Roman Holiday (Season 1: Episodes 1-5) by Ruthie Knox

Roman Holiday (Season 1: Episodes 1-5)
by Ruthie Knox
Published By: Loveswept
Source: Purchased from B&N

Roman Holiday #1: Chained [pub. Nov. 11, 2013]
Meet Ashley and Roman—complete opposites who can’t hide their attraction—in Episode 1 of Ruthie Knox’s eBook original serial, Roman Holiday.

Ashley Bowman is having a bad week. Reeling from the death of her beloved grandmother, she returns to the Florida Keys only to learn that a heartless Miami developer has gotten hold of the crappy vacation rentals she calls home. Ashley has one day to clear out before Roman Díaz destroys the only place in the world that matters to her. Chaining herself to a palm tree in the bulldozers’ path seems like a good way to stop him . . . until she realizes she should’ve brought food and water. And pants. Also, it would help if the evil developer weren’t so ridiculously hot.

The last thing Roman Díaz needs is some sun-kissed blond protester getting her picture in the newspaper and messing up his plans. He bought the property fair and square, and the resort he wants to build on the site is the key to realizing his highest ambitions. But when a hurricane blows through, Roman has to hustle Ashley to safety if he wants to protect his reputation—and that means giving in to her unreasonable demands.

Roman needs to learn a little compassion, and Ashley’s decided to teach it to him . . . even if she has to drag him all over the Eastern Seaboard to do it. [goodreads]

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Roman Holiday #2: Hitched [pub. Nov. 18, 2013]
Ruthie Knox’s eBook original serial, Roman Holiday, continues in Episode 2, as Ashley and Roman flee an oncoming hurricane by hitting the highway—only to encounter some outrageous bumps in the road.

Roman Díaz isn’t thrilled about being forced to evacuate Ashley Bowman from the Florida Keys—and that’s before he sees the decrepit Airstream trailer she wants to hook up to his shiny new Escalade.

Ashley’s in way over her head, and the only way she knows to beat Roman is to get some help from a friend . . . in Georgia. She can put up with Roman’s fury at the unexpected detour, no problem. It’s the bizarre thrum of attraction between them that she could do without. And yet there’s something about being hitched to Roman that makes Ashley never want to let go. [goodreads]

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Roman Holiday #3: Blindsided [pub. Nov. 25, 2013]
In Episode 3 of Ruthie Knox’s eBook original serial, Roman Holiday, Ashley has led Roman across state lines in an attempt to save her home. And he’s about to learn just how wily this wild child can be.

With his Escalade buried up to the axles in Georgia muck, Roman Díaz will do whatever it takes to put his Florida development back on track—but it never occurred to him that Ashley Bowman would start fighting dirty. Ashley figures all’s fair in love and war—and this is war, right? It can’t be love. Love doesn’t involve blackmail. So why does blindsiding Roman and forcing him to do her bidding make her feel so wrecked? [author website]

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Roman Holiday #4: Ravaged [pub. Dec. 2, 2013]
As the road trip up the Eastern Seaboard continues in Episode 4 of Ruthie Knox’s eBook original serial, Roman Holiday, sparks are flying—but Ashley and Roman are farther than ever from seeing eye-to-eye about what matters most.

Roman Díaz doesn’t do love. It hasn’t worked out for him. He could never survive trying to live with his heart wide open the way Ashley Bowman does. But it’s hard to keep his walls up around this woman. Every mile he spends in her power leaves him more ravaged by memories and emotions he can’t control—and drags him closer to succumbing to an attraction he can’t afford. [author website]

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Roman Holiday #5: Ignited [pub. Dec. 9, 2013]
Ruthie Knox’s eBook original serial, Roman Holiday, resumes in Episode 5. While Ashley’s home and Roman’s career hang in the balance, new temptations flash like fireflies in the night sky.

As the deadline for the destruction of Sunnyvale looms, Roman Díaz and Ashley Bowman find themselves cut off from the outside world and edging closer to truths neither is ready to accept. It’s stupid to fall into the arms of the enemy, but when the passion between them ignites, Roman and Ashley can’t convince themselves to be smart. Sometimes the flames are so enticing, it’s worth getting burned. [author website]

My thoughts:

You're probably wondering how many books are in this series?  Well, let me clarify that before I delve into my review.  Ruthie Knox has written a story titled ROMAN HOLIDAY, but she's published it in serial form.  This means new 'chapters', or in this case episodes, are being released each Monday to purchase for your e-reader.  Each episode consists of about 50 pages and follows along where the previous episode left off.  As of right now, the first 5 episodes in the Roman Holiday story have been published.  When will the concluding episodes be published?  Check out the end of this review for more details & links on that.

Ashley has recently learned that her late grandmother's Florida Keys resort is being demolished by up and coming developer Roman.  Even though the resort was never willed to Ashley, she has fond memories of the place and refuses to let it go without a fight.  In an act of desperation she chains herself to a tree, hoping this will stop Roman and his wrecking ball.

Roman likes order and predictability.  What he doesn't like is Ashley throwing a kink in his plans.  He thinks he's got this girl figured out and will be able to remove her from the property in a short amount of time.  In true Ruthie Knox fashion comes a story about two characters colliding as they battle their own personal demons and figure out which path will lead them down the road they were meant to follow.

Ashley's character was a hard one to figure out.  Her flighty nature made it difficult to understand her reasons at first.  It took a few episodes before I realized under all that carefree attitude was a girl who desperately wanted to be loved.  Clinging to her grandmother's resort is the last straw she can grasp on to before everything in her world comes crumbling down.  Roman on the other hand was a well guarded machine that I instantly knew had a past he was desperate to get away from.  These two were like oil and water.  One full of bright colors and mischief, while the other was hard lines and order.

Their adventures took them out of the Florida Keys, on a quest for Ashley to convince Roman not to destroy Sunnyvale.  It wasn't until episode four that I felt a true break through in the story.  The deep, emotional storyline that Ruthie Knox delivers came shining through.  With just one more episode after that, I knew these characters would find themselves in a tricky situation.  Fans of Ruthie Knox will love this new story.  The plot is engaging as always and the characters are rich with depth.  My only complaint: I'm left having to wait a few months to find out how it all ends!

On that note... Episodes 6-10 will resume in March 2014. Find out more details by visiting the author's website: http://www.ruthieknox.com/books/roman-holiday/