I love, love, love Kate Meader's witty voice, and her skill at creating characters, which is why I keep requesting and reading her books. But I often find some annoying antifeminist stuff in them, which always makes me pick up a new one with some caution.

In this opposites attract romance, cynical divorce lawyer Max Henderson can't believe his younger brother is getting married—or that he and his bride to be have hired the hottest, yet snarkiest, wedding planner he's ever had the bad luck to encounter. [Both characters are white]

The amusingly-named Charlie Love is ready for marriage herself. But after some entertaining bantering sessions that strike sparks, Max persuades her that it shouldn't be a problem to engage in some hot sex with him while she's searching. To his surprise, it is he, rather than Charlie, who slowly yearns to turn their hot-hate-sex thing into something more.

Charlie protests that she doesn't want Max to rescue her, or act protectively toward her, but he does so anyway. And she likes it. And as Max gradually shows that he's more than such a rich white boy know-it-all, she starts to fall for him, too.

Least favorite scene: Charlie gets thrown into "Cubs jail" for verbally going at it with an official at the ballpark. In the aftermath, this conversation between Max & Charlie:

"So I should have just zipped my mouth and acted like the quiet little woman?"
"Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Make this about feminism or getting beaten down by the patriarchy. It's about common sense and respect."
He's right. I know this, but I hate it. I hate feeling like that angry girl again, even if the stakes are as low as screaming invective at a ballgame official. I'm never going to find a man if I can't rein in that part of myself that's unpalatable to the segment fo the human race I need to impress. (Kindle Loc 1063)

And this: "So you're here because I rained all over your girl power parade?"

Really hate it when mansplaining heroes tell heroines how their feminism isn't really feminist.

On the other hand, Max appreciates Charlie's bossiness (even in bed), even while her stepmother keeps cautioning her that she needs to tone herself down if she ever wants to catch a husband. And he hates how she thinks she has to repress herself. So thumbs up there.

All in all, Meader's typical mixed bag.

I loved this book! Max and Charlie were great characters and had amazing chemistry! It was an unique storyline (wedding planning vs divorce laywer/brother of the groom), which I found very enjoyable. Both characters had reasons for why they acted or thought the way they did about relationships and marriage, and when they started breaking down each other's walls, it was truly heartfelt. Loved this book!

Divorce attorney meets wedding planner. Max Henderson is the cynic in all things love especially wedded bliss, but he must deal with it now that his brother proposed to the love of his life. Enter Charlie Love , wedding planner extraordinaire and the person Max was trying to pick up at the bar. There's something about Charlie that has Max all fired up. Although Charlie has been burned in the past, she still believes in the of making dreams come true for her brides-to-be.

It was a fun and fast read, although some times I felt Max was too much of a cynic which after reading his backstory I could understand, but having him come from loving parents, he should have seen that not all women are out for his money. I loved Charlie and understood her insecurities especially with the likes of Max.

Overall, I enjoyed this book.

"—desire, doubt, nausea, and need."

I happened upon Kate Meader by accident and dove into her Chicago Rebels series after being intrigued by the synopsis. I was hooked, coming back again and again for more. I jumped on this book without even reading the blurb, just excited for whatever story the author wanted to tell.

When I first met Max his issues were very apparent. He was cynical and judgemental about the horrors of matrimony. It's true that with his career as a divorce attorney he's seen the worst of failed marriages, but he's also witnessed a few successful ones. So, when his brother shared that he was getting married, he struggled to show support rather than disdain.

Charlie can't deny her physical attraction to Max, but when he stopped flirting and showed his true colors her hot temper came out to play. If she'd known how much that turned him on, would she have done things differently? What fun it was to witness their banter as they argued about love. Her belief and his doubt that it existed.

In the meantime, their lust was never in question. My only question was how long it would take for them to give in to it. I was impatiently waiting in the wings, encouraging them to take a chance. Being inside both of their heads was an interesting place to be. I giggled and sighed as she pondered having a Max-gasm and he admitted to himself, "I want to jump heart first." But will he? Which will win the Love Wars, his head or his heart?

Max Henderson is well versed in marriage gone wrong, being a divorce lawyer ensures that he sees what happens when happily ever afters don't pan out just about everyday, and for that reason he has become quite cynical about marriage. So when he learns his brother is about to wander down the aisle mere months after meeting his bride-to-be, he about loses it, what could he possibly be thinking? Then he meets their wedding planner Charlie, she's beautiful but she is also in the market of creating the very thing he despises, which is very hard to ignore. But after several run-ins and several stolen glances he begins to notice a side to her that is not only unexpected, but something he wants to explore...but doing so might land him in a place he swore he'd never end up!

