It's not ideal to start a series with number 23. There are a few things that are a little puzzling, although the author did a good job of seeding that information into the dialogue, both between the characters and in Mary and Dante's inner monologues.
The humour in the book derives from the flipping of some romance tropes, the exaggeration of others, and the sheer nuttiness of the plot. Obviously, paranormal romances do not regularly star older, retired women, especially matched with a man who appears to be much younger. Despite Dante's assurances that he is actually older than Mary, she realizes how the people in her life will perceive their relationship. Then there is the unusual situation of Dante appearing in her life stark naked and seemingly not caring about it. He’s like an alien, unaware of normal human mores. Mary's struggle to get him appropriately covered, so as to attract less attention, is also funny.
One of the least believable parts of the book is Dante's wild kidnapping story that precipitated his collision with Mary's RV. But I can identify with Mary's feelings of guilt for having hit him and responsibility for his continued well being. She doesn't easily buy into his story, but is gradually worn down by things that happen along the way. But her initial impressions are quite realistic: “Mary tore her gaze from him and back to the road ahead, her mind filled with disbelief. After a moment, she heaved a sad sigh and shook her head. Of course she'd run over the crazy guy. Gorgeous, but completely bonkers was her diagnosis. Such a shame.”
Dante keeps throwing new ideas at Mary so fast and furiously that she can't regain her equilibrium. She gets swept along on his crazy train and she finds herself doing things she would never normally do: flee from kidnappers, evade pursuit, invent lies to tell her friends, and cope with this guy who is young in appearance, who claims to be immortal, says that she is his lifemate and is making sizzling sexual advances whenever things slow down enough that she could otherwise think more rationally. Mary has been a successful psychologist and labels all the “lifemate" talk as complete bullshit, so why is a sensible older lady responding so strongly to this strange, impulsive man?
Apparently I require a bunch of paranormal details to make romance novels more palatable. And although I frequently struggle with written humour, this author's wit is fun for me. I do have reservations about the author's move to rejuvenate Mary, restoring her to youth physically. It's so rare and wonderful to find a main character of my own age with a romance structured around her. At least she got to keep her hard earned experience and education.
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