This RITA® Reader Challenge 2015 review was written by Mandi. This story was nominated for the RITA® in the Short Contemporary Romance category.

Here is Mandi's review:

How deliciously ridiculous does that description sound? A long lost duke, whose day job is that of an undercover agent, falls in love with an amnesiac who happens to be the very woman he now blames for his current predicament. Of course I had to add the book to my review list–despite my crazy schedule. Unfortunately, the actual book wasn’t quite as delicious as the description.

Her Unforgettable Royal Lover started okay. It’s part of a series so there was some lengthy backstory to catch people up on who’s who in this royal family. Apparently, Dom, our hero, already knew he was related to Hungarian royalty; the only new piece of info was that he was heir to the primarily defunct title of Grand Duke. The fact that he wasn’t really a long lost duke was disappointing to me, but the soon-to-be-amnesiac heroine, Natalie, debuting in thick glasses and pulled-back hair made up for it. Every reader knows that thick glasses and pulled back hair is the Romance version of the ugly duckling about to transform into a beautiful swan. Add to that the fact that Natalie was a disapproving duckling, distasteful of Dom’s abundant and frequent interest in the fairer sex, and the stage is set for the couple to fall in love.

But first, Natalie needs to show up at the doorstep of Dom’s Budapest apartment sans memory. Without her glasses and boxy clothes, Natalie is a knockout. So, of course, our hero develops instalust and hits on her. Even though it’s the very same day that she woke up scared and alone in a strange city and a strange life. Even though the neurologist suggested that her memory loss might have more to do with her repressing her past life due to a traumatic event, like rape. But that’s okay because Dom’s a gentleman and doesn’t sleep with her until the second day. And he does it for her own good:

“She was still lost, dammit! Still vulnerable. Despite her irate speech, he shouldn’t carry her to the bed. Shouldn’t, but did. Some contrary corner of his mind said it was her very vulnerability that made him want to strengthen the lifeline she mentioned. Anchor her even more securely.”

To be fair, Natalie has adjusted to her amnesia exceptionally well, and Dom, the perpetual playboy, has already fallen in love with her by this point. This point is over halfway through the book even though it’s only their second real day together. There was also shopping, checking in with the police station, and retracing her steps through the beautiful country of Hungary during their two day journey to coupledom. Despite the fact that the last third of the book reveals a newly discovered bad guy and Natalie’s deep dark past, the rest of the book feels just as anticlimactic and slow as the first part.

Maybe my expectations were too high, but I was disappointed with this book. There was a lot of potential that could have been mined with the unwanted royalty and/or amnesiac angles, but, despite the ridiculously fun premise, the actual story fell flat. The story would have been better if the author just removed those elements and focused on the Interpol secret agent and the archivist with a shady past elements. Or the mystery element. Or the romance. Or the beautifully detailed setting. Or the historical/art info. Or even the pretty decent writing that popped up from time to time. But not enough attention was given to any single element to do it justice.

Remember when you were five years old and had the brilliant idea to mix all of your pretty play-dough colors together, but you only ended up with a muddy gray mess?Unfortunately, Her Unforgettable Royal Lover serves as another example of the muddy gray mess principle in action.