Love by the Book

December 22, 2014
Lauren Cunningham leaves her family, relationship, and career in Maine for a new adventure in London—and the promise of meeting hot British men. Although she lands a great job, makes friends, and does plenty of partying, none of the men she meets seem to stick around for more than a few dates, despite her insistence that she isn’t looking for a serious relationship. So Lauren changes paths and attempts a more scientific approach: over the course of 12 months, she tries the tactics outlined in 12 different dating manuals, from modern guides to a tome on Victorian etiquette, noting her successes and failures along the way. As she’s employing her mixed bag of dating strategies on would-be suitors with nicknames like “Sleepy Eyes” and “Bike Guy,” Lauren actually does learn a thing or two from each book. Naturally, though, the man who’s going to give her the happy ending is the one guy who knows what she’s up to, and the only one who’s never been one of her experimental subjects. In Pimentel’s debut, her portrayal of a variety of relationship dynamics—some traditional, some not—and her diverse cast of characters is a refreshing twist on a well-worn formula. Unfortunately, the overall trajectory is still one that any chick-lit reader will have seen before, right down to the passionate kiss in the final chapter.

December 1, 2014
For fans of Sex in the City, Pimentel offers a fictionalized account of a real-life experiment in dating.Lauren Cunningham, a 28-year-old American in London, has left a serious relationship behind in Portland, Maine, to seek liberation and sexual adventure across the Atlantic. The men she meets don't always believe she's interested in casual relationships, and after she scares away an enjoyable English cad with an innocent misstep-making him eggs the morning after-the single life turns out to be more complicated than she imagined. To make sense of it, Lauren decides to follow a different dating guide each month, hoping she'll find the right formula to attract a steady supply of sex with no attachments. Her list of guides is entertaining and varied, ranging from the ubiquitous anti-feminist manual The Rules to more obscure selections, including The Technique of the Love Affair, a 1920s ode to flirting, and the Victorian-era Manners for Women. She even decides to use The Rules of the Game, a dating guide written for men, with great comic results. Her misadventures with test subjects, to whom she gives nicknames like "Popeye" and "Top Hat," along with her summations of the guides and their effectiveness, are entertaining, though at times they make the novel feel more like a series of blog posts. The story doesn't find its emotional pulse until the very end, when some essential information about the main character is finally revealed. Still, Lauren is likable in her unapologetic yearning for freedom, and the novel offers enough suspense and vicarious fun to pull the reader along. This novel doesn't have the heart or ironic sensibility of Bridget Jones's Diary, but for readers looking for something fun and casual without an emotional attachment, it might be a one-night stand to consider.

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January 1, 2015

Pimentel's debut takes a light and original but rather juvenile look at the land of dating for women or relationships overall. At age 28, Lauren Cunningham, after scaring off her latest beau, decides to tap into all of the "expert" literature and use various methods, loosely referred to as advice, to guide her in her dating practices. Though one might think there should be an end goal or accomplishment to this, Lauren is really just curious to know if any one of these methods has more success than another and does not seem to be interested in the men at all as individuals with whom to have any type of relationship. VERDICT This novel is a little flawed and not a modern piece that empowers women in their pursuits of success, however that may be defined. It starts off strong with a compelling concept, but there is no growth of the main character and the reader never understands, empathizes with, or identifies with her or has any connection to tangential characters.--Anne M. Miskewitch, Chicago P.L.

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