I feel bad saying this but I judged this book before I even read it. I thought it was going to be a fluff book. A book that had zero plot and was heavy on the sex. Well, yeah, about that. Not what I thought it was going to be. 

Max Henderson is a cynic about marriage. A successful divorce attorney, he has seen what breaking up a marriage can do. It has jaded him against anything wedding related. So, he can't help but bait his brother's wedding planner, Charlie Love. She is opposite in everything. Or so he thinks. It isn't until he kisses her that Max realizes he's wrong about love. Will Max find his happily ever after with Charlie or will he blow it?.

I thought Max was a jerk when Down with Love started. I understand that he was cynical. 100% understand that but to rain on his brother's parade is something else. I wanted to smack him upside his head, hard. I didn't understand why he felt the way he did. His parents were still married and in love with each other. But the more I read his story, the more I understood what drove him to that place. All his clients are upper-middle-class women who were pushed aside when their husbands wanted a younger model. Max saw what a divorce could do to someone who wasn't expecting it. I understood then. But it didn't excuse his attitude towards Charlie the first part of the book. Another instance where I wanted to smack him upside his head. I knew he liked her but he acted like a jerk to her. His attitude changed after the kiss. He went from needling her to helping her with family issues. 

I loved Charlie. She was one of the more real characters that I have read to date. I did get a chuckle out of the thought of a wedding planner with an anger issue. But, when it was explained why she had an anger problem, my amusement turned to sadness. She also knew how to handle Max. Which was great because he needed to be put in his place every once in a while.

The romance between Charlie and Max did start off slow because of Max's attitude. But once they kissed, it gathered momentum. When they had sex, it was hot. The other sex scenes were hot but they didn't reach the levels of hotness that they had the first time.

The secondary storylines made this book. The one that made me laugh was the storyline involving Charlie's foster-father, the dog, and Charlie's foster-mother. I was giggling over it because of the assumptions that the foster-mother made. 

The end of Down with Love was your typical romance novel ending. But the epilogue more than made up for it.

What I liked about Down with Love:

A) Charlie

B) Charlie and Max's romance

C) The secondary storylines

What I disliked about Down with Love:

A) Max, at the beginning of the book

B) How Max treated Charlie pre-kiss

C) Charlie's anger issue

I gave Down with Love a 4-star rating. The book was enjoyable to read with hot sex scenes. Any of my complaints did not affect my star rating. 

I would give Down with Love an Adult rating. There is explicit sex. There is language. There is no violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Down with Love. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.

I would like to thank Random House Publishing Group, Loveswept, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Down with Love.

All opinions stated in this review of Down with Love are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Down with Love is the first book of the new series, Laws of Attraction, by author Kate Meader. If you are a fan of Kate Meader, this book will not disappoint. If you have never read a book by Kate Meader, you will quickly find out why she has so many fans!

Max Henderson is a divorce attorney in Chicago. His job has shown him the heartbreaking and uglier side of marriage...divorce. His parents may still be happily married after thirty-two years, but due to what he sees every day through his job, Max is a total skeptic when it comes to love and marriage.

The book begins with Max, and his younger brother James, hanging out for their traditional Thursday night meeting at the Gilt Bar. However, Max soon finds out that this night is far from the typical get together they usually have. James has just announced he is getting married to Gina (his girlfriend of three months). To make matters worse, the woman Max was hitting on just happens to be the wedding planner James and Gina hired, Charlie Love.

The story that unfolds is filled with engaging and well-written characters, witty and clever banter, and of course, hot and sexy romance. Kate Meader knows exactly how to draw the reader into the story, and her flawless writing style will hold your attention from beginning to end. In addition to the amazing chemistry between Max and Charlie, I also loved the family dynamic between Max and James. Down with Love is a fantastic start to the new series! I will be patiently waiting to read the second book, Illegally Yours, which is expected to be released on January 22, 2019.

I would like to thank Random House Publishing Group-Loveswept and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book. My opinions are my own, and are no way influenced by anyone else.

A really good book from the beginning to the end. Max Henderson is a divorce attorney and one thing he believes in is pre-nups. Meeting his brother for their weekly met at their watering hole he is surprised to find out that his brother is getting married. He is equally surprised that the women he had been staring at and then flirting with is the wedding planner. Charlie Love has seen all types and though she sees the smooth good looking man Max is, she also wants to be helpful to the couple who hired her, which was not Max. Max now becomes involved in every detail of his brother’s wedding because he does not want him to get ripped off by said wedding planner. That is what he begins to tell himself, but what really happens he wants to finds ways to be with her. Now for a man who does not believe in weddings or marriage can he change? Both Max and Charlie are wonderful characters and the banter between them really keep this book moving along. A very good story with good characters all around. Read this book and see what happens.

