Rosie and the Dreamboat - Sally Thorne - ★★★

AUTHOR: Sally Thorne

SERIES: The Improbable Meet-Cute, #3

GENRE: Short Story

PUBLICATION DATE: January 23, 2024

RATING: 3 stars.

In a Nutshell: Finally a story that has a “meetcute” as promised. Gets a bit too cheesy in its dialogues, but after reading two 1-star duds in this series, this came as a huge relief. Will work well if you are looking for quick and mindless fun. (The word “mindless” is crucial to remember!)

Plot Preview:

Rosie has always felt second best to her talented and smart elder sister Bree. They are still very close to each other. To celebrate Bree’s latest promotion, Rosie books an expensive package at an elite day spa, ready for a day of pampering. One of the treatments involves entering a shell-shaped flotation tank. The last thing Rosie expects is to be locked inside her tank. When firefighters are called to open up the shell, one of them seems to have a dreamy voice, a corny sense of humour, and a high flirtation quotient. Will this “Dreamboat” turn out to be the partner Rosie has been waiting for? (Yeah, yeah, I know… It is a rhetorical question!)

The story comes to us in Rosie’s first-person perspective.

This is the third standalone story in the 'The Improbable Meet-Cute’ series, described on Amazon as “irresistibly romantic stories about finding love when and where you least expect it.”

As this is also the third story that I read for this series (after stories #5 & #6 and skipping #4), I realised one more thing the stories have in common: all are in first person and set on Valentine’s Day. So I guess I did pick this series up in the right month, even though I missed reviewing this on the big day.

The story ends up thrice as good as the other two stories I’ve read so far in this series. But as both of those were only 1-star experiences, this isn't as big a compliment as it sounds.

Note: This review contains minor spoilers about the plot developments, but nothing you wouldn’t expect in a romantic story anyway.

Woohoos:

😍 Now this is a meet-cute! I love the build-up to their first interaction. I also love the fact that their connection starts without them being able to see each other – no insta-attraction nonsense.

😍 Rosie. A strong character who doesn’t allow her past pain to affect her sense of humour. A bit too goofy and clumsy as well, which makes her a fun protagonist for a romcom such as this.

😍 The story isn't immediately about the “dreamboat”. It takes time to show the sisters’ relationship also.

😍 The bond between the sisters – coming not just from a connection of love but also a wacky sense of humour. Reminded me of my sis and me.

😍 The depiction of Rosie’s secret feelings of inferiority next to her high-achieving sister – very realistic.

IDKs:

🤔 Much of the meet-cute involves flirtatious banter, which means a lot of conversation going back and forth. While the electricity between the characters is evident, the voltage is too high sometimes. Some of the dialogues are cringe-worthy in their cheesiness, though there are some really funny one-liners as well.

🤔 Bree is a mostly good character, but what sensible person leaves her sister in a traumatic situation and proceeds to complete her own spa treatment? It didn’t make sense, even given her reasons for doing so!

Mehs:

🙄 Isn’t it somewhat unprofessional for a firefighter to flirt so openly with a person-in-trouble while on duty? And then to keep complaining that his colleagues don’t take him seriously? Well, of course they don’t! You are kinda proving them right!

🙄 How is Rosie so calm after such a horrendous experience, especially given the incident in her past? Either Rosie or Bree should have gone wild at the spa manager after her release. Why is “Dreamboat” the only one showing anger? Oh and also, how come she is still bright and shiny after so many hours immersed in saline water? (I keep forgetting to leave logic outside!)

All in all, this was quite entertaining as long as you don’t overanalyse anything. The banter is cheesily cute, the lead pair has a strong character development, and even the story is interesting though so much of it has our protagonist locked inside a shell.

This is my first try of Sally Thorne's writing, and she seems quite good. I would surely like to try her full-length novels.

Basically, a nice one-time read. A bit too cutesy, but can work in the right mood, i.e. when you are looking for sheer entertainment and promise to leave your sensible side outside the room.

This standalone story is a part of the ‘The Improbable Meet-Cute’ collection, and is currently available free to Amazon Prime subscribers.