Roulette Paperback – December 2, 2014

With too many years, too much weight and a middle-class budget, I can never relate to the heroines in a Megan Mulry novel, but I do enjoy the heck out of reading about their world-traveling, couture-wearing, beautiful, shapely bodies and the jawdroppingly gorgeous, sophisticated, rich men they find romance with.Mulry takes globalization to the romance world in her books, with characters that are citizens of the world, not little sweeties living in Podunk, USA, with their Grandma Alice baking cookies and matchmaking. Here the heroine Miki is the love child of a French actress and a Russian businessman. Miki has a doctorate in maths, statistics or business (forgot the exact degree, sorry, but she's quite competent in business) and is on the tenure track at the California university where she teaches and is getting ready to possibly move in with her handsome cardiologist boyfriend, when her Russian father dies and she finds herself in St. Petersburg, caught up in his company's business dealings.This brings about the end of her life as she was living it and into the international world of business and glamor in Russia and France. Needless to say, there's a super hunky French businessman she falls for reluctantly, since she realizes he's a player-rake-seducer-womanizer-libertine, albeit oh-so-charming. As usual, Mulry writes the romance very well; it's hot and sexy as well as romantic.This is light and frothy for the most part, although there is a touch of serious issues such as Miki's relationships with her flighty French actress mother and her absent father, but I felt no angst while reading, just the sheer enjoyment of a romance well written, with lots of likeable, interesting characters.No dukes this time or other members of the British peerage, just the rich and somewhat famous of France, Russia and the world in general. A fun and sexy escape read.

I really enjoyed this book. The main female character had a very believable and authentic voice throughout this novel. She was very well developed and was able to be smart and strong willed without becoming completely an airhead when the first attractive men appears in her way. That being said, she had a complicated self-identity that results from having an absent russian billionaire father and a gorgeous self-indulged actress mother. She is successfully making her own path and working for tenure at UCLA, separate from both parents, and dating her appropriate doctor boyfriend when she gets the unexpected call that her dad has died and she is to be the acting CEO of his corporation. Chaos and mid-life crises occur....and very very hot love scenes. What I liked about this book was that it wasn't simply about her romantic relationships. It was also about her trying to find herself professionally, and her trying to redefine the relationship with her surviving parent and understand her deceased one. It was truly a book about her evolution...and it just happened to involve romance.

SPOILER!First time I've read a book by this author and I thought the first 2/3 of the book was pretty good and interesting however, I thought the last part of the book was very disjointed. The author wrote that the book underwent extensive re-writing and it definitely seemed like it did.It made no sense to me that Miki would give up on Rome after their last encounter. He explained why he was doing what he did and she stormed out like a teenager anyway. Then when she sees him again they re-connect immediately and suddenly she is fine with everything. I felt like part of the book was missing. Why did Miki suddenly "grow up" in her thinking and what she wanted, there was no story to explain this; kind of silly and unsatisfying.I think it needs another re-write.

Another reviewer had written that they didn't particularly care for the two main characters being apart for a portion of the story. I found that aspect a refreshing approach. The main characters, Miki & Rome, were likable and interesting. The story had the right combination of angst, friendship and steam. It felt true, especially the scene where the words "f@#k you" were said in anger by one of the main characters. I love my husband with all my heart and we have a great friendship and romance, but I have said those words in anger on rare occasions. It felt authentic to me for Ms. Mulry to have written that scene and that dialogue into Miki and Rome's story. This was the first book I've read from this author and I would definitely read another.

A sophisticated, elegant romance full of smart, interesting people with full, wish to have lives, a hero worth drooling over, a thinking heroine who is more than his match, and settings to make you scrabble for your passport. More like this please.

a wonderful romance story written for intelligent people. I felt very invested in the main protagonists and also loved the other characters. I'm not into lengthy reviews,so will just say that I've read this 4 or 5 times already and will read it again. you should too!

This is a new author for me and I enjoy her style of writing.Sharing some of the realities of love between financial competitors, the value of friends and family and descriptions of the beauty of Italy and famous art makes this a most enjoyable bookJoRSA

This book is clumsy edited and lacks important segues that leaves the reader lost. It also seems like the writing style changes at the end, like the author had come back to the story after a long break from writing.