It's hard to believe that AAR gave this book DIK status because I was not that impressed with it. It wasn't horrible but it just wasn't to my taste. CaM had a good plot and I loved the idea of a service that helps women discover if their boyfriend or husband is cheating on them and thought it had great comic potential. But I found some of the dialogue kind of silly and childish rather than funny as the author probably intended.

Heroine Jillian works for the agency and acts as bait to entice husbands or boyfriends who've been accused of cheating and captures their actions on film to show their female clients. Marcus takes over the agency and wants to include catching cheating wives and girlfriends into their offered services. But the way he handles his newly acquired female employees was chauvinistic and bullying. I couldn't stand the guy. Plus all his mental lusting for Jillian was ridiculous. Both the H/H had good reasons to hate members of the opposite sex and they work out their problems fairly realistically. And the sexual tension and steamy love scenes were great. But I couldn't warm up to the hero at all.

Jillian spent a lot of time thinking "I hate him, I hate him" "Wow, is he hot!" "Wow, does he have a great butt", then of course they have hot steamy sex. I don't get that. If I hate some guy (male chauvinist pig), I don't think they're attractive and want to jump them. MCP's are a total turnoff. But then that's just me. If you skip all the mental lusting and chauvinistic attitude, it would have been a pretty good read. GRADE: C+ ( )

I love the premise of this book. The heroine, Jillian Greene, works at Catch a Mate, a company in Oklahoma City that helps people to catch their philandering significant others. Jillian caught her father in flagrante dilecto with the next door neighbor as a child, and since then hasn't trusted men. And it's no wonder, considering she's constantly acting as "bait" to catch cheating men. But then in walks Marcus Brody, a delectable piece of female bait. Ends up he's also bought the company, which Jillian had wanted to do. Sparks fly from the first time they're in the same room as each other, and things only get hotter as the story progresses.

Like I said, I loved the premise of this book. I also really enjoyed Showalter's voice. She's fun and snappy and witty, and tension between Jillian and Marcus was palpable. But...there was one thing that irked me so badly that it kept me from really, truly enjoying this book. What was that, you ask?

The way Jillian's reconciliation with her father was handled. Without spoiling too much, I thought Jillian's reconciliation and forgiveness happened way too fast. I know that she needed to forgive her father in order for her to truly feel free to be with Marcus, but it was like a split second, a small blip, really, and I don't think was treated with the gravity it should have been treated with. This is a man who broke his daughter's heart, who committed adultery and caused his daughter to have trust and emotional intimacy issues. You don't just get over those things. You don't just decide, "I need to forgive my father for cheating on my mom and leaving us all" and forgive him. It doesn't happen that easily. Especially not when you have a personality like Jillian does.

Showalter had me up until that point, but after the reconciliation scene...the rest was just really hard to enjoy and swallow. That being said, her next book (a paranormal romance) seems really interesting and I'm willing to give her another shot. ( )

cute story ( )

http://booksbypickles.blogspot.com/20... ( )

Very cute, a little unrealistic, but what do you expect from a romance. All in all pretty good.
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