I have been patiently waiting for Marina Adair's next book, and was excited when RomEantcally Challenged was announced. I knew I would likely enjoy the book, but Annie and Emmitt's story exceeded every one of my expectations.

Like Annie, I was adopted as a baby in Asia, and raised by white parents. I am Korean not Vietnamese like her, but so much of her experience, feelings, and struggles resonated with me deeply. She is trying to get over a bad break up and has moved to Rome, RI for a temp Physicians Assistant job.

Emmett is home and taking time off from his job as a photojournalist, though not willingly. He is surprised to find Annie renting his house and the two of them become reluctant roommates. He also struggles with finding his place in his teenage daughter Paisley's life as he spends time with her now that he's home.

I loved Emmitt and Annie together. They provided support and clarity for the difficulties they were experiencing. That connection between them made the romance even better.

The secondary characters of Levi and Gray were interesting and added a lot to the story. I am looking forward to getting their books in the series.

Marina's writing and storytelling here are just fantastic. This book is heartfelt, heartwarming heartbreaking, and unique. I cannot recommend this book enough!

HJ Top Pick!

Physicians assistant Annie really has had a bad stream of luck, not only does her no good ex fiancée break up with her via text but in a matter of weeks he gets engaged again! Needing to get away from having everyone constantly asking what happened, Annie packs up her life and goes on her mission to explore the world all while being man free. Her first stop, Rome, not Rome, Italy, but Rome, Rhode Island. Everything was going well that is until the custom boutique that was restoring her grandmother’s wedding dress for her sends her the dress except it was altered to fit the wrong bride. Yes, they did it, they altered the dress to fit her ex's new bride to be. With this adding to the fact that said ex had yet to pay her back the deposit in the venue or the deposit she made on any of the other arrangements, a call was in order. However Annie had no idea while she was politely ripping into her ex she had an audience. You see the owner of the cabin she was renting had come back early and he had no idea that it had even been rented out, hence his snooze in her bed, well really his bed.

The last thing Emmitt expected was to come home to find a cute stranger fighting a wedding dress in her lacy underwear at his cabin. His plan was to come home get a clean bill of health, spend time with his daughter and be back on the road uncovering the next big story. But even with the cutie throwing her heels at him Nd his busting headache Emmitt is definitely interested by this new comer. However with his concussion still bothering him Emmitt has another problem to worry about his little girl is not so little anymore. With her now hitting her teen years Emmitt has to face an all new challenge, not only does he have to try and navigate his sweet P's new moods but he also needs to try and find his place amongst his co-dads.

As Annie and Emmitt continue to cohabit so begins their cute flirty texting. Having a front line seat to seeing Emmitt with his daughter and hi. Asking for help in how to connect with her, Annie begins to see that maybe he is not what all the rumours say that he is like.

I absolutely loved this novel! It was such a cute read that really checked all the boxes any romance reader could ask for. Annie was such a relatable and enduring character, I have to say that my heart just broke for her with a that she had to go through with her ex. My word did I want to just scream and slap her ex. What a jerk to use her wedding venue and all her planning for his new wedding, gosh and Annie’s parents wanting to go for the wedding was no better if you ask me. I will say that it was nice to see Emmitt push Annie to be more firm and stand up for herself.

As for Emmitt, the poor guy really had a lot going in as well. It was so sad to watch him struggle to find his place in his own daughter’s life. But like he helped Annie it was nice to see Annie being there to lend him the support that he needed to navigate his role as a hands on dad. The only thing that I wanted for was a better rounded epilogue. Other than that there was really nothing g that I can say went wrong with this novel. Adair has done a phenomenal job with Romantically Challenged, I highly recommend picking up a copy if this novel, it will have you crying, laughing and yelling but most of all you will end with a warm happy feeling that comes from reading a first class novel.

What a great uplifting story!

It’s also laugh-out-loud funny and heartwarmingly tender. While I feel anxious about Annie’s adoption journey, I am also touched at how well her adoptive parents creatively handled and shared her adoption story with her.

Annie’s perception and feelings about being different and not fitting anywhere are true and enlightening. She has the best of both worlds but yet she doesn’t. She just has to find her path.
I thoroughly enjoyed Annie’s interaction with her best friends, they are hilarious and they keep it real for her.

Annie is such a sweet and loving woman, I wish I had a best friend like her. She even stays friends with all of her exes which is a bit strange, but definitely shows her caring personality.
Clark is a dork and a selfish jerk who never deserved a woman like Annie. It shows how selfless she is that she remains friends with him despite the rotten way he treated her.

