The Rom Con
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3.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
A modern battle of the sexes about a journalist who hatches an elaborate plan to take down her professional rival, in a rom-com perfect for fans of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
After a particularly brutal breakup, Cassidy Sutton has had it with dating. So when her grandmother gives her a 1950’s dating guide entitled 125 Tips to Hook a Husband, she decides to turn the retro advice into an ironic “What not to do” article for Siren, the popular online women’s publication she writes for. And who better to secretly test the old-fashioned tips on than Jack Bradford, chauvinistic creator of rival men’s site Brawler? She’ll write an article that will entertain female readers everywhere and embarrass their sexist nemesis at the same time. Two birds, one stone.
But her perfect plan soon proves to be anything but. Those vintage courtship tips Cassidy was so quick to poke fun at? They actually seem to work, calling her most closely-held beliefs into question. Even worse? Jack isn’t falling for any of her tricks—and it’s not long before their ‘fake’ relationship starts to feel like the realest one of her life. As her cat and mouse game starts to spiral out of control, Cassidy has to decide if she’s playing to win, or if she’s willing to lose it all for love.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Daniels (Meet You in the Middle) attempts to update How to Lose A Guy in Ten Days but falls short of the original thanks to characters who fundamentally do not understand either journalism or each other. Writer Cassidy Sutton thinks she's found her breakout idea when her grandmother asks her to try the advice in a 1950s article titled "125 Tips to Hook a Husband." Cassidy successfully pitches it to her editors at the female-focused news site Siren, but after a run-in with Jack Bradford, the founder of misogynistic clickbait factory Brawler, she changes her angle: she'll use these tips to become Brawler's idea of a perfect woman, get Jack to fall for her, and then write a "takedown of the founder of the most sexist site in journalism." The huge violation of journalistic ethics driving the plot makes it hard to buy the premise and Cassidy difficult to root for, particularly since Jack (unlike the character played by Matthew McConaughey in the film) isn't using Cassidy in return. Jack's difficult to like, too, as his part in developing and promoting Brawler's misogynistic content is never satisfactorily addressed. The climax also strains credulity, as readers are expected to believe that media mogul Jack doesn't understand that having a public argument with his girlfriend at an industry event full of celebrities would result in headlines the following day. This disappoints.