Down With Love is a delightful little enemies to lovers tale that will have you smiling and giggling one moment, and then fanning yourself and swooning the next! I thoroughly enjoyed this newest offering from Ms. Meader, it had the steamy, finger singeing encounters I have come to expect from her, but it also had a nice tender and heartfelt side too, it was really good for the heart and feelers!! I loved these characters, they were about as opposite as they could be, and at times I was certain they would never be able to get over their stubbornness and find what was waiting for them on the other side, but with time and a unwavering chemistry then found their common bond... and boy was it fun to watch it all unfold! I highly recommend you pick this one up, it's literary gold!!

I requested an advanced copy of this title from NetGalley, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest and unbiased opinion.

A divorce lawyer meets a wedding planner. Two complete opposites who you think wouldn't work out but sparks fly with these two.

Charlie Love is a wedding planner hired to plan the wedding for the brother of a cynical divorce lawyer, Max Henderson. Charlie and Max fight their attraction towards each other from the get go, but once their learn of each others professions there is a little more push than pull.

But can Max learn to love again after being hurt and will Charlie look past the hard exterior of Max and see who is really is?

This was a sweet story. There was chemistry, their was some misunderstandings and there were a few laughs. I do look forward to reading the rest of the books in their series as they are released.

**ARC provided by NetGalley**

He’s a divorce lawyer. She’s a wedding planner. These two are a rom-com just waiting for a script.

Charlie Love cannot stand Max Henderson from the moment she meets him. She’s crafting couples’ dreams of wedded bliss and he’s tearing them apart. And she’s set on believing that Max and her worldviews are so fundamentally opposed that she can’t – or refuses to – see Max as a good guy and not The Cynic™, disbeliever of wedding bliss and destroyer of happily-ever-afters. But in reality, Max isn’t ripping marriages apart but acting as lawyer, counselor and shoulder-to-cry-on for his clients – helping them find closure, the strength to move on, and freeing them to find love again. He no longer believed that he can find love for himself and lets his past experience color his worldview with trepidation and caution, but the more time he spends sparing (It’s so entertaining to watch these two opposites meet their match and volley quips back and forth with equal fervor) with Charlie Love, the more Max is putting his heart on the line.

Fun, humorous, sexy, witty, opposites attract contemporary romance.

3.5 stars

**Received and ARC of Down with Love from the publisher, Loveswept, via NetGalley, for an honest review, no compensation was given.
Down with Love by Kate Meader is the first book in the new series Love Wars, and what an amazing start it is. This book was witty, hilarious, sexy and just pure joy to read. I really adored all the pop culture references both old and new, that this author incorporated into this book. The writing was spot on and the character development was thorough.
Some could say this is an enemies to friends love story, but I don't really see it that way. I never got the feeling that Charlie and Max hated or even disliked each other. I felt an immediate attraction between the two, they may have fought the attraction but it was definitely there.For me this made the book much more interesting.
Charlie, a wedding planner, meets Max, a divorce attorney, while she is planning Max's younger brother's wedding. Charlie Love comes from humble beginnings and has worked for everything she has ever gotten. She is a delightfully strong, independent woman who speaks her mind. Max, "King of the Kiss" Henderson come from a wealthy family, but there is more than meets the eye on that count.
The author takes the reader on a wonderfully journey starting with one steamy kiss, lots of hot arguing, some unexpected surprises, all combine to make one very hot romance. Ms. Meader did a great job with development of the secondary characters. I would love to read more about that sexy Brit, Lucus Wright and the shy, soft spoken Grant Lincoln, who are both friends and fellow lawyers with Max. Down with Love is fun sexy read well worth your time. Enjoy!

I love this author. Her dialogue puts a smile on my face. I thought it was absolutely adorable that Max called her Charles. I loved the inclusion of each of their families. The author writes such strong contemporary characters. I hope this is the new wave of romance because it's so nice to read!

A divorce lawyer, a wedding planner, and a love match that will prove love isn't always doomed.

A fabulous book full of tension, witty banter and just serious goodness.

A must read.

I want to thank Random House Publishing Group - Loveswept and Netgalley for providing me with this eARC.

Releases August 7!

From Goodreads: "Sparks fly when the hot-shot divorce lawyer meets the high-powered wedding planner. The only question is, what kind?

If you ever get married, remember my name: Max Henderson. In my line of work, you acquire a certain perspective on supposedly everlasting unions. . . .

1. Pre-nups are your friend.
2. The person you married is not the person you’re divorcing.
3. And I hope you didn’t spend much on the wedding because that was one helluva waste of hard-earned cash, wasn’t it?

But some guys are willing to take a chance. Like my brother, who thinks he’s going to ride off into the sunset with the woman of his dreams in a haze of glitter on unicorns. And the wedding planner—the green-eyed beauty who makes a living convincing suckers to shell out thousands of dollars on centerpieces—is raking it in on this matrimonial monstrosity.

