A romantic romp with a twist
5 stars

We make a much anticipated return to Romeo, New York with this story, the fifth in Ms Ready’s Soul Mates in Romeo series. While one or two previous characters from the series do pop up, our hero or heroine are brand new and this book stands completely alone with its own HEA. But we get plenty of shenanigans, laughs and a surprising amount of emotion in order to get there.

As soon as Nathaniel and Izzy meet there’s a massive spark - of dislike. Especially on Nate’s side. But by circumstance, and maybe fate, the pair are stuck together and forced to spend time together before finally teaming up on a mission to win back Nathaniel’s errant girlfriend. There are definite shades of the Meg Ryan movie, French Kiss, to the idea of winning back a wayward partner, the hiding from said partner and ensuing lessons in love. But it’s different enough for me to appreciate the connection but love this story all for itself.

Izzy is the sunshiney, cheeky, seemingly flighty girl that blows into Nathaniel’s world and knocks his socks off. Well, I’m pretty sure his socks are one of the only things he has left after a couple of hours together. There are hints of a reason for Izzy’s lack of money and seemingly nomadic lifestyle, but we don’t really get clued into this until the end. She’s still funny, smart and I loved her relationship and banter with Nathaniel.

If you had to imagine a polar opposite of Izzy, Nathaniel is who you would picture. He’s a straight laced, rigid, planner type who never deviates from his schedule. His exasperation with Izzy is comedy gold but I also loved the way he slowly starts to change and slowly starts to appreciate the singular brilliance of her made my heart soar.

Although Nathaniel’s girlfriend has run off with another man, Nathaniel is determined to get her back. There could be some grey areas there about whether he was free to start something with Izzy, but I was happy with the way it was written and I think the pair only kissed before Nathaniel realised what his heart really wanted. There is still some sex towards the end of the book but by that time I was already so invested in Nathaniel and Izzy that the sex was a nice bonus but not actually necessary.

As I’ve come to expect from Sarah Ready in this series, it was an absolute hoot. It was silly but still believable and there was a great blend of physical comedy, banter and just downright shenanigans. I laughed so much and had such a great time.

By the time we got towards the end and I was looking forward to everything being wrapped up in a pretty, romantic bow, I had this book pegged as easily my favourites of the year so far. And then there was a slight, well, twist, I suppose. I’m never a fan of a couple that take time apart before the happily ever after but I could have endured that… but the other stuff broke my heart just a touch. I was a sodden, weeping mess before we came to the HEA. We get one, and I was happy, but I wasn’t amused at the emotional trauma I had to go through to get there. That pushed this down to a solid 5 star read but that is all!

I’m so happy to have spent more time in Romeo, New York and that, of course, famed matchmaker Miss Erma was once again right in her predictions of love. I would have preferred a little less reality but this is still a great read and one I would highly recommend for romance and romantic comedy readers. Easily 5 stars. ( )