With talent, heart, and ambition to spare, the Fernandez sisters have each followed their own unique path, even when it leads to surprising destinations—in life and love . . .
Growing up, Lilí María Fernandez was affectionately known as the family “wild child.” The life of the party, she loved to dance, especially salsa, merengue, and bachata, and often sang beside her father during rehearsals for his trío group. But tragedy and loss have drawn out Lilí’s caretaking side, compelling her to become a victim’s advocate. These days, the special rhythms of the past seem like a distant memory. Until she meets Diego Reyes . . .
A police officer with the Chicago PD, Diego also has a talent for playing classical Spanish guitar. And Lilí soon finds herself inspired by his passion—for the music, for her, and for their shared love of familia and community. Can Diego reignite Lilí’s fun-loving spirit, persuade her to balance work and pleasure—and embrace her wild side once more?
Release Date: Nov 27, 2018
Series: Matched to Perfection
Book: 3
Heat Level: Sensual
Publisher: Kensington
Imprint: Zebra Shout
Price: $3.99
A good story, but I wasn’t as engaged as I’d like.
Oliveras’s new story Their Perfect Melody is a blend of inner city life with real issues amid a cop and a victim’s advocate falling in love. For me this story had a slow start and challenged me to finish.
As for characters, both hero and heroine are feisty and stubborn. They meet with heroine, Lili Fernandez literally running into Diego Reyes as they are both trying to do their jobs. There’s a minor case of insta-lust, but it’s paired with a little distaste as they clash. Diego sees Lili as someone who puts herself in unnecessary danger. Lili finds Diego’s protective nature distasteful and similar to her family’s tendency of dismissing her as being capable of handling herself since she’s too wild by nature and the youngest of three sisters.
What worked for me? The characters, the backgrounds, and the diverse experience brought by Oliveras to this story. I gained new insight, learned some new words, and found an appreciation for living in the city of Chicago. Not to mention an appreciation of Puerto Rican culture. The characters each had plenty of spirit and unique talents that really appealed to me. I love Lili’s strong nature and can appreciate her desire to show people how she is more than capable of doing the job she signed up for. Additionally, this is a sweet romance with some super sexy kissing scenes, but bedroom action is closed door.
What didn’t work? The pacing. Things started off slow, picked up speed, and then kept ebbing and flowing too much. I found myself able to walk away and not nearly gripped to turn the pages and see what came next. It took me more than two weeks to finish this book when I can read some in hours. Also, the external conflict resolved pretty quickly, and our hero Diego didn’t grovel as much as I thought he should. Finally, my other big question was how the heroine, Lili, grew. Besides her natural inclination to shy away from dating cops, I didn’t see much growth in her character at all.
Overall, I thought the story was decent. I finished the book and cared enough about the characters to do so. Some of my challenges with the story may have come from this being the third book in the series. I may have been more invested if I’d read earlier books in the series, though this story works as a standalone. This won’t be the last time I read Oliveras and I think this story works for those who like a touch of reality to their romance.
~ Landra
Amazon | iBooks | B&N | Kobo | Google Play