I think enemies-to-lovers might just be one of my favourite tropes as I'm sure is the case for so many romance readers. I enjoy the "showmanship" between the characters as they try to one up each other and try to squash any hope of a truce. On the flip side, I also enjoy that moment when well, the switch flips in the other direction and they don't obsess over hating each other as they have been. It's their reaction to this new knowledge that always gets me -- horror, embarrassment, disbelief -- and then they don't even recognize themselves. That anticipation leading up to when they finally admit that something is there is what I love so much.

Down With Love draws two opposites together thanks to a sudden wedding announcement. I don't think there could be a truer demonstration of opposites than Charlie, the wedding planner who wants nothing more than to create the most magical and memorable of days for her clients, and Max, the divorce lawyer, who sees the downside of marriage where that most magical day becomes the most painful memory for his clients. He sees Charlie's job as the ultimate lie that requires him to eventually swoop in to pick up the pieces at the other end. If only they could avoid each other, but no, the smitten groom happens to be Max's brother. Despite their opposing views on marriage, and Max's conflicted feelings about being both happy and weary for his brother, Charlie still gets under his skin. She may have a romanticized view of wedded bliss but she's also quite grounded in general and there's so much there to fall for. Same goes for her.

I had a blast reading Down With Love. Charlie and Max have that chemistry that made me smile and swoon. I've gotten a bit tired lately of uber alpha male heroes and their testosterones so I've have taken a break from those storylines. I was thrilled that Max is not like that. In fact, Meader does a fun thing with Charlie and Max's personalities when it comes to their views on hooking up and trust. I liked that little touch a lot and it just made them more appealing. The other star of the story is Chicago where you're taken on jaunts to the Peninsula, a Cubs game, and other cool areas around town.

Down With Love is a splendid start to the Love Wars series. Meader's side characters are just as fun which is great because they tend to be hit or miss for me. I know I'd like to get to know that cheeky Brit, Lucas a bit better ... nudge, nudge, wink, wink. Congrats, Kate Meader on another sweet, hot and entertaining romance!

~ Bel

DNF at 30%

I decided to not give this book any stars because I did not finish reading it. I simply could not connect with the main characters and I found myself putting it down many times. I will definitely give the 2nd book in this series a chance as I'm exited about the concept. Perhaps my expectations were just too high.

<b>I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.</b>

As a fan of Kate Meader and lawyers in romance novels, I was eager to pick up Down With Love. It sounded like it would be a sexy and fun rom-com. I don't know what it was about the book, but it didn't entirely woo me as I was hoping it would. At the center of Down With Love, we have Max Henderson, a cynical lawyer when it comes to romance and marriage. He doesn't believe in love and doesn't think it's for him. When his brother announces that he is getting married, he is forced to feign happiness and do everything he can to make sure the wedding planner isn't ripping them off. Said wedding planner is Charlie Love, who hasn't had the best experience in the love department, but who has hopes of finding the right guy. As you can imagine, these two clash upon their first meeting, but they also find themselves attracted to each other. I found the banter between them to be enjoyable and I found myself grinning from time to time. However, after some time, I got tired of the back-and-forth between them and I just wasn't feeling their romance all that much. I felt like it was lacking in something that I can't exactly pinpoint. When they did get together, I found the romance was a bit cheesy and unoriginal. That being said, I enjoyed the secondary characters, especially Max' co-workers, and I'm looking forward to reading future books. Down With Love is not my favorite Kate Meader book, but I would still recommend it for readers who have enjoyed her books in the past.

Down with Love is the beginning of Kate Meader's new Laws of Attraction series. I always wait with bated breath when a favorite author begins a new series. This book does not disappoint. Admittedly, the first chapter surprised me a little because it is pretty "raw". I thought the author was introducing us to a different style of "edgier" writing. As it turns out, she was. Ms. Meader is writing from the first person perspective of the heroine, Charlie Love. I quickly embraced Charlie because her struggles as a single, successful business woman is realistic. The motivation for her behavior is relatable. If you have ever been told that your personality is too big, you are too loud, too brash, too anything, you will understand Charlie's reticence.

