Friday, February 7, 2014

Mr. Virile & the Girl Next Door

I am always up for a romance novel, especially when they aren't really long. Bonus if it makes you laugh at parts!

Mr. Virile & the Girl Next Door- Gwen Hayes

Online virile.com dating columnist Dane Martin has no plans to give up his reign as bachelor extraordinaire. He has a reputation to uphold, especially with the upcoming release of his book Coming on Strong.

Holly Winters, everyone’s favorite girl next door, thanks to her blog of the same name, gives advice, but she doesn’t always take it. When she meets Dane Martin, every fiber of her being warns her to turn tail and run. Instead, she risks her future as an authority on relationships, jeopardizing her upcoming self-help book for women struggling to find commitment among the Virile sycophants.

Has the Girl Next Door tamed the most Virile man alive, or is she just another notch on the bedpost?


Can I just come right out and say I loved these characters? I really liked Holly, mostly because I could really identify with her. She's smart, she's pretty but not in a "in your face" kind of way, and she's sarcastic. She also sometimes wrongly assumes the worst in guys. She's very much of the assumption that all guys want is to basically get in your pants and anyone worth your time will not be found in places like bars. Which, is true. I don't care what anyone says, I don't think you are going to meet your soul mate or whatever in a bar. Call me old fashioned, but no. 

Then we have Dane, who we find out was not the beloved jock in high school but rather the really unattractive nerd that nobody can two glances at. He is always on the prowl and doesn't really believe commitment is something he's meant for. 

Enter in a really awkward blind date neither of them knew about until right then. 

Then enter really awkward forced "dating" to drum up publicity for both of their upcoming books. 

Which is really an odd way to start a relationship, but slowly they discover they not only have quite a bit in common but they also enjoy time with one another. She is falling for Dane, but she knows she'd just be a name on the list. Except that Dane is unknowingly falling for her and can't quite reconcile that with what he believes to be true about relationships. 

Overall? I really liked this book. It was a fun read, it was fast, I laughed a few times, and I enjoyed reading to see where their relationship went. The bit about the tornadoes was a bit much for me, considering Holly (in her mind) remembers why she's afraid of tornadoes, but never shares that with Dane. I don't know if that was intentional or if the author let that bit fall to the wayside? It felt like an incomplete section of the book but other than that? Pretty solid little romance novel. I think you'll like it if you aren't into devoting an entire weekend to a book- you can finish this one up easily in an afternoon. You can add it to your Goodreads list here

No comments: