This is an exceptional find in the used bookstore I went to. I thought this was a fun and original story – I cannot wait until some screenwriter find this and makes it into a Rom-Com. For me, it took a little bit of time to get into the story, but once I got passed that, I devoured the book in a matter of hours.
The story opens up with a girl hitting on a guy at a bar, he immediately responds to her, flirting back. She turns the situation around on his bum when she calls him a lying cheater and walks away. Jillian, the woman,works for Catch a Mate. She is getting paid by women to see if men are willing to cheat. Catch a Mate is a business in Oklahoma, but is not about finding a possible date or relationship, but catching another’s mate in a precarious situation (or not) and reporting it back to the suspecting other.
Jillian got into the business because she hates men, she hates men because she works in this business. Vicious Cycle. Her life is thrown through the gauntlet when her man-hating boss sells the business to a man – and not Jillian. Worse of all, the moment she meets Marcus, she is attracted to him, and wants none of that. She is mean, vindictive, and cutting towards Marcus.
Marcus has similar thoughts a Jillian. He was spurred by a cheating wife, and considers women the evil sex. He runs the male version of Catch a Mate, so is more than willing to grow his business. The moment he meets Jillian, he feels the same attraction, but is repulsed by it. They bicker, fight, and make each others lives miserable. Before they know it, they are embraced in an affair with one another. They both fight their feelings and negotiate how to walk away from the other without getting hurt.
Gena Showalter has a great sense of comedy and characters. I both hated and loved the characters, and constantly felt the same pull they felt as they were figuring out their situations. The only part I did not like was how vicious Showalter made Jillian. It was almost too much – too unrealistic. But as time went on, she found a balance for the characters. Her secondary characters – and Jillian and Marcus’s interactions with them was hilarious – they made the novel.
While reading, and thinking about it after, Catch a Mate reminds me of Jennifer Cruise, Carly Phillips and Sophie Kinsella. If you like to read them, I recommend picking up this.
If you want to see what else Gena Showalter as written (she varies so much – many paranormal) check out her website!
reading fluff & stuff 