Not Quite Dating--Catherine Bybee

She has commitment issues. He has commitment issues.  

Catherine Bybee weaves a tumultuous tale of half-truths and hidden feelings. I love Catherine Bybee’s writing style but this one was a bit predictable, even for her. Sometimes that isn’t a bad thing; sometimes a cute, sweet romance is just what the soul needs. When I read this series that is exactly what I was looking for and that is what I got.

The biggest issue for me was Jack Morrison’s dishonesty. You find out in the first chapter that he is going to withhold something huge, huge like he is a multimillionaire (if not billionaire). He has a point he wants whoever he is with to like him for him and not his money like that last few of his conquests. But Jessie is not a normal girl. She has it set in her head that if a man doesn’t have money he isn’t set to “protect and provide”.  Her stance comes from a serial monogamous mother and a deadbeat baby-daddy. So when Jack pretends that he picks up waiter shifts at the Morrison Hotel for the holidays, she views him as unstable and is unwilling to date him.

They definitely have their ups and downs, mostly it stems from the dishonesty.  Let’s face it, out of all the books we have read, whenever there is a giant secret it comes to light in the most gruesome and misconstrued way possible. I mean, every single time! There doesn’t seem to be one book that has the secret keeper divulge his drama is a quick and timely manner. No, nope, definitely not. This book is no exception.

One thing I will say, I tend to avoid books with children because they are unrealistic when it comes to parenting. “Oh sure we can spontaneously fly off to Jamaica for a week and not bring the kid.”  “We have been on an extended weekend and I haven’t called to check up on my kid once.” Yeah, not realistic. However, Catherine Bybee must feel the same as me because Jessie’s relationship with her son is quite realistic, so I was impressed. Plus Jack spends quite a bit of his time ensuring that everything he is doing for Jessie’s son is okay with Jessie.  Score two for realism! Overall an enjoyable read, even if it is predictable.