Bea Reviews Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras

Series: Keys to Love #1
Read As A Stand Alone: Yes
Publisher: Zebra Books
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: April 28th 2020
Buying Links: Amazon* | Apple Books* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Kobo |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Sought-after social media influencer Sara Vance, in recovery for a serious health disorder, is coming into her own, with a potential career expansion on the horizon. Despite the good news, her successful siblings (and their perfect spouses) have a way of making her feel like the odd one out. So, when her unreliable boyfriend is a no-show for a Florida family vacation, Sara recruits Luis Navarro—a gorgeous firefighter paramedic and dive captain willing to play the part of her smitten fiancé . . .

Luis’s big Cuban familia has been in Key West for generations, and his quiet strength feeds off the island’s laidback style. Though guarded after a deep betrayal, he’ll always help someone in need—especially a spunky beauty with a surprising knowledge of Spanish curse words. Soon, he and Sara have memorized their “how we met” story and are immersed in family dinners, bike tours, private snorkeling trips . . . sharing secrets, and slow, melting kisses. But when it’s time for Sara to return home, will their island romance last or fade with the stunning sunset?

My Thoughts:

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.