The Blonde Theory    by Kristin Harmel Order:  USA  Can 5 Spot, 2007 (2007) Softcover, e-Book     Reviewed by Marie Hashima Lofton Harper Roberts is smart and successful - she's a patent attorney who also happens to have a degree in chemical engineering. As the story opens, she faces a break up with her live-in boyfriend Peter. In shock, as Harper thought everything was going well, she realizes afterwards that maybe she isn't girlfriend material. Peter accused her of being too successful, saying that she made him feel emasculated. That was three years ago. Now thirty-five, Harper is commemorating the anniversary of their break up (or three long years of being single) with her friends. They all agree that something has to change. As an experiment, and to coincide with friend Meg's magazine article for the Dating Files column of Mod Magazine, they convince Harper to dumb herself down for two weeks. Harper is to act the stereotypical dumb blonde, down to her every day vocabulary, how she dresses, and how she treats her dates. She is allowed to be herself only at work. Thus The Blonde Theory begins. Harper finds out that it men do seem attracted to women as vacuous as a dumb blonde. Harper finds this unbelievable. But as agreed, she continues to seek out men in the wanted ads, the Internet, and elsewhere. Every date she has, no matter how smart and successful the man is, they all seem to want one thing - a woman with a good body and not much of a brain. She's frustrated, but the facts don't lie. Harper's friend Emmie, an actress who has a bit part on a major television soap opera, matches Harper up with heartthrob Matt James - who better to practice on but an actor? Harper and Matt hit it off, but Harper suspects that his attentions are mainly to please Emmie. But the longer they know each other, the more he convinces her that he really DOES want Harper for who she is, a smart, good looking woman who has made it up the corporate ladder. The other man in Harper's life is the plumber she hires to fix her overflowing toilet. Sean keeps returning for one reason or another. And each time they meet he finds ways to irritate Harper. He constantly tells Harper she should be proud of who she is, that she's beautiful and smart, and that she obviously hasn't met the right guy. But Harper doesn't want to listen to Sean, and continues to seek men according to the Blonde Theory (which isn't really working, because all the men she's met have turned out to be jerks). The book had me laughing out loud as Harper meets one date after another. With her friends cheering her on, and a plumber who constantly gives unwanted advice, Harper slowly learns a lesson. Maybe she hadn't been looking in the right places for a man after all. Maybe part of the problem all this time was herself. My one gripe about the book has to do with the main character. Harper's normal self seemed almost as dumbed down as the blonde version, and her speech when she was not playing the dumb blonde sounded as if she had only a high school education. I had to suspend belief to envision her as an educated lawyer. There were enough laughs throughout the story, however, to keep my interest. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Romance books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews