Blurb

Levi Grainger needs a break. As a reality show star, he’s had enough of the spotlight and being edited into a walking stereotype. When he returns home after the last season of Trip League, he expects to spend time with his family, only to learn his sister is coming back from her deployment in a flag-draped casket. Devastated, Levi decides the best way to grieve will be to go off grid and hike the Appalachian Trail—a trip he'd planned to do with his sister.

His solitary existence on the trail is interrupted when he meets Thad, a quiet man with a hard body and intense eyes. Their connection is stronger than anything Levi has ever experienced. But when Levi discovers the truth about what Thad is hiking to escape, their future together looks uncertain, and uncertainty is the last thing Levi needs...

I've read and reviewed the previous three books in this series of NA road trip mm romances and my favourite so far is Focus on Me which tells Colin and Riley. This one, the story of the reality TV star Levi and mysterious and quiet Thad he meets while hiking the Appalachian Trail comes in a close second place, and I'd even say rather it is a tie with Focus on Me.

It's a very emotionally intense story, my favourite type of romance - lots of heat with lots of deep feelings. 

Levi was grieving and Thad was at a crossroads in his life, both at vulnerable positions, they had to work through a lot of feelings, fears, dreams, hopes. Their unlikely pairing on the Appalachian Trail really helped them move on, accept some things (about themselves and the others), make decisions about the future. 

I'm very happy to see that Levi is not the spoiled celebrity he seemed to be when we first met him in the previous book. There is so much about him that is hidden behind the surface and the reader gets to see it he gradually opens up to Thad. 

They are complete opposites on the surface, Levi is outgoing and talkative and friendly and very much obviously gay who can't pass for straight. Thad is everything Levi isn't - he is quiet and broody and doesn't like people and could easily be mistake for straight. They become unlikely companions on a physically and mentally demanding trip which they both have undertaken for painful personal reasons. 

I liked how the chemistry between them was there from the start, ready to burst out yet not quite until it finally does. They don't fall into a relationship right away, but rather form an unexpected friendship which becomes a source of comfort and support they both desperately needed. Levy and Thad grow and change in the course of the story, each helping the other see his true potential. 

I have only one minor quibble with this story and it has to do with some of the presentation and discussions of the characters' sexuality. It felt forced, too focused on sending a message for acceptance and social justice. I had the same feeling regarding J. R.'s bisexuality in Out of Frame.

This story has the perfect ending and it made me so happy. I loved the sense of community, support and most importantly, hope for the future it gave to all the characters in this series. 

Title: Roman Holiday: The Complete Adventure
Author: Ruthie Knox
Date of publication: 25 March 2014
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Author's links: Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads
Purchase links: Amazon / B&N / iBooks / Kobo

My rating: 4 stars



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'm a big fan of Ms Knox contemporary romances and this one didn't disappoint. Her Camelot series is one the my favourite reads of the past year.

This is a standalone book which was initially released as a serial with 10 parts. This review covers the complete story. Ms Knox tells an amazing roller-coaster romance between two very interesting and unusual characters. One the main strengths of Ms Knox's writing is her character depiction - she creates these complex, unique people who feel very real and easy to relate to.

It's enemies-to-lovers story between Ashley, who grieving the loss of her grandmother and the hotel which she had sold to Roman, the hero, who is this mysterious Cuban entrepreneur. They are complete opposites, at least so it seems, but as the story unfolds and they open up more and more with each other, we see that they are rather similar - both are lost, both strive to gain other people's love and appreciation. They just reacted to the pain in their lives in completely opposite ways - she had thrown herself into anything, desperately trying fit in and to please everyone, to be what they needed her to be. He, on the other hand, had chosen to lock himself tight and not to care about anybody but himself.

Ms Knox told their journey to one another with compassion and understanding. The gradual change of the characters was cnvincingly presented. Their relationship grew slowly despite Ashley's reluctance to give in to her desire for Roman, and even more, Roman's strong, almost painful resistance to allow himself to feel anything for her.

The road-trip as a journey of self-discovery and true love is an often used trope and I can say it worked well here. Being on the road, dealing with more than one stressful situation and unexpected obstacle, meeting friends and strangers, it all help Roman and Ashley re-evaluate their lives. 

There is a secondary romantic plot - between Noah, Roman's best friend and Carmen, Roman's ex-girlfriend. It was not very well developed and though it was nice and I was not really engaged in it and I found it distracting me from the main story. 

There is a cameo appearance of characters from the Camelot series, Nana with her grand-daughter Carly, her husband Jamie and baby Dora from Along Came Trouble joined Ashley and Roman on their road trip and I really enjoyed their short but sweet visit. 

My main complaint is that the book was too long, some details were unnecessary, at times the inner monologues of the main characters, Ashley in particular became repetitive and boring. The last 15 % despite the action of them and the resolutions of some of the conflicts in the story, seemed to focus too much on the same inner musings of Ashley and Roman. Their hopes and dreams, their fear and insecurities were presented in detail over and over again. In a way this reflects who pre-occupied they were wit this issues, but still it was overdone at times, and I found it annoying. 

The story has the expeted happy-end and a lovely epilogue. If you have read more of my reviews, you've probably noticed how much I love a good epilogue and this one made me a very, very happy reader.

This is definitely a recommended read for fans of Ms Knox' writing and to all the fans of contemporary romance who love a good story with interesting characters told with a touch of humour and. Did I mentioned  that it also was hot? :)