The thing is, Charlie Love is not unlike me. We’re both cogs in the wedding-industrial complex. As the best man, I know her game—and I can play it better than her. But after one scorching, unexpected kiss, I’m thinking I might just want to get played."



This is not the first time I have picked up the wedding planner and divorce attorney falling in love (My absolute favourite is Melanie Harlow's Only You). This was a cute solid read, that would be a great one to pick up this summer.

Click continue reading to read a breakdown of my thoughts...



Characters: Charlie Love and Max Henderson. Both characters were great. The side characters stole the show half the time.
World/Setting: The setting did not enhance the story whatsoever. It took place in Chicago, but it could have been any major American city.
Pacing: I do not know how to explain this but the pacing seemed off. It felt dragged out.
Romance (yay or nay?): This was my favourite part of the story. The push and pull between the characters was phenomenal. This trope always produces good disagreements and good conversations. I could not have asked for a better pacing of this relationship.


I give Down with Love...

4/5 stars





Thank you again to Random House Publishing Group - Loveswept and Netgalley for providing me with this eARC.

Thank you for reading this review and for supporting my blog!

I have read two other series by Meader so I went into this book with high expectations. What I found was a perfectly serviceable romance. Two likable characters, some good banter, interesting families., all good components for a book to have were present. I liked this book. The problem is that it is not a book I will think about or even really remember in a few months. There was nothing especially unusual about Max or Charlie or about a divorce lawyer falling for a wedding planner. A good escape for a couple of hours but not a book that I will set aside to revisit.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the characters. Charlie's parents sounded so much like my own parents in many ways. I also really liked Gina. However, the reasons I didn't give this book a higher ratings is the following. I don't like when the story is going along, and then one of the main characters all of a sudden addresses the reader. I think that is tacky and unnecessary. It pulls us away from the characters more than it brings us to them. I don't need the main character to give me a synopsis of Hitchcock's "Rear Window". If I hadn't already seen that movie multiple times and wanted to know more about the movie, I can IMDB that myself. By the time you get done telling the synopsis of it, I forget why I should care about the movie at all. I also don't like phrases like "makes her ass look like a couple of cantaloupes fighting for supremacy," "warm, wet hole," and especially "His hand in mine is the hot fudge sauce on my sundae, the relish on my dog, the topper on my Christmas tree." They for the most part sound more ridiculous than descriptive. Once passed those issues and the fact that the plot was pretty typical, I did enjoy the overall story and found it a quick read.

I loved this book. It was fun, flirty, romantic, sexy, & I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed all of the characters but of course my favorite ones were the lead characters, Max & Charlie. He's a jaded divorce attorney & she's a wedding planner. Opposites may or may not attract as this book goes on. I highly recommend reading this book if you love a good rom-com!

What happens when you put a wedding planner and a divorce lawyer together ......all kinds of sparks! All rolled together and it's funny, sweet and a whole lot of sexy!

Loved this book, the characters were so fun, I highlighted so many LOL passages. I have more highlights that bookmarks because I flew through this book! Loved Charlie, Max and the whole cast of characters. My only complaint is that I want more.

4.5☆
Loved it!
This is my first book by Kate Meader.

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
The humor
Dual POVs
Part of a series: Love Wars
Standalone
HEA
Epilogue

I look forward to reading more from this author and the other books in this series.

I became a fan of Kate Meader while reading the Chicago Rebels series. Every single one of those books was an absolute hit for me - so I expected this would be a no-brainer. Unfortunately, I was not able to connect to this story at all. I didn't particularly care for the characters and the storyline did not hook me at all. I put it down and went back three times, thinking perhaps I just wasn't in the right mood, but ultimately I think I just need to move on.

I am having a very hard time connecting with romantic comedies right now and I think that's the biggest difference between the series I adored, and my failure to engage with this one. I may circle back at a later date when I'm in the mood for something lighter and fluffier, but for now - this is a DNF at 30%.

Down with Love is the first book in Kate Meader’s Love Wars series and I thoroughly enjoyed it! A Wedding Planner and a Divorce Lawyer…sparks fly with these two! So much chemistry, fun banter, great humor and of course the sexy times too! I loved Charlie and Max together. I definitely recommend this one and I’m so looking forward to the future books in the series! If you love the opposites attract / enemies-to-lovers tropes, this one is for you!

**I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

Max is a divorce lawyer. Charlie is a wedding planner. Max is content with his life, he doesn't like change. When his brother announces he is getting married after knowing his fiance for only a few months., Max is set off kilter. Then Charlie and Max meet and sets off fireworks. The story was good. Maybe too much psychological. analysis but there us a HEA. I will recommend it to my friends.