Book Review: Not That Kind of Guy | Andie J. Christopher

Sizzling chemistry, good banter, and average plot make this an easy poolside read that is entertaining despite some uneven and rushed pacing. Not That Kind of Guy is sort of an unintentional recreation of The Proposal and mashes up office romance with fake dating to create a so-so spin on the beloved movie.

About the Book

An office attraction becomes something more when they’re off the clock in this delightful romantic comedy by the USA Today bestselling author of Not the Girl You Marry.

State attorney Bridget Nolan is successful in all aspects of her life–except romance. After breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, she’s been slow to reenter the dating scene. To be honest, she has more important things to do like putting bad guys behind bars. But with her brother’s wedding right around the corner, she suddenly needs a date and fast. Lucky for Bridget, the legal intern is almost done with his program.

Matt Kido is dumbstruck by Bridget–total love at first sight–but there’s one problem. She’s totally off-limits while she’s his boss. But the moment he no longer reports to her, Matt asks her on a date. An impulsive decision takes them to Las Vegas where, as the saying goes, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Unless you put a ring on it.

Reflection

Leading lady Bridget Nolan is an assistant state attorney in Chicago and definitely reminded me a bit of Sandra Bollock in The Proposal. She was raised on the south side to an Irish father (being from Chicago, I really understood why this explained her character), and her sole focus is building her career prosecuting sexual assault cases. H

Bridget agrees (somewhat reluctantly) to take on a student intern solely because she thinks his connections may help her earn a fellowship. Enter nepo-baby Matt Kido, whose wealthy grandfather was a senator and whose whole family is politically connected. Matt turned down a cushy job that his family connections earned him to the shock of his entire family because he wanted to avoid his ex and rebel a bit against his parent’s expectations (again, not so dissimilar from Ryan Reynolds in The Proposal).

The chemistry between Bridget and Matt during that internship is off the charts and so when the internship ends, Bridget invites Matt to be her date at her brother’s wedding in Vegas. Afterall, no better way to show up your ex than to bring a younger, hotter model. However their attraction escalates quickly when they get drunk, hook up, and decide to get married to annoy their parents with plans to divorce later.

I definitely found Bridget to be a better-developed character than Matt. This was funny and the plot worked better than the prior book Not the Girl You Marry, but overall I found that this was a bit uneven in pacing and only ok. Great for a quick and easy rom com, but not one of the best I’ve read either. It had sort of a mash up of tropes—office romance, agree to a fake relationship only to really fall for one another, and different backgrounds coming together. Nothing ground breaking and the way it came together felt rushed and not well-developed. Otherwise an entertaining poolside read for the romance lovers!