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WORK TITLE: Her Perfect Affair
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://prisoliveras.com/
CITY:
STATE: FL
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Daughter of Mexican American father and Puerto Rican mother; married; children: three.
EDUCATION:Bachelor’s degree; two master’s degrees, including Seton Hall University, M.F.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, romance novelist, and educator. Serves as an adjunct faculty member in a Florida school.
AVOCATIONS:Running, playing tennis, dancing, attending the theatre, watching sports, and reading.
MEMBER:Romance Writers of America.
WRITINGS
Contributor to the anthology A Season to Celebrate.
SIDELIGHTS
Priscilla Oliveras writes contemporary romance novels featuring Latino characters. Her first language was Spanish, and she learned English with the help from children on the playground. Oliveras’s father served in the Navy, and her mother earned a business degree in Puerto Rico. A reader from a young age, Oliveras once won a trophy in the second grade because she read more books over the summer than her classmates. She read her first Harlequin Romance when her father gave the book to her while the family sheltered from a hurricane.
His Perfect Partner
Proud of her Latino heritage, Oliveras strives to impart to readers aspects of Latino-American culture. As a result, three Latino sisters are the primary protagonists in her “Matched to Perfection” series of romance novels. In the first novel in the series, His Perfect Partner, Oliveras tells the story of a divorced ad executive Tomás Garcia and an attractive dance teacher named Yazmine “Yaz” Ferrnandez. Tomás is still not completely over his divorce, but is devoted to his daughter, Maria, who lives with Tomás .
Yaz was a dancer on Broadway when her father fell ill and she left New York for Chicago to take care of him. When Tomás and Yaz meet, there is an undeniable attraction. Yet both have reasons for not wanting to get involved. Tomás thinks his attraction to Yaz is really just an impulse. Not only that, she is so talented that Tomás believes she will be leaving for brighter lights sooner than later. On Yaz’s part, she has been betrayed before. Plus, she is currently devoted to her father and dedicated to fulfilling her dreams.
Still, Tomás and Yaz become close enough for Yaz to spend time with Maria and enjoy at least a taste of family life. Each is convinced the other one can keep their mutual attraction under control. Still, they become closer and closer via their mutual support as Yaz helps take care of Maria and Tomás provides Yaz with some much-needed relief from her caretaking duties.
“The realistic, multifaceted characters have interesting nuances, and Oliveras never stoops to employing contrived misunderstandings,” wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor. Noting that “Oliveras takes all the right steps in this sweet romance,” Amy Alessio, writing in Booklist, went on to comment: His Perfect Partner is filled “with emotion, humor, and memorable characters.”
Her Perfect Affair
Oliveras’s next entry in the “Matched to Perfection” series, Her Perfect Affair, revolves around librarian Rosa Fernandez, the sister of Yaz Fernandez from His Perfect Partner. At Yaz’s wedding, Rosa, who has always been the responsible one of the three sisters, decides to do something about the longtime crush she has had on her friend Jeremy Taylor. The two end up sleeping together, and Rosa becomes pregnant. Jeremy proposes, but Rosa turns him down believing Jeremy only proposed because he feels obligated.
Rose also has another issue to face. She works at a Catholic school where the administrators are not likely to look kindly on a pregnancy out of wedlock. In addition to being the school’s librarian, Rosa’s dream job also includes working with the Poetry Club. Eventually, Rosa begins to experience nausea and has to let the school authorities know she is pregnant. The school authorities are reviewing Rosa’s case while Jeremy, the adopted son of a wealthy lawyer, commits to helping Rosa as much as she will let him. Meanwhile, Jeremy has his own issues concerning his parents, who have placed significant expectations on him.
“Oliveras excels at portraying the Fernandez family relationships and Latino culture,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor, who went on to note that “details about Rosa’s work, including how her employer’s morality clause affects her, create interest.” Writing in Booklist, Amy Alessio remarked: “Oliveras infuses warmth, intelligence, and emotion into this refreshing read.” A third book in the series, features sister Lilí María Fernandez who has left behind her dreams of singing and dancing until she meets Diego Reyes, a police officer and a talented classical Spanish guitarist.
Resort to Love
Oliveras is also a contributor to the “Paradise Key” series, which takes place in the Paradise Key Resort in Florida. In Resort to Love, Oliveras tells the story of Sofía Vargas who works as a resort manager. Ever since she was in high school Sofía has had an on-and-off again relationship with Nathan Patrick Hamilton III. Nate is the son of the wealthy former owners of the Paradise Key Resort, which is now dilapidated and shut down.
