You’ve got great dialogue. Big laughs. Characters to really, really like. And, even though you have to wait a bit for it, some pretty hot sex. Is this a book or what?

Ruby Runyon, a waitress at a South Beach Miami comedy club, has a problem. Suddenly realizing that her handsome date is mob-connected and that he is not, shall we say, exactly happy with her at the moment, she does what any self-respecting woman would do in that situation. She crashes a party on a luxurious yacht in order to make her escape.

Problem is, the yacht is about to depart. Even worse, it’s owned by a spoiled princeling who has spent the year since he was (understandably) deposed wandering aimlessly around the world with a disparate cast of characters in tow – chiefly one Keaton Hamilton Danning III, babysitter and keeper-of-all-things-practical. Once on track to be prime minister to said spoiled princeling, Keaton is not too happy with a life spent cleaning up the messes made by his dolt of a boss. But with his assets frozen in the prince’s home country, Keaton doesn’t see that he has much of a choice.

Enter Ruby. A girl from the wrong (or at least the trailer) side of the tracks, she’s the exact opposite of the oh-so-proper Keaton. But the former ambassador’s son sees much to like in the plucky Ruby. And Ruby sees much to like (in a Ryan O’Neal in Love Story kind of way) in Keaton. And, since our heroine came aboard without the documents she’ll need to get back into the country, they’ve both got time to explore their mutual attraction.

Both Ruby and Keaton are wonderful characters. Elizabeth Bevarly gives us just enough background so that the reader really understands exactly who they are and why they feel the way they do. But, even more importantly in a book like this, they are funny. Ruby and Keaton talk like smart people talk – or at least the way smart people would talk if they had a lot of time to think about everything they say.

As she’s shown in previous books, Bevarly is also a master at creating secondary characters. The story of the prince’s spurned fiancé and her attraction to one of the yacht’s bartenders – a man she thinks should repulse her – is almost as much fun as that of Ruby and Keaton.

One of the best things about Elizabeth Bevarly is that she when she throws out a funny, she assumes that you get the joke. And then she moves on. It’s kind of like an episode of Seinfeld – sometimes it moves so fast that you’re not sure you caught everything. Fortunately, you can read it again!

Take Me, I’m Yours isn’t perfect, though; the central romance isn’t quite as enthralling as it could have been. That heart-clutching moment a great romance must deliver never occurs. But in the scheme of things, that’s a very small quibble. Read this book for the fun of it. I guarantee you’ll have a fine old time.