The story is set up as an enemies-to-lovers trope pitting a divorce attorney against a wedding planner On the surface, that IS the story, but I am not sure that is an accurate description of our hero. I do not see him as the jaded shark out to maximize the pain of his enemies. I enjoy the other aspect of his personality, in which he helps the wives recover and find closure. There is something really heroic about Max. It makes him that much more loveable - (and he cooks). What works less for me is his motivation for avoiding marriage. I want it to be a little more compelling. Don't get me wrong, the reasons behind his reluctance makes sense. I just wish it were a little more dramatic.

Nonetheless, this sexy story (it could quite possibly be Kate Meader's sexiest one yet) immediately drew me and I could not let go until I read that very last page. I can see where Ms. Meader is leading us in this new series and I cannot wait for future books.

So the book starts off in full Max mode, with his cringe-worthy thoughts making him seem like a total asshole as well as a wide range of other not-so-nice terms. I didn't like him. I didn't like his lame vocabulary. I didn't like his attitude. I get the whole "he's going to do a complete 180 because of LOVE" cliche of these books, but he was maybe the most unlikable male character I have encountered in a book in a very long time. Ick. No chance of redemption here for me.

With one of the main characters already off to such a horrible start, I just could not push myself to read more of the book. It was a DNF for me very early on.

Witty, seductive, and wickedly entertaining!

Down with Love is an engaging, adorable, enemies-to-more romance set in the Windy City that introduces us to a whole slew of new characters, including the warm, sweet, charming Charlie who believes in fairy tales and happy endings, and the intelligent, confident, skeptical, divorce lawyer, Max who believes that saying "I do" is merely a waste of time and money.

The writing is smooth and effortless. The characters are clever, fun-loving, and appealing. And the plot is an enchanting, exceptionally funny, perfect mix of tender moments, friendship antics, delicious tension, catchy dialogue, swoon-worthy chemistry, and true love.

I have always been a fan of Kate Meader, and I think Down with Love has just become one of my favourites. I loved the characters, I loved the chemistry, and I loved the storyline. It's a fantastic start to the new Laws of Attraction series, and in my opinion, it really doesn't get much better than this.

A little bit spicy, and a little bit sweet. Charlie and Max were totally opposite and also totally perfect for each other in every way. This book was so fun and I couldn't put it down.

3.75 stars-- DOWN WITH LOVE is the first instalment in Kate Meader’s contemporary, adult LAWS OF ATTRACTION erotic, romance series focusing on three friend and law partners: Max Henderson, Lucas Wright, and Grant Lincoln. This is divorce attorney Max Henderson, and wedding planner Charlie Love’s story line.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Max and Charlie) DOWN WITH LOVE follows the acrimonious relationship between divorce attorney Max Henderson, and wedding planner Charlie Love. Max’s brother James has thrown him for a loop with the announcement of his upcoming wedding to Gina Torres, a woman his brothre has known for only three months. Enter wedding planner Charlie Love, a woman who pushes all of Max’s buttons, buttons he admits come with hard and fast rules about love and marriage. What ensues is the building relationships between Charlie and Max, and the potential fall-out as Charlie and Max are unable to reach a harmonious impasse with regards to love and a happily ever after.

Max is an embittered divorce attorney who has seen it all, and the one time he thought he had found his own happily ever after destroyed his faith in marriage and love. Meeting Charlie Love, the woman currently starring in all of his fantasies and real-life drama finds Max thinking about forever but a forever that is quickly shut down when another impending divorce drops onto the horizon affecting his relationship with our story line heroine.

The relationship between Max and Charlie is one of immediate attraction; a palpable sexual attraction that does not go unnoticed by friends and family but an attraction that is tempered by their opposing views on love, and their inability to meet somewhere in the middle. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

We are introduced to Max’s brother and his fiancé Gina Torres, as well as Max’s very well-to-do parents Susanne and Jack Henderson; Charlie’s foster parents Donna and Frank Sullivan; whiskey sommelier Trinity Jones; as well as Max’s law partners Lucas Wright and Grant Lincoln. Lucas and Trinity’s story line is next in Illegally Yours.

DOWN WITH LOVE is a sexy and spirited story line with flirty characters and a provocative romance. The premise is inviting, realistic and spicy; the characters are flawed and struggle in their opposing views of marriage and life.

