Mr Nice Guy

by Jennifer Miller

Provincial ambitieux, Lucas vient de décrocher le job de ses rêves : fact-checker au prestigieux magazine Empire . L'occasion de boire quelques verres au bar et, l'alcool aidant, passer le reste la nuit au nirvana, dans les bras d'une belle inconnue... Ou du moins le croit-il. Car ses talents n'ont semble-t-il pas convaincu Carmen, sa partenaire – accessoirement chroniqueuse (incognito) de la rubrique sexo de son magazine...
Vexé par son compte-rendu moqueur, Lucas réplique. Tribune contre tribune, commence alors une guerre des sexes acharnée, encouragée par leur rédaction, et que leurs rendez-vous hebdomadaires vont mener jusqu'au bout de la nuit...

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Adult, Audiobook, Contemporary Romance

474 pages, Pocket Book

First published October 18, 2018

About the author

Jennifer Miller is author of The Year of the Gadfly
(Harcourt, 2012) and Inheriting The Holy Land (Ballantine, 2005). Her journalism has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post Magazine, Christian Science Monitor, Marie Claire, Men's Health, Smithsonian.com, Salon.com, Guernica.com, the Columbia Journalism Review, The Millions and the Daily Beast.

Jen holds an MFA in fiction-writing and a MS in journalism from Columbia. She is a native of Washington, DC and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, with all the other writers.

Reviews

[Sunflowerbooklover · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mr. Nice Guy.... hmmm....Ok.. when you have a delivery line that states "The Devil Wears Prada meets Sex and the City"... there is some big shoes to fill there.

Yikes... these shoes were definitely not filled!! I was super disappointed on this one :(. First off, this was very very slow... and felt it wasn't getting anywhere.

I had a very hard time connecting to any of the characters. I thought Lucas was a self absorbed ass on multiple levels. Everything was about Lucas... and if it wasn't he had a temper tantrum... literally lol.

Carmen wasn't the shiniest peach in this patch either. Yikes.. she was a bit of a stuck up b...! I guess in some ways Carmen and Lucas were a pair?... ehhhh

This wasn't really my cup of tea unfortunately. I felt like I skimmed the last half of the book.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest thoughts.

2 stars for me on this one.

Published to GR: 8/20/18
Publication date: 10/16/18

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the surface, Mr. Nice Guy is about two people criticizing each others sexual performance on a public platform. Carmen is a sex columnist for popular magazine: Empire. Lucas is an invisible fact checker for the same magazine who is unknowingly and anonymously featured in Carmen's column after a one-night stand. But when Carmen's no-holds-barred honesty and vicious criticism gets under Lucas' skin, he drafts a sincere and well-written reply under the pseudonym: Mr. Nice Guy, and the back and forth gets everyone's attention as the ratings multiply. The head of the magazine obviously wants to capitalize on this, so assignments are given to the duo on a weekly basis. The column is called Screw the Critics and the name says it all.

I choose to believe a good part of this book is satire in nature. It's too over-the-top to believe otherwise. But the themes that stood out to me held a lot of substance in my opinion, such as: media ethics and authenticity, giving women a voice in an age that is not as feminist as many may think, the importance of communicating with one's partner about sex, and the lengths that a woman must go through to get a little power in a man's world. In addition to all this, there's a little bit of mystery, romance with surprising vulnerability, climactic betrayal, slow redemption, and a love note to New York City where this story is set. Married authors: Jennifer Miller and Jason Feifer have co-written an interesting story with a wide range. I will be interested to see what they come up with next.

Thank you to the following for permitting me access to an advance reader's copy (ARC) of Mr. Nice Guy. This generosity did not impact my honesty when rating/reviewing.
Source: NetGalley
Author: Jennifer Miller; Jason Feifer
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin
Genres: Romance, Women's Fiction
Pub Date: October 16, 2018

[Chris C - A Midlife Wife · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book. This book has me in a bit of a quandary. It’s not whether I liked or disliked story because I absolutely did like it. But what has me tied up as I’m not sure how to express my feelings.

I guess I’ll start at the beginning. One of my first conscious thoughts was that this so much like Sex and the City in many ways. You have Journalists – You have a new guy to the city, bright eyed and bushytailed, but yet so naïve. And then you have sex columnist who writes about her adventures in New York City.

And when they are thrown together, it is funny, quirky, with some really off-the-wall sexy scenarios that just keep you turning those pages for some reason. The further I got into the book, the more I’ve really started enjoying it.

The author team really had their work cut out for them. The topic is so unique and interesting. The characters are inventive and fresh. The topic is classic sexist big boys club with a twist of desperately seeking success. Lucas really was a nice guy, for the most part, and it was very refreshing to read much of the book from a male perspective.

The authors also kept us on our toes with a wacky editor that carried some big secrets in an empire that seemed too good to be true. In the end, everyone was just looking for a way to be happy and employed.

When I first started this book, I wasn’t sure what was coming and it was a bit slow. By a quarter of the way into the story, I knew I was in for the long-haul. This story is super engaging with Carmen and Lucas just end up endearing themselves to me. Plus, there were plenty of twists that kept is real and interesting too!

