Do You Take This Man by Denise Williams
Damage. That’s the one word that came to mind about halfway through Do you Take This Man? (Berkley) by Denise Williams, and the word won’t let me go even now as I write this review. In fact, my playlist for this book would consist of one song — Damage by H.E.R. (Well two songs, but one is a scene spoiler, so I won’t mention it.)
This enemies-to-lovers romance, or as the main characters Lear and RJ have deemed it, “enemies-with-benefits,” is a specific type of enemies-to-lovers romance — a steamy one with lots of baggage.
FROM PAST ENEMIES TO FUTURE LOVERS
RJ Brooks is an Asheville, North Carolina attorney that mainly works on divorce cases. She’s also a wedding officiant.
Well, that second one was a happy accident that turned into a bit of a side hustle. She’s agreed to officiate several weddings for event planner Penny, but shortly after agreeing, Penny and her spouse adopt a newborn. Penny takes parental leave and turns the season’s weddings over to her cousin Lear Campbell. Lear has left behind an event planning job — not to mention a former fiancé — in Los Angeles to start over in Asheville and help Penny with her expanding business.
Lear and RJ literally run into each other as each are (unknowingly) headed to the same wedding rehearsal. But it’s not a cute romantic comedy run-in. It’s an ugly, sprawling, bickering about being independent versus needing help, cocky, antagonistic collision, which starts the enemies-to-lovers vibe between RJ and Lear.
As these two work a couple of weddings, they succumb to the physical attraction they share. But emotional intimacy is not something RJ is willing to give, and Lear seems unable to. Readers quickly see why: both RJ and Lear have had disastrous past relationships that make them unwilling to feel.
Their heated banter is part of what attracts them to each other, but it is also a defense and avoidance mechanism. RJ wants to keep her distance and avoid being hurt again; Lear wants to prove he’s immune to RJ’s caustic wit and little jabs at his personality.
Both of them want to prevent the pain they think is inevitable if they become vulnerable and do something stupid like fall in love, so they keep the antagonistic veneer between them for most of the novel.
HATRED TURNS TO PASSIONATE ROMANCE
However, as much as they fight to keep their distance from each other, sexual attraction keeps pulling them closer together. These two can’t keep their hands off each other, finding hideaways at wedding venues and hooking up after wedding parties have left for the rehearsal dinner.
While they know little about each other’s lives and past, they are fully aware of erogenous zones on each other’s bodies. For readers who love a lot of spice during foreplay, this book gives you that. Do You Take This Man? is firmly in the spicy/steamy category without having a lot of love scenes on page.
I especially loved the character’s personalities shining through during these scenes. Both RJ and Lear have distinct moments that ring true to what we know of these characters, which make them so relatable as they pull off one inventive wedding after another.
A FUN SERIES WITH SERIOUS UNDERTONES
Do You Take This Man? is the third book in the unnamed series/shared world Ms. Williams has created that, while mostly funny and light, has a thread of serious topics through it.
In this novel, the author includes issues of abandonment, fidelity, and mental trauma/mental health that can arise with the hijinks and antics of wedding ceremonies.
Books one and two also touch on serious societal topics, such as domestic abuse (How to Fail at Flirting), eating disorders and body positivity (The Fastest Way to Fall). Readers will be entertained, but many may also relate to these characters through their life struggles and dysfunctions.
Overall, this enemies-to-lovers romance is both entertaining and enlightening, something readers and fans have come to look for with Ms. Williams’ romance stories.
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About Denise Williams:
Denise Williams wrote her first book in the 2nd grade. I Hate You and its sequel, I Still Hate You, featured a tough, funny heroine, a quirky hero, witty banter and a dragon. Minus the dragons, these are still the books she likes to write. After penning those early works, she finished second grade and eventually earned a PhD. After growing up a military brat around the world and across the country, Denise now lives in Iowa with her husband, son and two ornery shih-tzus who think they own the house. How to Fail at Flirting was her debut novel and she can usually be found reading, writing or thinking about love stories.
