September 18, 2015

Review of Rocky Road to Romance

The Rocky Road to RomanceThe author of so many spectacularly successful mystery novels featuring the inimitable Stephanie Plum, #1 New York Times bestselling author Janet Evanovich displays a more playfully romantic side with The Rocky Road to Romance. Evanovich delights with a classic, pre-Plum contemporary romance novel that’s sure to please—a lighthearted tale of three-way love affair involving a radio “dog lady”-turned-traffic reporter, her handsome program director, and a huge couch potato canine named Bob.

From the Back Cover

Her tall, dark, and deliciously dangerous boss . . .

When the delightful, daffy Dog Lady of station WZZZ offered to take on the temporary job of traffic reporter, Steve Crow tried to think of reasons to turn Daisy Adams down. Perhaps he knew that sharing the close quarters of a car with her for hours would give the handsome program director no room to resist her quirky charms. He'd always favored low-slung sportscars and high-heeled women, but that was before he fell for a free spirit who caught crooks by accident, loved old people and pets, and had just too many jobs!

Loving Daisy turned Steve's life upside down, especially once he adopted Bob, a huge dog masquerading as a couch potato. But was Daisy finally ready to play for keeps?
The Rocky Road to Romance (Elsie Hawkins #4)Bark's Book Nonsense rated it 3 of 5 stars

I picked this oldie out of the bag of audios rattling around in my hatch because I wanted something fluff filled for my latest car read and that’s exactly what I got. If you’ve read any of her romances you’ll know what I mean. They’re fun while you’re listening but pretty forgettable once finished.

sarafem rated it 3 of 5 stars

As with most romance novels, I found it a little condescending and obnoxious that things moved so quickly and yet so perfectly. Suspension of belief is one thing, overdoing a fairy tale that makes me uncomfortable in the first place is a whole other.

Carrie rated it 4 of 5 stars

The story contains many romance cliches which are stripped down to the bare essentials. None of the characters, including the dog, and few of the situations are believable, but they're fun. Several of these early works have a hero that falls in love instantly and decides he's going to marry the heroine.
Native aspects

Steve Crow is an Indian--a full-blooded one, I think. He's described as a classic bad boy with brooding good looks.

He and his family are oil tycoons, which suggests they're Osage Indians. Judging by how Crow buys a house and an SUV for cash, they're multimillionaires. Which makes his job as a radio station manager, worrying about traffic reports, a little unbelievable.

Crow never says or does anything "Native." Daisy meets his parents, but they're no different from other rich people. The most we learn about Crow's Native background is when he talks about visiting his grandfather. Grandfather lived in a trailer on the reservation, for some reason, and imparted words of wisdom to young Crow.

Anyway, Evanovich's portrayal of Crow isn't bad. As you'd expect of a handsome young rich man, he's cocky and spoiled--used to getting his way. His main attraction to Daisy seems to be lust, not love. All this is a refreshing change from the usual stoic veteran/warrior/tortured soul.

As for the rest of the book, Steve and Daisy both seem a little shallow, so perhaps they deserve each other. Steve's macho protectiveness, which he can afford only because he's rich, gets annoying. But parts of the book are, as they say, a hoot. Rob's rating: 7.5 of 10.

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