Love By The Book

By: Melissa Pimentel
Publisher: Penguin Books
Publication Date: February 2015
ISBN: 978-0143127284
Reviewed by: Amy Lignor
Review Date: February 2015

Okay...it’s true: there is an obsession with Sex In the City – all the way down to the Real Housewives who spend their days crabbing at each other, talking about sex, wardrobe, and drinking various glasses of wine while they’re doing it. Why is this so interesting, you ask? Look at CNN for five minutes and you will completely understand why fun, wit, and high-heels are a necessity to stay positive in this world.

Main character, Lauren Cunningham, is a lot like the rest of the females out there who are under thirty (but just barely) and are immensely unlucky-in-love. Instead of heading straight to some internet site to attempt to find the ‘one,’ Lauren picks up and moves to London. Not only is she not going on the internet, but she is going to drop the whole ‘man forever’ thing and simply strive for that vivacious, fun-loving, partying lifestyle that her single-self wants.

Englishmen are sexy. Anyone who can say they are not has not read and drooled over Mr. Darcy (the man who is STILL what every woman on the planet wants); or, seen Daniel Craig on screen being his James Bond pompous, egotistical, hottie self that turns everyone on. Lauren is all about those English gentlemen, but she seems to be having the opposite problem most women have. She wants the sex; she does not want more. And she can’t figure out why the men she dates don’t understand that. So...an experiment comes into play.

Lauren makes up her own ‘Guide to Dating’ by learning through each date and making notes in a journal of both bad and good choices. She wants to be the ultimate siren, and perhaps...just perhaps...that one Mr. Darcy may enter the picture before she’s done. Whether or not she can hold onto him is another twist.

These are those female-friendly tales that shout-out to all the girls out there who roll their eyes, drink their various drinks, have music prepping time, as well as a whole conversation about how to dress “casually” just to watch TV with a guy bringing beer. You would think “casually” is easy...but it’s not. The author has done a wonderful job with presenting a very real female struggling to understand some men’s minds, while finding her true self in the mix.

Quill says: Sarcasm at its absolute finest. This author is able to combine irony and fun with true emotion. Cheers!