Their Perfect Melody
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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781420144307 |
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| Publisher: | Kensington |
| Publication date: | 11/27/2018 |
| Series: | Matched to Perfection Series , #3 |
| Pages: | 352 |
| Sales rank: | 1,156,697 |
| Product dimensions: | 4.10(w) x 6.70(h) x 1.00(d) |
About the Author
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Their Perfect Melody
4.1 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
7 reviews.
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I really like this family and have enjoyed all three of the sisters' stories. I'm actually sad that this is the conclusion to this trilogy as I will miss the Fernandez family. I love how family-centered this series is and how skillfully Oliveras twines both family life and Puerto Rican culture throughout. I mentioned in the first interview that although I'm not Puerto Rican there are still many aspects of the family dynamics of the Fernandez sisters that I completely relate to.
Lilí and Diego start out butting heads a lot. They both bring their own issues from their pasts to the relationship and those issues spark mistrust and misunderstanding. They are undeniably attracted to one another, but run into conflict because of their prior experiences. Eventually, they start communicating in ways that help them to better understand one another and are able to move forward. Lilí's sisters, Yazmine and Rosa, are present throughout this book and the reader gets to continue watching their sibling bonds strengthen and grow as they did through the first two books.
If you're a fan of contemporary romance you can't go wrong with this delightful trilogy.
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I was waiting for Their Perfect Melody to come out before starting the series (I already had the first two), but I couldn't resist and read this first. Yes, Virginia, I read out of order. Horrors!
I didn't have any problems with the introduction of several characters who already had their stories told in previous books. Yaz and Rosa's presence here, along with their respective partners, actually made me want to read their books even more. I'm an older sister so I relate very well with the two of them in the way they behaved towards Lili. Truth is, as a Filipino, I can relate to a lot of elements in Priscilla's stories: strong family ties, female friendship, music, food, and yes, even Diego's machismo.
I really liked that both Lili and Diego are good people with noble intentions. While that stemmed from their jobs, it's also because of people in their lives. They're both strong-willed characters with enough vulnerabilities to balance their personalities.
Some heavy subjects were tackled in this book - domestic violence and drug use among them, but there were also lighthearted moments like the baseball game and all the teasing and matchmaking.
I enjoyed this book primarily because of Priscilla's writing. I have much admiration for her work in using #ownvoices to celebrate her culture and share it with the romance-reading public.
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CW: partner/domestic violence, assault, substance abuse and recovery, grief, reference to past rape
Oliveras excels in bringing her characters to life. Lilí and Diego are strongly developed, although they drove me nuts in places, and their chemistry was palpable from the moment they met. They’re both devoted to their families and their work and it was fascinating to see how that devotion could put them at odds. They don’t start off on the right foot but life keeps bringing their paths together and in turn, their respect and interest grows.
The Puerta Rican family at the center of this trilogy is the best part. I loved Lilí’s sisters and cousin! True, Yaz and Rosa could be overbearing and overprotective but by the end, they come to see Lilí’s strength and are able to back off a bit and trust she knows what she’s doing.
Diego’s relationship with his sister Lourdes was much more complex due to how he’s dealt with her substance abuse. He thinks he knows exactly what she needs to do to get on the right path but that puts an understandable strain on their relationship. Suffice it to say, Diego has a lot to learn and I really liked how this was handled, although I could have done with less of his macho attitude getting there.
Lilí and Diego are largely adversarial through the story, either fighting with each other, fighting their attraction, or staying locked up in their own fears and worries instead of trusting the other person. The inevitable fallout made sense and I was relieved Diego’s grand gesture was about a promise of the relationship, not a huge declaration of love. They need to just date for a while.
This leads me to where the story suffers: the depiction of domestic violence and the portrayal of Lilí’s job as a victim’s advocate.
Lilí did so many things you should not do if you work for a domestic violence agency or women’s shelter and it hurt my social worker heart. Time and again Lilí ignores normal procedures, which are there to keep employees and clients safe. I believe this is supposed to make us see her as compassionate and dedicated to her job but all I could see was the severe lack of boundaries and ethical violations. She’s essentially building codependent relationships with her clients. She also took so many unnecessary risks, like going to a victim’s home to pick up their belongings without a police escort.
If this wasn’t enough, there’s also a fair amount of victim-blaming that’s never challenged, not even by Lilí who is our presumed expert. I would have liked more exploration of why people stay in abusive relationships and I would have especially liked for Diego’s assumptions to be handed to him on a silver platter. Cops can certainly benefit from education and I would have hoped he would have had a better understanding, since his own family had been affected by partner violence.
I enjoyed Diego and Lilí’s romance overall and if not for these issues, I would have given it a higher rating. But alas, the issues are there. I’d point you to Oliveras’s other work first.
Disclosure: I received an advanced copy from Zebra Shout in exchange for an honest review.
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I've received a ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
What's better than a Latin romance? Their Perfect Melody. The chemistry between the characters are undeniable and the storyline is top notch. TPM tells the story about how family always comes first and most importantly, love. I couldn't put this book down. Definitely a must read!
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the youngest fernández sister, lilí meets her match in diego reyes in their perfect melody. at cross purposes when they first meet when trying to manage a domestic violence situation, he's a cop with the chicago pd and she helps run a center for battered women.
they are both principled and strong-willed, and have so much in common that it's crazy how often they find themselves on opposite sides of an argument. mainly it's because where lilí is reckless and impulsive and giving, diego is cautious and overprotective and strong. but they have such a strong sense of social conscience and justice.
at the end of the day, they make perfect sense together. and having them figure all that out is just lovely to read. i will miss this family, but can't wait to see what is next for this author, her books are one-click buys for me.
**their perfect melody will publish on november 27, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/kensington books (zebra shout) in exchange for my honest review.
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I haven't read the other books in this series and although this was a stand-alone it did mention other characters from previous books and, as with most series, it probably would have been nice to have read them first. But it didn't really detract from the story.
This book is about Lili and Diego. Lili is the youngest of the sisters from previous books, and works in a centre helping women in need. Diego is a cop. They meet when one of Lili's clients from the centre is attacked by her husband and calls Lili to help, along with the police. Lili and Diego immediately clash, but as the book goes on they warm to one another. It turns out that Diego also helps out at a centre Lili also helps out at, Diego with guitar lessons and Lili with self-defence classes. So they are both caring people helping those less fortunate in their community.
Diego did think he knew best a lot of the time though and instead of letting Lili just do her job he tried to protect her from various situations, which was a bit annoying as she was more than capable of looking after herself most of the time. But he came around eventually.
A light, quick, enjoyable read.
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Well written, heart warming romance
Their Perfect Melody is a wonderful addition to Priscilla Oliveras' Matched to Perfection series. While this book does read well as a stand alone after reading the book you'll want to read more about this wonderful caring family of sisters.
Lili and Diego have a great first meet ( which I won't spoil). I loved how their instant attraction developed into so much more. The author does a very satisfying job of showing a little of that sexual chemistry before the bedroom door closes. There was a subplot regarding Diego's sister Lourdes that I thought was handled very thoughtfully. It was also great to see what Lili's sisters and their families are up to. I look forward to reading many more of Pricilla Oliveras' books in the future.
I received an advance reader copy via Netgalley.
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