Title: His Perfect Partner Series: Matched to Perfection #1
Author: Priscilla Oliveras
Published: September 26, 2017
Genre(s): Romance: Contemporary
Page Count: 330
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:Ad executive Tomas 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 Tomas can't resist and doesn't want to let go . . .
For Yaz, good-looking workaholics like Tomas 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 papa 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 Tomas 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...
Priscilla Oliveras’ His Perfect Partner was like a fresh-from-the-oven cookie. Warm, sweet, tasty, comforting and completely satisfying. This book hits all the right spots. For anyone looking for a charming (sex-free!) romance featuring two strong, complete individuals who do their best to respect their families and Latinx heritage, this is where you need to go. I really, really needed this—like a good chocolate chip cookie.
The story opens with Tomás walking in late to his daughter’s dance class. Dance instructor Yaz has already decided to dislike him, since he’s quite obviously an absentee, workaholic single father who spends more time on his phone than raising his five-year-old daughter, Maria. Except Tomás proves to be very charming, very genuine, and…not a completely horrible father. Reluctantly, Yaz forms a friendship with Tomás, even going so far as to fill in as a babysitter when Maria’s nanny unexpectedly leaves.
Tomás and Yaz are attracted to each other, sexually and emotionally, but refuse to give their desires a name, since they’re both convinced (incorrectly) that they could never work out.
At some level, His Perfect Partner is a book that could have been resolved if the hero and heroine had communicated better. That’s not my favorite trope in any circumstance, yet I think Oliveras manages to subvert that expectation at some level. Yaz thinks she can’t be with Tomás because she believes it’s on her to be a famous dancing star, to make up for the fact that her father had to put his own dreams aside when Yaz was born. Tomás thinks he can’t be with Yaz because she’s leaving for New York and stardom soon, and he’s been burned once by an ex who put career over family. They’re convinced it could never work! Except…it totally could.
(Side note: putting career first is an acceptable thing and Oliveras doesn’t shame Tomás’ ex for that, but it’s made clear that’s not the kind of relationship he wants.)
So, obviously, there’s a lack of honesty regarding life goals, wants, and ideals between the two protagonists. However, it’s not something that a simple chat over coffee could have solved. Yaz has issues with her family that she needs to resolve individually, and I like that the author went there. Throughout the book, familia primero is a theme that gets emphasized, and I loved it a lot. Even if things between her and Tomás never worked out, Yaz still had her sisters, father, and friends to fall back on. Romances that demonstrate the importance of a support system are too few (but getting more popular!)
All in all, His Perfect Partner was a soft, delightful romance about real life. I felt like this book could actually happen, in a version of Chicago only a little different from our own. It was sweet, genuine, and loaded with vibrant characters who loved and supported each other from beginning to end. This is a very charming romance, and I’m here for it.
