story than I like but the overall story was pleasant and the Keys made for a colorful and lively location.

"Island Affair" was romantic, emotional, a little uneven in pacing, but ultimately a good read.

This book is familiar with it's hallmark channel plot and I did love the setting. Unfortunately the story moved a little slow for me and the characters had some depth, but it felt a little forced. I enjoyed it, but didn't love it

Island Affair features Sara Vance, a social media influencer, who is in Key West for a family vacation meant to give her a chance to prove to her family that they (a) don't need to worry about her and (b) should be proud of her. It's also meant to be extremely relaxing because they're celebrating her mother's recovery from cancer. So when her boyfriend flakes on her at the last minute, she's anxious but really happy to accept a stand in boyfriend in the form of Luis Navarro. For his part, Luis has an unexpected week off and he's got a thing for saving people, not only in his profession as a firefighter, but also just in every day life. Both characters have some things in their past that have left some emotional scars for them to address as we move through the novel.

My favorite part of this was definitely the familial aspect, both with the Navarros and the Vances. I think Priscilla Oliveras is very good at crafting close families and showing families doing work trying to improve their relationship. I'm also looking forward to getting Luis' sister's story and I am hoping that's next in the series, though I know other people are more excited about Emanuel. I also liked seeing parts of Key West and pretending I too could go on a nice bike ride. (I don't even like riding a bike and haven't done that in years, but desperate times, you know?)

The things I didn't love so much were a few comments Sara made that were related to her eating disorder, from which she's in recovery, and the end. Specifically, I spent the book feeling like Sara and Luis fit together well, though I can't say I specifically understood why, and the reason they come apart is reasonable but also miscommunication related. And then the second they come back together the book is over. I don't want to spoil you for anything, but just know that I didn't find the ending satisfying and therefore it was difficult for me to really love this book. That said, I'm looking forward to continuing in the series and I hope if you pick this up, you'll enjoy it more than I did!