Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Title: Hopeless Romantic (When in Rome #2)
Author: Marina Adair
Expected publication: January 26th 2021
Description:
Set against the breezy backdrop of coastal Rhode Island, the latest novel from bestselling author Marina Adair asks whether two of a small town’s biggest hearts can learn to put themselves first–in the name of love…
As caregiver for her autistic brother, Beckett Hayes knows how meaningful a little extra help can be when life happens. Which is why she runs Consider It Done, a personal concierge service in her small town. Her job also gives her the flexibility to follow her passion, being Rome, Rhode Island’s unofficial special needs advocate, training emotional support companions in her spare time. There’s not much of that, though, and certainly not enough for serious dating. It’s always been family first for Beck. But one unquestionably gorgeous, good-natured man is suddenly a temptation that’s getting tougher to resist…
Sixteen years ago, Levi Rhodes was ready to sail off into the sunset–literally. But then his father’s death and his sister’s unexpected pregnancy postponed his sailing scholarship and the adventures he had planned. Running the family marina and bar was the least he could do for his grieving mother. Plus, his niece needed a father-figure. But now that she’s in high school and has her bio-dad in her life, Levi’s wondering if it’s time to get his sea legs under him again…until curvy, caring Beck showed up in his bar, and then in his dreams…
RATING
I have read the first book in this series this summer so I was very happy to see I was approved for the sequel. I really liked Levi’s character in the first book so I was sure I would like it.
Levi is the most eligible bachelor of Rome (Rhode Island, not Italy), he has his own restaurant and is an uncle to now almost grown up teenage girl. Beckett on the other hand is a very busy girl, with her brother and dad she takes care of as well as million other stuff, and being in a serious relationship is the last thing on her mind. However when Levi’s and Beckett’s lives collide and they have to plan a wedding together, they can’t keep their hands to themselves.
This seemed like quite a cute story at first and I usually really love haters to lovers book but everything seemed to go to fast in this one. It felt like their relationship went from 0 to a 100 and I’m more of a slow burner fan.
I feel like I was more invested in side plots than the main one. For example, I love how Beckett’s brother suffers from Autism and her dad from Aspergers which isn’t usually that talked about, especially in contemporary romance. I love how the author portrayed everyday struggles of people with ASD and upon reading this, I definitely want to learn more about it.
I also liked reading about Levi’s struggles being an uncle to a girl whose mother recently passed. Her ‘dad’ are now Paisley’s keepers and it’s quite for them to see hwr grow up.
That being said, the romance was not for me. I wasn’t invested in it at all and I found it mild and a bit boring.
In the end, I really hated Levi’s character. How should you help a girl who already has so much work literally every day? Give her another job of being in charge of your restaurant when you can’t. And then when someone robs you it’s her fault because she had so much work. Levi might be a hottie but he’s a toxic one for sure. It’s a no from me.
And of course in the end everything turned out to be rainbows and flowers and it was so rushed. The last 30% of the book is what ruined it for me.
So in the end, this was an okay book but I had so many issues regarding two main characters. That’s why I can’t rate it more than 3 stars.
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Soph's Book World 
Seriously? That’s the way Levi treats his love interest? I admire your patience; if I had read that I would have thrown the book against the wall (well, unless it was a library book). I agree with you that it’s good to see more ASD rep in romances, but I’m very curious — is the autistic brother a prominent character? Does he help his sister in any way or is he portrayed only as needing her support? That seems like the kind of pitfall I can see this book falling into (alongside the toxic romance).
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I didn’t mind it that much at first because it came off as a joke, but when it backfired I was really annoyed. Her brother cannot manage by himself so his sister helps him and he starts opening up more when Levi comes along. I think the author had something in mind along these lines but sadly it didn’t progress that much throughout the book.
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