I love how Annie handles Emmitt, especially when he first starts noticing her. They have a fun interaction and their smart remarks towards each other are hilarious. Emmitt is totally misunderstood, to a point. He’s still a guy with the “guy” mentality, but he grows on you. In a way, he is naive but in a sexy body.

I love the uplifting, family dynamics surrounding Paisley. She is so loved and yet doesn’t realize how much with having three dads to always protect and look out for her.

This is a feel-good, tender, hilarious, must-read story! You will feel the love and you will remember it. This is a story you need to have in your life!

This book surprised me in a really good way. Adair writes complicated strangers-turned lovers in this romance. Emmitt doesn’t believe he deserves a permanent address and Anh doesn’t feel like she fits in anywhere and according to her love life, she is only good at finding her boyfriends their one true loves.

The push and pull in this romance is sweet, occasionally spicy, and a whole lot of yearning for these two people to heal themselves so they can accept the love in front of them. I appreciated how vulnerable the hero was and how strong the heroine was.

I was sold on this book from the first page and I can’t wait to read more in the Rome world.

I had gotten to read an excerpt of Romeantically Challenged and really enjoyed the first few chapters, so I couldn't wait to read the rest. Annie was feisty, funny and I couldn't wait to read more about her journey.

Annie had been engaged, but her fiance left her for another woman. On top of everything else, he's using their wedding venue to plan his wedding to his new fiance. Annie is determined to get away from that life and moves to Rome. Not Rome, Italy but rather Rome, Rhode Island.

This is where she meets Emmitt. Emmitt and Annie hilariously meet when Annie finds out that the house she's renting belongs to Emmitt and he's back in town. Emmitt has been overseas as a photojournalist, but a recent injury has forced him to come back home.

I thought Marina Adair's writing style was really great, but I wasn't feeling the emotional connection between Annie and Emmitt. It almost felt like there were too many story lines happening with Emmitt reconnecting with his teenage daughter, his injury and then Annie reconnecting with her Vietnamese heritage. Emmit and Annie's love story felt almost more of an afterthought and it didn't feel as well developed as I would have liked.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.

Thank you to the author, Kensington Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quick read that was fun and witty on the surface, and with a lot of murky depth to it. The main characters were well-drawn, and especially the heroine was immensely likeable. Yes, there were points where I despaired of the male race, but as the story unwound, these points were diminished by the personality and the vulnerability of the men involved The author did a great job of slowly unfolding the backstory, and bringing it to bear in the current goings-on - particulary in terms of the murky depths and truths about identity, self-worth and relationships. Highly recommended!

I received an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my review. I'd like to thank the author, publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read & review this book.

This was an interesting diversion from the other books I have been reading (thrillers, suspense), but I felt like the summary of the book didn't really match the book. The summary seems light and flirty, I guess, but there are some odd and dark moments in this books. Maybe it's because my age and lifestyle vary drastically from the main character, but I really had a hard time believing some of the choices she made.

This was my first by this author, and I would try her again. But hope they fix that summary to match a bit more before it goes to print!

This is a lovely story of finding where you belong in the world. The heroine, Annie, was adopted in Vietnam as a baby. Her adoptive parents are both white. While they have no problem with her being interested in her Vietnamese culture, the fact that they are both white means that they couldn't teach her the language or culture at home. And the way she looks means she never totally fit in with the white culture of the neighborhood she grew up in. Nearing thirty, she has never really felt that she fit in anywhere. She has always hoped to fit in somewhere by "finding her person" as her beloved grandparents did. After a string of relationships that resulted in her being practically left at the alter, she ends up in Rome, RI, in a rented cottage while she works temporarily at a local hospital. When the owner of the cottage returns from an overseas work assignment earlier than expected, sparks fly. She also makes two new best friends who always have her back, and one of them introduces her to the local Vietnamese community where she can finally learn the language and the culture of her birth family. Between the friends, the Vietnamese community, and the special man Annie may find the place she truly belongs in the world. Highly recommended.

"If I do, we'll have a roommate agreement drawn up and it will state 'No Kissing' right at the top."
"We'll need to be clear," he said. "No kissing you? Or you can't kiss me? I'm unsure how I feel about that. It's not really fair if you kiss me but I can't kiss you."

Annie has jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. She's temporarily living in Rome, RI and renting a house. Apparently, the owner has returned without notice and thinks he is going to be staying in his house. She wanted to get away from things that had been going wrong in her life. Meeting a tall, dark, handsome and complicated man was not in her plans.

