Review: The Matchmaker's Playbook (Wingmen Inc. #1) by Rachel Van Dyken
Print Length: 209 pages
Publisher: Skyscape (April 5, 2016)
From Goodreads.com: Wingman rule number one: don’t fall for a client.
After a career-ending accident, former NFL recruit Ian Hunter is back on campus—and he’s ready to get his new game on. As one of the masterminds behind Wingmen, Inc., a successful and secretive word-of-mouth dating service, he’s putting his extensive skills with women to work for the lovelorn. But when Blake Olson requests the services of Wingmen, Inc., Ian may have landed his most hopeless client yet.
From her frumpy athletic gear to her unfortunate choice of footwear, Blake is going to need a miracle if she wants to land her crush. At least with a professional matchmaker by her side she has a fighting chance. Ian knows that his advice and a makeover can turn Blake into another successful match. But as Blake begins the transformation from hot mess to smokin’ hot, Ian realizes he’s in danger of breaking his cardinal rule.…
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My Rating: 5 stars out of 5
This story turned out to be a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. To begin with, I was wondering exactly how a "company" such as Wingmen Inc would work, and I was also trying to determine exactly how good a story would be when it is told entirely from the male point of view. Sure, I've read stories with alternating points-of-view before, and I've always enjoyed those, but to see things from an entirely male perspective?
Not surprisingly, Rachel manages to take on the male's perspective perfectly - giving voice to the thoughts I have often expected college-aged males to have. The entirety of the story was witty while managing to retain a certain sweetness that made the entire story seem more realistic. You could picture these people going about their daily lives, could perfectly see them sitting by the campus fountain. In fact, this story makes you think back to your own school days and wonder if these characters didn't in fact attend the same campus as you.
This story turned out to be a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. To begin with, I was wondering exactly how a "company" such as Wingmen Inc would work, and I was also trying to determine exactly how good a story would be when it is told entirely from the male point of view. Sure, I've read stories with alternating points-of-view before, and I've always enjoyed those, but to see things from an entirely male perspective?
Not surprisingly, Rachel manages to take on the male's perspective perfectly - giving voice to the thoughts I have often expected college-aged males to have. The entirety of the story was witty while managing to retain a certain sweetness that made the entire story seem more realistic. You could picture these people going about their daily lives, could perfectly see them sitting by the campus fountain. In fact, this story makes you think back to your own school days and wonder if these characters didn't in fact attend the same campus as you.
Even when touching on some pretty hard topics (the accident that ended Ian's NFL career and the tragic loss of Blake's brother), Rachel manages to tackle it in such a way that it doesn't leave the reader feeling sad. She manages to infuse it with just the right about of understanding, and that slight bit of humor that takes a tragedy and makes it not only a learning experience, but a chance to grow as well.
The ONLY part of this story that I found slightly hard to believe was that these services managed to stay entirely secret. Perhaps this is due to the fact that my college campus was a small one, but I would have thought that eventually people would start putting the Wingmen to their Inc. Especially considering they always made first contact in a public area, and how (for this novel in particular) Ian would be seen in various locations with various women days or weeks apart. Sure that could be explained away as though Ian was a cheat, however I would think that someone would have noticed and eventually put two and two together. Even with that slight part that was surprising to me, did not detract from the overall plot, nor do I think it would affect anyone's enjoyment of this story.
The ONLY part of this story that I found slightly hard to believe was that these services managed to stay entirely secret. Perhaps this is due to the fact that my college campus was a small one, but I would have thought that eventually people would start putting the Wingmen to their Inc. Especially considering they always made first contact in a public area, and how (for this novel in particular) Ian would be seen in various locations with various women days or weeks apart. Sure that could be explained away as though Ian was a cheat, however I would think that someone would have noticed and eventually put two and two together. Even with that slight part that was surprising to me, did not detract from the overall plot, nor do I think it would affect anyone's enjoyment of this story.
DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.
The Matchmaker's Playbook is available from Amazon.com
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The Matchmaker's Playbook is available from Amazon.com
 by Rachel Van Dyken){kind=link}
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