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The Dating Game
The Dating Game by Shirley Jump released on Dec 13, 2005 is available now for purchase.
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 13, 2005
2 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
Shirley Jump
445 books741 followersShirley Jump is a writing instructor and an award-winning, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Amazon, and USA Today bestselling author who has published more than 80 books in 24 countries. She has spoken all over the world about the power of narrative and how to create compelling books. A former reporter and communications director for a marketing agency, she uses her diverse background to help clients create impactful books that readers can’t down.
She knows the path to publication isn’t all rainbows and unicorns, so to help writers write their best possible book, she offers monthly Manuscript Masterminds through her website, www.WritingCompellingFiction.com.
On her channel, https://YouTube.com/@WritingCompellin..., she unlocks the secrets behind compelling novels and delves into the psychological aspect of overcoming creativity-stoppers like doubt and perfectionism. Follow her channel for more writing exercises, classes, and behind-the-scenes writing lessons or join her Manuscript Mastermind to build your tribe of like-minded writers and receive crucial feedback on your pages.
She knows the path to publication isn’t all rainbows and unicorns, so to help writers write their best possible book, she offers monthly Manuscript Masterminds through her website, www.WritingCompellingFiction.com.
On her channel, https://YouTube.com/@WritingCompellin..., she unlocks the secrets behind compelling novels and delves into the psychological aspect of overcoming creativity-stoppers like doubt and perfectionism. Follow her channel for more writing exercises, classes, and behind-the-scenes writing lessons or join her Manuscript Mastermind to build your tribe of like-minded writers and receive crucial feedback on your pages.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 16, 2022
Super cheesy, but cute short read.
August 28, 2024
1.5 stars 🌕🌗🌑🌑🌑
Genres, settings, categories, themes: contemporary romance (M/F)
💗 Tropes: 💗
> Hidden Identity
> Reality TV
> Sports Themed
all about tropes here
Series/Sequencing Style: standalone
Format: audiobook
🔽🔽🔽
👄 Heat level: 1/5 mild sizzle 👄 (it might have even been 0, I don't completely remember, but it was definitely clean/tame)
(from Ampersand’s guide to heat levels in romance novels – (0) sweet, (1) mild sizzle, (2) sensual steam, (3) spicy seduction, (4) red hot, (5) erotic)
🔽🔽🔽
📝 Review/Notes 📝l
Corny as hell. All the sports analogies were so painful and the end poem was cringe AF. Lots of big stretches and unbelievable things - even from the starting premise of being able to switch the envelopes (which conveniently had no show details).
Okay Mattie, we get it you only care about soccer and your girls team.
Short. Some looking for a simple, quick read may think it's cute.
🔽🔽🔽
🤠 Recommended for: someone looking for a simple, quick read, especially if they're into soccer.
Genres, settings, categories, themes: contemporary romance (M/F)
💗 Tropes: 💗
> Hidden Identity
> Reality TV
> Sports Themed
all about tropes here
Series/Sequencing Style: standalone
Format: audiobook
🔽🔽🔽
👄 Heat level: 1/5 mild sizzle 👄 (it might have even been 0, I don't completely remember, but it was definitely clean/tame)
(from Ampersand’s guide to heat levels in romance novels – (0) sweet, (1) mild sizzle, (2) sensual steam, (3) spicy seduction, (4) red hot, (5) erotic)
🔽🔽🔽
📝 Review/Notes 📝l
Corny as hell. All the sports analogies were so painful and the end poem was cringe AF. Lots of big stretches and unbelievable things - even from the starting premise of being able to switch the envelopes (which conveniently had no show details).
Okay Mattie, we get it you only care about soccer and your girls team.
Short. Some looking for a simple, quick read may think it's cute.
🔽🔽🔽
🤠 Recommended for: someone looking for a simple, quick read, especially if they're into soccer.
March 29, 2020
Disenfranchised trust fund deb turned soccer coach turns to competing in reality television to raise $50,000 to fund her girls' soccer league. Due to the machinations of the (UPS?) delivery guy who moonlights as a matchmaker, the coach finds herself competing in a reality dating show, rather than a survivalist reality program. The most intriguing candidate for her hand is actually an undercover reporter... Can this game be turned into a win-win for everyone?
February 27, 2024
This is a fun, entertaining, quick read. David and Mattie are interesting, relatable, intriguing, complex, entertaining, fun characters. I enjoyed them as individuals and a couple. Their romance is full of twists and turns, which was fun to read. I enjoyed this story and how it played out. The secondary characters added to the fabric of the story and my enjoyment.
I enjoyed the audio version of this story and the narrator.
I enjoyed the audio version of this story and the narrator.
June 1, 2025
It was one of the worst book I've read this year (sorry). I mean it was very corny. the main character was a pick me and very flat. Apparently she only does sport and doesn't like anything that other girls like. The guy is in love with her because she's not like the other girls. He asks her to marry him litterally a week after meeting her. Like wtf. All if the other characters are super shallow and have no background. I'm disappointed the premise was good but the actual story is really bad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 22, 2022
3 Stars for me!
The story itself was cute and fun but very unbelievable. They were able to get so much free time together, obtain items from outside sources and zero background checks on the contestants.
The story itself was cute and fun but very unbelievable. They were able to get so much free time together, obtain items from outside sources and zero background checks on the contestants.
May 5, 2023
I really enjoyed this clean, funny romance. I got this from my TBR pile and I'm not sure where I bought it. I voluntarily chose to review it. I've given it a 5* rating. It was a real pick me up story and pulled me in it's game. It read pretty fast and smiling at the ending.
August 23, 2023
This was a good concept that could have been made into a really good read... but the characters really lacked in fun... the book was too serious for me... and not much connection between main characters
April 24, 2023
Just wasn't the best story. Felt rushed and to long at same time. Didn't feel to much of a connection.
June 29, 2023
The plot was great but the story wasn't well executed. Felt very rushed and didn't allow for a true bond to form either with the characters themselves or the reader and characters
September 22, 2023
A little cheesy
October 2, 2024
I do love a cheesy romance from time to time... But I don't like sexism and not respecting her (or anyone else's) no.
February 20, 2022
Even for the type of book this is, it seems extremely rushed. It makes everything awkward.
November 13, 2012
Shirley Jump is one of the best romantic comedy authors around, and yet I'm always surprised at how much I love her stories! Laugh-out-loud funny, with warm, intriguing characters, the humor she invokes into her story lines makes her stories come alive on the page. THE DATING GAME is no exception-an absolutely original plot, main characters you can't help but love, and a supporting cast that fleshes the story out until you know what you're reading could happen in real life.
The story starts out with Bowden Hartman, an employee of Speedy Package Services, playing God/Fairy Godmother/Prince of Love. He's in charge of delivering winning notices to two women-Tiffany Barrett, a former Miss Indiana, who's won the lead role on the "Love and the Average Jill" reality show, and Mattie Grant, a woman who's won a position on the reality show "Survival of the Fittest." Both shows are set to debut on Lawford Channel Ten's new line-up. Deciding to do something he deems necessary, Bowden switches the envelopes, and the result is that Mattie, who believed she'd be competing on "Survival of the Fittest," for which she'd been training, ends up at a mansion with a butler, a new wardrobe, and several eligible bachelors vying for her attention.
When Mattie finds out she's on the wrong show, she's all set to high-tail it back home. But Larissa Peterson, host of "Love and the Average Jill", decides that Mattie is the absolutely best choice to be the star of the show. One of the show's producers, Steve Blackburn, agrees. So does the first bachelor Mattie meets, Dave Simpson. Strikingly handsome, with an air of mystery, Mattie feels an immediate attraction to him-but she's still not sure about appearing on the show. After all, she chairs the Lawford Girls' Soccer League and coaches two of the girls' teams. She doesn't date a parade of men, but the fifty-thousand dollar prize money could mean a lot for the Soccer League.
Dave Simpson is entranced with Mattie Grant upon their first meeting. There's nothing fake about her, and although she's not the former Miss Indiana bachelorette he was expecting, he quickly finds out she's even more. The only problem is, Dave is on the show under false pretenses of his own, and as his feelings for Mattie grow, so does the hole he's dug for himself. Telling her the truth could damage their growing relationship, and Dave's finding out that for the first time in his life, he's found a woman he could actually come to love.
THE DATING GAME is fresh, funny, and totally addictive. Once I sat down to read it, I couldn't get up until I'd finished the last word. Mattie and Dave are such intriguing characters, and the premise of the story is such an original one. Will Mattie and Dave have a true happily ever after, or will Bowden Hartman's matchmaking scheme go awry? You'll have to pick up a copy of the book to find out, but believe me, it's worth it!
