Review: A ROMAN HOLIDAY YOU'LL LOVE!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 25, 2012
A romantic trip to Rome becomes a painful idyll when Eleanor's boyfriend breaks up with her. Determined to make the best of a bad situation, Eleanor contacts Madame Eve at 1 Night Stand in the belief that romance in the arms of "good looking Italian with no baggage" will salvage her Roman holiday and soothe her damaged ego, however, she gets more than she bargained for. The purchase of an ancient signet from a bizarre antiquities dealer, with the inscription `Darius' within, is the key to meeting her `date' from Madame's Eve. When she meets her date confusion ensues, but passion reigns as they quickly realize theirs is a match that has transcended time. One night of romance and passion, without complications, is all Eleanor asked for and what Darius expected. Now one night will not be enough.At only 40 pages this is a novella that progresses quickly and the reader is immediately drawn into Eleanor's tale of woe and then the story flies from present day Rome to the era of the Caesars. The ambience of the story captured my imagination immediately and the characters, Eleanor and Darius, are nicely drawn by the author. It takes a delicate hand to move the reader from contemporary times to centuries past without missing a beat, but Ms. Adrienne does it well through her use of dialogue and description. Besides the counterpoint of present time to ancient era, there was a nice counterpoint between the love lives of the two main characters. Eleanor found love, or so she thought with her Peter, only to discover it wouldn't stand the test of time. Juxtapose that with Darius' inability to find love even with all his power and prestige (coupled with the prediction he won't find love at all in his lifetime), just added an additional layer of enjoyment for me.As I read this short story I kept wondering how the author would give these two people there happily ever after. I wasn't disappointed; Ms. Adrienne's ending fitted the story. My mind drifted to all the exciting possibilities these lovers could face together and I smiled. I may not be a Sybil (Oracle) from ancient Rome, but I predict the same for you, when you read SENATOR, MINE.