Breaking All the Rules

Mediterranean Nights #4

by Marisa Carroll

Missing a huge scoop is an eager reporter's worst nightmare. And that's exactly the situation sports journalist Lola Sandler is in when she boards the cruise ship, Alexandra's Dream. During the break of a big scandal back home, Lola finds herself watching waves break in the Mediterranean. Luckily for her, a bigger story is waiting for her on the ship.

Four years ago in the final round of the Masters Tournament, pro golfer Eric Lashman walked off the green - and away from professional sports forever. After years of cultivating privacy and anonymity, he never imagined that he'd be teaching golf, let alone aboard a cruise ship. When Lola recognizes him, she sees an opportunity for a career-making expose. But their developing attraction may force her to make a choice: write a news story or live a love story.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary

256 pages, ebook

First published August 1, 2007

About the author

Marisa Carroll is the pseudonym for sisters Carol Wagner and Marian L. Franz. The sisters also write under the names Joellyn Carroll, Jo Bremer, and Malissa Carroll.

Reviews

[Mojca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Divorcée Lola Sandler is on a cruise with her mother and two older sisters. After the rather ugly divorce she’s given up men entirely, but her family, especially her mother, are intent on getting little Lola Roly-Pola back on the horse. And what better way than to hook her up with someone on the cruise ship.
Enter Eric Lashman. Ex pro golfer turned temporary golf instructor. He’s filling in for his brother that’s recently become a father.

Lola, formerly a Sports Editor for a local newspaper is searching for something to get her back in her boss’s good graces after her lout of a husband being implicated into a steroid-abuse scandal back home. And what better way than to get an interview with the elusive Eric Lasham who, a few years back, left the green in the middle of a game (and he was winning), leaving the world of golf as well.

But the fact Eric is a fine specimen of hunk and her attraction to him just might prevent Lola from getting her story and get something else out of it entirely. That is, if Eric doesn’t learn her true reasons first.


This would’ve been a great little contemporary romance, sweet and sexy, if it weren’t for Lola’s family getting entirely too much on-screen time, relegating the romance (the true crux on the story) into the background. Eric was a wonderful character and it’s a pity he wasn’t developed a little bit more, given a little bit more "freedom of movement", instead getting merely the role of the heroine job- and love-interest without much wiggle room to really get his character to shine.
And it would’ve been a great romance if it weren’t for the heroine. Lola just plainly got on my nerves. She was a wreck, had deep issues with trust, she was a little self-centered and rather selfish. She didn’t even want her mother to be happy, for crying out loud. And after confessing the truth to Eric, she just took off without giving him time to actually form any kind of comeback. Didn’t like her one bit.

There was a slightly suspenseful subplot toward the end with the ship librarian finally "getting her due" after four book of constantly looking for something (God knows what), and the other subplot spanning the first three books, the antique stealing/smuggling angle, made a comeback, but I wasn’t interested enough to actually pay any attention to it.

This book doesn’t have much going for it, besides the hero (yummy!). The pacing was slow, the heroine was obnoxious, the heroine’s family was constantly there, the romance was slightly off-kilter thanks to the heroine and her false pretenses, but I did like the ending. One, because it was cute, and two, because it signaled the end of the book.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is part of the Mediterranean Nights series. They are all stand alone books, so i am not reading them in any order. But This one is about a mother and her 3 daughters that go on a cruise. One daughter in particular is Lola Sandler who is a sports journalist who feels like she is missing a big scoop, when a scandal breaks at home. Now here she is on the Alexandra's Dream Ship, watching the Mediterranean, where she meets someone for her early reporting years. A pro golfer named Eric Lashman. He is a story in itself because he walked away from his profession, in the middle of a tournament, without looking back. Maybe she does have a story. If only her heart wouldn't get in the way.
I love love loved this book. Excellent. There is a few things going on in this book that really have nothing to do with the main characters, but adds drama and suspense to the plot. 5 stars.