Method Man

by Naomi Neale

The day Becca Egan signs her divorce papers, she arranges to meet friends in one of New York's swankiest bars. There she is rescued from an icky pickup attempt by the suave if slightly cheesy A. J., who takes pity on her inexperience and offers to teach Becca "the Method" for romantic pickups. After initially hesitating, and with continued misgivings, Becca decides that she owes it to herself to learn to have fun. Neale's narrator is endearingly wisecracking, and astute enough to accept the dross with the gold and move on. Her nurturing if somewhat smothering big sister and assorted friends provide continued irritants to induce Becca to stay on her chosen path long enough to become an expert. Neale, who has already proved herself several times over as a witty and articulate voice of the contemporary single woman, has penned another delightfully sarcastic tale drawing on the best aspects of chick lit to dramatize one woman's quest for self-discovery and self-respect.

341 pages, Paperback

First published January 30, 2007

About the author

Also published as Naomi Nash

Naomi Neale, a pseudonym for Vance Briceland, is one of the few men writing in the romance genre. He writes stories aimed at young women, in the subgenre sometimes called "chick lit," and novels for teenage girls as Naomi Nash. "Many people tend to be surprised that I don't mind writing for what's perceived as a female-oriented genre," Neale told Derrick Sobodash in an interview for the Royal Oak, Michigan, Oakland Press. Neale further explained to Sobodash: "I've always enjoyed stories with romantic components to them." His background figures into his writing to some extent. He is the son of two historians, whom he considers "storytellers," he told Sobodash. He also has a sympathy for outsiders and has done extensive volunteer work with youths, which has given him "insight into the mind of a teenage girl," noted Debra Pascoe in a profile of Neale for the online publication Life@Wayne at Wayne State University, where he works as an administrator.

Reviews

[Melissa (So Behind) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Becca Egan signs her divorce papers and arranges to meet her friends at a bar. While she's there, a sleazy guy attempts to pick her up. To her rescue comes A.J. Daye—a “professional” at picking up women. He feels for her plight and offers to teach Becca the methods he uses to pick up women. Becca gets a rare insider’s look inside the male mind, and she isn’t sure she likes what she sees. But is it helping her to become wiser about her own life? Can she move past A.J.’s seven step “Yes Ladder” technique and find true love of her own again?
Method Man is a very tongue-in-cheek look at today’s dating world. Readers familiar with Neale’s other works (Calendar Girl, The Mile High Hair Club) will recognize her quirky sense of humor and easily get into her sarcastic take on pick-ups and dating. Readers who have experienced a bad break-up or divorce will relate to Becca. And, unfortunately, many readers will see that the pick-up methods are all too realistic. For a fun book full of laugh-out-loud moments and some interesting food for thought for a chick lit novel, Method Man is sure to please.

[Lissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Lissa Staley
Posted January 15, 2007


Romance Contemporary

On the day her divorce is finalized, Becca Egan hits the bars to meet her girlfriends. She wants to forget about the time she wasted in her failed marriage as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, Becca is completely clueless about the bar scene and sits on her barstool hoping the right kind of guy will offer to buy her a drink. When her friends are running late, she quickly falls prey to a smooth- talking pickup artist who almost talks her into heading back to his place when A.J. Daye rescues her.

A.J. is the older brother of one of Becca's friend and has always been annoying and charming. He takes pity on Becca and lets her in on the secret ways of men, namely that many men in bars are using "the method" to hit on women. He convinces Becca to go out with him, to become his "wingman" and help him hit on the ladies. Becca is fascinated, disgusted and intrigued as she learns more about A.J.'s simple steps for wooing women. She's also determined never to fall for a METHOD MAN -- although she may be ready for love again.

METHOD MAN is packed with fast-paced banter and hilarious pick-up lines, along with some interesting theories on dating, love, romance and seduction, although not necessarily in that order. Becca's cynical outlook and A.J.'s conceited self-assurance provide opposing insights into modern dating, and Becca's job in a tranquil antiquarian bookstore offers a balance with her hectic nights out. I loved every page, coveted Becca's cool friends and coworkers and cheered her on through the happy ending. Naomi Neale gives us a perfect treat for Valentine's Day!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a guilty pleasure read. The story is about a woman that has difficulty picking up men. When she goes out one night with her girlfriends, a man that is friends with one of her friends notices how uncomfortable she is in the bar and decides to try to help her. It was a fun book, but I would not read any other books by this author.

[Crystal Dundas-miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty good, took long to get hooked but once I did I am glad I stuck with it.