Customer Reviews

Match Me If You Can (Chicago Stars Series)

5 star:		(97)
4 star:		(38)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Match Me If You Can" is a delightful book by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, full of memorable characters and bright, witty dialogue. It is the latest entry in her "Chicago Stars" football team series of books and features characters from the other books in the series (such as the Somerville sisters and their husbands) as secondary characters.

The heroine of the story, Annabelle Granger, is a charming but rather hapless redhead--a chronic underachiever born into a family of super-achievers. When Annabelle inherits her grandmother's matchmatching business ("Matches by Myrna") she changes the name to "Perfect for You" and sets out to make her new business a success. The key its success, she believes, is to land gorgeous Heath Champion, bachelor extraordinaire and wealthy sports agent, as a client. Heath is looking for a wife and has engaged a rival matchmaking service ("Power Matches" run by the ruthlessly perfect Portia Powers) to introduce him to likely candidates since he is just *too busy* with his work to look for a wife on his own. Annabelle goes after Heath's business with a vengeance, but cannot help taking a few jabs at his over-inflated ego. Heath is looking to the "perfect" woman to complement his "perfect" life. (Annabelle sums up his requirements for a wife: "Athletic, domestic, gorgeous, brilliant, socially connected, and pathologically submissive.") Heath is only willing to meet the "candidates" initially for a 20 minute interview and insists that Annabelle be present for all the first meetings. Of course none of the candidates is ever as perfect for Heath as Annabelle herself, but it takes him absolutely *forever* to figure this out.

Annabelle is a charming heroine--smart, warm-hearted, vulnerable and fun-loving. Heath is much harder to warm up to as a hero. His nickname is "The Python" since he squeezes money out of the team owners and sponsors for his clients, and he is suitably cold-blooded for that name to be appropriate. He is gorgeous, intelligent, driven and rich, but also a double cell-phoned workaholic full of smarmy charm and shallow emotions. I found it surprising that more of the "candidates" did not reject *him* after the first 20 minute meeting. Heath realizes that he is attracted to Annabelle but dismisses her as potential wife material since she does not fit his preconceived ideal of the beautiful, polished, perfect spouse. He has absolutely *tons* of emotional baggage to come to terms with before he is able to recognize his true feelings for Annabelle.

The dialogue is sharp and witty and it is a delight to revisit characters like Phoebe Somerville Calebow (heroine of "It Had to Be You"), the owner of the Chicago Stars and Heath's arch-enemy since she was forced to cave in to his hardball negotiating tactics early in his career as a sports agent. (Heath says at one point: "It's been seven years, Phoebe. Don't you think it's time we bury the hatchet?" To which Phoebe replies: "As long as the blade ends up in the back of your neck, I'm game.") The plot moves along fairly well, but it takes a long time (I mean, a *long* time!) for Heath to realize that Annabelle is the right woman for him and his epiphany when it does occur seems startlingly abrupt.

In summary, "Match Me If You Can" is a fun and fast read with the type of memorable characters and sparkling dialogue typical of Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

Highly recommended.

Annabelle Granger inherited a matchmaking business from her grandmother and sets out to land Chicago's most eligible bachelor, Heath Champion. Heath has already signed with powerhouse matchmaker, Portia Powers, but meets with Annabelle as a courtesy to his client, Chicago Stars quarterback, Kevin Turner. He gives Annabelle one chance to knock him off his feet - set him up with one date, and if he likes the woman, he'll sign with her. She talks a friend into posing as his date, and he's instantly attracted to Gwen, only to be informed that Gwen just wants to be friends. As she searches for the perfect woman for him, and sits in on all the dates (as well as those set up by Portia at Heath's request), she realizes that she's falling for him, despite his brash personality. But her trump card is the relationship she has with Phoebe Calebow, owner of the Stars, and nemesis of Heath. If he can get into Phoebe's good graces, one of his biggest obstacles can be overcome. When Annabelle and Heath give in to their growing feelings for each other while on a weekend retreat, Annabelle realizes that the rules have changed, and finding his perfect match will cause her heartbreak.

Loaded with SEP's signature crisp and witty dialogue, "Match Me if You Can" is a charming entry into the Stars/Bonner Brothers series. A bonus is the funny secondary romance between Portia and Bodie, who fashions himself as Heath's "bodyguard." He's a former football player and she's a former socialite. When their worlds collide, it makes for a raucous romance. This one is highly recommended!

