Male Call (book) by Heather MacAllister

Marnie LaTour works for Carnahan Custom Software in San Francisco, California. She writes code and designs websites, and she's good at what she does. She's hopeful that one of her coworkers might become her boyfriend, at least until he tells her that she's "not the girlfriend type." On an impulse, Marnie rents an apartment from a struggling playwright and agrees to get tips from him on how to improve her appearance and become the kind of girl that men would want to whistle at (or at least the kind of girl men recognize as female - the way Marnie dresses, her gender can sometimes be difficult to determine, and she gets mistaken for a homeless person). Her landlord starts things off by having her try on a skirt that may or may not have the magical power of making its wearer attractive to the opposite sex.

Soon after trying on the skirt, Marnie catches the eye of sexy construction worker Zach Renfro - oblivious to his interest, Marnie asks him to also give her advice about attracting men and dating. Gradually, Marnie realizes that Zach really is interested in her, but she also realizes that a relationship between the two of them wouldn't work out - Zach is married to his Victorian restoration business, and Marnie wants to settle down with someone who'd have her at the top of his list of priorities. Zach knows Marnie is the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with, but he's got to convince her first.

I'm a little embarrassed to say that I really enjoyed this book. There's an earlier edition of this book than the one I read that would make this admission even more embarrassing - on the cover of that edition, a woman who's supposed to be Marnie (Marnie has dark hair and this woman is either blond or has light brown hair) is laughing while lying in bed (I think) with a guy who is either naked or at least shirtless (this is probably Zach). I suppose you could say something like this happened in the book, but it didn't happen until nearly the end. It's covers like this that help give romance novels such an bad reputation. The cover illustration on the copy I read (published by Harlequin in 2003) is boring, but okay - a blandly pretty close-up of a woman straightening a man's tie, with both their faces mainly obscured. I'll admit that I got this book from the library because the cover wasn't too embarrassing, the book was short (217 pages), and the title sounded like good cheesy fun.

I enjoyed reading about an otherwise competent young woman who needs help being more girly and sending out the right signals to men she's interested in. Think "What Not To Wear" with a dating component and a specific goal. Marnie was a sweet, quirky character who should've figured out a lot sooner than she did that Barry (the coworker who didn't consider her to be the girlfriend type) wasn't worth that much effort. Whenever I pictured Marnie in my head, the word "cute" always came to mind. I think the only thing I didn't like about her was that she figured out the principles of dating and attraction a lot faster than I liked - I think I would have preferred it if she had been more awkward and managed to succeed in spite of that.

I enjoyed Zach the most in the earlier parts of the book. I laughed when his thoughts revealed his confusion about Marnie's gender (Marnie was attracted to him before they ever officially met and had a habit of hanging around Zach's construction site, admiring him, and shouting out her attraction to him while he used loud power tools) and when he mistook her for a homeless girl. I also loved when the two of them met after Marnie tried on the skirt - he was hilarious in how smitten he was, even after he discovered that Marnie was the person he thought was a homeless girl.

Later in the book, Marnie and Zach have to deal with Marnie's need to get Barry to see her as a desirable woman and Zach's overpowering interest in his job. The whole Marnie/Barry thing got a little old after a while, for me and for Zach. Once Marnie realized that Zach and other men found her attractive, it shouldn't have mattered so much what Barry thought. Zach's interest in his job was a little more complicated. Marnie enjoyed seeing the joy that Zach's job brought him, but she didn't want that to overpower his interest in her. I can understand that, but it's a hard balance to achieve, and I'm not really sure that the ending of the book proves that it actually has been achieved. I'm also not sure that someone like Zach could change that fast - adjusting your priorities takes time. I guess this book really needs to be viewed as a kind of fairy tale, a bit like Cinderella - Marnie puts on her magical skirt, she and Zach fall in love, things happen, things work out, and Marnie and Zach live happily ever after, the end.

