Romeo, Romeo by Robin Kaye

Rosalie Ronaldi doesn't have a domestic bone in her body...



All she cares about is her career, so she survives on take-out and dirty martinis, keeps her shoes under the dining room table, her bras on the shower curtain rod, and her clothes on the couch...



Nick Romeo is every woman's fantasy--tall, dark, handsome, rich, really good in bed, AND he loves to cook and clean...



He says he wants an independent woman, but when he meets Rosalie, all he wants to do is take care of her. Before too long, he's cleaned up her apartment, stocked her refrigerator, and adopted her dog...



So what's the problem? Just a little case of mistaken identity, corporate theft, a hidden past in juvenile detention, and one big nosy Italian family too close for comfort...





I'm finding that being asked to review can either be an absolute terror or an absolute joy. I received my copy of Romeo, Romeo in the mail today and sat down to read it. I found it quite entertaining and actually enjoyed myself. Sure, there are some issues I have with the book, but overall I really liked it.





The Bad-



I'm not Italian, though I get mistaken for it quite often. I know, there's the big Italian family, but I felt like I was reading every cliche you could find of the BIG Italian family: the harridan of a mother, the restaurant-owning cousin, the I'm-the-prettiest-sister-why-are-you-getting-laid sister, the controlling to a certain point, but overrun by his domineering wife father. Truthfully, it got a bit old. And though the overly protective big brother was thrown in too, I actually liked Rich...I'll explain why in a minute.



Rosalie-I liked her, don't get me wrong, but it seriously drives me nuts when you get a heroine who is all "I'm a corporate woman and I don't believe in marriage", but as soon as a seriously hot guy comes along, she's perfectly willing to throw that all out the window. It seriously drives me nuts.



The "mystery." Wasn't all that mysterious. And it actually wasn't a mystery at all. I could've gone without it period. It didn't really do all that much for the story.



The misunderstanding. If they'd just talked to each other for five minutes, it would've all be resolved. Instead, they suffered from "I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it-itis." Argh! *headdesk*





The Good-





And there was actually a lot of good. Nick. *sigh* Big fat dreamy la-sigh. I'm a sucker for a tall, hot guy who is secure enough in his manhood to be a Domestic God. Mrowr! LOL! And when he takes care of Lee (as he calls Rosalie) after she gets sick? *swoon* I really want a guy like that all for my own.



Rosalie-Okay, so I know I said she drove me nuts, and she did, but she also had some definite redeeming qualities. She didn't let Nick walk all over her, she also didn't let her mom walk all over her and she stepped up to the plate (for the most part) when she screwed up and needed to own up to it.



Rich-Her big brother. I'm hoping there's a story for him and (I won't say who). He's the typical big brother, but he wears it well.



Gina-Awesome! A tiny spitfire who protects her friend with a dogged determination. How can you not like someone like that?



Dave-I thought he was adorable. :)



This is a debut novel and Ms. Kaye won the Golden Heart Award from the RWA. Not too shabby. She's got a great voice and it was obvious she'd lived in Brooklyn somewhere along the line 'cuz the dialogue? Epitomized it. :)



So, all in all I really did enjoy this book. There were some great LOL moments and for the most part it was a great ride. Typical of new authors, the cliche's run pretty deep, but they're done in a way that didn't make me roll my eyes...too much.





Overall Grade: C+