My Thoughts:
When I saw Romancing Miss Stone on Netgalley, I immediately requested it. I loved Romancing the Stone, and I was hoping this would share the same campy humor. I really enjoyed it, and found Alex’s and Bo’s adventures fun. I loved the juxtaposition between Alex’s leap first and maybe, just maybe look after, and Bo’s anxiety ridden, plan everything to a T personality. It’s no wonder they clashed at first, as Bo’s complete lack of derring-do had Alex counting the minutes until she could dump him off at his final destination.
Alex is at one of the lowest points in her life. Her scumbag of an ex has drained her bank accounts and disappeared, a loan shark is threatening to ruin her reputation if she doesn’t come up with a sizeable payment on the loan she owes him, and she’s still grieving the death of her father. When Bo approaches her to guide him across Belize to the archeological dig his ex fiancé is working at, she thinks her prayers are answered. If she can put up with his uptight attitude, she just might be able to crawl out from under her massive debt and get her tour company back on solid footing.
This was a lot of fun. Alex and Bo are complete opposites, and they both get on each other’s nerves. Bo was so relatable for me: he is anxious, plans for every contingency, and finds comfort in his boring routine. He is shocked when his fiancé dumps him via text and promptly blocks him, and he’s bound and determined to figure out why. He uncharacteristically hops on a plane to Belize, determined to discover what he’d done wrong and to win Destiny back. I kept wondering why why why would he go to so much trouble for such an unworthy person, but that’s part of his personality. Even his sister pegged Destiny as selfish and hardly a suitable partner for her brother.
I loved how Alex constantly needled Bo at the beginning. She is hardly one to worry about a plan when she has a goal in mind. She focuses on that, and just makes things happen to force the outcome she wants. When she initially takes advantage of Bo’s misunderstanding about which currency they are negotiating in, she feels just the teeniest twinge of guilt. He is going to get what he wants, and she is going to be able to to make a payment against her loan. However, as she gets to know him, she starts to feel bad about taking advantage of him.
One thing that did frustrate me was the lack of communication between them further in the book. I get that Alex is still smarting after she’s been swindled, and Bo still wants to find out how he erred with Destiny, but he started to realize he didn’t want her back. I wish Alex had leveled with him about her outstanding debt and her hesitancy to trust again after the fiasco that was her previous relationship. And that Bo had been upfront about his reason for wanting to speak with Destiny.
That nitpick aside, this was a fun read, with an interesting setting. Alex’s devil-may-care attitude in the midst of the dangers of the jungle was a refreshing change. This leaned heavily on Romancing the Stone, but with the female lead playing the intrepid explorer. Her lack of fear and quest for adrenalin rushes was the perfect foil for her less than enthusiastic travel mate. I really enjoyed this road trip romance.
About the Book:
Title: Romancing Miss Stone
Author: M.C. Vaughan
Publisher: Harlequin
Pages: 288
Format: eBook
Source: eARC
Rating: 4 Stars
From the back of the book:
His perfectly planned life is about to go wild.
By-the-numbers Bo Ferguson has his future all planned. Then his archaeologist fiancée dumps him. Via text. From Belize. Navigating the rainforest to win her back is way out of Bo’s comfort zone, but so is the idea of starting over. Fortunately, he’s secured a tour guide willing to lead him into the unmapped jungle. Unfortunately, she’s annoying, impulsive—and attractive as hell.
Jungle expert Alexandra Stone is in no position to turn down a job after her regrettable ex stole everything from her family business and ran. Sure, Bo might be frustratingly uptight, but Alex needs the money. And besides, there’s something…fun about pushing the guy’s adorably rigid buttons, especially when it clearly gets a rise out of him.
But the close confines of their shared camp make it hard to ignore the tension beneath the bickering, prompting the sweltering heat between them to erupt into sweaty, wild passion. Bo can’t deny his brief time with Alex has been the most exciting of his life. But the journey they’re on still leads to one place—his ex-fiancée—forcing Bo and Alex to confront their pasts, their fears and the question of just where this adventure will take them…
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