Kathy Strobos’s Partner Pursuit is a light-hearted RomCom with a hidden message – all work and no play runs the real risk of turning Audrey Willems into a dull girl.
Audrey is an up-and-coming lawyer working for a prestigious New York law firm and is just six months away from realising her dream of making Partner. With her colleague rivals, she is working long hours at the office, landing the new clients, clinching the deals and winning the cases to prove she is worthy of such an honour. She has no time for romance – not yet anyway.
Jake is a marketing executive in the music scene. He’s just as hard-working, but has learned to balance work with life. Besides, with a workaholic lawyer for a dad, he’s certainly not looking for someone like Audrey to build a relationship with.
However, they meet as next-door-neighbours and the sparks fly. What follows is a sometimes tense, sometimes playful story of two people who are meant to be together, but find the struggle to understand each other’s work ethic and the reason behind them.
Kathy’s characters are well-rounded and believable, with an exciting cast of supporting characters thrown in. The plot follows the standard romance/comedy formula with enough misunderstandings, make ups and break ups to make the story interesting, including the villains who are out to break up the happy couple, or, in the case of Collette, dash Audrey’s dreams of becoming a partner.
Dialogue is plentiful and moves the story along and an even pace, speeding up where needed and slowing down to allow the reader to revel in the joy that is a romcom adventure.
As a reader of many genres, a good romcom is always a welcome distraction to throw into the mix. I enjoyed this book immensely and have awarded this book 4.5 stars.
By Phoebe Wilby
