Review: Romancing the Jewel by Katherine Bone

Print Length: 164 pages

Publisher: esKape Press (September 22, 2014)

From Goodreads.com: Caroline Beugre is a small town girl who longs for her own upscale jewelry store. To fund her nest egg, she’s created a copy of an emerald necklace, hoping the gems will be her ticket to stardom. Little does she know her decision would lead her into the hands of an intensely powerful charismatic man determined to uncover the secrets of her past.

Italian prince Gian-Paolo Montovanni risks losing his throne if he doesn’t put an end to his playboy ways and produce a fiancée no later than his thirtieth birthday. The problem? His princess-to-be must be wearing the Montovanni emeralds, which haven’t been seen for twenty years. When he discovers an American is selling a copy of the necklace, he will do anything to find them.

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 My Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

I picked up this novel due to being a fan of Ms.Bone's other works. And while it was a quick and (mostly) enjoyable read - there was one aspect of this novel that really got under my skin and perhaps made me enjoy it less than I normally would have. This is the behavior of Gian-Paolo. What he calls "research" on the person that made the copy of his mother's necklace really borders on stalking. He knows her clothing size, where she shops, what she buys - the list goes on and on. He also had her luggage moved from her hotel room to his palace before he even lays eyes on her, and subsequently announces her as his intended to a room full of people before essentially kidnapping her. And instead of fighting for what her freedom, or at least standing up to the man who has taken her hostage, Carolina swoons whenever he touches her, and actually begins to enjoy herself even when he denies her time and again the right to go back to America. 

On the flip side of that, I enjoyed the fairy-tale romance that was a common American girl finding her way to becoming an Italian Princess. There was a definite chemistry between the two, and watching them realize that their "farce" had become something more was sweet. I was also drawn in by the mystery surrounding the original necklace, although I wish there had been more explained as far as the background story of Gian-Paolo's mother, and who exactly stole the jewels in the first place. 

All things considered however, I would recommend this novel to fans of a quick and unusual romance. 

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Romancing the Jewel is available from Amazon.com