Chick Lit Review # 12: That Kind of Guy by Mina V. Esguerra


First of all, before I get deep into my musings about this new title, I’d like to say something about my absence in the blogosphere:  real life took over.  Yes, I know it’s probably the most overused excuse ever but what the heck, it’s the truth.  Anyway, I’m back and hope this gets somewhat regular.

So on to business.  And something I’m actually happy about!  Despite my default snark and sarcasm I’ve managed to sit back and enjoy this new outing of Mina V. Esguerra, fast becoming one of my favorite local chick lit writers.  That Kind of Guy, like the title suggests, is centered on this one guy—Anton—whose original bad-boy image and reputation belied the sincere, caring, and sensible man he really was.  Then there’s Julie, self-professed manang or prude, whose no-nonsense demeanor also hid the insecure woman within, who believed in stereotypes and playing exclusively within one’s league.  As Julie unwittingly tried to measure up against the many women Anton had dated before her, Anton, on the other hand, was showing her that he was not a stereotype, that he could make a serious decision, that she was the one he wanted to be with.  So, when he popped the all-too-rhetorical question one evening, Julie decided to turn him down on the pretext that she didn’t really know him.  Wait, what?  Are you crazy, girl?  Then again, that’s what made Julie an unpredictable character that didn’t fit the world of stereotypes she often boxed people into.  Julie then started dating Harry—obviously thrown in to create yet another stereotype, that of the good guy, to pit against Anton—who was great but offered noting else other than what his 2D character could.  Ultimately, after trying out a sort of role-playing game where Juliet experienced first-hand what kind of bad-boy date Anton was, they got back together as they should.  But the author, bless, her, did not just give it away like that; though the last part was an actual wedding, it was told from the point of view of a completely different character (never even mentioned in the story, in fact) who gave her impression of Julie and who presumably was Anton.  Talk about anti-climactic!  It was a great way to end the story.

Once more, Mina Esguerra doesn’t disappoint, with this piece written with the same intuitive style as her previous No Strings Attached and My Imaginary Ex. I love a writer who pushes beyond what is expected, and even uses the expected to change things around.  Well worth the money. :)

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mina V. Esguerra is an auto-read author for me, I have so much fun going through her books. As expected, I enjoyed reading That Kind of Guy (finished it this weekend).

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"It's really hard to walk in a single woman's shoes--that's why you sometimes need really special ones, to make the walk a bit more fun."

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