Nate never committed to Sofía during their time together, believing his family responsibilities would eventually cause them part. Years have passed when Nate accidentally runs into Sofía on a return trip to Florida. The meeting is awkward enough but becomes even more tense when the two discover they are competitors to buy the Paradise Key Resort and reopen it. Nate, however, decides to try and win back Sofía , who has always remained the girl of his dreams. Sofia, however, is not ready to forgive Nate for walking away from their love. “Resort to Love was a emotional read that balanced angst with humor for sweet and hopeful romance about valuing family and knowing when to risk it all by laying everything out on the table,” wrote Love in Panels website contributor Ana Coqui.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, September 15, 2017, Amy Alessio, review of His Perfect Partner, p. 34; March 1, 2018, Amy Alessio, review of Her Perfect Affair, p. 31.
Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2018, review of Her Perfect Affair.
Publishers Weekly, August 28, 2017, review of His Perfect Partner, p. 112;January 29, 2018, review of Her Perfect Affair, p. 175.
ONLINE
Priscilla Oliveras website, http://prisoliveras.com (June 22, 2018).
Happy Ever After, https://happyeverafter.usatoday.com/ (September 26, 2017), Joyce Lamb, “Interview: Priscilla Oliveras, author of His Perfect Partner.”
Love in Panels, http://www.loveinpanels.com/ (June 12, 2018), Ana Coqui, review of Resort to Love.
GETTING TO KNOW ME
headshotMy first language was Spanish, followed quickly by Spanglish as I learned new words and phrases from other kids on the playground. With a Mexican American dad who served in the Navy and a Puerto Rican mom who earned her business degree from the University of Puerto Rico, my life has been a mix of our Latino culture and good ol’ US of A traditions. Kinda like my books.
I’ve always been a reader—my parents even remind me about how I won a trophy in 2nd grade for reading the most books over the summer. In high school I tried my hand at writing short stories, and I read my first Harlequin romance while waiting in a hurricane shelter with my parents and siblings in the Florida Keys. When I started complaining about being bored, my dad—yes, my dad, that’s not a typo—handed me one of his Harlequin romance novels.
VOILA! A DEVOTED ROMANCE READER WAS BORN!
Years later, as a married college student with a new baby, I decided to try my hand at romance novel writing. Boy, is that a book that will remain stuffed under my bed until…well, let’s just say, forever. I typed it on my handy dandy electric typewriter in one semester, put a sticky note with my name and address on the front page and mailed my “baby” off to New York. Yes, I hear your gasp of shock. No cover letter, no query letter. Nothing. Totally not the right way to submit. But what did I know? It wasn’t until later that I was introduced to Romance Writers of America by a how-to book.
RWA is the premier organization for all romance writers. Through RWA I’ve learned about the business of publishing, honed my craft, and met some of my best friends and mentors.
Now, five books, two more kids, countless military moves, one bachelor’s & two master’s degrees later, I’m still plugging away on my writing. In fact one of my degrees is a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. I’d recommend this program to any genre fiction writer interested in honing their craft, whether published or not.
Or, if you’re not up for an MFA, but you’re interested in learning more about writing romance novels, take a look at my continuing education course offered by ed2go. “Romance Writing” is a 6-week, 12-lesson course on the craft of writing a romance novel.
After my day job and my writing, in my free time I enjoy running, playing tennis, dancing, going to the theatre, watching sports (Go Cubs! Go Gators!), reading and watching romantic comedies, and spending time with family and friends.
In short, I’m a proud Latina who enjoys family, fun, romance and the occasional nap in my backyard hammock.
Priscilla Oliveras
Priscilla Oliveras
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PRISCILLA OLIVERAS is a 2018 RWA® RITA® double finalist who writes contemporary romance with a Latinx flavor. Proud of her Puerto Rican-Mexican heritage, she strives to bring authenticity to her novels by sharing her Latinx culture with her readers. Since earning an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, she serves as English adjunct faculty at her local college and teaches an on-line continuing education course titled “Romance Writing” for ed2go. Priscilla is a sports fan, a beach lover, a half-marathon runner and a consummate traveler who often practices the art of napping in her backyard hammock. To follow along on her fun-filled and hectic life, visit her on the web at prisoliveras.com, on Twitter via @prisoliveras or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/prisoliveras/.
