Jen’s review of Roman Holiday: The Complete Adventure by Ruthie Knox

Ashley Bowman has always been impetuous, but even she is a little shocked when she chains herself to a palm tree in the Florida Keys hours before a hurricane is due to blow in. It’s all with the hope of saving her childhood home from a heartless Miami developer. But the moment she meets Roman Díaz she realizes he does have a heart—it’s just encased in ice. Ashley’s determined to get Roman to crack . . . even if she has to drag him all over the eastern seaboard to do it.

Roman can hardly believe he’s been talked into driving across the country with this brazen wild child in a skimpy bikini. He tells himself he had no choice—Ashley insists he meets the elderly snowbirds whose community will be displaced by his career-making development deal. But in truth he knows that there’s something about Ashley that makes him want to get a little wild himself . . . and the closer they get, the more tempted he becomes.

I hate serials. It makes me cranky and frustrated to have to wait for another installment of a story I’m invested in, so despite the fact that I have enjoyed past Ruthie Knox books, I shied away from her serially published Roman Holiday. Now that all the episodes have been published as a complete set, though, I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did.

The story opens with Ashley Bowman chaining herself to a palm tree in an attempt to prevent the demolition of her deceased grandmother’s Florida rental property by real estate developer, Roman Diaz. Knowing he can’t afford the bad publicity, Ashley is able to negotiate a truce, and it sets off a series of circumstances that throws the two together on an unexpected road trip. Right from the start, Ashley and Roman seem to be at opposite ends of the universe. Ashley is flighty and lacks direction in her life, but she has a huge heart and cares immensely for those around her. Roman has an almost laser-like professional focus for himself, but he’s closed off and virtually emotionally paralyzed. Each seems to represent the qualities the other most despises in life, and they are constantly at each other’s throats. The more time they spend together, though, the more they learn that the other is more complex than they thought.

Roman Holiday is kind of a classic epic story. Ashley and Roman essentially go on a quest to resolve this issue of what to do with the property, though like any great quest the actual purpose turns out to be much  more meaningful. On that quest they encounter various characters who both contribute to or try to disrupt their journey, and, most importantly, they go through their own personal transformations. In the end, both see themselves, the world, and each other much differently. Ashley has to deal with her complicated grief about her grandmother’s death. Roman has to come to terms with his own terrible background. Both have to figure out who they are apart from the definitions and limits others have imposed on them. I loved that this story is just as much about the personal journey each one of them has to make as it is about how they come together.

The story was not easy at first, however. I really disliked both Ashley AND Roman for a good chunk of the book! Ashley is annoying and self-righteous at the start. I struggle to sympathize when characters make stupid decisions, and Ashley seemed to make a lot of them early on. Roman was unlikable too–he was so out-of-touch with emotions (his own and others’) that it was bizarre and off-putting. As each character is slowly revealed and explored, I grew to understand and appreciate both of them more. As with most epics, the hero and heroine have to get torn down before they can get built back up. Roman in particular kind of falls apart, losing his clothes, his girlfriend, his pristine car, and even his sense of self to some extent. But after that tear down, Knox builds them back up, and that’s where the magic happens. Ashley and Roman both genuinely grow and change during the story, and both end as better people than they started.

The romance is slow to develop (at least in terms of number of pages), but the payoff is just lovely. While most of the story technically takes place over the course of only about 2 weeks, this is kind of a leisurely book because it’s so long. There is a lot of intensity and interaction packed into those weeks, and Knox really explores it all in this longer format. While in the book Ashley and Roman go from enemies to lovers in only a few days, it doesn’t feel that rushed because they spend so much concentrated time together. I appreciate that they don’t “fix” each other either. They most definitely serve as inspiration for each other, and they push the other to be the best version of themselves that they can be, but Ashley and Roman both have to do the work of growing on their own. I love seeing couples that enhance, rather than complete, each other!

Roman Holiday is a complex story. In particular, I appreciated the nuanced way Knox explores the notion of family. At first the set up seems like so many other romances, where there are clear “good guys” and “bad guys” in Ashley and Roman’s past. The book reminds us that families are never perfect, however, and no one loves perfectly. People make mistakes, do hurtful things, try hard but screw up. They also love fiercely, make the best of difficult situations, and do what they think is right at the time. In other words, life is messy, complicated, and scary, which is exactly what both Ashley and Roman have to learn to cope with. The message of continuing to hope and love despite the fear and mess is really powerful and moving.

I could go on and on about this book because there is just so much more to explore–issues of race (Roman is black, of Afro Cuban descent), immigration, and gentrification; a side story focused on Roman’s ex-girlfriend, etc. It’s not perfect, of course. There were times it felt like things moved too quickly (Roman’s transformation in particular felt a little abrupt and drastic), and some of the set up is a little far-fetched. However, this story is so rich and unique that I loved it. I still don’t think I’d want to read it as a serial, but if you’re looking for a complex contemporary romance, I don’t think Roman Holiday would disappoint.

Grade: 4.75 out of 5

This book is available from Loveswept. You can purchase it here or here in e-format.  This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.