Emmitt has returned unannounced and unexpected. When his finds that his friend has rented out his house, it's definitely a surprise. Turns out, a pleasant surprise. Emmitt wants to reconnect with his daughter while he's in town recuperating from an accident. He has a lot on his plate, but he doesn't mind adding getting to know Annie. Attachment is not his thing. But everything seems to be changing.

I enjoyed this story. Annie and Emmitt make a great pair!

This was one of those books that was super cute and funny, but there were definitely some deeper issues masked underneath the fluff.

It follows our main character Anh Nhi (but call her Annie!), who moves to Rome (Rhode Island, not Italy), after being dumped by fiancee who found her s/o after only a month and is getting married at the venue she planned. And it’s been like this her whole life, she gets in a relationship with someone and ‘fixes’ them, only to be dumped and replaced by their soul-mate. But it’s not her that’s problem, right?

In Rome, she unexpectedly meets her new roommate Emmitt, at first glance a womanizer, but actually a dad to a teenage girl that has two other dads. And he has to fight for her attention.

The whole story sounded so crazy to me and I was immediately drawn to it. It has such a witty and funny, but also self-deprecating tinge to it that just makes you want to read more of the story. The characters are not black-and-white, actually none of them is describe to be mean, because as the story continues you learn more about their feelings and life story.

I loved both of our main characters as they learned to accept their own feelings. Annie, that has been disappointed in all of her relationships and Emmitt who has never really had a meaningful relationships, only flings. They need to learn to trust each other and they eventually do.

The greatest thing about this story is that although it’s a romance, the love story is not really brought to us as a main topic and it’s not the only thing that is talked about. I personally think it’s about family and the journey of finding your true self.

Since Annie was born in Vietnam and was adopted by white parents, she felt like an imposter her whole life and she never felt like she belonged in either of those cultures. But as the story progresses she slowly starts understanding and learning more about her roots. My favorite thing was the author’s note at the end, where she explained how her own daughter was also adopted (and also from Vietnam) and it gave the whole story such a realistic feel and I found it so beautiful and touching.

I agree that family is the most important thing, and that is shown to us throughout the whole book. Firstly, Annie’s relationship with her parents who love her unconditionally and they all have such a strong bond. Next, Emmitt’s relationship with his daughter who is also raised by her uncle and her step-dad. I haven’t read a lot of books where the main character is a single father and personally, I loved reading about it. Especially when the dad is trying to get to know his daughter better and have a better relationship with her. And thirdly, Emmitt’s relationship with his own dad and the realization that after so many years he must learn to forgive him.

This book was such a good read and honestly, a breath of fresh air. The only thing I wish was different is the ending (possible spoiler alert). I had this idea in my head that Annie and Emmitt would go to her ex’s wedding in the end and something brilliant would happen. The ending wasn’t even similar to that, though, and I know we all think differently and obviously I’m not the author but I really wanted it to end like that lol. Nonetheless, it was still really good.

I was given a free E-Arc copy of this book for a review on Netgalley.

This story is about Ahn Ni aka “Annie” Walsh who is an adoptee from Vietnam to white parents and has had a tough love life. The person who she thinks is “the one”, usually gets to the wedding part but then gets cold feet. And after breaking up with Annie, they end up finding their actual “one”.

This story starts out with Annie’s latest “one”, but surprise, the guy ends up cancelling their wedding and finds his actual “one”. So Annie decides to move to a small town in Rhode Island called Rome to fill in at a clinic/hospital as a PA. She ends up AirBnBing a guy’s house but he comes back and hijinks ensue.

The beginning starts out a little slow but once we get introduced to the owner of Annie’s rented house, Emmitt, the magic begins!

I think Annie and Emmitt’s dynamic is very cat and mouse with a little bit of foreplay put in. They are very witty with their banter which makes for great fun in reading. I love that Annie and Emmitt are fleshed out as characters, have their own backstories and insecurities that get worked on throughout the book. I also love that they are very honest to each other about their feelings and help each other overcome their own insecurities. It really felt like a real relationship in which there is reciprocity.

I loved that the author really gave us time to work through Emmitt’s issue of parenthood and not feeling enough for his makeshift family. I loved the dynamic of Paisley and her three dads and them trying to work things out.

However, I wish we had more time to work through Annie’s issues with not putting her foot down with her family and friends and really telling them her opinion and how she feels. I loved her story about being an adoptee to a white couple and not being able to belong to either side fully (white and Vietnamese). I really never thought about how that might feel for adoptees who have been adopted into families from a different ethnicity and culture than their birth one.

I also had a problem with how the issue of Emmitt’s dad’s condition came up so conveniently and did not seem enough of a conflict for the main couple to have between them. It didn’t seem like a strong enough reason for a misunderstanding/break up to happen. It was mentioned in mid-book and wasn’t an issue until the end like it was kind of forgotten about.