Interview: Priscilla Oliveras, author of ‘His Perfect Partner’
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By: Joyce Lamb | September 26, 2017 12:00 am
Priscilla Oliveras (Photo: Michael A. Eaddy)
Joyce: Welcome to HEA, Priscilla! Please tell us a bit about your new release, His Perfect Partner.
Priscilla: His Perfect Partner introduces readers to the Fernandez sisters — Yazmine, Rosa and Lilí. They’re three compassionate, driven Latinas who live and work in the Chicago area. However, while you meet all the sisters, book one in the Matched to Perfection series belongs to Yazmine and her hero, Tomás Garcia.
Yazmine is a trained dancer who’s been intent on taking the Broadway stages by storm, achieving the dreams her parents have always envisioned for her. At the moment, she’s home temporarily caring for her sick father and volunteering at her old studio to pass the time. Tomás is a single dad and advertising executive whose young daughter enrolls in Yazmine’s dance class. When Yaz and Tomás meet, they appear headed in different directions — he’s putting roots down in the suburbs, she’s ready to fly back to NYC. But as their family lives become entwined, the attraction they can’t seem to ignore grows, and with every step closer, it’s increasingly harder for them to let go.
Joyce: What do you do when you get stuck?
Priscilla: When the words aren’t flowing or a scene is giving me trouble, I try to do something that gets my blood flowing or refills my creative well. That might be going for a run so I can have a chat with one of my characters or walk myself through the scene. Maybe I head to zumba class to dance the brain fog out. Or, I might read a book by an author I admire for inspiration.
Joyce: What distracts you the most when you’re trying to write?
Priscilla: Oh gosh, this is a no-brainer for me. Social media notifications are a huge distraction. When I’m on deadline, I’ve learned to put my phone on Do Not Disturb to avoid the temptation of checking to see who’s chatting … it’s so hard to not join in the fun!
Joyce: Would you like to share a favorite moment from your writing career?
Priscilla at her first book signing with parents Migdalia and Joe, at RWA’s national conference in July.
Priscilla: This is a tough one. Getting one of my Golden Heart finalist calls from RWA, getting The Call from my agent letting me know Kensington had made an offer, holding my first book in my hands … these are all moments I feel truly blessed to have experienced. But if I had to choose just one absolutely most favorite moment … right now, it’d be having my first author signing at RWA’s national conference in Orlando this past July. Sharing my book with friends and new readers, signing the inside of my book for the first time, knowing Yazmine and Tomás’ story was going home with readers … it was exhilarating and scary. A moment of absolute joy I will never forget.
Joyce: What’s your favorite snack and/or beverage while you’re writing?
Priscilla: Usually I’m either sipping café con leche or hot chocolate with a mound of mini-marshmallows. Snack-wise, bring on the Goldfish cheddar crackers and air-popped popcorn!
Joyce: Do you listen to music while you write? What are some tunes on your playlist?
Priscilla: I’m almost always listening to mood music while writing. Usually upbeat Latino songs that either get my fingers tapping away at the keyboard and are perfect for dance breaks or slower, romantic ballads that ooze emotion and capture my characters’ feelings. I have a great playlist of salsa, merengue, bachata and old Spanish classics my parents listened to when I was younger. For a peek at the playlist for His Perfect Partner, check out my post on Kensington’s Tumbler page.
Joyce: Do you have a pet that hangs out with you while you’re working?
Addi’s ready to cuddle, hang out or nap. You pick.
Priscilla: My goldendoodle Addi (named after Addison Street bordering Wrigley Field — Go, Cubs!) likes to hang out, ask for cuddles and take naps for me.
Joyce: What would be your dream vacation?
Priscilla: My dream vacation starts with a tour of Rome and Vatican City, followed by wine tasting in Tuscany and ending with a few days relaxing on a sandy beach. More than likely, the beach relaxing is aided by adult beverages with little umbrellas. 😉
As part of the His Perfect Partner release fun, I’m playing the #YourPerfectPartner game on Twitter, posing different questions for readers. Today’s is: Where would you and #YourPerfectPartner run off to for a dream vacation?
If you want to join in the fun, head to Twitter and share your answer using #YourPerfectPartner so we can see where you’d go!
Joyce: What are you working on now?