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This was an absolutely FUN read. Max is a divorce lawyer who is opposed to change in any form but when his younger brother surprises him with the news he is getting married he reacts in the way expected at first but then settles into his cynic ways but what really throws him is the wedding planner. Charlie Love is a sassy and sexy counterpart to Max. She has been dating and looking for "the one" but failing on all levels but colliding with Max the first time sets off sparks and try as they may they keep igniting every time they are close. There is no mistaking these two are perfect together and those around them see it. How long will it take for them to figure it out? I definitely recommend this one and look forward to more in this series!

**Received this ARC for review from the publisher via NetGalley**

Down With Love is everything a good romantic comedy should be and then some! We have lovable characters, and engaging and witty story, and lots of reasons to smile, chuckle, and even laugh out loud. When you pair up a divorce lawyer and a wedding planner, sparks are bound to fly. In Max and Charlie's case, those sparks are not just of the fiery, you make me furious kind. They've both been burned by love in the past, and while those issues are addressed, that part isn't the focus here. We do get a bit of angst, but it's low key, keeping this romance lighthearted and sexy. To sum it up, this is a wonderfully written combo of sweet, sexy, and downright hilarious.

I liked this book but it had potential to be more. Unfortunately for me it ended up being a classic trope: A cynical man finally meets a woman he wants more than one night with but she decides he's a bad bet and only wants sex from him. He chases her because she's "different" and he's not ready to let one night be the end of it. The thing is there were moments even in the beginning when you could tell Max wasn't the complete cynic/womanizer that he was portrayed as. I wanted more of that Max instead of the one dimensional cynical womanizer with the arrogant pickup lines that we meet at the beginning of the book. I think Max could have been a great character from the beginning if we were given a bit more of his softer side (the one that loved old romantic movies and helped his clients long after most divorce lawyers). Why go with the obvious trope when you could have had a much more complex character. Now being honest I wasn't really a big fan of Charlie and I thought she lacked character depth. I didn't really get her anger issues and they were so brief and I never felt like the author explained why she got so mad when she did (especially at the ballgame). I didn't really believe Charlie as the sexually aggressive I only want to use Max for sex character that she was portrayed as.

This book had moments that I really enjoyed and so much potential but for me it ended up being too much of a typical trope. However, if you enjoy romantic comedies and womanizer gets redeemed then you'll love this book.

A copy of this book was provided to me by Net Galley and the publisher with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and my comments here are my honest opinion

Kate Meader rocks romance in the kitchen, professional hockey arena, and now we can chalk one up in the court of law corner, folks. Well, divorce court that is since the marriage cynic hero specializes in splitsville divorce cases for the wealthy. Yeah, this guy has seen it all, even has his own battle scars from a near miss that only proves his case that marital bliss is a figment of most people’s imagination.

Charlie (aka Charlotte) has the polar opposite career. She’s a successful wedding planner determined to start each and every couple down the road to a happily ever after by giving them the wedding day of their dreams. She’s been hurt before, as well, but her hard luck life has taught her never give up, never surrender hope.

Though their two worlds may collide, their hearts eventually become in synch as they dance around each other and slowly but surely start to fall in love. What starts off as a very steamy, strictly lusty, no strings attached arrangement morphs into both of them wondering “what if?” Not surprisingly, doubts, insecurities, and bumps in the road come along that only make their HEA more romantic.

Unfolding at a very leisurely pace, this author gets down to the nitty, gritty of what makes a committed marriage work. It was sweet to see a hidden side to this scoffer of marriage be revealed as a true romantic at heart. He just needed the right lady love to help him see the light.

As usual, Kate Meader’s writing flows effortlessly across the pages and keeps me fully engaged. If you haven’t checked out her “Hot in the Kitchen” and “Chicago Rebels” series, I highly recommend you do so. She truly is one of my all time, favorite romance authors.

Title: Down with Love, Series: Laws of Attraction (Book 1), Author: Kate Meader, Pages: 237, stand-alone but part of series, VERY steamy scenes, former manho/divorce lawyer hero, wedding planner heroine, opposites attract, HEA, no love triangle, no cheating, no major OW/OM drama.

Book 1 - Down with Love
Book 2 - Illegally Yours

(I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not given any payment or compensation for this review, nor is there any affiliation or relationship between this reviewer and the author/publisher/NetGalley.)