Overall, I did have some issues with the book, but these were minor issues. I really enjoyed this book and getting to know Annie and Emmitt and their journey together. I would recommend this to anyone who loves sizzling romance with a bit of cuteness and fluff! It’s really fantastic!

This was a really fun read, especially during a time when humor and some light-hearted reading should be enjoyed. I would say that this book also approached some sensitive topics of how it is to be a minority, raised by white parents. But the way that she was able to navigate through and be stronger because of it, was such a joy to experience.

I also appreciate how both of Annie and Emmitt were able to show their flaws, and embrace how they could grow within themselves and through one another. I would say that their relationship was fun, but definitely a little awkward at moments. Overall, this was a good book!

Thank you Netgalley and Marina Adair for allowing me to enjoy this one!

A wonderfully relatable Vietnamese woman who was raised by white parents in suburbia not only feels alone, but she feels shorted. Her last few relationships had ended just in time for the men to meet the loves of their lives- the last one still taking advantage of her wedding arrangements with his new bride. On her very lowest day, when she thinks she is literally completely alone, the sexiest man you can imagine walks in on her and is actually amused by her screaming at him. In the end, she gets poetic justice when the commitment-phobe of the town falls in love with her.

The short of it is that I was up past my bedtime with tears streaming down my face.

A enjoyable romance with some common stumbling blocks to forever love, I love how the author gently guides the reader to a deeper understanding of cultures meshing. Our main character is a Vietnamese professional adopted by an American couple. We experience characters evolve throughout – to a satisfactory conclusion.

I read an excerpt of Romeantically Challenged in Net Galley’s digital edition of Buzz Books 2020: Romance and was intrigued to finish it so I requested and was granted the full digital version. Digital copy provided by NetGalley. Thank you!

Such a great book! A little bit of a tearjerker, lots of humor and some wonderful insights into what internationally adopted children deal with emotionally. A lot of “feels” in this book-makes you remember we all have issues and need to be kind & thoughtful. Don’t miss this one!

This is such a fun read during the whole Covid quarantine! Delightful sweet and fast pace. I like how the MC - both the female and male lead are flawed in their own way. And they lean onto each other for inspiration and growth. The secondary characters are so funny - especially the men bonding. First time reading the author and definitely worth looking into her other books. I do say the storyline is typical rom com but the dialogue makes it enjoyable.

I loved this book! Anh Mhi “Annie” Walsh was born in Vietnam and adopted by her white American parents. She never quite felt that she fit in with the predominantly white community she grew up in, nor did she feel at ease with a group of Vietnamese woman from work. She is an in-between. She is at a turning point in her life, when she inadvertently becomes roommates with Photojournalist Emmitt Bradley. Both Annie and Emmitt are lost soles who are dealing with a lot of changes. This story has great characters, a few laughs and some tears. I highly recommend this book. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

Marina Adair is my go-to for humor, heart and beautifully written books. This book was all of those things! This author is an automatic buy so you can imagine how excited I was to receive an ARC from Netgalley. (Thank you thank you thank you!!)

Poor Annie, the heroine, she always seems to run into bad luck. Her ex and his new fiancé stole her wedding venue and her wedding date. Then, the jerk invites her to the wedding. I loved her relationship with her new “roommate” Emmitt. He’s a guys guy, and I love that in my male heroes. They have to feel real to me. I loved the chemistry and differences between these two characters from the very beginning. The unique twist of three straight men parenting a teen was a huge thumbs up. I loved the uniqueness of this book, yet I still got the same heartwarming romance I always get from Marina! Bring on more from Rome, RI.

Annie is a physicians assistant that gets dumped by her fiancé by text, him stating that he’s realized that he’s not the marrying type. Then, mere months later she sees on a social media post that he’s getting married to ‘the one’. After this she needs to escape, so she takes a temp PA position, in Rome, Rome, Rhode Island that is. She’s vowed to give up men, and focus on herself, but then is surprised when the owner of the house she’s rents comes home early. And there is a spark between a them. Both are set against getting involved, but can’t fight their attention.

I absolutely loved this story. It was sweet, and funny. It was a wonderfully written story about love and family and fitting in. The characters felt real, and you get invested in their lives. I definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for a sweet love story with a little more to it.

I enjoyed this book so much! The story is so very well written. The characters are well developed. They're real and beautiful, flawed, and relatable. I hope this turns into a series because I would love to see where the story goes for all characters in the book.

Thanks Marina, NetGalley, and Kensington for the chance to read!