Review: The Romance Novel Cure by Nina Ceves

THE ROMANCE NOVEL CURE

Incurable Romantics Series #1

by Nina Ceves

Publisher: Self-Published (March 2014)
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Adult
Format: Ebook (169 pages)
Source: Free book from author for honest review
Find It: Goodreads | Amazon
Rating: ★★½☆☆ (2.5 stars)

Summary
Can the cure for a floundering marriage be right between the covers of a romance novel? Ben stumbles upon Greta's stash of romance novels and is surprised at the level of heat these books generate. The Dark Shifters series, starring the alpha hero Silas, seems to be her favorite, so Ben decides to use Silas as a coach. What Would Silas Do? becomes his mantra. By reading the books that Greta reads on the sly, Ben vows to become more like Silas in order to win her heart again. The romance novel cure intensifies when Ben asks Greta to read to him, and in turn reads to her.

But is there a mystery at the heart of the Dark Shifters series that will ultimately drive them further apart, or bring them closer than ever before?

At A Glance
Not a very riveting book but it held my attention on occasion.

The Good
I am in this unique position right now. I am taking an art class for summer semester and it is 4 hours a day, 4 days a week, and we mostly have free time to create art for those 4 hours. So I have been listening to my books on my kindle with headphones. And because of this, I am not realizing when I am listening to a good book or a bad good, I am just listening. The Romance Novel Cure was one such book. Luckily, it was better than the last book I read.

This book had an adorable concept that pulled on the heartstrings. I would love it if a guy started acting more like the alpha love interests in my paranormal romance books. A guy should really take some tips from Ben, because he knows how to please his woman! He actually reads paranormal romance out loud to his wife! *Swoon*s I became obsessed with knowing how Greta and Ben would end up. They both are such real characters with problems and fears that any one of us could have. They don't always handle the stress of life in the right way, but they are working on it...together. And that's all that matters in the end.

The Bad
It's too bad the execution was so limp. The plot was way too simple. There were no ups and downs, it was a flat line of cute but lackluster. You could read the blurb and it would be safe to say that you have pretty much read the whole book. Except for one small secret, which actually did surprise me, there is nothing else going on in this novel except for a couple trying to fix their marriage. And even though I liked Ben and Greta for the most part, I still found them somewhat hokey. I was often rolling my eyes as I listened to them be adorkable way too often.

I really would have no idea who I would recommend this book too. I finished it (and I think I only finished it because I wasn't paying enough attention to realize the book was just average) and realized that there really isn't much of an audience for such a simple book. Where is the stimulation, where is the excitement?

The Snuggly
I did like watching Ben and Greta slowly get back together, especially through the shared reading and interest in paranormal romance, but the sex was blah. They didn't have sex until the end and it seemed so odd that a married couple acted like virgin teens on their first date. Why the fear of intimacy? I didn't get it.

Final Thoughts
Even though I did occasionally enjoy myself, I can't bring myself to recommend this book to anyone. It's cute but without a substantial plot, it fell flat in most areas. Not recommended.

Quotes
"I wished my life was more like a romance novel. Better yet, a paranormal romance novel. Then, Ben and I would be fighting evil, together. Side by side. Instead, we were acting as though we were enemies."


"My heart was pounding and my pants felt way too tight. What. The. Hell? My wife was giving me grief for sneaking porn, calling it my internet girlfriends, we hadn't had sex in more than a year, and this--? This? I swallowed, looked around, resisted adjusting my pants, and went back to reading."