Review by Veronica

Series Name: Belize Dreams, # 1

Laughter sprang from this woman as easy as sunshine, and he enjoyed the hell out of her levity. More than he should. 

Romancing Miss Stone is a fun and easy adventure romance, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a sweet escape this summer. 

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… 

This book just sounded too good to pass up. How could I say no to a romance novel with Romancing The Stone vibes? Romancing Miss. Stone was everything I wanted it to be. It was a fun and delightful read, and I enjoyed every moment. This book is told from both Bo’s and Alex’s POV, and I am so glad I could see what was going on inside both of these characters’ heads. I loved both Alex and Bo right from the moment I met them, and it was great getting to see that internal battle going on in their heads as they tried to fight those growing romantic feelings that they had for each other. Bo might be one of my favourite book boyfriends from this year. He is so endearing and loveable and such a sweetheart. I wanted to find his ex-fiancé and bonk her on the nose for being such a terrible person to him. Alex prides herself on being independent and never asks for help. Her ex-boyfriend has stolen all her money and left her in some serious debt. She feels foolish for putting her full trust in someone who turns out to be only using her. 

Now, this is an adventure romance, and bookworms, be warned things that happen in this book would only occur in romance land. It’s not a completely bonkers read, but things do happen that may not make sense if you think about it too much. That is not bad in my eyes; I love my romances bonkers, quirky, and at times the full bananas. I read romances to escape the world, and there is no better way to escape than to go on a road trip in Belize with two likeable characters. Yes, this book has some Romancing The Stone vibes to it, but it’s not super strong vibes. I think the connection between the movie and this book has to do with the fish-out-of-water experiences Bo (our hero) has while road-tripping through Belize with Alex (our heroine), who is the adventure guide. There is no pressing danger driving the plot forward; the only deadline pressure that exists in this story is Alex having to pay her debtors back. 

There was just so much to like about this book. First, who doesn’t love an adventure road trip where nothing goes as planned? If it could go wrong, then it did for Bo and Alex. It was great watching these two get into one sticky situation after another. The other thing that made this romance that much more enjoyable was the chemistry that existed between Bo and Alex. I love a good opposites attract/fish out of water romance, and this book delivered that in spades. There is this fun and teasing dialogue between Bo and Alex. They are so opposite from each other that they are often baffled by the other actions or outlook on life. Bo is a rule follower. Someone who will read any manual or guidebook is always on time and always has to plan everything out. Alex is a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants person; she is rarely on time and has no problem rolling with the punches. The dynamic between these two was so addictive and delicious. I really couldn’t get enough of it. Even though Alex and Bo often baffle each other, they show each other kindness when they feel vulnerable. It was so sweet and heartwarming. I just ate it up. Besides all that light, fun banter, there is some real lusty chemistry between these two. Bo is quite the book boyfriend, and when he sets his mind to it, he knows how to, shall we say, “woo” a woman.   

Romancing Miss. Stone is such a delightful read, and I would say it’s the perfect book to take on a summer holiday trip.