Priscilla: Right now I’m about to turn in book three in the Matched to Perfection series, Their Perfect Melody. This story is Lilí’s, the youngest of the three Fernandez sisters. Lilí is known as the fun-loving one, but when you see her on the job as a victim’s advocate and she bumps up against one of Chicago PD’s finest, Diego Reyes, we find there’s much more to her than we’ve seen before. Once Lilí’s story is submitted, I’ll dive into a Matched to Perfection novella featuring Julia Fernandez, the girls’ cousin from Puerto Rico. Julia’s story will be part of the 018 holiday anthology A Season to Celebrate featuring NYT bestselling authors Fern Michaels and Kate Pearce and USA TODAY bestselling author Donna Kauffman.
Joyce: Thanks, Priscilla!
About His Perfect Partner:
Three very different Latina sisters. Three dazzling talents with ambition—and passion—to burn. And in this warm-hearted, sexy new series, three chances to figure out if the path to success can also lead to lasting love …
Ad executive Tomás Garcia shouldn’t even be thinking about his daughter’s alluring dance teacher, Yazmine Fernandez. Burned by a shattering divorce, he’s laser-focused on his career—and giving his young daughter, Maria, the secure home she deserves. Plus, he’s certain that with her talent, Yaz will be leaving Chicago and heading back to Broadway as soon as she can. But Yaz’s generous spirit and caring concern are sparking a desire Tomás can’t resist—and doesn’t want to let go …
For Yaz, good-looking workaholics like Tomás simply can’t be part of her life ever again. She owes it to herself to get back her confidence and fulfill the dreams her papá could not. She’s glad to spend time with Maria—and taste the family life she feels she can never have. And she’s sure that she and Tomás can keep their attraction under control because there’s so much at stake. But each unexpected intimacy, each self-revelation makes the fire between them grow hotter with every step—and every risk to their hearts…
About Priscilla
Priscilla Oliveras is a Kensington Publishing author and four-time Golden Heart finalist who writes contemporary romance with a Latino flavor. Proud of her Puerto Rican-Mexican heritage, she strives to bring authenticity to her novels by sharing her Latino-American culture with readers. Since earning an MFA in writing popular fiction from Seton Hill University, she serves as English adjunct faculty at her local college and teaches an online course titled Romance Writing for ed2go. Priscilla is a sports fan, a beach lover, a half-marathon runner and a consummate traveler who often practices the art of napping in her backyard hammock.
Find out more at www.prisoliveras.com.
MORE ON HEA: Read about Priscilla’s book boyfriend
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Print Marked Items
Her Perfect Affair
Amy Alessio
Booklist.
114.13 (Mar. 1, 2018): p31.
COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
* Her Perfect Affair. By Priscilla Oliveras. Apr. 2018.336p. Zebra, paper, $4.99 (9781420144291).
Rising author Oliveras continues her excellent contemporary Matched to Perfection series featuring three
Latina sisters, following the acclaimed His Perfect Partner (2017). Here, after helping run her sister's
wedding, librarian Rosa sleeps with her longtime crush and friend, Jeremy Taylor. When she realizes she is
pregnant, she turns down Jeremy's immediate proposal, thinking it was offered out of duty. Her position at a
Catholic high school is important to her, as are the teens she mentors in the Poetry Club. Scenes at the
school show Rosa at her caring best. When severe nausea forces her to work part-time, she has to tell her
administration about her pregnancy. While they review the situation, Jeremy helps by taking her to work
and brewing soothing ginger and mint teas. He stays with her in her weakened condition, and their trust and
love grow. Jeremy is struggling with his family's expectations and his own career, but he works hard to
show Rosa how important she is to him. Oliveras infuses warmth, intelligence, and emotion into this
refreshing read.--Amy Alessio
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Alessio, Amy. "Her Perfect Affair." Booklist, 1 Mar. 2018, p. 31. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A532250878/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=3fb561a2.
Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A532250878
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Oliveras, Priscilla: HER PERFECT
AFFAIR
Kirkus Reviews.
