M.C. Vaughan snared me on two fronts, the first being my love of Romancing the Stone and the second being my love of traveling through Belize. I’m certain I’m not the only romance reader who got my first taste of romantic adventures with Joan Wilder and Jack Colton, and I’d like to say that Vaughan carries the torch with great success, but this story fell a little flat for me. Let me explain.

Everybody needs a little adventure in life. It gets the heart pumping, the mind whirling, and the legs moving. Bo Ferguson is a by-the-numbers guy with a perfectly planned life. All of that flies into out of the window when his archaeologist fiancé dumps him by text, from Belize. It’s a shame the first impulsive thing he does in his life – fly there to win her back – implodes, because that’s the type of failure that can derail a person from further adventure.

Fortunately, he comes across Alexandra Stone, adventure guide and jungle expert. Her ex dumped her and stole everything from her family business, so as a former impulsive adventurer, she’s the perfect foil to Bo’s practicality. They’re both learning to be more like the other while fighting their true natures and the heartbreak that came from their breakups. Too bad Alexandra’s initial impression of Bo is that he’s a rube to overcharge for her services in the name of rescuing the family business.

On the surface, Vaughan sets a jaunty pace with a dramatic, exotic setting, and deep character development. But when you delve a little deeper, you’ll realize that both characters are a little whiny, focus too much on introspection, and suffer from poor communication. Really, ninety percent of the world’s problems could be solved with good communication (I made up that statistic, obviously!), so it’s difficult to read through sections of a book where the pigheadedness is celebrated. Once the pair get out of their own way, however, the book gets back on track for a satisfying resolution. I suppose everybody has their bad moments, where they let the small, petty pieces of their selves run free before reigning it in with common sense, but it’s not always as fun to read as you might think. That being said, Romancing Miss Stone is the first book of Vaughn’s that I’ve read, and I will definitely be back for more because I’m all about adventure. Life, and romances, can always use more adventure!