Review: Hoped for... more
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 10 5, 2013
I got this book solely on the rave reviews,  but sadly... mine is not matching the masses.I will say this... I enjoyed the banter between the hero and the heroine.  I even enjoyed the detective's family portrayal as well as the memories of the dearly departed Elizabeth.  What did not sit well with me is the character development and the development of the relationship with our heroine and our hero, the detective.  There was very little history to learn of these two as well as how this relationship came about.  There really was no mention of his POV to even solidify the reason there was an attraction to consider and there was very little reason why the artistic heroine was so reluctant when she became aware that the hunky detective was Italian.  The heroine, a sloppily dressed, sarcastic struggling-to-become artist did not appear to sound all that appealing to even get the attention of the well-noted attractive detective.While there was plenty of mystery shared, as well as witty banter... there was really no inkling of a romance to be seen for me.  Just a flash-in-the-pan make-out session here and there and little insight to the attraction.  This is where I wonder where the suggestion that this fits into the romance genre is very head-scratching to me.  I guess that is where I hoped there was more.  More something that made this book a good balance of romance as well as a mystery.  Oh, and more to the ending when it came to the relationship between the frumpy yet sharp-tongued artist and the hunky detective.  If leaving the ending like it was left was a way to get me to read the next book...  I am saddened to say it did not do the trick for me.