Sam Kenneman has every woman in the country up in arms about his new bestseller, 101 Ways To Avoid Commitment. The book's supposed to be a joke--but women aren't getting it. Now he just wants the frenzy to die down so life can go back to normal.
Her goal? Teach him a lesson.
His goal? Don't fall for the sexy blonde.
The problem? They can't resist each other!
Comment: This is another book that I cannot remember why I added to my TBR. Must be one more case of having seen something somewhere and that was it.
Sam Kenneman is not very much respected by most women due to his books giving tips to men in the dating scene or even his relationship advice. Sam works for a magazine and his editor Diane is a little annoyed at having to work with such an obnoxious man, so one day while relaxing with friends, they decide to play a trick on Sam, making him fall in love with Eve, their blond bombshell friend, and then Eve dumps him in a very public way, breaking his heart as he has advised men to do with women. Eve accepts because she believes Sam to be this sexist guy but from the moment they meet and the longer they get to know each other, she can't help but change her mind. Sam, too, soon sees through Eve's bimbo persona and realizes she is much wittier and funny than what she presented at first. With both having personal issues to deal with, can they be a real couple after all?
This isn't a lengthy story and at the end of the book the author included some notes, explaining the original idea was for this to be part of a Harlequin Temptation series. This edition is a self published one, after she got her tights back. I think it can be quite visible this was aimed to be a shorter type of story, for things happen in a very condensed way, which certainly suited the Harlequin page limit, but that might feel a bit rushed in several moments.
The premise isn't too bad - nor is it original - but I was interested in seeing what the author would do with it. The original story, or the bones of it, must have been written decades ago because the scenes described seemed quite dated (for instance the description of how Sam sees Eve for the first time in a fake model gig reminded me of those 80s or 90s cover shoots) and from the beginning I wasn't that confident their relationship would develop in such a romantic way.
At first, Eve pretends to be someone less clever because she and her friends thought that was the type of woman Sam would more likely fall for. Obviously, we know better and after a few scenes, they simply go past the masks and start making a real connection. The relationship then develops in a more likable way and I was surprised by how they got along and how quickly they started sharing certain things. I would not say the falling in love process was that romantic or that unique, but it worked out well enough.
Both protagonists have past issues which made them vulnerable and not as willing to trust someone. Eve was a model since she was a child until problems with her father made her want to stop. She is now a teacher and she still feels the impact of her childhood experiences. Sam has had a rocky relationship with his father too, then he found out his father had a son with another woman, his mother divorced him and they talk but things aren't great between them now. These issues are kind of dealt with through the novel, but considering the page limit, in a rather superficial way. Things still make sense for the type of story, but it wasn't the emotional significance I expected.
One things was surprisingly good, I'll have to say. Closer to the end, when it seems the big misunderstanding is set to arrive and separate them, instead of doing what seemed expected, they actually talk and respect each other's side of things and they can avoid the big fight/tension scenes. I didn't see it coming, and it was refreshing to see. Not much later, we have the epilogue with the HEA, everything ends up well and I felt happy enough for them. In terms of character development, certain elements were logical, structured, interesting. But the overall vibe was not one of marvel to me.
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