Customer Reviews

Catch A Mate (Hqn Romance)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Few people have the opportunity to work at a job that perfectly caters to their most prepossessing desire, but Jillian Greene is among the fortunate few. An emotionally scarring experience left her bitter towards men, so making a living as "bait" to uncover the cheating tendencies of other women's significant others seems to be a job tailor-made for her. Then, everything changes when the Catch-A-Mate agency is sold to a man, Marcus Brody, who is as disillusioned about women as Jillian is toward men. Putting the two of them in a close working relationship is asking for trouble, but they can not deny the attraction that is determined to assert itself between them. No matter how casual they try to keep things, Marcus and Jillian might be forced to admit that they might have been wrong about the opposite sex and risk everything on love and forgiveness.

**** At first blush, this appears to be a light-weight read with steamy moments, nothing more. Yet, as you get into it, deeper emotions are uncovered, revealing profound truths behind the mask of fluff. There's an important message in this story along with the fun. ****

Amanda Killgore

Jillian Greene has been scarred since discovering her mother after a suicide attempt upon mom learning that dad was having an affair. Nearly two decades later, she channels her distrust of men into a lucrative job as "date bait," where she catches errant boyfriends and spouses stepping out on their girlfriends and wives who come to "Catch a Mate" to have their worst fears confirmed. She's yet to meet a man who was true blue. When she meets the new "bait," a sexy hunk named Marcus, she wonders if they have ventured into the same sex market. But Marcus is all alpha and in addition to being paired with her on her next assignment, he's also her new boss. Neither one believes in happily ever after (Jillian due to her parents divorce and Marcus due to the infidelity of his wife), but decide that perhaps a casual relationship will meet both their needs in the short term.

Sparks fly as the two deny their attraction which explodes on the pages in one of the most humorously sensual novels I've ever read. Secondary storylines feature her brother and best friend finally admitting their true feelings, as well as her mother finally coming to grips with the anchor she's tied around her family due to her own instability. It's a refreshingly funny romantic comedy, and I look forward to more contemporary romances by Showalter.

Sorry to all those who loved this book. I expected to from all the glowing reviews, and the fact that I have enjoyed several of Ms. Showalters books in the past.

Alas, my problem with this was how rushed it all was. I didn't buy for one minute that these two overcame a life of betrayal by the opposite sex in the first week they knew each other. I hate when books do that. How hard would it have been to extend their courtship [and I'm verrrry loosely using that word here] to even a month? To use the word weeks instead of days when describing the passing of time? How hard?

Anyway, when on day 4 or whatever, they knew they'd fallen madly in love, after only about 30 minutes of actual friendly conversation... Well, I just couldn't swallow it.

And the ending 1/4 of the book felt forced and rushed, and frankly, I thought, ridiculous.

I was very annoyed to have wasted the time [not to mention this book ain't cheap even used!] on such yip yap, after expecting to pass the time being amused and interested in a well thought out, at least somewhat believably plotted story.

Sigh.

Get caught with CAM!

Jillian - Father cheated on her mother and has made her hate men. She works as bait at Catch a Mate, a business that outs cheating husbands & boyfriends. Anne, the owner also hates men with a passion so no men work for CAM. Jillian wants to buy or be a partner in the business but Anne keeps putting her off. Marcus - He works as bait in his own business like CAM. He was hurt by a past marriage, so also has a low opinion of women. One day Jillian and her co-workers are told by Anne that she's hired Marcus as bait and from then on would be working with them at CAM. What Jillian and the other girls don't know is that Marcus is actually the new owner of CAM. These two are instantly attracted and of course don't want to be, so the battle begins. This book catches your attention and runs you through the emotional ringer! Great job Gena!

Catch a Mate is such a feel good book that anyone who reads it will have a smile on their face throughout the whole story. This books has it all- comedy, lusting, childhood crushes and excellent sex scenes with well written characters. Gena Showalter has written an incredible lighthearted book that had a laugh a minute.

Jillian works for Catch a Mate which is a service women go to basically catch their mate trying to cheat on them. Jillian loves to work there because she is in essence a true man hater because of her father who cheated on her mother when she was younger. Marcus, who is the male counterpart to Jillian who thinks women are evil because of his horrible ex-wife. He buys the business she works for and let me tell you, the sparks fly. The start out having a verbal hate relationship, but in reality it covers their lust filled gazes for each other. Can you imagine what happens next?

