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McKenna Family #5
Dating Games
Irresistible to matchmakers
Rachel's boss has a nephew she thinks would be 'perfect' for her. Her best friend's fiance just 'happens' to have a brother. Complete strangers are getting in on the act. Young, beautiful, single - and happy to stay that way - Rachel Todd is the matchmaker's ultimate challenge.
'Crash' McKenna's family seems to think they're a dating service with only one client. Him. And what with Thanksgiving approaching, they'll be around to force, avid to practice their matchmaking skills on the last remaining unwed McKenna.
Rachel comes up with a simple plan to solve their mutual problem. She and 'Crash' will date to avoid dating. He knows this plan isn't just simple, it's crazy! So why is he going along with it?
Rachel's boss has a nephew she thinks would be 'perfect' for her. Her best friend's fiance just 'happens' to have a brother. Complete strangers are getting in on the act. Young, beautiful, single - and happy to stay that way - Rachel Todd is the matchmaker's ultimate challenge.
'Crash' McKenna's family seems to think they're a dating service with only one client. Him. And what with Thanksgiving approaching, they'll be around to force, avid to practice their matchmaking skills on the last remaining unwed McKenna.
Rachel comes up with a simple plan to solve their mutual problem. She and 'Crash' will date to avoid dating. He knows this plan isn't just simple, it's crazy! So why is he going along with it?
187 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1993
About the author
Leigh Michaels
352 books175 followersLeigh Michaels is the pseudonym used by LeAnn Lemberger (b. July 27 in Iowa, United States), a popular United States writer of over 85 romance novels. She has published with Harlequin, Sourcebooks, Montlake Romance, Writers Digest Books, and Arcadia Publishing. She teaches romance writing at Gotham Writers' Workshop (www.writingclasses.com) She is the author of On Writing Romance.
When Leigh was fifteen she wrote her first romance novel and burned it. She burned five more complete manuscripts before submitting to a publisher. The first submission was accepted by Harlequin, the only publisher to look at it, and was published in 1984.
Michaels was born in Iowa, United States. She received a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, after three years of study and maintained a 3.93 grade-point average. She received the Robert Bliss Award as top-ranking senior in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and won a national William Randolph Hearst Award for feature-writing as an undergraduate.
She is married to Michael W. Lemberger, an artist-photographer.
When Leigh was fifteen she wrote her first romance novel and burned it. She burned five more complete manuscripts before submitting to a publisher. The first submission was accepted by Harlequin, the only publisher to look at it, and was published in 1984.
Michaels was born in Iowa, United States. She received a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, after three years of study and maintained a 3.93 grade-point average. She received the Robert Bliss Award as top-ranking senior in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and won a national William Randolph Hearst Award for feature-writing as an undergraduate.
She is married to Michael W. Lemberger, an artist-photographer.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 2, 2019
Dating Games is the story of Rachel and Colin.
Pretty sweet between a h who works for financial aid and a pilot H running a chartered plane. They meet trying to get away from matchmaking friends, and begin a faux relationship to throw people off. Soon, things get serious as their charade turns into so much more, and emotions get involved.
Well written with loads of banter, a cute cat, drama, crazy OM, secrets and a nice ending. For me, the rating is because the book dragged on 100 pages too long and my eyes glazed over too many times.
Safe
3/5
Pretty sweet between a h who works for financial aid and a pilot H running a chartered plane. They meet trying to get away from matchmaking friends, and begin a faux relationship to throw people off. Soon, things get serious as their charade turns into so much more, and emotions get involved.
Well written with loads of banter, a cute cat, drama, crazy OM, secrets and a nice ending. For me, the rating is because the book dragged on 100 pages too long and my eyes glazed over too many times.
Safe
3/5
August 1, 2023
The hero’s trigger for the bleak moment was ridiculous, but at least the heroine called him out on it later. Otherwise, this was really fun and I’m sad that my McKenna journey is over (loved all the cameos of previous couples!!). There’s some romance rule that protagonists named Colin must be charming, rakish, and mischievous. You know, I think I’d have to DNF a book with a serious Colin. Read via KU.
September 26, 2010
Rachel's sick of the match-making efforts of her colleagues and when she meets Colin and realises he's in the same boat, she asks him if he cares to join forces with her to thwart the well-wishers. Guess what? he agrees!
This is a very cute/sweet book ( we don't see much of these in Harlequin, let's be honest) - The story is simple and unlike the other typical romances, the hero isn't overly possessive/weird. Here's a guy who's really become the heroine's friend and she falls in love with him bit by bit. This is the way things usually happen between couples - I wish I could find my Colin - he's a great guy and the funny thing is - its not the grand passion which makes the story great but small things like the way he holds her in his arms ( her back to his chest) while they're watching the parade on Thanksgiving with his family which make it just perfect!
Highly recommended!
This is a very cute/sweet book ( we don't see much of these in Harlequin, let's be honest) - The story is simple and unlike the other typical romances, the hero isn't overly possessive/weird. Here's a guy who's really become the heroine's friend and she falls in love with him bit by bit. This is the way things usually happen between couples - I wish I could find my Colin - he's a great guy and the funny thing is - its not the grand passion which makes the story great but small things like the way he holds her in his arms ( her back to his chest) while they're watching the parade on Thanksgiving with his family which make it just perfect!
Highly recommended!
November 17, 2012
"Dating Games" by Leigh Michaels is a sweet and fun little easy read of Harlequin from 1993. Bought this at a thrift store for a quarter when the outdated silly cover caught my eye. Love that curly gingery 90's perm! Haha! I've been so busy lately that these super fast reads have satisfied my reading craving while still allowing me to plow through my busy life.
The following may or may not contain spoilers (but doubtful because part of why Harlequin is loveable is because it is hella predictable).
Rachel and Colin "Crash" McKenna have something in common: everyone around them are constantly trying to set them up with people! It annoys the heck out of both of them, so when they meet by chance they decide to pretend to be dating for a few weeks until Thanksgiving day to please their friends and family and to make them all just leave them alone! But alas, the more time they spend together (like dinner parties and fun lil' carnivals) they (SHOCKER) begin to fall in love!! GASP!!!! No way, what a twist!!!!! Haha.
So yes, this is basically a Hallmark movie in book form, but what does one expect? It is cutesy and although it isn't terribly memorable it has likeable characters and is breezy and happy. Gotta love feel-good books, right? 3 stars!
The following may or may not contain spoilers (but doubtful because part of why Harlequin is loveable is because it is hella predictable).
Rachel and Colin "Crash" McKenna have something in common: everyone around them are constantly trying to set them up with people! It annoys the heck out of both of them, so when they meet by chance they decide to pretend to be dating for a few weeks until Thanksgiving day to please their friends and family and to make them all just leave them alone! But alas, the more time they spend together (like dinner parties and fun lil' carnivals) they (SHOCKER) begin to fall in love!! GASP!!!! No way, what a twist!!!!! Haha.
So yes, this is basically a Hallmark movie in book form, but what does one expect? It is cutesy and although it isn't terribly memorable it has likeable characters and is breezy and happy. Gotta love feel-good books, right? 3 stars!
September 6, 2018
3.5 stars.
A book about someone that works in Financial Aid?! This might be my new favourite book of all time! :) Would have given it a 4 star rating, if the central conflict/misundertanding wasn't so ridiculous and completely blown out of proportion.
A book about someone that works in Financial Aid?! This might be my new favourite book of all time! :) Would have given it a 4 star rating, if the central conflict/misundertanding wasn't so ridiculous and completely blown out of proportion.
October 5, 2020
Okay, this was hilarious. Rachel’s just moved to a small university town and everyone’s constantly trying to set her up with eligible men; she’s an independent woman and has other things to worry about, thanks. When she overhears a random dude complaining about basically the same thing, she makes him an offer - let’s fake date!
That said, the big misunderstanding makes literally no sense to me at all: . I mean, way to turn into a whiny man-child, dude. Colin was doing so well up to this point, and then he just went flying off the handle - it's not attractive and it's not heroic.
That said, the big misunderstanding makes literally no sense to me at all: . I mean, way to turn into a whiny man-child, dude. Colin was doing so well up to this point, and then he just went flying off the handle - it's not attractive and it's not heroic.
April 13, 2018
Rachel was successful in her job and content with her life with no man, but it seems everyone around her was insistent in pairing her with a man in a blind date! In one impulsive moment, she asked a stranger in an ice cream parlour to act as her boyfriend! To her shock, he agrees and he turns out to be a pilot called Colin who owns his own planes and he was fed up of his sister-in-law's schemes to make him date, too!
Beautiful story that contains beautiful tender feelings.
Beautiful story that contains beautiful tender feelings.
December 12, 2019
Cute 'dating of convenience' story, but the hero was pushy, and his reasons for being single are vague. The heroine was nicely independent, and the unusual take on the family reunification subplot was appreciated.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 29, 2011
The plot is a courtship-of-convenience but the approach -- like typical Leigh Michaels -- is humorous and snappy.
