Anchored Hearts

Oliveras keeps up the tropical vibes of Island Affair in her lukewarm second Keys of Love romance. When Anamaría Navarro’s high school sweetheart, Alejandro Miranda, left Key West to travel the world more than 10 years ago—leaving behind both his family and her shattered heart—Anamaría swore she’d never speak to him again. Now 30 and working in the family trade as a firefighter and paramedic while building her burgeoning personal fitness brand, Anamaría feels her life is finally coming together. But when a hiking accident forces Alejandro, now a famous photographer, back home to recuperate, Anamaría and Alejandro struggle to deny the spark that reignites between them while juggling their families’ expectations for their future, and their own assumptions about their past. Watching the underdeveloped exes dance around their feelings grows tiring as their dithering drags on, but Oliveras’s authentic portrayal of Latinx family life and picturesque descriptions of the Keys keep the pages turning. This sunny rom-com won’t melt hearts, but it’s good for an armchair getaway. [em]Agent: Rebecca Strauss, DiFiore & Co. (May.) [/em]