There are also a secondary cast of characters that will have you wishing for their own stories. We have Jillian's best friend who was an ugly duckling in school who had a big crush on Jillian's brother. Their little romance is adorable and the total opposite to Jillian's and Marcus's, which is very hot.

If you want a book that will cheer you up about love and finding the right mate for you, you must read this one. There are not enough words that can describe this wonderful, funny read. A little loopy yes, but by the end you will feel so good about yourself and this story.

Katiebabs

Animal Instincts

Jillian Greene is mad as hell. And of course a man is responsible. They're lying cheating jerks -all of them. Luckily she has the perfect job exposing men for the scum they really are. She works for an agency (Catch A Mate) which women hire *bait* (a beautiful woman like Jillian) to test their significant others. Only now the all-woman company has been bought out by a MAN! ACK! And get this -he's a gorgeous woman-hater. So from the get-go Jillian and her new boss Marcus Brody despise each other. He doesn't like her methods of luring the mark and she doesn't like...well him. Too bad they're too busy yelling at each other to take advantage of the explosive sexual chemistry between them. Take cover because sooner or later a bomb is going to hit and clothes will go flying!

WOW! I loved this book! I'm partial to hate-turns-to-love romance books and this one is one of the best I've read. Jillian and Marcus are sooo bad! A man-hater and a woman-hater ---do you think they have issues? LOL! They are at each others throats all the time. And at the same time there is this HUGE underling sexual tension between them because all that fighting is REALLY turning them on. Showalter's writing is engaging and down-right hilarious. I laughed a lot!

There is also a really cute secondary romance with Jillian's brother and her best friend. I wish there was more of them too.

So I recommend this book to anyone looking for a hate/love contemporary romance. A bit of fluff thats really funny in some places.

Some other hate-turns-to-love romances that I've enjoyed are:

Jinxed! (Harlequin Blaze, No. 303) -first story by Jacquie D'Alessandro

Bad Boys In Black Tie (Watson Brothers) -story by Erin McCarthy

Jingle Bell Rock -story by Nancy Warren *my favorite*

Just the Sexiest Man Alive (Berkley Sensation)

This is the first book that I have read from Gena Showalter that wasn't a "Lords of the Underworld" book and I have to say I loved it! I found myself laughing through most of the book. Jillian and Marcus are a riot together. I usually do not like it when the female lead character is a smart mouth but this book is an exception! If you like romance and a lot of laughs this is the one for you!

Catch a Mate provides a special service for women who believe their man is cheating. Operatives like Jillian Greene serve as "bait" reeling in philanders although sometimes the man actually proves faithful. However, her job clearly prohibits touching the male she hooks. Her overall assessment is that the Y gene means cheat, lie, and grind.

Marcus Brody joins the Catch a Mate staff as male "bait" to catch unfaithful females. He, like Jillian believes of males, assumes all females are cheats. These two baiters distrust one another due to gender experiences, but also are attracted to one another. However, to her a monogamous male is an oxymoron; while to him a faithful female is an extinct species.

This heated humorous contemporary romance is lighthearted fun as the professional pick up artists compete while denying that they are in love with one another; neither wants the other gender partner in business or their personal lives as they share in common besides their love the belief that the other sex consists entirely of stupid liars. Fans will enjoy Gena Showalter's hilarious war as Jillian and Marcus each feel strongly the other suffers from a gender induced libido that supersedes rationale thought.

Harriet Klausner

I agree with the one of the reviewers that the book felt rushed...for H/H who were scarred and had issues that ran deep...they gave up too easily and fell in love too quickly. Even though one might argue that love happens when one least expects it...the H/H did not take time to sort out their feelings and could see very clearly that they are in love with each other without much conflict in their mind...which, to me, seemed less believable.

I had such high hopes as the other reviews were so great. I really tried to like this book. I read as much as I could until I had to put it down 1/2 way through. To me, it was just so shallow, aggravating and boring. I couldn't take it anymore! Sorry! I tried very hard to like it, but couldn't finish it!