Tired of being the target of well-intentioned but persistent matchmakers, the H/h teamed up to fool their coworkers (the heroine’s) and relatives (the hero’s). But of course, their convenient dating strategy would lead them to INconvenient secrets that threatened their relationship. No: the inconvenient secret was nothing so traumatic as rape or miscarriage or even divorce. Frankly, I thought the secret was overblown and the heroine had really no reason to carry on like that for so long.
But I did like this story primarily because it reminded me of college dating. Although the H/h were no longer college students, they lived in a small college town and they were both affiliated with the college, she as a financial aid counselor and he as the pilot hired for college official businesses. Their kiss under the bell tower during Fall Festival is a tradition I could relate to – just change the festival and the site. Winning a stuff toy at the fair was another one of those dating rituals and yeah! lugging a bear is a pain. Gathering at the pub was a weekly thing and so was catching the latest musical (but we availed of student discounts).
I liked the hero except for that time when he left in a huff and made her take a cab-ride home. Had I been the heroine, I wouldn’t have answered the phone and let him stew in worry. On the other hand, I thought the heroine was a bit defensive for what I would consider a non-issue. The hero’s action was probably warranted to make her snap out it.
This book has the kind of “friends with benefit” that I would recommend.
Tired of being the target of well-intentioned but persistent matchmakers, the H/h teamed up to fool their coworkers (the heroine’s) and relatives (the hero’s). But of course, their convenient dating strategy would lead them to INconvenient secrets that threatened their relationship. No: the inconvenient secret was nothing so traumatic as rape or miscarriage or even divorce. Frankly, I thought the secret was overblown and the heroine had really no reason to carry on like that for so long.
But I did like this story primarily because it reminded me of college dating. Although the H/h were no longer college students, they lived in a small college town and they were both affiliated with the college, she as a financial aid counselor and he as the pilot hired for college official businesses. Their kiss under the bell tower during Fall Festival is a tradition I could relate to – just change the festival and the site. Winning a stuff toy at the fair was another one of those dating rituals and yeah! lugging a bear is a pain. Gathering at the pub was a weekly thing and so was catching the latest musical (but we availed of student discounts).
I liked the hero except for that time when he left in a huff and made her take a cab-ride home. Had I been the heroine, I wouldn’t have answered the phone and let him stew in worry. On the other hand, I thought the heroine was a bit defensive for what I would consider a non-issue. The hero’s action was probably warranted to make her snap out it.
This book has the kind of “friends with benefit” that I would recommend.
August 19, 2012
I love this book! The whole set is good I got this one first I had a 2year old at home and my mother in law read these all the time. I saw this one and it was all over I read all five out of order. They are worth trying to find in the original covers. They are super hard to find. The unexpected landlord is my favorite.
November 3, 2008
This is a sappy romance that I re-read every year. It isn't the best literary novel but it makes me happy enough for me to read it time and time again.
Read
June 5, 2010This has been one of Colleen's favorite books for years. I can't believe I hadn't read it before now.
January 2, 2012
One of my favourite and first romance novels. A definite must read for romance lovers.
September 9, 2012
In two weeks I read 11 books. This was the best.
Want to Read
October 30, 2019Sweet and funny.
Read
April 22, 2018Irresistible to matchmakers
Rachel's boss has a nephew she thinks would be 'perfect' for her. Her best friend's fiance just 'happens' to have a brother. Complete strangers are getting in on the act. Young, beautiful, single - and happy to stay that way - Rachel Todd is the matchmaker's ultimate challenge.
'Crash' McKenna's family seems to think they're a dating service with only one client. Him. And what with Thanksgiving approaching, they'll be around to force, avid to practice their matchmaking skills on the last remaining unwed McKenna.
Rachel comes up with a simple plan to solve their mutual problem. She and 'Crash' will date to avoid dating. He knows this plan isn't just simple, it's crazy! So why is he going along with it?
Rachel's boss has a nephew she thinks would be 'perfect' for her. Her best friend's fiance just 'happens' to have a brother. Complete strangers are getting in on the act. Young, beautiful, single - and happy to stay that way - Rachel Todd is the matchmaker's ultimate challenge.
'Crash' McKenna's family seems to think they're a dating service with only one client. Him. And what with Thanksgiving approaching, they'll be around to force, avid to practice their matchmaking skills on the last remaining unwed McKenna.
Rachel comes up with a simple plan to solve their mutual problem. She and 'Crash' will date to avoid dating. He knows this plan isn't just simple, it's crazy! So why is he going along with it?
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews