I can't remember the last time a book has annoyed me this much. It was a pain to finish but since I got it from NetGalley and promised a review, I soldiered through. Dios mio! So much freakin' Spanish in this book. I understand the language and it still took a lot from the story - which wasn't that great to begin with. The mechanism that the author used for writing so much in Spanish was for the characters to translate it themselves in the most obnoxious and unnatural conversations you can imagine: mom: I made you a sandwich con queso/ son: you made me a sandwich with cheese. If all the people in the room spoke that language, why on this good Earth would one of them constantly translate? It made zero sense. Furthermore, the story is an "own voices". Fair enough. But while the whole book is written with some sort of nostalgia and obvious endorsement of the community and its quirks, all I could think while reading was "if this is truly how Cuban communities work, they ALL need an army of psychiatrists and phycologists. And about a century of therapy." I was seriously thankful for my normal family (and we are NOT normal but compared to those people, we're golden) . Their notion of familia sounds very close to a mobster clan. Since I'm not an expert, I can't say they are better or worse, perhaps the author knows what she is writing about but it's just cringeworthy and she tried to paint it as well-meant and sweet. That amount of interference and use of parental guilt is not cute or acceptable regardless the culture. It's dysfunctional and very hurtful to individuality. However, that's not why I only gave it three stars (though it was a 2 and a half read). The story moves sooo sooo sooo slowly and the emphasis on the freaky culture is so great it didn't feel like a romance or an anthropology book. It was like reading something made specifically to justify or sugar coat a life experience that is just wacky to say the least.

Thanks to NetGalley for a arc copy for a honest review.

Anchored Hearts is a 5 read. I absolutely loved Island Affair, so Anchored Hearts is one of my most anticipated reads in 2021. It did not disappoint. This book was a breath of fresh air.

Thank you netgalley for an early copy for a review. Priscilla can become one of my favorite authors. Looking forward to reading more by her. I was very grateful for this copy.

I really struggled to choose a rating for this book because it's one that I felt perfectly fine about, but that I think I liked more than book one. Ultimately, I think if I have to put a number to it, I would say 3.5 and note that ultimately I think this book improved slightly on some of my issues with book one and on the other hand, just further emphasized that my tastes and Oliveras' writing are probably not a perfect match.

Basically, this is a second chance romance where the romance feels like the two just slip back into things without ever after having a real discussion because love conquers all. The family dynamics are full of meddling and guilt and are really well done, but overall, I think there was a large part of this book that was emotionally underdone, which makes believing the HEA a little challenging, just like last time. I hope you enjoy it more than I did if you read this as well, but after typing out some of my feelings... I think I'm rounding down rather than up.

A quick and easy summer read, that although was a bit predictable, still gave me those swoon worthy moments with a dash of steam.

I’m becoming a fan of this author book. This was good. Really enjoyed this story. I will read more. Go read This now. I will read more from her.

Anchored Hearts is a sweet second chance romance novel.

Maybe it’s because I have been reading a lot of romance lately but this one didn’t quite cut it for me. It was a good story, but not great. At times the writing felt rather clunky and I found myself having to re-read bits and pieces.

This was a fairly predictable read, but I tend to find most of these types of novels are. I highly enjoy the second chance romance trope and I think Priscila Oliveras did this really well. I also really enjoyed the family aspect of this one and being able to see the family dynamics unfold.

A light summer read for fans of romance novels. Perfect for reading on the beach with a drink in hand.

Thank you to the publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved many things bout this story. It's set in the FL keys (close to home), second chance romance that involve Latinos, just like me. Great book, beautiful story.

I loved this! Priscilla Oliveras is an auto buy author for me! This book follows Island Affair (the first book), which I loved as well and also takes place in the Key West. It's a slow burn second chance romance that follow Anamaria and Alejandro. After being in an accident, Alejandro returns home 13 years later, but coming home to the island paradise also means coming face to face with the girl he left behind. Anamarias dad had a heart attack so she couldn't leave. Now both of them are in the same town again and they try to becomes friends again before the two of them rekindle their romance!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I loved every single minute of this book!!

I didn’t read the first book of the series but it’s ok because you can read this as a stand-alone. It’s a second chance romance, not sure why I couldn’t really get into the characters, it might be the trope. I rarely enjoy second chance romances but if that’s your thing this book is for you

I enjoyed the previous book in the series, but for some reason this one didn't grab me. I can't put my finger on it but something was missing for me. I may try again later, for now its a DNF. I still greatly enjoy Oliveras writing!