Compared to all SEP's other work, Match Me was a let down. I love all her football series starting w/ it had to be You - and she has great characters but the story lacked the depth that she usually works into her characters. It was too pat that Bodie was rich and connected. And at the end, Heath has one session with her family and loves them to bits and we are supposed to buy into his idea of the family dynamics. In SEP's other stories like Nobody's Baby...the family felt real. Here- throughout the story SEP has them set up as some kind of irritant who always put her down and belittle her and so when they finally "root" for her, I just didnt buy it and I didn't even like them. So the end - where the hero grovels to the heroine - also didnt work- which is a shame because it worked really well in every other book of hers. Of SEP's work,my favorites have been Heaven Texas and Nobody's Baby.... Can anyone tell me why it doesn't work? Please, please let Dean Robillard's story have all the weight and humor of her older work.

Heath Champion wants a wife- not for love, but because one would be useful. Rather than go the standard route of looking on his own, he hires a matchmaker. However, when Portia Powers' agency does not deliver satisfactory results, he hires a second one, owned by Annabelle Granger, the total antithesis of Portia. Where the Portia is professional and controlled, Annabelle simply is not. She does agree to accompany him on his dates, twenty minute affairs in which he assesses and accepts or rejects a potential candidate. However, not even between them can Portia and Annabelle seem to find the right woman for Heath. However, Portia's own lovelife begins to look up, and Annabelle does begin to make headway as far as getting Heath back in the good graces of Phoebe Calebow, owner of the Stars football team, as long time fans know. She also begins to work her way into his closed down heart, but both of them fight falling in love with each other tooth and nail. Annabelle is not cut out to be a society wife, at least not to first glance. Heath does not really believe in love. Yet, perhaps the matchmaker has met her match.

**** Susan E Phillips always scores a touchdown, and this is no exception. With warmth and wit, she tells a fun story. At the same time, she brings back favorite friends. I admit, I was hoping to see Bobby Tom again, but still, seeing Kevin, Phoebe, Molly, and Dan was a treat, making the book worthwhile, even without the main story, which was worth it as well. ****

I absolutely adored this book. This is the second book by author Susan Elizabeth Phillips that I have had the pleasure of reading and I have loved them both. The first `AINT SHE SWEET' was a fun romantic novel that also had somewhat of a serious side while `MATCH ME IF YOU CAN' was all fun! I found myself reading through the chapters quickly so I could find out what happened next. Matchmaker Annabelle Granger and Sports agent Heath Champion are a couple that you will be rooting for from the very beginning. The chemistry is great and the pacing of the story is just right. SEP gives you exactly what you want when you want it without making anything too easy. Can't wait for her next one...but in the meantime I think I will brush up on some of her previous works!

Truthfully, I have been disappointed by SEP's last 3 books... I am partial to her books "Nobody's Baby But Mine" and "Kiss An Angel" - but when I finished this book and got through the last page, I was satisfied. Not just the main characters, but ALL of the little minor secondary characters had enough "life" so that I could easily picture them in my mind, which of course adds to the overall pleasure of reading! The progress of the relationships was believable and fun, and although I would love more details and more scenes describing Annabelle's and Heath's interactions on the way to falling in love with each other, that would make the book too heavy to carry around. Great job!

Susan Elizabeth Phillips has a great talent for combining beautifully human characters and incredibly funny situations to produce feel-good stories. Match Me If You Can is no exception. I found myself laughing out loud in parts, so be careful if you don't want strange looks when reading this book in public. I always look forward to Phillips' new publications and she never disappoints.

Warm summer day, nothing to read, popped in the library. I always go to the new book area and there was this book by a writer I had never heard of. The first chapter had me in stitches......and continued throughout the book. I am not a reviewer who reveals the story, rather just recommend and let the reader discover the joy to be found in reading this particular book. This is only my second review, was driven to share with others how marvelously entertaining this book was. It reawakened my desire to find similar books. I've just received Heaven, Texas by the same author and ready to dive into it. Reading this book will be a gift you give yourself!

If you're looking for a book to remind you why reading is fun, then MATCH ME IF YOU CAN is Perfect for You! In this latest installment of the Chicago Stars/Bonner Brothers series, hilarity ensues when super-slick sports agent Heath Champion hires spunky matchmaker Annabelle Granger to find him a woman who will make the ultimate trophy wife. Thanks to Phillips' trademark witty dialogue, Annabelle and Heath's search for the perfect match will keep you in stitches while endearing these characters to your heart. Given Heath's representation of several Chicago Stars and Annabelle's friendship with the Somerville sisters, this book has the added bonus of allowing the reader to check in with several old friends from previous books in the series. Not to mention the introduction of new characters that are certain to entertain us in the future - Dean Robillard, backup quarterback for the Stars, was completely outrageous and an absolute hoot! I understand his story will be next and am looking forward to it!

I've been a SEP fan for years, so it's no surprise that I raced right out to buy this book. Once I opened it, I was hooked. I literally couldn't put it down. Even though I was on vacation, I ignored everyone and simply sat on the beach and raced through the pages. This book is pure, absolute, unadulterated fun. I loved the characters and found myself often laughing out loud. I can't remember a better contemporary romance. Enjoy!