Keepsake

De: Amy Oliveira

Narrado por: Vanessa Vasquez, Noah B Perez

In the red corner is a six-foot-three machine of pure mass, an ex-MMA fighter with a bad attitude and fists of steel.

He is my best friend’s brother.

But Sofia is not here anymore, and all that she left me were her instructions: take care of my kids.

Not a simple task, especially when I have to open my doors to Sofia’s estranged brother.

I spent my entire life dreaming about having a family of my own, but I didn’t think it would be through loss that I would find my gain.

Three brilliant children need me, and I’ll have to learn to co-parent with a bull of a man in the China shop of my life.

We are complete opposites: I’m the "business first" workaholic in the big city with a penthouse. Then there’s Alvaro Castillo, El Toro, with callouses in his hands and ink all over his skin.

I’ll need him on my side if I want the best for these kids, but my trust isn’t something I give out easily. To make things worse, El Toro has a secret that might ring the bell of defeat in all of our lives.

Now I have everything I’ve ever wanted. But at the cost of my best friend’s life.

*This is a spicy slow burn romance. Sixteen years age gap, an ex-MMA fighter and little miss overachiever. +18.

©2023 Amy Oliveira (P)2024 Amy Oliveira

5 El Toro Stars

Wow. I'm actually kinda speechless after finishing this book. There were so many complex emotions, so many broken moments, so many wins and losses.

At its core, this was a story of family and how they can break and heal your heart, sometimes at the same time. Logan & Alvaro, although from different sides of the track and different age groups, were essentially cut from the same cloth. They had both been hurt by family and they both needed the grounding foundation of family to move forward.

My heart broke for the kids, who had been through so much trauma. I'm just glad that, although they lost much, they had a safe place to land in the end.

Vanessa Vasquez and Noah B. Perez were on point with bringing Logan and Alvaro to life.

This was an amazing story from a new to me author, and I will definitely be reading more of her back list!

Beautiful and Emotional

Keepsake is definitely one of my favorite reads of the year. Days later, I am still thinking about this story. I intentionally went into this book blind and was blown away. This story follows Logan and Alvaro. After her best friend Sophia passes away, Logan is entrusted with the guardianship of Sophia's three children. The children have been living with their grandmother, who is unhappy about the news that Logan is taking the reins. To ease her fears, the grandmother allows the children to live with Logan, but only if Alvaro, Sophia's brother, is with them.

Keepsake is an emotional rollercoaster. My heart was shattered into pieces and slowly put back together. I loved the development of Logan and Alvaro's relationship and was completely invested in their story. This book deals with loss, grief, life after loss, family dynamics, and difficult/toxic relationships, but also healing, hope, and love. Logan and Alvaro are two flawed people who formed a deep connection. They had amazing chemistry, and I loved the sizzling slow burn. Things fell into place for Logan and Alvaro. They supported each other and did what was necessary to care for the children. I love that Logan found happiness and her forever family in Alvaro.

Narration:
Vanessa Vasquez and Noah B. Perez elevated an already amazing story. I truly enjoyed their performances. They flawlessly captured every emotion, and I could not get enough. Vanessa and Noah were the perfect voices for Logan and Alvaro and really brought the characters to life.

My tear ducts got attacked

The ending attacked my tear ducts. It's so sweet and while contemporary is not usually my thing I loved this. The performances were ace and I hope we get more from this author and both amazing narrators. 💙

highly recommend

OVERALL: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
•Storyline: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
▪︎Spice Level:  🌶🌶🌶.5/ 5
•Narration:🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧/5 -dual style
•Swoon level: 🫠🫠🫠🫠/5
•Bookshelf Worthy: 📚📚📚📚📚/5
•Platform: E-book and Audiobook
•Recommend: Yes!!!
▪︎Re-read/re-listen: Sure will
•Trope: MMA fighter, Grief, Forced Proximity, Best friends brother, Age-gap.

• Thoughts:
Well, my book besties, this one is gonna stay with me for a hot min. I enjoyed this book soooooo much, it had everything in it. It takes hold of your heart, and you can't help but be sucked into this emotional and beautifully written story! I loved all of these characters and who they grow into, all of them broken and healing, and not realizing they are all healing each other. I just loved everything about this story!!

•Narrator Thoughts:
Noah B Perez was absolutely perfect for Alvaro. He nailed the character. His voice is rapsy and when he speaks.. you listen. Vanessa Vasquez oh her beautiful rich honey voice! She was straight up perfection. These narrators really did understand the assignment and did the characters the justice that was deserved.

Beautiful

This was such a beautiful and heartwarming story! This is a story about loss and grief and guilt and it will definitely take you on an emotional roller coaster!

Logan and Alvero are thrown together to take care of Alvero's late sister's kids. She was also Logan's childhood best friend. They each grow in their own way as they navigate parenthood. At the same time they are also leaning on each other for strength and courage as they grieve someone they both loved deeply. Their love was so beautiful and real and broke my heart. The build up and tension between Logan and Alvero was perfect. They were a team and supported each other fully. The ending was so perfect for this story!

AUDIO: This was narrated by Vanessa Vasquez and Noah B. Perez. These two were flawless with every emotion that was portrayed throughout this story. I loved every minute of this one!

Worth a listen

Definitely not what I usually go for but I love a bad boy and this is one I enjoyed listening too performance amazing and story line is get drama to keep you listening tree the chapters
Worth the listen

I don’t mind the parts that are cracked because they match mine.

I knew this wasn’t going to be an easy story, but I went for it. In audiobook, because it's narrated by one of my favorite duos, Vanessa Vasquez and Noah B. Perez.
Three words: So. Worth. It.

When Logan’s best friend Sofia dies, she leaves custody of her three kids to her. Logan may not know how to take care of children, but Sofia knew she would love and protect them.

With Sofia’s parents set on causing trouble and fighting her at every turn, she finds an unlikely ally: Alvaro, Sofia’s older brother. Not only does he want to help, he even moves in with her to do it.

In their own way, they make up a family. It may be unexpected, but it’s beautiful nonetheless.

Vanessa does an amazing job at voicing Logan—the woman doing the best she can while dealing with her loss. And Noah excels as Alvaro, in how tortured he is, how tormented, how guilty… It felt very raw, and I loved every second of it.

Listening to Alvaro and Logan’s relationship blossom with the kids was everything. They make mistakes, and they learn together. More importantly—they heal together. Things from the past are brought to light, and it only makes their bond more meaningful.

Logan and Alvaro have chemistry in spades. Maybe they never saw each other that way, especially since he’s sixteen years older than her, but now that they find themselves in this situation, what they have is inescapable.

If you’ve never listened to these two narrators together, they are *so* good. They give you the hotness (OMG that shower scene!) while showing you all the feelings, all the tension, the tenderness, and the love that shines through.

Get ready for a slow burn because they take their time. Get ready for some mishaps in the meantime too. But most of all, get ready for forgiveness, found family, and real love. There’s nothing better than that.

Keepsake is an emotional story of heartbreak and happiness. Of loss and love. Of fighting for what you want, and getting it in the end.

Thank you, Noah and Vanessa. Absolutely perfect narration (as usual)!