The title says it all, for better or worse - a ARC review of Lynn Painter's Maid for Each Other

If you’ve read my reviews before, you’ve heard me sing Lynn Painter’s praises. I love her. It’s that simple. I love her so much that I suggested Omaha as a destination for our next family vacation. A place that, no disrespect of course, I don’t think I’d ever thought of outside of those Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom specials that convinced young me that I’d be a kick-ass zoologist. But, I love Painter and I love love and I love Painter’s love of love so much that, despite being vetoed by the rest of my family, I still want to visit the place she brings to life in most of her fiction. So, here we are, back again in Omaha with her newest set of lovers, Abi Mariano, maid / grocery clerk / MFA candidate, and Declan (Dex) Powell, millionaire moonlighting as a modern day Robin Hood.

I’ve unabashedly fallen for all of Painter’s MMCs, even those (maybe especially those?) in her YA offerings, and Dex isn’t without his charm. He’s definitely not my favorite of her book boyfriends, however. He’s more not not my favorite. I feel that way about Maid for Each Other on the whole. It’s fun, has those moments of the ridiculous where I laugh out loud, makes me long for a really good kiss (which, IMHO, is the most Lynn Painter thing of all), and I really like that the main characters actually like each other and are each other’s most fun and favoritest people ever. However, there’s something in this story, which features a fish-out-of-water couple and all the best tropes - we’re talking enemies-to-friends-to-fake-dating-to-maybe-real-dating-to-one-bed-only-to-lovers-because (as the title says) soulmates stuff here - that doesn’t have that Lynn Painter spark that I’ve come to expect. 

Maybe it’s because this book read like an amalgamation of so many of her previous works - how Abi’s down-to-earth struggling realness clashing with Declan’s gorgeous, powerful, seeming soullessness reminded me of Mr. Wrong Number. Or the fake dating (here playing out in a very transactional manner, as Abi’s getting 40K to pay off her student loans for one weekend playing Dex’s fictional girlfriend, who, as FATE would have it, he named Abby) that had shades of The Love Wager. There were other little callbacks - how Dex would call Abi rather than text her at just the right moment (very Accidentally Amy) - that spoke to Painter’s growing catalog of adult protagonists. It’s not that I didn’t appreciate these; it’s that I couldn’t help but compare Abi and Dex to her previous couples and, while I wholeheartedly rooted for them throughout, didn’t fall under their spell in the same way I have for the rest. A large part of this definitely came with the last line. As I tell my students when they want to forgo writing conclusions, last lines (like first lines) are important. And this one left an aftertaste in my mouth. 

After a whirlwind romance in which we see both parties struggling to define their “ship” - Abi because she’s scared that Dex will grow bored with her and leave her by the wayside because the man drops literal thousands of dollars on things that mean nothing to him and Declan because he’s not looking for any type of relationship, especially one outside of his small and elite circle - there’s the inevitable dark moment that causes the breakup of whatever type of ship this was. And, surprising to no reader, it’s a Pretty Woman moment (I’ve got to give credit to Painter, she forewent the obvious callout to this inspiration until the penultimate moments of the text when Abi’s best friend draws attention to it) when Roman, Dex’s best friend and partner in charitable giving, unthinkingly invites, or rather, propositions, Abi to pretend to be his girlfriend at an upcoming wedding. We cringe for him, especially as Abi and Dex have given in to their made-for-each-other chemistry and slept together, and her and, by default, ourselves. It’s . . . not good. Even if we saw it coming from the first deal that Abi and Dex made in their heretofore transactional relationship.

The cringe factor only increases when Declan, post whatever-ship break-up, finds Abi’s notebook and reads her character description for a short story that features a character who just so happens to look just like him (and, oh yeah, conveniently has the same name) but acts like a true out-of-touch billionaire villain. Since it’s a rom-com, and a Lynn Painter one at that, there is a happy ending in store but the speed with which Dex forgives Abi for her assumptions and, ultimately, she him, was a little too neat and tidy (maid puns!). It, like the last line (I know, I didn’t forget about that. I’m taking the scenic route), is a little too Hallmark for me. Something I’ve never accused this author of before. Do I believe that Abi and Dex are meant to be? Yes. Do I want them to live their best, most funnest lives together? Roger that. Did I puke a little in my mouth when Declan, in THE LAST LINE, corrects fiance Abi that their initial deal didn’t (almost) cost him 40k but rather his “whole entire heart”? Yuck, and yes. 

Don’t get me wrong. I’m recommending this book to all my bookish besties. (Honestly, I don’t think Lynn Painter could do wrong by me.) The nods to Jane Austen still make me swoon, the possibility that opposites do indeed attract and smooth out each other’s rough edges (forgive the analogy as science isn’t my strong suit), the wackadoo gifts that show that the MMC really sees the FMC (here in the form of a bouquet made of asthma inhalers), and Painter’s requisite feline furball (“Little Dexxie”, whom I need more of) are worth the price of admission. So, while it’s potentially cheesy to think your one could be out there, waiting for you where you least expect them, I’m happy to hope and go along for the ride.

Rating: 4 / 5 Real Fake Kisses