I wasn't planning on writing a review of Susan Elizabeth Phillips's chick lit novel Match Me If You Can, but it left such a bad impression on me that I must. I started out by enjoying it: the quirky opening seemed promising as the protagonist pleads with a drunk who has passed out under her car. She has to get to a crucial meeting that will supposedly save her business. The main character, Annabelle, is trying to revive her late grandmother's matchmaking service so that she can show her family that she's not a total failure, and her meeting is with a millionaire sports agent looking for a wife. At first, she seems pretty engaging, especially when she's sparring with her high profile client, Heath Champion (aka, the Python). The best part of this novel is her refusal to treat him like a superstar who's always right.
As the novel continued, however, I began to have misgivings. The first moment was when Portia, Annabelle's business rival, begins a relationship with Heath's bodyguard-with-a-heart-of-gold, Bodie. From the beginning, Portia is presented as a bitchy, overly ambitious businesswoman who is hated by all of her staff--because, you know, all high-powered female executives are unfeeling monsters making ridiculous demands under the guise of "high standards." I feel pretty confident that she'd have a lawsuit on her hands for forcing her employees to undress for regular, public weigh-ins. Of course, I'm not a high-powered lawyer, so what do I know? Her relationship with Bodie hinges on his understanding that she needs to be dominated in order for her real, softer side to come out. It reminded me of the first Vicky Bliss novel, Borrower of the Night, where her chauvinist colleague, Tony, says that she just needs to be dominated. Unlike Portia, Vicky treats this comment as the piece of ridiculousness that it is. Portia, however, has a life-changing experience. Ick.
Aside from the Portia sub-plot, Annabelle's friends felt like a bunch of stereotypes, as did the male athletes whom she bosses around whenever they show up to hang out with her (and I personally couldn't imagine why they put up with her. She really didn't seem like a lot of fun). The women are all part of a book club, but the men don't like to read. The women all get together to watch female erotica, and the men sit around talking football.
And then there are the sex scenes....there was a *lot* about women opening up like flowers and things like that. I think the romantic scenes would have been more effective without all of the over-the-top imagery. I read a reviewer somewhere saying that Phillips usually writes really good sex scenes, but these read a bit more like gynaecological exams.
As you might be able to tell, I wasn't particularly impressed with Match Me If You Can. I hadn't heard of Susan Elizabeth Phillips before finding this one in my public library's ebook database, and I was surprised to discover how incredibly popular she is. To each his or her own, I guess.
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