Once Upon a Romance review by Robyn Roberts
Boy: Mystery author who took a bet to write a romance in 6 months in order to live rent free for a year. Major writers block...until...
Girl: Widowed by cheating husband, raising her husband's 18 year-old sister on her own. Looking for a chance to be free and no longer bound by the rules she's always followed. Rents an RV and takes off for a couple weeks of R&R. Who knew that wishes made on birthday cakes really might come true?
I truly enjoyed this whole book. There is so much irony going on the whole time. C.J. wants to find a way to stop her pseudo-daughter, Susan, from marrying at the young age of 18. She also wants to go back to school and spend time just being on her own without a man to rule her life. She went straight from a controlling father to a controlling husband. So now, widowed at age 29, she's ready to be on her own. So meeting Nick is perfect because he's a no-strings-attached, I don't want a commitment from a woman sort of a guy.
Overall rating: 4.25
Finding Mr. Romantic starts with Celeste blowing out the candles on her 29th birthday cake. She has one wish on this birthday: I wish I'd meet a man who would turn my life into a sizzling romance novel. She has no idea that she is about to get just that.
Nick Dennis is rusticating away in a rickety old trailer of his cousin's, trying to win a bet by writing a romance novel. When he meets his neighbor, who is a damsel in distress from their first meeting, he figures that she would be wonderful research material for his book.
What ensues is a great romantic comedy in which I alternated between laughing and groaning out loud. Some of the things that Nick did just to get Celeste's attention were so out there, and yet they were so sweet; he could've melted a stone. He could act completely serious and sincere for one minute, and then the next, he is this quirky guy just trying to get Celeste to let her hair down. What better way to meet your soul mate than on a vacation of self-discovery?!
I loved this book. It is fast paced and funny, with a very nice plot and fun lead characters. Betty Jo Schuler has written a masterpiece with Finding Mr. Romantic and made a true fan out of me.
Kristal Gorman, Romance Reader at Heart Reviewer
www.romancereaderatheart.com
This reviewer enjoyed the dialog and the characters' ping-pong game of falling in love. Betty Jo Schuler has written a sweet romance with just enough passion to carry it along to the very end. I look forward to more stories from her. As there were other characters in this story with budding romances and their own emotional plights, it would be fun to see how their stories turned out. I think that the author should continue and pen their stories as well. And I look forward to reading them! In the end I must let everyone know who reads this book, that you'll need a box of tissues handy for its emotional ending.
Read the entire review from Romance Junkies Reviewer Carol
