Wow. I don't know what to say about this book. Oh yeah, I do. This was terrible. A terrible main character who wants to get married for some really ridiculous reasons who seems to be stalking a woman who is tied to another character he knows. I didn't laugh once while reading this, though I was told this was supposedly humorous. The main character (Ben) really just needs to be by himself, because even though he is a struggling artist with a terrible place to live, he still sees there should be some higher standards concerning whatever women he fools into marrying him. I wish the book had ended with some self-awareness on his part, but Dunn ends things so you can tell what is probably going to happen next.

"The Good Bride Guide" has Ben Grant feeling thrown when his agent pops up engaged. He finds out that his agent has an arranged marriage and that he feels less stressful about his life because his parents ultimately picked the woman he is going to marry in a few months time. Ben who we already meet and who is dealing with breaking up with a woman who he says didn't like him for him and was not right for him decides all of a sudden that he should get married too. So the book follows Ben as his parents try to set him up with a variety of women while Ben sits back and criticizes each woman. There's even a creepy meet-up when he hangs out with a woman who back in college he and she drunkenly promised to marry each other if they didn't find other people. That whole scene was cringe inducing.

 

I didn't like Ben. I thought he was self absorbed and I never got a sense of why he wanted to marry. He's not a hopeless romantic. He doesn't watch romantic comedies. He's judgmental as hell. 

 

The other characters are barely developed though we spend the most with his family who you can tell Dunn tried to write as kooky but lovable, but ended up reading more ridiculous than anything to me. 

 

The writing was so-so. I think if it had been longer, maybe he could have developed Ben more. As it was, this book felt rushed. 

 

I was thrilled to get to the end. 

I can honestly say that I really did enjoy the first novel of Matt Dunn's that I read, The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook: Eddie will do whatever it takes to become her Mr. Right. I was happy that I had found a new author to read and sat down and promptly bought the next two novels starring Ed Middelton and his best friend Dan. The second novel, Ex-Girlfriends United: Dan used to get the girls. Now the girls are getting him back. could have been a brilliant novel if only it had been told from Dan's point of view. Having Ed still going around and acting insecure through a second novel was just a bit too much for me to deal with. Not to mention that he was being really dumb how he handled things with his ex and current girlfriend.

This novel is book three starring Ed and Dan and how I am wishing that I had never bought it at this point. Matt Dunn can definitely write. He definitely knows the male brain and it would be great to read about the inner workings of a male mind while in a relationship. If this novel had been told from a different point of view's than Ed's I probably would have enjoyed it more.

The novel begins with Ed telling Dan that he is engaged since his girlfriend of a couple of year's Sam asked him while they were in bed one night (Quick Aside #1 I honestly don't think that Sam asked him to marry her, but was just chatting about marriage and the future and since Ed is dumb as a bag of hair he did not get that) and with Ed quickly becoming insecure that Sam may not want to marry him. Ed eventually proposes to Sam, but he still thinks that she asked him first. None of this is ever resolved in the course of this novel and it becomes a moot point anyway so I have no idea why it was even brought up as a thing throughout the novel.

Ed throughout this entire novel just ran around acting insecure and just stupid (once again) due to the fact that his ex-girlfriend dumped him via a letter and cheated on him with someone else. I have never in my life yelled at a fictional character the way I did Ed. I said at least 20 times

"For all that is holy, GET OVER IT!"

Ed remarks about Jane and Sam constantly to Dan, in his inner meanderings, and to Wendy the waitress at he and Dan's favorite pub. There is very little plot going on besides Sam and Ed planning the wedding and Ed pouting like a child because Sam wants to have a smaller wedding and Ed wants to have a huge big celebration in a church.

With Ed questioning whether Sam really loves him and if she is cheating on him (Quick Aside Two: I have never hoped for an affair so much in my life) the novel became tedious. Seriously, the entire novel is just Ed whining to Dan about Sam and Dan using common sense to get Ed to come to his senses about Sam. When I eventually finished the novel I just felt relief combined with annoyance that I wasted my time finishing this novel. I would still recommend, The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook but would not read beyond that novel.

This is the second novel written by Matt Dunn about Edward Middleton and his best friend Dan.

If you have not read the first novel in the series, look away, look away.

Edward has moved on from his ex girlfriend Jane and is still doing his best to keep up with the positive changes he made in his life while attempting to get her back, see "The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook".

With Edward happily dating and feeling better about himself than he has in years, his best friend Dan is going through a dating downward spiral. No matter what Dan does he seems to be turning women off left and right. Dan eventually finds out that all of his exes have rated him on a website called, "SlateYourDate.com". Too bad for Dan that all of his exes have nothing but negative things to say about him.

Though many women (and men) out there will loathe Dan I have to say that once you get into his reasoning for why he was dumping women left and right you will find the humor in the situation. Dan is not a very bright character, but definitely has some insights into women that Edward needs to listen to since Edwards keeps treating women like they are this rare species that he has no understanding of at all.

The main reason why I gave this novel only three stars (I dithered between three and three and a half) is that I think Mr. Dunn would have had a stronger novel, with even more hilarity if this story was told from Dan's point of view. Reading the book summary for "Ex-Girlfriends United" you would think this novel was told from Dan's point of view.