The Cinderella thing reminds me of another thing I wanted to talk about, the skirt. I'm not sure if the skirt is actually magical, but, when she has it on, Zach actually notices Marnie as a woman for the first time and men gravitate towards her when she goes to a bar. In addition, the only time Marnie doesn't think the skirt feels perfect is when she's wearing it while she's alone with Barry in her apartment - apparently, the skirt can recognize the man its wearer should be with. It's interesting, but the skirt felt kind of unnecessary. Couldn't Marnie attract Zach's interest without the help of a potentially magical skirt? Since MacAllister has other books involving this skirt, I guess it was a convenient way for her to set up a theme for a series, but it still felt unnecessary.

If you can accept this book for what it is, a light and mostly cheerful romance novel that doesn't demand much in the way of thought from it's readers, then this book is pretty enjoyable. The characters are likable, even if it does take them an awfully long time to get over their various issues, the story is pretty simple, and the only thing gumming up the works of Zach and Marnie's romance is themselves (there's no villain).

This is one of three books featuring the magical skirt, so readers who liked this book might like to try MacAllister's other two skirt books, Tempted in Texas and Skirting the Issue.

Read-alikes:

• A Whirlwind...Makeover (book) by Nancy Lavo - This Silhouette romance focuses on Maddie Sinclair, an account executive at a marketing firm, and Dan Willis, a famous fashion photographer. Maddie is 5'11'' and built for her height. She's had her size and height criticized for so long, by her own mother no less, that she now believes that she's ugly. Dan bumps into her one day and falls immediately in love with her. The two of them become friends and Dan, who sees what a beautiful person she is inside, does his best to help make Maddie over so that she can believe in her own beauty. Meanwhile, Maddie has a major crush on a gorgeous, charming, and self-centered colleague. As Maddie starts to blossom emotionally, she learns to see Dan and her crush in the proper light. Those who'd like another makeover romance featuring love at first sight and a heroine who takes a little time to realize which guy is right for her might like this book.
• Nerd in Shining Armor (book) by Vicki Lewis Thompson - Genevieve can't believe her luck when Nick Brogan, her sexy employer, asks her to accompany him on an overnight business meeting in Maui. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned - Jack the computer nerd is coming with them, and Nick turns out to be a murderous psychopath with plans for both Jack and Genevieve to die in a plane crash. Luckily, Jack has played enough flight simulator computer games to crash-land the plane. Not only has Jack just become their hero, but he also turns out to have a great body and a sense of chivalry, and Genevieve finds herself falling for him. Those who'd like another contemporary romance featuring a gorgeous character who falls for a nerd might like this book. Be warned, however, the sex scenes in this book are much more frequent and steamy than anything in Male Call. This book is the first in a series of books featuring nerdy main characters.
• Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (book) by Ann Brashares - An ordinary pair of thrift-shop jeans becomes extraordinary after four teenage friends with very different sizes and builds try them on and discover that they fit each of them perfectly, making each girl look and feel sexy and confident. The girls are about to be separated for the summer, each doing different things (going to Greece, soccer camp in Baja, CA, visiting divorced father in South Carolina, staying home to do minimum wage job), so they make a pact to share the jeans equally, mailing them back and forth. Those who'd like another story featuring a seemingly magical item of clothing that makes the wearer feel beautiful and confident might like this book.
• Unzipped (book) by Karen Kendall - In this Harlequin Blaze romance, Hal Underwood, a computer nerd, reluctantly hires Shannon Shane, an Image Consultant and Media Trainer, to make him over so that he can present a better image for the company he works for. Hal is immediately interested in the beautiful Shannon, but he's convinced that she's out of his league. He's shocked when he discovers that she has her own insecurities - she feels that no one takes her intelligence seriously, and she thinks that her attempts at making Hal over pale in comparison with the things that Hal has already accomplished. Those who'd like another romance featuring a computer nerd who gets made over by the gorgeous person he/she falls for might like this book.