* advance copy received for review consideration
full review - https://amidlifewife.com/mr-nice-guy-...

[CristiinaReads୨ৎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

➳Flirty banter, two individuals that portray different characters and attributes but come together to spell out a marvelous chemistry and relationship...



➳There is a lot of controversy when it comes down to this novel... My head kept spinning around the idea of "hmmm... why is it taking so long for the real action to come," or "why is this character so annoying..." OR, "why am I loving this part and cannot grasp the rest of the story plot?" Yes, this is one of those novels that makes you act or think that way because of everything it has. This novel specifically is very unique in a way that as a romance reader would say it is lacking romance. It revolves around the idea of a one night stand and the after math of said one night stand. So far... interesting? Yeah, I thought so.

➳What I did not think was necessary to add was the very thorough details about Lucas' job, Carmen's life outside her job. I comprehend why an author, or in this case duo-authors, would write this in a novel. But what I don't understand is why go the extra mile and write about so many different things that had nothing to do with the story plot.



➳Anyways, I finished the novel... Which is saying a lot in comparison to other reviews I read about this novel. I have the rights to rate it because I FINISHED IT. Some reviews of this novel are being rated after said reviewer is DNF-ing it. Don't do that... You didn't finish the book so why would you DNF it? It makes no sense... At least leave the rating part out of it, and write your honest opinion. Because finishing it, you are at least respecting the perspective point of the authors and the publishers.

➳Overall, I did enjoy the novel don't get me wrong. There were moments where it was fast paced, and other scenarios where it was a slow pace in the turn of events. Thank you SMP for sending over a copy of this novel, I am looking forward to see what the authors write in the future.

➳ARC kindly provided by SMP, in exchange for an honest review...

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[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mr. Nice Guy is tagged as both Romance and Women's Fiction, but I'm going to open this review by telling you that it is not a romance. There is no Happily Ever After. The hero has a relationship with one woman during the book, while he is sleeping with the woman you think is the heroine (for work) and then he ends up with neither of them.
The story follows Lucas, a 24 year old Southern boy fresh off a broken engagement and newly moved to New York City to work as a fact-checker at Empire magazine. One day, he receives an invitation to Editor Jay Jacobsen's (called Jays) office and is ushered into the glamorous, over-the-top NYC media world.

Around this time, Lucas goes to a local pub that was once a writers' scene and ends up going home with a gorgeous woman a few years older than him. Turns out, she's Carmen Kelly, who writes the sex column for Empire... and she writes about him.

In the column, she dubs him "Nice Guy," and mocks him for being so solicitous that she felt she was teaching him what to do, he was not good at it, etc. He writes a rebuttal and sends it to Empire, without giving his name. Reader reaction is so overwhelming that Empire wants to make it a weekly thing and they launch a joint column called "Screw the Critics." Lucas won't tell them who he is, so he isn't getting paid, BUT they get assignments on where and how to have sex.

Now, let's pause a minute. Carmen and Jays had a messy relationship and breakup in which he mostly used her and then used his power to make her keep quiet. Charming, right? Fast forward to now, when he's telling her to have bad sex every week with a specific person. For work. Any alarm bells ringing?

Fine, I said, let's keep going. I'm only 10% into the book, let's see where it goes.

The rest of this review will contain spoilers, so consider this your warning.



Lucas and Carmen write columns for a few weeks that are mainly them being mean to each other. There's hate sex, hate kissing, etc. Carmen is criticized for being unemotional and for taking notes during sex. Lucas is criticized for not being able to read Carmen's mind and for not paying attention to her cues. Fair and also not fair. *shrug*

At one point, Lucas makes a mistake and his friend Sofia finds out that he's Nice Guy. She offers to "teach" him and they embark on a physical relationship. Mind, he's still having sex with Carmen once a week for the column. That wasn't a dealbreaker for me, but I know a lot of people don't like the hero/heroine to sleep with anyone else during the book. Lucas falls in love with Sofia, even though she expressly told him she didn't want a relationship, it was just sex. He takes it very personally and carries his hurt feelings forward into what becomes a friendship and then a real relationship with Carmen.

And then he decides to publicly state his love for her to the whole world. She tries to get him to a more private setting, over and over, while the cameras record and she tries not to lie to him but also not to give up on her whole life. She has a Netflix deal in LA, which not only represents a career change but also an opportunity to escape Jays. Lucas just wants her to agree to be with him. When she doesn't immediately give him what he wants, he reveals her as a fraud (she doesn't have sex constantly and sometimes makes up her columns) and ruins her life. ON CAMERA.

Shivers of heat ran up Carmen's arms. Sweat prickled the back of her neck and her upper lip. This had not happened. Lucas had not exposed her to the world. He had not retaliated against her with flippant, destructive cruelty. Not her lover and best friend.

This is at 78%, what you'd expect to be the Dark Moment of the book. And it is, for sure. But I almost stopped reading again, because I did not want these two together and I'd been told that this was a romantic comedy. (I didn't laugh once in this book. I also didn't want the main couple together. Hmm.)

Lucas is portrayed as painfully naive and optimistic. Over and over, though, I was reminded that he's 24-25 during the book. He's old enough to have a job and apartment and a college degree. If he was a woman, he would be expected to be more socially aware by now out of self-preservation. If he was a Black man, he'd be shot for half of the things he does. I'm simply unable to sit in his POV for so long without drowning in his sense of entitlement. Why does he go along with Jays? Because he believes he's deserving of the completely unearned praise and privileges Jays gives him. Why does he treat Carmen so terribly when she won't give up her career for him? Because he thinks she's the Bad Guy. He wants so badly to be the Nice Guy that he's willing to believe everyone who supports the narrative he's tried to build.

Jays had brought Lucas along to 'show support,' which meant they would appear and shake some hands. Lucas liked this; his mere presence was supportive.

There's a subplot with a scummy character, Nicholas Spragg, who is trying to buy himself into the NYC social scene. Early in the book, Lucas and Nicholas go out on a drug and alcohol bender with two "socialites." Everyone but Lucas (including me, the reader) can tell that they are sex workers. Lucas wakes up unaware of what happened the night before. It's really icky. At one point, Jays asks Lucas to write a profile on Nicholas, and Lucas jumps on the chance. Eventually, he's tipped off that Spragg tried to rape a girl in college and Lucas has this exchange with himself:

After the way last night ended, he wasn't sure what to think of Nicholas. The guy was much seedier than he'd thought. And weirder. And creepier! But a rapist? That seemed hard to -

Lucas stopped himself. This is how rapists get away with it, he thought. Nobody's willing to believe that the guy they know is a rapist. And yet why would Nicholas rape someone when he clearly had no hang-ups about just paying someone for sex? Wouldn't that just be -

Lucas stopped himself. He was doing it again.

Lucas then goes to ask the girl and finds out that yes, Nicholas is a total shitbag. He writes up the profile and sends it off to Empire, where it never sees the light of day. Does Lucas call Jays out on this? Not until 90% through the book. Does he do anything else? No. This is at the 49% mark and I read the rest of the book waiting for something, ANYthing to happen. Imagine reading this book during the Kavanaugh hearings and tell me you're not setting your hair on fire with incandescent rage.

In summary, Lucas is not, in fact, a nice guy. Maybe he's a "Nice Guy," but he's a garbage person for much of the book. If I'm going to rate a romance highly, I have to at least want the couple to be together. I did not. By the time Lucas realizes how awful he's been, it's about 85% of the way through the book and a year into the narrative. He deserves to do a couple of years of therapy and a lot of work before he can deserve Carmen. And that's sort of what we get? Lucas enrolls in journalism school and tries to separate himself from the avarice and ambition he'd been caught up in. Is he successful? I don't know. We know that he volunteers at a law firm to help out Carmen's grandmother. We know that he's still in graduate school when he runs into Carmen at her book launch, two years after they last see each other. That's it. That's the end.

The authors do a good job of depicting the absurd double standard in our culture, of the ways in which Carmen was immediately thrown under the bus not just by Lucas but by Jays, by the media, and by pretty much everyone. In my opinion, the book would have had a happier ending if Carmen had simply gone off and had a fabulous career and left Lucas in his own mess.

For better or worse, the narrative is mostly from Lucas's point of view, however, which means we need to see his happy ending, not hers. Maybe that's why this book didn't work for me. This book reads like Women's Fiction for Men. Men's Fiction. Man gets to go around NYC and have instant success, fuck multiple beautiful women, then screw up bigtime before becoming the hero and exposing a Bad Guy.



Content Warnings: Mention of sexual assault, drug use, manipulation, slut-shaming, misogyny

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for review purposes.

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Touted as Sex in the City meets The Devil Wears Prada. This comparison nails it. Lucas moves to New York from his small town in North Carolina, looking for a fresh start fleeing an engagement gone sour and high hopes of success at a magazine he will be working for as a fact checker. Lucas is naïve, indecisive, and inexperienced in the love department. He is quickly thrown into the fast paced New York lifestyle and cut throat business practices of the magazine. He meets a beautiful woman, Carmen, in a bar. This turns into a one night stand with consequences that will turn Lucas and Carmen’s lives upside down when he reads a scathing article about his encounter the next day. He writes a response defending himself signed Mr. Nice Guy to hide his identity. This soon turns into a regular feature and the dueling columns boost sales as readers take interest. No one is more aware that sex sells than their boss, Jay. He manipulates the two for juicier sexual encounters for bigger sales and soon has a reality tv feel. We see the characters start to become introspective about their personal character and where their careers are taking them. The whole charade begins to back fire and sparks start to fly. I wanted more than anything to see the boss take a fall.

This is a fun read and I loved the New York setting. There are characters that I question their importance to the story except to make it overly long. It dragged in parts for me, but overall I liked it and look forward to the next book these authors collaborate on.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Griffin, and the authors for an advanced copy.

[Sabi · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was not at all what I expected... More of a commentary than comedy and don't get me started on their romance... 

The ending is also not one of my favorites. I mean it may been good for the characters but still...

[Brianna {Semi-Hiatus} · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lucas has recently moved to New York City to pursue a writing career. After one night of celebrating with some co-workers, he goes home with a beautiful woman. He thinks it went great. That is until he reads about his one night stand in a magazine! Refusing to let her have the last word, he pens a rebuttal and actually gets it published. The banter between the two of them goes so well, the magazine wants more. So, here begins the journey of Lucas and Carmen.

From the first 10% of the novel I was terribly bored. There was nothing drawing me in. The main characters were boring, the side characters were just confusing and the whole time I'm reading I'm questioning what I've gotten myself into!

I hate not finishing a book. I would rather force myself to read something awful, then not finish at all. But, I just couldn't do it with this one! I forced myself to keep reading after Carmen's article was published because it was actually entertaining and I wanted to read what Lucas had to say back to her. However, I couldn't bring myself to continue reading after this line:

"Carmen, for all her faults, would not worry about things like farting. Carmen was a pro. She could probably hold a fart for hours."

DNF @ 23%
Rated 1/5

Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy of this book for my honest review.

[Teresa (Reads_Romance) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m going to put this out there: I don’t think Jennifer Miller or Jason Feifer have ever read a romance novel. I didn’t hate this book, it’s a slightly satiric, social commentary on dating and sex in New York City. It’s general fiction. Which is fine. Just please don’t label it a romance novel. I see why romance readers are having a hard time with this book. Romance is primarily written by women, and for women, not that there aren’t male romance writers, there are, but the vast majority of the authors and readers are women. Mr. Nice Guy felt like it was very much written from the male gaze. You will enjoy this novel much more if you shift your focus away from the romance aspect of this novel.

The first problem in this book is that 80% of it is spent in a 24-year-old man’s head. Listen, I get it. I was 24 not too long ago, I have a 24-year-old brother. It was an entertaining glimpse into the insecurities lots of young men face. Sexual inadequacies, whether their head is too small for their body, how to get ahead in business, all of these things are realistic; but not at all what I want in a romance novel hero. I don’t think the point of Lucas’ character was to be likable (which is good because he wasn’t) but I really wanted someone to root for, and I usually prefer that be the main character. As it was, Lucas had very immature characterizations of the people in his life, especially the women, a skewed idea of what a “nice guy” is, and a massive victim complex.

I appreciated Carmen’s character much more. She was a confident and successful 31-year-old sex columnist looking to start the next phase in her life. I have no idea how she accepted so much criticism, but I aspire to have the confidence she does. Carmen had an extremely adversarial relationship with Lucas at the beginning of the book, and while she is portrayed as the “mean” one, I would argue that Lucas had the harder blows in their back and forth columns. She talked about technique and confidence, things that can be changed, whereas he attacked her character and attitude.

The second problem for me was the lack of emotion in 95% of the sexual acts in this book. There is no exclusivity (the hero is having regular sex with two women at one point), because of the column, both Carmen and Lucas look at sex with this sad and jaded eye that made me feel just a little bit worse about the world. Not exactly what I am looking for in a romantic comedy. Worst of all, this smacked of prostitution. Please have sex with this guy, tell the world, or else you might be fired. The whole thing could have been cute but the way it was handled made me feel a bit skeevy.

The climax of this book made me feel physically ill. I wanted to punch Lucas in the face and Jays was evil incarnate. Again, this is what we’re supposed to think as a reader, but it was tough to stomach. Lucas attempted to become a hero at the end; however, I wasn’t convinced. Tyler was the only character I really connected with. He was way too good for this book. #TeamTyler he should have a real romance novel with Alexis where they meet at Noser.

Overall, the book is an intriguing look into the world of journalism and imperfect, ambitious people. As I mentioned before, it is NOT a romance novel. I don’t regret finishing the book, and I hope other readers connect with Lucas and Carmen more than I did.

**I received an ARC of this book in order to provide an honest review**

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[Steph's Romance Book Talk · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @28% / 1 Stars / 1 Steam Fans

This book as painful! It started off with a good idea, Lucas is trying to make his way as a journalist in New York City and with one encounter his life changes. Carmen is a reporter for a rival magazine and when she meets, takes Lucas home, and then writes an article destroying his sexual prowess. The warring editors hatch the plan of setting up Carmen and Lucas aka 'Nice Guy' to continue the sexy warring through a series of articles. By the time I DNFed this story nothing had really happened to move along the plotline. Both have unresolved relationship issues that are complicating the story as much as their fake sexual relationship. It took way to long for the setup and by the 28% mark nothing was starting to form and I was bored with both characters. It was a nice try but really failed to connect with the punch needed.

Video review available in Week 48 Nov 24 – 30 weekly book reviews.

For other video book reviews check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk

[Tonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Nice Guy is written by married authors Jennifer Miller and Jason Feifer. The book is about what happens when a one night stand goes public. The good, the bad, and the ugly as Carmen a writer, tells readers all the details of her one night with a newcomer to town. Lucas, freshly arrived in the big city of New York..except let's call it The BIG CITY where dreams come true... He starts working on the bottom at Empire Magazine, as a research writer...double checking all the facts before the articles get printed.

One night he works up his nerve to approach a gorgeous lady at a bar and much to his surprise, she takes him home. The next morning he rushes out, awkward and unsure of what the proper etiquette is for morning after. A couple of weeks later, all the details are shared for the world to read in the magazine that apparently Carmen works for as well.. They wind up having to work together through their romantic and sexual adventures with each other.

What follows is paybacks and romance, with a few twists from their boss who is a real jerk. There were times where both characters disappointed me and there were times when I was cheering Carmen on or rooting for Lucas. Instead of moving into more of the plot details, I would rather share more about the writing. The pace starts off slow and builds with quirky and fun sex scenes as the two characters start to self reflect and grow up. Just as the pace changes, so does the writing from Carmen and Lucas. They start expanding more, giving the readers more..and learn so much about integrity and where lines should be. How much does the public deserve to know about their sex life and their romantic feelings for each other? Sometimes there was great chemistry....and other times not so much.. I bet this was a fun book to co-author with your spouse!

This is more of a lighthearted romance and definitely not for everyone. The themes the characters deal with aren't just about journalism...They are about pursuit of happiness and ambitious goals.. and how far they will go to achieve their biggest dreams. The humor is really engaging, there were times when I laughed out loud. I consider that a huge compliment to the writers...if you can get me to feel...to laugh or react, then you have done a great job!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader's copy for me to review. As always, my opinions are my own.

[Mariagcri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pensavo fosse più divertente dalla trama...ma in realtà nulla di che...

[Suzanne (Under the Covers Book blog)]

I don’t like to DNF a book. I’m not afraid to do it, but I don’t like it. I know that the book which I'm struggling to read is something the author, or authors in this case, have worked hard on. Sometimes though it can’t be helped. In this case I was completely disconnected to the characters and the story. The main character in this book is a man in his early twenties and recent transplant to New York and work for a magazine as a fact checker. He is clearly ambitious, he wants to leave the dead end of fact-checking and aspires to be a writer/journalist.

I think the issue I had was that I didn’t like him. He was ambitious, he wanted to write. But he had nothing to say. He didn’t want to write topical articles and change the world, or write because he felt passionate about anything. The only drive he seemed to have was to be recognised and go to parties. I just couldn’t relate to him. He was so shallow, desperate and self absorbed. I got to about 28% through and I just lost all interest in his life and didn’t want to read anymore.

In fairness to the book, this isn’t something that I would have picked up on the blurb alone. I picked this up as I adore the podcast The Pessimists Archive, for which Jason Feifer is the creator and host. I would highly recommend the podcast, which manages to be that magical mix of funny, informative and interesting. As for this book? It wasn’t for me.

[Jacqueline Reads · Rating 1 out of 5]

It seemed like a really interesting idea, but it’s not at all what I expected. Based on the cover and description I went into it thinking it was going to be this awesome rom com, and I was sadly disappointed.
I was expecting the book to be funny, exciting, witty, and spicy. It was none of those things. The two main characters had very little chemistry. The premise of the book is supposed to be two journalists battling it out with their own opposing views on their shared sexual encounters. That in mind, the book didn’t really fulfill those expectations for humor, banter, and steam. In fact, that’s probably only a small portion of what the book is really about.
What this book does offer is more of a coming of age story, and the perspective of a young hopeful trying to make his way from dull Nowhere, USA to the world of journalism at the Big Apple. It offers insight into growing as an individual, and learning how to handle sex and relationships. On that account, I think it succeeds. It’s not happy, but perhaps hopeful yet still realistic.
I don’t like to talk about the negatives of a book, especially because it’s someone’s work that they put time and effort into. I didn’t entirely like this book, but that’s not to say someone else won’t enjoy it. Just know that this isn’t some delightful rom com. What you see is not what you get. As the saying goes “don’t judge a book based on it’s cover.”

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where to begin. Imagine trying to pick up someone at a bar, hooking up and finding out they are also a journalist writing an article about your one night stand! As if you aren’t humiliated enough from the article talking about how bad you are, you’re offered a series with her where you continue your tryst once a week and try to learn how to please this woman. You stay anonymous of course because your boss used to sleep with her. How complicated right? Then you find someone who will help teach you how to please a woman. What a whirlwind of mixed emotions and learning about yourself after coming out of a serious relationship. This isn’t your typical romance novel. I loved it.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Nice Guy is a light, battle of the ambitious sexes kinda rom-com (think How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days with a twist) complete with sneaky double agents and a side of a very sweet Grandma. This book was the perfect male vs. female perspective, presumably because the husband and wife who authored it work extremely well together. They seem like a cool couple that you would want to hang out with!

A great summer read that moved at a quick pace yet didn't feel rushed. I would definitely check out any other books by this Miller / Feifer tag team!

Huge thanks to the authors, Netgalley, and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Romanticamente Fantasy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simo G. - per RFS
.
Ciao, oggi vi parlo di un libro che inizialmente mi ha tratto in inganno. Se leggete la trama di Amazon forse sarete d’accordo con me. Vi dico questo perché, all’inizio, il libro non mi ha preso particolarmente, anzi ammetto di averlo messo da parte per un po’.

Uno dei commenti flash era “Sexy, divertente e provocatorio”.

Devo dire che mi aspettavo un libro alla Sex and the City, leggero e scorrevole quanto basta per potermi godere la lettura sotto l’ombrellone.

Non è stato sicuramente così, nel senso però più positivo del termine!

Il libro racconta di Lucas, giovane aspirante giornalista, che una sera prova ad abbordare in un bar Carmen, una donna molto bella. Anche se l’approccio utilizzato è terrificante (mio figlio, a sei anni ha più charme!), stranamente finiscono per passare una notte di passione a casa di lei. Al mattino Lucas, da vero signore, se ne scappa alla chetichella senza nemmeno salutare. Peccato che dopo qualche giorno appare sull’Empire, il giornale per cui lavora il nostro rubacuori, un articolo dissacrante su una certa notta passata da Carmen, autrice della rubrica Libertina sofisticata, e un partner totalmente imbranato, ribattezzato Mister Bravo Ragazzo. Non si fanno nomi ma Lucas capisce subito di essere il protagonista della performance!

“Nell’atto di varcare la soglia dell’appartamento, il panico di Mister Bravo Ragazzo è divenuto palpabile. Pur essendo consapevole che prima o poi qualcosa dovesse succedere, non sapeva però esattamente quando, come e secondo quale progressione prossemica. Se gli avessi fornito un file Excel con le istruzioni, sono quasi certa che avrebbe apprezzato.”

Da qui in poi si sviluppano tutta una serie di situazioni che porteranno Lucas e Carmen a essere i protagonisti di una serie di articoli di botta e risposta sulle rispettive performance sessuali.

Bellissima la caratterizzazione dei personaggi che girano intorno ai due protagonisti: ci sono amici come Tyler, che, anche se nell’ombra, stanno accanto al protagonista e invece amici che si spacciano per tali ma non lo sono.

Ho trovato assolutamente insopportabile la figura del rampollo miliardario Nicholas Spragg, all’inizio ha fatto tenerezza sia a me che a Lucas, in realtà si è dimostrato uno sbruffone di proporzioni cosmiche. L’episodio della torta che esplode facendo piovere banconote sui partecipanti a una festa è stata al tempo stesso triste ed esilarante.

Anche se con parti veramente divertenti, il libro di per sé non è leggero come sembra. È un romanzo che parla della crescita di un ragazzo da principio immaturo che pian piano diventa uomo e cerca di trovare il suo posto nel mondo.

Lucas non è il solito maschio alpha, anzi spesso è tutto l’opposto! Infatti non mi ha appassionato moltissimo, non riusciva a fare presa su di me né fisicamente, né caratterialmente.

Carmen invece mi è piaciuta molto, è praticamente l’opposto femminile di Lucas. Sexy, bellissima, ironica, con un suo progetto di crescita professionale molto interessante.

Durante il libro impareranno l’uno dall’altra, creando uno strano rapporto a mezza via tra una bella amicizia e una storia d’amore. A voi lo scoprire come andrà a finire!

È anche un libro sul sesso, non come 50 sfumature di grigio, non ci sono assolutamente scene troppo hot. Mi sono divertita un sacco però a leggere le performance che i due protagonisti, una volta a settimana, erano praticamente costretti a mettere in scena per poter scrivere i rispettivi articoli

Carinissimi i ringraziamenti dei due autori, che ho scoperto essere marito e moglie!

“ Anzitutto Jason e Jen vorrebbero ringraziarsi l’un l’altra. Abbiamo scritto insieme un romanzo su un uomo e una donna che si fanno le pulci sulle rispettive performance sessuali e ciononostante il nostro matrimonio regge ancora. (Dammi il cinque!) Caro lettore, tu di sicuro ti chiederai quanto degli articoli di Lucas e Carmen prende spunto dalle nostre esperienze personali… Domanda interessante. Ma passiamo oltre…”

Anche se con un inizio, per me, zoppicante, devo ammettere che nel complesso il libro mi è piaciuto molto. Ben scritto sia nella parte maschile che femminile, prosa divertente e scorrevole.

Sicuramente da leggere!

[Under the Covers Book Blog]

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.


I don’t like to DNF a book. I’m not afraid to do it, but I don’t like it. I know that the book which I'm struggling to read is something the author, or authors in this case, have worked hard on. Sometimes though it can’t be helped. In this case I was completely disconnected to the characters and the story. The main character in this book is a man in his early twenties and recent transplant to New York and work for a magazine as a fact checker. He is clearly ambitious, he wants to leave the dead end of fact-checking and aspires to be a writer/journalist.

I think the issue I had was that I didn’t like him. He was ambitious, he wanted to write. But he had nothing to say. He didn’t want to write topical articles and change the world, or write because he felt passionate about anything. The only drive he seemed to have was to be recognised and go to parties. I just couldn’t relate to him. He was so shallow, desperate and self absorbed. I got to about 28% through and I just lost all interest in his life and didn’t want to read anymore.

In fairness to the book, this isn’t something that I would have picked up on the blurb alone. I picked this up as I adore the podcast The Pessimists Archive, for which Jason Feifer is the creator and host. I would highly recommend the podcast, which manages to be that magical mix of funny, informative and interesting. As for this book? It wasn’t for me.

*ARC provided by publisher
Reviewed by Suzanne❤ ♡ Don't want to miss any of our posts? Subscribe to our blog by email! ♡ ❤

[MichellemyBelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

***ARC provided by St. Martin's Griffin in exchange for an honest review.***

I am going to stop right here. ✋ 5% is where I will end it. I refuse anymore to wade begrudgingly through mediocre reads. I know this book is not for me. The characters are distasteful and cringe-worthy. The plot seems to be done all wrong. On to the next!

[Sue Trowbridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucas Callahan is a mid-20s native of North Carolina who breaks up with his fiancée and drops out of law school in order to chase his NYC dreams. He winds up as a fact-checker at Empire magazine, a New York/Vanity Fair-type publication that is ruled by its capricious and social-climbing editor-in-chief, Jay Jacobson. One fateful night, Lucas stops in at a West Village bar called Kettle of Fish where he spots a stunning woman sitting solo and scribbling notes on a bar napkin. Lucas boldly offers her a sheet of paper, and after a couple of drinks, they head to her apartment.

What seems like a one-night stand with a glamorous older woman turns into something much more when the note-taker, Carmen Kelly, writes an unsparing account of her experience with Lucas—in the pages of Empire magazine. It turns out that Carmen is the mag's dating and sex columnist (she rarely goes into the office, which is why Lucas hadn't met her), and her vicious takedown of "Mr. Nice Guy" (her nickname for Lucas) becomes a viral sensation. Lucas decides to respond, and sets up an anonymous email address and fires off a rebuttal. Sensing a way to boost Empire's web traffic, Jacobson runs Lucas's column; it is also a hit.

Jacobson goads Carmen into meeting up with Lucas again, and having them both write about the experience for Empire: "a regular sexual exchange between [Lucas] and Carmen to be followed by columns penned by each, reviewing the other's performance." Since Lucas's identity is still under wraps (he continues to file his stories via the anonymous email), he can't get paid for his work, but at least he's finally a published writer, one seemingly all of New York is reading and talking about.

This is a surprisingly meaty novel which considers questions of ethics in journalism and what you'd be willing to give up in order to achieve your dreams. It's also got a terrific sense of place; I read this just a couple weeks after I'd visited New York, and it really captured the city beautifully. The only thing I didn't quite buy was that a power-mad control freak like Jacobson would allow "Mr. Nice Guy" to remain anonymous—surely he'd have an underling follow Carmen around until he'd sussed out her partner's identity? But on the whole, I thoroughly enjoyed this very modern romantic comedy.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

**I received this e-arc from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks Net Galley!**

2.5/3 stars.

Like a lot of the reviews have said, I didn't like Lucas. I feel like romances written in a male point of view have to be done in a certain way for me to like the main character. At the beginning, I found him endearing but at only 8% in I started to find him a bit annoying. Throughout the story, I hated the way he judges women’s bodies. He was constantly judging them, critiquing them and I just didn't see the point. Personally, I don't think it adds anything to the story to read about a side characters boob size.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, I loved Carmen's chapters. I found her genuine, real, smart, tough, and a nice person who's just dealing as best she can. I want a entire book written about her where Lucas is the side character instead. That book would have probably been four or five stars.

As for the other aspects of the story, I liked the setting of NYC and a magazine work place. It was interesting to see the magazine work place and the work of journalism throughout the story. I also found the outlook the book had on sex to be pretty refreshing.

The story slowed down somewhat in the middle but the ending definitely picked up. There was a mystery aspect and more action that was really entertaining. The epilogue showed a lot of character growth, so if you enjoy character growth you'll probably appreciate the ending quite a bit.

I'd recommend this as a contemporary romance to readers who enjoy male perspective stories. Maybe you'll like Lucas! Who knows! I think it's worth reading if only for Carmen's story because honestly, she was a tough chick who I started to admire by the end of the book.

[Maranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

NICE GUYS FINISH LAST; Correct? Lucas and Carmen are New York writers in a competitive industry also striving for an honest relationship. These main characters had little depth and were drowning in page after page of dry prose. There was some humor and there was the anticipation of a HEA that was never delivered. Some of the auxiliary individuals were at time more interesting than Lucas and Carmen. "A copy of this book was provided by St. Martin's Press via Netgalley with no requirements for a review. Comments here are my honest opinion."

[Loveland · Rating 1 out of 5]

I spent a long time trying to figure out what I wanted to write in my review to be clever yet scathing, and then I went "wait why am I spending time on this?" Anyway, this could have been a ridiculously funny and unhinged romcom, or it could have been an interesting general fiction examination of sex and misogyny in the public eye, but instead it was neither.

[bookmarkbelles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once I read the blurb to this book I was hyped and excited for it. I love me a good Enemies to Lovers story. With that being said I ended up "DNF" this book. It was nothing like I expected it to be and I found it lacking. I really wanted to enjoy this one but sadly it just didnt live up to its hype. .this also reminded me of a hallmark Valentines movie as well 🤔

[Kelsie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was way out of my comfort zone. It was a cheap book that I thought looked cute. Unless your into lots of sex talk, this book won't be for you. You are probably thinking, why did you read it then? Well I was invested. I wanted to see how things turned out for Lucas and Carmen. Would they get the happily ever after like most contemporary romances? The ending was probably the best part but it didn't need to be almost 300 pages of just sex talk. For that reason, this gets two stars.

[Ariel · Rating 2 out of 5]

You ever get really excited because a book looks kind of cute, but then there's fat shaming right away, and the attempted sex scene read like a teenage boy trying to undress a woman in the blandest of terms?
That's how this book read for me. DNF.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The banter was amazing. The magazine setting was reminiscent of ugly Betty and the witty banter and downright savage sexual remarks kept me laughing the whole time. Would recommend this for everyone !!

[Connie N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I think the biggest problem with this book is that it was billed as something it was not. Apparently, many people expected something romantic and comedic, and it honestly didn't fit the bill for either of those categories. It's hard to decide what genre it fits. I guess I'd call it a character study, maybe even a coming-of-age story (even though it follows 20- and 30-somethings), and with a sexual bite. Definitely not a mindless HEA romance, so if you were hoping for that, you'd certainly be unhappy. But I personally was disappointed that many reviewers didn't ever give it a chance, writing criticisms and DNF's rather than giving it an open-minded try. I actually found it fascinating to watch the individual characters grow and change. Lucas, the original country hick from the suburbs became much more confident. It was interesting to watch him fall into situations that added to his ability to grow. His roommate Tyler, friend Nicholas, and lover Sofia were all instrumental in his changing into the urban professional that he was hoping to become. And Carmen, of course, helped his professional confidence by challenging him to think about and write about his personal relationship with her. I found it interesting that so many reviewers disliked Lucas and thought he was totally self-absorbed. Really? I liked him and found him appealing in a stumbling sort of way. Sure, he's trying to get ahead, but I didn't find him offensive or misogynistic for that like so many other people did. I don't get it. Carmen, yes, is a total control freak and an unpleasant coworker at first meeting, but I enjoyed seeing her softer side when she visited the art museum and when she spent time with her grandmother. Anyone might become jaded in her situation as secret girlfriend to the big boss and relegated (by him and others) into the sex columnist role, so she developed a strong shell to cover a softer personality when she allowed it to show. Other reviewers said that the story was too biased towards Lucas's point of view. It's true that much of the book was from his POV, but it seemed to me that this was the whole point. Carmen has already solidified a strong place in NYC as a writer, while Lucas is the newcomer who just wants to belong. I found it interesting to witness his struggles to succeed, while being "behind the scenes" to understand his motivations. The ending was not exactly a HEA, but it was still satisfying and made sense. All in all, I went into this book with low expectations because of its low rating and poor reviews, but I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the experience. I will look for more from Jennifer Miller and husband Jason Feifer.

[Vicki · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 21%

I hardly ever DNF a book, and when I do it is usually from technically bad writing with lots of errors and that was not the case here as the writing was of good quality. I originally wanted to stop at 10%, because nothing had grabbed me and I was turned off by the hero, but I made it to Carmen's first article about their one-night stand and that made me continue on to read his rebuttal article. Those two articles were the most enjoyable part of what I read - I was drawn to that aspect just as much as their fictional readers were in the book. That concept was what had intrigued me from the blurb and made me request the ARC from NetGalley to begin with. Unfortunately, everything else in the book did not appeal to me - it was either boring to me, or there was something I outright didn't like. I didn't find the hero attractive at all, and most of what I read was from his POV. I know I didn't read far enough to see what was really going on with some of the side characters and those stories, but I just can't bring myself to spend any more time on this book. I encourage readers to read a sample to see if they are hooked by the story, as maybe it will be more to their liking.

[Simona · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rozhodovala som sa či dať tomu tri hviezdičky alebo dve ale bohužiaľ táto kniha mi nesadla a nebavilo ma to.Podľa anotácie to vyzeralo na super a bláznivý príbeh z ktorého by som mala byť nadšená no nestalo sa tak.Kniha je vraj eroticka ale ten kto to tak nazval by si mal prečítať napríklad 50 odtieňov,Egomaniaka a iné lebo toto okolo erotického románu ani neprešlo.Autori sa viac sústredili na opisovanie špinavosti vo vydavateľstiev,nekalých praktik a podobne.Charaktery by bolo potrebne opísať viac do hlbky. Možno ty ktorý milujete Serial sex v meste tato kniha zaujme,skúste jej dať šancu.Mne nesadla.