Royal Valentine - Sariah Wilson - ★

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AUTHOR: Sariah Wilson
SERIES: The Improbable Meet-Cute, #6
GENRE: Romance, Short Story.
PUBLICATION DATE: January 23, 2024
RATING: 1 star.


In a Nutshell: More “Improbable” than “Meet-Cute.”


Plot Preview:
Princess Ilaria of Monterra (probably the fictional equivalent of Monaco) is fed up of the paparazzi watching her every move. A day before Valentine’s, when she is in Rome for a royal obligation, all she wants is one normal day without anyone’s judgemental stares or intrusive photos. So she gets her PR assistant to swap places with her for the weekend. Her first day as a “commoner” on the streets of Rome gets off to a shaky start, but a Scottish photographer swoops in for the rescue. There is an instant (🤦🏻‍♀️) connection between the two, but can there be any future to such a liaison when she has royal duties awaiting her?
The story comes to us in Ilaria’s first-person perspective.


This is the sixth standalone story in 'The Improbable Meet-Cute’ series, described on Amazon as “irresistibly romantic stories about finding love when and where you least expect it.” This is the last story of the above series, but as each can be read independently and the best-rated story is the first one, I will be reading the series in reverse order.

On reading the above Plot Preview, some of you might have instantly recollected the classic movie starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn: ‘Roman Holiday.’ This short-ish tale is mostly similar to the movie, except for two major changes: the royalty-commoner swap and the identity of the rescuing hero. As such, most of this story gave me a strong sense of déjà vu. But not in a good way. 😬

I asked for mindless fluff. I got mindless fluff. So I shouldn’t complain too much, right? Yeah, right!


Woohoos:

🥳 The Roman setting.

🥳 Easy to zoom through. Finished 70 pages within 45 minutes.

🥳 Didn’t spend a single extra rupee on this beyond my Prime subscription.

🥳 I start this series with a 1-star, so things can only improve from here. (I hope I’m not jinxing anything by declaring this openly.)


Mehs:
🙄 The similarity to ‘Roman Holiday’. Why write a story that has so much in common with a popular classic movie? The ending is changed to better suit a romance, but it is too contrived.

🙄 The repeated whining about poor-me-the-wealthy-and-gorgeous-princess.

🙄 The repeated thoughts about the physical attractiveness of the MMC.

🙄 The repeated mentions of the physical attractiveness of the FMC.

🙄 The unbelievably instantaneous love connection thanks to the physical attractiveness of the MMC and the FMC.

🙄 "Tomorrow was Valentine's Day"? What kind of grammar is this?

🙄 The surprise reveal is not at all a surprise, it is SO obvious.

🙄 The contradictions in the actions. Imagine not wanting anyone to recognise you and still willingly roaming in public and even attending large get-togethers with strangers, while still hoping that no one recognises you!

🙄 Super-fast romantic speed especially for a 70-page short story: a meet-up, a love-up, a break-up, and a patch-up within just three days. (The first three happen on a single day!)

🙄 Writing the MMC’s conversations phonetically in a Scottish “accent” – sheesh! I *cannae* understand this distracting decision. (The phrase ‘I ken…’ was used fourteen times! In a short story!)

🙄 Imagine having a Scottish MMC and still finding him abhorrent! His actions in the final third were nonsensical.

🙄 On that note, the final third – plunged a 2.5-star story to the 1-star level due to some questionable character decisions and actions by the MMC and FMC.


I shouldn’t crib much because I went in with low expectations and expected only a light fluffy read. But even a fluffy read should generate warmth in the heart or at least a smile on the face, not heartburn in the chest. Such stories are the reason I don’t often read contemporary romance, which seems to rely more and more on physical connections than on soulful ones. What a sad start to my first-ever attempt at a Valentine’s month romance reading!

I haven’t ever read this author before (which shouldn’t really be a surprise as I haven’t read MOST contemporary romance authors), but just in case any royal romance lovers are interested in giving this a shot, you might like to know that this story has the same setting as her ‘Royals of Monterra’ series.

Basically, a no from me, unless you are a die-hard insta-romance fan. Those who are more like me, better watch ‘Roman Holiday’ instead.

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

With any luck, I’ll have better luck with the next story, “With Any Luck.” Wish me luck!

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