Look, I am a sucker for books about pop culture. (Zero surprise there) Fear not, I will not spoil you! I’m here to tell you why you should pick up Most Eligible and adore it as much as I did.
When I saw Isabelle Engel’s book, Most Eligible, it was an instant buy. It’s a wink-nudge towards the long-running series The Bachelor. Unless you’ve been in a cave for the last twenty-six years, you’ve at least heard of The Bachelor. You don’t have to be an expert on the series to enjoy this book, but fans of the series will feel right at home with Engel’s take. (Referred to as “Love Shack”, because who wants a lawsuit?)
It would be easy to write a story about a Bachelor contestant. I’d say it’s the obvious starting point, but not necessarily the one that gets a book published. What makes Most Eligible different is that the contestant, Georgia, is not there to win the bachelor’s heart. She’s there to write an expose’ and further her career. Obviously, to get enough information for said expose’, she has to stay in the competition and make friends (and enemies) along the way. Complicating matters, the host of this season is a man she had a short-lived fling with several months ago. Naturally, there are unresolved feelings on both sides, because that adds a juicy layer of plot.
On the surface, Most Eligible is a fun romp of a book. It moves quickly, it’s hard to put down, and while most of it is fairly predictable, you won’t care because the ride itself is so much fun.
My writer brain, however, is also impressed. Every character sparkles with personality and has believable motivation and backstory. I would devour a short story about any one of them. It would be easy to lean on tropes, but Engel complicates the characters beautifully. These characters both keep the plot moving forward and throw wrenches in our main character’s way.
I’m also impressed by how much it feels like Engel knows about The Bachelor franchise, outside and in. I’ve only watched a handful of seasons myself, but Engel writes with such detail and confidence that I had to double check that she wasn’t a former producer or contestant herself. It feels like she knows the behind-the-scenes dirt intimately. (I’m honestly toying with the idea of writing to her and asking what research she did, because it was that good.)
So come for the engaging, addictive storytelling, and stay for the well-crafted writing. There’s a lot to love here.