Melonie Johnson – 2/5 Stars
Read this if you:
· are a rom-com junkie
· can turn a blind eye to plot holes if you love the characters
· have always wanted to live out your favourite romance tropes
Synopsis:
When Julia’s job as a writer for a popular website is threatened by company downsizing, she has to get creative. Tasked with finding a local travel location that will impress readers (and her boss), Julia stumbles upon a resort that promises to offer their guests a full romantic comedy experience. When she arrives at the resort with her friends, she immediately takes an interest in Luke, the Game Master, a secret that he hides from her as their feelings between each other begin to grow. Julia is also hiding her true identity – the journalist who is there to provide exposure for the new resort.
My thoughts on the book:
I hate using the word cheesy to describe romance novels but this book was precisely that. There were too many cliches (everyone is haunted by their parents’ poor relationships, randomly placed marriage proposals, etc.), even for a book that was meant to be full of rom-com cliches. I felt as though this book had so much potential and I loved the characters and their development but it just didn’t land for me. Everything felt so forced and rushed and while the premise of the retreat was cute, it didn’t seem very thought out and some things didn’t make much sense.