Opposites Attract to Make a Fun Romance Novel

As you probably already know from the various reviews I have published on Epinions, I really enjoy reading romance novels. Nora Roberts is my favorite, but I will read others when given the opportunity.

On my birthday this year, my friend Mechelle gave me a book written by Hailey North, entitled Opposites Attract. She admitted to buying the book because the cover was cute. When I saw it, I thought it was some sort of self-help or relationship book, but I was wrong.

Opposites Attract is a cute romance novel about an "average" woman, Jonquil "Jonni" DeVries, in the Garden District of New Orleans who allows her house to be used for the filming of the children's film, "Mr. Benjamin." The actor in the title role of the film,Cameron Scott, meets Jonni and grows incredibly attracted to her. The problem? Cameron meets Jonni while he is in character, hidden beneath rumpled clothes and prosthetic make up to make him look like the elderly butler Mr. Benjamin.

Now, let's break down some of the elements that North attempts to include in her story:

1. The "Average" Woman
Jonni is supposed to be an "average" woman at an "average" size. Even though North tries to justify this through Jonni wallowing in ice cream whenever she gets upset, Jonni is never really average. I almost choked when, after complaining that she was larger than other women, Jonni says something to the effect of, "I ballooned to a size 10." A size 10??? Are you KIDDING me? She&'s supposed to be 5'5" tall and a size 10. North must be a piddling size 2 or something, as a size 10 at that height is NOT overweight. Sure, it might just be average, but I think that's a terrific size. Heck, I'm size 14 and 5'9" tall. And I'm average.

Secondly, Jonni is a single mom. Now, sure, that is common among women nowadays, which is absolutely fine. But, the average single mom struggles to work, pay bills, and take care of her kids. While I might not be a single mom, My own mother raised me and my sister by herself and a couple friends of mine are dealing with the situation of being single moms. They all struggle to make ends meet. If they work too much, they get upset that they don't spend enough time with their kids. That is totally understandable. However, Jonni is a widow. Her husband was killed in a car accident. By the way, her husband was a millionaire, which left Jonni outrageously wealthy. She's got an enormous mansion and a lot of money. She's able to hire a nanny and has a maid, even though she doesn't have a job. Is THAT "average"? I think not.

Finally, Jonni allows a film crew to use her house to film the "Mr. Benjamin" movie. She does this because of how much Erika, her daughter, loves Mr. Benjamin. How many "average" women would have the opportunity to do this? If given the opportunity, how many "average" women would allow it? I know my mom never would, unless *I* was the one making the movie in the first place!!!

The only reason that this bothers me is because North insists that Jonni is average. Honey, it's okay to have a woman that isn't average in a romance novel. People read them to get lost in it, not to compare themselves to the characters. Women do that enough in real life! It just really made me feel like crap when she repeatedly called Jonni "average" when she was 2 sizes smaller than I am. OUCH!

The Dashing Actor
Cameron Scott, the hero of the book, is supposed to be this gorgeous, dashing actor. Before he was an actor, however, he was in the Army. That makes him just that much more appealing (in my opinion, anyway...I love a man in uniform). His best friend, Flynn, who was also in the Army with Cameron, is now his manager/agent. He tries his best to keep Cameron in line when it comes to his "bad-boy" behavior, which seems to land him in jail repeatedly.

There are a couple of things that just aren't correct here, specifically from an actor's standpoint. First of all, an agent/manager for someone as successful as Cameron Scott would have to have some sort of education or legal background. Being an agent isn't something that you can just figure out, especially when it comes to dealing with multi-million dollar contracts. It just isn't that easy, and movie companies would be quite leery about dealing with an actor who has such representation.

Secondly, the "bad-boy" behavior described for Cameron Scott really isn't that bad. He drinks a little excessively when he goes out with friends, and often finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. He had a past with sleeping with a variety of women, but that changes when he meets Jonni. There are no drugs, no psychotic sexual situations, no violence, no molesting little children, nothing that would make him a "bad-boy." The reasons given for him landing in jail just seem to be misunderstandings. It's silly to look at him that way. He's not a "bad-boy." He's just a little rough around the edges.

The Chemistry
What chemistry? It's a game of cat and mouse. Cameron is attracted to Jonni, but Jonni has such a poor self-image that she refuses to believe that Cameron is actually interested in her. He chases her, she runs. Finally, they end up in each others' arms, but only after Jonni asks her ravishing (and much thinner) twin sister, Daffy, for advice. Sure, the love scenes were hot, but they were a tad unbelievable because Jonni goes from worrying about her weight to being a naked tomcat in bed.

Food (Yes, Food)
The book could have taken a different route, where Jonni realized that Cameron loves her for WHO she is, not WHAT she looks like. Instead, we witness Jonni trying to exercise off the ice cream that she wallowed in when something went wrong. My point is that there is NOTHING wrong with wallowing in ice cream! I was eating some ice cream when I read a part in the book about how awful it was, and I actually felt bad about eating it. Some women just like to eat. There is nothing wrong with that. Rather than explaining it as some nasty little habit, North instead should have embraced it and incorporated it into the story... and I don't mean as a sin.

Throw in some sexy food -- Chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate mousse, oysters... That would have made for some excellent passion. Rather than working the calories off exercising, work them off in bed! After all, sex burns a lot of calories --something that seemed to be lost on North. North must be a skinny minnie who thinks that women over a size 8 have to justify why they are "large." Jeez, I'd like to sit on her.

In Conclusion
Overall, the book really is cute. It's fluff. Sometimes, a person just needs to read some fluff to relax. I didn't get angry with the book or the author while I was reading it. Honestly, I didn't realize that there was anything to get angry about until I started analyzing the elements for the purpose of this review.

Opposites Attract just doesn't give a positive message for women who are larger than a size 10. It seems to call for women to be a size 8 or smaller, and to have a bad self-image if they're in the double-digits. In North's defense, however, I don't think she intended that to be the message. I believe she tried to write a sweet romance novel with an "average" woman as the heroine. Unfortunately, in doing so, she makes all of the truly average women that read this book feel way below average.

It really is a shame. The book has a great deal of potential. If you are one of those people (like me) who analyzes a book cover-to-cover, perhaps this isn't the book for you. But, if you're just looking for a book to read on a plane or something for the sheer enjoyment of it, Opposites Attract may be right up your alley.