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A review by jackiehorne
Down with Love by Kate Meader
3.0
I love, love, love Kate Meader's witty voice, and her skill at creating characters, which is why I keep requesting and reading her books. But I often find some annoying antifeminist stuff in them, which always makes me pick up a new one with some caution.
In this opposites attract romance, cynical divorce lawyer Max Henderson can't believe his younger brother is getting married—or that he and his bride to be have hired the hottest, yet snarkiest, wedding planner he's ever had the bad luck to encounter. [Both characters are white]
The amusingly-named Charlie Love is ready for marriage herself. But after some entertaining bantering sessions that strike sparks, Max persuades her that it shouldn't be a problem to engage in some hot sex with him while she's searching. To his surprise, it is he, rather than Charlie, who slowly yearns to turn their hot-hate-sex thing into something more.
Charlie protests that she doesn't want Max to rescue her, or act protectively toward her, but he does so anyway. And she likes it. And as Max gradually shows that he's more than such a rich white boy know-it-all, she starts to fall for him, too.
Least favorite scene: Charlie gets thrown into "Cubs jail" for verbally going at it with an official at the ballpark. In the aftermath, this conversation between Max & Charlie:
"So I should have just zipped my mouth and acted like the quiet little woman?"
"Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Make this about feminism or getting beaten down by the patriarchy. It's about common sense and respect."
He's right. I know this, but I hate it. I hate feeling like that angry girl again, even if the stakes are as low as screaming invective at a ballgame official. I'm never going to find a man if I can't rein in that part of myself that's unpalatable to the segment fo the human race I need to impress. (Kindle Loc 1063)
And this: "So you're here because I rained all over your girl power parade?"
Really hate it when mansplaining heroes tell heroines how their feminism isn't really feminist.
On the other hand, Max appreciates Charlie's bossiness (even in bed), even while her stepmother keeps cautioning her that she needs to tone herself down if she ever wants to catch a husband. And he hates how she thinks she has to repress herself. So thumbs up there.
All in all, Meader's typical mixed bag.
In this opposites attract romance, cynical divorce lawyer Max Henderson can't believe his younger brother is getting married—or that he and his bride to be have hired the hottest, yet snarkiest, wedding planner he's ever had the bad luck to encounter. [Both characters are white]
The amusingly-named Charlie Love is ready for marriage herself. But after some entertaining bantering sessions that strike sparks, Max persuades her that it shouldn't be a problem to engage in some hot sex with him while she's searching. To his surprise, it is he, rather than Charlie, who slowly yearns to turn their hot-hate-sex thing into something more.
Charlie protests that she doesn't want Max to rescue her, or act protectively toward her, but he does so anyway. And she likes it. And as Max gradually shows that he's more than such a rich white boy know-it-all, she starts to fall for him, too.
Least favorite scene: Charlie gets thrown into "Cubs jail" for verbally going at it with an official at the ballpark. In the aftermath, this conversation between Max & Charlie:
"So I should have just zipped my mouth and acted like the quiet little woman?"
"Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Make this about feminism or getting beaten down by the patriarchy. It's about common sense and respect."
He's right. I know this, but I hate it. I hate feeling like that angry girl again, even if the stakes are as low as screaming invective at a ballgame official. I'm never going to find a man if I can't rein in that part of myself that's unpalatable to the segment fo the human race I need to impress. (Kindle Loc 1063)
And this: "So you're here because I rained all over your girl power parade?"
Really hate it when mansplaining heroes tell heroines how their feminism isn't really feminist.
On the other hand, Max appreciates Charlie's bossiness (even in bed), even while her stepmother keeps cautioning her that she needs to tone herself down if she ever wants to catch a husband. And he hates how she thinks she has to repress herself. So thumbs up there.
All in all, Meader's typical mixed bag.