The Rom Con by Devon Daniels | Book Review

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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.

As I sit down to type this, I just realized that I’ve read two contemporary romances in a row that began with a breakup and have an enemies to lovers subplot. The Rom Con by Devon Daniels opens with Cassidy inviting her boyfriend Brett to her grandmother’s 90th birthday party on Saturday. He declines because Saturdays are for the guys per the website Brawler which he is devoted to. So, she dumps him. What ensues is basically Cassidy trying to do buzzfeed type things in real life for her job. This contemporary romance was super cute and fluffy!

At her grandmother’s birthday, Cassidy explains all about her breakup and how tough the modern dating scene is. So, her grandmother whips out an article she’s been holding onto since the 1950s – 126 tips to hook a man. Cassidy thinks the article is ridiculous, however, she is game to give the tips a shot. She pitches an article at her job for Siren, that she’s going to test the tips out. The perfect place to try is at the fragrance launch for a Yankee’s new cologne line. There she comes across a man who intrigues her, they share banter and he helps her get access to the Yankee to ask a question about his whirlwind engagement.

Only, after all is said and done, she realizes that he’s one of the owners and founders of Brawler which is her enemy. Then Cassidy has an awful, brilliant idea. She’s going to channel the 1950s and use the tips on Jack while trying to get him to say something incriminating that will lead to Brawler’s downfall. She’s going to con him. Cassidy doesn’t exactly expect Jack to be a perfect gentleman and not a chauvinist, so she’s surprised that they have real chemistry and that he starts to fall for her even though she’s doing all the 1950s things.

The Rom Con is only told through Cassidy’s perspective. Overall, I like her. I liked meeting her sister Christine and her grandmother. She has good boundaries and doesn’t take any crap from men. Cassidy is smart and her job is interesting. However, the book frequently talks about how she is not a big risk taker and kind of stagnating. I could appreciate that piece and how she eventually gets past that. As for Jack, he’s a sweet MMC, however, there are moments where he is a real jerk and that just turns me off. I also did find it interesting that there’s so much talk and almost idealization of the 1950s, but no interrogation beyond the is this feminist or liberated. It doesn’t really get into the fact that when we idealize the 1950s we ignore the fact that Jim Crow and Segregation were law and that it wasn’t an ideal time for everyone. Granted, this is a very fluffy book, but I’ve seen books that are romance that can balance the serious quite well. I am curious about the other couple alluded to in this book – the Yankee and his hometown sweetheart – that it seems to hint there may be another book coming about them. I’d be interested in that, and overall, this wasn’t a bad read at all. 

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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