In Priscilla Oliveras's Anchored Hearts, this second-chance contemporary romance is so heart-warming and tear-jerking to read and sweep you off your feet. For Anamaria Navarro and Alejandro Miranda, they were once high school sweethearts who grew up in Key West Florida and later split to go their separate ways. Twelve years later, Anamaria is a fire fighter/paramedic who's starting up her own fitness company, AM Fitness. She wants nothing more than to spread her wings and fly, while she had been tied down to Key West for a decade ever since her father had a heart attack. Now might be the chance she might do.. But when she received a call from her neighbor that Alejandro, now a professional photographer for National Geographic who traveled the world, had broken his leg during a photo shoot in the Amazon Rain forest. Her meddling interference required Anamaria's medical services to tend to his needs. And that brought them back together with a bittersweet reunion. While their mamis continued to meddle and to bring these former love birds together, Ale didn't expect to see Anamaria again after all these years. It brought back painstaking memories including the ones from his own father's harsh words. All he wanted was to receive his father's acceptance to his roots since he turned him down on not following the footsteps to work in the family restaurant with his brothers. During this time, they mended their own hearts and made new memories as they worked together to build their dreams their own reality. After one passionate kiss, one thing led to another to their no-strings-attached relationship when they both want something more.... permanence. During Ale's photo gallery exhibit, Anamaria overheard that Ale might be leaving for good... again. The same feeling she had a decade ago. Can Ale win back her heart for them to have a happily ever after and stay with her?

The same family dynamic and range of characters that I loved and enjoyed in book 1. The second-chance romance angle didn’t totally sell me though. It’s all nice and good to know they had a previous relationship but without experiencing it or the build, I wasn’t really feeling, what is to the reader, an insta-connection or love or lust.

The characters, individually, are strong and wonderfully explored. I love their inner journeys. But as a couple, I had hoped their emotional exploration and resolution had come earlier. The issues we’re introduced to at the beginning don’t get any attention or airing until the very end. It felt too late. That conversation needed more room to grow and sit with.

The settings and family drama were great though and will draw me back to this series and it’s, hopefully, new books again and again. The balmy air, food, and meddling mothers (both frustrating and strikingly realistic) make for a great time.

Anchored Hearts is another heartwarming and enjoyable Priscilla Oliveras book. This time around, it features my favorite romance trope - second chance romance!

This is technically the second book in the series, but you don't need to read the first book to enjoy this one. Anchored Hearts is a pretty straightforward second chance romance between our high school sweethearts Alejandro and Anamaría, complete with meddling families, laughter, and of course, insecurities. Oliveras has always been so good in exploring family dynamics, and I feel that this was the star of the book. The setting is also so lush and lovely, and added so much to the story.

I read Anchored Hearts while on vacation and it was just the perfect beach read!

With plans to continue traveling and enjoying some time, when love fall into play and steal a heart. You never know what to expect when you travel and find love.

Meh. This was your standard romcom, nothing too interesting. It was good enough for me to finish, but not for me to write home about. Maybe this author just isn’t for me.

This was an excellent romance, and I lookin forward to reading more books by this author!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

This is a tough one to write a review for because I'm not entirely sure why I didn't really get into it. The main characters Alejandro and Anamaria are ok. Anamaria is a take-care-of-everyone type who has dreams of turning her side hustle of fitness and nutrition counseling into a full time career, Alejandro is a brilliant photographer who has tried to put Key West and his family behind him because he and his father fight constantly about his career choice. Forced back to Key West for awhile because of an accident, Alejandro and Anamaria get a second chance at being together. Neither has stopped loving the other but they resent each other for how they separated when they were young.

To call this book a slow burn is an understatement, it's a slow everything. There's little fast and snappy dialogue because everything has to be analyzed in their minds. Scenes that are delightful with some description get repeatedly described in extreme detail until I would forget what was supposed to be going on. The mothers are super heavy-handed matchmakers, which bothered me because the problem was more between Alejandro and his father than Alejandro and Anamaria. A few real conversations would have sorted out a lot of misconceptions, but instead it took more than half the book for Alejandro to realize how well Anamaria fits into the community and how it was unfair of him to ask her to leave as a kid.

Slow in all the wrong ways for me, this second chance romance and family saga just didn't do it for me.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital copy in exchange for a fair review.

I am new to Pris Oliveras, and this book did not let me down! I enojyed how the author gave a rich understanding of the family dynamics and it being set in the Keys. I definitely learned a lot about Cuban-Latinx culture and the food.

I would read more of this series in the future!