At the recommendation of a coworker, I decided to once again dive into the romantic-comedy genre of reading and picked up this novel from the contemporary romance author Melanie Moreland. This is the second official romcom I have in my lineup of read books on this blog (I did read How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn for funsies in between Christmas and New Years last year, but that doesn’t count) and while it is still fresh — I literally finished it earlier today — I really like this. I really like My Favorite Kidnapper, and I actively plan on reading more from this author as a fun little side quest as I work through my TBR list.
My Favorite Kidnapper By Melanie Moreland
What caught my interest, hearing my coworker talk about this book, was the playful, comedic, and what seemed to be satirical take on the whole “hot, rich guy kidnaps girl and they fall in time” trope. This is a trope I am pretty familiar with, thanks to a lot of time spent on Wattpad back in the day and some other media that’s come out recently (looking at you, 365 Days on Netflix). I figured I’d go ahead and give this a try since it was supposed to be comedic and sounded like it would sort of fall into the enemies-to-lovers trope, which is one I do enjoy.
My Favorite Kidnapper by Melanie Moreland is, above all else, really cute. It’s so freaking cute. The synopsis isn’t super telling but it definitely gives you a look at what to expect:
“A laugh out loud, unconventional opposites attract love story from New York Times bestselling author Melanie Moreland.
I touched her confectionary creation, and she told me off.
Slapping my hands and cursing in her own unique fashion.
No one talked to me that way.
I liked it.
I liked her cake even more.
So, I took her to Italy to bake for me.
I should have asked her first, but I had a feeling she’d say no.
I brought her cat, though—that should count for something.
Now, I just need to convince her to stay.
And forget that little word.
𝙆𝙞𝙙𝙣𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙧.
I’d prefer lover.
But we’ll wait until she doesn’t want to kill me in my sleep.”
My Favorite Kidnapper. Melanie Moreland. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141309941-my-favorite-kidnapper.
The plot of this book starts with Dante, our “hot rich guy” for this story, who is a wealthy art collector/dealer going to the wedding of his goddaughter. Before the ceremony, as he checks on the preparations, he falls in love at the sight of the elaborate wedding cake and tastes some of it — only to be confronted by the baker, Briana, about what the hell he’s doing eating the cake. Dante, in a totally normal move, proceeds to immediately fall for this girl, kiss her without warning, get a private investigator to find out where she works, tells her he needs more of her cake, not accept her refusal, and then (surprise!) kidnaps her and takes her to his private villa in Italy. Romantic, funny hijinks ensue.
I laughed so much going through the first five or so chapters of this book. It is so unhinged and everything happens on fast-forward, it felt so much like a tongue-in-cheek take on this infamous romcom set-up. Dante is so funny, and so creepy, but so sincere in what he’s doing — I was down for anything the second I started this book. Like, can we just talk about how funny it is that he tastes one of her cakes, and then just instantly decides he needs more of that cake (and this woman) in his life, and will do anything to get it? Or how as soon as Briana wakes up in Italy and he says he wants her to be his private pastry chef, she just bolts? Dante is totally unfazed and just so delusional, while Briana is almost this comedic foil being so self-aware about the situation and how crazy it is.
But outside of the comedy and your typical genre cliches, this book is so cute. That’s the word I kept coming back to the entire time. The enemies-to-lovers-esque dynamic of our leads and their chemistry is so cute and I loved seeing their relationship develop. Briana’s sass is the perfect match to Dante’s personality and it’s so fun to see them fall in love. Or rather, watching Briana fall in love while Dante falls deeper in love. While the story starts off with the satirical premise, I think it really grows into its own and you really feel for both characters as they navigate how they feel.
My Favorite Kidnapper is one I would for sure read again just for fun. It’s a very cozy romantic story that’s incredibly easy to breeze through; you could finish this whole thing in a weekend and all the while be smiling and gushing about how adorable the leads are. I like this book in a slightly different way from how I liked The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston; that one I felt had a great story, cute characters, and a great philosophy/message about life in general. Moreland’s book I like because it is again, adorable, but also fulfills that guilty pleasure inside me for cliched rom-com tropes about falling in love. I recommend both but you’re sure to get a kick out of My Favorite Kidnapper any day.
My Hot Takes (Spoiler Warning)
- Real talk: Briana’s predicament is the life. Two month vacation, baking everyday, living in a private Italian villa, and spending it talking and eating and drinking with a hot rich guy. Like, yes please.
- There are two instances in this book that reminded me very much of 2012-2013 era Wattpad fanfiction and/or werewolf/omegaverse fanfiction. The first is when Dante literally tastes her tears and comments on how sweet they are — no joke — and the second is when the antagonist grabs Briana’s arm, leaving a bruise. Once Dante sees the bruise, he’s full on enraged and is like “He fucking touched you?! He marked you?!” I was dying of laughter, like what the hell.
- I would also like to point out that since this whole story is derived from the “seduced after being kidnapped” trope, Dante is very respectful of intimacy and of Briana and makes it a point to not do anything until she makes the first move. We love a respectful king.
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
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