Barbara Dunlop is a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author that has written over fifty novels in the romance genre. Barbara wrote her first work of fiction when she was only eight years. Her first work was titled “How The Giraffe Got His Long Neck” and was published to critical acclaim. Unfortunately, she had difficulties with distribution, but the good reception whet her appetite for even more achievements. She would later become a reporter for “The Berry Street Times”, a venerated publication that allowed Barbara to expand her reach. Several years after she began writing for the magazine, she ventured into romantic comedy, and it was not long before she was a bestselling and award-winning author with Silhouette and Harlequin. In addition to her romantic comedy series, she has also completed several other projects such as the NASCAR series. She has twice made the shortlist for the Romance Writers of America RITA award, and has won the Golden Heart Award by the Romance Writers of America twice. Her novels have also been featured on the Boarders list for series romance several times. Dunlop currently resides in Yukon, Canada in a log house in a heavily wooded property, where moose wander the property and bears outnumber humans. She spends her nights penning her delightful romantic novels and her days managing the Yukon Film Commission.
The Match series of novels is the first self-published series by Barbara Dunlop, after publishing over twenty novels with renowned publishers. The series of novels are more of new adult romantic series given their protagonists are in their early twenties. As opposed to her contemporaries in her genre that have been filled with endlessly tattooed protagonists, frantic sex scenes, bacchanalian booze parties, and angsty dramas, Dunlop takes an innovative approach. The novel series are written from the point of view of both the heroes and heroines, and the point of view of their benefactors. Apart from the main leads in the series, the premise of the novels is driven by a group senior citizens who are determined to find a good match for their heirs. The group of about 70 wealthy residents of a Florida retirement community has made a match making computer program to find their grandnieces, grandnephews, and grandchildren the most suitable mates. They do believe that by using the matchmaking software program designed by Sam a brilliant former NASA scientist, their heirs will have marriages that will work. The series of novels that takes the matchmaking format is one that Harlequin has adopted in recent times with considerable success. However, what makes the novels so good is their quirky set of seniors and the lead characters that are great fun and highly relatable.
Even as we expect the program to come up with terrible matches, it provides some of the most explosive relationships over the course of the novels. The female leads are typically charming women that have been beauties for their entire lives, with great a great education and social life. Our leads such as Amelia, Jade, and Jillian are highly successful persons who have no idea what their benevolent relatives are planning for them, as they are busy leading their lives and pursuing their dreams. For the most part, love and romance does not feature in their current life plans, as they are too involved in their careers or just have no time for it. However, much like their benefactors, they are upbeat, beautiful, and fun to be with. As for the male protagonists such as Logan, Morgan, and Devlin, they are highly educated and career driven persons that are married to their careers and have no time for love. Despite being the proverbial geeks, these protagonists are athletic persons who exercise regularly and enjoy life whenever it permits. They are geek heroes that are responsible, mature, and outstanding examples of metro-sexual males that are alpha and sexy, without being domineering as compared to many contemporary romance heroes.
The Match series of novels come with many hilarious moments, and incorporates highly emotional sequences, particularly when talking about the love between the lead characters. The leads transcend their socially and externally generated personas to find that they have a lot more common that would be initially believed. They share some of the most important characteristics such as emotional sensitivity, responsibility, good listening, and being willing to help each other attain their goals in life, which make for a successful romantic relationship. The two protagonists are typically polar opposites that on the surface will never be compatible, but they experience strong mutual attraction when they meet, which grows even stronger over the course of the narrative. The matchmakers do all in their power to ensure the two protagonists are living in a space that will make them fall for each other and eventually get into a relationship.
“An Unlikely Match”, the first novel of the series is about Morgan Holbrook and Amelia Camden. Morgan Holbrook is a geeky nerd with a PhD in jet propulsion who works as a researcher at a Caltech. Despite being a geek, he is a highly confident man, though he has never been one that gets the girls. On the other hand, Amelia Camden is a cheerleader who has long since sworn off relationships and decided to focus on an acting career. But when her next door neighbor the nerdy Morgan Holbrook refuses to go with her to her high school reunion, she goes nuts and is now determined to make him go with her. Since she wants to ensure that he does not embarrass her in front of her former classmates, she goads him into getting a pair of contacts lenses, a great suit, and haircut to go with his engaging, compassionate, and brilliant personality. Morgan plays along with what Amelia suggests, but what the two do not know is that it is all a plan by their benefactors back home in Florida.
“An Impractical Match” is another riveting novel in the series that introduces a new set of characters in the Match series. Jillian Korrigan is a high event planner who was abandoned at the altar by one of DC’s most prominent sons. Determined to put the embarrassment behind her, she takes an assignment organizing a motor cross race in Phoenix, Arizona. Meanwhile, Devlin Camden a vintage car restoration expert is working on the motor cross tack with dirt in his hair and dust in his eyes. He had met women like Jillian as they hung onto the arms of millionaires, and they had ever had any time for the persons that customized their expensive vehicles. Devlin is loyal to the motor cross track at Desert Heat, and treating the woman organizing the race will mean more money for the owner and possible upgrades to the track. Maybe he will just have to put up with the arrogant and sexy Jillian, and maybe he will just get her into his bed.
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