Not the Girl You Marry

August 1, 2019

Journalist Jack Nolan and event planner Hannah Mayfield both seek a temporary, fake relationship in order to get ahead in their careers. Hannah needs to show her boss that she understands love and commitment and is therefore capable of planning sophisticated weddings. Jack wants to write about serious topics but has to create one more silly listicle first: "How To Lose a Girl." He sets out to do all the stupid things men do that ruin relationships. As Hannah and Jack hide their real intentions behind the blossoming relationship, both start to realize maybe they want it to be real after all. Hannah is the shining star of this story; she's funny, outspoken, and fiercely loyal. Other secondary characters falter by comparison, but Hannah's strong voice and sizzling chemistry with Jack keep the story enticing. Some deeper topics, such as interracial relationships and family dynamics after divorce, are touched on with finesse. VERDICT Readers who are loving this surge of inclusive, sexy romantic comedies will be charmed by this latest from best-selling author Christopher (Dusk Until Dawn). [See Editors' Picks, "Fall Fireworks," p. 24.]--Jenna Friebel, Oak Park P.L., IL

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 2, 2019
Christopher (One Night in South Beach) paints by numbers with this crass take on How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Hannah Mayfield is a superstar sporting events planner who dreams of being vice president of her company. Dating men who were uncomfortable with her biracial heritage and unfiltered opinions has soured her hopes for love, so she immerses herself in work. Then her boss pushes her to demonstrate her range and expand into planning gloriously romantic weddings, which means fixing her reputation as a cynic. Reporter Jack Nolan is the perfect gentleman who has bent over backwards for each of the women he’s loved but can’t get one to stick around. Determined to put himself first for a change, he agrees to do one last fluff piece on surefire ways to get a woman to dump you, after which he’ll get the tough political reporting job he’s always wanted. Hannah figures she can date Jack just long enough for her boss to believe she’s capable of romantic emotions; Jack wants her to dump him so he’ll have article fodder. Nothing goes as planned, but their story holds few surprises other than the abundant sexual references. This rom-com will appeal to readers who want a fairy tale ending and don’t much care how they get there. Agent: Courtney Miller-Callihan, Handspun Literary.

September 1, 2019
A genderbent How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days for the millennial set. Sparks fly when struggling Chicago professionals Jack and Hannah meet in a Wicker Park speak-easy. He's a good-looking Catholic boy who makes how-to videos for a digital media company but longs for a chance to do serious journalism. She's a no-nonsense, successful event planner whose dating history has soured her on finding true love. Jack's editor offers him a political assignment in return for a story on how to lose a girl at the same time that Hannah wants her boss to think she's in relationship so she'll be allowed to branch out to planning weddings. Neither Hannah nor Jack knows the other's motivation; this has Hannah deftly thwarting Jack's attempts to be a terrible boyfriend, making for a very funny read. Christopher (All Hours, 2019, etc.) explores the identity issues Hannah faces as a single biracial woman in an era of hookups and dating apps: "Most guys think I'm just a sex vending machine." Unfortunately, the poignant racial issues Hannah identifies seem to vanish when she's with Jack, who's white. Jack's image as a man with "good manners and the choirboy smiles" belies a neediness and insecurity stemming from childhood family dynamics. As Jack and Hannah get to know one another in bed and out, their charade becomes harder to maintain yet lasts longer than some readers will have patience for. Two go-getters find their career and relationship goals at odds in a humorous and heartfelt take on dating.

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Starred review from September 15, 2019
Dating in the twenty-first century isn't easy. Just ask Jack Nolan and Hannah Mayfield. Both are up-and-coming professionals; he's a journalist and she is an event planner; and both are attractive, intelligent, and single. When Hannah's boss insists that she find a boyfriend before landing a coveted assignment, she takes the challenge as seriously as she does everything else. Jack happens to be the guy she sets her sights on, but he, too, is hiding a secret motive. He needs to win her over and then lose her in order to write an article for his wildly popular but unfulfilling series before he can write about politics as he longs to. Jack tries every dumb-guy scheme his friends suggest to lose Hannah, but she won't be lost. She takes each move in stride, hanging onto Jack in order to please her boss. Hannah struggles most with her racial identity; being biracial, she doesn't feel either Black or white enough. Jack struggles with his feelings about family and commitment. Despite all this, somewhere along the way they fall in love, and their chemistry is off-the-charts sexy. Might Hannah be the girl that Jack marries?(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)