SUMMARY
Ana Travares has been looking over her shoulder her whole life. Her U.S. visa expired when she was a young girl, and if her secret is discovered, she’ll be forced to return to the Dominican Republic. Ana allowed herself to get close to someone once before—and after he broke her heart, she swore never to make the same mistake again. But when a handsome doctor asks for her assistance, she fantasizes about breaking all her rules.
Even though pediatrician Ethan Hansen is a natural when it comes to little kids, as the single father of a teenage son he just can’t seem to get it right . . . except for the Spanish tutor he’s hired for his son, Theo. Ana has managed to crack Theo’s shell—and he isn’t the only one taken with her. The sexy tutor has fired up Ethan with a potent mix of lust and protectiveness. But as he starts to envision a future with Ana, Ethan is devastated to learn the truth about her citizenship. Somehow he’s got to find a way to help her—and hold on to the woman he’s falling hopelessly in love with.
ABOUT SERENA
Serena Bell writes stories about how sex messes with your head, why smart people do stupid things sometimes, and how love can make it all better.
Serena wrote her first steamy romance before she was old enough to understand what all the words meant and has been perfecting the art of hiding pages and screens from curious eyes ever since—a skill that’s particularly useful now that she’s the mother of two school-aged children.
Serena took a break from penning love stories to explore the world as a journalist, where she spent time shadowing and writing about a cast of fascinating real-life characters.
She recently survived a cross-country move and is still plucking dishtowels out of her lingerie drawer. When she’s not scribbling stories or getting her butt kicked at Scrabble by a seven-year-old, she’s practicing modern dance improv in the kitchen, swimming laps, needlepointing, hiking, or reading on one of her large collection of electronic devices.
Jaime’s Thoughts
Yours to Keep by Serena Bell
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Ana Travares has spent the better part of her life staying in the background, never drawing attention to herself. She can’t, because if she does, someone could find out that she’s not in the U.S. legally. She came here legally, but circumstances happened and her VISA expired and fear of being sent back to the Dominican Republic has kept her quiet.
Ana has made a life for herself though, she works with adult students to teach them English and she also works as a tutor through the nearby High School. When a handsome pediatrician, Ethan Hansen, saves her from the creepy Principal, he asks for a favor. Please tutor his son who desperately needs help.
Ethan has been on his own for many years. The death of his first wife left him with a son and a busy pediatrician office. Theo, his son, has gotten the short end of the stick. Whatever time Ethan has after long work days and doing household things, is then spent with Theo… which isn’t much and Theo is rebelling.
Ana agrees despite the trouble that can only come from the budding relationship between her and Ethan and also Theo.
There really was kind of a lot going on in this story… while we’re learning about Ana and Ethan there are a few other issues. We get a side story about Ricky, Ana’s brother and the struggle that they go through as illegals in the US. We also get a bit of a story about a patient that Ethan is dealing with and of course the story of what is going on with his son. For me, it was almost too much. That being said, it was apparent why the author did this… all the things going on around them were affecting their potential relationship and we had to see that.
The story itself was well-written and Ethan is definitely swoony, but there was definitely an element of insta-love. I’m not sure if I was convinced that all this time after being alone and not being interested in anyone of note, suddenly this one person drops into his life and he is head over heels. Maybe that means I’m not a romantic or I don’t believe in love at first sight, but the progression of their relationship seemed very fast considering he was a single father… and granted his child was older, I still feel like it would have taken a bit more thought before he was talking marriage of convenience and having sleep overs.
I will say this… If you’re looking for something with a somewhat unique plot (the end was a bit predictable but the actual characters were somewhat different) with a bit of drama and a lot of sweet and swoon definitely pick up Yours To Keep. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on Serena Bell in the future.
Thank you to Loveswept and Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
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