Instead the novel is told from Edward's point of view and you just deal with his problems through the whole novel (problems of his own doing by the way) and you have him insecure and questioning everything that his new girlfriend says and does.Frankly if I were Dan I would have told Edward to go see a shrink since his constant indecision about everything started to drive me mad by the end of this novel.

Readers do finally get to "meet" Edward's ex, Jane. She is definitely a flesh and blood character in this novel and I could understand her anger and jealousy on how Edward moved on and got his life together after she dumped him. Besides Edward "helping" Dan here and there with how to get his exes off of Dan's backs we as readers do not get to witness any of the things that Dan does, we merely hear about them after the fact when Dan is re-telling stories to Edward.

I went to the bookstore a few weeks ago and bought a lot of new books, i.e. never read the author beforehand. I saw this novel and decided to give the book a chance. I am glad that I did this little experiment since I have really enjoyed reading this novel and the next two in this series starring Eddie Middleton.

In The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook, the main character Eddie gets a "Dear John" letter from his long-time girlfriend of 10 years, Jane. Jane leaves Eddie for Tibet for three months. Additionally, Jane, tells Eddie that she left him because of him. Listing all of Eddie's flaws and why she felt the need to move on inspires Eddie to transform himself in the 3 months that Jane is gone into a boyfriend that she will want to be with. With the help of his best friend Dan, Eddie goes on transformation alphabetically for Jane.

I have to say that I really did like/love this novel a lot. Matt Dunn definitely writes very well and there are several laugh out loud moments in this novel that left me gasping. The characters such as Eddie and Dan were very well drawn and I wanted to read more about them (why I bought the other two books via my Kindle right after I finished with this one). I loved each chapter beginning with the current date since we have Eddie counting down to Jane's return from Tibet.

Eddie is definitely a sympathetic character. You feel for him while he goes back through what exactly he did wrong that made Jane leave him. Frankly I don't think too many men would do something like Eddie and would probably be thinking "good riddance."

Dan was outright hilarious. Seriously I would have loved a book told from Dan's point of view because though it was often offensive he definitely gets women more than Eddie does.

The only reason why I gave this 4 and a half stars was that the woman in this novel that Eddie is doing this for, Jane, was just written badly. Jane is a full blown caricature of a shrewish woman come to life. I think it would have made it a stronger novel if we had a prologue showing Eddie and Jane together and them being happy. Having Eddie flash-backing or chatting with Dan about Jane did not make her a real character to me. Frankly, I had a hard time understanding why Eddie was so in love with Jane based on the remembrances that are shared with readers. It would have definitely made the ending stronger if we as readers got to see why Eddie was so in love with her at first and what made them work and we could get his dithering about what he wants his next steps to be when Jane gets back. For me, the ending was a forgone conclusion because of the above.

That said, I am very glad that I picked this book up!

"Edward. Let me get this straight. You've called me right in the middle of Antiques Roadshow just to tell me your girlfriend's gone to bed?"Tibet, Dan. Jane's gone to Tibet. She's left me."Poor Edward! Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined his girlfriend of ten years leaving him (and taking almost all the furniture!). He's despondent, and in a little bit of denial, so he calls his best friend Dan. Dan is a local television personality and he has had many girlfriends. Actually, Dan is a bit of a man-slut, bouncing between many one night stands and leaving a trail of angry women behind him. Dan comes to Edward's rescue and seeing that there is little furniture left in the apartment, they head off to the local pub to drown Edward's sorrows. Jane left Edward a letter outlining her reasons for the breakup. She's upset that his career aspirations do not match hers. The most brutal remark was that she was unhappy with how Edward has let himself go. Edward consoles himself, convinced that he is Cuddly Teddy until Dan tells him the truth. Edward is fat, out of shape, and the smoking has got to stop. Dan helps Edward take stock of his life and Edward begins an incredible transformation.The book is laugh out loud funny. Between Edward's self-deprecating sense of humor and Dan's exploits with the women and Wendy the barmaid's astute observations and pokes at Dan's manhood, I was chuckling and giggling throughout. Edward is such a likeable character, and so easy to relate to. The male point of view on relationships was quite enlightening as men really do think differently from women. Edward makes a great protagonist. It's so easy to fall in love with his character. He is still head over heels in love with Jane, despite her rejection and stealth breakup. He tries to do everything he can to make himself more attractive for Jane, using her return date as his goal. Dan was hilarious with his often misguided dating and lifestyle advice. The women in this book are strong and opinionated. Edward's boss Natasha was a little scary, but very entertaining with her attraction for rich, married men. Wendy the barmaid offered insightful advice as to what women expect from their men. Sam the trainer was adorable. She was perfect for Edward encouraging him to continue with his exercise regimen.I think that what I liked most about this book was that Edward was given a wake up call. Rather than wallow in self-pity, he took stock of his life and made positive changes that benefited him. The transformation from Cuddly Teddy to Handsome Edward was amazing. I really enjoyed this book and I am glad that I discovered this author. I'm looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future. Kobo free download 6/9/11 - (*no longer free).