Marina Adair
July 28, 2020
Kensington Books
Blurb: Growing up the lone Asian in a community of WASPs, Annie has always felt out of place. Her solution? Start a family of her own. Not easy when every man she’s dated, including her ex-fiancé, finds “his person” right after breaking up with Annie. Even worse than canceling the wedding eight weeks beforehand? Learning the “other woman” plans to walk down the aisle wearing her wedding gown. New plan–find a fresh, man-free start. Too bad her exit strategy unexpectedly lands her working at a hospital in Rome, Rhode Island, rather than Rome, Italy, and sharing a cabin with a big, brooding, and annoyingly hot male roommate.
Home on medical leave after covering a literally explosive story in China, investigative photojournalist Emmitt embarks on his most important assignment–cementing his place in his daughter’s life. Three men and a baby might work in the movies, but with a stepdad and devoted uncle competing for Paisley’s attention, Emmitt has lost his place at the family table. Then there’s the adorably sexy squatter in his cabin, who poses another problem, one he’d very much like to solve up close and personal. But he can’t win–Annie has sworn off men, Paisley’s gone boy crazy, and Emmitt’s estranged father reappears with a secret that changes everything.
Annie and Emmitt are about to discover love comes in many forms, and sometimes the best families are the ones we make.
Purchase Links:
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Every once in a while (or more) I want to read a happy book with some substance that doesn’t destroy my brain cells. It shouldn’t be a lot to ask, but sometimes they are so hard to find. Fortunately, there is Marina Adair. I haven’t read a lot of her books (which means I should probably check out her previous books), but they’ve always left me feeling happy–much like RomeAntically Challenged did.
Annie has the unfortunate position of being the starter girlfriend. Men date her and then immediately find the loves of their lives leaving Annie alone. After her last disaster with her ex-fiancé’s fiancée wanting to take over the wedding that Annie planned because it was perfect and her ex-fiancé not returning her portions of the down-payments, Annie just wants to get away. The position in Rome seems like a dream come true. Until she discovers it’s Rome, RI, not Italy.
Recently injured in a factory explosion in China, Emmitt returns home to discover that there is a woman–Annie–staying in his house. Sparks of a different kind explode.
Annie and Emmitt are fun to read about with their humorous flirtation. Emmitt brings out something in Annie that hasn’t surfaced in previous relationships as Annie does in Emmitt. While Emmitt has always been a bit of a player, with Annie he’s different.
There are lots of interesting themes including what it is like to be a Vietnamese woman raised by white parents and trying to fit in somewhere without the expectations (judgements) that people make. Familial relationships are also considered: father/son, father/daughter, mother/daughter.
If you’re looking for some escapism without angst or volumes of fluff, you might give RomeAntically Challenged a try.
I won a copy of RomeAntically Challenged in a contest in exchange for an honest review.
rating:
4 butterflies and a ladybug out of 5 butterflies
Other books by Marina Adair I’ve reviewed:
Feels Like the First Time
Last Kiss of Summer
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