Unsuitable Men
After eleven years of coupled-up domesticity, Rory Carmichael is single for the first time in her adult life. Even she would admit that her ex-boyfriend Martin wasn’t the most the most exciting man in the world – let’s face it, his idea of a rocking night was one spent discussing pension plans in a Harvester restaurant – but Rory could rely on him and, having watched her mother rack up four turbulent marriages, that’s what matters. But when she discovers that her supposedly reliable Mr Right is a distinctly unreliable character, she’s forced to consider the possibility that everything she knows about relationships is wrong. In an effort to reinvigorate both her love life and her lacklustre career at posh magazine Country House, she sets herself a mission to date as many unsuitable men as possible. Toyboys. Sugar daddies. Fauxmosexuals. Maybe the bad boys she’s never dated can show her what she’s been missing in life. But if Mr Right can turn out to be so wrong, maybe one of her Mr Wrongs will turn out to be just right…
Rory is basically your typical lovely, normal girl who has sadly gotten into the rut of being with someone because it’s better to be in a couple than be on your own, even if the relationship isn’t that fulfilling. She relied on Martin, to the point where she has begun to lose herself. He is controlling and everything goes his way, and he’s totally boring! Rory has been a bit of a doormat to be honest and her self- esteem is on the floor, but in her mind she is in a solid, long term relationship that’s bound to end up in marriage and family and she is content with her lot. That is until Martin does the dirty on her and her world is turned upside down.
Having felt like she’s a bit in the background and not really noticed at work, as she works through the grief of her finished relationship, she finds herself getting to know her overbearing colleague Ticky better and getting somewhat steam-rollered into taking her advice. As a result this leads to a her beginning to write a new column basing her writings on her experiences of dating ‘Unsuitable Men’ as a way of getting over Martin and having all the ‘bad date’ experiences she never had when she was younger. Maybe if she experiences some of these it will give her a clearer idea of what she does what in a relationship.
There follows a series of amusing situations which poor Rory gets herself into, and she finds herself on a bit of a trail of self-discovery, all the while boarding at her Aunt Lyd’s house, a home with aging ‘has been’ actors and annoying plumber Jim which brings an enjoyable added dimension to the story.
Verdict: I liked Rory and there is a good cast of supporting characters and as a low cost Kindle download this was a very enjoyable read.
Reviewed by Lesley
