Review: Better then the First
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 16, 2012
I think I enjoyed this second offering in the Paradise Diaries moreso then the first (Dante's Girl) because I thought the love triangle was a more believable conundrum.  In Dante's Girl, the choice was between the All American boy (Quinn) and what basically amounts to a foreign prince (sorry Prime Minister's son, Dante).  And Quinn was her best friend's boyfriend (or ex at least), that she shouldn't have been crushing on to begin with.  So really no choice there.Mia gets to start with a clean slate (more or less) in regards to Gavin and Quinn because of her amnesia.  Whatever her feelings were prior to the amnesia aren't something she has to worry about (at first) because she can't remember them.  It put the two guys on equal ground in my opinion.And I liked them both.  Gavin we've had more book time with (he was in the first book, as one of Dante's friends) and he shows himself off better in this book then in the last one (though perhaps because he knows Mia, whereas he had only just met Reece).  Quinn...in a contest I think Gavin would win hands down for me everytime because he's foreign--however in Mia's case Quinn is the foreigner and I suppose that's what made him so appealing (basically everything she loves about Reece, but in a male package).Seeing Reece and Dante resurface was definitely fun--I felt bad for Reece as she tries so hard with Mia and Mia, who was trying so hard in the first book to be Reece's friend, is at first very reluctant and kind of 'what is this?'.The book did seem to drag quite a bit more and part of that was because Mia's amnesia meant re-hashing some stuff that had already happened in Dante's Girl (characterization and plot wise).  I think the resolution was satisfactory however, which is a definite plus in a love triangle, and the third book seems to have its legs propped up here as well.