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| That Kind of Guy by Mina V. Esguerra |
Summary from Goodreads:
"Good girl Julie never expected her hot former-player boyfriend to propose marriage. But when he did, she turned him down for reasons even she couldn't figure out. Will she settle for a nice, safe guy instead? Or will she let him find his way back into her carefully guarded heart?"
Rating:
Chick Lit is not always a priority on my books to read, but I always make room for Summit books such as this; actually, especially when it’s Mina Esguerra’s books. They’re very easy to read and you can finish them in one sitting.
That Kind of Guy lets readers meet Julie, a girl who particularly always wants to stay on the safe side most of her life. She wants certainty when it comes to relationships. She even sometimes comes out as a pushover at work. “Meek” was what I first thought she was but ended up with “Insecure” as I read through.
So Julie meets and dates Anton; a guy that she feels is out of her league. Anton on the other hand, finds Julie interesting, even though Julie finds herself to be a boring kind of girl for a guy like Anton. And yet Anton’s eager to take a chance to get to know Julie the way she likes a guy to get to know her. Enter “Meet the parents” moment. All in all these two make a simple, happy couple. Until Anton surprises Julie with a marriage proposal. And Julie doesn’t give out either a “yes” or “no” answer; she asks “why?”
What conspired after was Julie’s somewhat weird “investigation” about Anton’s exes. She has this book containing all the names of the girls from his past along with what happened and where they are now. It reminded me of the movie “The Little Black Book” and I was already thinking, “Julie, trust me when I say that’s a bad idea. I saw the movie after all.” LOL.
Now if we’re going to talk about relationships, let me just clear it out that in this book there are two types of guys that Julie is caught in between; the safe-and-secure, simple guy Harry, and the roguish-like-a-bad-boy-kind-but-not-so Anton.
I am in favor of Anton, and no, it’s not because he has that bad boy image. But because of what he brought out in Julie. Harry would’ve been a good choice too, since Julie said that he’s the kind of guy she pictured to be with for the rest of her life, but what Harry lacks is the enthusiasm of trying out new things. I like a guy who would be open to getting to know every part of my life and trying to experience things outside of his comfort zone; whether it’s just slacking off at home or going to a really high-end party and not make himself feel like he doesn’t belong, just because it’s not his “thing”. I think knowing each other’s likes and dislikes along with trying out new things together is one of the factors in establishing a happy and healthy relationship.
Anton may have been a playboy before but that’s not the guy Julie met. And hearsay is not always accurate. Plus, there’s good and bad in everyone, who’s to say he wasn’t serious about their relationship. And the part where he was eager to meet Julie’s parents, well that’s a big thing to make a fool out of.
I think Julie is just a little lost when it comes to finding her self-esteem. I felt like she had a lot of insecurity issues and being with Anton kind of took her out of a shell. I saw a more confident kind of girl and she even got the courage to stand up for herself at work. If that doesn’t scream the “bringing out the best in you” kind of idea, I don’t what does. I’m not saying Julie should rely on Anton for strength, but I think her relationship with him brought her to discover a part of her that she didn’t know existed within.
When it comes to love there’s never really a safe side. It’s all risks and you’ll never know if it was worth it until you’ve actually tried. Maybe you’ve made a mistake in the end but eventually you learn and that, I think, is what’s more important.
One of the things I like about Mina’s books are the lessons you can learn as a woman and/or as an individual. There’s always that spark of realizing a different side of you that you’ve only come to recognize. You may or may not like it, but that breakthrough might be able to lead you to grow and be a better person in the end.