Max Henderson is the ultimate divorce lawyer and a man who had an engagement that went really bad. As such, he is not a big wedding fan. Out to dinner with his brother James, he spots a woman at the bar who intrigues him and he is distracted with his brother. Imagine his surprise when his brother drops the bomb that he is getting married and he knows the woman . After Max makes his move, he finds out that Charlie Love is his brother's wedding planner.
I loved this set up, tried and true that it is, because both Max and Charlie are so sure they have the other figured out and they aren't attracted. In reality Max is a shark divorce lawyer but he represents mostly older women who deserve a fair divorce from long term husbands. Charlie is the upbeat wedding planner who hasn't found the right guy to have her own special day and life of happiness with. AS they are thrown together, the initial attraction gets stronger and they can't sustain a hands off attitude.
The chemistry is hot between the two and the way they interact is many times humorous and sometimes confrontational.. Add a killer yippy dog, Charlie's quirky foster parents and Max's hunky coworkers and the book is so much more than the romance aspect. Great start to the series!

4.5 Stars
Kate Meader kicked off her new series with a bang! I gobbled this one right up. The characters were fantastic and they sucked me right into the book. I mean both Max and Charlie both love baseball so I knew these were my kind of people. Then Max goes and throws in a Harry Potter reference, I'm sold! This book had an easy flow to it that made it so enjoyable to read. I laughed quite often. I really enjoyed watching Max get ruffled and then fall in love. Max and Charlie are definitely opposites. Charlie believes in love and happily ever after. Max not so much, but hanging with wedding planner Charlie for his brother's wedding may just change this playboy's mind. I have to say one favorite things about this book is that Charlie can be her true self around Max. He sees the real Charlie and accepts her. That's truly beautiful which Max wins major points for. This book is definitely one you hate to see end. I'm going to be eagerly awaiting more from this series.

Such a fun story, this is the first book in this new series from Kate Meader and I enjoy it a lot!

This is a hate-to-love romance about a cynical divorce lawyer and a hopeful wedding planner. It was so much fun watching these two grow closer and closer.


This book is perfect for your day in beach sexy, lighthearted and fast paced!

Max Henderson, partner in a successful Chicago law firm, has seen the worst of "happily ever after". Coming off a broken engagement himself, Max is all too aware of what happens when two people "fall" out of love for one reason or the other. Although he had good role models growing up, Max remains skeptical that true love will find him. So he devotes his days to helping women, not only get what they deserve in a settlement, but also helping to restore their self worth.

Charlie Love's mom passed away when she was younger and she was bounced around in the foster system. Finally landing in a loving, supporting home Charlie sees what true love can be. Charlie works hard, using her party planning skills, to build a successful wedding planning business. She helps couples plan the beginning to their "happily ever afters". It's during one of these meetings, that she first lays eyes on Max...

Max's little brother is getting married! Instead of being super supportive, Max encourages a prenup under the guise of looking out for his brother. He knows, he's been burned by a greedy ex. But the more time he spends with Charlie, the more he can see love in his future. Now he just has to convince Charlie. Charlie wants a one night stand and Max wants a future....

I absolutely LOVED this novel!!! It had all the feels. It was funny, witty, and heartfelt. Real life issues of love, health, divorce, self worth, and foster care were successfully woven throughout the story. I wish I could've had a room where I went to "work out" my anger on my ex! AND the cute little dog scenes were hilarious (puppy dog eyes). I read a gifted copy and all opinions stated are my own.

his book was a solid 3.5 stars for me. I enjoyed the writing, I enjoyed the opposites attract trope (I guess you could call it enemies to lovers but that’s not entirely accurate) and I mostly enjoyed the secondary characters.
It was the leads that did me in. I normally love a strong, funny, snarky heroine who can be feminine and bitchy. But all I got from Charlie was bitchy. The ballpark scene...way over the top! I can trash talk with the best of them, but that was extreme and I would have been embarrassed to be with her. Her dirty mouth didn’t bother me but her bad attitude did. I didn't believe it came from a broken heart, which would have made her sympathetic.
I liked Max better, but I feel like Meader tried too hard to make him a player, when he really wasn’t. While I don’t think his heart was broken, either, I think he was definitely disillusioned by love...and his profession doesn’t help. But I think there was too much stereotyping of divorce lawyers as cynical bastards, too...especially by Charlie.
I didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. I’m not sure who’s story is next, but none of them made a lasting impression on me. I’m sad, because I do like Kate Meader’s writing, in general. I like the varying POVs and the talking directly to the reader. But the story as a whole fell flat for me.