The story starts out with Bowden Hartman, an employee of Speedy Package Services, playing God/Fairy Godmother/Prince of Love. He's in charge of delivering winning notices to two women-Tiffany Barrett, a former Miss Indiana, who's won the lead role on the "Love and the Average Jill" reality show, and Mattie Grant, a woman who's won a position on the reality show "Survival of the Fittest." Both shows are set to debut on Lawford Channel Ten's new line-up. Deciding to do something he deems necessary, Bowden switches the envelopes, and the result is that Mattie, who believed she'd be competing on "Survival of the Fittest," for which she'd been training, ends up at a mansion with a butler, a new wardrobe, and several eligible bachelors vying for her attention.
When Mattie finds out she's on the wrong show, she's all set to high-tail it back home. But Larissa Peterson, host of "Love and the Average Jill", decides that Mattie is the absolutely best choice to be the star of the show. One of the show's producers, Steve Blackburn, agrees. So does the first bachelor Mattie meets, Dave Simpson. Strikingly handsome, with an air of mystery, Mattie feels an immediate attraction to him-but she's still not sure about appearing on the show. After all, she chairs the Lawford Girls' Soccer League and coaches two of the girls' teams. She doesn't date a parade of men, but the fifty-thousand dollar prize money could mean a lot for the Soccer League.
Dave Simpson is entranced with Mattie Grant upon their first meeting. There's nothing fake about her, and although she's not the former Miss Indiana bachelorette he was expecting, he quickly finds out she's even more. The only problem is, Dave is on the show under false pretenses of his own, and as his feelings for Mattie grow, so does the hole he's dug for himself. Telling her the truth could damage their growing relationship, and Dave's finding out that for the first time in his life, he's found a woman he could actually come to love.
THE DATING GAME is fresh, funny, and totally addictive. Once I sat down to read it, I couldn't get up until I'd finished the last word. Mattie and Dave are such intriguing characters, and the premise of the story is such an original one. Will Mattie and Dave have a true happily ever after, or will Bowden Hartman's matchmaking scheme go awry? You'll have to pick up a copy of the book to find out, but believe me, it's worth it!
December 30, 2009
udah lama seh selesei baca cuma baru sempet bikin reviewnya.
Buku ini keknya dibuat waktu reality-show jodoh-jodohan di TV lagi booming. Ngambil twist The Bachelor-Bachelorette pula *hmpfh* tapi eksekusinya lucu.
Beawal dari a little peer mischief, reporter in disguise sama soccer coach in need of money ceritanya cukup ngalir. Tapi setelah baca Bachelorette #1, buku ini jadi garing *IMO*
NB. Jadi pengen baca tentang si Mantan Miss Indiana yang ikutan acara sejenis Survival ;D
NBB. Quote yang paling aku suka "Dating Game is indeed Survival of The Fittest"
Buku ini keknya dibuat waktu reality-show jodoh-jodohan di TV lagi booming. Ngambil twist The Bachelor-Bachelorette pula *hmpfh* tapi eksekusinya lucu.
Beawal dari a little peer mischief, reporter in disguise sama soccer coach in need of money ceritanya cukup ngalir. Tapi setelah baca Bachelorette #1, buku ini jadi garing *IMO*
NB. Jadi pengen baca tentang si Mantan Miss Indiana yang ikutan acara sejenis Survival ;D
NBB. Quote yang paling aku suka "Dating Game is indeed Survival of The Fittest"
February 28, 2010
I only gave this 3 stars when I rated it 4 years ago. Just re-read it and have to agree with the 3 stars. The hero/heroine and their story isn't a bad one. Gets kinda old after a bit. It's basically a girl signs up to star on "Survivor" and ends up being the next "Bachelorette" instead. Undercover reporter posing as a bachelor falls for her. Where the story line gets hookey is when a delivery guy decides to play cupid.
April 23, 2014
Cute spin on the reality shows of dating. I don't watch the bachelor/ bachelorett shows, but have seen some snippets and this was cute and funny compared to those. :)
April 27, 2015
Pleasant, light-hearted read. Shirley Jump has developed her characters well, with a simple plot and interesting insight coming of the point of view of both the leading male and female characters.
July 1, 2014
A cute short read. Had more developed characters than the 250 page book I last read.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews