Review: The Matchmaker's Playbook by Rachel Van Dyken (Wingmen Inc. #1)

Note: This ARC was provided by Skyscape (Amazon Publishing) in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel Van Dyken is a go-to author for me and when I found out she had a new series with Skyscape, I knew it was going to be a must-read because I adore her Skyscape-published Consequence series. The Wingmen Inc. series starts off with The Matchmaker's Playbook, and introduces readers to the concept behind the self-started company of Wingmen Inc. We also meet the players involved, and when I say "players", it's both the actual people who run the business and the reputations they bring with them like the slang definition pertains to. They've got a system that's been proven to work and it brings the sort of results that has clients paying for help. But will that system work when they're the ones doing the falling?

Ian Hunter's future in the National Football League was lost forever when he suffered a career-ending injury. Now, he's working with his best friend to make Wingmen Inc. the success story that it is. Helping girls get the guys of their dreams is making them a hell of a lot of money, so it isn't so bad. When his latest client turns out to be roommate of one of his other best friends, Ian thinks he's got his work cut out for him. Blake Olson is the poster child for the tomboy that tends to be pegged as the sports-loving, low maintenance, friend-zoned girl, but she wants one boy to finally notice her girlfriend potential. Blake and Ian push each other's buttons, but it soon feels more like tension-filled foreplay than harmless banter.

There are rules to be followed when it comes to Wingmen Inc. and those rules are there for a reason. The most important one as far as Ian is concerned is to never, ever fall for a client, and while Blake may not have been the kind of girl who usually caught his attention, it's the fact that she's refreshingly real and not instantaneously shucking her underwear when he's around that makes her a keeper. She's not desperately trying to get his attention or making him want to notice her. The player meets his match in the tomboy and their love story is a fun-filled romp that has quite a few laugh-out-loud moments as well as some that may have you swooning. Ian, cockiness and all, grew on me as the story went on and he's at his best with Blake.

I enjoyed this series starter, though I did have two specific thoughts in my head very early on: the concept of Wingmen Inc. felt like a rom-com tip of the hat to the movie Fight Club and the idea of a guy (or guys) helping someone get their crush to notice them was reminiscent of another series that started in February of this year and will be concluding later this month, a series that I absolutely love because of the novel idea of a guy offering his services to clients who hope to get their exes back. Fortunately, The Matchmaker's Playbook was able to stand on its own merit and separates itself enough in terms of where the story goes and the characters involved. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series. This one gets 4.5 stars. ♥

Date Read: 10 April 2016

Learn more about Rachel Van Dyken.

Purchase The Matchmaker's Playbook on Amazon.