Out of Eden by Beth Ciotta

Out of Eden, by Beth Ciotta, is a typical romantic novel.  We’ve got instant attraction, misunderstandings, shoes, nosy neighbors, the long suffering best friend, and the Mafia.  Maybe the Mafia isn’t typical but the point is, there wasn’t anything surprising about this novel.  I was anxious to read a funny romance but instead I found myself just wanting to get through it. 

It’s well-written, there isn’t a problem with that.  The novel has a plot that moves along fairly quickly, but it just wasn’t interesting.  I found the main character to be rather annoying.  She ran her family’s shoe store and let her family walk all over her because she never expressed what she wanted.  She wanted adventure.  She wanted to travel throughout Asia.  She wanted to paint the shoe store!  I wanted to shake her and tell her to just do it!  I understand putting dreams on hold but the constant whining about it was annoying. 

And then there was Jack.  He’s not a very well defined character.  I know he was good looking -as all romantic leads must be - and was a police officer.  Other than his loyalty to friends and family, and his endearing affection for the dog that adopted him, he was pretty boring. 

I guess my thoughts are that I’ve read similar plots that were much more interesting.  When you really don’t care if the romantic leads get together, it’s a problem.  I was disappointed.  It’s not horrible, but it just didn’t get to the point where I’d call it good.