The Prince Next Door
Grade : D

Good romantic comedy always makes me want to read it in one sitting, or if real life intervenes, as few sittings as possible. I'm a fast reader, but a good comedy makes me want to race through a book, stopping only to savor a particularly funny bit. It took me weeks to finish Sue Civil-Brown's new romantic comedy, The Prince Next Door.

Serena Gregory is a dermatologist in Tampa, Florida, where the climate gives her lots of patients. Serena is hardworking, actually overworked, and is looking forward to her vacation - a cruise on a clothing-optional ship. But that fell through. So Serena slathers on the sunscreen and takes to the beach where she rescues a man who went swimming during a lightning storm. She gains a crowd of admirers, among them her neighbor, Darius Maxwell.

Darius is an art dealer and Serena has spun some fantasies about him - cat-burglar, spy, man-of-mystery among them. And Darius really is more than he seems. He might be the prince of Masolimia, a small, poor country on the border of Spain.

Darius's mother, Maria Teresa, believes he is the prince and has been bothering him about it for some time. Darius is happy being an art dealer and has pretty much ignored his mother. When Serena hears Darius dismiss someone who tells him his mother has been kidnapped, she's shocked until he informs her that this is a ploy of his mother's to get him to acknowledge his birthright. Later, Darius and Serena are drawn into a plot to steal a copy of the portrait of Princess Rotunda, Masolimia's greatest art treasure. The portrait holds information about just who is the true prince of Masolimia, and Darius hopes is isn't him.

This book was such a muddle. I think the author was trying for a romantic caper plot but I just got confused. There were a lot of characters, none of whom were very memorable, and they all sort of blended together into an amorphous blob. One of the those trying to steal the picture is a former boxer-turned-chef who baked a scale model replica of the room that housed the picture, complete with sugar windows. Another "thief" is a retired Grand-Prix driver who began as an interesting character then faded away. The most prominent of the, well I can't really call them baddies, are two flunkies from the Masolimia embassy, Mas and Menos (brilliant play on words, huh?), who are just plain stupid. Darius's mother had potential, but she was off screen so much she didn't register with me.

Serena and Darius were a very bland couple. There's almost no sexual tension between them, and I couldn't tell you what they looked like. When a book is good, I can very easily picture the main characters in my head, but Serena and Darius remained faceless (and bodiless too) throughout the book.

The Prince Next Door was a big disappointment. I enjoy a good comedy, romance and caper story as much as anyone, but this book didn't deliver at all. I think I'll go watch To Catch A Thief. Now that's a good story!

Reviewed by Ellen Micheletti
Grade : D

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : April 27, 2005

Publication Date: 2005

Review Tags: doctor

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Ellen Micheletti

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