Not the Girl You Marry

by Andie J. Christopher

[Sam@WLABB]

What lengths will people go through for a promotion? He needed to lose a girl. She needed to keep a guy. In this game of mutual "using", they developed real feelings, but would their relationship survive once the truth came out?

This year has been a year of many rom-coms, and I have welcomed them with open arms. I love romance and I love to laugh, so rom-coms fulfill so many of my basic needs as a reader. It didn't take long for me to clearly see the influence of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. But, that's not a bad thing, because I loved that film, and sure enough, I had a great time reading this book.

First and foremost, Christopher gave us a fantastic heroine and fabulous hero. I adored both Jack and Hannah so much. They seemed so put together on the outside, but they were both dealing with some issues and insecurities underneath it all.

Hannah was a pistol. She was a go-getter, and I loved her fire. Her apathy towards love was due to some dismal relationships, and her pain was compounded by her struggle with her personal identity. Every time she brought up an ex-boyfriend, my heart broke for her, because she was wonderful and worthy of so much more. My heart soared, when she started "dating" Jack, because he was one wonderful unicorn of a man.

Jack was handsome and affable. He enjoyed a certain level of professional success, and was known for bending over backwards to please the women in his life, yet these same women had no problem walking away from him, time and time again. Jack talked about his past relationships with a smile on his face, but there was definitely a undercurrent of pain there beneath the smile.

I think I was rooting for these two, because they seemed to connect via their painful pasts, and they just had this ease with each other. They could simply be themselves, and that was ok. They had fire and sparks and banter galore. They were a fantastic match, and I really enjoyed watching real feelings develop between the two.

I was also a big fan of the amazing female friendship Hannah had with her bestie, Sasha. These two were really there for each other, and I loved their dynamic. I was especially excited about the path Christopher set them on towards the end of the book, because it was fun and perfect for them.

But, Jack had a fun bunch of fab friends too. Their interactions were usually quite humorous, but he enjoyed some really deep talks with his friend, who was also a priest. Not only were his friends great, his family was also beyond wonderful. The first time he brought Hannah home put a huge smile on his face. Though this story takes place in Chicago, the men in Jack's family would fit in well with my NYC relatives, and I think catching glimpses of my family members in them simply endeared them to me even more.

I feel like I got what I came here for. I was promised a rom-com a la How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and I got that with a bit of spin and a modern twist.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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