(Mar. 1, 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Oliveras, Priscilla HER PERFECT AFFAIR Zebra/Kensington (Adult Fiction) $4.99 3, 27 ISBN: 978-1-
4201-4429-1
One night of passion with her secret crush has lasting consequences for a reserved librarian
At her sister's wedding, librarian Rosa Fernandez finally makes a move on her crush, IT whiz Jeremy
Taylor. He's from a wealthy, old-money Chicago family, while her working-class parents emigrated from
Puerto Rico. Casual friends for years, Jeremy was there for Rosa after her beloved father's death. With her
parents gone and her sisters making their own paths, Rosa, normally hyperresponsible and controlled, feels
lonely and at loose ends. Deciding, for once, to act on an impulsive desire, she invites the tall, blond Jeremy
to her room for a nightcap after the wedding. Unbeknownst to Rosa, her crush is mutual, and Jeremy can't
believe his luck. While Oliveras (His Perfect Partner, 2017) keeps the bedroom door firmly closed on
readers, a positive pregnancy test evidences Rosa and Jeremy's night of passion. Rosa, a devout Catholic
who works as a librarian at the Queen of Peace Academy, never considers abortion. Jeremy's offer of
marriage leaves her feeling like a charity case. Oliveras excels at portraying the Fernandez family
relationships and Latino culture, and while the "librarian lets loose" trope is familiar, details about Rosa's
work, including how her employer's morality clause affects her, create interest. However, Rosa's critical and
distant attitude toward Jeremy wears thin. The relationship is a bit of a downer, missing the sexiness and
spark that illuminate the best pairings.
A wan romance dilutes the second installment of a trilogy about three sisters in the close-knit Fernandez
family.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Oliveras, Priscilla: HER PERFECT AFFAIR." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2018. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A528959909/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=c61edb8d.
Accessed 4 June 2018.
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Her Perfect Affair
Publishers Weekly.
265.5 (Jan. 29, 2018): p175.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
* Her Perfect Affair
Priscilla Oliveras. Zebra Shout, $4.99 mass market (328p) ISBN 978-1-4201-4429-1
Oliveras tops her excellent debut, His Perfect Partner, with this revelatory, realistic second romance set
among the Puerto Rican community in contemporary Chicago. Catholic school librarian Rosa Fernandez is
known to be steady and responsible, but her two sisters don't know she's hiding a passion for wealthy family
friend Jeremy Taylor, an IT specialist. When Rosa learns that Jeremy will soon be going to Japan for several
months, she risks a single romantic farewell night with him. Despite their careful use of birth control, Rosa
gets pregnant. They're both shocked, but they work together to find a solution. Love and advice from their
families, reassessment of their working lives, and the eventual revelation of closely held personal pains all
help Rosa and Jeremy develop a full commitment to each other. Oliveras's integration of cultural and class
differences, familial expectations, and career objectives into the couple's romantic decision making
immeasurably enriches a moving plot about good people making difficult choices. Agent: Rebecca Strauss,
DeFiore & Co. (Apr.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Her Perfect Affair." Publishers Weekly, 29 Jan. 2018, p. 175. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A526116544/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=1132ff44.
Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A526116544
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His Perfect Partner
Amy Alessio
Booklist.
114.2 (Sept. 15, 2017): p34.
COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
* His Perfect Partner.
By Priscilla Oliveras.
Oct. 2017. 352p. Zebra, paper, $4.99 (9781420144284); e-book (9781420144314).
Debuting author Oliveras takes all the right steps in this sweet romance. Yazmine teaches young dancers
and cares for her father while preparing to return to her dancing career in New York. She feels that her
career is the unrealized dream of her parents for themselves. Her drive to return to that life keeps her from
dating. Single father Tomas doesn't like the comments his daughter's beloved teacher makes about his long
work hours, but he can't stop thinking about her. He also needs to keep working to provide the security for
his daughter that he never experienced as a child. He and his daughter get to know Yazmine, her ailing
father, and her sisters as the couple realizes they should be together. Oliveras' refreshing tale is the start of a
very special trilogy featuring a Chicago-based Latina and Latino cast, and it is packed with emotion, humor,
and memorable characters. Fans of Samantha Chase will enjoy this heart-tugging love story by a promising
newcomer.--Amy Alessio
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Alessio, Amy. "His Perfect Partner." Booklist, 15 Sept. 2017, p. 34. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A507359892/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=c5c97b70.
Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A507359892
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His Perfect Partner
Publishers Weekly.
264.35 (Aug. 28, 2017): p112.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
* His Perfect Partner
Priscilla Oliveras. Zebra, $4.99 mass market (330p) ISBN 978-1-4201-4428-4
Oliveras 's outstanding debut tangles romance into family life in present-day Oakton, 111. Dancer and
teacher Yazmine Fernandez left Broadway behind to care for her ailing father, Reynaldo. Single father
Tomas Garcias and his young daughter, Maria, struggle to balance Tomas 's advertising career with Maria's
needs. Tomas is sure romantic love does not exist and is convinced his impulsive attraction to Yaz is a
mistake. Though strongly attracted to Tomas in return, Yaz is still smarting from betrayal in New York and
feels her duty to her father comes first. However, they inevitably draw closer as Yaz helps with Maria's
childcare and Tomas supports Yaz through her father's illness. Helping each other leads them to reconsider
their narrow ideas of the future, and to find love together. The realistic, multifaceted characters have
interesting nuances, and Oliveras never stoops to employing contrived misunderstandings, instead creating
real obstacles with meaning and depth. Moving familial relationships and splashes of Puerto Rican culture
round out this splendid contemporary and bode well for the future of the series. Agent: Rebecca Strauss,
DeFiore & Company. (Oct.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"His Perfect Partner." Publishers Weekly, 28 Aug. 2017, p. 112. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A502652636/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=e29416c9.
Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A502652636
Review: Resort to Love, by Priscilla Oliveras
Jun 12, 2018 10:00:00 AM / by Ana Coqui
Resort to Love by Priscilla Oliveras is the third book in Tule’s Paradise Key multi-author series about a set of friends who return to the Floridian island where they all met for the funeral of a dear friend. Each of the books can be read as standalones. Like Oliveras’s previous novels it features a Puerto Rican heroine and it is a sweet and sexy closed door romance that is not lacking in sexual tension. Oliveras’s recurring core theme of balancing faith, family and love in order find happiness drives this story of ex-lovers reunited as rivals in a real-estate transaction.
Sofía Vargas grew up spending her summers with her Tía Mili on Paradise Key, eventually joining her aunt as a summer worker at the Paradise Key Beach Resort. It was at Paradise Key where she first met Nate Hamilton, son of the resort owners, sent to Paradise Key to learn the family business from the bottom up. Always aware of the huge gulf between them, Sofía set up the boundaries for their romance, as simply “no strings, just fun”. They spent their summers sharing picnics on the beach, and dances in the moonlight. Eventually after they both left Paradise Key for college and then careers in the hospitality industry, flirty texts, frequent phone calls, romantic getaways weekends kept their connection alive if undefined until the day that Nate came to let her know that his family expected him to propose to daughter of business partner as a way of solidifying a potential business merger. Never wanting to be the cause of division in his family she cut ties with Nate then and there.
Two years later and newly freed from the engagement he never wanted and once again on the outs with his overbearing father, Nate finds himself exiled back to Florida. Sent on fact-finding mission, to assess potential real estate targets for acquisition, Nate is sidetracked when he runs into Sofía outside the shuttered and storm-damaged Paradise Key Resort, which his family had sold off many years earlier. The awkwardness of their uncomfortable reunion is magnified when they realize they are both planning on submitting rival bids to re-open the resort. While Sofía hopes that Nate will once again walk away, the quicker the better for her hurting heart, Nathan sees it as an opportunity to re-write history and stop letting his family dictactate his actions and reclaim his life and love.
Oliveras does a wonderful job portraying Sofía’s Puerto Rican heritage, and how Sofía’s sense of family extends beyond her immediate family, to include her friends and can even encompass her relationship with her boss and business mentor Sal and his wife Vivi. By contrast, Nate’s is a loveless business venture masquerading as family, where his father seeks to dominate and micro-manages rather than encouraging and supporting. I loved how this came to play in the resolution, especially as Sofía has to reconsider how certain assumptions, omissions and decisions in both their parts were results of their very different senses of family. The reconciliation is not easy gained but Nate puts in the work through the whole novel by being there for Sofía when she most needs him, never wavering, showing his maturity and determination and taking the emotional risks. It earns him the trust that lets him pull of a big romantic gesture with a high potential for failure at the 11th hour.
The one sour note in this novel is the cartoonishly stereotypical (although not mean-spirited) portrayal of Paul, the sole gay character in the book. Paul is Sofía’s trusted assistant hotel manager, who is juggling managing several properties on his own while Sofía is away yet his flamboyant and gregarious personality is played for comic relief. Had there been more LGBT characters in the book, it wouldn’t have stood out, but there is only one other character, Vida, the spacey-hippyish town planning board member, that has their mannerisms or way of dress are singled out in this way. It was disappointing but mercifully brief.
The one stand-out supporting character in the novel is Sofía’s Tia Mili, who I hope returns in her own solo novella or novel. Widowed young, she has built a life for herself in the community she shared with her beloved husband David. Despite the loss she is vibrantly joyful and wise, and successful small business owner. I would love to see her find love again.
Resort to Love was a emotional read that balanced angst with humor for sweet and hopeful romance about valuing family and knowing when to risk it all by laying everything out on the table.